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Sony MDR-7506 Review (Headphone)

BillG

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I'm not sure who is ranking the 7506 as having the highest adherence to Harman, but I've information to the contrary - it only scores an 80 on this list:

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/blob/master/results/RANKING.md

Opera Snapshot_2021-01-05_183600_github.com.png
 

Francis Vaughan

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And I remember the head of Dunlavy Audio Labs, the speaker company, being a great proponent.
Yeah, I remember John Dunlavy being very vocal in praise for them, and it was this that prompted me to buy a pair. This was back prior to DAL, when he still lived here and ran Duntech. So quite some time ago.
I still have mine, but they don't get listened to much. For a short while I used them at work, but despite being closed backed, they leaked enough to annoy my co-workers.
 

Zaki Ghul

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Some completely subjective observations: I used these for beginner level video editing, seemed useful when trying to match subtle sounds to frames. For music, they always sounded better plugged into the crappy built in headphone outs on various components as apposed to dedicated headphone amps with which they just sound dull. I like them for the nostalgic factor but definitely not my go-to headphones for music enjoyment.
 
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amirm

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Scaling is different, but to my eye it looks better than Amir’s (bass doesn’t roll off as much and the peaks in the treble aren’t as high), though of course I believe they do 3 averages.
That's the right graph. Vertical scale is 80 db though (your version has bottom chopped off) so that squashes things a lot. Still, they show higher peak at around 11 kHz than I do as I mentioned in the review.
 

buz

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Got the V6 as first real headphone almost 2 decades ago, running it out of laptop head out back in the day. Never really liked it.
 
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thanks for the review, I've been using v-6's for over 5 years now and was wondering how they would measure. I really like their sound signature but it could just be familiarity, I found velour pads are a great accompaniment with them and make them far more comfortable.
 
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MZKM

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I'm not sure who is ranking the 7506 as having the highest adherence to Harman, but I've information to the contrary - it only scores an 80 on this list:
That’s what Oratory got, here is what the paper has (not sure which dot is which, I colored both red):
5479E276-742E-4007-A5B0-59CDDC31C151.jpeg


If it’s the left one, then my calculation with Amir’s data is more accurate than Oratory’s.

And again, you can see how poor this preference rating is, not to mention with the widely different results one can get with headphone measurements.
 

posvibes

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Well I admit this site informs like no other but in the case of this review it has undermined all and any confidence I have in my own critical faculties.

I bought a pair of the 7506's last year, and I find them pretty comfortable (but I have small ears) and can wear them for hour or more with no discomfit.

One of the characteristics of the headphones I found impressive was their sub-bass capability. Soundstage isn't great but I can live with it. Weirdly enough I think the Senneheiser 280 Pro's have better soundstage and that's saying something.

I enjoy them but obviously for all the wrong reasons. I need to understand more about audible distortion because I am not hearing it or recognizing it.

I never considered myself a pair of golden ears but then again nor did I consider myself a tin-eared listener either.

Bruised my ego and broke my heart @amirm.
 

LightninBoy

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Yep. That's supposedly highest rated harman target headphones from Harman's research. It's way too bright and harsh from anyone I know. It just doesn't work.
And this is why Amir's reviews are great!

I don't know about any rating from Harmen research, but by comparing these headphone's FR to the Amir's target curve one can predict it will be perceived as harsh due to the massive boost right smack dab in the presence region. That is ice pick to the ear category there. So this looks like more evidence that Amir's target curve works.
 
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amirm

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Or do you mean you have a different one than the one in the paper? If so, ok...
Yes, I have a different graph. It is great resolution which tells me it was the original measurement which was then cropped for the doc you quoted from. Sometimes it is good to have connections in the right places. :)
 

pavuol

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Great to see these famous headphones for a reference. I got a feeling they have a reputation for being a sturdy piece for long time studio abuse.
I wonder when did they first arive, this service manual I found suggests they had a 30th anniversary this year (?).

Sony MDR-7506 Service Manual and Repair Parts List.jpg
 

BillG

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If it’s the left one, then my calculation with Amir’s data is more accurate than Oratory’s.

And again, you can see how poor this preference rating is, not to mention with the widely different results one can get with headphone measurements.

Thanks. I've got a 7506 here that I've owned since '96. While I rarely listen with these days - I prefer IEMs currently - I may fire them up later this evening for comparison.
 
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amirm

amirm

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I wonder when did they first arive, this service manual I found suggests they had a 30th anniversary this year (?).
I probably purchased my MDR-V6 around 2000 to 2002 so about 28 years ago. So that seems right.
 

pavuol

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Then there were the highs. Oh man these are ugly highs. Sharp and uncomfortable. Yes, the mid-range tonality was good but I just could not focus on it. Every bass note sounded ugly, and every high note was a punch in the face. Overall there was this poor quality and grittiness I could not get past.
Sony+Mdr-7506+1600x1158.png
sorry, couldn't resist.. :)
 
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amirm

amirm

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OK, this is embarrassing. Was looking through my past orders on Amazon for something else and I see that I purchased the Sony MDR-V6 back in 2017!!! :) Just located it and will measure it soon.....
 
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