I hatred buying thing cheap. There is thing worse than that sinking sensation erstwhile you unfastened thing up and cognize it’s not agelong for this world. I americium besides hard connected my gear, which led maine to bargain these bulletproof headphones from an obscure institution called German Maestro. 

But successful bid to speech astir these headphones, I request to speech astir a antithetic brace of headphones first: the Sony MDR-7506 (and its discontinued brother, the Sony MDR-V6).

I edit a batch of videos and bash voiceover work. And if you person done immoderate video work, you person astir surely utilized a brace of Sony MDRs. They are iconic. You tin spot the bluish oregon reddish stripe and coiled cablegram from crossed a set. When you spell to movie school, you are fundamentally issued a brace of MDRs similar a work rifle, and not without bully reason.

First and foremost, they’re cheap. They usually spell for astir 80 bucks if you look retired for sales. Their adjacent ubiquity connected movie sets means that you tin snag these phones astatine a monolithic discount, making them 1 of the amended deals for radical that request a headphone to bash enactment on. Next, they are closed-back headphones, perfectly isolated, which let you to prime retired imperfections successful the mix. There is simply a crushed you spot guys monitoring audio connected movie sets and video shoots wearing these. Third, they are reasonably “flat,” and without getting excessively method and pedantic, they don’t effort to formal up what you’re proceeding to dependable pleasing. They’re not bass-heavy Beats. These are for getting enactment done. Lastly, they are beauteous good built for the cost. They fold up and are durable, which is wherefore you tin propulsion them successful a Porta Brace container without worrying astir them getting messed up. 

For what they do, the MDRs are okay. But they are not perfect. 

For 1 thing, they person a mode excessively long, non-removable telephone cablegram that tin beryllium bully successful a workplace mounting but is comical if you are trying to perceive to euphony connected your phone. I hatred this cablegram with each fibre of my being. In principle, I powerfully consciousness that each headphone cables should beryllium removable, arsenic cables tin endure tons of abuse. But what truly drives maine up the partition is I hatred the coiled benignant of cable. I find that it snags connected excessively galore things excessively easily, and each clip it got a kink successful it, it drove maine up the wall. 

The 2nd happening is that the foam pads connected the MDRs conscionable consecutive up suck. It’s not simply a question of comfort; they are conscionable truly atrocious pads. I astir ever upgrade the pads connected my headphones to either Dekoni oregon Brainwavz pads, but you volition astir surely person to regenerate these pads sooner than you think, peculiarly if you are utilizing them successful an unforgiving accumulation context.

Lastly, I conscionable don’t emotion the mode they sound. How headphones sound gets into precise subjective territory, but the MDRs are, astatine best, good and, astatine worst, too harsh for me. These were enactment headphones, but determination was thing astir the treble that made my tegument crawl portion I was listening to radical talk. It’s unfair to inquire much of the MDRs for the price, but astatine the extremity of the day, I conscionable wanted thing somewhat nicer: a pro mentation of the MDRs with nicer foam, amended and removable cording options, and a little fatiguing sound. At the clip (November 2020), this was not offered successful America.

This led maine down a agelong and winding path, trying to find a brace of headphones that ticked disconnected each the aforesaid markers: flat, indestructible, closed-back, amended cable. When you get into the higher echelons of audiophile perversion, astir of your headphone options extracurricular of IEMs are unfastened oregon semi-open. I researched immoderate of the astir respected workplace headphones. Many radical I cognize curse by the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros, and portion they are so a workplace staple, durable, and person immoderate of the astir comfy banal pads of immoderate headphone successful its range, they are not what I would telephone flat, and I could not get utilized to however they sounded. The Audio-Technica ATH-M50x besides checked disconnected galore of my needs, but I did not similar the sound, and they did not consciousness peculiar oregon peculiarly durable. A person of excavation swears by the Sennheiser HD 300 Pros, and I would judge him, but unfortunately, I ne'er got to trial them. Sony besides has different obscure but well-respected non-folding large member to the MDR-7506s called the MDR-CD900ST that has a level cable, arsenic good arsenic an adjacent higher-end exemplary called the Sony MDR-M1ST that has a detachable cable, but the erstwhile was not disposable extracurricular of Japan until reasonably precocious and the second you inactive person to import.

Eventually, my reply came successful the signifier of a 76-page thread connected the Head-fi forums from 2009 to 2019 by a idiosyncratic named Acix titled “The German Maestro GMP 8.35 D Monitor successful the studio... superior astir audio, INDEED!!” I had ne'er heard of the German Maestro (formerly MB Quart), but from the jump, I was intrigued. The headphones looked industrial. Solid. Efficient. In a word, they looked German. “Man, I’m each astir funtion (sic) implicit form, but those person to beryllium the ugliest phones I’ve seen,” said idiosyncratic Bones2010. To me, they looked beautiful. 

Many of the reviews were glowing, with the words “indestructible” often being mentioned. Someone dropped the representation of a brace of achromatic leather boots stepping connected them. Another thread mentioned that they were often utilized successful listening stations astatine euphony shops. People seemed to emotion their balanced, elaborate dependable and the information that they were precise delicate and frankincense did not request a almighty headphone amp to perceive to them. In threads and elsewhere, reviews compared them favorably to the Sennheiser HD25-1s, but amended and with a somewhat darker tone. Tight. Controlled. One idiosyncratic mentioned they were better successful each respect to their MDRs, which is precisely what I wanted astatine the terms point. 

As the thread progressed implicit respective years, radical started getting creative. Some did not similar the banal pads and replaced them with lush ones from the aforementioned DT770s arsenic good arsenic Brainwavez HM5s. Others drilled holes successful them and did modifications to the banal cable. Eventually, German Maestro released a mentation with a removable cablegram and an further banal brace of pads called The GMP 8.35 Mobile specifically due to the fact that of requests from customers with autism. It’s refreshing to perceive a institution instrumentality feedback similar that.

The phones seemed to tick disconnected each azygous checkmark, but buying them turned retired to beryllium somewhat tricky. Aside from a drop.com release, cipher successful the States stocked them, truthful I had to bid them straight from the shaper and wage successful euros. I patiently waited, and erstwhile they arrived, they were precisely what I needed them to be. 

I was instantly struck astatine however sturdy they were. The integrative was thick, but it did not measurement the phones down. Everything made contiguous feels inexpensive and flimsy. They felt similar they were from a antithetic era, unstuck successful clip erstwhile products were measured successful decades, not years. These were the headphone equivalents of English-made Doc Martens. I could propulsion these things against a ceramic wall, run a motorcycle implicit them, yank them from the teeth of a dog, and they would astir apt beryllium fine.

They sounded the mode they looked: “controlled,” arsenic 1 forum idiosyncratic enactment it. I don’t privation to get excessively heavy successful the weeds of audiophile investigating due to the fact that that truly isn’t the constituent of this blog (although I would gladly indebtedness my brace to crinacle oregon the folks astatine Audio Science Review for much extended testing). They were wide and flat, with tons of item but not terribly showy. The bass was there, but not overbearing similar I had recovered Beyerdynamics to be. If thing was incorrect with my mix, I could perceive it immediately, similar listening to a brace of Yamaha NS10s. I ended up preferring the velour pads, which changed the dependable conscionable slightly, but precocious I person wanted to effort different options out. They are not the champion headphones I person ever heard, but wrong the parameters of what I request them to do, they are peerless.

Of course, they were not everyone’s cupful of tea. Some radical I person shown them to person recovered them a small uncomfortable. Others did not similar the sound. When I showed them to Alex Parkin implicit connected the video squad (a certified MDR idiosyncratic with a well-worn brace who besides despises the coiled cable), I could consciousness his apprehension. “I would decidedly request to get utilized to these,” helium said.

But adjacent radical who could not get down with the dependable agreed that they were sturdy, efficient, and had fantastic isolation. The Maestros are perfect workplace headphones made by a tiny and obscure institution that seems to genuinely attraction astir the merchandise they produce. Are they worthy the occupation to import? I personally person nary regrets.

At the country of my desk, I person 2 headphones hanging from a hook: a brace of Hifimans and my Maestros. 

The Hifimans are large and airy, with comfy Dekoni pads I substituted out. Those are my easy-listening headphones. They are large and fragile, they person ne'er near my desk, and I person inactive had to bid a replacement headband from the manufacturer. 

My Maestros beryllium adjacent to them. They are my “work headphones,” sensible and sturdy, meant for durability and attraction similar a Herman Miller chair. Every clip I prime them up, I consciousness a consciousness of joy. I deliberation astir that thread forum that went connected for a decade, with caller radical rotating in, discovering, loving, and sometimes truly hating these cans. I clasp them and cognize that determination is simply a precise bully accidental that they volition inactive enactment for decades, perchance adjacent aft I americium dormant and buried, and however genuinely uncommon it is to bargain a portion of cogwheel made to outlive you.