MDR-7506 : Great for the Studio

I bought these after much reading and finding out they've become something of a standard for monitoring and indeed apparently famous producer Andrew Scheps admits to even mixing with them.

For me I wanted something a little higher quality for monitoring and rough mixes (late at night :-)). I have had several pairs of Senheiser HD201's and I love them. Such good value for money, but I thought I could get a slightly better sound. I tried various other much more expensive products and they all left me disappointed.

They come in a decent box with a service manual card that appears not to have changed since they starting making these in the early 90's. I personally find that reassuring.

Sound wise the 7506's do have more width and detail. Simply put. I feel for the price you get something good but still reasonable. The quality of the materials is all nice too.

The other thing I appreciate is the curly lead (if only it were replaceable, but no problems thus far). Working in a home studio your constantly moving around in your chair, reaching for and setting things up. Long straight leads get caught in stuff more easily, especially the wheels of my chair! This lead is really nice and compact, long when it needs to be and stay out of the way. Almost perfect.

Last postiive thing to say probably is that the isolation. which is better than my Sennheiser HD 201's, so I get less bleed from it when recording acoustic guitars etc.

My only gripe with them is that they are a bit tight on the head and ear, and so are no quite as comfortable as some other models. But it's not really bad as some I've had. If you have a habit of taking them off regularly when you're not actually monitoring, that really helps.

I would recommend these highly yo both people with studios large and small and also hi-fi enthusiasts who want a decent sounding pair of cans that won't break the bank.