Sony Head phones for Sony PMW EX1

P

Pushpa de Silva

Member
Hi

I am looking forward to buy a good quality Sony head phones for my Sony PMW EX1. What are u all think about Sony MDR-V700DJ model head phones?? Ur help/advice/comments are much appreciated.. Thx. Pushpa
 
to a great extent, headphones are a matter of personal preference. however i wouldn't generally think of the model you pointed out as a candidate for part of a camera package. they're too big and bulky, and complicated in design and construction. the smaller sony mdr-7506 is one of the most commonly used set of cans in field production for this reason. they fold up into a small package and the simpler design makes them fairly robust.

i prefer the sennheiser hd25-sp II, mostly because i hate the coiled cables found on most other field headphones. but they're also light and compact, and i find that they provide better isolation from ambient sound than the 7506. and they're more comfortable for long periods. saying that, they only last me about a year. they're not as rugged as the 7506. i hate to think of them as disposable, but i'll pay a hundred a year for them.
 
Jay Gladwell said:
Go on professional shoots/sets, there you'll see, far more often than not, the Sony MDR-7509HD headphones.
Click to expand...

Is that true Jay?

I have been using the 7506 model for years, and those are the industry standard, but I have been wanting to try the 7509s. Some say the bass is lacking on the 7509. I'm not sure what to go by because that is also said about the 7506 sometimes, and I think it's probably because those people may be used to cans for home use, which often have hyped bass for music enjoyment.

So Jay can you expand on your opinion on the 7509HD? I don't want any less bass than the 7506. I just want them to be accurate.

And for the original poster, the MDR-V700DJ are DJ headphones indeed. For 100.00 the 7506 are great, and many films & albums have been made using them. But for 200.00 or so I'm hoping the 7509HD will be my new standard.
 
Sorry... I meant the 7506s, that's what I own/use. Why I said 7509... only heaven knows. :huh:

Sometimes, I puzzle myself.
 
Get 'em, Chad. You won't be sorry. I've been using them for years....great isolation, more neutral than the 7506's.....but that's just one mans' opinion.
 
ThankX Dave! I probably will.

When you say "more neutral" does that mean that the 7606 are more bright? Please specify.

They are on the list...
 
More neutral means flatter response with less boosting of frequencies, usually in the lower end.
I've gone through at least 4 well-used pairs of 7506's over many years. Except maybe for very critical music recording use, I don't know why someone would want to spend the extra $120 for the 7509's.
 
Yep, you got it Chad. They have a stronger, more pronounced midrange which, at first listen, sounds pretty good. I simply found them to be a bit tiring to my ears after long periods. One advantage to this midrange "lift" is that you will be able to really hear voices clearly. Trust me, they are fine headphones and if you find them at a good price, go for it.
 
Sony MDR-V600 here. A bit more pricey than the alternatives mentioned so far. They're decent, though not as flat in response as my sound system. Others sound too "honky" in the midrange and lack bass and treble for a balanced and transparent sound.
 
The Sony MDR-V600 go for about 70.00, so I wouldn't call them 'pricey' compared to the 100.00 7506, which I also consider reasonably priced for what you get.
 
I paid $99 for mine in 2002. Relative to my Koss LV10s ($34.99), they are rather pricey.
Most of the radio stations I worked at used $5 headphones that were bought in bulk from BSW.
 
I have also owned the Sony MDR V600 for years. I only chose them because that's what the guy at the camera store suggested, back when...

I'm a few weeks away from a very, very low-budge horror film project- Sony EX1 with Nanoflash and intend to use the camera to capture the film's audio, with a shotgun mic. Would anyone advise that I'd be better off getting the Sennheiser HD-25 mkII, Sony 7506 or 7509 rather than being okay using what I have? If so can you please state why? Thanks!
 
Lucere said:
I have also owned the Sony MDR V600 for years. I only chose them because that's what the guy at the camera store suggested, back when...

I'm a few weeks away from a very, very low-budge horror film project- Sony EX1 with Nanoflash and intend to use the camera to capture the film's audio, with a shotgun mic. Would anyone advise that I'd be better off getting the Sennheiser HD-25 mkII, Sony 7506 or 7509 rather than being okay using what I have? If so can you please state why? Thanks!
Click to expand...

As I already stated, the Sony 7506 are very nice and the industry standard. I have 2 pairs and use them on Film, Live Audio, Studio recording etc. With a 15.00 set of Garfield headphone softies they last forever, and your ears stay cooler in summer, and warmer in winter.

Sony MDR-7506 89.00 - Read the reviews.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/49510-REG/Sony_MDR_7506_MDR_7506_Headphone.html

Headphone Softies:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/368310-REG/Garfield_SGARHS1_Headphone_Softie_Earpad.html


And I would suggest using a nice mixer to feed the EX1. Something like the Sound Devices MixPre. It has 2 limiting stages and 65DB of gain, 2 levels of low-cut, phantom, tone (to calibrate to the camera for clip proof audio) and a switch that lets you hear what the camera hears vs what the mixer hears. Total control so you don't touch the EX1 audio levels. The EX1 audio levels should be at 5 or 6, but no higher or you will have more noise. Let the mixer do the heavy lifting and leave the camera op alone.
 
I see Amazon now has the 7506's for $80 shipped. That sir, is as close as it gets to a no-brainer for someone looking for a heavy-duty, great sounding headphone.
 
Thanks for the feedback all. And thanks Chadfish for the advice on getting a mixer.

Something I haven't considered or have much knowledge about, but what you mentioned does makes good sense and I'll most likely just go ahead and get it in the next few days. Or does anyone have any different mixer suggestions, in a relatively close price range? The Sound Devices MixPre is $665 at B&H. And definitely appreciate that heads up on the EX1s audio levels!!
 
Lucere, I also suggest a thing called a "Breakaway Cable". It's like a snake with 3 cables. @ xlr for the audio to go to the camera, and one 1/8" mini for the headphone return to come back from the camera. Also there is usually an extra jack for the camera op to plug in headphones. The cable can 'break away' near the camera end do you can leave everything connected and still dis connect. I got a great one for 200.00. Well worth it rather than having a bunch of cables running between you and the camera.

Blake Wilcox made me a sweet one using Mugammi parts, and even ut my name on it. fredfstone60@hotmail.com

I think it's cheaper yet better than the ones from a larger company. You can get extensions too if you need more length.

Here's an example of one, though 40.00 more: http://www.trewaudio.com/store/product.php?productid=109&cat=0&page=1

Boom to mixer, mixer to breakaway cable, breakaway to camera.
 
The MDR-7506s are standard fare in just about every mid-upper range radio broadcast studio. I think they have an over-emphasized midrange and not enough on the low and very high end, so they sound squawky to me.

Adding a mixer to the EX1 only makes sense if you have more than two sound sources to feed the camera simultaneously. Otherwise, and I know it's a pain, use the attenuator menu to set the gain for the situation. Adding additional electronics only degrades the sound by adding infinitessimally more distortion and noise to the signal path.
 
The advantage of the Mixer before the EX1 is that you can ride gain, which is gives you less noise than turning up quiet dialogue in post, or at the camera. Also you have 2 stages of limiting (pre and post input), and you use the camera's Line in, which is quieter than mic in of course. I'm not sure if the EX1 line in is just the mic in turned down, or on a separate circuit all together. It's about giving the person booming/mixing the control they lack when going in straight to camera. Not so important when setting and forgetting like with a live music thing. Anyway the mixer option is appropriate for set dialogue. I do with and without mixer depending on the needs of the situation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top