Sony MDR-1AM2 Hi-Res Headphones with Heavyweight Bass and Beat Response Control - Black

Product Information

I love how Sony includes both sets of cables, allowing for flexibility between sources. The pouch contains a separate compartment to store the 2 different cables which is good thinking on Sony’s part. Sony rarely disappoints when it comes to the bass of its headphones. Both the MV1 and 1AM2 have a decent level of detail and power that aims for an engrossing but natural display of low-end frequency content. The bloom of the 1AM2 is quite larger than the MV1, but the MV1 still supplies some rich frequency content in its lows. Those frequencies arrive a bit slower though compared to the 1AM2. If you don’t like the bass as centered and hard-hitting when making decisions for your mix, then you might prefer the MV1 here. Those who want more of an edge to their bass timbre will probably want the 1AM2. Mids While it is all too common to see some manufacturers boost the treble for the psychoacoustic illusion of more details, the MDR-1AM2 is a specialist in bringing forth such detail of recordings while maintaining a pleasing tonality. However, the MDR-1AM2 does not keep up in the resolution department. As detailed as it sounds, these perceived details in different components of the mix are not as well-articulated and well-separated as I'd like them to be.

I use this pair mostly with cassette walkmans, application where the elevated bass is a plus, as many walkmans and cassettes don't have a flat But as I said, at typical listening levels, I found the MDR-1AM2 to be quite pleasing. A common complaint of many headphones these days is overly strong bass but this is certainly not the case with the MDR-1AM2. Bass is strong but not overly emphatic and clean. It is certainly not muddy, so drums strike with adequate authority and precision. The mids are present and not grainy, which gives vocals and guitars a smooth and inviting sound. The treble, however, is its most problematic component as it is overly emphasized and has an uneven, unnatural sound. However, there is a downside to this: the leather is like a magnet when it comes to the slightest trace of skin oil, requiring cleaning after pretty much every use. The screws are under the thin piece of damping material approximately in the circled location. Lift it up a bit and take the screws out. Just standard Phillips screws. Careful not to accidentally drop the screws into the driver.Even within the realm of super boosty bass headphones, the 1AM2 is not a good example. They sound colored and artificial. Listen to any acoustic music and you'll see what I mean. It's such a shame because the technicality is not bad. They can retrieve a decent amount of detail, but the FR is too far gone to make it a solid headphone. I personally use it for watching YouTube videos and taking online classes, or just any multimedia purposes in general. That's where they really shine. Superior comfort plus low weight means I can wear them all day. As long as no serious music listening is involved, they're gucci.

The ear cups and ear pads don’t look all that big, and the ear pads are quite shallow, but they wrap around and fit my ears comfortably. It is witchcraft. It doesn’t feel tight or claustrophobic at all. Snug and plush are the two words that come to mind when I put on the MDR-1AM2. That said, I suspect readers with ears larger than mine might find that they fit more like on-ear headphones than over-ear headphones. So the SONY DAPs which are power limited will be able to drive those nicely without the need to crank it at the maximum setting.I bought the MDR-1AM2 in 2022 at sale for a price of 100 euros (the MSRP is more than 200), main reason being I wanted to have a pair of very light headphones. The frequency response in RAA is obtained through the reproduction and analysis of a special noise signal with the subsequent generation of an impulse response. The impulse response is displayed as is, without compensation of the frequency response for the microphone or smoothing. It is RAW data. The reduction in the frequency response of the microphone starts at 20 kHz .