dj_magman's Full Review: Sony MDR-V700DJ Professional Headphones
Construction & Comfort
I recently wrote a review about the Sony MDR-G72LP headphones I purchased as a personal use replacement set. However I did not mention the pair of MDR-V700DJ headphones I own for my professional musical activities. I think it’s time to let everyone know what these headphones can do, and what I’ve been putting them thru. And in the words of a now famous pop star from Canada, all’s I got ta say bout’ these bad mofos is WHOA NELLY!!!
The majority of DJ headphones I’ve tried are heavy, bulky, and do NOT offer the power handling capabilities that you require when in a DJ or night club environment, where the equipment you use far exceeds the mediocre capabilities of your headphones. In such environments, headphones also tend to be subjected to extreme stress, both physical and electrical. A DJ cannot afford to have headphones that will break or crack on him, or prove uncomfortable at ANY given time. An artist must be free to concentrate on the art, not his canvas…
The first thing you’ll notice about the V700DJ’s is their striking Polished Silver finish and rugged construction. They really do make people look at you thinking “What the hell are those?” Their comfort is also superior to their sibling V500DJ cousins; the cochins are much plusher and thicker, and the diameter of the actual ear opening is large enough to suit almost everyone. The larger & softer ear band is also wide enough to off-set the increased weight of these units, which come in at 10.6 ounces, a rather heavy pair to say the least.
The other useful feature is the design of the ear cups themselves, which swivel and then auto-return to their default position after you release them. This is very convenient for DJ’s, but the mechanism may eventually wear out from too many “twists”. I do not know what construction material was used for the frame of the headphones, but I’d guess it’s some type of aluminium composite. The cable is also made of high-grade materials, and is thick and strong enough to resist any accidental damage. However this adds to the bulk of the units and contributes to their heavy footprint. Overall, if you take care of them, they should last you for many DJ’ing years to come.
Capabilities & Sound Quality
Most typical DJ or monitoring-class headphones follow a common specification list: 1000mw to 1500mw RMS power handling, 104db sensitivity, 40mm driver units composed of Neodymium core material, 12-25,000 Hz frequency response range, etc. Obviously, when Sony develops a high-end product, they want it to stand out from the rest of the crowd, and it would appear they have been very successful with this model.
These bad boys contain 50mm Neodymium core magnets, with copper-plated aluminium voice coils. This yields an astonishing 3000mw RMS power handling capability, which is more than enough to handle almost any type of professional mixer currently in-use. And if you need more power than that, then you should see a doctor because you’re probably deaf by now! This brutal combination also gives you a frequency response range of 5-30,000 Hz and a 107db/mw sensitivity rating! If you’re looking for even more quality, forget the headphones and just go get some full-size tower speakers, because nothing else even comes close!
Now comes time for my usual brutalization tests… As with my tests for the G72’s, I’ll use the same equipment and songs for these units, but with one addition; I also tested them with a Mackie “powered” mixer [evil grin]. Let’s just say I wanted to make them beg for mercy!
EQUIPMENT:
• Pioneer VSX-307 Digital A/V Amplifier
• Mackie 1202-VLZ PRO Studio Mixer
• Mackie PPM Series 408S 500W Powered Mixer
• Sony CD Walkman DEJ-705
• HP OmniBook 4150 Corporate Notebook Computer
SONGS:
• 2 Pac – Rock Your Body
• Jermaine Dupri – Welcome To Atlanta
• Brandy – What About Us
• Trance Control – The Beat Goes On (TB House Mix)
• Enrique Iglesias – Escape
• Destiny’s Child – Bootylicious (DJ Outrageous Bass Remix)
• DMX – Party Up
• Enya – Only Time (Original Mix)
• 112 feat Beanie Sigel – Dance With Me (Remix)
OK, after going thru all this equipment and music, what was the bottom-line result? These headphones would NOT surrender to my will!!! Even keeping the units away from my ears (so as not to hurt myself) and cranking the volume up beyond their rated limit (going to a stupid 4800mw on the peak scale) at a flat-curve frequency response, I could not get the Sony’s to even budge an inch. I finally managed to hear distortion when I applied a 16db increase to every frequency below 160 Hz. Even then, all I heard were tiny pops, which could not be heard once I turned the volume down to a level that wouldn’t make my ear drums rattle!
As some other people have mentioned about the V700DJ’s bass response being “over emphasized”, I must admit this statement is well deserved. The pure, un-relenting thump these headphones are capable of producing are sometimes too much to handle, and although the mid-range is well balanced, the higher frequencies are equality as intense. Thank god for multi-band equalizer bars eh? I did notice however that the quality depends greatly on the equipment they are being used with. When used in conjunction with the Mackie mixers and Pioneer amp, they sounded their best. However, when hooked up with the CD walkman and laptop, they were no different (if not worse) than the G72’s. In other words, don’t get these if you intend on using them with low to medium-range equipment, because you will be disappointed.
Conclusion
Did I mention all the punishment I put these poor things thru?
The Sony MDR-V700DJ headphones are by far the best headphones I have ever had the pleasure of using and/or listening to! Despite their rather bulky design and over-emphasized bass & treble output, if you are a professional in the music industry and are looking for some high-end headphones, you shouldn’t be looking any further.
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