I sure hope not John. I've seen some strange promos over the years but this one is truly weird.

Mike

seems fine. and TYPICAL in todays "gotta make a twisted video so it will go viral and our marketing will be successful" world.

They are competing with "BEATS" for silly large, overpriced, trendy headphones?

Lol, Where can I get that earphnone? I want to pamper my ears.

+1 wwjd.

The jokes aside, I say that this is clever marketing. .
Why not pick one product and give it a viral-marketing test.
They are not doing this to their whole product arsenal.

Instead of sober pro's they are targeting the more 'hip' audience with this product:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2467541,00.asp


I have the HD800 it sounds great:


VMP

That is a bit over the top.
Like a SNL parody.

Indeed Musicvid10.

Ads like the HD800 are much nicer.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E5GFuCRxwk

VMP

never been a fan of how "cool", low bass notes have replaced the art of writing actual music.
But, the majority masses march on without me. That's ok.

Indeed wwjd, Bass which is actually the 'Base' is just being overblown.

The high end stuff like the HD series is fortunately nice and flat/neutral.
Just like reference monitors.

VMP

I see sales inserts of Beats headphones on sale for 200+. Are they that much better than Sony MDR7506 which are one of the audio industry standard phones go for under a 100 bucks? (;

CREEPY

Although I have never listened to them, I doubt the BEATS are "accurate". Consumers don't want accurate, they want boom

Obviously, this marketing campaign is not aimed at our demographic.

Talking about headphones.

Do you guys hear a big difference between the MDR7510 and MDR7520?
The price difference is $350. Is it worth the upgrade to MDR7520?

https://pro.sony.com/bbsc/productComparisonChart.do?URL=/bbsc/searchResults.do?srchTerm=Professional%20Headphones&models=MDR7520,MDR7506,MDR7510


VMP

At least they do make great headphones ( Sennheiser ).

Sony makes bad headphones ( in under $200 price range I should say ) and Beats are just $5 garbage sold for $100+ to idiots.

I don't know in which industry the Sony MDR7506 are considered as standard, but that industry must have a lot of deaf people in it. The way they color the sound, harsh highs and fake bass should be obvious even to semi-def people. That could explain a lot of unbelievably bad recordings and mixes one can hear.

The closest you can come to a good set of phones around $100 is the AKG 240s. They do color the sound though. Nothing else around or under a $100 should be used for pro work. Realistically, spending around $200 on Sennheisers is the way to go ( hd 800 are probably an overkill, on your wallet too )

I don't know in which industry the Sony MDR7506 are considered as standard, but that industry must have a lot of deaf people in it.

The pro film and video sound recording industry for one. Check the forums at http://jwsoundgroup.net/ and you'll find that a lot of folks on there use the MDR7506 every day and swear by them, not at them.

Mike

The popularity of the Sony MDR7506 headphones in the location recording community has more to do with size, "fold-ability" and generally being indestructible. The exaggerated bass and overstated highs make it easier to listen for extraneous noises in the recording. For this purpose, they are an excellent choice and value. I own a pair.

That said, I use a pair of Shure SE535 earphones and to me, they sound better than virtually any headphone. The fact that they block close to 40db of broadband ambient noise without active electronics is certainly useful on location. In-ear phones are not nearly as convenient as just putting on a set of headphones but as an analytical tool on location, they are hard to beat. As with any speaker/room combination, headphone or high-quality earphones, one must spend a lot of time with them listening to a variety of familiar recordings before they can truly be used as a reference. Regardless, I generally don't recommend that anyone use headphones/earphones when mixing unless absolutely necessary.

"Sony makes bad headphones ( in under $200 price range I should say )"

No. They make bad headphones.... period.
I looked at headphones a short time ago (settled with Sennheiser as usual), but I was shocked at the trash Sony was trying to pawn off at even the $350 price range. Cheap plastic, no balance, awkward to wear and extremely uncomfortable....

I looked at the next price up and down.... same thing. Sony quality all over has taken a nose dive in the last 2 or 3 years. Their prices haven't though.

Hmm alright somehow the Sony headphones never caught my attention :-).
Reading your comments I probably am going to skip them.
Exaggerating the frequencies could be handy to spot unwanted frequencies yes.

But as far as I know the usual broadcasting cams do not have build in EQ so what can one do during the shoot itself to equalise the audio? So I am guessing that it is going to be a recording as-is anyway.

I have different pair of Sennheisers, from cheap ones to expensive ones, like the HD 202, 570, 700 and 800.

When mixing I listen through all of them. They all highlight (unwanted) frequencies in their own way.
It is always good to listen to varied speakers to spot and correct your audio. Especially when doing music mixes. It is good to test them out in different car audio systems.
Also it is good to compare your mix with other Pro mixes that are considered good.

Have you noticed that Pro mixing studios usually have cheap little speakers standing next to their high end ones? That is to emulate the little cheap Tv speakers. I have two of those little speakers too beside my high-end monitors, and run all my mixes through them.

Because unfortunately many (most) of the clients will be listening through those kind of low fi speakers.

VMP

"The exaggerated bass and overstated highs make it easier to listen for extraneous noises in the recording. For this purpose, they are an excellent choice and value. I own a pair.

That said, I use a pair of Shure SE535 earphones and to me, they sound better than virtually any headphone"


I got to thinking about having one pair of headphones for diagnostic purposes and another for final listening. Then I thought of the "tone" contols that any self-respecting audio amp used to have. Then I remembered how after the simple treble cut "tone" control "to give a more "mellow" sound was replaced with separate bass and treble controls capable of cut or boost. Then how the masses would boost both the bass and the treble for NORMAL listening.

All we need for diagnostic listening is use our good flat headphones with bass and treble boost!

I still have such an amp, but I must get around to replacing the electrolytic capacitors in the power supply to lower the hum.

Studio Reference Headphones Comparison


VMP

Ok send in a video clip with a naked chick with a Sennheiser tattoo and a pie on each ear.....Sennheiser the pie on ears.

Bass: Better, Not Louder