• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

New Sony MDR-MV1 - Professional Open Back Headphones

you mean over 8k~9k range? Do i have to down a bit by EQing?

Yes but not a bit .. about -10dB which is a lot and it is not a low Q peak either.
Some folks like a treble lift there (gives the impression of being 'highly detailed'. For those the drop could be less than 10dB perhaps.
Wwhen EQ is not possible (for instance all analog system) a passive filter could do that.
 
Yes but not a bit .. about -10dB which is a lot and it is not a low Q peak either.
Some folks like a treble lift there (gives the impression of being 'highly detailed'. For those the drop could be less than 10dB perhaps.
Wwhen EQ is not possible (for instance all analog system) a passive filter could do that.
I'm using it on a PC, so I'm free to apply iir and fir filters.
I was familiar with the system using speakers, but was confused about how to EQ the headphones. (I had done the impulse corrections manually on the speaker system).
 
Works by entering Q factor, frequency and attenuation/lift (PEQ) or when using a 7 or 10 band graphic EQ just pull down the 8kHz, or 9kHz or 10kHz slider (whatever your player has)
 
Seems like actual confirmed measurements seem much more tame in the bass region than some of the initial measurements portrayed. Glad to see the actual response is pretty competent. Might snag a pair in the near future

Looks to me like it's fairly similar down to 100Hz (At these lower frequencies Rtings measure on real humans).
MDRMV1 compare.jpg


Don't compare too much the response past 1kHz as these are all different fixtures requiring a different target in that range.

I'm more annoyed by this (the average derived from which will be slightly influenced by the lower trace):
Screenshot 2023-07-26 at 10.16.05.png

Either the design isn't quite as "open" as I hoped it was to begin with, or the hinge / yoke / pad design is poor enough to introduce significant leaks for some individuals, even for an open design.

Didnt Rtings switch to a 45ca?

They bought a 45CA and 5128 and seem intent on using both at some time in the future :
 
Didnt Rtings switch to a 45ca?
Not yet. They bought GRAS 45CA and B&K 5128 but they're still using HMS II.3. I assume they didn't arrived yet. If I remember right Linus has waited like 6 months for B&K 5128.
 

Resolve posted some graphs.

Unfortunately his subjective descriptors didn't help me much. Is it balanced? Mid forward, mid recessed? Lean or Bassy? Move on to the finer points about your sonic impressions, after establishing the basics, please.
 
Last edited:

Resolve posted some graphs.

Unfortunately his subjective descriptors didn't help me much. Is it balanced? Mid forward, mid recessed? Lean or Bassy? Move on to the finer points about your sonic impressions, after establishing the basics, please.
Its slightly V shaped, his graph also doesnt look as extreme as some of the earlier graphs posted but generally all around the same, its a bass boosted open back with peaks in the 6K. Which honestly I think its still pretty good~
 
Here's the main graph from Resolve's review:
Screenshot_20230913-190954_YouTube.png

It's an evolution in both measurement equipment and graph presentation from the typical raw GRAS measurement + OE2018 overlay that we're used to from Amir, oratory1990 etc, so it'll take some getting used to.
It's also still WIP.

You can read this like an Estimated In-room response.
Smooth and w/o major peaks and valleys is important, as is the presence of a downward tilt. The severity of which is subject to personal preference.
 
Here's the main graph from Resolve's review:
View attachment 311803

It's an evolution in both measurement equipment and graph presentation from the typical raw GRAS measurement + OE2018 overlay that we're used to from Amir, oratory1990 etc, so it'll take some getting used to.
It's also still WIP.

You can read this like an Estimated In-room response.
Smooth and w/o major peaks and valleys is important, as is the presence of a downward tilt. The severity of which is subject to personal preference.
So the headphone is insanely bright?
 
I don't understand how they can market it as a 'studio' headphone when it's like that. Are my standards just too high?
The MV1 is really designed for use with this

Where you go to LA, NY, or Tokyo to get your ear profiled for a custom HRTF to your ears for use with this headphone.

Looking at the curve, it’s actually amazing for that purpose. Since the HF if where localization happens, by running that hot, they have more freedom to attenuate the HF to achieve the necessary personal HRTF.

On the other hand, it means hobbyists and audiophiles using the headphones as-is, are getting added sparkle and brightness rather than the full service.
 
I don't understand how they can market it as a 'studio' headphone when it's like that. Are my standards just too high?
Many professionals are old-fashioned and want their speakers and headphones to have some sort of skewed frequency response that makes sibilance and the like easier to hear, because way back when, it wasn't as easy to do that manually.

Nowadays, this sort of baked-in response flaw is completely moronic of course (at least for this purpose. See the above post).
You're way better off getting a neutral headphone or monitor and applying a temporary bandpass filter for the same purpose.
 
The MV1 is really designed for use with this

Where you go to LA, NY, or Tokyo to get your ear profiled for a custom HRTF to your ears for use with this headphone.

Looking at the curve, it’s actually amazing for that purpose. Since the HF if where localization happens, by running that hot, they have more freedom to attenuate the HF to achieve the necessary personal HRTF.

On the other hand, it means hobbyists and audiophiles using the headphones as-is, are getting added sparkle and brightness rather than the full service.
Really? That's cool.
Where you go to LA, NY, or Tokyo
Damnit.
 
I don't understand how they can market it as a 'studio' headphone when it's like that. Are my standards just too high?
It's for spatial audio & hrft mixes. Sony offers a service to everyone that owns this headphone for a professional HRTF measurement and they give you the file to adjust the HRTF when working on mixes. I imagine its designed intentionally to be knocked down since its harder to boost than it is to reduce. I also think that its designed for their own elevation curve similar to Dolby's elevation curve which specs out a boost at 6-7khz and a dip from 10-12khz as part of that HRTF. Its hard to do that EQ w/ speakers but I guess w/ Headphones you can intentionally boost that gain region much easier using filtering materials, then knock it back down if needed in EQ.
 
Back
Top Bottom