Comfort, durability

Phenomenally muddled mids due to the phenomenal echo that undersized drivers in an oversized closed earcup produce, making the bass sound "boomy" and the highs sound "sizzly" (The MDR-V900 is MUCH better than the MDR-V600)

One thing I have learned about so-called "high-end" headphones: Do not buy them from Best Buy or any other mass-market electronics/appliance superstore or discount department store (with the possible exception of the Sennheiser HD570's from Circuit City)! The MDR-V600's are the most expensive headphones that Best Buy carries. I found them lacking in overall performance! The chief problem is the mismatch between the 40mm drivers (relatively large for headphones but undersized) and the phenomenally large closed-back earcups (oversized?). That causes a distinct ringing echo that completely muddles the mids -- causing the so-called "boomy" bass and "sizzly" highs stand out. The MDR-V900's are FAR better than the MDR-V600's even though both use earcups that are identical except for color; the V900's have larger 50mm drivers that are far better matched to the bulky earcups and thus are far less likely to produce midrange-muddying echoes. If you are thinking of buying headphones in the $70 to $150 price range, I found several brands and models -- both closed- and open-back -- that sound much better than these sonic pieces of cr#p:

Beyerdynamic DT231/DT250 (closed-back)
Grado SR-60/SR-80/SR-125 (open-back)
Sennheiser HD495 Silver/HD570 Symphony (open-back)
Sennheiser EH2200/HD200 (closed-back)
Sony MDR-CD580/MDR-CD780 (closed-front, open-back)
Sony MDR-V700DJ (closed-back)

Of course, I didn't include my favorites -- the Sony MDR-V900 -- or the Sennheiser HD580 Precision/HD590 Prestige/HD600 Avantgarde, because these four headphones are in the next-higher price class.

Please audition mid-priced headphones before you buy. You'll find that you may like these piles of s###. But the MDR-V600 doesn't blow wind up *my* shirt at all.

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Too many headphones (both closed- and open-back)

I had written a review earlier today, but I would like to add other alternative models in the $70 to $150 range.

Another model that sounds much better than the MDR-V600 is:

Sony MDR-7506 (closed-back)

If you can afford to spend more -- $150 to $400 -- then I would like to add the open-back Grado SR-225 and SR-325 to my list of higher-priced recommendations mentioned in my review earlier today.

Oh, by the way, the Sony MDR-V600 is absolute cow dung. Please try before you buy -- the MDR-V600 didn't blow wind up *my* skirt (kilt?) at all.

balanced sound, and price

well......none for their cost.

Listen to these.

They offer better sound than you might believe, if you read some of these rambling reviews (often by the same person), and the only way to know if you will like the sound is to try them!

Happy listening, and have a wonderful holiday season!

Similar Products Used:

many other closed back phones I've had, or listened to side by side with these.

No headphones are better than another in general. All have their own aspects.

For my listening tastes: industrial, rave, and other forms of depressive music, these headphones are a perfect choice.

One downfall however is, these headphones give you a zap to the ears at times. At work most people have headphones while working on the computer and when tapped on the shoulder I sometimes receive a small static zap to my ears.

I have watched Gladiator, Matrix, Princess Mononoke, and many other DVDs in these and all have been a very good experience.

"The Bass sounds muddy, but not deep enough, yaddi yaddi yaddi..." Then go buy some loudspeakers. For bass, the MDRs are always your best choice; Grados hurt a lot and are not fun. I am a web developer and I have these headphones on 7+ hours each day, 5 days a week. These are very comfortable and you don't even feel them on you. Most headphones it's hard to work with them on your hours upon hours a day, but these you don't even notice siting on your head.

These headphones come with a 1/4 stereo adapter -- which is gold -- and screws into the gold 1/8 plug with threads -- very nice touch. The spiraled cord is also a very nice touch after you move around and work around them a lot -- you will find out how much this really matters.

In conclusion, these headphones are the best for their price and suit harder forms of music. Also being very comfortable and ergonomic, SONY’S headphones last forever.

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V900s -- at home.

Isolation from outside sounds

Too much isolation, somewhat uneven sound, a bit too heavy

I paid $100US for these cans and wished I would have bought two more V300s instead of the V600--or saved up another $100US for the V900. These are OK, but not exceptional. This is to correct a previous 5-star rating back in June. The midrange is a bit muffled and uneven, and there is a slight echo in its sound. The bass-upon closer examination and compared to the headphones listed above in the "Similar Products Used"-is a bit cr***y; it’s "punchy" rather than deep. The highs are a bit harsh and lack some definition. The V300s--though priced half as much as the V600s--have bass that actually shakes your head while these felt asleep.

On the positive side, these have a single-sided coiled cord.

In general, the V600s are good, but there are better choices.

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDR-V300, MDR-V6

Sound.Well built.

A little bit heavy but very rugged.

I use these in my home studio for recording.
I have nothing but praises on the sound quality.
OK it doesn't sound like the MDR-V900 or the Sennheiser
HD-600 but at $79 I feel like I got ten times my money's worth.
Yes they are a little heavy but it can withstand the daily
abuse it goes through in the studio.
I bought these at www.HIFIforLESS.com great folks.

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MDR-V900

Construction quality. Sound quality on the right equipment.

Foam deterioration on the speaker elements.

I purchased these sets used for about $10 at a pawn shop. Heard about this model, and its price both new and used, and thought that it would be a steal. I had to remove the vinyl layer on the paddings and the foam covering the speaker elements since they were deteriorating, though. Now, the pads are bare black fabric, but they still look attractive, and are very breatheable and soft, yet still had excellent isolation from outside. The phones still look like new, and they work like new. The auranomic design fits my lobes almost perfectly and is extremely comfortable even through extended use. They aren't that heavy, or at least they aren't to me. The symptoms of ringing and fautiguing haven't been a problem at all. In fact, I have not had any problems with this set. I mostly use them on my Panasonic SL-S239C portable CD player. The volume doesn't have to be too high for good volume (sound pressure was too loud for comfort when the volume was just at level five). Oh, and for those who say they have ringing and fautiging from using headphones, turn the volume down! That's what will happen if you listen at too high a sound pressure level for too long, which is a warning that you can be damaging your hearing! The highs are crisp, the mids clean, and the lows defined and unexaggerated. Rendition seemed very accurate and desirable throughout the audiable range. I've listened to everything like the Bee Gees, Sharon Apple(Macross Plus), Enya, Enigma, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Jerry Goldsmith, Alf Clausen, Rush, Prodigy, Sublime, and a bunch of others. I have enjoyed listening to all the music with these headphones moreso than the pairs I've used previously. My Optimus PROs(rebadged Koss PortaPro models) had a tendency to overemphasize the lows, although I did enjoy that extended bass, and the PROs weren't ideal for extended use as they placed excessive pressure on the lobes(probably since they were open type). The JVC HA-D525 didn't have much bass at all, and they were very uncomfortable and even a tad painful for extended listening as they placed pressure on my lobes, even though they were the closed ear type, and the fit of the JVCs were not very secure at all. The JVC eventually went apart as the cans broke off the band. The Sony MDR-V600 is a fine piece of audio equipment, although there will always be critics for everything. They may not beat the better models of Sony phones, better models of Technics phones, or excellent Sennheiser phones costing more than twice that of the Sony MDR-V600, but the better sound on these sets may not seem very obvious since the MDR-V600 are reasonably high end. for the $80 price at some places new(MSRP: $130), they shouldn't disappoint. Besides, the MDR-V600 are still used for professional applications for obvious reasons, they provide excellent and accurate sound on good equipment for a good price. highly recommended. - Reinhart

Similar Products Used:

Optimus PRO-25 Titanium
Optimus PRO-35 Titanium
JVC HA-D525

sound and build

none

These are the second best dynamic headphones on the market. The best are the Sennheiser 600s, but even those are not the best at everything. These Sonys are my choice for portable use, since they are very efficient and seal out outside sound well. They have great detail, and are more accurate than the older V-6s. Compared to the V-6, these are better balanced in frequency response, and offer much better detail and imaging, being more transparent across the entire spectrum, and especially in the bass. For the money, they are simply unbeatable, offering superior comfort, durability, and sound. In a word, "SUPERB"!

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sony V-6

FABULOUS WONDERFUL TERRIFIC GREAT SOUND

ZERO

WOW1 BOY OH BOY! YOU GOT TO TRY THESE! They wipe out headphones near there price! The other phones I would like to compare them to are the V-900's, but I don't think I'll go buy those just to compare them, since these sound almost as good as the best sennheisers, and have some qualities I like even more than those expensive cans. OH THESE ARE WONDERFUL !!!

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othe Sony's (V-6's), Grado, Senheiser..(of same or higher cost).

many

few

I like these! I highly suggest that you try a pair. They are my favorite closed style headphones because they are wonderfully natural sounding, and fit my head very comfortably. Also, they are good at keeping out sounds and they don't leak much sound out. They are easy to drive with my portable, and sound punchy and full with it. They are not murky or dark or muffled to my ears, in fact they seem much more balanced, and dynamic than any other closed types I've heard, with great detail and clarity from bottom to top. And they will last a long time......mine are still going strong, and I listen to them two hours every day while working out on my exercise bike. They do get wet with sweat, every day, as do I, but they dry out overnight, and to everyone's delight, I take a shower each night.These are just great phones!

Similar Products Used:

koss