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[Riley Casey]

My venerable Sony MDR-7506 headphones have a bad driver. Trew Audio doesn't have drivers and most to the ones coming up on Google are on Ebay and of unknown provenance. The one Sony part showing up doesn't actually say its for the 7506 and it's half the price of a new pair of headphones. The salient feature of these headphones of course was that they folded up easily into a show bag sized object and of course that their pronounced upper mid & highs cut thru the show sound for cueing channels on a console. At this point I'd like to look at perhaps replacing them with headphones that actually sound good for a change. Not really looking for pricey audiophiliac headphones but something not enormously more than the Sonys that I could actually listen to music on would be a pleasant change.

Thanks for any any suggestions

[Geoff Doane]

I was mixing a 3-hour live radio show last Friday for the Junos (Canadian Grammies, as Ike Zimbel put it), and since we were doing the show in a hotel lobby, it was a headphone gig.  I had my 7506s out on the console, and while I was at lunch, the Canadian Audio-Technica rep dropped by and left a pair of ATH-M50x 'phones.  They are the same folding style as the Sonys and come in a little drawstring bag too.  I used my Sonys for the first hour of the show, but switched to the A-Ts for the middle hour, before going back to the Sonys to finish.

I thought they worked well, and sounded very similar (maybe that's not a good thing for Riley  ).  Sensitivity was close enough between the two models that I didn't have to touch the volume pot on the console either.  It appears that they are close in price to the MDR-7506.  They come with two different detachable cables, one 1/4" and the other 1/8", so cable replacement when that is needed should be easy.

At the end of the show the rep appeared and reclaimed them, but if the Sonys ever gave up the ghost or otherwise disappeared, I would consider these a worthy replacement.

GTD

[Kemper Watson]

My venerable Sony MDR-7506 headphones have a bad driver. Trew Audio doesn't have drivers and most to the ones coming up on Google are on Ebay and of unknown provenance. The one Sony part showing up doesn't actually say its for the 7506 and it's half the price of a new pair of headphones. The salient feature of these headphones of course was that they folded up easily into a show bag sized object and of course that their pronounced upper mid & highs cut thru the show sound for cueing channels on a console. At this point I'd like to look at perhaps replacing them with headphones that actually sound good for a change. Not really looking for pricey audiophiliac headphones but something not enormously more than the Sonys that I could actually listen to music on would be a pleasant change.

Thanks for any any suggestions

Love the Beyer DT770. Not overly expensive but pretty accurate for their price range. Ive had my pair probably 10 years now

[Justice C. Bigler]

I swear by my AT M50xs. I think they sound so much better than the Sonys. I use them to monitor my recordings, cue for live sound, and even to mix my recordings on when necessary. I don’t think they are a bad choice. And they don’t sound as harsh as the Sonys do.

[Tim Weaver]

They aren't that small and midrangey but I do like my Shure 840's.... Replacement parts readily available, but I haven't needed any yet.....

[Joris Jans2]

Dito, i have a pair of SRH840's i do really like the sound of them.

[John Schalk]

I went down the new headphones rabbit hole last year.  I spent a fair amount of time stuck in analysis paralysis before finally deciding on the Sennheiser HD600.  They are an open-backed, over the ear design with a pretty flat response.  I paid $300 for mine off of eBay.  My use case is for listening to live tracks at home like a virtual sound check.  I like them, but I wouldn't say that I'm in love.  The ear pads are a soft felt and the headphones are pretty light, so they are very comfortable to wear.  FWIW, the cans in my gig back are still a pair of Sony MDR v6s.

The two resources I used the most while shopping for my new headphones were the Audio Science Review's headphones reviews and forum, and Dave Rat's series of YouTube videos where he tested various headphones for live sound.  Dave's headphone tests are old so the model he chose, which was a Denon whose model number escapes me now, is out of production.  Note that Dave has a newer set of videos where he tests IEMs.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Reviews/

[Scott Helmke]

The Shure version is the 440, same price, roughly the same sound, slightly better isolation. Not my ultimate favorite headphones, but a solid pair for the show bag.

[Matthias McCready]

I would put another vote for thev Audio Technica M50X's.

I preferred them more than the Shure, Sony, Beyer, Sennheiser offerings I have tried... heh I even prefer them to the M70X's.

---

They are not the best set of cans in existence, but they have a low-end boost similar to how most PA's are, they sound pretty decent, and they are superbly durable. I usually keep them in a semi-hard clamshell.

[Rick Earl]

Another vote for the ATH-50x -  I've been using them for a while, try new things and come back to them.  The fit my head well is the big thing.  I also put a pair of Garfield headphone covers on them for comfort, it tames the high end a bit too.  Dekoni Audio also makes some nice replacement pads, that are super comfortable if you're in your cans for a long day.

[Woody Nuss]

Another +1 for the AT 50's. Same price range and style as the Sony

[Steve Eudaly]

Worth noting that Shure has discontinued the original SRH440 and SRH840 and replaced them with "A" variants that do not fold.

I had a pair of OG 440s for years and really liked them. After over a decade of regular use, one earphone snapped off at the hinge. I did the Shure flat-rate repair program and they sent me the new replacement, the SRH440A. The fact they didn't fold was kind of a deal breaker for me.

I started looking and found some original SRH840s on closeout from B&H so I scored those and absolutely love them. It looks like you can still snag some Gen 1 440s and 840s on Amazon for $99 and $149, respectively.

[Thomas Le]

ATH-m40x, SRH840A, and HD380pro are the three headphones I have used and own, would give the edge to the M40x for portability, but all 3 would be a viable alternative.

[Kevin Maxwell]

I can't suggest a replacement. I was never a big fan of the Sony MDR-7506 headphones, I use the Sony MDR-V6 because I think they are more accurate that the 7506 version. I have been using these for a long time. I have had to replace the pads on them and I even have a pair of replacement pads that I should put on them now. I also have a second pair still in the original box. I knew they were being discontinued so I bought a backup pair and have never used them. I used to do a lot of sound for video and some film work and I wanted the accuracy of the MDR-V6 for that. 

[Tim Padrick]

Compared to the ever-popular Sony 7506 (which I despise), the Sennheiser 280 sound better and have better isolation.  A couple of the Shure models are a little better yet. The Extreme Headphones EX29 is the best for pro use - better isolation, and you can hear much more of what is going on in a mix.

I would not consider any of these to be good enough for a mix that will be distributed. My old M-Audio IE10 buds are quite a bit better than even the EX29.

When you don’t need isolation, go with Grado.  Much more natural than any of the above.


Extreme Headphones EX29.  The best isolation, and you can hear more of what’s in a mix than with the phones that most folks mention (some of which sound worse than some $20 buds I recently heard).

When you don’t need isolation, go with Grado.

[Brian Adams]

I have 6-8 pairs of Sennheiser HD280, and those are what I tend to use for live shows. They isolate well enough, and they sound pretty good. I have 5-6 pairs of M50x, and while I sometimes use those on live shows, they get more use during recordings. They sound pretty good, but they don't isolate as well as the 280. I also have a couple pairs each of Sennheiser HD600 and HD650 that I use for tracking and critical listening. I think I like the 600's a tiny bit better than the 650's, but they both sound awesome and have their place.

I've never owned a single pair of 7506, and I never plan to. I have no idea why they're so popular. They don't sound great, and they're overly fragile. I've repaired a bunch of them over the years. Bad drivers are very common, as are bad cables. We started saving the broken ones for parts rather than buying new components. Two pairs with a bad driver make one good pair. Well, not good, but you know what I mean.

[Scott Helmke]

I've never owned a single pair of 7506, and I never plan to. I have no idea why they're so popular. They don't sound great, and they're overly fragile. I've repaired a bunch of them over the years. Bad drivers are very common, as are bad cables. We started saving the broken ones for parts rather than buying new components. Two pairs with a bad driver make one good pair. Well, not good, but you know what I mean.

Yeah, you can get a whole new pair for the price of two replacement drivers.  The only parts we buy new are the ear cushions.

[ProSoundWeb Community]