Sony MDR-CD900ST Studio Monitor Stereo Headphones (Japan Import)

I have been using a well broken-in pair (and much reviled by the headfi.org crowd) of Koss Pro4AAAT for some now. I wanted to try something new and bought these. My decision was based on several factors. These have rave reviews everywhere. I recall reading a post somewhere that the midrange these headphones produce is "magic". But it is more than having been reviewed by golden-eared kids on headfi.org - these are supposedly used in all the studios in Asia by real professionals who make the music that we listen to, and they should know what a good pair of headphones should sound like. These hea

A required headphone for anyone who listens to music produced in Japan, especially if it was produced in the era these were introduced (late 80s).These are still used today, on channels like THE FIRST TAKE. Which is what spurred me to check them out again. These had been on my radar for years, but I could never justify the exorbinant import price, which often topped $300. These have dropped to a much more reasonable at $150 since I first read about them.Best I can tell the very similar looking MDR-7506 is effectively a less exprensive international/consumer version of these - and while I haven

I've had these headphones for 2 years now and they are phenomenal in terms of studio monitoring, flat sound, vocal mixing and midrange sounds. I've waited this long to 'review' this headphone mainly for durability purposes to see if it'll hold up. I record and make music casually/as a hobby/for music youtube channel. I've seen people in the comments seem to be using this headphones for casual listening. They're not meant for that. A lot of people who are used to “mainstream” headphones like Bose, Sony WH-1000XM series, or even AirPods Max often feel underwhelmed by the CD900ST at first. This i

I purchased these because of how fond I've been of my MDR-7506 cans- I had done a bit of research that basically indicated to me that these were a tinge more warm and colorful than the MDR-7506's extremely clean and neutral presentation- this is true! These were introduced to market in 1988 and are visually adorned with marketing that says they're "For digital"- my speculation is that these headphones are tuned a little warm to compensate for the shock many listeners would have had going from the warmth and subtle ambiance in analog music to the comparatively sharp and fuzz-less digital sound

TLDR:Purpose built headphones for media professionals to meet specific demands within the recording industry of 1980's Japan. If you're buying them just to listen to music, there are a ton of other good options at or below this price point. These headphones might work well for people doing audio production, or people who are nostalgic about bubble era Japan and want to support Made in Japan products.Build, Packaging and Initial Impressions:I bought these to replace my AKG 240 headphones when they started to go out. I loved the K240s but I wanted to try something different. My initial impressio

Just didn't sound good to me

I purchased a pair of the Sony MDR-CD900ST Headphones several months ago but only recently have begun listening with them ... comparing them to other headphones.The first thing that I noticed was that these headphones seemed very light (compared to the MDR-V6, MDR-7506, MDR-V900, etc).The second thing that I noticed was that the ear pads had the ear pieces 'scrunched-down' on my ears - the pressure exerted by the earphones was light enough but after a bit I went digging through my replacement ear pads (bought last year during a period of headphone tinkering).I replaced the 'stock' ear pads wit

I have been fascinated by these cans for the last few years as I used to see them on eBay going for a lot more money since they come from Japan there was a big shipping fee.Whatever reason they become available at a much better price point in the last year or two on eBay and hear an Amazon in fact, the ones I bought were used although they feel Brand New so maybe it was an open boxI’ll get to the point The ear pad issue is no joke. I just can’t imagine taking these headphones seriously with the ear pads they come with. I understand if I worked in a studio and I was looking for something differ