I may be a Streaming Editor now, but in a past life, I covered audio and TVs for Tom’s Guide. I’ve also been a professional podcaster and a musician in several bands that I promise you’ve never heard of. That means I’ve dealt with listening to numerous different genres, dealt with live streaming audio, and — of course — used lots of different headphones. So trust me when I say that I wasn’t surprised that Taylor Swift wore a specific pair of headphones when she promoted a new episode of her boyfriend’s “New Heights” podcast.
For those who missed this story, Taylor Swift announced a new album yesterday (Aug. 12), “The Life of a Showgirl,” likely coming later this year. She’s going to appear on a podcast of her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast tonight (Aug. 13) to talk more about the album, and as part of the marketing push, she did a brief video spot that quickly went viral.
In that brief video, Swift can be seen wearing a pair of nondescript, black over-the-ear wired headphones, known in the biz as monitors. The headphones in question? The Sony MDR-7506 Professional Stereo Monitor Headphones, which many podcasters and studio engineers are the best value in monitor headphones. Are there better ones? Sure. But for $100, these can’t be beat.
When I learned from some Swifties here at Tom’s Guide that these headphones were now going viral because Swift wore them on a podcast, I wasn’t surprised — nor was I surprised that these were the headphones in question. I own a pair of Sony WH-1000XM5 over-the-ear headphones and a pair of Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds, and my MDR-7506 headphones are still the headphones I recommend more than any other pair.
Now, there are a couple of things to mention here. First, using these headphones isn’t convenient outside the comfort of your own home. Unlike our best headphones, these come with a fairly long cable that’s sturdy but a bit cumbersome. You’re not going to want to bring them along on a jog.
Second, out of the box, the MDR-7506 headphones produce a great, neutral tone, which is why they’re ideal monitors. They’re not cranking up the bass, and there’s no noise cancellation. But they also can use a little extra boost to get sound quality that beats out our best headphones and best wireless earbuds.
To reach your full potential with your new Sony MDR-7506 headphones, you’ll want to get a music streaming subscription with lossless audio, like Tidal, and you’ll want to get a DAC. Lucky for you, I’ve already recommended a DAC for Tom’s Guide that I tested with my Sony MDR-7506 headphones: the iFi Go Link. When listening to “Future Nostalgia” by Dua Lipa, I was blown away by the soundstage and the depth I was getting from a years-old $100 pair of wired headphones and a $60 portable DAC. I might have been impressed with “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift, too.
So trust me, these headphones may be going viral because of Taylor Swift, but she’s using them because she and the Kelce brothers are pros and know the right equipment to use. Grab a pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones and give your home listening experience a boost. For something more convenient, the Sony WH-1000XM5 over-the-ear headphones are also worth upgrading for, or you could splurge and get the new Sony WH-1000XM6 over-the-ear headphones. Either way, you can’t go wrong.
