Grammy Award winning engineer and producer Peter Moshay, noted for studio and live recordings in supporting Hall & Oates, Live from Daryl’s House and acts that include Journey, The Cars, Barry Manilow, Kenny Loggins, Quiet Riot and many others, recently incorporated new Sony Electronics MDR-MV1 open back reference monitor headphones into his workflow.
Moshay is already an avid user of the company’s legacy DMX-R100 digital audio mixer console, the original MDR-V6 studio monitor headphones and the MDR-7520, which are his primary mixing headphones for Live from Daryl’s House. Of the new MDR-MV1 open back reference monitor headphones, he states, “I can tell the intention of every detail that went into making these the second I put them on. Every nuance of it, I know was painstakingly made and nobody appreciates that more than me. This model is designed for the fanatics of sound.”
As Moshay goes through the Hall & Oates demos and cassettes and works to transfer them over to digital, he adds that the MDR-MV1s have been a helpful companion, explaining, “I’ve been using the MV1 headphones for hours and hours listening to Hall & Oates’ work. It’s material I’m really familiar with but when listening with these new headphones, I heard so much more detail in one particular recording. That detail is very easy to hear and pick out. The balance is perfect. The impedance is low so the amount of detail that’s up front is undeniable – even when plugged into a mobile device. It’s amazing to listen to something you’re so familiar with and hear more detail. When you’re listening on something really great, you hear so much more.
He adds that he’s been able to re-experience material he was deeply familiar with, in a new way: “I must have listened to this one recording at least 100 times and I heard an edit that was so obvious now with the MV1s. And what’s interesting is that I hear this level of detail while listening fairly low, about 85 dB, which is a game-changer. With other headphones, you have to crank it up to hear that kind of detail. Having a nice low impedance that still has all of the detail, without the distortion, hasn’t been done before.” He also notes, “I put these on, and the sound stage is right there. It’s revealing, in a flattering way.”
Moshay also points to the comfort factor: “I can tell a lot of attention went into the headphones and comfort is of the utmost importance when you’re wearing something for extended periods of time. The headphones are so light, and the pads are soft – they’re like whipped cream.”
With regard to the acoustic structure, he states, “They’re closed enough so that you don’t feel isolated but yet they’re an open back model. I feel like I’m still part of my environment even though I’ve got everything so detailed and close to me when I’m hearing it. They are unlike any other open back headphones I’ve tried in the past. I can still understand and judge what is going on in the low and ultra-low end, something I haven’t been able to get just right on other open back models.”
Moshay concludes, “Because the impedance is low, no matter what you plug the MV1s into, you’ve got plenty of volume on it immediately, without needing a huge amp to power them. Live recording is a big part of what I do. The thing about capturing a live concert is that you get one shot at it. You can’t go back, so a lot of work is done in the prep of everything to make sure you get it right.”
Go here for more specifics on the Sony Electronics MDR-MV1.
