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Posted 20 hours ago

Sony MDR-1A Prestige Overhead Headphones - Black

£9.9£99Clearance
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About this deal

The MDR-1A and both of it’s color options offer a lot of modern appeal with the use of clean, rounded shapes, soft and supple (fuax?) leather with “invisible” seams, while also providing some old-fashioned, tried-and-true headphone design techniques, such as how the enclosed speakers appear as distinct circles as opposed to a unibody design that blends into the earpads. From the moment you plug them in and pop them over your ears, everything sounds exceptional whatever your musical genre of choice. Bass response is top drawer, punchy without being over the top, while mid-level and higher frequencies are crisp and clear. The separation of sound gives an all-encompassing stereo listen that's really engaging - more so if you have high-resolution audio files - and although it's not a neutral listen, the Sony MDR-1A add the exact kind of pomp we like our audio to have. The only thing I really dislike about them is how moving around makes the plastic creak. Sounds cheap. I loved the SQ of these. They sounded very balanced, not exactly neutral, but very dang close to the middle. My only other pair I could use for reference was my old pair of HD 429's. Of course, it wouldn't be a very fair review if I compared an item that costs nearly 6 times more. To summarize that short rant, I love them. They included 2 removable cables, one with a mic and play/pause button. Very wise decision indeed. These, are just comfortable. no beating around the bush. They weigh almost nothing, and the pads are very comfortable (Pleather) They do get a little hot, but that's a after hours and hours of listening. Durability is another huge plus, although they're made from plastic, the headband's metal, which make these pretty durable. Cable's removable, so if a cable breaks, just swap it out. Although the design is something subjective, I will nonetheless give my opinion on it. They look awesome. I'm especially fond of the red streak that goes around the housing of the headphones. These Sonys? They have bass in spades. Nicely controlled, and taut. They have a silky smooth midrange. The treble is very, very clear and detailed. They are tremendously dynamic. But the thing I like the most is how very well balanced they are. For all the fun they bring to the mix, they never color the sound too much.

The highs are surprisingly detailed on the sonys, and even more present than the 598s. I found myself dialing down the treble frequencies on the sonys by about 2-3 db.Are we trying to point you towards the ATH-M50X instead of this pair? To an extent, yes. They offer a slightly higher-fidelity sound at a lower price.

It's decent. Much better than, say, the HiFiMan Edition S (which works as an over-ear for me) in "closed" mode, but still beaten-out by many other closed over-ear models such as: AKG K553 (with proper fit), PSB M4U 1, most closed Sennheiser headphones, and more. I find it's perfectly fine for things like riding the bus and walking around town, though!

Price comparison

The Sony MDR-1A are headphones that marry an overemphasised bass with otherwise refined sound. There is some resonance to the bottom-end that stops it from sounding entirely balanced. It is quite obviously ‘larger’ than intended, especially when doling out dance beats. A V-shaped headphone is an apt way to describe the Sony MDR-1A. But in this case it doesn’t mean they have non-existent mids.

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