18Nov Senal SMH-1000 Studio Monitor Headphones – First impressions
Currently I have two pair of headphones I rely on, a low price pair of Panasonic RP-HTX7 headphones (check out the review here) for ruff situations where I just need to hear what’s going on and a pair of AIAIAI TMA-1 headphones for mixing and recording applications. Both sets have served me well but I’ve been looking from a comfortable pair of headphones that folds up into a small space for travel.
After doing a little bit of research, I came across the Senal SMH-1000 headphones. At $89 a piece the SMH-1000 doesn’t quit fall into the low cost range, but they’re a little less than half the price of my AIAIAI TMA-1 headphones I use for studio work. The SMH-1000 had mostly positive reviews, so I thought I’d give them a try.
When you open up the package you’ll find the SMH-1000 folded up in a molded plastic cradle. Included in the box are the headphones, 2 different lengths of headphone cable, and a thread on 3.5mm to 1/4 inch headphone adapter.
The included headphone cables are designed with a twist lock mini plug for the headphone attachment side and a standard 3.5mm plug on the other side. The shorter 3 foot cable is intended for short runs when you plan to have a field recorder in your pocket or around your neck, while the curly 10 foot cable works better for music monitoring applications.
The twist lock on the headphone cable is simply a plastic nub on the headphone side of the cable with 2 flat sides and a lip. Slide the plug into the headphones and rotate a quarter turn to lock, or leave unlocked as a breakaway point for safety.
Like more expensive headphones, the Leather ear pads are replaceable on the SMH-1000 and you can find replacement twist lock cables as well. The SMH-1000 headphones feel comfortable so far, but i’ll post more once I’ve had a chance to wear them for a few hours. Build quality seems reasonable and all of the folding joints are made out of metal.
In the little bit of testing I’ve done so far the Senal SMH-1000 headphones sound pretty good with slightly more low end then I was expecting but still fairly flat response. Overall sound quality so far seems to put them firmly in the upper middle level of audio quality. I’ll post more once I’ve had a chance to spend some more time with them, for now I’d say the Senal SMH-1000 headphones are pretty decent headphones for the price.
November 18th, 2013 at 3:01 pm
These look almost identical to Sony MDR-V6s. I wonder if they are made in the same factory. Or the factory that makes the fakes.
November 18th, 2013 at 4:12 pm
Same price almost identical style, looks like the only difference on the spec sheet is the freq response sony says 5 Hz – 30 kHz, while Senal says 10 Hz – 20 kHz. I’m guessing the frame is the same and the drivers are custom.
November 18th, 2013 at 7:08 pm
If Sony would offer a straight cable version of the 7506 or V6, I’d use those for field. I really don’t like coiled cables. It’s nice that these have a modular option.
November 18th, 2013 at 8:47 pm
I still have a few pairs of the original 7506 from the late 90’s. Great headphones, but they’ve been abused. I didn’t realize the v6’s were just a refresh of the 7506’s or i’d have spent my money on them. Still I spent a few hours today listening to tracks I’ve recorded in the studio, and the SMH-1000’s sound pretty much identical to my ear. The option to switch to real leather pads and the locking cable do give the SMH-1000’s a leg up all things being equal.
November 20th, 2013 at 8:13 am
I’m a recording engineer for twenty years , and have used 7506’s as a go to in the studio until now… ( i also have multiple pairs of AKG-KM240 Studio’s and Sennheiser HD280). I love the Senal SMH-1000. I like them better than my 7506’s or HD 280 for a closed back choice. The isolation is great, and I find they are a little smother in the midrange compared to the 7506, and don’t have that “hollow” quality of the HD-280’s or any of the Audio technica headphones. The removable cable is key when I do field recording, and I find the headband is thicker and softer than the Sony. They sound close to the Sony in the sense you could switch from one to another without having to adjust your ears, but the Senals are a bit warmer and less fatiguing.I bought the upgraded sheepskin leather earpads and they are awesome.I also bought a few pairs of the Senal SMH-500’s as spares when I have large sessions, they are plastic with no removable cable but sound real close to the 100’s at half the price!
November 20th, 2013 at 8:20 am
I’ve been using them for Voice over recordings and warm is a good description. Male voices sound a little more full on the SMH-1000, I’ve been pretty happy with them so far.
November 25th, 2013 at 4:36 pm
[…] far, I’ve really been enjoying those SMH-1000 headphones I wrote about last week (check that out here). They comfortably got me through 4 hours of mixing over the weekend and I’ve really enjoyed […]
December 16th, 2013 at 9:57 am
I’ve been using these in the field while doing sound for a couple of reality shows. I find they are very accurate and I can easily identify issues with dialog. In addition the 3′ straight cable is perfect for field work. I can’t tell you how many times the long cable from my old Sony’s got snagged while running around on set.