Sony’s MDR-7506 studio monitors are a mainstay in the industry and have been for quite some time. They are so ubiquitous that they’re commonly seen in pop culture even on television and in movies as the headphones sitting in recording studios or on the heads of audio engineers and cameramen. They are capable of taking a beating and, should they somehow break, are easy to replace thanks to their low $99 asking price.
Coming later this month, the MDR-M1 Reference Closed Monitor Headphones are designed for musicians and sound engineers to be able to produce and monitor sound in any environment accurately. They aren’t noise canceling, but the design has what Sony calls a “closed acoustic structure” that provides “high sound isolation” that when combined with an in-house driver allows it to replicate audio to a listener regardless of their environment with the same fidelity as when it was captured in a studio.
And, unlike the MDR-MV1 open-back headphones, the MDR-M1 monitors are more like the MDR-7506 headphones with a closed-back design that Sony says helps eliminate ambient noise and sound leakage, which makes them able to accommodate multiple use cases and allows for fine-tuning sound for accuracy. “The tonal balance of the MDR-M1 feels very close to the impression of Power Station’s Studio A control room. In recording sessions, it is important to care what musicians or singers are listening to when they play or sing. MDR-M1 gives you the same impression of listening in a control room headphone, which makes it easier to create music by listening to each other. The comfortable design also makes us focus on music in long sessions.