Sony MDR-10RBT Bluetooth headphones that I bought in Jan 2014 is still one of my favorite headphones of all time. I know that MDR-10 is a cheaper version of MDR-1 series and I always wanted to try the flagship MDR-1 since then. Too bad MDR-1RBT was too expensive for me and I couldn’t find a reasonable excuse to justify such spending. Therefore when I accidentally see a very good bargain of MDR-1RBT on eBay, I was really tempted. It says brand new in sealed box at a price cheaper than what I paid for my MDR-10RBT almost 2 years ago. The seller is a new eBay member with very few reputation points, so I could say that buying the item does come with certain level of risk. Believing that I can count on eBay money back guarantee or Paypal buyer protection, I decided to pull the trigger and bought these headphones.
In few days I receive the item in a very good condition. Genuine Sony product still in sealed box. So there was no problem at all with the transaction. Now it’s all about testing this flagship product.
According to Sony website, MDR-1RBT headphones have 40mm (HD) dome type driver unit, 4 to 80,000 Hz frequency response, Liquid Crystal Polymer Diaphragm, Neodymium magnet, approx 30 hours music playing, up to 200 hours standby time, Bluetooth 3.0 in 2.4GHz band (2.4000GHz-2.4835GHz), NFC, S Master amplifier, Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE), 20Hz – 20,000Hz (44.1kHz Sampling) transmission sampling and enlarged air vents for beat response control. It supports A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control Profile), HFP (Hands-free Profile) and HSP (Headset Profile). The built-in microphone is omni directional with 100 Hz – 4,000 Hz frequency range.
Design and Control
Sony MDR-1RBT Bluetooth headphones have a nice design with sturdy look. It is slightly heavier than MDR-10RBT, but not to the point of being uncomfortable. I had no problem wearing this for 4+ hours at work. It comes with a carrying pouch, 3.5 mm audio cable to use this headphones without Bluetooth and micro-USB charging cable.
On the left-side we can find the power button, micro-SD port for charging, 3.5 mm audio jack. On the right side, there are a switch to do play/pause/next/previous, call answer button, NFC switch and volume buttons. This design is somewhat similar to the ones in MDR-10RBT so I have no issue in using the controls.
Bluetooth connection
First, why choose Bluetooth headphones? I always find that Bluetooth headphones are generally less restrictive. I like to keep my work desk clean and tidy without wires (or as minimum as possible). Plus, I read about the rumours that future iPhones and Macbooks might not have 3.5 mm headphone jack anymore. Regardless of the future of wired headphones, I am reasonably confident that Bluetooth will remain as popular standard for wireless audio.
MDR-1RBT’s Bluetooth connection is reasonably stable. A test with iPhone gave me few dropouts resulting in minor skip, possibly because I have 2 other devices also connected to my iPhone (Pebble Time Round smart watch and Fitbit One health tracker). Pairing these headphones with iMac resulting in smooth listening without any connectivity drop so far.
Audio Quality
If I have to choose one word to describe my experience with MDR-1RBT’s audio quality, it would be: wow. Audio quality is simply the best I have ever heard from a Bluetooth headphones. The high frequencies are detailed and rich without being uncomfortable. The mids are clear and enjoyable. The bass is deep with enough punch to deliver great experience, but it’s also not excessive. To put it simply, I am really impressed with the sound quality.
I only did few minutes of test in wired mode just to make sure that the cable works. Did not notice significant issue in wired mode, but can quickly tell that I’ve heard better sound from wired headphones.
Battery
One full charge of MDR-1RBT battery can power up these headphones for 30 hours, which is very good for my standard. However, I do have issue with the time required to recharge the battery. I need 6 hours to recharge the battery (from empty to full) and I can’t use the headphones while charging.
Conclusion
Overall I quite like these headphones. Solid product deserves its status as flagship model. Decided to make it my primary headphones at work, because office is the place where I spend the most of my time in.
“Audio quality is simply the best I have ever heard from a Bluetooth headphones. The high frequencies are detailed and rich without being uncomfortable. The mids are clear and enjoyable. The bass is deep with enough punch to deliver great experience”
Why I do remember not really impressed by the Bass sound ?
I remember it is great for vocal, acoustic and classic music but tamed down with the bass