Headphones reviews

I have owned these unique phones for about a year now, and find them to be an excellent product in all respects. The construction quality is superb, with the frames being constructed of magnesium.

The fit of the phones should accomodate any sized head, with no pressure whatsoever, and the headband sort of floats on very thin metal cables.

Sound initially was somewhat bright, with the lower bass slightly recessed. With time, the tonal balance continued to improve. The phones now have a very nice bass and smooth, detailed highs.

As the F-1 is a totally open design, quite similar to the AKG 1000, the soundstage is wide, airy and spacious.

Sony states that the drivers are constructed in such a manner as to provide a constant impedance over the entire frequency range. This seems to make them a very easily-driven phone as they are very efficient and can be easily driven from very modest power sources.

Although the sound will not disappoint in any way, the true measure of this headphone is in the comfort when in use. I have never owned or used a more comfortable phone! They are so light as to be almost unnoticeable while wearing.

The material that does touch the sides of the face is soft and stays cool. The speakers never touch the ears, and are angles slightly to the rear, creating a very realistic, open speaker-like soundstage.

The only negative that I can mention is that the F-1 is very difficult to locate as they now seem to be only available through Japanese audio distributors. I purchased mine thru AudioCubes, and received them at my Florida address very quickly. I would also personally prefer a 6′ cord rather than the 10′ as supplied with the phones. The cord is fairly thin in diameter, but very flexible with good strain reliefs.

Considering the quality of construction and the fact that they are unmatched in comfort, they are a true bargain at street prices less than $200!

The Sony MDR-F1 Headphones are a respected headphone in the industry, and for a good many number of reasons. First I would like to say that these are NOT studio headphones. They have studio quality speakers, but because they are open-air style headphones, there will be a little other background noise.

With that said I will now brag about these amazing stereo headphones. They weigh practically nothing when on your head because of the band that lifts them from your head. There is also little place where these headphones touch your head, and don't touch your ear at all. They are the standard for real and true open air style. There is no place where they even graze your ear, even with a large ear like me. They can look really cool, and they are EXTREMELY LOUD when you need them to be. They can easily be plugged into a laptop and be used as external speakers to save energy as well as increase volume level. They pair with many portable audio players, especially ones that support 8 ohm output.

But that is just comfort and style. The sound is a totally seperate story. Talk about AMAZING!! I comapred them to my friends noise-canceling Bose headphones, and there were many differences. Please note that I turned the noise-cancelation on for the tests, so give it as much help as it could get. Now I should mention that I am a real Audiophile, and can be very picky about this. I rated the sound of the MDR's on a 1-10 scale, with 1 at Discusting and 10 for Unbelievable.

For lower Frequences like a bass guitar or the main beat of a r&b song, they are number one. In there description from sony it is pointed out that they have a special driver on the speaker that aids in clarity and pronouncieation of the bass. And how amazing they work. Simply un-deniable bass from these. It made the Bose look like third-rate over-priced paper-cone speakers. 11/10 for bass.

For midtones sony did what they do normally, giving it the standard design for those mid frequencies that include slightly lower voices and classical music. But don't underestimate the beauty of Sony and mid's. However Bose out-did them here. I believe that Bose loves to get to this on most of there woofers, so I was expecting this. for the MDR's, I give it 8.5/10 for mids

The High Notes. To many this is the most important. Due to the large size of the speakers and the solid construction, the high notes came out most exelent. Even on the highest pitches, there was no hiss or the very common rattle at high notes. They are made from a solid metal frame which has taken a lot, and can take the High's very well. Now when I compared this to the Boses' I Had trouble noticing any differences, and had to get out my meter on my computer that displays and remakes frequencies to do something like this. Both are almost equal contenders, with the only difference is that the Bose will be a little quietter on the hights, but by about +/- .03 dB. Thats not much. So little that I eventually gave up and said that they were as close to perfect as any will get. 10/10.

But there is something to considder when deciding what to get. "What am I going to listen to and where?" If you are on the plane a lot and like classical music to calm your nerves then bose. If you Rock out a lot and are in school or the office a lot, the Sony's are better in this case. Plus the Range of the sound. Love that bass? sony. Cant get enough of the vocals? Bose. It is very much on taste, and since I LOVE rock of all kinds the MDR-F1's were a blessing from God. I understand that Pioneer is also coming out with a new headphone that is very simmilar to both of these combined, which is also a thing to considder. One last thing. Open-Air Design. If you like to listen to music and only the music, this is not the good style for you. But if you feel better off knowing when someone is talking to you when you are listening to music, the MDR-F1 is the answer. And both of these headphones look a little funny on some people, but very few. The sony's look awkward on a tall and thin person with a suit on and a briefcase, but the Bose's look incredibly expensive, and they are, and are not for the t-shirt wearing pedestrian or casual man or woman. Again it is all about taste.

To this day, I have never felt strongly enough about any product to write a review about it.

But, for anyone considering this set of headphones, i must tell you this.

You will never find a better sounding AND incredibly comfortable set ANYWHERE.

I purchased more than one just in case the one i had somehow broke.

You cant go wrong!