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Legendary Headphones : Affordable price without sacrificing sound quality!
Posted by Louis from Montreal, QC (Canada) on 2013-05-20Posted on Sony MDR-V6
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Great sound quality, Satisfying punchy bass response, Accurate detailed mids and high, Very durable
Cons: Sound a bit harsh when playing low-end mp3, Pads fall apart over time & need to be replaced
These are a legendary product that have served since 1986 as reference, "industry-standard" studio monitoring cans. They are as such neutrally equalized ("flat") headphones made for an authentic sound, when you actually want to hear what the artist recorded!
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This means that while you do get a very accurate reproduction of what you play, flimsy over-compressed mp3's will sound just exactly as they sould : flimsy! The V6 are quite unforgiving, and will sound overly bright and even harsh in these situations. Hence, be sure to acquire music files of good quality (usually 256 kbps+ mp3's are sufficient).
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This said, with a good recording in hand, and with a little EQing magic, you can make these headphones sing pure bliss! I personally have wide musical preferences, from rock to classical and including electronic, hip-hop and reggea, and I can assure you that they are quite capable of excellent performance in all of these musical domains. The bass response is great, and the mids and highs are accurate and detailed. Once again, with a little EQing, you will easily set it to your own preferences, be it extra-bass, recessed mids or just a good ole' flat line.
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Now, keep in mind that they are 100$ headphones, so while my review of SQ may sound over-preaching, I still believe that they may very well be the best sounding headphones there is for that price and under. Obviously, they will get blown out of the water by various more expensive headphones (Sennheiser Momentum, V-Moda Crossfade M-100, Sony MDR-1R just to name a few), but these are all at least 200$-350$...And even the so-often-recommended Audio Technica ATH-M50s (160$) aren't that much ahead in terms of sound offering!
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Having established that they sound awesome, I'll have to say a few words about the actual build of the headphones : their looks, comfort and durability.
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Being an almost 30 years-old design, they have a definite retro look that I personally find appealing, but that I could understand not everybody would dig... Apart from that they are all plastic and leather (the headband), with only the inner sliding headband piece being metallic. However, they have a long established reputation for being indestructible (some people have kept them for 25+ years), so maybe all that plastic isn't bad after all.
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Now, the only real con known to this headphone and that I find important to discuss is the pad issue. You see, they are made of some kind of pleather, and fall apart over time. Some people used them for less than two years before they were all flaked off. Moreover, they aren't that comfortable, as they are some hybrid on-ear/over-ear design (surround your whole ear but presses against it) and after a few hours I used to get tired of them.
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That said, there is an AMAZING solution to this pad issue. Beyerdynamic, this great German manufacturer of high-quality headphones, issue super-comfortable plushy velour pads for most of their models. One of them, the DT-250, is compatible with the V6. So, you just gotta buy some Beyer velour pads and exchange them with the stock V6 pads. Sure, it costs around 20-25$, but it's extremely easy and greatly enhances the comfort of your headphones, to the point of being able to wear them all day, as well as preventing any degradation of the pads over-time (the velour pads are extremely durable). Some people even say that this mod enhances bass a little (which i found to be true to a certain extent, but maybe placebo and expectation bias did the trick)!
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In conclusion, I simply can't believe you will find a better all-around headphone for 100$. It sounds great, it lasts decades, and with a simple not-too expensive mod, it is an incredibly comfortable headphone. For casual music listening, be it from a computer or a portable device, for studio monitoring or just for general purpose multi-function headphone use, you can't go wrong with these!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Do not buy for more than 40 bucks
Posted by peterius from NE Connecticut on 2013-02-04Posted on Sony MDR-V6
Recommend Product: No
Pros: decent sound quality
Cons: poor design, high price
I bought these expecting them to last ten years. The sound quality is not amazing but its decent.
As many other reviewers have mentioned the earpads fall apart and people talk about replacing them. This was a little frustrating for me but not a big deal. I'm very careful with things, but for 90 dollar headphones that come with a leather? bag, I expected them to last a long time.
After less than a year of daily usage, the black plastic wrap covering the headphone cushions started flaking off all over the place.
After two years, the glue holding one of the pads has come off, but still can be held in place. The black plastic wrap is completely gone and the foam pads are exposed.
After two and a half years, the sound has started to go out completely in one ear and I have to jiggle it to get it to come back.
I think this is because the exposed wires between the earphones and the headband slip underneath the hinges, and so every time I've put them on, the hinges have slowly rubbed the insulation off of those wires. The hinges don't clear the wires and one can easily see where its rubbed the wire down to the copper. I'm going to try to patch them up myself, but these are not 90 dollar headphones. Its also possible that this won't always happen, maybe the pair I got had a bad coil of wire, but the construction still isn't good enough for the price.
I was also disappointed that Sony did not offer any solution to repair them at first, saying that they were designed in 1986, what did I expect. After much complaining, they offered a discount on another pair or possibly that they could try to repair them but no guarantees.
Bottomline, these headphones aren't worth 90 dollars for the sound quality, what they had going for them was the construction and its no good.
I would give them a 3 or 4 star rating at 40 dollars. But Sony's website still has them out of stock for 120.
7 out of 8 people found this review unhelpful. Did you?
A Legendary Classic
Posted by Vito from California on 2012-06-09Posted on Sony MDR-V6
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Astonishingly detailed sound; best phones for studio mix checking
Cons: Earpads need periodic replacement; plug adapter isn't durable
I'm a studio engineer/producer/musician. I've had my MDR-V6 phones for over 20 years, and they still sound terrific. There are only two downsides (and these are both well-known shortcomings):
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• The 1/8” to 1/4” plug adapter breaks too easily…usually after a few years if you use it often. Just get yourself a good plug adapter and that takes care of it. (The 1/8” stereo mini-plug is rock-solid with good strain relief.)
• The ear pad covering eventually breaks down and the pads need to be replaced (mine lasted 15 years). But the pads are available on eBay for about $5, and it takes just a few minutes to remove the old ones and install the new ones. (No tools or special skills required.) Even so, 15 years of steady service for earpads is pretty darned good…and the phones themselves are still going strong.
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Now, let me explain to you why these phones have been the choice of many studio mix engineers for the past couple of decades. It's NOT because they have perfectly flat response (they don't, but except for a 5 dB dip at about 5K and a 5 db bump at about 9K, they're pretty close), or because they have great ambient noise rejection (they don't), or because they're super comfortable (they're much better than average, but there are more comfortable phones). Rather, the reason these phones are so valuable in the studio is because you can hear things on them that you can't hear on other phones. I don't mix on them, but I CHECK my mixes on them, and without exception, they reveal things that I otherwise wouldn't hear...even on my state of the art tri-amped Genelec studio monitors.
The imaging is excellent -- very clear and tight (not time-smeared or "smushed"). That's especially true in the bass and mid-bass range, where so many other headphones fail. I don't want "killer" bass; I want ACCURATE bass. Sony probably could have tweaked the ample 40 mm drivers to deliver more bass, but I’m grateful they chose to stick with accuracy. The bass response is smooth, ultra-realistic, and super clean.
I have no idea how these phones compare to what an "audiophile" would want. I only know that the music audiophiles listen to (if it's well mixed), was probably checked on a pair of MDR-V6 (or MDR-7506) phones. (They're essentially the same.) Now you know the "secret"...the reason why these phones are legendary, and deservedly so. In fact, I've become so accustomed to the vivid clarity of the MDR-V6 phones that I use them for everything...even everyday listening. They're simply superb phones for that purpose --- better than any other phones I've ever used.
If you want phones that do something different --- like explosive bass response or other coloration --- then these aren't for you. But if you want a set of super-durable phones that will reveal musical detail in a way that most other phones can't --- especially at such a remarkably reasonable price --- you'll be hard pressed to find another set of phones (except MDR-7506) that even comes close.
28 out of 30 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Good value when under $100
Posted by acldesmith from Tokyo, Japan on 2011-05-25Posted on Sony MDR-V6
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Good value, comfortable, nice mid-low range
Cons: highs have Sony signature blandness, earpads
I bought a pair for my wife and a pair for my sister and they love them. These SONY MDR-V6 headphones have held up to travel and children. The are a great product for those who have other priorities than high end cans. My son pulled the ear pads off my wife's set and I was abel to put them back on. I mention the pads as a can simply because they are the only weakness these things have in terms of life span. Compared to other headphones of this style these are a great value. Audio Tech make a better, more durable pair, but you will pay about $60 more.
7 out of 12 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Decent headphones, but you can do better
Posted by A HeadRoom Fan on 2010-01-26Posted on Sony MDR-V6
Recommend Product: No
Pros:
Cons:
These are a fairly good pair of monitor headphones, but in my opinion are not quite worthy of the long-standing reputation they have, and get more attention than they deserve, simply for having been around for so long. The construction is flimsy-seeming and the sound is undistinguished in any area. This is not to say they are bad, and I am glad I have them, but there are better options out there at this price range. The Shure SRH440 is an obvious competitor, which retails for only slightly more and wins on both sound quality and comfort. I personally see no reason to buy these over the Shure set, except perhaps that the MDR-V6 is slightly smaller, lighter and more compact.
18 out of 32 people found this review unhelpful. Did you?
Great studio monitors
Posted by abc123 from az on 2010-01-26Posted on Sony MDR-V6
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Comfortable, durable as a block of steel, great sound detail
Cons: Occasionally too forward sounding for listening
I think for what they are (inexpensive studio monitors) they do a really nice job. They are comfortable for long sessions, will last forever, are incredibly consistent, and have great sound detail. They do a fantastic job of displaying any present sound in a music piece. It makes an interesting soundscape that even more expensive headphones can't match. Their sound is also very deep, neutral, and tonally balanced. But the con side of this is that live performances, movies, and games feel very one-dimensional. They focus on the buzz of the microphone over where the vocals are coming from. The sound in the upper-high frequencies is forward and sometimes harshly so for some people. But for a studio monitor things like this are quite critical. So for what they are they do a great job, and for others provide a well-detailed and organic listening experience.
7 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Diehard MDR-V6 Fan
Posted by BeenThereDoneThat from NorCal on 2010-01-18Posted on Sony MDR-V6
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Comfort, Outstanding Value and Still in Production
Cons: Strong Mid Frequencies, Compressed Dynamic Range
I've been a twenty + year fan of the venerable Sony MDR-V6's. I've owned three pairs of these outstanding cans, and all three are still in service in my household. Recently I purchased a set of Ultrasone Pro 650's here on HeadRoom and I have to say, now that I've experienced what the Ultrasone engineers have perfected, the Sony's don't sound quite the same. Most notable, the Sony's are somewhat brighter and louder in the mid-frequency range. That said, for the price point, I still believe the Sony's are probably THE best value in a wide response, comfortable, durable & easy to drive pair of headphones. I still use my MDR-V6's when recording to analog (tape formats) as they allow me to hear more of what's going on at the ground floor of the material. I appreciate that touch of dynamic compression that these cans provided compared to my newly acquired PRO 650's. Don't get me wrong, these Sony MDR-V6's aren't overally compressed, they just aren't as dynamically open, wide and deep as the Ultrasones. For strictly post-production listening, I stay with the PRO 650's. For source mastering, I use my trusty Sony's.
Great value and nothing comes close to how these sound in their price segment. These compliment my needs very well...
7 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Good but not great
Posted by cbick from golden, CO on 2010-01-15Posted on Sony MDR-V6
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Better than most sub-$100 headphones
Cons: Not great
Do yourself a favor (or maybe this is the opposite of a favor to your wallet), and buy several headphones from different price ranges to compare, from somewhere that lets you try and return. In particular, compare these headphones to better ones in the range of closer to $200.
14 out of 17 people found this review unhelpful. Did you?
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