MDR-CD900ST were designed and made by sound engineers, for sound engineers. They are absolutely pro gear, hence the utter lack of marketing. Studios just buy them directly from Sony. They are the standard studio headphone for Sony Music and pretty much any other pro studio in Japan. You can buy literally any part directly from Sony if you need to fix them. As an aside... the default "in the field" headphone for sound engineers when it was still available was the MDR-D77 "eggo" phones. I have a pair of those, but unfortunately the plastic headband parts have become brittle and fallen apart. I hope one day to have replacement parts 3D-printed. If you ever get a chance to listen to them, I highly recommend it.
It took the original engineer / tuner 3 years to get the sound he wanted from the CD9000's They are designed to inform you exactly what is happening at the point of the microphone in the recording studio. Designed by and for sound engineers. They are very well implemented and far far better than the 7562's I don't use them much for music but in the studio they are perfect monitors . The EX800ST can be regarded as their IEM brothers. At some point I will put them through their paces, DAPS. tube amps etc etc - but they are a very worthwhile headphone to keep. Tried many pads but the one that gives the best performance without changing the sound are Lamb leather - i think the brainwavez? I also stretch over cotton 'airplane pilots headphone covers' which cuts down on sweating and of course are cleanable.
I've thought about it but I haven't made any concrete plans to do that yet. Looks like it would fit though. Strangely the headband on the CD900ST is more narrow and I think fits a little better.
they intentionally make many things Japan exclusive only so people had reasons to visit Japan more lol i first knew of this headphone from the anime singer LiSA in her MV behind the scene or something and it caught my eye instantly another reason is they want to maintain best production quality instead of mass quantity for the entire world
They're way different than my old MDR-V6 and the 7506 for sure, wish they folded like those do but you can't win them all. Are probably my most used headphone over the last year or so.
@@EJ22bakadesu whats your most used headphone now? i've never own any folded headphone, there is no such need for a studio/desktop environment, felt so much better just hang them on the stand and lesser area for mechanical defect.
@@loucipher7782 The MDR-V6/7506 folding mechanism hasn't failed me in almost 20 years and it's very convenient since they often live in my backpack or laptop case. They fit in a lot of places other over-the-ear headphones don't because of the folding. I'm back to full time in person work and commuting (why I don't really post videos anymore) so I usually alternate through my MDR-V6 and Meze 99s in my bag. The Meze's have a built in mic cable since even though I'm back at the office I'm doing a fair amount of Zoom calls still. At home it's the CD-900st, the HD-600s or my Grados most of the time.
@@EJ22bakadesu thx for sharing :) I'm using Hifiman Sundara for the best media experience like movie/top rated anime/fav music library etc SHP9500 as a 24/7 floating speakers for everything else because its so comfortable its barely there lol DT770 for rainy/noisy days Moondrop Chu for mobile and communication, those inline mic are pretty good for the price. still waiting for a discount to get the cd-900st but i always end up buying a 10TB HDD instead lmfao
@@loucipher7782 I'm saving for some LCD-2 fazors I think. I bought a pair of Monoprice planars on sale (M570) and really didn't like them. Will probably sell them. Hifiman's quality control issues worry me, plus the Audeze are just plain beautiful. I'm a Meze fan for a lot of the same reason, yeah they're not flat sounding but they look gorgeous and are some of the most comfortable headphones around. I'd like some Lyrics one day. If you can find Duke Ellington at Newport 1956 somewhere (I bought the CDs from a library cleaning out their collection a while ago) it really is an outstanding recording to listen to with decent equipment. It's amazing it was made 70 years ago.
990pro are more open and detailed (waiting for dt770pro X centennial edition), I like them both (or all 😉), best upgrade currently are MDR-MV1 open ones....
Clicked on your video because I had a heart attack seeing the thumbnail. I have been a huge fan of the MDR-CD900ST for *decades*, used for studio mixing and they are my go-to 'phones when I want to actually listen to something. I just wanted to say, I do NOT recommend using any 3rd party pads on them. The ones you have are way too thick. The proximity of the driver to your ear is a large part of the carefully designed sound-signature of these phones, any deviation will change the sound, which, considering how long Sony Music engineers worked on to perfect, is a Bad Thing. The OG pads can be purchased from Sony customer service for very little, which is great as they do tend to disintegrate every couple of years of use. EDIT: I hate the Brainwavez pads for that reason, I returned mine. I was not aware of the Yaxi ones, and if they do sit over your ears I'm intrigued as to the sound signature, and very skeptical. $40 is a lot of money to spend on an experiment, but maybe I'll give them a try.
My favourite mod for them is to take off the thick cable and add a 1/8" socket to replace it. Then you can use 3rd party 1/8" jack cables with controls and a microphone, to use with your laptop/ipad. (used to be your phone, but alas, headphone sockets are now extinct unless you have an adaptor) I use the cable from my V-Modas with my portable DAC.
hey, these are perfect. I use them daily, for listening to music alone, with phone or pc, flac files 44.1kHz and 16 bit, watching movies or following lessons on pc as well (I use them only at home). So comfortable with Brainwavz Gel pads (a bit of bssses but not so much). Do you think they are wasted for such a kind of usage like mine?
As long as you're using them it's not a waste, they don't really need an amp at ~60 ohms. Only annoying thing when using them with a mobile device or laptop is that 1/4" connector.
@@fernyb15 mostly because they're imported and if I mess them up it's not like I can just grab another pair off Amazon or B&H. The cable itself is quite nice and I tend to not detach my cables from my headphones with that feature anyway (plug cycles are a real thing) so I don't think that mod would gain me much.
There is an IEM in this family called the MDR-7550 (or EX800ST in Japan) which is pretty good. I think no longer made or sold now in the U.S. There was also the MDR-7520 full size that's discontinued, which looked good in reviews, though frequency response measurements showed it to be a bit wonky. On a Japanese site it showed both CD900ST and EX800ST as their professional studio monitors, though now they've added the MDR-M1ST, which I hope is pronounced "mist."
great video! just wanted to give you some info about purchasing the cd900st; There is a listing of these headphones on amazon and they seem to be available in the americas: www.amazon.com/Sony-Mdr-cd900st-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000UPEJCU/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3P5LE5DA15JJQ&dchild=1&keywords=mdr+cd900st&qid=1626159457&sprefix=mdr+c%2Caps%2C231&sr=8-1 I do wonder if there's any difference from the one you bought on ebay There is also a site selling a mod of this set of cans were they stuff the drivers from the studio version into the chassis of the non-studio version (which means you get the parlor trick) and they got a version that comes with a detatcable cable: cartonode.com/web-content/body/cart/cart.cgi?cate=2.html These are japanese exlusive for now, and I do wonder about import duties or alternatives more accesible state side
Did you end up ordering them? I've wanted to get a pair with a shorter detachable cable and that looks to be perfection. Not sure if it'll ship to Canada tho.
Looks like they've come down in price, this video is three or more years old now. They were generally $150-190 back then all over importer sites, but the Yen has crashed through the floor in the mean time.
MDR-CD900ST were designed and made by sound engineers, for sound engineers. They are absolutely pro gear, hence the utter lack of marketing. Studios just buy them directly from Sony. They are the standard studio headphone for Sony Music and pretty much any other pro studio in Japan. You can buy literally any part directly from Sony if you need to fix them. As an aside... the default "in the field" headphone for sound engineers when it was still available was the MDR-D77 "eggo" phones. I have a pair of those, but unfortunately the plastic headband parts have become brittle and fallen apart. I hope one day to have replacement parts 3D-printed. If you ever get a chance to listen to them, I highly recommend it.
You should do more headphone reviews, your vids strike a great balance between being well produced but also feeling like just a guy making a video
Thanks!
It took the original engineer / tuner 3 years to get the sound he wanted from the CD9000's They are designed to inform you exactly what is happening at the point of the microphone in the recording studio. Designed by and for sound engineers. They are very well implemented and far far better than the 7562's I don't use them much for music but in the studio they are perfect monitors . The EX800ST can be regarded as their IEM brothers. At some point I will put them through their paces, DAPS. tube amps etc etc - but they are a very worthwhile headphone to keep. Tried many pads but the one that gives the best performance without changing the sound are Lamb leather - i think the brainwavez? I also stretch over cotton 'airplane pilots headphone covers' which cuts down on sweating and of course are cleanable.
I tried the BrainWavz on these and still think the Yaxi do better. The BrainWavz seen to be a better fit for the 7506/V6 signature IMO.
@@EJ22bakadesu Good to know - just didn't want to spend that much money on the Yaxi with mixed reviews :)
『アメリカでも販売してくれ！』と突き上げていくしかないでしょう。
健闘を祈ります。
個人的にはV6の方が好きです。折り畳みが出きるのと長さにゆとりがあるヘッドバンドがお気に入りポイントです。
すみません、僕の日本語は簡単です。分かったたらいいです。
コメントはありがとう。V6も好きです。今、在宅勤務は終わったのでV6を使われます。V6の音は違いです。V6はCD900STより低音 (ベース）は強いと考えます。 私も同じ気持ちがあります、ヘアバンド はとても便利です.
Hey! Great video you put up. Just out of curiosity which audio player are you using? I love that minimalistic interface!
Thanks! It's called CMUS, I made a video about it too a few years ago!
@@EJ22bakadesu Thank you for replying to my question! Much appreciated. Will check out the video you made. 🙂
Do you have any plans to mod the 7506 headbands onto these to make em able to be folded? And how possible is doing that?
I've thought about it but I haven't made any concrete plans to do that yet. Looks like it would fit though. Strangely the headband on the CD900ST is more narrow and I think fits a little better.
@@EJ22bakadesu I may mod mine once I get them. I'll see if I can just replace the hinges
they intentionally make many things Japan exclusive only so people had reasons to visit Japan more lol
i first knew of this headphone from the anime singer LiSA in her MV behind the scene or something and it caught my eye instantly
another reason is they want to maintain best production quality instead of mass quantity for the entire world
They're way different than my old MDR-V6 and the 7506 for sure, wish they folded like those do but you can't win them all. Are probably my most used headphone over the last year or so.
@@EJ22bakadesu whats your most used headphone now?
i've never own any folded headphone, there is no such need for a studio/desktop environment, felt so much better just hang them on the stand and lesser area for mechanical defect.
@@loucipher7782 The MDR-V6/7506 folding mechanism hasn't failed me in almost 20 years and it's very convenient since they often live in my backpack or laptop case. They fit in a lot of places other over-the-ear headphones don't because of the folding. I'm back to full time in person work and commuting (why I don't really post videos anymore) so I usually alternate through my MDR-V6 and Meze 99s in my bag. The Meze's have a built in mic cable since even though I'm back at the office I'm doing a fair amount of Zoom calls still. At home it's the CD-900st, the HD-600s or my Grados most of the time.
@@EJ22bakadesu thx for sharing :)
I'm using Hifiman Sundara for the best media experience like movie/top rated anime/fav music library etc
SHP9500 as a 24/7 floating speakers for everything else because its so comfortable its barely there lol
DT770 for rainy/noisy days
Moondrop Chu for mobile and communication, those inline mic are pretty good for the price.
still waiting for a discount to get the cd-900st but i always end up buying a 10TB HDD instead lmfao
@@loucipher7782 I'm saving for some LCD-2 fazors I think. I bought a pair of Monoprice planars on sale (M570) and really didn't like them. Will probably sell them. Hifiman's quality control issues worry me, plus the Audeze are just plain beautiful. I'm a Meze fan for a lot of the same reason, yeah they're not flat sounding but they look gorgeous and are some of the most comfortable headphones around. I'd like some Lyrics one day.
If you can find Duke Ellington at Newport 1956 somewhere (I bought the CDs from a library cleaning out their collection a while ago) it really is an outstanding recording to listen to with decent equipment. It's amazing it was made 70 years ago.
how is this vs Beyerdynamic DT700 Pro X?
No idea don't own the Beyers.
990pro are more open and detailed (waiting for dt770pro X centennial edition), I like them both (or all 😉), best upgrade currently are MDR-MV1 open ones....
@@artureff3046 added mdr-mv1 to my cart waiting for promo lol
Clicked on your video because I had a heart attack seeing the thumbnail. I have been a huge fan of the MDR-CD900ST for *decades*, used for studio mixing and they are my go-to 'phones when I want to actually listen to something. I just wanted to say, I do NOT recommend using any 3rd party pads on them. The ones you have are way too thick. The proximity of the driver to your ear is a large part of the carefully designed sound-signature of these phones, any deviation will change the sound, which, considering how long Sony Music engineers worked on to perfect, is a Bad Thing. The OG pads can be purchased from Sony customer service for very little, which is great as they do tend to disintegrate every couple of years of use. EDIT: I hate the Brainwavez pads for that reason, I returned mine. I was not aware of the Yaxi ones, and if they do sit over your ears I'm intrigued as to the sound signature, and very skeptical. $40 is a lot of money to spend on an experiment, but maybe I'll give them a try.
My favourite mod for them is to take off the thick cable and add a 1/8" socket to replace it. Then you can use 3rd party 1/8" jack cables with controls and a microphone, to use with your laptop/ipad. (used to be your phone, but alas, headphone sockets are now extinct unless you have an adaptor) I use the cable from my V-Modas with my portable DAC.
hey, these are perfect. I use them daily, for listening to music alone, with phone or pc, flac files 44.1kHz and 16 bit, watching movies or following lessons on pc as well (I use them only at home). So comfortable with Brainwavz Gel pads (a bit of bssses but not so much). Do you think they are wasted for such a kind of usage like mine?
As long as you're using them it's not a waste, they don't really need an amp at ~60 ohms. Only annoying thing when using them with a mobile device or laptop is that 1/4" connector.
@@EJ22bakadesu thank you very much. Anyway, why don't you like to mod these headphones?
@@fernyb15 mostly because they're imported and if I mess them up it's not like I can just grab another pair off Amazon or B&H.
The cable itself is quite nice and I tend to not detach my cables from my headphones with that feature anyway (plug cycles are a real thing) so I don't think that mod would gain me much.
@@EJ22bakadesu right, great video anyway!
I read a review at hedfonia saying that the Shure SRH-840 is basically the same headphones as the 900st soundwise, do you think this has any basis ?
I've never heard the SRH-840 personally.
can not be, Shure is American and Sony is Japanese, two different manufacture plants
No. CD900STs are much sharper, nearly sibilant. SRH-840s have less treble response compared to the CD900 or V6.
There is an IEM in this family called the MDR-7550 (or EX800ST in Japan) which is pretty good. I think no longer made or sold now in the U.S. There was also the MDR-7520 full size that's discontinued, which looked good in reviews, though frequency response measurements showed it to be a bit wonky. On a Japanese site it showed both CD900ST and EX800ST as their professional studio monitors, though now they've added the MDR-M1ST, which I hope is pronounced "mist."
You can mod them, pretty easily mind you, to just put the folding metal rails in there so they fold. Takes like 5 minutes to do
Thanks. What kind of laptop is that?
Dell XPS 9310 2-in-1.
great video! just wanted to give you some info about purchasing the cd900st;
There is a listing of these headphones on amazon and they seem to be available in the americas:
www.amazon.com/Sony-Mdr-cd900st-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000UPEJCU/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3P5LE5DA15JJQ&dchild=1&keywords=mdr+cd900st&qid=1626159457&sprefix=mdr+c%2Caps%2C231&sr=8-1
I do wonder if there's any difference from the one you bought on ebay
There is also a site selling a mod of this set of cans were they stuff the drivers from the studio version into the chassis of the non-studio version (which means you get the parlor trick) and they got a version that comes with a detatcable cable:
cartonode.com/web-content/body/cart/cart.cgi?cate=2.html
These are japanese exlusive for now, and I do wonder about import duties or alternatives more accesible state side
Did you end up ordering them? I've wanted to get a pair with a shorter detachable cable and that looks to be perfection. Not sure if it'll ship to Canada tho.
82 dollars from yodobashi. Not 180
Looks like they've come down in price, this video is three or more years old now. They were generally $150-190 back then all over importer sites, but the Yen has crashed through the floor in the mean time.
@@EJ22bakadesu what a fest was last month in Japan!!! even Sennheiser headphones was 70 euro less than Italy!
im here in tokyo, forget the mdr 1st youre not gonna like it.. 900st n 7506 are better.. but i stayed on ath m50x