Review of Sony MDR 7506 Headphones

Sony MDR-7506 dynamic stereo headphones, stock photo.

We owned the Sony MDR-7506 headphones for almost two decades. Thus we’ve played them on lots of CD players, headphone amps, iPods, mixing boards, USB audio interfaces, and stereo receivers. Our overall experience with the 7506 has been quite good. So here we offer our Review of Sony MDR 7506 Headphones. We detail and sum up all of these experiences, thoughts, and suggestions.

We found them exceptional audio devices in numerous aspects. These earphones appear very much like the MDR-V500 units, that we’ve also owned. So just about anything we said about those, also applies to the MDR-7506s.

The Sony MDR-7506 Stereo Headphones, well used, showing the cable and the removable quarter-inch male gold-plated plug.

Review of Sony MDR 7506 Headphones: Summary

The MDR-7506 likely offer unsurpassed sound by any headphone pair in their price class. Given how little these cost, we found little to gripe about except that the ear cushions expire quickly. Ours started flaking after only two years. We’ve had to replace them several times now because they begin shedding bits and pieces of the fake leather coating. But you can obtain replacements for under $10 a pair on eBay and directly from Sony. So this drawback is minor at worst.

Now, back to their virtues. These Sony studio monitor grade headphones image the high frequencies with crystal clarity. Plus, they spare some of the heavy bass;. But you can adjust this with an equalizer. Indeed they do handle well the enhanced bass that an equalizer can make.

The lower bass output makes these phones great for iPod listening. The heavy bass iPods have balances the light bass in the 7506. We’ve used this unit with iPods on many a train trip. We find them comfy enough to sleep in. So, these are likely the best-sounding headphones for the cost that we’ve ever owned.

So if $50 to $100 is your price for a respectable Sony product, then buy these. For that money, you get a fairly flat-response and lasting pair of decent gear. Sony does headsets quite well.

Review of Sony MDR 7506 Headphones: Benefits, Features, Advantages, and Pros

Comfortable Fitting Ear Cushions

The Sony MDR7506 sports foamy, soft cushions. They coat these with a thin, leather like, black film for its good looks and softness. Plus, this further enhances the comfort.

Over Ear Design

The ear cushions have oval openings. So these let them work well as an ear-surrounding over ear design.

However, these openings are rather small. Indeed, some ears just barely fit inside. Further, bigger ears may not fit inside at all. Therefore, the inner edges of the leathery cushion rims always touch our ears when wearing them. This might be a problem with other phones, with harder cushions. But this causes little discomfort with this headset.

Sony MDR 7506 Headphones have Large Speaker Drivers

Much bigger that ear bud speakers, and as such, you get a fuller, true-bass sound sensation.

Great for All Musical Genres

They reproduce well everything from techno to bluegrass, and classical to classic rock music. They have enough dynamic range and headroom to belt out the loudest of the loud. Plus, they’re sensitive enough faithfully play even the softest music passage.

Retractable Phones

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.

Lightweight

These are not heavy. In fact, they’re light enough for specs wearers. They offer a wide range of headband size range. So you can adjust them for most anyone so that they do not press too hard against eyeglasses or earrings. Much lighter than the Koss Tech 2 headphones we used prior. While the 7506s are close back like the Tech 2s, they’re just half as heavy. Thus, we need never take off our specs while listening. Plus, the lighter weight allows for much longer listening without fatigue.

Plush Headband on the Sony MDR 7506 Headphones

The headband includes spongy padding as well. This further enhances overall comfort, and matches the sheen of the ear cushions. These phones indeed feel as comfortable as they sound good.

Eye-Catching Build

They look as good as they sound too. They have a black and 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 facade.

Leather-Like Storage Bag

These Sony headphones have foldable ear pieces. These retract up inside the headband. This then shrinks the size of the whole unit so that it fits in the included black travel pouch. The pouch has a closeable opening via a string and sliding adjuster.

Lots of Volume

These 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.

Low Distortion Sound Output

For listing to the louder pop music, the Sony MDR-7506 headphones play loud enough to sting ears. Yet they play without any more distortion.

Efficient Speakers in the Sony MDR 7506 Headphones

They are highly efficient, in that they’ll play quit loud enough with an iPod driving them.

Asymmetrical Ear Cans

Wear these either way (left earphone on left ear, or left earphone on right ear). They feel comfortable in either position when new.

But after fifty plus hours of wearing one way, the headband and ear cups shape themselves to your ears. This happens due to bending and pressing against the ears. So they may feel less comfortable when you reverse them.

But this discomfort lasts just a short time. Why? Because the phones quickly reshape to your new way of wearing.

Replacement Cords Available for the Fix It Yourself Types

You cannot unplug the cable from the unit. Yet replacing it is fairly easy. For this work, you need a screwdriver, cutters, and a soldering iron. Also, you can find new cables from many vendors.

Decent Sound Isolating

They 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 sound inside the cans, and outside noises out.

Very Portable

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.

The Sony MDR 7506 Headphones are Light But Rugged

Despite their lightness, these dynamic earphones seem quite rugged. They can take severe abuse without failing. Indeed, we often drop them on tables or concrete floors. But no breakage. Thus, these hold up well in rough places like as studios, DJ gigs, and bumpy train rides. Aside from the ear cushions peeling too soon, these phones hold up for decades.

Even Flat Sound Sounds Great

Use an equalizer if you must. But even without one, the MDR-7506s sound great, and loud if you wish. Never are they tinny or booming.

Great for Studio and Live Broadcast Uses

Their high fidelity sound makes this headphone a great choice for studio recording and broadcast. Further, their durable build suits them for field broadcast reporting and live concert coverage.

Review of Sony MDR 7506 Headphones: Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Limitations

As mentioned earlier, given the low price of these Sony headphones, we found little to grumble about. But after much thought, we find that we do indeed have a few gripes. So here those are.

Where’s the Gold?

Ni gold connectors on the spring coil cord.

Non Detachable Cord

The cables are hard to replace, since they are not detachable. But with a bit of skill with a soldering iron, you can install a new cord. Replacement coil-cable, ones that have the 3.5mm stereo plug already installed, are readily available.

Cushions Wear Quickly on the Sony MDR 7506 Headphones

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 into your hair now and again, the pads still feel soft. Plus, they still keep the music in.

Too Much Mid Range

Our ears sometimes ring after listening for a long time. This is due we think, to the strong Sony MDR 7506 headphones mid range response. But with an equalizer, we tweak this down and then, listen for many hours without this ringing intruding.

Phones Not Deep Enough

The ear cans are rather shallow. Thus, the front of the driver speaker touches most ears. This feeling can distract one from paying full attention to the program playing.

But the overall softness of the ear cushions offsets this little problem. That is, these phones still feel comfy even though the speaker fronts touch your ears.

Our Rating

The Sony MDR 7506 professional studio monitor headphones are a great buy, and an even better performer. We would therefore, buy them again and again, in spite of the flaking ear cushions. We’d therefore rate this product at 93 out of 100.