Customer Rating:      Summary: Headphones Comment: Christmas present for my husband, he is sooo happy with these he can now hear music on his iPod and via his computer like never before.
what more can I say.....
Customer Rating:      Summary: Good headphones with one fatal flaw Comment: These headphones show that they have potential. After two months of listening, these headphones have warmed up, but overall still sound "lifeless." Part of that reason is its fatal flaw, something that I have seen with most Sony professional headphones. They handle anywhere from 1-1.5 watts! You need some serious power to get these cans rolling. Most headphone outputs, from your ipod or computer, are under 100 mw in output, clearly not enough to bring out these Sony's full potential. Even plugged into a Harmon Kardon or Denon headphone output, these cans still desire more power for a fuller output. What I can say is that treble detail is outstanding, but vocals lack due to the large midrange hole. They are comfortable and block out a reasonable amount of noise.
Also, mp3 users beware. Because of that outstanding treble clarity, you hear every "suck" that compressed audio has to offer. These headphones are for the uncompressed CD, SACD, or Blu-Ray audio only. Whatch out, even DVD audio is compressed. The home for these headphones is strictly in the living room hooked up to a serious amp, or in the recording studio.
Customer Rating:      Summary: 20+ Years of Use Comment: I've been using my pair since 1987...only needed to replace the original pleather covering for $20. But otherwise, they've provided outstanding sound and comfort over the years. Do yourself a favor and remove the iPod headphones once in a while and plug these in...it's nice to welcome back bass into headphones--something those little white earbuds tried to make us forget. I know there are plenty of other headphones out there, but you won't go wrong with this set.
Customer Rating:      Summary: I'm hearing things (in a good way!) Comment: Let me just start off by saying that I do not consider myself an "audiophile." I cannot give you a highly technical review of the lows, highs, and midtones that the MDR-V6's produce... I'm just a guy, obsessed with having my music sound great (whether it's coming from my computer, my iPod, or some other device). If that's you, read on.
First, allow me to explain to you why I bought these headphones... For quite some time, I have been a fan of Koss headphones. My first pair of full-size circumaural headphones were the Koss KHP21v's (do a search and you should be able to find them here on Amazon). They sounded brilliant to me at the time, and they are what got me "obsessed with having my music sound good." However, after a year or so, the cord began to fall apart (for lack of a better description), which resulted in hearing no sound at all. After that, I bought the Koss SB-45 Multimedia headset, which you can find here: Koss SB-45 Headset. As you'll notice, the SB-45's have a built in microphone. I never actually used (nor intended to use) the microphone, I only bought the headphones because they looked like a relatively inexpensive and quality option. They sounded excellent to me -- quite a bit better than the KHP21v's -- but unfortunately, the build quality failed me again. After another year, I once again had issues with the cord. This time, the area around the plug seemed to have shorted out, so I could only hear out of the left side. If I wiggled the rubbery area surrounding the plug a bit, I could make the headphones work properly... But obviously that got tedious, so I went looking for a new pair of headphones. This time, my main priority was to find something built well, so that it would last longer than my previous headphones. After looking at their catalog, I couldn't find anything from Koss that had a good balance of build quality and price... I'm a bit reluctant to spending more than $100 on headphones. As heartbroken as I was, I went looking for something from another brand. Man, looking for the perfect pair of headphones is hard! After a lot of research, I came across the Sony MDR-V6's. What intrigued me about these was that the area surrounding the plug is made out of METAL! Look at the user-submitted photos, and you'll see what I'm talking about. With my last headphones, that area was made out of rubber, and as I said, it shorted out.. So the metal on the V6's gave me some assurance that they're built to last. Also, several reviewers have mentioned that they've owned the V6's for many years. After much consideration, I purchased these headphones. I have not owned them for even a year yet, but I have no doubt whatsoever that they will last for a good chunk of time, given proper care.
Now let's talk about what these things can do. I have to admit that my expectations were barely exceeded... However, they were certainly met (and don't worry, my expectations were high). At first, the V6's sounded the same as my Koss multimedia headset. That sort of surprised me, considering that the V6's cost over twice as much. Fortunately, as I began listening to more songs, I realized that the V6's do produce better sound quality, particularly in the highs and lows. For example, the Koss headset would get really scratchy/grainy/noisy if the song's pitch got too high, and the bass never impressed me much. I've noticed that the V6's can easily produce those high pitched sounds, and I can literally FEEL the bass now; in fact, the V6's make me want to listen to music with more bass, because they hit it so well. There is a con worth mentioning though... the V6's seem to produce a soft buzzing noise all the time, no matter what's playing. Maybe I'm crazy, but I didn't notice that with any of my Koss headphones. The buzzing is not an issue at all if you're listening to something with lyrics. However, if you're into soft instrumental music, that "buzzing" might be noticeable enough to drive you crazy. Overall, unless you're demanding the BEST sound, you'll probably be more than happy with the V6's. By the way, if this is the first pair of high quality headphones you're buying, you're in for a treat. My first pair of circumaural headphones, mentioned in the previous paragraph, turned me into an audio freak (still, probably not an audiophile).
One final thing that needs to be mentioned is the comfort quality of these headphones. If I'm not mistaken, a lot of reviewers here have said that the V6's are uncomfortable. I can see where they're coming from, sort of. They are less comfortable than both of my Koss headphones. If you have them on for awhile (an hour or so), you'll probably feel some discomfort. For me, this isn't a huge issue, because they don't drive me up the wall. For some people, maybe it is an issue. Don't forget to adjust the band to the size of your head, or you really will go crazy. The people who say that these headphones are uncomfortable tend to refer to them as being "too tight." I disagree. I think the problem is that the earpads are a bit too small in circumference. The earpads of my Koss headphones are larger, which I think makes my ears feel less packed in.
As you can see, I gave these headphones 5 stars. If we wanted to be really technical, I'd probably give them 4.6 because of the slight issue with comfort, and the even more slight issue with the buzzing sound... But considering the superior build quality, and excellent sound quality, I decided to round up to 5, instead of down to 4. I highly recommend them.
Thanks for reading.
Customer Rating:      Summary: So good they bring out the bad in your other equipment! Comment: I bought the V6 headphones after remembering a friend loved them. They are absolutely incredible! Everything people say about them on these reviews is right. The only thing I'd like to add is that these headphones will bring out all the inadequacies in your other equipment. My Sansa mp3 player just doesn't quite cut it now. My sony portable cd player sounds great though. Now I'm looking for a Sony mp3 walkman to replace the Sansa...
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