But the MDR-7506 was never really known for its hi-fi, audiophile-pleasing abilities.
So can Sony pull this trick off while also adding modern features like support for 3D spatial audio?
This often means accentuated low and high frequencies.
Sony
To some audiophiles, studio headphones may sound ‘duller’ than what they’re used to.
Open-Back Headphones vs Closed-Back
One way to categorize over-the-head headphones is whether they are open-back or closed-back.
The ones you are used to are probably closed.
Sony
You put them on, and a cup with a little speaker in it covers each ear.
This cup isolates you from the ambient sounds around you and also keeps your music private.
Open-back headphones are open to the air around them.
You may see that the backs are perforated, for example.
They have a few advantages over closed-back designs.
Also, imagine the cup enclosure, with the speaker “membrane” sealing it off.
It just feels like I’m listening to speakers.
However, this is also the biggest disadvantage of open-backed headphones.
They block no sound, so you’ve got the option to’t use them out on the street.
And if you use them in the office, everybody around you will hear them.
Which brings us to the new Sony MDR-MV1.
But the biggest changes are in what you hear.
And then there are the “HD driver units.”
These speaker drivers, Sony says, can reproduce sound from 5Hz to 80KHz.
For reference, human hearing tops out at around 20KHz, and that’s for teenagers.
A typical subwoofer won’t go below 20Hz.
But the problem is all headphones are a compromise.
The goal of listening headphones is to make the music sound as good as possible.
These are not always the same thing.
Add then there are even issues using open-back headphones in the studio.
