Sony MDR-CD550 Headphones
If the 'Digital' tag on Sony's new range of headphones conjures up visions of page after page of hi-fi reviews discussing the various merits of multi-bit versus bitstream phones, fear not. Sony admits it's a piece of 'marketing jargon'.
What it really means is that the headphones have been designed to respond better to today's digital sources. Taking the frequency response and wider dynamic range of CD and DAT into account, Sony says it has come up with a phone that's better placed to compete in an increasingly digital market.
The £50 MDR-CD550 phone is, in fact, one of a range, culminating in the £300 MDR-CD1000, itself a 'budget' version of Sony's incredible MDR-R10 - £2500 to you, sir! The £50 550 is particularly significant because it is this model that must take on the 'reviewers' favourite', the £45 Sennheiser HD480 (which carries no such 'digital' tag and is less likely to alienate vinyl lovers).
From the outside, the 550 looks rather special, with a neat padded leatherette headband to match the largish ear cushions. The long twin-cable is terminated in a mini-jack with a full-size adaptor as part of the package. Both are gold-plated. Inside the earcups, you'll notice one striking feature - the drive units are angled back towards your ears so that sound is delivered from much the same angle as it would be if it came from a pair of speakers.
Clapped on my head, the 550 felt light and comfortable, though I suspect the ear cushions would get sticky on hot days. But the discomfort could be worth it - the 550 sounds rather good, and while it may not have the marvellously deep bass of the £2500 R10, it was capable of a lively rendition of low notes.
First into the CD player was GRP's tribute album to Garfield, Am I Cool or What? It's a album packed with great jazz-dance rhythms. Whether it was Natalie Cole against a low synth-bass underpinned with crisp percussion, or BB King's Monday Morning Blues, the 550 was never less than involving, and remained detailed up to painful volume levels.
It took a lot to fluster the 550 - a storm, in fact, from the fourth of Britten's Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, played much louder than usual. Even here, it was only in the crescendos that the phone let the rasping of the brass sink into a momentary muddle.
And yes, the driver/housing configuration does have the effect of throwing the soundstage forward and out of your head in a more speaker-like fashion. This was particularly noticeable with unaccompanied single instruments such as Christopher Wilson's lute on his collection of Elizabethan music. The recorded acoustic was captured wonderfully well, with-bags of detail - and all without ever losing track of the main point, the emotion of the music.
