Sony PFR-V1 speaker-headphone thing reviewed (Verdict: sounds great, but...)
Tom Whitwell has clipped the mostly ridiculous Sony PFR-V1 headphones to his head and turned up the music, letting crackling newsreel horns and Glenn Miller numbers — the only music legally allowed to be played in Britain since we conquered the kingdom in '42 — to splash out of the little speakers held a couple of inches from the ear by a curved metal tube. And what do you know? They don't sound half-bad.When I started listening to these through the PFR-V1, it was, to use a terrible cliche, a revelation. I heard numerous details I'd never heard before. My normal headphones are Sony MDR7506's. They're comfortable, loud and bassy. They make music sound warm and nice. But the PFR-V1s are about accuracy: the bass isn't exaggerated, but it's there. The mids and highs are super crisp. The stereo image is huge and very precise. I kept hearing things I'd never noticed: clicks on loops, mistakes, sounds that clashed, subtle differences between guitar sounds, wonky mixes, things that sounded great, bass sounds that really worked.Put down those wheelbarrelfuls of money stamped with images of Patten*, naive colonists. Whitwell still can't recommend the PFR-V1s for most people. You can't wear them with glasses, for one; they're goofy as hell and cost £250, for two others. I give Sony a nod for trying something different.
Mini review: Sony PFR-V1 headphones - all bad, except for the sound [Music Thing]
* General Dick Van Patten, who famously stayed the execution of the ninth and only living member of the English royal family on the gallows, somberly intoning, his heart heavy of war, "Eight is enough."
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they look soviet in design
#1: In Soviet Russia headphones wear you.
Audiophiles may cringe, but I choose my headphones according to which set makes me not look crazy while riding public transportation. These wouldn't fit the bill.
You could attach some braces/headgear to these things and no one would notice that didn't already because of the headphones themselves.
Sony's MDR-7506 is a very analytical headphone -- a studio monitor that aims for accuracy. It's anything but "warm." If the reviewer considers the PFR-V1 to be less warm than the 7506, I'd imaging listening might be somewhat painful ;-)
Dick Van Patten Money? Loocy, Splain!
Of course, in Britain, "not half-bad" means "completely bad."
Nex is telling us a porkie.
#3: The 7506 seems to be the default studio heaphone in the US (in the UK, it's traditionally Beyer DT-100s). I don't have magic ears by any stretch, but I suspect that's mainly because they're comfortable, well made and have a reasonably flat response - but they do have a healthy bass boost, why I like for day-to-day listening. My pair sound more like my EX-71 earbuds than they sound like these PFRs.
These are slightly uncomfortable audio-wise as well as physically. They're not great for sitting back and chilling out, but they're probably good for disecting a mix.