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Sony MDR-SA5000 DJ Stereo Headphones | List Price: $699.99
Discount Price: $394.95
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Brand: Sony
Binding: Electronics
Features: - Magnesium frame structure for super lightweight headphones
- Utilizes modern nanocomposite diaphragms to increase frequency range
- 50 millimeter diameter, dome-type driver unit
- Open-air design with leather ear pads and pressure dispersion pad for comfort
- Neodymium magnets (360 kJ/m3) for powerful bass and clear treble sounds
Be Careful of the Hype... [Posted on 2008-03-15]
I have been a serious audiophile for 5 years now, always specializing in headphones. I have auditioned a great many headphones over the years and have become a fairly discerning listener when it comes to audio quality.
SYSTEM:
-Harmonix Reimyo CDP-777 CD Player (w/mod by Upgrade Company)
-SinglePower SDS-XLR Balanced Headphone Amplifier
-Over 200 NOS tubes
-Sony MDR-R10s, Sennheiser HD650, Grado RS-1, AKG K701
-Grand Prix Monaco Modular Isolation System
-Virtual Dynamics Genesis Interconnects
-Virtual Dynamics Master Power Cords
REVIEW:
Tone: The SA5Ks lean towards the treble, and are a little bright. Neither the mids or bass seem more/less pronounced than the other, but the treble is definitely front and center for these phones. This is likely a bi-product of these phone's emphasis on speed, detail, and clean representation.
Bass: The bass is a weak point for this headphone. Extension isn't terrible, but impact is on the light side and the tone doesn't have alot of body or bloom. These are very fast, clean headphones, and sometimes the result of increasing detail is losing tone and body.
Mids: Decent mids, but certainly nothing special. Of course, I'm very spoiled by my R10's mids as they're likely the best in all headphonedom. But again, very clean, and pretty accurate. But these certainly aren't romantic headphones that will make you melt at hearing female voices or classical music.
Higs: Bright and piercing out of the box, but burn in has a way of bringing the highs under control. After burn in, the highs actually come across as a highlight - especially with fast, exciting music that relies on lead instruments often playing in high registers.
Detail: THIS is where these headphones shine. It's likely due to the speed at which these headphones retrieve and deliver audio information, but they can make a claim to being the most detailed headphones on the market. It's not just the fact that you'll be able to hear everything, but that you'll be able to hear everything presented in such a clean, transparent manner. They certainly won't miss anything, and if it's in the recording, it will fish it out.
Speed: Obviously as I've already said these are EXTREMELY fast headphones. But before you interpret that as an intrinsic, positive quality, there's also a downside. Speed has to do with how fast a component transmits attack (the point at which a note enters) and decay (the point at which it fades/leaves). With phones of such speed what you get is attacks that hit very quickly, last very shortly, decays that end quickly, and a somewhat thin note "body". This means that legato music (like violins and other strings) often don't flow as well as they might. However, staccato music (think of fast metal riffing) is delivered on point without a "sludge" effect of notes running into each other.
An example might be if you were to listen to the E-string chugging of thrash metal bands (Metallica, Megadeth, etc). On a slower headphone it's easy to miss the pick/attack of the individual notes - but that's not so on the SA5Ks as they catch the attack of each rapid fire note and due to the quick decay are able to hit the next one with no note obscuration. This is also evident on the quick beats of techno and other club music.
Soundstage/Imaging: The soundstage is decent on the Y-axis (up/down), but weak on the X-axis (left right). The headphones also have a way of flattening sound images so you're not getting much depth either. However, making up for this is the pinpoint precise imaging which presents images with clearly defined edges, allowing instruments to breathe despite the limitations of the X-axis. Again, this is likely due to the speed of the headphone which doesn't allow for sound to be slowed and thus infringing into other sounds' space.
Component Matching: They definitely work best with a system that can fill out their lean character; providing more body and punch. Don't worry about slowing them down to the point where the detail and clarity is lost as I don't think that's possible. I've tried them even with very lethargic and sludgy tubes and the result is still a fast, clear sound that merely has better bass and fuller mids. One tube that goes wonderful with the SA5k is the Sylvania 6SN7W, which provides alot of body, dynamics, and "umph!". Of secondary importance is finding components that can extend the soundstage.
Music Best/Least Suited For: They're best suited for fast, complex music that doesn't rely on slow, toneful, emotive passages too much. Genres like progressive metal or techno sound excellent on these cans. They are also excellent with rock and other metal, even though I still often prefer Grado's kick and presentation. They're least suited for classical, emotive vocal music, and anything that uses slow, toneful, sweeping passages. Again, these ARE NOT romantic headphones. They are somewhat cold and merciless and really not for people who listen to music or audio to be swept away by beautiful sound.
Comparisons: These headphones are almost the opposite of those like the Senn HD650, which are slow phones with alot of body that can make it seem as if you're listening to music through a veil. However, the Senns work better on classical and vocal music. They also have better bass and soundstaging. The cans that come off as an amalgamation of the SA5Ks detail and the HD650's musicality is the AKG K701s. They have superb soundstage and air, good bass and highs, great mids, but also don't lose out on the detail department. I really don't have time to go into detailed comparisons with 1000 other phones, so hopefully this can provide a little more insight into how the SA5K sounds.
Comfort: I can't find any faults in this department. As far as I can tell these are well designed headphones that are easy to wear for hours on end.
CONCLUSION:
The SA5K's greatest strengths are its incredible detail, speed, and clarity. Its weakness are its lack of body, warmth, musicality, and potentially harsh brightness. In the audio world it's often much more about personal preference than objective good/bad, better/best. So be careful and pick components which suit your tastes and musical needs. The SA5Ks are great headphones, and are competitive with others in their price range, but they are not monster killers (R10s, L3000s, Qualias), or the greatest headphones in history (or even in production now). They have a very unique sound that's very easy to impress upon first listen or impress any audio neophyte. But be warned that while many of the Amazon reviewers make it sound as if these phones are unbeatable, there may be a better option for you.
Great Heaphones, but ... [Posted on 2008-03-25]
I wear headphones for very long periods of time, and I have to say that these are wonderfully comfortable, and are of superb quality, however, the sound bleeds out and can easily be heard by someone sitting across the room, even at the lower volume levels! I've never experienced this with any other headphones, so would not recommend these if you're going to wear them whilst sitting relatively near to someone else.
Great headphones [Posted on 2008-06-02]
These headphones are expenseive but worth the price. Their light weight and very comfortable design permit long sessions without any discomfort. The sound quality is absolutely perfect. I liked these much better than equivalent Sennheisers I have tried.
Great Headphone But Read If Your Going To Use For Computer [Posted on 2008-06-14]
This product is great if your like me and been dreaming of this forever and stepped up from some cheap 30dollar pair of headphones the difference is going to be big at first but you going to wonder wheres the Bass/Treble when you first hear it. These headphones are made to withold the high db in both your bass and treble. I got a pretty nice outcome with one of the best soundblaster cards and turning the basic treble and down to 50% where there is no reduction or enhancement and did it manually with the Sound out equalizer and this is the settings i found to be happy with. My friends and i are greatly impressed with the difference now.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/rhodeder/equalizer.jpg
Almost but no cigar. [Posted on 2008-06-28]
I use a Rega Apollo cd player. The MDR-SA5000 produce freakishly realistic sound. Vocals will make the hair on your neck stand up, because you will think the person singing is in the room with you. Unfortunately these headphones are way too bright. They are very revealing to the point of being a flaw. I felt that these headphones had the potential to be the best, but I could not get past the brightness. I ended up selling them however I still wonder how they would sound with an aftermarket cable. FYI the much cheaper MDR-SA1000 series sound almost identicle to these. The SA1000 use the same driver components and I liked them as much as I like these. The SA1000 are not as comfortable but you will be able to decide if you want them or not. I now use HD600's (these are better than the more expensive HD650's) with a blue Cardas cable. I was the biggest skeptic regarding expensive aftermarket cables, A GOOD CABLE IS A MUST HAVE! If you are using headphones that cost $200 or more get a good cable or don't even bother. Buy a used Cardas cable (or equivilant from another company) made for your particular headphone and try it, you can always re-sell it. You will not believe the difference.
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