Swapped my Sony MDR7509HD for Sennheiser HD215

by **The Elf** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 11:33 am

I have to say that my Sony 7509s were one of the worst purchases I ever made. They are very poorly built and sound tubby and vague. The ear cushion required constant attention to keep it attached to the ear cup and the short-ish curly cable was a liability.

They finally gave up the ghost last week when the plastic swivel mount broke, leaving one cup loose. I bought these new and they've only lasted me around 6 months. I feel these served me like a pair of 20-quid cans, but I paid a whole lot more for them. In all I was very dissatisfied with both their sound and build quality.

I know some poeple like these cans, but for me - never, ever again.

I just took delivery of my new Sennheiser HD215 and I'm reasonably impressed. The cups feel a bit thin plastic-y, but they seem solid enough, the cushions look like they'll stay put, and the cable is a decent length.

Like all closed-back phones I've used these sound a little tubby, but no more than the 7509s. In fact I just checked a mix and was alerted to some sub-40Hz activity I needed to address! Not bad at all. There's nothing like the depth and detail of my beloved AKG K701, but I neither expected it, or need it - these are mt cans for monitoring while we're tracking vocals in the control room.

Not an extensive review, but sufficient to help guide anyone who is travelling a similar path. I'll report back in a few weeks to give my impressions of the HD215 after more extensive use.

Hope that helps someone, somewhere! :D

by **Guest** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 4:26 pm

I'll take them off you.

by **The Elf** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 4:31 pm

I cut off the cable and binned them I'm afraid. They were beyond repair.

by **Hugh Robjohns** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 4:43 pm

The Elf wrote:I have to say that my Sony 7509s were one of the worst purchases I ever made.

I've not tried the HD version recently, but I use the original 7509 quite regularly and find them very acceptable for working on location. Mine are probably about 7 years old now and still going strong, looking and sounding hardly any different from when they were new.

I certainly wouldn't agree that they are poorly built, and while all closed back phones tend towards tubbiness, I found the the 7509s pretty good in that respect and better than any other closed phone I've tried with the exception of the Sennheiser HD25. Can the subsequent HD version really be that different in build quality? I didn't think so when I last tried a set a year or two ago?

I've never had a problem with the ear cushion falling off the cup either, and the curly cable is plenty long enough for me and preferable in many situations over the long straight cables of other headphones that tend to get caught up in wheeled chairs and around the ankles!

Strange that our experiences are so radically different... but I do share your appreciation of the AKG K701/K702.

Hugh

by **The Elf** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 4:51 pm

I appreciate I may just have had a rogue pair.

The ear cup surround just wouldn't stay in place, having been made too large for the cup and the plastic mounts were made of very brittle plastic - like a child's toy. When I opened them up to see if a repair was possible I was dismayed to see how poorly made they were.

If anyone has any 7509HD that match my description I'd be interested to know. If some dodgy copies are doing the rounds it would be good to know! I must admit it has me wondering if I bought a fake pair! I did ask this very question here when I first received mine - they seemed just too cheap and nasty for the money.

by **James Perrett** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:46 am

It isn't unknown for early production runs of a product to be built a little more carefully than later runs and review samples are often from these early runs.

My experience of Sony headphones is that they don't stand up to studio life as well as similarly priced Sennheisers - though I've not used the 7509's.

James.

by **grab** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 5:11 pm

I've just got a pair of 7509HD's - arrived this morning. I have to admit being worried when this thread turned up, having already paid for them! (As usual it's damn hard to try before you buy, so I was trusting the SOS review of them. Although I did get them cheap, which is always nice.)

I wouldn't say they're too cheap and plasticky. Obviously they *are* plastic, but the swivel arms feel fairly tough, and they attach to a metal shell on each cup. If you twist them around then they creak as any plastic things do, but they feel like I'd have to really crunch them to actually do damage.

Like many headphones, the foam ear pads are fairly easy to remove. Unless you've got pads that are clamped in place, there isn't really a way around this. If you keep them in the carry bag, though, I wouldn't think they'd escape on their own though.

Cable is a coily one, but it seems to naturally be a little under 2m long (if I stand up with the cans on, the end of the lead is just shy of the floor) which should be enough movement for most things I'd need.

I haven't had a chance to do any serious listening with them - only a few songs on my work PC. But first impressions...

Main thing is, they're loud. I SAID, THEY'RE LOUD! Beware of the volume control! Initial impressions of the sound is that they seem a bit heavier on the bass than I'm used to - I'm not sure I'd say boomy (definitely not one-note wonders), but I might need to take them off for fine-tuning bass and kick balance. They don't seem hyped at the higher end, and the mid-range seems to come through clearly. I can see why Mike Senior said he'd want a second opinion for how much reverb to add, though - it does feel like there's more reverb on things than you'd hear if you listened on something else. I'm a little wary that this is them flattering the sound a bit, which isn't really what I want when I'm trying to sort out the mix on a gig.

I don't know yet how well they seal against gig-level noise, but I do know that I couldn't hear a colleague trying to get my attention until he walked in front and waved, and I didn't have the level too far up.

Got a gig next week, so I'll see how they go.

by **Hugh Robjohns** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 5:33 pm

James Perrett wrote:It isn't unknown for early production runs of a product to be built a little more carefully than later runs and review samples are often from these early runs.

It's a nice idea... but not in my experience. I've had more ropey review products than I care to think about. You'd think manufacturers and distributors would take extra care knowning a product was going to a reviewer, but it seems to rarely be the case!

My own MDR7509s were purchased with real money from a distributor and were taken randomly from stock. I can see where the comment about standing up to studio usage comes from, though. I guess I always handle my own stuff with care, rather than 'style' ;)

hugh

by **The Elf** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:00 pm

grab wrote:I wouldn't say they're too cheap and plasticky. Obviously they *are* plastic, but the swivel arms feel fairly tough, and they attach to a metal shell on each cup.

Interesting. Mine were plastic on plastic. No metal anywhere.

It really does have me wondering...

by **Mike Stranks** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:48 pm

Does this help?:

Unboxing Genuine Sony MDR7509HD

Mike

by **The Elf** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:09 pm

Mike Stranks wrote:Does this help?:

Unboxing Genuine Sony MDR7509HD

Mike

Yes it does! Thanks Mike.

That guy mentions 'Aluminium' (although, like all Americans he seems to find the second 'i' invisible!) on the back of the ear-cup. Mine were completely plastic.

I reckon I bought fakes!

by **Kwackman** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:14 am

The Elf wrote:
I reckon I bought fakes!

I hope you didn't get them from a dealer?

by **Mike Stranks** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 10:43 am

The Elf wrote:
Mike Stranks wrote:Does this help?:

Unboxing Genuine Sony MDR7509HD

Mike
Yes it does! Thanks Mike.

That guy mentions 'Aluminium' (although, like all Americans he seems to find the second 'i' invisible!) on the back of the ear-cup. Mine were completely plastic.

I reckon I bought fakes!

That's a bummer, Elf. :frown: These fakers eh? What will it be next?

Actually, my contacts tell me that the market is about to be flooded with fake Hugh Robjohns's. However, I think we'll easily spot these as I hear that the fakers are having trouble getting the right shade of pink for the sweater. :D (Sorry newcomers; old "in" joke!)

by **Hugh Robjohns** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:11 pm

:D

Ee-gads!" My wife's worst nightmare ... a world full of me!

Hugh

by **grab** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:30 pm

I sense a film script - "Being Hugh Robjohns".

by **Kwackman** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:19 pm

grab wrote:I sense a film script - "Being Hugh Robjohns".

Or "Robojohns"?

by **vinyl_junkie** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 11:07 pm

Never tried those Sennheisers but the HD-25 is one of my fave closed back cans only thing I really hated about them was the short leads on the old ones, I think the new ones now come with a longer lead.

by **grab** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:00 am

"I, Robjohns"

by **mjfe2** » Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:34 pm

Just reviving this ancient thread to add my thoughts on the Sony 7590HD headphones.

Finally picked up a pair and am impressed by the tonality, though voices still sound a little boxy/nasly. The top end is v nice. Have any recent models by Sony or others improved upon this early-00s design?

Build quality seems fine though I'm not overawed by the plastic construction. It sounds as if the OP had a dud pair though!

My main criticism is actually isolation, which seems worse than average (certainly not as good as DT770 or DT150). Anyone else had this problem?

In general we buy cheap OEM ear pads from eBay for replacements but I wondered if this is affecting performance?

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Swapped my Sony MDR7509HD for Sennheiser HD215