The Sony MH755 is the unicorn of the in-ear monitor (IEM) world. They aren’t retailed individually, which means you must purchase one secondhand or purchase a mobile device that comes with this product.
The included accessories for the Sony MH755 are relatively sparse. It comes with three pairs of tips and a shirt clip.
Since these earphones are meant to work with a Bluetooth transceiver, the cable is relatively short. You won’t even get to run it from a phone or DAP. If you need a wired connection, the MH750 is a better IEM to consider.
You’ll receive an asymmetrical cable where the right one wraps around the neck to keep it out of the way.
If you can get your hands on an authentic MH755, it is worth the effort to secure it. The rest of my review can be found below in greater detail.
Sony MH755 Review: Budget IEM
The Sony MH755 might be the company’s greatest accident across all its product lines. It looks like something you’d find on a discount rack instead of being one of the most popular earphones available today. It’s an IEM that challenges the preconceived notion that a budget-friendly product won’t deliver consistent results.
You could count the number of budget IEMs with excellent sound quality on one hand. The fact is that most people purchase cheap earphones because they need something they don’t care about if it gets lost.
Even when you find a great IEM for under $50, the item looks like it could snap in half if you looked at the product funny.
The competitive products to the MH755 that stand out still tend to die out faster than normal. Are you really saving money if a $300 IEM lasts for three years, but you’re buying six cheap earphones at $50 each?
That’s why the Sony MH755 stands out in the budget IEM world. Anyone who gets the chance to review an authentic one attests to the ridiculous price-to-performance it offers. The outcome is surprising enough that it feels natural to question the hype you find online on these earphones.
I had the opportunity to demo the Sony MH755 the other day, and I wanted to share the results of my experience with you.
This review is 100% honest, straight-to-the-point, and covers what you’d expect to get when investing in this product.
**Please note that the popularity of the Sony MH755 makes it challenging to purchase. That fact has generated plenty of fakes in the marketplace. You’ll want to review each product listing carefully when shopping for these IEMs to ensure you’re getting an authentic product.
Sound Analysis of the Sony MH755
What stands out the most with the Sony MH755 is the IEM’s overall tonality. It’s tuned to represent the Harman curve, which reflects the ideal sound production levels for the average person. That means you’ll get a healthy sub-bass, decreases throughout the bass to mid, and then extra help in the uppers until a sharp drop-off at 20 kHz.
The unquestionable benefit of using the Sony MH755 is that its tuning is impeccable. It works for almost any music genre or streaming need.
I’ve found the sub-bass to be particularly helpful in drawing out the subtleties found in electronic-based music. You can get the supportive low register without the flair or distortion that tends to interrupt the music in other IEMs.
It’s remarkably controlled, with a shelf-slope instead of a profile dropping off the map entirely, which is why the overall listening experience is almost always positive.
There’s enough bass texturing and transient density to deliver a unique richness that other budget-friendly IEMs struggle to create.
The decay is a bit slow for my taste, but the attack removes the blunting and bloat that happens in other entry-level earphones because of Sony’s emphasis on the lower register.
Unless you get lucky and find what could only be another manufacturing accident, you won’t find another pair of IEMs with a similar output for less than $100.
■ Where the Sony MH755 Could Use Some Improvement
After getting the Sony MH755 IEMs, I was super excited to try them with all my favorite songs. They did not disappoint, although there were a few issues to consider.
The emphasis on the lower end made one of my favorite songs, “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand” by the Primitive Radio Gods, stand out in ways I haven’t heard before.
You hear the bass kick in right away once the turntable sounds intro the song. The vocals in the upper register power through, giving you just the right amount of distortion from the modifications introduced in the recording.
What stood out the most for me in the song was the timbre of the church bells in the background. I’ve heard this song at least a thousand times, and that transitory element always sounds flat. It rings out with fantastic gusto.
With that being said, the primary vocals in the song take a back seat. The artist sounds tinny, without depth, and it feels like an afterthought. It was a surprising change that almost took me aback when it came through the IEMs the first time.
I thought, “Maybe I’m imagining things. Everyone else loves everything about these IEMs. Am I just paranoid?”
When the song hit the piano solo, the mid-range problems stood out once again with the Sony MH755.
It’s not terrible, but the experience isn’t overly satisfying. I’d almost prefer the reverse, where the mids are great, and the bass is kind of so-so.
I gave the Sony MH755 IEMs a second try on a more modern song with EDM elements: “Levitating” by Dua Lipa.
The audio quality was much better. That leads me to believe that these IEMs tend to work better when all the sound elements are part of the experience.
If you separate all the different instruments and vocals in other genres, there isn’t enough power in the mids to stand alone.
When the mix emphasis is on the upper and lower, with the mids serving in more of a background role, the MH755 earphones shine. The sound quality in that circumstance is similar to my Bose noise-canceling headphones.
■ How Can the Mids Struggle so Much in This Configuration?
When you look at budget-friendly IEMs, one feature tends to stand out at the expense of everything else.
With the Sony MH755s, you get the benefit of having two features stand out: the lows and the highs.
After spending an entire day listening to various songs, shows, and movies with these earphones, I’ve come to the following three conclusions.
- The treble on these earphones delivers more fatigue than you’d expect. Although the range isn’t overly extended and the peaks are fair, the leading edge of the instruments or vocals in that range has too much attack. You’ll get more clash, even though it is subtle, and that makes it feel like each audio element is just bearing down on you without control.
- With the upper mids, the peak seems to be up to 3.5 kHz. That’s a bit more than what you’ll find for the ear compensation ratings in today’s best IEMs. It delivers a reasonable presentation when there’s a complete mix. If a song focuses on that area with its sound frequencies, the production lacks the appropriate weight while being too forward with its overall presence.
- The sub-bass can feel overwhelming in some genres. I noticed it more in dubstep and “sludgey” pieces, where the drive focuses on the frequencies under 100 Hz. You need to tinker with the EQ from the source on some compositions to avoid feeling like your eardrums will blow out if the drop is too much.
I think it would be fair to characterize these observations as minor challenges for the Sony MH755. These concerns aren’t problems that would keep me away from the IEMs. If anything, the same criticisms could be applied to almost any earphones priced below $300.
My primary complaint is the downward compression that happens with the emphasis on the bass register.
It gives the experience less engagement, which is a bit disappointing considering the structure is meant to deliver that exact experience.
I bring these facts up here in this review because they’re often ignored in favor of the positive qualities found in the Sony MH755.
It’s unfair to focus on the pros without discussing the cons to ensure everyone can make an informed and empowered decision if they want to pursue this product.
Does the Sony MH755 Have a Design Issue?
When you see the Sony MH755 IEMs for the first time, it almost feels like the product came from your local dollar store. If you pull on the cords with force, they’ll tear apart easier than you might expect.
It’s a reasonable expectation to think that anything in the MH755s price range will experience durability issues. It’d be unfair to ding these IEMs because of this feature. You get what you pay for in this marketplace.
If the MH755s were over $100 and had the same durability issues (and some products that cost that much do), it’d be a significant problem to discuss.
For me, I have some problems with the way the MH755s fit in the ear. Although all earbuds are somewhat problematic in this area unless there are hook attachments for the lobe to keep them in, I’ve found they slip out on me a lot.
I tried all three of the protective inserts meant to give users stability with the wearing experience. One of them didn’t fit at all (it fell out immediately), the second stayed a little longer, while the third was too large to be comfortable.
Thankfully, I had a pair from another set that fit on the MH755s that I knew worked well for my needs.
The other issue is the Bluetooth connection. The best way for me to use these IEMs was to keep my phone in an armband holster while working or exercising. The cord is too short for most traditional listening methods.
Overall, the positives still tend to outweigh the negatives when you consider the actual price of this product. With a little creativity, you can find reasonable workarounds that manage the potential negatives you’ll encounter.
Conclusion: Should You Get the Sony MH755 IEMs?
In a word, yes. The Sony MH755 earphones dominate the sub-$100 market for IEMs.
Although I could focus on all the negatives found in this product, the truth is that you won’t find something better for the $10 to $30 range.
With the Sony MH755, it feels like you’ve ordered a ribeye and a baked potato at your favorite steak restaurant.
When you use anything else in the under $100 category, it’s like eating a Big Mac that’s been under the warmer for a few minutes.
Both meals will fill you up, but only one of them is going to satisfy you.
If you have more than $100 to spend on IEMs, the Shure SE425 sound-isolating earbuds are a great choice. The sound experience is remarkably close to the Sony MH755, but you’ll immediately notice a difference in the mids.
Since you get the isolation feature with this investment, the audio quality has more customization for a marathon listening session.
It includes the Bluetooth features you want for a wires experience, but the 3.5mm connection cord is much longer (and easier to use) than the MH755. You’ll also find USB-C and lightning cables available for additional connectivity options.
The Shure SE425s come with up to ten hours of battery life and 30 feet of wireless range. Its universal communication design uses selectable functionalities with mic control and remote use.
When I travel, the Sony MH755 always comes with me. I love listening to the audio, despite a few flaws, and I’m not bothered by the idea of losing them.
If I’m at home and need to stay productive at work or manage chores around the house, the Shure SE425s are a great alternative.
