When it comes to Bluetooth Sony headphones or Sony headphones noise cancelling, the Sony MDR 1AM2 is one of the most popular headphone options that come up. The Sony MDR is one of Sony’s more popular options on the market today and there’s plenty of reasons why that is.

Sony the company itself is recognized in the tech industry as definitely one of the leading companies when it comes to audio technology. Especially when it comes to Bluetooth Sony headphones, the MDR is similar to all of Sony’s previous products with being known for excellent sound quality, high performance, and made from quality materials.

After Sony released the Sony MDR-1AM, we definitely wanted to get our hands on it to do a full comprehensive review of the headphones and test out the features and overall see the quality of these headphones. Sony promises high-quality results – but we’ll be the judge of that!

Pros and Cons 

When it comes to doing a complete Sony MDR 1AM2 review, we think it’s important to start off with the pros and cons before jumping right into the Sony MDR 1AM2 headphones review.

Pros	Cons
Improved Sound Quality	Very Large Plastic
Comfortable Headset	More Bass Than Expected
Retain Sound with the Wrap Around Design
Easily Transported
Ear Pads are Comfortable

Review in More Detail

We tried out the Sony MDR 1AM2 headphones in different settings and situations to truly test out if it holds up to the headphones and headset test. Here are our findings below…

Sound Quality 

The sound quality of headphones is an especially important feature. You don’t want to have just purchased Bluetooth Sony headphones and as soon as you start playing your music you notice that the sound quality is absolutely terrible right? Of course not!

Even when it comes to Sony Headphones Noise Canceling, even if you’re not listening to music, you want to make sure that the sound quality in all aspects of the headphones is high-quality and the very best on the market.

Our overall analysis of the headphones include the following:

In terms of the highs, they’re pretty clear, although they can be a bit extreme from time to time especially when the music gets louder. The balance then gets a little bit disturbed when the high ‘screaming’ happens. The bass is pretty identical to the bass levels that were found in the Sony MRD-1A headphones with being deep and high-pitched with frequency ranging from 3 Hz to 100 kHz. Some may say that the bass is actually not strong enough for them so it really depends on your personal preference when it comes to that aspect.

With the balanced connection cable that’s included with the headphones, we noticed that the sound clarity is very strong and balanced. A lot of times when you plug in your headphones there can be some differences in terms of the sound quality compared to when they’re wireless. These Sony MRD-1A headphones are pretty consistent all around which is great.

Noise Cancelling

Unfortunately, the Sony MRD-1A headphones are not noise cancelling headphones. When you’re using the headphones and talking in the microphone, if you’re in a noisey area, you will notice that it is a tad bit difficult to hear what the person on the other end is saying and for them to hear what you are saying.

At the end of the day, if you’re in the market for noise cancelling headphones, unfortunately, Sony MRD-1A headphones is not your model.

Build Quality

There’s a lot that goes into making a pair of headphones and Sony, one of the most popular audio manufacturers in the world, definitely has it down to a science. The Sony MRD-1A headphones are definitely a cheaper version of Sony Wireless Headphones. Normally, their headphones are covered in heavy-duty metal or durable materials but we found that this model of headphones is mostly covered in plastic. Not to diminish the durability of these headphones, but we’ve definitely seen more durable models from Sony.

There is also the addition of an aluminum featured in the design as well. There is a solidarity to the level of the diaphragm which is great and definitely preferred.

Design

As we mentioned before, this model of Sony headphones don’t have the same strength and durability in terms of the materials used that we’ve seen with other Sony headphones. When you pick up the Sony MRD-1A headphones for the first time, you may be surprised with how light the headphones are – I know we were. With this lightweight design, the team at Sony is still able to produce great sounding headphones with the use of lightweight materials that a lot of other headphone companies haven’t been able to master quite yet.

On the other hand, because it’s extremely lightweight, the materials aren’t as solid as other headphones. This makes it great for travel with being lightweight but you’d want to make sure you have protect the headphones in your case so that they don’t get damaged since the actual headphones aren’t as durable.

When it comes to the overall style of the Sony MRD-1A headphones, we do have to say that there are nicer looking headphones on the market. They’re not bad looking, but there’s not multiple colors to choose from, there’s no shiny touches and accessories, and they’re overall just pretty standard black and silver headphones.

Features and Controls 

When it comes to different features and controls that the headphones have, that’s may be one of the most important features when it comes to Bluetooth Sony Headphones, Sony headphones noise cancelling, and of course, when it comes to Sony MDR headphones as well.

Sony has made this Sony MDR headphones fairly simple when it comes to features and controls. That being said, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t functional and practical with the features selected. Firstly, we love that the headphones are compatible with HI-Res Audio as well as iPhones and other smartphones with the cord. This cord also features a microphone so you can answer and talk to people on the phone without even having to take your phone out of your pocket.

The cable also features some basic controls like playback the track, take or hang up phone calls, and other standard audio functions.

Lastly, you will find audio extremely close to when it was first recorded in the studio with the HI-Res audio which is known to be the closest to the original studio recording condition of the audio.

Overall, it’s not a super high tech headphone, but instead to be designed to have a great sound and work great. If that’s what you’re looking for, this Sony headset may be just what you’re after.

Comfort

Sony has mastered a few things whether it comes to this Sony Bluetooth headphones or Sony Noise Cancelling headphones, and especially the Sony MDR headphones, comfort is key and something that is really taken into consideration when designing this simplistic headphones.

With the frame of the Sony MDR headphones being very light, it makes them really easy to wear. They have padding on either side of the ear cups which is made from a synthetic leather and creates almost an anti-pressure effect. This makes for an overall pleasant experience and provides you long-lasting comfort even for several hours on end. In fact, with wearing these headphones for hours, you will feel as if you just had put them on, that’s how comfortable and lightweight they are.

On top of all of that, the ear cushions have designed to keep maximum sound inside the ear cups. Although this isn’t a Sony Noise Cancelling headphones model, it still works pretty good at trapping the music inside the headphones so it’s acceptable to wear these headphones on your daily commute and not disrupting everyone around you. This mechanism also helps to provide you with the best audio quality as well.

Lastly, the fact that you don’t have to worry about missing any calls while listening to your music is a plus and something that gives you the peace of mind that you can simply sit back and relax and not stress about it.

Comparing to Similar Headphones

When looking to compare the Sony MDR to other high-quality audio headphones on the market, there’s a lot of options. There’s a lot of headphones that claim to the title of best affordable headphones, so it’s hard to narrow down a pick of the best headphone to compare the Sony MDR too.

We opted to compare the Sony MRD-1A headphones to the Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7 headphones, a comparable model in many aspects including price, features, build, and design. We think that if you’re in the market for the Sony MRD-1A headphones, you probably have looked at the Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7 headphones as well – making this comparison very useful in your headphones decision-making process and something that we think a lot of people will find extremely useful.

The first place to look at when it comes to these two headphones is the weight of both. The Sony headphones weighs a lot less than the Audio-Technica headphones which make it more comfortable for long-lasting wear. Although they are both lightweight headphones, the lighter – the more comfortable we have found. The two brands also have similar design in terms of padding on the headphones and ear cushions which allows for a more comfortable listening experience.

In terms of the sound quality of the two headphones, they both aren’t noise canceling headphones so if you’re looking for Sony Noise Canceling headphones, we’ve already mentioned that the MDR headphones are not what you’re looking for. You also won’t find any noise canceling capabilities with the Audio-Technica headphones as well. Without noise cancelation into consideration, the Sony headphones do have highs that are more clear due to the high frequency of 100,000 Hz which the ATH-MSR7 is only at 40,000 Hz.

Where the Audio-Technica headphones stand above the Sony headphones is the fact that it can also be used wirelessly. If you’re looking for Sony Bluetooth headphones, once again, the MDR headphones are not what you’re after. The Audio-Technica is able to be used with or without the cord which provides you with a lot more freedom. That being said, the headphones do not support Bluetooth pairing via NFC which means that multiple devices cannot be connected at the same time without the use of a code. They are also not compatible with WIFI connections too.

When it comes to the overall functionality of the two headphones, they are very similar. They both have controls on the cables provided which includes a microphone. As mentioned above though, they both don’t have noise cancelling properties so if you’re in a busy area with a lot of noise, chances are the person on the other end is going to have a hard time hearing you.

Overall, there isn’t too much difference when it comes to the two headsets, only slight features and changes that may sway you one way or the other.

For our full comprehensive review of the Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7 headphones, click here.

Overall Thoughts 

When it comes to our overall conclusion, the Sony MDR headphones are good, basic entry-level headphones for someone who is looking for something uncomplicated, easy to use, and perfect for long-lasting comfortable wear time. If you’re looking for the best noise-canceling headphones on the market, it’s not your ideal choice, especially with the fact that it has no noise-canceling properties.

With its extremely high sound quality and the simple, but mostly comfortable design, we are pretty happy with the overall product that Sony has put out with the Sony MDR headphones. That being said, are the Sony MRD-1A headphones right for you? You need to take in factors like how long you’ll be wearing the headphones for, your intended purpose, what features you are after, and a few other things discussed above, on whether they’re the right headphones for you.

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