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Not a few of you on here have chided me on the "awful" sound of the Sony MDR-7506 and its practically identical predecessor, the -V6. You have stated both exaggerated bottom and top, particularly the latter, with the 7506.

Well, I have come across two reasons, and possibly a combination of both, why I don't hear this "treble spike" as it has been described on here and in other A/V related newsgroups:

#1 - My aforementioned inability to hear anything above 14kHz. This includes a sweeping sine from 20-20kHZ at my comfortable volume through headphones.

#2. My 7506 may be counterfeit! I just researched a number of articles of what to look/listen for. Many - but not all - of the fake 7506 and V6 say Made In China. Some have poor-fitting earpads, lack the positive CLICK when adjusting the headband width, or have a shiny black cord(authentic MDRs have a semi-matte black). Mine say Made In Thailand. But then there is the testimony from the guy who purchased a second 7506 directly from Sony($130 USD). He said it was an "awakening", a "revelation"! Both the bass presence and the exaggerated treble were immediately apparent, out of the box and no burn-in period. This compared to his first pair which he felt was a little 'too' flat.

I don't know. Mine has the matte cord, very tight fitting earpads(hard to remove from the earpieces), and comfortable headband. The only difference I did notice was the screws visible on the insides of the arms holding the earpieces to the head band: On mine they are metallic - in the picture from Sony they are black(same as the plastic they are holding together.

I'm getting the feeling I may be spending some money over at Sony - but now with the new MDR-7510 creating a sensation I'm once again-

-On the Fence!

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EDIT: As far as my hearing goes, I know the spike is between 10 and 11kHz, but my hearing may be rolling off at that point so it is not as apparent. Either that, or these are truly counterfeits!

Where do your 7506's say they are made in - on the phones themselves?

[Giganews]

wrote in message
...

Not a few of you on here have chided me on the "awful" sound of the Sony
MDR-7506 and its practically identical predecessor, the -V6. You have
stated both exaggerated bottom and top, particularly the latter, with the
7506.

I'm getting the feeling I may be spending some money over at Sony - but
now with the new MDR-7510 creating a sensation I'm once again-

You might consider competitive phones that have a reputaion for greater
smoothness. The Sennheiser HD 280 and the Audio Technica ATH M50 come to
mind. The HD 280s have far greater bass extension due to their tight
fitting, ear-covering ear pieces.

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Already have the Sennheisers you suggested.

[Steve King]

wrote in message
...
Already have the Sennheisers you suggested.

The well-known characteristics of the MDR 7506 headphones are considered
very valuable by many location sound mixers for film and video. The
emphasized bass flags lower frequencies that may cause trouble much later in
the sound mixing process, interferring sound that is often missed by
confusing the sound heard through imperfect earpad seals versus that heard
by boom or lav mics, for instance. Same with the emphasis in the upper
mid-range, which acentuates sibilence and other speech issues. IMO they are
a great tool, but not for all headphone uses. I wouldn't mix jusic on
them;-)

Steve King

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On Tuesday, July 17, 2012 11:59:05 AM UTC-4, Steve King wrote:


The well-known characteristics of the MDR 7506 headphones are considered
very valuable by many location sound mixers for film and video. The
emphasized bass flags lower frequencies that may cause trouble much later in
the sound mixing process, interferring sound that is often missed by
confusing the sound heard through imperfect earpad seals versus that heard
by boom or lav mics, for instance. Same with the emphasis in the upper
mid-range, which acentuates sibilence and other speech issues. IMO they are
a great tool, but not for all headphone uses. I wouldn't mix jusic on
them;-)

Steve King
_____________
The whole point is I hear neither the exaggerated highs or rumbling bottom on my "7506"s (quoutes = possible counterfeits). For sure, they sound a little "airier" than my HD-280Pros, but the latter out-extend them toward the bottom hands down.

So, anyone have a MDR-7506 nearby they want to turn over in their hands and describe certain components while they're reading this thread?

BTW one such component in my favor - though this is a stretch, is on a MDR-Vee6 site the authentic V6 came with a leather pouch with "SONY" printed in white in one corner. The fake V6's leather pouch was embossed(impressioned) Sony in that same corner.

-CC