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97 of 98 people found the following review helpful:
Owner since 1992, December 14, 2005
I bought these headphones in 1992, and unlike most of the rest of the stuff I squandered my money on back then, these were and continue to be the real deal.
My earpads have flaked off their coating like everyone else. But no need to buy new phones, you can order the earpads from sony.com or some specialty audio stores:
MDR-V6/MDR-7506 Ear Pad
PART: X-2113-124-1
PRICE: $6.00 (US)
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90 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
A Classic, March 14, 2000
I can't recall how long I've owned my MDR-V6 phones, but it's easily been ten years. The sound is excellent, virtually uncolored, and unlike other top of the line headphones like Sennheiser's (which are VERY nice and well over $150.00) these sound as good used with a portable CD player as with a well powered home system.It was time to replace them since the cord is finally shorting too much to ignore any longer and my ears are always covered with black stuff and foam from the disintergrating earcups. I asked around and a colleague who is the audio technician on a popular TV show told me without hesitation, these are the ones to buy. It's what he uses on the set and at home. I'm glad Sony still makes 'em. Maybe I should buy another pair for ten years down the road...
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80 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
My favorite headphones, July 8, 2004
The Sony MDR-V6s were the first really good headphones I owned. After about 15 years of use, the foam padding was a bit run down. After doing the exhaustive search for the best headphones, I bought a pair of Sennheiser HD580s (I also own Etymotic ER-4Ps). Comparing the HD580 to my MDR-V6s, I would say that the MDR-V6s are better for two reasons. 1. The MDR-V6s are more comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and 2. The MDR-V6s have a telephone-like cord, which is easier to deal with than the straight HD580 cord. The sound quality was very good on both headphones, and about equal. I ended up buying new foam pads for my 15-year-old MDR-V6s, which made them feel like brand new headphones. I also bought a second pair of MDR-V6s, and shelved the HD580s for now. Do not buy the MDR-600s by mistake. I have never used them, but I have read numerous reviews that state that the MDR-600s are inferior to the MDR-V6s. You can still buy the MDR-V6s, but they are harder to find. I bought mine at millionbuy because Amazon did not have them in stock. For some reason, the MDR-V6 product name at Amazon magically changed to MDR-600, even though it is an entirely different product. I am not sure why this happened. The audioreview Web site has a great collection of headphone reviews.
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61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
BE CAREFUL ABOUT IGNORING THE COMFORT REVIEWS, January 3, 2008
I read and read and read the reviews on these and paid close attention to the comments on the tightness of the headphones. Nearly everyone says that the sound quality is so fantastic that it makes up for the uncomfortableness. I decided to go ahead and purchase them. Got them about 10 hours ago. While the sound is truly fantastic and getting better with every hour played (That break-in time suggested is definitely true.) the tightness on my ears is not making me happy. I'm a woman and do not have a big head or ears, in my opinion, and these phones are almost as uncomfortable as my previous pair of [...] Sony V150s. I'm trying to ignore it and hoping it gets more tolerable, but so far no. Even within a few minutes my ears start itching from the tightness.
I am boycotting Bose for their ridiculously inflated prices, but my mom has a pair of the Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones, and I LOVE them! [...] though. Yikes! I'm contemplating the Bose Triports I've been testing every time I go to Target. They are light as a feather and the sound seemed good from the demos. However, all reviews complain of the quality of the build on the headband. I don't want to pay [...] just to have the phones fall apart in a few months.
So, in my continuing quest I found some reviews on the V6 that mention replacing the pads with a velour pad from Beyerdynamic. The reviews on the difference in comfort are quite convincing. I'm buying these immediately and will report back my findings. [...]
All in all, I just wanted to write my review for anyone else that may be waffling on the comfort issue. Many say the sound is so good that it's worth the discomfort. Not for me. Comfort is a huge part of enjoying my time listening to music. I'm not an audiophile either though, so maybe it is worth it for those that can tell the difference in every type of sound. The sound in these is pretty awesome though. A couple of raw recorded songs that I was listening to with talking at the end actually caused me to jump because I thought someone was right behind me. I hope the replacement pads work because the sound quality is excellent, especially at this price.
Thanks for reading. BTW, I should have given them 4 stars but can't change it.
2/8/08 - The pads help some but they still pinch my ears a bit. I found that taking out the middle foam section actually helps give my ear more room to hang out in there, but...... I actually went out and bought the Bose Triports, and while the comfort level was much better, the sound quality compared to the Sony's doesn't even compare, especially if you enjoy bass. I tried to like the Bose enough to justify the [...] I paid for them, but after several days of comparing they have been packaged up and will be returned to Target. The Sony's blow them out of the water. I am going to keep trying to get used to the pinch. That's how much I love these things, just like everyone else writes about. I've been hooked. I'm listening with them right now, and I'm in my own world. The kids could be screaming and I couldn't hear a thing. Probably not the best thing to do to my husband. LOL
UPDATE 5/14/08 - still loving these things, but I'm still getting the itchy ear when listening for any length of time. The velour pad replacement has made it 50% better though. The coil cord is also heavy. I can't leave it hang down. I have to pick it up and lay it on my lap so the pull isn't there. (I plug into my hard drive which is on the floor.) All in all though, I'm still very happy with my purchase. One more thing I would suggest, however, is to be careful when you pull the cord out of the jack. Be sure to pull from the metal and not anywhere on the plastic. I can see how these might get broken after a while if you always pull from the plastic. Happy listening!
8/25/08 - When you come back to edit your review this many times, you must be passionate about the product. And I am. Still love these phones. I'm used to the tightness now. One of my best purchases for the money.
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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
Unbeatable value, January 3, 2004
I have been a headphone fanatic for thirty years and have owned and used a variety of headphones over those years, to include Stax SR-5, Sennheiser HD-424 and HD-580. The Sony MDRV6 excells as the best value of any headphone that I've ever owned. They are especially good at producing natural-sounding deep bass, and the overall octave-to-octave balance is excellent. The sound quality is all in all comparable to other headphones that cost considerably more.The MDRV6 is especially well-suited for travel due to the collapsible design, and for noisy environments or for quiet environments such as a library where the sound emitted by open-back headphones would distract others. The MDRV6 is not quite as comfortable as some other headphones, but the comfort can be improved enormously by replacing the pads with the velour pads from BeyerDynamic. The pads that come on the MDRV6 have a non-breathable cover, and significant additional discomfort is caused by the way that the thin foam cover is glued to the pad around the inner circumference of the pad, which prevents the top and back of your ear from slipping into the space between the pad and the face of the headphone. This forces the pad to rest on the back of the ear, which compresses the ear and eventually becomes uncomfortable. I read on a web forum where several people had replaced the pads (which eventually come apart) with a velour pad made by BeyerDynamic, and after I did this replacement on my one pair that had a damaged pad, the increase in comfort was so great that I immediately did the other pair. The thin cover can be glued down to the headphone face if needed to hold it in place, which then allows the top and rear of your ear to naturally slide under the inner circumference of the pad, which is considerably more comfortable. I can recommend this trivial modification without reservation to anyone who owns these headphones. Even if you don't replace the pads with the BeyerDynamic velour pads, I suggest removing the pads anyway, then carefully separating the thin cover from the pad, and glueing the cover directly to the headphone surface.
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
Sony MDR-V6, February 6, 2000
I purchased my Sony MDR-V6 headphones in my very early teens (if not earlier) after reading a review in Stereo Review (I believe). Since then, they've gotten tons of use and I've seen them everywhere. I've gone through 3 or 4 cords over the years and they're finally falling apart. I wanted another pair but settled (ha!) on MDRV600's, which are very muddy - all mids. They're going back today to Best Buy and I'm getting a new set of V6's from here -- I can't believe Sony has kept this model alive so long. These are incredible 'phones. Trust me.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
Great headphones, November 2, 2006
NOTE: These headphones are in every way the same as the MDR-7506's, well-loved headphones for studio work. Even the replacement part #'s are exactly the same. So this review is for either one (I bought both).
Anyone who has been listening to music on normal street headphones will be blown away by these. The first thing you notice is how soft and comfortable they are to wear - the earcups surround your ears, leaving no pressure on the ears themselves. Then, when the music starts, you notice:
1) background noise is blocked out
2) bass is full and punchy, not muddy, boomy, or distorted
3) every detail shines through
4) the music is LOUD for the given volume setting
Here are my comments on these four aspects:
1) background noise is blocked out
Because these headphones surround your ears and are "closed back," they really do diminish outside noise. It's nothing like the Bose active noise-cancelling headphones, though - these ones just turn down the volume on outside noise rather than pulling the plug on it. This is on purpose - many headphone designers feel that active noise cancellation discolors the sound too much.
2) bass is full and punchy, not muddy, boomy, or distorted
The drivers are big on these, and the CCAW coils let them draw power when they need it without getting muddy. If you do hear distortion, it's probably that your player can't dish up enough power, so try switching to a good amp. My portable CD players works fine though, and I hear ipods do too.
3) every detail shines through
These headphones are really detailed, meaning they reproduce high mids and trebles well. You will probably hear things you've never heard before like breaths, guitar fretboard noises, and string instruments. However, this makes you feel like you're right in the middle of everything, and it can get tiring after an hour or two.
4) the music is LOUD for the given volume setting
The impedance on these is lower than most headphones, which means that for a given voltage these will draw more current and hence sound louder. However, power is power, and your battery only has so much of it. So these don't necessarily extend battery life, they just give you more options for how quickly to use it.
For comparison, I also own the Sennheiser HD 201, 280Pro, and 595. All are more soothing (less bright) while retaining the detail. The 201's don't match the bass or noise dampening of the V6's. The 280Pro's don't have quite the same bass (still great!), are much less comfortable, but block noise better and sound sweeter. The 595's are superior to the V6's in every way (bass accuracy, sweetness, comfort) except that they intentionally don't block out noise at all and require a good amp to sound their best. (Plus they cost almost twice as much as the V6's.)
In summary, you'd be hard pressed to find a better price/performance/comfort balance than the V6's. Try the HD 201's first for classical or instrumental music (they only cost $20, so trust me, try them!), but if you want noise dampening and/or punchy bass, don't hesitate to grab a pair of these.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Still making them... because they're still amazing..., November 29, 2005
My pair is 20+ years old. I've tried others, including some that are very expensive, and I keep coming back to the V6s. They are not the equal of a couple others I have, but the others are much more expensive. The V6's just might be one piece of A/V equipment that's been in production the longest. There is a very good reason for that: how they sound. It's no accident that they're used as studio monitors.
Three things to keep in mind:
1. One thing that makes them very good for iPods is that they don't require much power. So, unlike many other good headphones, these can be driven by an iPod without needing a headphone-amp.
2. Three other features that makes them especially good for iPods: (a) they come with a mini-plug, not the big phono plug that many headphones have, (b) they fold up and become small (for headphones, not for earbuds), and (c) they are CHEAP (so you don't feel it's too risky to carry them all over creation).
3. The ear pads fall apart after a few years, but that's really a blessing because you can then spend about $25 and get replacement cushions for the Beyer DT250 or DT280 that are much better. They have a velour surface rather than Sony's plastic. If I'd known this back then, I would have gotten replacement cushions before the original ones fell apart.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
The best pair of headphones I've ever owned, June 17, 2005
I cannot speak highly enough about these headphones. I originally bought a pair of Sony MDR V600 headphones. They were a little cheaper than these but seemed to be a good pair. And they were. Their sound was beautiful. It was crisp and clear with deep powerful bass and smooth highs. My only problems with the 600's was that after about an hour my ears would start to hurt. That and they wouldn't fit well under my welding helmet.
So I returned the 600's and continued my research towards which headphones to buy. I wanted a closed circumaural design to not only block out outside noises, but also because I have sensitive ears, and circumaural would be more comfortable for me. I came across these headphones and after reading positive review after positive review, I decided to throw down a little extra cash and purchase them.
I couldn't be more pleased! The sound of these cans is simply incredible. Especially out of my stereo. They are the best sounding headphones I've ever worn in this price range. They sound a little weaker running out of a portable cd player than my receiver, but they still can pack quite a wallop. It just loses a little of the crispness out my discman.
The only negative aspect I've heard of from these headphones is that the earcups will start to disintegrate after YEARS of use. This hasn't happened to mine yet, although I've only had them for about 6 months so far. That is such a minimal and easily replacable problem (You can purchase replacement earcups online) that I'm not worried about it.
These headphones can be worn for hours without much discomfort, which is impressive to me as my ears are very sensitive. They sound wonderful, and even fit under my welding helmet.
I cannot say enough positive things about these. I wish the cord could be changed (I like straight cords) but that's just me and minimal.
All in all these are a great pair of headphones that I recommend wholeheartedly!
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Real sound, dependable, and yeah, a great set of headphones., May 28, 2001
By A Customer
I don't know how to explain the sound these headphones provide, except to say that they sound very REAL. They represent the recording very accurately without distorting or altering the sound in any way, and they have the capacity to produce sound so you hear it the way the artist intended. They do this better than any headphones I have ever tried. What this means though, is that unlike more high-end fancier phones, you don't get as much 3-D layering. But that's ok, because for the price you get headphones that have an incredibly wide range of coverage, with clean, clear bass and crisp highs. And they keep the sound in, so you can listen to them without disturbing anybody, in fact the person beside you won't even know if you have them turned on or not. I have more expensive headphones but I just love these, and I use them all the time. They are the trusted "workhorse" of headphones used by radio people and recording artists alike, they will definitely last you for years, and they're not too expensive to boot. What can I say? I love 'em.
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