Sony MDR-W15 Dynamic Headphones

The Sony Corporation manufactured the MDR-W15 headphones, and the yellow coloured ones were a part of their Sports range of Walkmans. They produce a very clear sound, with a good bass and treble response. The sound quality was extremely good and far better than any of the modern headphones.

The secret is of course in these drive units, which made Sony Walkmans sound more superior to other stereo cassette players.

If you were listening through these during the 1980s then you will instantly recognise the unique 1980s sound quality. Although you can buy the latest headphones with much superior frequency response, it would be hard to recreate that 1980s sound on those.

The design of these headphones uses a very thin metal strip for the headband thus giving it a very light feel. You can almost forget that you were wearing it. I believe that this was a much better design than the new type that you have to stuff into your ear canal.

Notice the holes on the reverse side were bigger, which gave it unique acoustic properties. Sony does not make these today, so they are hard to come by these days, however I still use this because the sound quality is much better.

Specifications

** Using a standard 20 Hz to 20 kHz headphone as a baseline for comparison, however you should note that frequency perception can be very subjective.