Part of The Audiophile Rabbit Hole Series!
This series takes a look back on my experiences with headphones dating back to 2010. Enjoy!
Before we get started, check out Sweetwater sound. I have been buying from them on and off since around 2007. They have the absolute best customer service in the business, and have taken care of me time and again with my purchases and questions! The link to the 7506 will be near the end of the article 🙂
1,513-word post, approx. 3-4 min. read
Updates:
12/10/20. Article posted.
Are you new to audio and looking for an amazing headphone? Something truly life-changing? Have about a hundred dollars to spend? Well stick around and find out why the Sony MDR 7506 is exactly what you’re looking for…
Greetings bass head and welcome aboard.
Stuart Charles here, HomeStudioBasics.com helping YOU make sound decisions leading to a beautiful audio experience that will make you fall in love with music, all over again.. so… don’t want to read?!
Video Discussion/Review
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Life-changing is quite an extravagant claim, yeah? Well, I’m not exaggerating in the slightest. The MDR-7506 will change your life if you have never heard what a good headphone sounds like. Why is that?
Imagine for a second you’ve been listening to music all your life but haven’t actually heard the music.
How the artist intended for it to sound.
The clarity of the instruments.
The spacing of the composition.
The intimacy of the human voice.
The sparkle and shimmer, that make the song sound lively and engaging.
A bass response that articulates so well, you’d swear it was actually rolling somehow. It’s a feeling, but also a knowing. A complete and utter revelation of sorts. That’s the 7506 in a nutshell.
It’s as if you are hearing music for the very first time.
It will completely change your perception of sound.
You WILL stop and go, “Oh My God. This is what music is supposed to sound like. I can’t believe I went all these years without this in my life. This is AMAZING!” “I FEEL INCREDIBLEEEE!! YES, YES, YES, YES!!!”
You may even do a little dance, but:
Stick around for the end of this article for how it changed my life, but also a couple of downsides to owning a 7506.
It was impossible for me to gain this revelatory understanding with headphones that I grew accustomed to seeing and buying from drug stores and department stores back in the ’90s.
In those days and all the way up until 2010, I had no clue that audiophile-grade headphones were even a thing. It’s embarrassing for me to admit this, but I thought that those cheap knock offs were the real deal.
I was so ignorant about the magic of putting on a truly amazing set of cans. Growing up, my dad was exclusively into turntables and speakers. I understood the significance and the power of those things, but in our house, headphones were pretty much an afterthought.
The Yamaha NS10M is still one of the most well-known speakers in the world.
These are my Dad’s Bowers & Wilkins DM302s, speakers he’s had since the ’90s.
This is my dad, right before we plowed through a steak and baked potato dinner. 🙂
Dad was more into speakers, while I gravitated towards headphones.
My first pair were those Sonys that came with the Discman. The materials were incredibly cheap and they would periodically break down over time. Not only that, but your hair would get caught in the headband adjustment, causing you to want to punch someone in the neck.
Every so often I would peruse my local drug store, foaming at the mouth at the prospect of my next “great purchase.”
You know what I’m talking about from the last Sennheiser HD600 video: “That juicy Jensen audio.”
Remember Coby? No not Kobe Bryant, Coby Audio.
They’re pretty much a Sony knock off and their headphones are terrible.
These are some of the $10 headphones I’d take home with me from those 90’s drug stores, thinking I had just won the lottery or something.
There is something to be said for this type of naivety and innocence, though. I was happy and satisfied with what I had.
I enjoyed music more.
I was excited about it.
That’s not to say I don’t get excited about it now, but the sentiment has transformed into something a bit different now that I’m older. If I’m honest, I take it for granted more than I did when finding a good piece of music was an adventure rather than somewhat of a chore.
In that sense, those types of headphones did change my life at the time. They seemed fresh and new, but it was almost impossible to get them out of the box. You know, the box you needed a machete to open.
Some years later I graduated to the Sony MDR V150’s, which actually sound surprisingly decent for $20 headphones. I remember going through at least 5-7 pairs of them back in the early 2000s, as the headband would always snap under pressure like Henry Hill.
The pads were pretty awful too, and that only continued in Sonys MDR-7506, the headphone that changed my life in 2010. It can change yours as well.
It’s a moment you will never forget for as long as you live. I can remember exactly how I felt when the wall of sound penetrated my ears for the very first time. It’s that “heart drops into your stomach” feeling, similar to the one you get when you see someone you really like.
Circa 2007-2008. I had a Dell tower for awhile before venturing into the world of laptops.
I knew at that moment that things would never be the same. I was making beats on my laptop and using some old Logitech speakers (pictured above) but knew I needed something better.
I’ve always been partial to the feeling of wearing a headphone, so I did a ton of research on the best entry-level “good” headphones: a step up from the cheap garbage, but one that also wouldn’t burn a hole in my pocket.
The MDR 7506 was an almost unanimous pick from every source I read. Fantastic low-end response, clear and articulate mid-range, and a brighter treble which allows you to hear what’s going on in a mix a lot easier. I had read they’d been around for many years, first appearing as the original Sony MDR-V6 in 1985, a headphone that has since been discontinued in 2020.
The V6 has been a quintessential studio headphone for many years but was discontinued in 2020.
The problem with hearing something as good as the 7506 is that eventually, you’ll want something better. As good as it is, it does have some issues:
The coiled cable is a huge pain the a**, the pads flake and peel over time (you’ll find the little specks in the most ridiculous of places), and let’s be honest – the headphone isn’t the most comfortable in the world.
But, there’s a reason it’s still around all these years later. There’s a reason why so many people in podcasts, interviews, basketball games, on TV shows, etc. have one on. If you look closely, you’ll start to notice them everywhere. At one point I was taking pictures and screenshots every time I saw one. Simply put, there’s a reason why the 7506 has extremely high ratings on Amazon with over 11,000 reviews.
Shoot, even Mike Ty-sth-on wear one, and you know if Mike Ty-sth-on wear one it-sth good.
This is Iron Mike Ty-sthon thspeaking right now: If you don’t buy one of these today, I’ll knock yo ass-th out cold just like I did all the res-th of them bustas-th.
It’s just a rock-solid headphone with a fantastic sound at an amazing price. I fully believe everyone should have one of these in their cabinet.
Still, you’ll inevitably want something better down the road. You’ll invariably find yourself stuck in the audiophile rabbit hole, so: if you’re brand new to audio, I’m giving you fair warning NOW. Understand what you’re getting yourself into, and prepare your wallet accordingly. I’ll leave a link down below for where to purchase the 7506 because I know you want one.
Ready to venture further down the rabbit hole?
Well, that’s about it for today my friend! I hope you’ve enjoyed this discussion on how the Sony MD-7506 will change your life, and now know just how amazing it is!
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Questions? Comments? Requests? Did I miss the mark on something? Please let me know down below or Contact me!!
Would you purchase an MDR-7506? I would love to hear your thoughts. Until next time…
All the best and God bless,
-Stu
Can’t decide which headphones to purchase? Interested in a complete buyers guide outlining over 40 of the best options on the market? Click on over to the best audiophile headphones to learn more!!
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Sony MDR-7506
Pros
- Mostly balanced, reference sound
- Great Build
- Studio staple
- Fantastic mid-range
- Will change your life
Cons
- Coiled cable tangles after a year or 2 of heavy use
- Pads flake and peel over time. Also may come loose
- Not the most comfortable over long sessions
