HiFi/audiophile headphones

These headphones are as good a sound as any new headphones I have heard, they date back to the 1970's made by FUJIKI Electronic co Ltd.
I have never seen any like this in all my time of using headphones, I basically got them for free while clearing a friends garage, he is from Belgium, so I am presuming that they was only made for certain countries and not available worldwide.

After 25 years!
I tested some stax, beyer, audio technica, the famous jecklin float, the akg k240 monitor, but I fell for the HD540 Reference.
Back then I feared they would be too fragile.
But I'm more confident now.
Although I have always taken good care of them.

They are a true gem, and they need some care, they are hard to find in good shape and at a reasonable price.


USE AND DESIGN

Light, smooth.
The foams are hard to find, although those of the HD560 are supposed to fit them too (I've never tried it).
The cables and internal foams can still be found as spare parts.


STURDINESS

Mine are from 1989 and nothing (except for the ear cushions) has ever broken, so, yes!!!
They are sturdy


AUDIO QUALITY

They sound superbly.
Very well-balanced.
That said, be careful, because they are 600-Ohms headphones, so you need quite some power to drive them.
They will sound dull, lifeless and without depth with many basic headphone jacks, so they might disappoint you.

You need to know what you want.
These headphones are fantastic IF you can make the best of them, meaning you have the right gear to amplify them correctly.

In which case they sound pristine, delicate, chiseled.
But also merciless!
It's not a good idea to hear questionable MP3s with them.
It won't be a pleasant experience.

These are headphones that must be earned and they deserve the best.
Not at all the type that will settle for the bare minimum.

Don't buy these headphones to plug them into a smartphone or iThingy.
They really needs more.

One last remark: These are my only headphones I have never modified.

The MDR-V6 are the big brother of the MDR-7506. They are driven by CCAW electromagnet voice coils, giving them a frequency response of 10Hz to 30kHz which far outstrips the 7506's. The V6 are not as new user friendly as the 7506's either. Where the 7506's sound like headphones, making them easier for a beginner to mix with, the V6's have a much more natural response. The lower band response gives it less buildup in the 60-120 Hz range than the 7506's. Because of the increase in 10Hz response and 7.5kHz+ response, these headphones can sound spitty due to the tighter attacks. The dynamic response is much more sensitive on these phones, and therefore the mix sounds deeper. The higher bandwidth makes the frequency spectrum taller. The V6's make everything from your stereo field, frequency spectrum, and dynamic depth all sound gigantic, albeit sometimes to the degree of sounding sparse. In my experience this is a fact of the phones, and helps create dynamically complex mixes when run through less dynamic speakers.

Overall I'm happy with the way these phones affect my mixes. I used to glut 120-240Hz in my mixes because of the increased bass response of the 7506's and the V6's remedied that problem. They are not a beginner's phone though for the complexity of their output. I VOTE 4.5/5. My only major complaint is that the phone cups can be rough on the cheeks after many hours and the amount of sweat that builds up in them.

Once again, 4.5/5. I am a big fan of the Sony MDR-V6.