Sony MDR 7509

[Serge44]

Компания Sony производит и продает аудиоаппаратуру по всему миру, некоторые модели предназначены только для одних географических регионов и в других либо не продаются либо под другими названиями. И наушники в том числе, иногда продаются только в одном из регионов: Япония, США, Европа, Южная Африка. Страны бывшего СССР, по крайней мере, по начало 2000-ых годов, относятся компанией к Sony к региону Европа.
Наибольшие продажи Sony MDR 7509 были в США. Первоначально эта модель считалась предназначенной для студий звукозаписи. После того, как наушники активно покупали и для домашнего прослушивания, выпустили обновленную версию Sony MDR 7509 HD, которая сейчас продается более широко, по всему миру.
Все мои знакомые, кто хотел купить эти наушники (первую версию без HD), и я в том числе, нашли их на американских досках объявлений, либо новые либо б\у в отличном состоянии.

[jurgen]

В связи с глобальной путаницей моделей SONY по годами выпуска (= модификациям) позволю себе перепостить одну из версий с head-fi:

The Japan-only MDR-CD700 and original MDR-CD900 were released in late 1985; the CD700s were a non-folding, straight-cabled variant with a gold diaphragm (it was my first pair of really good headphones I bought in Japan when I was in junior high; sadly I threw them out only a couple of years ago after I discovered that the drivers died); the CD900s were the direct cousin to the V6: foldable, coiled cord, with a CCAW voice coil and samarium cobalt magnet; the part number for the driver varies between the CD900s and the original V6s but they're definitely in the same family. The MDR-V6 was released at almost the same time as the CD900, but it was an "export only" product and not released in Japan. In 1987 Sony released the moderately rare MDR-V7, which used an amorphous sapphire diaphragm (non-folding, straight cord), which was also "export only" and seemed to be more popular in Europe than anywhere else. The MDR-7506 was released a few years later as the "professional" version of the V6, but with a neodymium magnet, gold-plated plug, and better warranty. Like most Sony headphones, up until the late nineties, these were all MADE IN JAPAN. At some point in the 2000s, Sony moved headphone manufacturing- first to China, and then to Thailand, and although the original drivers from the 7506 and V6 were slightly different, now they share the same part number. As someone who has gone through countless pairs of 7506s, I still prefer my old Japanese 7506, V6, and especially the V7. From my experience, the Chinese batch of 7506s sounded more brittle in the high-mids and there was less consistency between 'phones; not sure if they manufactured any V6s in China. With the move to Thailand, things seem to have evened out, and my recent Thai 7506 and V6 pairs sound identical (barring small variances in production). [None of these are to be confused with the actual FAKE models which are all over ebay.]

I should also point out that there were two versions of the MDR-CD900: the original type (folding, coiled cord, shiny, gorgeous), and then a revised Japan-only version that became the MDR-CD900ST, but still called the MDR-CD900 (otherwise identified by being non-folding, with a straight cord to 1/4" plug). The MDR-CD900ST was co-developed by Sony Music Entertainment in Japan and are as ubiquitous as the MDR-7506 is in America in studios and professional applications. The current CD900ST has a different driver than the 7506/V6 (according to part numbers) and earpads with less padding. The MDR-CD700, original CD900, V6, V7, and 7506 all share the same flake-prone earpads; I've tried the Beyer DT250 pads and they're comfy but I still went back to the original Sony earpads. :-)

Like someone else said, I found the MDR-V600 (MDR-Z600 in Japan) an awful replacement for the V6s, which is probably why Sony reintroduced the V6. I'm also not a huge fan of the V900 (Z900) but they're definitely better than the "HD" version that came out a few years after that. There were also the sub-series, like the CD777, CD999, CD750, etc., etc., etc., and I'm gathering more info on those.

My listening tests have been purely subjective thus far but of the pairs I own, I rank them this way:

MDR-V7 top! (the high end is, in my opinion, more even than the 7506/V6, and there is a bit more punch in the < 100Hz range; I feel like these are the headphones I could wear and switch over to my studio monitors and whatever I'm listening to would sound the same).
MDR-7506 Japan / MDR-V6 Japan (they *can* be a bit brittle at times in the 5/6kHz range, but this is more due to age and production lot variances; I have two pairs of 7506s that I like, and two pairs that I hate- just a function of time and chance)
MDR-7506 Thai / MDR-V6 Thai (I find them a little like the "disco EQ curve" of the 70s, with a little more ~120Hz and a little more ~8kHz, but still listen-to-able)
MDR-CD900ST (super, super, flat; not as punchy in the lows but they're very accurate; however, with their less-padded earpads, they make my ears hurt a lot faster).
MDR-CD999 (50mm driver, not bad, but still a little "toppy")
MDR-1R (the new ones; 50mm driver, definitely a peak around 200Hz that makes them muddy to my ears, but flatter in the highs- almost boring, but REALLY comfy)
MDR-CD777 (40mm amorphous sapphire diaphragm driver, still a little more high end than I prefer)
MDR-V900 (non-HD)
MDR-V600
MDR-V900HD/MDR-7509