Sony MDR-1A Prestige Overhead Headphones - Black

Product Information

Sat at our desks and the large nature of the earcups delivers sound in an almost surround-sound kind of way. The spatial soundscape here feels more immersive, clearer and separated than many competitors. It makes for a great listen with glorious bass without ever being over the top, and there's exceptional clarity in among the mid-level frequencies. The Sony MDR-1A are headphones that marry an overemphasised bass with otherwise refined sound. There is some resonance to the bottom-end that stops it from sounding entirely balanced. It is quite obviously ‘larger’ than intended, especially when doling out dance beats.

The Sony MDR-1A is a newer, updated version of the 1R which is lighter, smaller and more affordable. While they don’t have the “prestige” tag associated with them like the 1R, the MDR-1A is more than capable of delivering high-res audio no matter what you are listening to.My hearing improves dramatically when I start looking at FR graphs — when I look at these graphs, I can hear up to 40K (50K on a good day). When I stop looking at those graphs, I can only hear up to 10K." --> music_4321

For music on the go. This are my favourites for the moment. I rate it even higher than the Sennheiser Momentum because the cans are much more comfortable. It sounds to us like this happens as part of the DAC chain: the part that converts the digital wireless signal into the analogue one that eventually drives the 40mm dynamic drivers used here. Plus it’s what makes sense from a technical perspective. While we didn’t have the Sony MDR-1A for direct comparison, from memory it also seems that Sony may have toned down the bass a little this time. There is a bass emphasis here, but only a slight one. The impression they give off is of a balanced, and fairly natural-sounding headphone.Possible driver downgrade... going from 48 in 1A to only 16 ohms in M2 bothers me, as low impedence drivers are known to be not as resolving... As this headphone is usually compared to MSR7, I don't recommend MSR7 on comfort aspect. I am Asian with regular size head but MSR7's earcup pressure feels like torture. For our large noggin the MDR-1A fit is fine, but those with smaller heads might struggle to get the same experience. That's something to keep in mind, as you might not get the same five-star experience, but from our week's worth of listening sessions, and given the sensible price point, we have to say the Sony MDR-1A is a top class choice.

No matter what genre of music you throw at them, the MDR-1A handles it well and there is no need to tinker with any adjustments or the equalizer. Everything from vocal ballads to heavy metal sounds fantastic. A V-shaped headphone is an apt way to describe the Sony MDR-1A. But in this case it doesn’t mean they have non-existent mids. Compared to my Momentum 1.0s, 2.0s, and my Adidas Monster Originals (a surprisingly competent headphone, BTW), these things are so much better. In a single word - they are balanced. No matter what you throw at them, they never stop being balanced and neutral. Which is a very hard thing for any headphone to do. Putting these on for the first time, it became immediately apparent that these are the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn. After having listened to them for a few weeks and putting these things through some long listening sessions (had these on for almost 12 hours in one day), I have to say that my claim stands. This thing is king. As a design choice, Sony chose an almost all plastic body and housing (aside from metal headband) and it feels incredible to wear.

User reviews

The sophisticated look has a lot to do with convincing you the Sony MDR-1A are high-end too, because the materials used are largely concerned with keeping the headset light. The outer parts of the cups are covered with cast aluminium, as the parts you’re likely to touch most often, but the rest of the set’s seemingly metallic outer parts are plastic. I am very happy to say that even one year after having owned these, they have held up beautifully and remain my favorite pair of cans I have used in the price range. So much so that I have had no desire to search further, higher, or wider to find a better pair. Because the testing occurred on a crowded show floor, it was relatively hard to make out the subtle nuances of the headphones. Male vocals sound good on both, but female vocals can be slighly piercing on the sonys, again the detail is there but they are approaching the sibilant zone for me. Note: These headphones have an impedance of just 24 Ohms making these very easy to drive from a variety of sources like your smartphone, laptop, and whatever whoosie-whatsie you plug these into. While amps and dacs generally aren’t necessary for pleasant listening with these headphones, they certainly benefit from high quality sources and audio. Also note that using a source with an output impedance of higher than ~3 Ohms may impact sound signature and quality.

It’s been over three years since Sony introduced their MDR which was headed by the MDR-1R which were described as being able to produce “prestige” sound. Even though they were pricey, the MDR-1R was an impressive pair of over-ears and delivered in both performance and build quality.

Sony’s high-end headphones impress with sound, disappoint with construction

In terms of comfort, they are both very comfortable on my head. If I had to choose, I would give the edge to the 598s. The velour padding allows my ears to breath better, while the sony pads are just a tad too small for my ears which is slightly annoying because I have to adjust them once in a while.