Great sounding reference 'phones

I have had my pair of these headphones for 18 years.

These headphones (or the identical model MDR-7506 that basically differs only in the gold-plated plug) are the 'phones that you will frequently see professional studios using for mixing music. They are almost a reference standard in terms of sound. If you listen to music from the last 20 years, there is a good chance that the music was listened to on these headphones at some time in the recording/engineering process.

How do they sound? In a word, excellent! These headphones have a nice extended low end that is not overly boosted or boomy, and their high end is very natural. The midrange is sweet and transparent with very low distortion. Their only weakness in my opinion is small amount of emphasis in the upper midrange and lower treble that can give them a sound that is a bit analytical and unforgiving of bad recordings, but which can make them sound very exciting/ involving on good recordings.

These headphones are very sensitive and will go quite loud even with portable devices. At the price, there is nothing that can touch them. I actually prefer them to many of the 5+ times more expensive headphones from Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic.

These are quite comfortable, although with the standard ear pads your ears can get quite warm over long periods. These are sealed back phones, which reduce external sounds and don't disturb nearby persons.

After about 5 years or so, depending on use, the plastic will start to crack and flake off the earpads, leaving an ugly mess. They can be replaced with the original item from Sony, but some have found that Beyerdynamic 250 velour replacement pads are a perfect fit and more comfortable than the original.

Sound is a very subjective thing, but I can definitely recommend that someone in the market for a set of headphones should audition these before considering anything more expensive.