Sony MDR-V900

Date: November 7/2000
Reviewer: Adrian Ladouceur
Product: Sony MDR-V900 Studio Monitor Headphones

I bought this product because I was looking for high quality headphones that I could use in a variety of situations. These include general listening to CD's through my stereo, walkman, and computer, listening to computer games, and most importantly, for use in my home recording studio.

Overall, I am pleased with the Sony MDR-V900 Studio Monitor headphones and have only a few criticisms that may or may not be important to other users.

First, I find these headphones to be quite heavy. This is in comparison to the Sennheiser HD570 headphones that I purchased concurrently in order to compare the two. The plus side to this weight is that the MDR-V900's feel very sturdy. The Sennheiser's in contrast, feel quite flimsy and cheap.

Second, I cannot understand why Sony chose to use a coiled cord design. More often than not I am stretching this cord out which creates tension in the cord and stress on the input jack and headphone connection. Why not use a standard long straight cord and include a clip on the cord to wrap excess cord in if one finds that the cord is to long? I am hoping to use these headphones with my new Yamaha DTXPRESS drum set, but I think that the short coiled cord will be a problem. Furthermore, it is clear that the cord is too short for my computer because it has to wrap around my desk to the back of my computer and must be stretched to reach my sound card. I always feel the resulting tension from the stretched coils on my head which is very annoying.

Third, the headphones seal around your ears very well and over time start to feel like ear warmers. However, this is probably to be expected with closed-type headphones.

Fourth, these phones were not cheap. They list for about $230.00 Canadian and I got mine for $199.99. I am still trying to decide if they are worth the cost.

Now, on to what I like about the Sony MDR-V900 Studio Monitor Headphones.

First, these headphones look and feel great. I think that they are constructed quite well and I suspect that they will last a long time. I also own a set of MDR-V400's and I have had them for about 3 years. I have put them through some pretty rough treatment and they still work great and even still look new! Also, I absolutely love the folding design. I'm sure that this has saved my headphones from being broken several times during transport.

The sound quality out of these headphones is very good. They do not produce the chilling high end like the Sennheisers but they come close. Where these headphones surpass the Sennheisers is in low end. The Sony MDR-V900's Studio Monitor Headphones produce great low end. This is probably due to the 50mm drivers.

Here is something that anyone considering headphones should be aware of. One of the deciding factors for me choosing the MDR-V900's was the relatively low volume levels needed to drive them. Both the Sennheisers and the MDR-V600's (yes I also bought these for comparison) required that I set my volume levels to at least a third higher or more in order to generate the same volume levels at my ears as that produced by the MDR-V900's. For example, I had to put the volume up to about 7 on my walkman with the HD570'S and MDR-V600's in order to get the same loudness as the MDR-V900's with the volume set at 3! I think that these other headphones require a separate headphone amp (something that yes, is characteristic of high end "audiophile" setups, but something I didn't want to buy).

Well, I can't think of anything else right now, so I will finish with the numbers. (I will add more to this review as I explore these headphones)

Out of 10 (1=worst, 10=best):

Price: a tentative 8.5 (A big investment for headphones, but they do look and feel top notch)
Design: 8.8 (Very comfortable but also warm and heavy. They are built solid and look great)
Use: 9.3 (Sound is very good in my opinion. Yes, they could be better in a few areas, but overall they are very good. Hey, if you want the best you can drop $15,000.00 for the Orpheus system. A little out of my price range though)

OVERALL = 89%

PS. As usual, I hope this helps someone out there who is shopping for new headphones.

Purchase Price: $199.99 (CAN)