Sony MDR-7506 Stereo Headphones, well used, showing the cable and the removable quarter-inch male gold-plated plug.
We owned the Sony dynamic stereo headphones, model MDR-7506 for over a decade and review them here. So we’ve played them with many CD players, headphone amps, iPods, mixing boards, USB audio interfaces, and stereo receivers. For the money, this is a truly affordable yet near-reference sounding headset.
We found them exceptional audio devices in many dimensions. These headphones appear very similar to the MDR-V500 Dynamic Headphones Review, that we’ve also owned and discussed. So just about anything we said about those, also applies to these MDR-7506s.
The MDR-7506 dynamic headphones offer nearly unsurpassed sound by any headset in their price class. Given how little these cost, we found little to gripe about. That ‘little’ we did find is that the ear cushions wear out quickly. Ours only lasted just two years. We replaced them several times now. Why? Because ours began shedding bits and pieces of the simulated leather coating. But you can get better-than-original replacements for under $20 a pair on eBay and Amazon. So this drawback is none too bad.
These Sony dynamic stereo headphones image the high frequencies with crystal clarity, and are sparing on the heavy bass;. But the discriminating listening can adjust this with an equalizer. Indeed they do handle the boosted bass quite well.
The lower bass output makes these phones play well with an iPod. Since iPods are heavy on the bass anyhow. the lower bass of the 7506s flattens out the overall sound.
We’ve used this headphone with iPods on many train trips. We find them comfortable enough to sleep in there. Thus, the MDR-7506 phones are likely the best-sounding and most comfortable for the cost that we’ve ever owned.
So if around $75 is your sweet-spot price for earphones, then buy the MDR 7506. For that money, you get a fairly flat-response and rugged pair of audio head-gear. This product is proof positive that Sony does headsets quite well.
The MDR7506 sports foamy, soft cushions, coated with a thin, resilient black film that gives them a soft, leathery texture. This further enhances the comfort level.
The ear cushions feature oval-shaped openings that allow them to work well as an ear-surrounding (around the ear) (over the ear) design. But these openings are rather small. Indeed, some ears just barely fit inside, and may not fit inside at all if bigger than average.
So the inner edges of the leathery cushion rims always touch our ears when wearing them. This might be a problem with other phones, whose cushions are not as soft as these. But this causes little discomfort with this stereo headset.
Much bigger that ear bud speakers. As such, you get a fuller, louder, true-bass sound from the 40 mm drivers.
These stereo headphones reproduce well everything from techno to bluegrass. From classical to classic rock. They have enough dynamic range and headroom to belt out the loudest of the loud. Yet they are sensitive enough to sound out even the softest music.
The outside perimeter of the silky soft pads are circular in shape and medium-sized in circumference. Helps in that they can fold up into a highly compact shape, requiring only modest storage space.
These are not heavy. In fact, they’re light enough that they do not press too hard against eyeglasses or earrings. Plus, the speakers accommodate a wide range of head sizes. You can adjust this by moving each can in or out of the head band.
Much lighter than the Koss Tech 2 headphones we used prior. While the 7506s are closed back like the Tech 2s, they’re perhaps fifty percent lighter. Thus, we never need to take off our glasses while listening. Further, we can listen for much longer without fatigue and pain from squished ears.
The headband includes spongy padding as well that further enhances overall comfort, and matches the sheen of the ear cushions. These phones indeed feel as comfortable as they sound good.
They look as good as they sound. They have black with silver trim, with a blue and gold “Professional” sticker on the back of each phone. This gives them a simple yet sleek and modern hi-tech look.
The MDR 7506 comes with foldable ear pieces. These retract up inside the headband. This folding shrinks the size of the overall unit down to a small size. They are then small enough to fit in the included black travel pouch. The pouch has an open end that you can close with a built in a string and sliding adjuster.
These dynamic headphones can play satisfactorily loud, with the wide dynamic range over most of the audio frequency band. This suits them particularly for widely varying volume levels, such as those found in classical music.
For listing to the more constantly loud pop music, the MDR-7506 can play loud enough to sting ears. Still though, there’s little increase in clipping or other loss in fidelity.
They are highly sensitive, in that they’ll play quit loud enough with a little iPod Nano feeding them.
You can wear these either way. I.e. Left earphone on left ear, or left earphone on right ear. They are equally comfortable either way when you first buy them.
But after perhaps fifty or more hours of wearing them one way they feel more comfortable that way. E.g. The band and ear cups can adapt themselves. This is due to the bending and constant pressing against the ears to the way you wear them most often. So the 7506s may seem less comfortable when worn the other way.
But this discomfort doesn’t last. Indeed, the phones will, after a little while, reshape themselves to the new way of wearing them.
Now you cannot detach the coiled audio cable. But replacing it is not hard as long as you have a screwdriver, cutters, and a soldering iron. Buy new cables from many web vendors.
The MDR7506 reduce surrounding noise adequately for moderately quiet environments, which is a useful feature of their closed-air design. A metal back plate boxes in the driver speaker in each earpiece. This helps keep program sound in, and outside noises out.
Thus, there’s not much escaping audio from these. So, these are a good choice to listen to when you wish not to disturb people nearby. They pack down to a highly portable size, and are great on long bus or airplane trips.
Despite their lightness, these dynamic stereo headphones seem quite rugged. They can take severe abuse without failing. We have to admit that we’ve often dropped them on tables or concrete floors. But no breakage or failure occurred. Thus, they hold up well in rough listening settings. E.g. Studios, DJ gigs, and bumpy train rides. So aside from the ear cushions, that peel and flake too quikly, these phones work well. Plus, they hold up for years to the rigors of daily home listening.
Use an equalizer if you must. But even without one, the MDR-7506 sound great, and loud if you wish. Never are they tinny or too booming.
Their high fidelity sound makes this headphone a great choice for studio recording and broadcast. Indeed, their durable build suits them well for in-the-field broadcast reporting and live concert monitoring.
As mentioned earlier, these headphones cost on the low side. So we found none too many valid complaints to make about them. But here are several gripes we managed to come up with after much listening and thinking.
The ear cans are rather shallow. Thus, the front of the driver touches most ears. This is a sensation that can distract one from the playing program. But again with the soft cloth that covers the driver, this does not interfere with comfy listening. Any discomfort from shallow cans one might notice, is low.
The MDR7506 coated foam ear cushions begin flaking, pealing, and coming apart too soon after buying. But if you don’t mind the flakes getting in your hair, the pads still feel comfortable even when peeling. Plus, they still keep in the music almost as well, indefinitely.
The cables are hard to replace, since they are not detachable. However, they CAN be replaced by someone with a bit of skill with a soldering iron. Replacement coil-cable, ones that have the 3.5mm stereo plug already installed, are readily available.
The ears can sometimes ring after listening for very long periods. This is due we think, to the strong mid-range response of these phones. But with an equalizer, we tweak this down. We then can listen for many hours on end without any ear ringing.
They are not equipped with gold connectors.
The Sony MDR7506 Dynamic Stereo Headphones are a great buy, and are even better performers. We would therefore, buy them again and again, in spite of the quick-aging ear cushions. We’d therefore rate this product at 93 out of 100.
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