Recording - March 2014 - 30

Reviews by Mike Metlay
Sony has been building headphones with the MDR designation,
and a world-class reputation along with them, for a long time now.
The MDR-V6, introduced nearly 30 years ago, is seen everywhere,
from studios to DJ booths, and it's spawned many descendants with
tweaked electronics and drivers for different applications, particularly
the much-loved MDR-7506 pro audio phones. It's been several years
since the last MDR phones came out, and when we learned of not one
but three new MDR models, we were eager to give them a listen.
Elsewhere in this issue, you'll find a quick review of the MDR7550, Sony's first foray into combining the MDR reputation with
an in-ear monitor design. In this review, I'll take the new MDR7510 and MDR-7520 out for a test drive.

Sony MDR-7510 and MDR-7520
New closed-back models add to the luster of an industry-standard headphone line
Similar and different
At first glance, it's difficult to tell the MDR-7510 and MDR7520 apart; they share a nearly identical all-black closed-back
enclosure and no-nonsense padded headband. The literature
states that the MDR-7520's earcups are made from magnesium
alloy to minimize resonance and provide smoother bass and
clearer mids and highs. The headband and earpads are covered in a cozy leatherette and the earpads are foam-filled for
very good isolation from external sounds. They're very light for
closed phones, weighing in at just over 9 ounces for the MDR7510 and about 9.5 oz. for the MDR-7520.
If you look inside the earcups, you can see the drivers, which
look quite different on the two models; the MDR-7510 has a
PET diaphragm while the MDR-7520 has a liquid crystal polymer diaphragm. Both are 50 mm in size, very large for headphones of this type, and feature neodymium magnets and voice
coils of oxygen-free copper. The other way to tell them apart is
to see where the cable connects to the left earcup; the MDR7510 has a permanently attached cable, while the userreplaceable cable on the MDR-7520 snaps into place and is
secured with a threaded collar. Both headphones have a 9.8'
straight/coiled cable ending in a gold-plated miniplug with a
threaded 1/4" adapter.
Both headphones have a 108 dB/mW sensitivity and a 24
ohm impedance, which combine to give them a lot of volume
even from the smaller headphone amps on portable devices,
and a good dynamic range and response to rapid attacks. This
translates to frequency responses that (at least on paper) are
insanely wide. The MDR-7510 claims a response of 5 Hz to 40
kHz, while the MDR-7520 boasts a mind-blowing 5 Hz to 80
kHz. Yikes!
Both headphones come with a carrying pouch; in typically
professional Sony fashion, the instructions include a detailed service manual with exploded view so the phones can be serviced
in the field by a competent tech if need be.
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RECORDING March 2014

Listening to the MDR-7510
These phones fit tightly to the ears without a lot of space inside
the earcup, giving a feel of immediacy and presence that's an
interesting contrast to some other phones. Sound isolation is
exceptional, with virtually no bleed or leakage while the headphones are being worn and audio is being played back at comfortable listening levels. The fit is comfortable without being
claustrophobic, suitable for long listening sessions.
Soundstaging is very realistic and believable, with a pinpoint
sense of where everything is in the stereo field. These headphones
get quite loud when fed enough power; a 2000 mW power handling capability means your ears will give out before the headphones do, but more importantly, it means that they can handle
sharp transients and changes in waveform accurately without distortion, which leads to the very wide frequency response.
Speaking of which, the Sony reputation for honesty and balance
across the frequency spectrum holds firm for the MDR-7510. These
aren't intended as DJ phones, so there's no deliberate goosing of
the bass as on one or two of Sony's other offerings; the bass is finely accurate and exquisitely detailed, so it feels like there's more there
simply because your ears aren't being assaulted with a muddy or
woofy one-note low end. From there we get into the lower mids,
which speak clearly and in beautiful balance with the lows and
mids; the mids themselves in the critical range of vocals and guitars
are sweet and wonderfully detailed, with mixes presenting themselves in an almost palpable separation of elements for easy study.
And the highs... heh. A mere 40 kHz claimed frequency
response? I believe it, based on my listening experiences with
24-bit/96 kHz audio through the Grace Design m905 (see the
review elsewhere in this issue). The nice thing about an extended high end like this, when done properly, is that the highs at the
outer limits of human hearing (10 to 20 kHz) are presented without straining the capabilities of the transducer; bells, cymbals,
hand percussion, and the sweet high harmonics of voices shimmer with clarity and accuracy, rather than hype or shrillness.

Recording - March 2014

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