hi everyone today we're looking at something different this renowned pair of monitoring
headphones provide exceptional quality detail and accuracy beating out the competition in its
price range even today nearly 30 years since its original launch back in 1991
all for less than 100 these are the sony mdr 7506 monitoring headphones today i'm going to take you
through the unboxing as well as a detailed look at the design as well as feature set followed by a
thorough analysis of the sound quality all to help you decide whether this pair of headphones is for
you let's start off with the unboxing i am really excited to finally have a pair of these it is not
often i get to review a tech product that is older than me immediately when looking at the box it is
already clear that this is not your typical pair of headphones included we have a quick start guide
then we have the headphones resting in this polyester cloth almost like a pillow included
we also have a carrying bag very basic but is still nice to have unwrapping the cable we can see
just how long and coiled the cable is making it great to plug into a computer or amp that
is further away also giving you more room to move while you work finally we get a quarter
inch adapter now at this point i want to stress that these headphones are not meant to be used say
plugged in your iphone to listen to music while you commute to work instead for this i suggest
something like the soundcore q20s that i reviewed previously instead these headphones are meant
for monitoring it is the impeccable clarity and unbiased sound signature that allows you to hear
vocals instruments or whatever you're listening to in the way that it was meant to be heard now
with that in mind let's take a closer look at the design and features the design of these headphones
has remained basically unchanged over the past years and that clearly shows from the flat sharp
angled earcups the shiny faux leather padding to the silver studio monitor label on the headband
whether this is your style or not what is undeniable is that these headphones have
character and are easily recognizable let me know in the comments what you think of
the design additionally from the design you can tell that these headphones are built to be a tool
to help you work and that is meant to last as seen by these exposed phillips head screws many
parts of the 7506 are actually user replaceable such as the earcups and the headband now i really
appreciate this as this is something you don't really see every day especially now the 7506s
feature a mostly plastic build but as you can see are sturdy and definitely offer plenty of stretch
i would expect these to fit both larger as well as smaller size heads the earcups sit angled
slightly forward to more naturally sit over the ear the ear cups also swivel just enough
from side to side to adjust to your ears for my ears i found the ear cups to sit over my ears
however i do notice that the back of my ear does slightly touch the ear cup now this is by no means
uncomfortable but is something to bear in mind if you have larger ears the headband has some
padding and effectively takes the weight off the ear cups when resting on your head additionally
as someone who wears glasses i am pleased to say that the 7506s are quite comfortable unlike
some other headphones they don't clamp down too hard on my glasses frame the padding on the ear
cups is decent it is relatively soft but not as comfortable to wear as say memory foam as seen on
some other headphones as this will actually mold to the shape of your head and ear additionally the
faux leather on the ear cups does feel a bit on the thinner side but thankfully these can easily
be replaced down the road should you need to in testing when wearing these headphones for several
hours at a time i have found it to get a little bit warm under the ear cups over time that said
in terms of noise isolation the 7506s perform very well i was quite impressed by how well it's able
to cancel that noise across all frequencies coming around me and that is even without any music or
anything playing and of course no form of anc it's quite impressive for storage the ear cups fold
in and up this way they can be stored in the included carrying bag the carrying bag although
quite simple it does have a soft microfiber lining on the inside to protect the headphones while
traveling i really like the portability factor of these headphones making it so easy to throw
them in a bag and take them with you the cable is non-detachable i would have preferred to see this
modular not just for longevity but also to be able to have the option to adjust the cable length with
different cables now the cable is plenty long coming in at 1.2 meters or just about four feet
and because it is coiled can be stretched even further the cable feels very sturdy and
high quality although since it is quite long and because it connects to only one earcup
does mean at times it can be a little bit heavy pulling to one side of the ear cup one area of
the design i'm a bit unsure about are the exposed wires that run from the ear cups to the headband
while this is all very sturdy and well made i feel this would have been even more protected
had this cable been run internally again these headphones have a very unique style and look that
i personally quite like it is clear that these belong in a professional environment but how do
they sound speaking as someone who regularly edits and mixes dialogue music and effects in
video editing i found the sound profile to be quite neutral with slight emphasis on the upper
mids and higher frequencies at first if you are not used to listening to monitors these may sound
a bit different as typically headphones have a tendency to emphasize the lower frequencies which
in many cases can overpower the other frequencies this is not the case here highs are crystal clear
allowing for the smallest details in vocals to come through or sounds like for example glass
breaking to sound incredibly true to life the mids are clean and well separated from the highs
and lows in terms of lows the 7506s provide a real kick with deep and punchy bass crucially while not
overpowering the other frequencies i'm pleased to say that the highs mids and low frequencies are
all very clearly separated and equally present what this allows for is very strong instrument
separation when listening to audio tracks although not one of the main selling points of these
headphones the sound stage is decently wide and the noise isolation that i mentioned before does
help contribute to the level of immersion these headphones allow you to hear detail and nuances
that you simply otherwise would not hear for example the subtle exhale at the end of a sentence
or the slight pop in vocals this is what makes them so great for mixing and for me whilst editing
and working with multiple audio sources this lets me gauge how all the audio sources sound together
but also lets me set the audio levels so that the audience's focus remains on the sound that i want
additionally when editing audio with these headphones i no longer have to test the audio on
different normal headphones and speakers instead as long as the audio sounds balanced on the 7506s
i know that it is balanced correctly without any strong bias towards a particular frequency
now this will actually save me time in my editing workflow now do bear in mind
if you are listening to poor audio quality due to the clarity and detail of the 7506s
it may seem like the audio sounds worse but this is not the case instead these headphones are so
accurate to a point where the difference between good and bad audio quality will become even more
apparent this really makes you appreciate good audio quality even more they also get very loud
when using them with my macbook pro i find 30 volume to be plenty when listening to the 7506s
you hear the sounds as they are meant to be heard in fact there's a decent chance the person mixing
the sounds used the same pair of headphones to create the track so who are these for
if you're into sound mixing podcasting video editing radio or recording studios or any
environment where you need accurate sound the 7506s for less than 100 are a must have there
is a reason why the 7506s have become and still are the industry standard used and recognized
all over the world and it is not because sony keeps adding the latest and greatest features
instead it is because these stay true to what makes them so great and that is providing sound
quality unlike any other headphones in its class as always the purchase links for the
7506s can be found in the description thank you so much for watching if you have any questions
comments or feedback be sure to leave them down below and i'll see you in the next video