Unboxing the Sony was much like opening a box of cereal, no confusion, straight to business. It comes with a protective box and the usuals; flight, USB and headphone cables. Initial impressions are that it is well-made, things are tightly screwed together and it does look like it is manufactured to last.
Within minutes of listening to the 1000X, a competing headphone came to mind. The QC35. Unlike the Bose, these don't get bright and painful to the ears as volume rises. What’s more, the MDR’s noise cancelling ability walks over the 35s by a margin to take its crown.
PRO
Noise cancelling
Well detailed
Light, long hours listening
Range
CON
Fit, good for huge skull
Not for all genre
SPECIFICATION
20 hours of battery life
Noise cancelling
Bluetooth 4.1 with aptX
275 grams
RM 1,499
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REVIEW: Bose QC35
REVIEW: Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear
REVIEW: Bowers Wilkins PX
Much like the Bose, some tunes can sometimes sound flat or linear. Electronic & RnB of recent years sound amazing on them with sufficient and tight control of bass accompanied by a clear separation of mids and highs. Despite its over-ear design, the pair of Sony plays oldies well which is especially true when listening to the voice of Karen Carpenter’s which sounded very hearty. Other times, tracks can sound jumbled together like in John Mayer's Neon guitar intro riff.
When the right tracks are chosen, it is interesting how much detail this pair of Sony can produce which makes skipping tracks hard to do.
" Having these headphones on,
you’re in a sphere of your own "
At 1500, it undercuts the Bose but it is tough for many buyers not to be tempted by the worse performing and pricier headphone makers. Then again, it isn’t as luxuriously presented as the Beoplay H8 or Sennheiser Momentum. The MDR-1000X is difficult to fault but it doesn’t replicate the sounds that can be brought about by a Bower & Wilkins PX although things can get hot from long listening.
Listen to:
Scoop of Walnut stool & Ideas never die skull by JayKay design studio