30/09/2024
WTReview Sony MDR-M1
Sony making a comeback for audiophiles?
Admin got invited to Stars Picker Audio Library 摘星知音 for their opening this weekend and coincidentally, it was also the launch for the Sony MDR-M1, a what I was told the closed back headphone version of the opened back MDR-MV1 released last year
Yang nak TL;DR skip ke bawah
Gonna borrow them to review for gaming soon cause admin think got promise as a headphone that excels in gaming for the price of RM1199. It's been a while since we have seen a new release closed back heapdhone around that price tag
Build quality
Very light and not jam-packed with ANC/DSP features and all that. Plastic body kinda flimsy but very solid overall. Detachable cable is always a good thing especially for longevity plus the extra screw-in feature gives some extra security. The earpads also feels super comfortable, will try testing this again once I get my hands on one, but definitely an upgrade from the ol MDR-7506 🤣
Sound quality
Tuning
While maintaining the very good neutral sound signature similar to the MV1, the expected tuning changes from being open to closed back is there, more tight and punchy bass with a less airy while it can be rather bright on the treble side. Vocals it still maintains that Sony's signature many people like, very transparent with that very "natural" feeling for male or female vocals 👍
Soundstage, etc.
Compare to the MV1, obviously it will be much narrower (the MV1 also i find the soundstage wayyy too wide 🤣) but its still very wide for a closed back. The imaging though is very accurate and very promising spatial locatization accuracy based on the short tests I could do. Comparing it to other closed backs with similar price, its up there
Technicalities
The transient response overall is very good, very fast giving room to hear a lot of details although theres a slight loss of warmth but still i would say a "room temperature" type of sensation. But then it compensates with a lot more smooth texture feeling to a sound than the MV1, giving more "body" to the tone being played.
Isolation
Nothing much to say, does a really good job like most non-ANC powered headphones, fits for studio and home use, public maybe 🤣
What I use for this testing was a simple FiiO R7 AIO DAP with Tidal app
Thank you Sony Malaysia for providing the demo unit (and the free eartips too 😘)
TL;DR :
This is early review ah I haven't go deep yet 🤣
Overall 9/10, very neutral sound signature with great soundstaging. Very accurate and detailed in the technicalities, already great for listening to music so yeah admin here thinks it'll be great for gaming also but will write on it once it's done la. A worthy upgrade and successor for the MDR-7506 and a great closed back option for the MDR-MV1
Gonna write my full review on FiiO JT1 soon (budget level) can follow Daisy Tech page for that 😁
Comment down below if you want me to review a headphone or a gaming headset. If admin dah review it before, can give opinion la 😆
