The Gadgets Page

At your typical electronics or department store it’s easy to find all kinds of headphones—in-the-ear types, tiny earbuds, and various strange shapes that don’t fit anyone’s ears. (Are you listening, Nike?) It’s becoming harder to find cheap headphones that are shaped like plain old headphones, but fortunately Sony still makes some nice ones.

Sony’s MDR-V750 headphones are a low-end “studio” model, which means they’re not really pocket-sized. They’re still small and portable compared to my MDR-7506 studio monitor headphones, and much cheaper ($30).

Design and Fit

These are shaped like a smaller version of the larger studio phones, but still fit my ears nicely. The vinyl cushions are circular, with a hole in the middle, which prevents them from being too warm, although they’re still warmer on the ears than lightweight models.

The V250 headphones won’t be winning any design awards, since they’re the same shape as HAM radio operators were using 50 years ago, but it’s a tried and true design that works. The headband is wide and sturdy, and adjusts in size for a good fit.

The earpads can fold 180 degrees away from your ear, which is nice for temporarily opening an ear to listen to what’s going on. Unfortunately, unlike the larger 7506’s, the headphones don’t fold into a more portable shape.

Sound Quality

They may not be as portable as some, or look great with your tiny iPod, but these headphones do sound great. The bass response is very good, and with the closed design, ambient sounds are blocked very well. The high end also sounds great, and there’s none of the mushy midrange tones I associate with cheap headphones. It’s very easy to isolate different parts of complex music.

I’m not an expert nor have I hooked them up to a spectrum analyzer, but the frequency response curve sounds realistic and pretty close to neutral—nothing exaggerated, which is important when you’re using them to monitor music you’re producing yourself.

Features

These headphones have a nice bonus feature: a built-in volume control. Unlike many inline controls, it seems quite sturdy, and the sound is great both at low and high volume. There’s also a stereo/mono switch, which comes in handy when you’re mastering your own music and want to test different listening conditions. It’s also a fun toy to fiddle with while you’re listening to music with a strong stereo separation.

The supplied cord is not detachable, as is standard for cheap headphones, but it is long and unusually thick, and looks like it can take a beating. A 1/8″ standard headphone plug is attached, and a 1/4″ adapter is supplied for plugging into non-portable equipment.

Conclusion

Sony’s MDR-V250 is a great set of low-priced headphones for studio use or casual music listening. The volume control is a nice feature, the sound quality is about the best I’ve heard on headphones under $100, and you can’t beat the price.