I'm a bit apprehensive in writing this review because considering that these are seemingly discontinued by Sony and I'm thinking about buying another set, I'd rather it be kept a secret how good these headphones are. I've had them for about a month and the more I listen to them the more I like them. My best overall description of them is that while they aren't the absolute best in any one particular area, they are a solid 'B' in every aspect. I first saw these when they came out at the Sony showroom in Ginza a few years back. I only got to listen to them for a short time under less than ideal conditions and sort put them in the back of my mind ever since. Then one day out of curiosity I decided to see what they were selling for, seeing that the price for the 'Rolly' which came out at about the same time had substantially dropped (no- I don't have one of them!). After seeing how 'cheap' these had become and reading various reviews and taking in the very differing opinions about them my curiosity was stirred, and I decided that time was running out to get these so I bought a set.
First impressions- what a complicated looking contraption. While they may feel and look a bit fragile at first, closer examination reveals that they are quite well made. Most critical pieces are made of aluminum or other metals. Plastic parts appear to be the kind of plastic that won't crack or wear over time from UV, heat or pressure. Others made mention about the cheap appearance of the cable. And while I've have seen better elsewhere it looks to be similar in material and strength to other Sony 'MDRs' that I've owned and never had problems with. Note that these headphones will probably be used indoors and are not meant for activity, commuting, on-the-go, etc. Between their lightness and well distributed support of weight these feel good on my head. The metal 'bass tubes' that go in (more like 'on') your ears do feel a bit odd at first, but no worse than IEMs which I have no problem with. You will definitely not suffer from 'ear sweat' with these- one of the main reasons why I looked at these in the first place.
Sonically these are just good all around. So you know where I am coming from other headsets I currently listen to are: Sennheiser HD-580, AKG K-1000, Klipsch X5, Sony MDR-EX300, and Sony MDR-EX51 (at work). Before these were even sold there was the inevitable comparison with the AKG K-1000s based on their similar design philosophy. But if you are looking for the so-called K-1000 killer/ replacement this is not it. They are in different classes- both in price and sound. The Sonys, while sounding much more open than IEMs and most other 'conventional' headphones, don't have that same airy almost speaker-like quality of the K-1000s. Somewhere in the middle. And while they don't have the superb bass extension of the better IEMs, they do sound warmer and much better for popular music than the AKGs. Again, somewhere in the middle. I listen to everything from contemporary Jazz to R&B/ Rap and I think these headphones cover that broad range perhaps better than 90% of the earspeakers out there. The little 'AAA' powered 'booster' seems sonically transparent, but it will make listening to notoriously low-volumed Sheffield recordings possible on something like an iPod/Pad. Otherwise you can run these headphones without that little device if you think it gets in the way either physically or sonically. For a little more boost, I also tried my own Altoids can-housed CMOY based on an OPA2134PA chip which definitely could drive these louder but sonically sounded similar to Sony's device. The Sony device is a good compromise- it's light and adds just enough 'oomph'.
Slight Mod: In some forums I've read that people found the metal bass tube to be a bit uncomfortable and some solutions were posted. The PFRV1s come with small foam 'socks' to put over the bass tubes to address this. One guy said he used a foam tie-clip microphone windscreen (sold at Radio Shack) so I thought I'd give that a try too. It works fantastic! With it these headsets feel more like a set of earbuds (think earphones 10 years ago before IEMs) and an unintended consequence is that the sound to me is a bit smoother in the upper midrange area and you do not lose much if any detail or soundstage. The overall sound is warmer and easier to listen to over longer periods of time- again without losing detail or depth.
To sum up, as I said in the beginning these headphones may not have the best detail, widest soundstage or bass extension as a few others. But I've yet to find a headphone anywhere near this price (as of this writing under two bills) that has all of these. And being somewhat sensitive to 'ear sweats' I am almost automatically limited to IEMs, AKG K-1000-type cans, or short listening sessions to something very comfortable like the Sennheiser HD6xx. These Sonys however seem to do everything well within reason. It's sort of like the BMW 335i or 550i of headphones. Now all I have to do is decide if I want a back-up set while they are still available.
Customers also viewed these products
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 16, 2010
Product Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 6, 2010
Product Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
