sound, construction, value

comfort

i recently recieved these headphones as a gift, i have been very satisfied with them they work well for what i do with them (gaming and a little MP3s) i was impressed at the rich bass in the games i played and some of my songs. however the main complaint i have is that they really hurt my ears (which are fairly large) after about 1 hour of usage. overall i thought that they were excellent headphones for the price and that its one short coming wasnt enough to make me not like it

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jensen

VERY accurate, flat response, best (most accurate) bass response under $150

Sometimes too accurate -- "analytical"

I'm writing primarily to counteract some of the incorrect reviews that claim
a) the V6s are not "accurate" enough to be studio monitors
b) they don't have enough bass, or have too much bass (which is it?)

The truth is that the MDR-V6 (and its identical "pro" line sibling, the MDR-7506) are one of the most accurate sets of headphones on the market, and clearly the most accurate Sony headphone below the 3000. They have one of the flattest response curves of any headphone, and are, in fact, so accurate that they can at times be slightly unpleasant to listen to -- they reveal too many of the flaws in the original recording. (Which is why they are *stellar* studio monitors.)

As for the bass response of the V6, they are one of the best on the market. The bass response is very flat and extended, which makes some people who aren't used to good, extended bass feel that there is "too much." On the other hand, the V6 have GOOD bass -- not boomy or exaggerated. This leads people who like boomy, exaggerated bass to think the V6 are "lacking" in the low end. Objectively, both are wrong -- the V6 have flat, extended, quality bass. Subjectively, some people may not like that, but it's not because of any shortcoming of these headphones.

If you want very good headphones with accurate sound, the V6 are a great buy. They differ in sound from the Grado SR-60 (the only other headphone in this price range I would consider "high-end"). The Grado are a bit more "forward" and "warm" while the Sony are a bit more balanced. Also, the Grado use an open design, while the V6 use a closed design. With the Grado, you can hear the outside world, and they can hear your music, while the V6 keeps noise out and in. Finally, because of the open/closed design, the Grado will provide a bit better soundstage, while the V6 will give you more precise audio cues for things like computer games.

If you want to make the V6/7506 much more comfortable, call up Beyerdynamics and buy a pair of velour earpads for the Beyer 250 headphones. They fit perfectly on the V6, are much more comfortable (and less sweat-inducing than the vinyl stock pads), and block out more noise.

P.S. The picture on this review page is not a picture of the MDR-V6.

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Own Senn HD600, Grados, Koss, Etymotics

Revealing sound, great bass, comfy when modded with Beyer velour pads

Uncomfortable with the original pads; revealing sound.

I got these at about the same time I bought my Koss KSC-35s. To compare them would not be right, as I believe they have different uses.

The V6'es have a very revealing sound. You can hear everything in the record, which can be both a good and bad thing. On one hand you can get as close to what the sound is "supposed" to be like; on the other hand, you lose some sense of the music because the imperfections show up.

People have compared this to the V600 and have commented on the "lack of bass" on these. It'd be wise to ignore these folks; while it's true that the V6'es seem to have less bass, the V600s have bloated mid-bass, which makes the headphones sound boomy. Ironically, if you enjoyed the "boomy" sound of V600s, you can get that kind of sound for much less: the KSC-35s have killer bass, and the UR-20 / 30's from Koss also are loaded with bass. The latter two are more similar to the V600s as they tend to be a bit boomy.

Comfort is subpar with the pads supplied; while it's far better than a lot of headphones, it can be made MUCH better. Incidentally, BeyerDynamic's DT-250 headphones have the same cup size, and its velour pads will fit the V6es perfectly. With twice the thickness of pads, the headphones become much more comfortable to wear; sweating has become much less of a problem for me with these pads as well.

Because these phones are tremendously accurate, they are perfect for gaming. It's fairly easy to pinpoint where a sound is coming from with this set.

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Sony MDR-CD160, Sony MDR-V600

Very accurate musical presentation; realistic bass with a good amp; portability

relatively narrow soundstage; earpads

These are excellent headphones if you want to hear what is really on a recording. They are easily driven by most portable sources and they do not leak sound very much. They are therefore good in environments where you want to either keep the music in or other sounds out. The use of an outboard headphone amp really opens the presentation of these up especially on complex musical passages. Compared to the V6's the v600's have an artificially inflated bass, boomy-boxey sound and very unbalanced frequency presentation. These are much, much better phones than v600's.

The problem with the earpads can be easily solved by substituting the velour pads made for Beyerdynamic 250's. They are way more comfortable and you do not have the flaking problem of the original pads. The headband can be easily adjusted for fit and tightness. Overall I find them very comfortable with the pad replacement.

Overall my recommendation is to buy these or the 7506's if you are even considering buying the v600's. The V600's are just bad phones.

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Grado SR-60, Alessandro MSII

THE reference headphone - for most of us.

Ear pads crumble under U.S. globally warmed, ozone depleted, acid rain skies. (I hear they last forever in Hokkaido :-)

As I said THE standard ... not saying they're the best, only the reference.

Bought first pair ten years ago ... used at home ... in bad need of new pads, which I'll order from Sony Online 'soon as I'm finished with this. Second pair for the office were bought three years ago.

Stereo gear comes and goes, but these Sony's just Keep On Truckin' ... 'though I am looking at a pair of Etymotic ER-4s :-)

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Koss PRO-4a, Stax (tried, not bought!) ... MDR-V600, which I gave away!

I still love my MDR-V6, and the good news is the earcushions are under a new part number, and are only $6 each! Not the $35 a pair they were at 18 mos. ago.Most recently, I heard a $250 pair of Sennheiser's with a high end headphone amp. and all I can say, is it was very good! But for the average price of $70, the V6s are still a bargain, and still in demand by professionals.
I also heard the 600s...some think they are inferior. I did not notice any big difference, except the earpieces are much larger, no big advantage.

I too noticed that the phones pictured do not look anything like my MDR-V6's, these appear, to me, to be the MDR-V600's which replaced the "good old" MDR-V6. Although I have had great service from this headphone for over 6 years, and it is very comfortable on me, I have now moved on to the Sennheiser 580's with a Cosmic Headroom amp in hopes of finding bliss in heaphone listening. I think the Sony MDR-V6 (not the new MDR-V600) is a value at around 70 bucks!

I bought these headphones a while ago before I really knew what good sound was. They impressed me then, but after being exposed to better and better headphones, I've realized that they sound pretty average. However, they do a good job for me as DJ headphones, but sound quality wise, i give them:

Ahem.
Can it be that these headphones are made differently than they were some 6-7 years ago, when I got mine (if memory serves me)? I know mine don't look like the picture at the top of this page--completely different headband arrangement, although they do have a red and blue theme going on there. It doesn't sound like the same product from the reviews I'm reading, either. With my Musical Fidelity E-10 integrated amp (that has a headphone jack AND a phono preamp), they sound--get ready for this--fabulous. Time was, these were what you got for lightweight, comfortable long-term use in the home studio, radio production room, and so on. Then I thought they went away. Now, here they're back, but looking different and apparently sounding like shit. Thanks, Sony, for destroying my resale value!

Be an organ and tissue donor and inform your family of your decision.

A vintage five stars, oh one-star-giving son of a gun.

Why all the positive reviews? I found the Sonys to be insanely bad. The sound is murky most of the time with a tendency towards over-brightness at the top end with certain material. I wouldn't wish these headphones on my worse enemy! For this price go with the Grado SR-60--lightyears ahead of the Sonys in sound quality. Too bad there are no negative ratings, so I give these headphones a...