Sony MDR-7520 Closed-back On-ear Studio Headphones Reviews

I wanted headphones that were over-ear, closed back, and with a wire. I wanted a tone that was reference, monitor-style; nothing too bassy or warm. I wanted something comfortable and well-made, headphones that would hold up and last. Excellent headphone tech has been around since the late 70's so I did not want to spend lots of $$. There's a hundred headphone brands out there, but my two favorite are Sennheiser and Sony. The 7520's are exactly what I wanted. I love the tone and comfort. Mine make no noise in the movable joints. Right now, I use them with my smartphone and a Google pixelbook. They sound wonderful without an amp, but they sound their best with some added juice. I'm using the "ifi nano idsd black label" dac/amp to push these headphones and that combo sounds great. Made in Thailand... I think they're with it...so it felt great to get them for $... from Sweetwater.

Clean sounding, comfortable, affordable and neutral! Exactly what I was looking for! Everything comes through good and bad!

I have owned a pair of MDR 7520 for about 3 years now and they are spectacularly good.

However I recently dropped them and the headband snapped at the joint. I contacted Sony to have the headband replaced and they quoted me a staggering £230 just for the headband and a further 2 hours labour at £98 per hour. Add VAT onto this and it is going to cost around £550 to repair. This is more than these headphones cost new.

This is particularly surprising because the headband on the cheaper MDR 7510 is identical it is only the ear cups and drivers that are different.

So yes they are fantastic headphones but be warned there should you break the headband you will either need to have to buy a new pair, which you can no longer do inside the European Union, or throw them in the bin.

Given that these are marketed as professional headphones I was disappointed that the headband broke the very first time they were dropped.

The cost of spares for these headphones is ridiculously expensive so in effect once they are outside of warranty they are uneconomical to repair. Sony have been most unhelpful and when challenged about the cost of replacing the headband they really replied that's what it costs, nothing we can do.

Headphones 10 out of 10 for performance... Sony Service 0 of 10.

I've owned these cans for several years - they are detailed, clean and non-fatiguing. The bass is tight, mid-range is solid...really excellent. At first when I got them, I thought something was wrong with them because I didn't hear all of the exaggerated "bloat" that you hear in many close-back headphones. I use them a lot for detailed mixing/listening....highly recommend! God bless :)

OHHH MYY GODDDD these cans are AMAZING!!! I've heard many studio headphones but none have come close to these. I bought a pair of Audio Technica M70x, heard them and took them back, somewhat dissappointed because i wanted to hear more low end frequencies. Not exaggerated, boomy bass for listening pleasure, but flat, natural bass that emulate top studio monitors. The instant I ordered these and put them on they were extremely comfortable and the sound is phenomenal. If I have to pay to get quality like this its well worth it. I'm tempted to buy 3 more pair of these one day because they are that good!

I have listened to a lot of headphones, these are the best by far. They are the only headphones that have deep but accurate bass that is comparable to my studio monitors. The mids are very flat and the high end is to die for , transparent and delicate, with no apparent limit. Then compared with my Shure 940's, as a result won't be using the Shure any more, no comparison.

I have happily owned 8 pair of Sony MDR-7506 Headphones 2 pair that are still functioning great with the normal ear pad replacement every couple of years in my Studio since 1992. By the advice of my Trusted Sales Engineer and Friend AJ Becerra I decided to upgrade for a pair of MDR-7520s (I was just going to go with the 7510s) I do a lot of late night mixing and solo recording on my own music and I could not believe the frequency response, bottom end, and just overall balance sound of these cans. AJ told me that give them a couple of weeks for the drivers to break in and they would get even better and he was right. When I plugged in my PRS in to my H & K TubeMeister and cranked up the distortion and layed down a track a couple of nights ago through the red box DI it blew me away. I will own more of these..... Thanks AJ ! Once again Sweetwater my go to place for all my audio/hardware/studio gear for my Studio.

The Sony MDR-7520's may be pricey but they are the best closed-back headphones I have ever heard. In additional to the sonic quality, the build quality is outstanding and they are very comfortable. I was a little skeptical at first but they went way beyond my expectations. Talking about the technical details wont do justice to these headphones. You will just have to listen to believe the quality. Highly recommended.

Seriously...What improvement could be made on these?
Fantastic headphones. They are on my head right now, and I just might sleep with them on my head as well.
The best combination of accuracy, isolation, solid construction, and visual aesthetic I've seen in a pair of headphones.
Crazy good. Bonus stars. Five is inadequate. Bullseye.

Pristine professional analytical sound. Clarity is relentless.
The overall tonality reminds me of Apogee converters.
Sub bass and low bass is abundant, yet the low mids are relaxed which allows for a nice separation of frequencies....You never feel that the more then ample bass response is overriding the mids and treble, so, thats quite a design feat.
Think of it as very good headphones with a sub.
Comfort is better then "ok" but not outstanding, these are not feather light, and there is a slight clamping force that might relax as it adjusts to your head shape over time.
Packaging, typical of Sony headphones, and especially in the case of these headphones belies the quality of this product.
These deserve a nice box with all the bells and whistles and not the underwhelming plastic see through generic Sony case that contains them upon arrival.
This is a well designed and realized Pro gear that will allow you deep insight into your music, tho the bass and sub bass response they offer is an adjustment that you will experience if you decide to own them.
Vocals are accurate, soundstage is fairly wide, depth of soundstage is good, separation of instruments is very good.
Buy them for mixing or mastering or for just the joy of listening.
Certainly not overpriced.

For standard monitoring without an EQ, these headphones are not flat even after "burning" them in. They have too much presence (2khz to 8khz) and brightness (9khz to 12khz) in varying degrees. I was hoping to be able to use these headphones on all devices without the need for an EQ. The bright side is, all of the fine details are represented from the lows all the way through the top end. Once the presence and brightness is toned down with an EQ, these headphones sound wonderful. Excellent bass, attack, and detail.

These headphones are well-worth the money. They sound great, with the flattest response I have experienced on closed-back headphones (which is great for mobile mixing), they have a detachable cable, are quite comfortable, and, to my surprise, they are far more durable than they look. They may be a little heavy, but these cans have a really solid build.

I play 7 live shows a week in a studio setup. I use to play with 7509hd and switched to 7520 about 8 months ago. Playing the same show every night makes you very aware of small nuances and details. When the band leader and I switched to the mdr-7520, the blend just got alot better. Nice rich and detailed bass and smooth highs. Sounded great the first time I put them on, even better after they broke in a couple of days later.

Light, comfortable and a solid build. Better isolation then the 7509hd. I recently ordered a pair of 7510 and will comment on them soon.

Bottom line they're a bit expensive but I definitly recommend!

My 7509s broke. ( I sat on them!)
I wanted a new pair of Cans.
No mas 7509s.
$200 more, for the 7920s.
Great sound! No problem there. A clear notch above the 7509s.
($200 better?...hmmm)
But nowhere near as comfortable.
7509s were a great design.
7520s are very refined, and I'll get used to them. But really, Sony missed a good thing with these.

I bought these after reading some old but very, very detailed reviews about the best headphones for recording and mixing. The MDR-7509s were rated very high by all reviewers (Sound on Sound) for closed-back designs. When I went to find a pair, I learned Sony had this new model and fellow musicians here on Sweetwater as well as folks on other sites seemed to be giving it a thumbs up.

They are modestly comfortable and do a good job of isolating sound -- keeping the sound in, not so much keeping sound out, which is fine for recording and mixing. I spend so much time with headphones on, it's actually preferential that I can hear someone calling for me or my kids starting to fight in another room, etc. They also provide an eerie clarity in the mid-range that is hard to define. It's not that the mids and high mids are hyped, they just sound very distinct. That's mostly a good thing, though it's something you really have to get used to if you're mixing in headphones (not ideal under any circumstances, but my circumstances are far from ideal).

The problem with these headphones is the bass. The bass is VERY overhyped. It's not only so saturated that it messes up my ability to judge a mix, it's actually uncomfortable to listen to pretty much any kind of content, even spoken word. Everything sounds skull-poundingly boomy in these. I really expected a lot more for the price of these (I know true "high end" cans are over $1,000, but this is a pricey set of phones for me). Unfortunately, I've repossessed my old AKG K171 cans from my teen son. They are physically uncomfortable as heck, but they are way more neutral for mixing than these Sony's, and the bass is not overwhelming to the point of ruining everything.