The MDR-MV1 are Sony’s latest studio mixing and monitoring headphones. They might be thought of the religious successors to the legendary MDR-7506, which have been round for over 32 years and are nonetheless on sale.
Not like earlier Sony headphones meant for studio use, the MV1 are open-back headphones. Sony intends these for use extra particularly for mastering spatial audio, which is changing into more and more widespread nowadays with the appearance of Dolby Atmos (and fewer so due to Sony’s personal 360 Actuality Audio).
On this evaluation, I might be checking if the MV1 are match for his or her supposed function and the way they carry out for different duties, comparable to listening to music and enjoying video games.
Design
The MV1 have a reasonably normal, unassuming design in all-black. The steel earcups have mesh throughout, making all the again porous. The plastic yokes hook up with the headscarf that adjusts with a easy sliding mechanism. The mechanism is easy and there are markings so you may get them even on either side and make a remark for various customers.
The scarf has a leather-like materials on the highest with stitching across the edges. The underside has tender foam padding that’s principally concentrated across the center of the headscarf and would not go all the best way as much as the ends.
The earcups have large foam pads with a tender velour-like texture. The earpads have a depth of 2cm earlier than your ears contact the fabric grille on the within after which one other 0.5cm earlier than they contact the onerous plastic grill. The earpads are detachable however so far as I am conscious Sony doesn’t promote replacements. Getting new pads when these inevitably flatten out and alter the sound profile goes to be troublesome and as soon as once more you’ll have to depend on aftermarket sellers.
The headphones have a single-sided connection on the left earcup. By default, the MV1 include a single lengthy 2.5m cable with a 3.5mm connector on one finish and a 6.3mm connector on the opposite finish. The smaller one plugs into the headphones and there may be additionally a screw mechanism that secures it in place. You additionally get an adapter that converts the 6.3mm plug to three.5mm.
The standard of the cable is nice and the usage of steel for the connector ends on either side feels improbable. Nevertheless, I’d have most popular if there have been two cables within the field, the longer 2.5m cable with the 6.3mm finish and a shorter 1m cable with a 3.5mm finish, one thing many different cheaper headphones include. The equipped adapter can be needlessly cumbersome and heavy sufficient to pull your cellphone for those who occur to plug it into one.
The general construct high quality of the headphones is nice. Sony headphones generally tend to not really feel notably premium at first however find yourself outlasting their house owners. I’ve little doubt the MV1 can even age properly until you’re particularly abusive.
The headphones are additionally very comfy. The pads really feel comfy and have nice depth to them that most individuals ought to discover accommodating. They’re additionally not too heavy and have simply the correct amount of clamping pressure. I wore them for hours enjoying video games and felt no discomfort or fatigue.
Being meant for studio use, the MV1 do not include a whole lot of equipment within the field. The field itself is straightforward and inside are the aforementioned cable and adapter together with the headphones.
Efficiency
The notion of open-back studio headphones for mixing and mastering as an alternative of simply monitoring is considerably intriguing. Should you ask studio engineers, they’ll let you know the one time headphones are utilized in studios is for monitoring the performers or as a secondary supply for checking for points within the combine. There may be virtually no precise mixing or mastering occurring with headphones, not to mention open-back ones, as that’s solely the area of studio screens, a.ok.a. audio system.
I’ll get again to that however first, let’s discuss concerning the sound. The MV1 don’t sound like what I count on studio mixing and mastering headphones to sound. Sony claims the sound is “impartial”, “correct”, and “uncolored” however it’s none of these issues.
Initially, the sound is comparatively bassy. The MV1 have a reasonably wide-band bass enhance within the mid and higher bass frequencies. It is not sufficient to name the headphones bass-heavy however there may be simply sufficient further vitality in these areas that the sound is constantly heat and rumbly. There is not as a lot low bass vitality so there is not a deeper thump accompanying the rumble, which feels a bit unsatisfying if you’re merely listening to music and never monitoring. If you’re monitoring it’s possible you’ll be questioning why there may be a lot mid-bass in any respect and for those who tousled in some way whereas mixing.
The mid-range can be a bit in every single place. The decrease mids are coloured by the higher bass vitality spilling over, giving deeper vocals additional depth and heat not current within the combine.
Sadly, the higher mids disappoint essentially the most. The MV1 are fairly missing within the higher mid-range territory, which makes the sound a bit uninteresting, like a picture that’s simply out of focus. It coats all vocals with a layer of mush and, coupled with the bassy decrease mids, simply sounds darkish and murky.
The treble efficiency is first rate in isolation. The higher treble could be a bit shiny at occasions however total the treble efficiency is surefooted and satisfying with good extension and replica. Sadly, the suppressed higher mids may cause the treble to sound extra spiky than it’s (a trough earlier than a peak additional highlights the height), which places extra give attention to the higher treble. This, coupled with the bass, can truly give the sound a slight v-shaped leaning.
I am positive Sony has a motive to tune the sound this manner however I can not determine what it’s. Dubbing this as ‘headphones for mixing and mastering’ is simply odd as that is not one thing headphones are normally used for in studio surroundings. The particular point out of spatial audio can be bizarre since you do not grasp spatial content material on headphones because the sound will flip together with your head, making any form of mastering pointless. Their open again nature additionally makes them ill-suited for monitoring in a sound sales space. You possibly can use them for monitoring after the blending and mastering is completed however the sound tuning as soon as once more works towards them.
So they aren’t appropriate to be used in a studio however how about simply listening to music? Right here, the MV1 do not fare too dangerous. I wasn’t notably keen on the bass dropping off because it went additional down the frequency vary and the dearth of higher mid-range readability continued to grind my gears. Nonetheless, for essentially the most half, the MV1 are pleasurable when purely getting used for listening to music for the enjoyment of it.
Nevertheless, one of the best use I received out of the MV1 was for gaming. Due to the spacious soundstage and nice imaging qualities, the MV1 are reasonably good relating to gaming. As somebody who performs for a number of hours each day, the consolation, correct audio positioning, and comparatively balanced sound in comparison with “gaming” headsets made these glorious for gaming. The one factor lacking is a microphone.
The MV1 are very easy-to-drive headphones. You possibly can basically energy them with something and nonetheless get ample quantity. Even with a fundamental Shanling UA2, the MV1 would get very loud at round 50% quantity. A desktop amplifier can be good because it means you would not want to make use of the clunky adapter however is not crucial.
Competitors
There isn’t a scarcity of competitors within the headphone house. For studio use, Beyerdynamic headphones have lengthy been the benchmark. The closed-back choices like DT 770 Professional are good for expertise monitoring and the open-back DT 990 Professional are good for monitoring post-mixing to search for flaws. Their shiny, virtually harsh tuning makes them best for this function.
For listening to music, the HiFiMan Sundara, usually thought of among the finest pair of headphones you should purchase, are higher sounding. If you’re on a funds, then the HE400se is a terrific choice. For gaming, the Sennheiser x Drop PC38X is a superb choice and if you do not need a mic simply get the 560s. And sure, all of those are cheaper than the MV1.
Conclusion
At $400, the Sony MDR-MV1 are considerably expensive pair of headphones. I feel Sony has missed the touchdown on the entire ‘studio mixing and mastering headphones’ angle with a surprisingly coloured, v-shaped tuning. They’re good for listening to music and even higher for gaming however onerous to advocate for these use instances on the present value when there are cheaper and higher alternate options accessible. However for those who in some way handle to get them for $250 or much less then they’re positively price contemplating.
