While the balanced cable is nice to have, I see it more of a bonus than anything else as you won't really need it. The mids are treble are just the right amount with good clarity. Note these headphones aren't bright at all, only problematic area being the bass. The ear cups and ear pads don’t look all that big, and the ear pads are quite shallow, but they wrap around and fit my ears comfortably. It is witchcraft. It doesn’t feel tight or claustrophobic at all. Snug and plush are the two words that come to mind when I put on the MDR-1AM2. That said, I suspect readers with ears larger than mine might find that they fit more like on-ear headphones than over-ear headphones. Now for the midrange (Vocals) I like it a lot especially when I watch videos or want to monitor my voice. For songs the vocals are clear and you will know they are there. These headphones are very fun to listen to. The screws are under the thin piece of damping material approximately in the circled location. Lift it up a bit and take the screws out. Just standard Phillips screws. Careful not to accidentally drop the screws into the driver.

The frequency response in RAA is obtained through the reproduction and analysis of a special noise signal with the subsequent generation of an impulse response. The frequency response plot is constructed from the spectrum of the impulse response.During the measurements, a special amplifier was used with zero total output impedance over the entire frequency range, which required no compensation for the amplitude response . The microphone is calibrated to 45 kHz with an appropriate frequency response correction. Build is pretty utilitarian. The housing is made of plastic, the headband and earcups are made of synthetic leather. Despite the simple choice of materials, they look very well put together. There are a few details that stand out: The hinge that connects the headphone to the headband doesn't squeak when you rotate it. Sony mentioned this in the product literature cuz a lot of users complained about this detail in the 1A. The headband extension mechanism also feels smooth and quiet when you extend/contract it. Very nice attention to detail. Overall, plain but by no means flimsy.

According to this graph, you can estimate at what volume the headphones will be perceived more flat. In terms of design, these headphone offer a strikingly similar layout. The biggest difference manifests itself in the Sony MDR-1AM2’s single input, while the Audio Technica MSR7B features dual inputs. Sony also offers a mic and remote on the 3.5 mm cable, while Audio Technica skips this feature. Inside the MDR-1AM2, you will find a 40mm dynamic driver with an aluminum-coated liquid crystal polymer diaphragm. According to Sony, the driver is capable of reproducing sounds from as low as 3Hz to as high as 100,000Hz. To ensure accurate reproduction of high-frequency sounds, the MDR-1AM2 has a special grille modeled using the Fibonacci sequence over the driver. The MDR-1AM2’s predecessors were renown for being extremely comfortable and I’m happy to report that the MDR-1AM2 is the same. To begin, the MDR-1AM2 is extremely light, weighing just 187g. The headband is lined with soft synthetic leather and distributes what little weight of the headphone nicely.

In the low end, the 1AM2 exhibits a lively, driving bass – not heavy-handed, but energetic. At times, the bass seems to overshadow low-end detail just a smidgen, but rest assured there is still ample detail at play here. At the end of the day, the lows remain clean and articulate, providing you with a sweet bottom end. Mids As for alternatives, I'm not 100% sure what will replicate the same or similar results but I'd try cotton stuffing they use for stuffed animals.I have also tried it with both recordings in uncompressed 24 bit, 96khz WAV file form and 24 bit 44khz VST instruments (EastWest Hollywood Opus to be specific). Even within the realm of super boosty bass headphones, the 1AM2 is not a good example. They sound colored and artificial. Listen to any acoustic music and you'll see what I mean. It's such a shame because the technicality is not bad. They can retrieve a decent amount of detail, but the FR is too far gone to make it a solid headphone. I personally use it for watching YouTube videos and taking online classes, or just any multimedia purposes in general. That's where they really shine. Superior comfort plus low weight means I can wear them all day. As long as no serious music listening is involved, they're gucci.