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| System Name | HP EliteBook 725 G3 |
|---|---|
| Processor | AMD PRO A10-8700B (1.8 GHz CMT dual module with 3.2 GHz boost) |
| Motherboard | HP proprietary |
| Cooling | pretty good |
| Memory | 8 GB SK Hynix DDR3 SODIMM |
| Video Card(s) | Radeon R6 (Carrizo/GCNv3) |
| Storage | internal Kioxia XG6 1 TB NVMe SSD (aftermarket) |
| Display(s) | HP P22h G4 21.5" 1080p (& 768p internal LCD) |
| Case | HP proprietary metal case |
| Audio Device(s) | built-in Conexant CX20724 HDA chipset -> Roland RH-200S |
| Power Supply | HP-branded AC adapter |
| Mouse | Steelseries Rival 310 |
| Keyboard | Cherry G84-5200 |
| Software | Alma Linux 9.1 |
| Benchmark Scores | Broadcom BCM94356 11ac M.2 WiFi card (aftermarket) |
Originally wanted to post this on a site like audiosciencereview or head-fi but got immediately rejected/banned by both for being "suspicious"/a "spammer" (probably because I do not have a Microsoft or Google email address...), so that will be their loss and TPU's gain!
First a little introduction: my first non-garbage headphones were $50-60 Shure SRH240As that I had for years until the plug finally completely died (it got bent when I dropped my phone, which it was plugged into, and over the course of a couple years it gradually degraded). Then, I just used Apple EarPods (the $15 3.5 mm ones, not the AirPods that are ten times as expensive) for some time until I got an $80 Sony MDR-V6 of which one of the channels died within months so I returned it and bought a very similar Sony MDR-7506 for $100 from GuitarCenter in the summer of 2018 (I was not sure whether the V6 had not actually been a fake since fakes are known to exist and Amazon has a problem with counterfeit stuff, yes, even when you buy stuff that is sold by "Amazon.com" since they mix their inventory with that of third party sellers). Actually, I tried some other headphones (buying them from Amazon and returning within the 30-day window), including a half-price Sennheiser HD579 and a Superlux HD668B, before I got the MDR-7506 but I found them to be uncomfortable so I went back to the old Sony design. I have been using the MDR-7506 ever since at my desk (since the beginning of 2019 mostly connected to my JDS Labs Atom amp) but I realized a few weeks ago that the pads are terribly worn, not only do they seem to have started to flake but they have actually come apart entirely at the seams, exposing their inner yellow foam.
I know that there are many different aftermarket replacement pads available but since at least some of them cost roughly a quarter of what a new MDR-7506 (or similarly priced headphones but more about that later) costs and I became aware of the limitations of the venerable MDR-7506, particularly for HiFi/listening to music at home, after reading Amir's (of audiosciencereview) review, I had some doubts about pouring money into my MDR-7506s and started to look for possible replacements. The problem is that a good chunk of popular HiFi headphones are not an option for me either due to quality issues (AKG, Hifiman, Shure, Superlux) or concerns about comfort (Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic). The HD579 was giving me a mild headache due to the pressure of its massive oval-shaped pads on my temples and since all the HD5xx Sennheisers basically share the same physical design those are not an option for me. The Beyerdynamic DTxx0 Pro series with their big circle pads and relatively high clamping force were too much of a risk for me as well. I am also on a tight budget and value the environment and general decency so I want, as always, a product that lasts and not something that is essentially a throwaway item because it suffers from known quality issues. MDR-7506s are known to last for decades, so whatever their flaws that gives them a big leg up in my eyes. So I was looking for studio monitors with a design similar to the MDR-7506s (which means relatively small, race track oval shaped pads and a somewhat rugged design) but with a more modern driver design (the MDR-7506 was originally released in 1991 as a modified version of the MDR-V6 which dates back to 1987). The Sennheiser HD280 Pros were not an option since they are known for their high clamping force.
I was interested in the Made in Japan MDR-CD900ST that is only sold domestically (but can be imported to the West) but eventually decided against it for several reasons (trying to not make this introduction too long so I won't elaborate), which is very similar to the MDR-7506 at first glance but which is actually completely different (I have read that it is a modified version of the old out-of-production MDR-V7 rather than of the MDR-V6 like the MDR-7506). Then I settled upon the Yamaha HPH-MT5, which have some very positive reviews on YouTube, and which also have a removable cable and of course the legendary Yamaha brand (known for making high quality musical instruments) is very hard to resist. There are not many brands that can compete with it, but then I discovered the Roland (a well-known Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments including keyboards/synthesizers) RH-200 and RH-300.
Review and information
The RH-200 appears at first glance to be an outright clone of the MDR-7506, with one Head-Fi user even going as far as to speculate that it is perhaps made by Sony as an OEM. First of all, I would like to say that that is demonstrably untrue as the MDR-7506 is currently made in Thailand (it was previously made in China for some time and before that in Japan, where the MDR-CD900ST is still being manufactured), whereas the RH-200 according to its box is Made in Taiwan and it seems unlikely to me that Sony would be producing a similar OEM product in a factory in yet another country when they are already manufacturing similar headphones in two countries. If anyone comes across Sony headphones that are made in Taiwan I would be interested to know. Furthermore, there are some design differences that are visible upon closer inspection. The most significant ones are the headband, which is thicker (it has a more significant cushion), and the pads, which while the cups are virtually identical to the ones of the MDR-7506 are a bit wider, which in turn means that there is less room for your ears (and there is a hard limit here as the tight seams prevent the pads from adjusting to your ears parallel to them, the only adjustment will be perpendicular to the cups and your ears) and this definitely affects comfort for me compared to the MDR-7506. It is difficult for me to do a proper comparison with the MDR-7506 though as the pads on my MDR-7506s are in a dismal state as I stated earlier, which means that they can no longer resist any adjustment to the shape of my ears and this may actually make them more comfortable than brand new MDR-7506s (or ones with fresh Sony pads) would be.
The RH-200 stock pads pinch my ears a bit, which means that I cannot wear them for much more than two (or perhaps three) hours (and this was actually worse before the clamping force of the headband was reduced by use and me letting it stretch a bit for a few hours sitting on a small Sterilite drawer that is a bit wider than my head) without my ears hurting moderately afterwards. Still as that is roughly the amount of time I will be wearing the RH-200s daily (at least without a break of a couple hours minimum) I ultimately decided that that was not a deal breaker for me. I have decided to move my open back (and more fragile) Panasonic RP-HT770s (purchased for only $10 open box on eBay after I won the auction) to my desk (hooked up to my Atom amp) for longer use instead.
This brings me to two other points: I am using the RH-200s in a situation where a closed-back headphone with some degree of isolation is a must (I would say their isolation is comparable to that of the MDR-7506 so probably not the most isolating pair of headphones out there but then again, the ones with the best isolation will almost certainly have a very strong clamping force which many will find uncomfortable, so there is a trade off here) and I am using them connected directly to the headphone out of my HP ProBook 645 G1 (see sig) with its IDT (formerly SigmaTel, now Tempo Semiconductor) 92HD91B(XX) audio chipset, which is quite a fancy chip. I would say that the RH-200 definitely lives up to its specification of having a high sensitivity (slightly less than that of the MDR-7506) and relatively low impedance (65 ohms, while the MDR-7506 is 63 ohms), therefore being easy to drive by regular, portable devices. I have the ALSA master volume set to 82(/100) and the ALSA headphones volume to only 16-36(/100 again) depending on the prerecorded volume of the music I happen to be listening to. My (Canadian market with Qualcomm SoC and DAC) BlackBerry Z10 (which I use as an ultra low budget DAP) struggles a bit more as I have to turn up the volume to roughly half of the available bars (admittedly with a probably quite low volume FLAC album, having been mastered in the 80s). The bass retains plenty of punch and the overall sound quality is great connected to the ProBook (although I have not done a proper blind A/B, next-to-each-other, comparison with the powerful Atom amp), so overall I would say these headphones definitely do not need an external headphone amp.
There are actually two different versions of the RH-200: the black "regular" one (looks most similar to the MDR-7506 obviously) and the silver one (RH-200S), which is the one I bought brand new on eBay at $100 (the traditional, big name stores in the US are asking a ridiculous $150 for these headphones, even though they are selling for even less than $100 in Europe). However, there actually is a big difference between these two different versions aside from the rather minor difference of them having different colors: the RH-200S (and I can obviously confirm this) does not have a coiled cord, while the "regular" RH-200 according to its Amazon description does have a coiled cord (like the MDR-7506). I personally prefer the regular cord as the heavy coiled cord of the MDR-7506 has an annoying habit of sliding off the edge of tables.
My RH-200S sitting on top of my ProBook 645 G1
Design differences from the MDR-7506 are more visible from this angle
Roland RH-200S plug. It has a spring for strain relief unlike the rubber "cylinder" strain relief of the MDR-7506
The cups can rotate 180 degrees just like on the MDR-7506 and this allows me to take a clear picture of the pads. The inner oval is not as tall as the one of the MDR-7506, which leads to my ears being pinched a bit.
And finally the shot that everyone has been waiting for!
You may wonder why I have not said that much about the sound quality yet. The reason for that is that I do not have what it takes to do a proper review of the sound quality: I do not have expensive audio equipment to conduct measurements like Amir of audiosciencereview does (hopefully he will review the RH-200 one day) and I also do not have trained ears and a lot of expensive headphones and speakers to compare the RH-200 to. Furthermore, the pads on my MDR-7506 being worn will affect their sound, so I cannot do a proper comparison with the MDR-7506. Finally, I do not have the time, desire or any way to do a blind A/B test between these two pairs of headphones. Subjectively I think that the RH-200 have more of a V-shaped sound signature compared to the MDR-7506, definitely more bass (although certainly not muddy and boomy, just punchy and powerful) but the bass of my MDR-7506s, again, may be affected by their worn pads. Overall I would say they sound fairly neutral to me, perhaps with slightly recessed mids. I certainly believe that they do not have the hump/boost in the upper mids that the MDR-7506 is known for and which perhaps may sometimes make them sound a bit more detailed than other headphones. I have never remotely been a bass head and have always valued the highs and mids more in headphones. A boomy bass that obscures the mids and highs is certainly a big no no for me and it is one of the things that pushed me towards the MDR-V6/MDR-7506 at the time as I was very skeptical of typical cheaper consumer headphones with their focus on "xtra bass". That said, I am enjoying the increased bass of the RH-200 (certainly compared to my MDR-7506s in their current state). It makes instruments such as acoustic and electric guitars sound more "full bodied" and natural and on songs with a prominent bass guitar (e.g. The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army) it sounds downright epic. Overall I am just very satisfied with the sound quality, think it is an upgrade to the MDR-7506 and am convinced it will measure better than the venerable MDR-7506 and is more suitable for listening to music than the MDR-7506 (and in that aspect they are perhaps similar to the now out-of-production MDR-V6). The asterisk would be that it does sound like a typical closed back headphone like the MDR-7506: the sound stage is limited (although instrument separation is great) and it is very forward. The opposite of my open back RP-HT770, which is more "laid back".
I will probably eventually replace the pads with aftermarket ones designed for the MDR-7506 to increase the comfort. The cups are (virtually) the same size and shape as the ones of the MDR-7506 and they both have 40 mm drivers. Additionally, I actually found a video on YouTube of someone who had replaced the pads with stock Beyerdynamic EDT250V velour pads, which after some research appear to also be a relatively popular option for replacing Sony MDR-7506 pads, so I am very confident that pads designed for the MDR-7506 will also fit on the RH-200.
This brings me to the end of the review proper (which means I should probably link to the official Roland RH-200 product page and other reviews) and to the RH-300. The RH-300 is twice as expensive ($200 USD but at least you can get it from reputable stores such as Adorama and BH Photo Video at that price) and it has larger 45 mm drivers like the well-known Audiotechnica ATH-M50x. In fact, I have read about someone installing Brainwavz aftermarket pads designed for the M50x on them. According to one review on BH Photo Video the pads are "very different" from those on the RH-200. I think that the RH-300 may be more comfortable than the RH-200 with its slightly smaller 40 mm drivers. Still a 100% higher price is a lot and I decided that it was too much for me, at least right now, even if it has a more premium build (more metal) and presumably higher sound quality. The open back version of the RH-300, the RH-A30 (perhaps Roland's equivalent of the DT990), interests me as a possible upgrade to my RP-HT770s strictly for desk use one day.
My final words for this review will be: if you are interested in MDR-V6/MDR-7506-style headphones at the same price point ($100 USD), I would definitely recommend checking out the Roland RH-200 (Made in Taiwan, most similar to the Sonys), especially if you live in Europe where it is very cheap right now relatively speaking, and also the Yamaha HPH-MT5 (Made in China, a bit more unique and "modern", removable cable, available from Sweetwater in the US with their 2-year warranty and free shipping).
First a little introduction: my first non-garbage headphones were $50-60 Shure SRH240As that I had for years until the plug finally completely died (it got bent when I dropped my phone, which it was plugged into, and over the course of a couple years it gradually degraded). Then, I just used Apple EarPods (the $15 3.5 mm ones, not the AirPods that are ten times as expensive) for some time until I got an $80 Sony MDR-V6 of which one of the channels died within months so I returned it and bought a very similar Sony MDR-7506 for $100 from GuitarCenter in the summer of 2018 (I was not sure whether the V6 had not actually been a fake since fakes are known to exist and Amazon has a problem with counterfeit stuff, yes, even when you buy stuff that is sold by "Amazon.com" since they mix their inventory with that of third party sellers). Actually, I tried some other headphones (buying them from Amazon and returning within the 30-day window), including a half-price Sennheiser HD579 and a Superlux HD668B, before I got the MDR-7506 but I found them to be uncomfortable so I went back to the old Sony design. I have been using the MDR-7506 ever since at my desk (since the beginning of 2019 mostly connected to my JDS Labs Atom amp) but I realized a few weeks ago that the pads are terribly worn, not only do they seem to have started to flake but they have actually come apart entirely at the seams, exposing their inner yellow foam.
I know that there are many different aftermarket replacement pads available but since at least some of them cost roughly a quarter of what a new MDR-7506 (or similarly priced headphones but more about that later) costs and I became aware of the limitations of the venerable MDR-7506, particularly for HiFi/listening to music at home, after reading Amir's (of audiosciencereview) review, I had some doubts about pouring money into my MDR-7506s and started to look for possible replacements. The problem is that a good chunk of popular HiFi headphones are not an option for me either due to quality issues (AKG, Hifiman, Shure, Superlux) or concerns about comfort (Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic). The HD579 was giving me a mild headache due to the pressure of its massive oval-shaped pads on my temples and since all the HD5xx Sennheisers basically share the same physical design those are not an option for me. The Beyerdynamic DTxx0 Pro series with their big circle pads and relatively high clamping force were too much of a risk for me as well. I am also on a tight budget and value the environment and general decency so I want, as always, a product that lasts and not something that is essentially a throwaway item because it suffers from known quality issues. MDR-7506s are known to last for decades, so whatever their flaws that gives them a big leg up in my eyes. So I was looking for studio monitors with a design similar to the MDR-7506s (which means relatively small, race track oval shaped pads and a somewhat rugged design) but with a more modern driver design (the MDR-7506 was originally released in 1991 as a modified version of the MDR-V6 which dates back to 1987). The Sennheiser HD280 Pros were not an option since they are known for their high clamping force.
I was interested in the Made in Japan MDR-CD900ST that is only sold domestically (but can be imported to the West) but eventually decided against it for several reasons (trying to not make this introduction too long so I won't elaborate), which is very similar to the MDR-7506 at first glance but which is actually completely different (I have read that it is a modified version of the old out-of-production MDR-V7 rather than of the MDR-V6 like the MDR-7506). Then I settled upon the Yamaha HPH-MT5, which have some very positive reviews on YouTube, and which also have a removable cable and of course the legendary Yamaha brand (known for making high quality musical instruments) is very hard to resist. There are not many brands that can compete with it, but then I discovered the Roland (a well-known Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments including keyboards/synthesizers) RH-200 and RH-300.
Review and information
The RH-200 appears at first glance to be an outright clone of the MDR-7506, with one Head-Fi user even going as far as to speculate that it is perhaps made by Sony as an OEM. First of all, I would like to say that that is demonstrably untrue as the MDR-7506 is currently made in Thailand (it was previously made in China for some time and before that in Japan, where the MDR-CD900ST is still being manufactured), whereas the RH-200 according to its box is Made in Taiwan and it seems unlikely to me that Sony would be producing a similar OEM product in a factory in yet another country when they are already manufacturing similar headphones in two countries. If anyone comes across Sony headphones that are made in Taiwan I would be interested to know. Furthermore, there are some design differences that are visible upon closer inspection. The most significant ones are the headband, which is thicker (it has a more significant cushion), and the pads, which while the cups are virtually identical to the ones of the MDR-7506 are a bit wider, which in turn means that there is less room for your ears (and there is a hard limit here as the tight seams prevent the pads from adjusting to your ears parallel to them, the only adjustment will be perpendicular to the cups and your ears) and this definitely affects comfort for me compared to the MDR-7506. It is difficult for me to do a proper comparison with the MDR-7506 though as the pads on my MDR-7506s are in a dismal state as I stated earlier, which means that they can no longer resist any adjustment to the shape of my ears and this may actually make them more comfortable than brand new MDR-7506s (or ones with fresh Sony pads) would be.
The RH-200 stock pads pinch my ears a bit, which means that I cannot wear them for much more than two (or perhaps three) hours (and this was actually worse before the clamping force of the headband was reduced by use and me letting it stretch a bit for a few hours sitting on a small Sterilite drawer that is a bit wider than my head) without my ears hurting moderately afterwards. Still as that is roughly the amount of time I will be wearing the RH-200s daily (at least without a break of a couple hours minimum) I ultimately decided that that was not a deal breaker for me. I have decided to move my open back (and more fragile) Panasonic RP-HT770s (purchased for only $10 open box on eBay after I won the auction) to my desk (hooked up to my Atom amp) for longer use instead.
This brings me to two other points: I am using the RH-200s in a situation where a closed-back headphone with some degree of isolation is a must (I would say their isolation is comparable to that of the MDR-7506 so probably not the most isolating pair of headphones out there but then again, the ones with the best isolation will almost certainly have a very strong clamping force which many will find uncomfortable, so there is a trade off here) and I am using them connected directly to the headphone out of my HP ProBook 645 G1 (see sig) with its IDT (formerly SigmaTel, now Tempo Semiconductor) 92HD91B(XX) audio chipset, which is quite a fancy chip. I would say that the RH-200 definitely lives up to its specification of having a high sensitivity (slightly less than that of the MDR-7506) and relatively low impedance (65 ohms, while the MDR-7506 is 63 ohms), therefore being easy to drive by regular, portable devices. I have the ALSA master volume set to 82(/100) and the ALSA headphones volume to only 16-36(/100 again) depending on the prerecorded volume of the music I happen to be listening to. My (Canadian market with Qualcomm SoC and DAC) BlackBerry Z10 (which I use as an ultra low budget DAP) struggles a bit more as I have to turn up the volume to roughly half of the available bars (admittedly with a probably quite low volume FLAC album, having been mastered in the 80s). The bass retains plenty of punch and the overall sound quality is great connected to the ProBook (although I have not done a proper blind A/B, next-to-each-other, comparison with the powerful Atom amp), so overall I would say these headphones definitely do not need an external headphone amp.
There are actually two different versions of the RH-200: the black "regular" one (looks most similar to the MDR-7506 obviously) and the silver one (RH-200S), which is the one I bought brand new on eBay at $100 (the traditional, big name stores in the US are asking a ridiculous $150 for these headphones, even though they are selling for even less than $100 in Europe). However, there actually is a big difference between these two different versions aside from the rather minor difference of them having different colors: the RH-200S (and I can obviously confirm this) does not have a coiled cord, while the "regular" RH-200 according to its Amazon description does have a coiled cord (like the MDR-7506). I personally prefer the regular cord as the heavy coiled cord of the MDR-7506 has an annoying habit of sliding off the edge of tables.
My RH-200S sitting on top of my ProBook 645 G1
Design differences from the MDR-7506 are more visible from this angle
Roland RH-200S plug. It has a spring for strain relief unlike the rubber "cylinder" strain relief of the MDR-7506
The cups can rotate 180 degrees just like on the MDR-7506 and this allows me to take a clear picture of the pads. The inner oval is not as tall as the one of the MDR-7506, which leads to my ears being pinched a bit.
And finally the shot that everyone has been waiting for!
You may wonder why I have not said that much about the sound quality yet. The reason for that is that I do not have what it takes to do a proper review of the sound quality: I do not have expensive audio equipment to conduct measurements like Amir of audiosciencereview does (hopefully he will review the RH-200 one day) and I also do not have trained ears and a lot of expensive headphones and speakers to compare the RH-200 to. Furthermore, the pads on my MDR-7506 being worn will affect their sound, so I cannot do a proper comparison with the MDR-7506. Finally, I do not have the time, desire or any way to do a blind A/B test between these two pairs of headphones. Subjectively I think that the RH-200 have more of a V-shaped sound signature compared to the MDR-7506, definitely more bass (although certainly not muddy and boomy, just punchy and powerful) but the bass of my MDR-7506s, again, may be affected by their worn pads. Overall I would say they sound fairly neutral to me, perhaps with slightly recessed mids. I certainly believe that they do not have the hump/boost in the upper mids that the MDR-7506 is known for and which perhaps may sometimes make them sound a bit more detailed than other headphones. I have never remotely been a bass head and have always valued the highs and mids more in headphones. A boomy bass that obscures the mids and highs is certainly a big no no for me and it is one of the things that pushed me towards the MDR-V6/MDR-7506 at the time as I was very skeptical of typical cheaper consumer headphones with their focus on "xtra bass". That said, I am enjoying the increased bass of the RH-200 (certainly compared to my MDR-7506s in their current state). It makes instruments such as acoustic and electric guitars sound more "full bodied" and natural and on songs with a prominent bass guitar (e.g. The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army) it sounds downright epic. Overall I am just very satisfied with the sound quality, think it is an upgrade to the MDR-7506 and am convinced it will measure better than the venerable MDR-7506 and is more suitable for listening to music than the MDR-7506 (and in that aspect they are perhaps similar to the now out-of-production MDR-V6). The asterisk would be that it does sound like a typical closed back headphone like the MDR-7506: the sound stage is limited (although instrument separation is great) and it is very forward. The opposite of my open back RP-HT770, which is more "laid back".
I will probably eventually replace the pads with aftermarket ones designed for the MDR-7506 to increase the comfort. The cups are (virtually) the same size and shape as the ones of the MDR-7506 and they both have 40 mm drivers. Additionally, I actually found a video on YouTube of someone who had replaced the pads with stock Beyerdynamic EDT250V velour pads, which after some research appear to also be a relatively popular option for replacing Sony MDR-7506 pads, so I am very confident that pads designed for the MDR-7506 will also fit on the RH-200.
This brings me to the end of the review proper (which means I should probably link to the official Roland RH-200 product page and other reviews) and to the RH-300. The RH-300 is twice as expensive ($200 USD but at least you can get it from reputable stores such as Adorama and BH Photo Video at that price) and it has larger 45 mm drivers like the well-known Audiotechnica ATH-M50x. In fact, I have read about someone installing Brainwavz aftermarket pads designed for the M50x on them. According to one review on BH Photo Video the pads are "very different" from those on the RH-200. I think that the RH-300 may be more comfortable than the RH-200 with its slightly smaller 40 mm drivers. Still a 100% higher price is a lot and I decided that it was too much for me, at least right now, even if it has a more premium build (more metal) and presumably higher sound quality. The open back version of the RH-300, the RH-A30 (perhaps Roland's equivalent of the DT990), interests me as a possible upgrade to my RP-HT770s strictly for desk use one day.
My final words for this review will be: if you are interested in MDR-V6/MDR-7506-style headphones at the same price point ($100 USD), I would definitely recommend checking out the Roland RH-200 (Made in Taiwan, most similar to the Sonys), especially if you live in Europe where it is very cheap right now relatively speaking, and also the Yamaha HPH-MT5 (Made in China, a bit more unique and "modern", removable cable, available from Sweetwater in the US with their 2-year warranty and free shipping).
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But I have improved the formatting so it is easier to read. The RH-200 (and RH-300) appears to primarily be purchased by musicians who play Roland instruments. They are not very well-known or popular in audiophile or general audio enthusiast circles. I hope that my review will make them a bit more visible, at least among people who are looking for alternatives to the usual Sennheiser, AKG and Beyerdynamic headphones. The synthetic leather is usually called "pleather".