Sony MDR-7520 Professional Studio Headphones

Comments about Sony MDR-7520 Professional Studio Headphones:

Critical listening, audio production. I own Sennheiser HD650's which I love, but can't always use due to their open design in my home studio for isolation purposes. These fit the bill nicely. They're not completely burned in, but even out of the box they sound great. Highly responsive bass, intelligible mids and crisp highs. I love them. They're also comfy and have the perfect length removable cable. I use them with my CEntrance DACport headphone amp.

Comments about Sony MDR-7520 Professional Studio Headphones:

Amazing low end for headphones!

Comments about Sony MDR-7520 Professional Studio Headphones:

I am a classical musician who records in concert halls- mostly chamber music (piano, brass, strings, percussion). I have always used Sony headphones when I engineer and produce, although I have tried out a number of other brands (Sennheiser, Grado). I would be the first to say that headphone sound, like speaker sound, is a personal choice, so read on with a grain of salt.

I was looking to upgrade my headphones and decided to try out a few pairs. After some research I focused in on the Sony MDR 7520 and the Sony MDR 7509HD. I am thrilled with both. They are clean, accurate and present in terms of sound. I can hear lots of detail in the variety of musical ensembles I have recorded, however it is a pure sound, uncolored and true to what you would hear live. I should also add that I use a variety of microphones, but stear mostly towards the Earthworks omnis- mics known for their true sound, no coloration- they pick up just about exactly what you hear- great for recording classical music in a hall. The Earthworks/Sony combo feels like a great pairing. The 7520 and 7509HD are both excellent phones for producing, engineering and editing- you get an incredibly true sense of what is being recorded.

For kicks I tried these headphones out on my stereo system listening to mastered and released recordings- the sound was as you would expect- very present, somewhat bright, almost too clear for "casual" listening- you get the detail that you hope for when recording and none of the coloration. I then went back to my pre-mastered Pro Tools sessions and listened with both pairs (7520 and 7509) and made the realization of why these are such great studio headphones- clarity and accuracy of sound, perfect for hearing what you are recording. They no longer sounded bright like they did on my stereo- they just sounded true.

If I had to compare these two headphones, the listening I did on my stereo of mastered recordings sort of helped in the distinguishing of each- the 7520's felt brighter than the 7509HD on released recordings, which made me think I preferred the 7509HD; but when I went back to listening in Pro Tools I found the 7520's to have a bit more clarity and detail. This was a very slight difference, but a difference none the less. Kind of like going from 11 point font to 12 point font (not a big deal to read 11 point font on its own, but when you compare it side by side with 12 point, there IS a difference- each will do just fine, but why not go with more detail if you can get it). I decided to keep both, since I usually have a need for at least two pairs of headphones at recording sessions- might as well have a choice.

The only negative I found was that the 7509HD made a little bit of noise if my head position changed while listening- since they fold for storage, the hinges have some give, thus creating a little bit of sound when you move slightly- not a huge deal, but when you are listening with a fine tooth comb for any and all sounds in the mix, you want the phones to be snug and quiet. The 7520's don't make ANY extraneous sounds. Both headphones fit well, are comfy and look fantastic- the 7520's have an especially smooth, simple design- very sharp aesthetically. I'd say that even though the 7509's move a bit when on, they are likely to be the more comfortable of the two for most people- bigger ear pads, larger cup around your ear, less gripping on your head; but having said that, the 7520's still feel great when on.

I would say, and this is typical with any Professional level Sony headphone, you're money is well spent on either of these. I am very happy with my purchase (of course, I did end up keeping both).