Stroll into any music studio on the earth, choose up the headphones hooked as much as the desk, and greater than possible, you’ll be holding a pair of MDR-7506 cans.
Launched in 1991 and based mostly on a design from 1985, the MDR-7506 may as properly be the definition of “trade customary.” They sound good, they’re robust, they’re fully repairable, they usually have a coiled cable that appears absurdly lengthy till you utilize them within the studio, the place it’s excellent. However the identical goes for a lot of headphones, so what makes these Sony’s completely different?
“The key to the recognition of the 7506 is that everybody steals them from their artwork college or employer,” digital musician Obscurerobot replied to Lifewire in a discussion board submit. “I feel I’m the one person who I do know who truly purchased a pair. That mentioned, I’ve been changing the pads constantly for 20 years and don’t see any signal of them giving up.”
Virtuous Circle
No matter first put the MDR 7506s (and their precursor, the MDR-V6) into studios, they’ve caught round partially as a result of they’ve caught round.
The Sony MDR-7506 headphones on a grey background.
“I’ve used MDR-7506’s for years. I do not love ’em, do not hate ’em—I am conversant in how they sound, so I’ve purchased quite a few pairs over time,” musician and music educator Daveypoo advised Lifewire in a discussion board submit.
“They’ve been in actually EVERY SINGLE studio I’ve ever had the pleasure to report in, each skilled and beginner, so being conversant in their strengths and weaknesses is helpful.”
For music producers and blend engineers, there are two options of headphones and studio monitor audio system that trump all others: accuracy and predictability.
Accuracy enables you to hear the element within the combine, each good and dangerous. The headphones you purchase for listening to music are designed to make the music sound nice. Studio headphones ought to reproduce each final little bit of the music. If the bass is skinny and weak, it ought to sound that method within the headphones, so you possibly can right it.
However whereas accuracy is necessary, consistency beats all the things as a result of it permits you to calibrate your personal mind. If you happen to combine on the identical audio system and headphones for years, you understand how the sound they produce pertains to the ultimate consequence. This may be the MDR 7506’s largest energy.
“7506s are my mixing, guitar/vocal monitoring, amp sim taking part in, and reference listening cans, multi functional. Indisputably, I’d preserve shopping for them time and again…”
They’re all over the place. To paraphrase an outdated laptop trade saying, no person ever acquired fired for getting MDR 7506s.
“I feel individuals overlook the primary cause they have been so common again within the day was as a result of they have been low cost and straightforward to search out, so if the drummer threw them, you could possibly get extra rapidly,” musician Tarekith advised Lifewire on the AudioBus discussion board.
Sound Funding
That’s to not say the MDR 7506s sound dangerous. Removed from it. Some people use them as on a regular basis headphones for music, this author included. They’re comfy sufficient, they isolate background noise fairly properly though they aren’t noise-canceling, they usually sound incredible—open, with loads of element, and good stable bass with out going loopy.
One frequent perception is that studio monitor audio system and headphones are in some way chilly and scientific in comparison with common or audiophile fashions. However that’s not true. In my expertise, the distinction is extra just like the oversaturated showroom mode on TV units. Advantageous for comparisons, however what you really need daily is one thing impartial. I really like the MDR 7506s, and I hearken to music on Yamaha monitor audio system at dwelling. And I’m not the one one.
A coiled twine on a pair of headphones.
“7506s are my mixing, guitar/vocal monitoring, amp sim taking part in, and reference listening cans, multi functional,” musician and opera singer JoyceRoadStudios advised Lifewire through discussion board submit. “Indisputably, I’d preserve shopping for them time and again, solely $100!”
There are many higher headphones on the market, however the MDR 7506s are the right all-rounder. They deserve their spot tossed onto a chair behind the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame, with a tangled cable, and patched up with gaffer tape. And since the fundamentals of headphone tech are just about set, they’ll be offering comforting familiarity for many years to come back.
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