Sony’s Deadphones

Hey Mat. Have you seen the Retro Electro Workshop on Yesterday? I'm watching it now and it seems like it would be your thing.

Now I really wonder how much longer that end clip was than the section we saw. Cat sits on you and maybe the battery died before you could stand and stop recording :P Today I tried out AirPods Pro 2 on the A7000 in transmitter mode and yeah. Don't get the same effects as when using APP2 to an Apple TV so I can appreciate the angle of the processing and intelligence on channels making those headphones a better option. Seems like you rigged a really good system up for linking it all together. What do you have for decoding SACD btw? I had brought out my PS3 and my one SACD when I got my A7000 and the PS3 couldn't read the hybrid disc SACD layer. So I bought a UBP-X700 Sony UHD Bluray player. And the A7000 can't decode DRM'd audio streams like DVD-A or SACD.. So I just dled a rip of the thing and decoded it to a multichannel dsf files and put those on a USB thumb drive to put into the A7000. Take that jerks? :P

Slightly off topic, but this video appeared in my YT recommendations today - 1972 educational video that warns 'the cat will try to con man out of almost anything.' 😯https://youtu.be/laLAaTXGnp0&t=7m34s By the way, Happy Easter.

As always most interesting, Mat. I am never likely to invest in such items and I never knew they could be interesting but as so often happens, I find the knowledge you give us is far from useless. By the way, I know it was automatic, but I loved the focus pull from the cat to you in the final shot. :-)

I wonder if the Apple Airpod Max headphones would be a contender?

Well we already loved you, then you borrowed the neighbours cat for a sad story and now our hearts have melted. You know how to get us hitting those like buttons don’t you 😻

Loved seeing you talk about 88 Films and Eureka, and showcasing their amazing hong kong action films! I have 8000+ films and those two companies really help fill out my Asian cinema selection, which I show and talk about on my channel Explosive Action.

Half-remember the sort of headphones from Yodobashi and thinking "maybe, someday?" but this sobered me quick - asking price alone could cover an atmos capable receiver and push me to install speakers in the ceiling. Lucky I didn't have any close neighbors what with the home theater taking up nearly a quarter of our living space, in-wall vinyl sheeting and insulation meant to sound suppress doesn't really help. My first Japanese receiver included a warning to be mindful about volume levels - market for high-end headphones (shared signal!) is gonna be strong with the living conditions faced by the vast, vast majority. Speaker choices are very limited compared to brands offered in the US/EU, but it was subwoofers (or, the near lack of) that caused me the biggest headache when constructing the theater. IIRC there just aren't any consumer options beyond 8 or maybe 10 inch, and I wasn't about to ship a 50+ pound monster from overseas so I tried to compensate with four units spread around the room. It's alright. I hadn't been to the Wakkanai movie theater (nearest) since Interstellar, but I took a chance with Dune 2 to see how it compared. They have three screens with 7.1 that seat about 80, and even at the third row back the bottom of the screen was simultaneously above my head and with a smaller viewing angle than I have at home. Oh, and they had motorized panels to block the top and bottom of the 16:9 screen when the actual 2.35:1 picture started... couldn't spread out to the sides because there were matching emergency exits slightly intruding into the necessary space. Guess I wait on a disc next time. About the HK films on BD, it has been an interesting turn of the market. This "boom" started a couple years ago, Shout factory the main outlet in the US (VinSyn as well) but Arrow has been doing dual region UK/US, and Eureka has just started that as well. In fact word is success in this strand saved Eureka from going under, which is good news because they still get to work on (Masters of Cinema) releases that are must owns for me (silents and art house heavyweights like the Zulawski set from last year).

Flippin' heck, a gadget you have that I have! Late last year, I was looking for a wireless solution for getting surround sound audio due to my small, boxy surroundings, as well for privacy. After some searching and a lot of comparing, I ended up buying a pair of Sony MDR-DS7500 on eBay from an older man who'd imported it years ago. The only damage to it was that the headband cover was disintegrating so much, the man wrapped it up with black duct tape. He actually did a great job doing so, from a short distance, it looks inconspicuously like leather. The only negative I have is I also get the arch effect, as if the sound that's for the center and rear speakers are coming at a 45-degree angle pointed at my forehead and the crown of my head. That and the headache of remembering the order of ops (90% of my HDMI wires are black.). I have multiple gaming consoles and it's a whole memory game switching wires every time I want to play with the 'phones. Still, I really can't complain, especially since, for one, they sound bloody fantastic and everything works and secondly, as you said, there's not really any other alternative that does the same, particularly in my price range (I got mine for about $120), or that would not require switching TVs a la Sony.

Well, Mat, even though the first pair you received were hideously used, at least you actually got them. Years ago I too had ordered the same model from Japan, but the ebay seller turned out to be a fraud. Luckily PayPal was able to reimburse me. Glad that the system met your needs for surround enjoyment. I ended up getting an even more ancient Sony headphone surround system - well, just the decoding unit, no headphones - but I'm happy with it, because it has a quarter inch headphone out that allows me to plug in my favorite cans. Even though I still would've liked to have gotten the set that you did, I dislike its proprietary nature - being able to use only that model of Sony headphones with it. That seems like a very cynical or dismissive attitude toward its customers: "Be content with what we deign to give you, peasant." Sony shenanigans. We love them and hate them.

Living in a block of flats, I've never risked any surround sound set up, due to the noise issue. I'd never really thought of using headphones. Mine are just the two channel L/R ones. My Panasonic Blu-ray in the lounge won't play MP4 files through it, so I assume a later machine does? The Sony UHD player will (though I have no 4K set up).

I did like the ending, it reminded me of Tomorrows World

Thanks for the review, Mat! I still just use stereo headphones for private listening when the missus is asleep. But, when we're both watching an action movie, our Ariel doesn't mind the loud noises at all---unless it's fireworks. You are so nice to use headphones for the comfort of your cat. Next you'll be reviewing cat doors and automated feeders 😸

I was looking for such a system for a long time because I have to use my headphones in the night for watching movies quite a lot. I always wanted to try the Exofield XP-EXT1 from JVC but they are very expensive but the test results show they seem to be quite impressive.

Nice vid, pretty sure I've got a genuine Sony, UK plugged 12VDC PSU with that same yellow coded end if you want it?

Meow! 😻 Unfortunately, my Luke doesn't come on my lap usually when I'm watching a movie... After a while of sleeping somewhere else, he get's bored and starts to ask for attention (meow, meow, meow), somewhere else in the house...

Awesome cat! Thanks for the video. Nice work.

A tuxedo just like the cat I just lost. Warms my heart to see him.

Now I get it why this vid took more time for making it. Ewww the used one... I'm glad that you got another pair !! I love you cat also. 🥹

Mat, you cracked the code... "just add cat"! You tried muppets ("Matpets"?) ... you tried mukbang... the pinball and chess Twitch shows... now cats! What's next? How about ASMR of post office sales videos?

Love the cat

Less of a comment and more of a journal entry. lol You know, I don't identify much with the high quality headphones you talk about sometimes, though I do find it interesting, of course. I love audio and audio formats and I have never seen a pair of headphones that turns on and off automatically like that. I've very occasionally bought headphones that cost over a hundred dollars, but I tend to not, as they break or get lost and I don't find the increase in sound quality worth it. Same thing with TVs. I don't mind my 2010 $199 Sanyo TV I got on clearance. It does 1080p, and it's fine. I do have some high quality speakers and a decent fake Atmos setup like you used to have for sound and music throughout the home, but headphones are almost always a "good enough" requirement, and "good enough" is just listening to Radio 4 on the internet and baseball games through the radio. I only listen to music around the house with my extensive speaker system, never on headphones. Ever. Sometimes in the car. I wonder why I share a love for "good enough" audio and video formats, in addition to high quality, but it doesn't translate to some products. I listen to the Dolby Atmos mixes on my speakers, but also enjoy cassettes, and when I listen to speech I encode it in 12 kbps HEAAC V2. I get my favourite movies in high definition, but will frequently just burn them to DVDs to watch later. I have an extremely expensive Leica camera, but also shoot film for fun which is dogshit. Why are the entirety of my headphone purchases just wired ones I can get for less than a dollar a piece? Where's the one very expensive pair? It's not there. Why am I interested in the bone conduction ones which sound worse? I don't know. Why do I like the idea of the little portable speakers you do sometimes? I don't know. Why am I attracted to audio that's objectively shitty but in cool form factors? One of my favorite audio purchases was when Grace found a radio shaped like a lotion bottle on eBay and posted it here. It's HORRIBLE. But it's in my bathroom and I listen to the baseball on it. I barely get reception. I guess sometimes things are too good. At least for me. If it's perfect it's not perfect. Even the $10k camera I have is manual focus. I should see a psychologist. Say hi to Bee's Knee's for me.

Hi Mat, another great video from you, I'm glad you're looking after the cat 😊

Hello to Catmoan. Are cat cameras a thing

Hi Mat, Thanks for the video! My cat is watching saw your cat and now has a good purr on. What's your cat's name mine is called Toffee. Thanks.

Great video, I didn't know about these...so I just bought one from eBay/Japan. 😉👍 Good price too, $200 with free shipping. Seems to be in the same condition as your second pair...shame about the first one! Thanks again.

As well as using my Airpods/Beats Studio3 with my Apple TV, I also connect them directly via the Bluetooth on my LG TV so I can listen to any input. On an older TV without Bluetooth I use a Bluetooth transmitter to connect the Airpods/Beats Studio3 to.

• The television has misspelled your name 😐. • 2:07 - Talking too quickly, yes. I hope it's nothing stronger than the caffeine 😂 • The 'hair' was from Santa's artificial beard. That, or Mini Mat has been testing it as well. • 'Mauled & Sweated Into For A Decade' is a new album title suggestion for some 10 year band. • The 'Matrix' and 'NEO:X' hmmm 🤔 • Watch on right arm at 1:42 or a mirror image? • I never thought about it before but you're right - the loss of volume wheels is akin to humanity losing radiant floor heating after the Romans fell. Why have we replaced so many things that worked so well with inefficient alternatives? • Headphones are great, but you've hit upon the big drawback for me - ear sweat. I am hot-blooded already, I don't need more excuses to sweat (ew). It's a damn shame that I can only tolerate lightweight headphones. • You: 'Do you want to settle down and watch Oppenheimer?' BK: 'Yes, now sit very, very still for the next three hours so that I may leach your thermal energy, peasant.' • Alternative comedic thumbnail: https://ibb.co/C9Rf6wt • My own thermal energy leacher: https://ibb.co/kQ9hX7P That's more than enough from me; take care. 🤍🤍

Well it certainly beats my system which consists of standard Sony bluetooth headphones and a bluetooth transmitter plugged into the stereo output of my ancient telly. It sounds 'ok' but the volume has to be turned way up and you'd need a calendar to measure the latency. What a purrfect ending to the video.

Well done video. Never knew that something like this even existed. You got adopted by a nice talking cat.

Just Another Excellent Video. Nice set of headphones, well presented. Hope to see more of your new Kitty Cat. He's pretty. And talkative.

Ugh, I hate when you get used stuff listed as new -- and that's not right that you had to pay anything to return it, should've been all on them (although I haven't used Amazon for years so I'm unfamiliar with their policies). But a great video, and loved the short bit of feline commentary at the end.

Mat, I'm guessing that Sony would rather you didn't refer to these headphones as "deadphones" but might prefer you to use terms such as, "vintage headphones" or "heirloom variety headphones."😉 Anyway, even though you got these headphones for watching movies with surround sound, and they seem to be designed for that purpose, how well do you think they would be just for listening to music?

Lovely new sidekick you have there!

No firmware update ?

I‘ve got the exact same issue. Would be great if some other company would make something similar again. Though I think it now should be possible to get Atmos through normal bt headphones. At least it‘s working with Apple devices and phones already, hope they‘ll soon make it work with TVs as well. I tried looking it up, but wasn‘t able to find any reliable informations yet.

My word! You seemed to have had your cup of coffee at the start of the video. It was almost like you were one of those infomercial salesmen. You did calm down and gave a really nice video on a product I had no experience with. It is a shame that the later technology never seems to be as good as the older ones, (Apple AirPods Pro excluded. They are my go-to listening, and I think they're incredible). These seem to me to be a bit over-engineered, but that's kind of Sony's game, isn't it? A 'perrrrfect' ending to the video, by the way. I envy you Matt. I had a feline companion who used to sit on my lap while I watched my shows. I lost Albert a number of year back. Bee's Knees brought back how much I'm missing him.

Hi Matt, I also have these beauties and have owned them from new since October 2014. I also imported mine from Japan and paid $320 for a brand new set. As the Japanese model supported multi headphones as you mentioned I went and bought from eBay as set of headphones from a UK seller for £38, however these were a EU model and are missing the ID Set label on the headset...so basically are useless to me as they do not connect to my transmitter! Mine have been in a drawer for a few years, but your video has inspired me to give them another go!

I wish people did use headphones rather than big surround sound systems sometimes in apartments and terraced homes. The number of times I have experienced the full vibration effect of heavy thumping bass and the thrill of the soundtrack whilst next door watch a film and I try to sleep. I added additional sound insulation to the wall but that couldn’t stop the bass vibration. I resorted to looking up sound cancelling devices that could stop bass transmission through concrete. It’s not that the neighbour was being annoying deliberately, just that they were utterly thoughtless. In the end I went next door got them to come round and experience what it was like and agreed with them that I would install isolation pins on the bottom of their subwoofer to stop the vibration traveling through the slab. Worked a treat. Low cost solution that stopped a potential dispute.

That video turned out really well. Good job.