Last updated on February 13th, 2024 at 02:47 pm
Sony, the brand which needs no introduction in the first place is the brand based out of Japan. Expertise in Electronics including from earphones to Televisions. Their flagship series earphones such as WF1000XM4, WF1000XM4 and Television series Bravia are famous in their own segments. The Mh1c being a very old model and came as a freebie along with their Ericsson devices are one of the rare pieces to get but unfortunately they sound very good and in this review let’s check how true is that statement.
Table of Contents
SPECIFICATIONS:
| Driver | 0.2″ (6 mm) dynamic |
| Frequency Response | 1 Hz to 20 kHz |
| Impedance | 15 Ω |
| Magnet | Neodymium |
| Maximum Input Power | 67 mW |
| Sensitivity | 115 dB/V @ 1 kHz |
DESIGN AND FIT:
The Mh1c has the bullet shaped earpiece with Metal piece in the centre giving a nice modern look. The branding is done very subtly on the side of the earpiece. The whole construction is made out of plastic but does feel very good in terms of look and hand feel.
The cable however looks pretty crappy where it’s flat styled with L shaped termination. The flat cable produces a lot of microphonics which is one hectic sound produced when the earphones touch any surface. The cable has a lot of multifunction buttons which will not work with iPhones and I haven’t tried with any android to check its functionality. No sort of strain reliefs are provided on the cable hence utmost care is needed for longevity.
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The fit however feels snug and excellent. Even Though they are pretty small in size they do block out some great amount of external noise just because of the ear tips they have provided. The eartips are one of the best that you can get out of the box. They have a nice sticky surface in the ends of the eartips that gives a tight seal in your ear canals.
Totally 6 pairs of ear tips are provided along with the earphones. 3 in white and 3 in orange and a shirt clip is provided for managing the cable.
SOUND:
MH1C has a gem of a tuning overall. A sub bass boost with linear mid bass response that gives fuller and bodied sound following the nice smoother midrange with exceptional natural tonality and also has that nice mid bass carried body. The treble is well extended, airy, open without any sort of harsh or sibilance. The technicalities it possesses despite being a micro driver is present inside it is MARVELLOUS ENGINEERING! Period….
BASS:
It’s a SONY product so what do you expect in terms of bass! It’s the king in that aspect! Here the bass is just perfect. Purely focused on sub bass as primary concern giving that satisfying rumble and reach. Especially when listening to your Hans Zimmer tracks the sub bass of the MH1C will just make you drool all over!
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The mid bass is not neglected here where it has linear response without showing any signs of muddiness. The mid bass has good weight and provides excellent fuller and bodied sound. The sub bass rumble combined with the mid bass punch, weight in the MH1C is a pure bliss for audiophiles out there!
One can easily appreciate Sony’s expertise in sound just by listening to bass tracks via this Earphone where the quantity is not that much but still they sound so excellent in terms of quality and they just pound over you. The clarity in the low end is just awesome! Most of the ChiFi tends to lack in the clarity and open sound if they have more quantity of bass but the MH1C is a pure legend here. When all those kick drums, bass drops everything is combined but even then the MH1C is able to represent each and everyone one of them without being lost.
Despite this huge bass response the separation, clarity and texture they have cannot be found even in more than 10x the price of MH1C. A matured, well controlled, textured, separated, toned bass overall.
SUB BASS REACH + MID BASS PUNCH in MH1C = BLISSFUL
- What Are You Going To Do When You Are Not Saving The World – Hans Zimmer
- Wonder Woman’s Wrath – Rupert Gregson
- Murphy’s Law – Recondite
MID RANGE:
Sweet! Especially the tonality and timbre! It’s natural, pleasing and addictive. The presentation is made well and forward without any sort of noticeable recession. The upper midrange is nicely tuned with no sort of harsh or sibilant sounds. The lower midrange has that fuller sound carried along from the amazing mid bass hence the male vocal sounds fuller and clean.
The female vocals too has the same fullness and since the upper midrange is sweetly tuned out, the S sounds don’t appear sibilance and even when complex tracks are replayed like the “MR.BRIGHTSIDE – THE KILLERS” the MH1C handled them beautifully and produced a well separated sound.
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The track separation and imaging is top notch and if not the best I have seen below 100USD. The layering of the instruments are precisely done. The staging feels pretty wide enough and if not it’s big. It’s amazing considering the driver they have where it’s a micro driver!
The technical aspects in the midrange are just blissful and combined with that natural tonality this is such a lovely sounding pair that everyone out there should have in their collection. The timbre of the instruments are completely natural and have that natural strike to the guitar strings. The piano notes sound beautiful with a natural tone.
Overall the mid range in the Mh1c has clearly dominated all the aspects of the sound, from the technical aspect to the fun everything is present! Impressive layering, imaging, tonality and a musical fun sound too!
- Adi Penne – Stephen Zechariah
- Hello – Adele
- Killing Me Softly With His Song – Susan Wong
TREBLE:
The treble in the Mh1c is tuned well with excellent extension in the top end. The clarity, openness and airiness in the top end is pretty awesome for this size of an earphone.
The treble energy is nicely portrayed out without any sort of sibilance or harshness. The trumpets and the guitar strings have a realistic timbre with accurate decay and attack. The shimmer and the brilliance in the treble is beautifully presented thus no hint of darkness or over smoothness is seen in the Mh1c.
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The track separation and the detail retrieval in the treble section is marvellous for its price and size. The singer’s breath and the strum decay everything are captured realistic and nothing is compressed out. The cymbal crashes are realistic and natural with no artificial sense. The attack and the decay of the percussion instruments seems precise.
The Mh1c possesses a nice amount of air in between the instruments thus the separation and the presentation feels nice and wide. Overall the treble is well extended, detailed, separated, natural timbre yet has that non sibilant and smoother treble section even the treble sensitive heads would love this.
- Sultans Of Swing – Dire Straits
- Jack Of Speed – Steely Dan
- Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
- Something Happened On The Way To Heaven – Phil Collins
TECHNICALITIES:
STAGING: Wide enough to create a nice cinematic experience. The staging being wider the instruments are separated well with precise imaging and layering. The depth feels immersive due to that nice sub bass focus. The height is pretty good and the staging never feels shorted out or intimate. Considering the driver they have used and the driver size, the staging is just brilliant.
IMAGING AND LAYERING: Precise and consistent. Even when the complex tracks are played the Mh1c replays them perfectly and easily the instruments can be pointed out. The instruments are layered very well making the whole listening experience 3 dimensional.
Detail retrieval and the track separation are just blissful in this small package. Brings immense clarity and separation on the table with exceptional tone. Overall the technical aspects are just nailed by the Mh1c.
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PROS AND CONS:
Pros:
- Sub bass Presence
- Tonality and Timbre
- Imaging and Layering
- Detail Retrieval and Staging
- Price
Cons:
- Crappy Cable
- Availability
VERDICT:
Mh1c, the oldest and a freebie offering from the house of SONY is a total sick package! Man, how can a small sized bullet sound this beautiful! And at the same time i regret a lot why Sony discontinued this !!! This could have disrupted the budget market in these current times since finding this in the market is very rare.
Coming to the sound, they are just beautifully tuned. Pure sub bass focus with nice linear mid bass punch, smoother midrange with natural tonality, wide presentation, exceptional layering and imaging, detailed treble with nice open and airy sound. It’s just a well rounded sound with exceptional technical aspects.
The design is pretty simple with a bullet shaped earpiece with subtle branding (MH1 has the Ericsson logo). Non-detachable cable, flat cable with L shaped jack. Pretty good in terms of construction but care should be taken for longevity. The earphone just fits snugly and the given eartips are unique where a sticky area is provided in the ends to provide a tight seal.
The price of this earphone is around 15 USD and for this price i can’t find any other earphone with these qualities but the issue is we can find one now and it’s rare considering that if you can get one just grab them and it’s a must have in one’s collection for sure since this is the WONDER BOY earphone in the budget world!
This Review is Written By KATHIRAVAN.C
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I’m Kathiravan from Tamilnadu. A budding audiophile here with high love towards music and audio equipment. My first experience of enjoying the hifi audio came when I started to use budget chi-fi gears and now it came all along the way of reviewing the gears with high end stuffs. I love reviewing audio products.
This content is collaboratively crafted and vetted by Shubham, a Mechanical Engineering specialist. His passion for unraveling the intricacies of machinery and consumer electronics mirrors his avid interest in gaming. With his wealth of expertise, Shubham adeptly navigates readers through the complexities of audio, home appliances, and everyday products, guaranteeing a smooth and enjoyable shopping journey. For every product you read about on this site we do rigorous research and testing behind the scenes to bring you the best value for money options. For any query directly reach out to me at my personal Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/shubhamgarg8024/
