Наушники — Sony MDR-CD900ST × THE FIRST TAK

The MDR-CD900ST × THE FIRST TAKE is a limited collaboration box that pairs Sony's closed studio monitor headphone with branding from THE FIRST TAKE, a Japanese YouTube channel where artists perform a song in a single take. Sony Marketing produced 300 sets, took orders in Japan from 19 September 2025 until 29 September 2025 as a Sony Store exclusive, and priced each box at JPY 36,300 including tax, against JPY 24,860 for the regular headphone. Resale of the sets was prohibited by the terms of sale, and both items come packed together in a dedicated special box.

Key specs that matter

The headphone inside is the standard MDR-CD900ST, a sealed dynamic design built around a 40 mm dome driver with a CCAW voice coil, meaning copper-clad aluminium conductor. Sony gives an impedance of 63 ohm, a sensitivity of 106 dB per mW and a maximum input of 1,000 mW. The stated reproduction range runs from 5 Hz to 30,000 Hz. A straight 2.5 m cord ends in a standard stereo phone plug, and the headphone weighs about 200 g without the cord.

Engineering and use context

Sony developed the model jointly with Sony Music Studio. It first existed as the MDR-CD900CBS, a non-commercial unit for the CBS Sony studio, and received its current name when it went on general sale in 1989. It was derived from the MDR-CD900 of 1985, which had a glossy housing, a coiled cord and a switchable plug, whereas the studio version has a matte housing finish. The cups do not fold. Sony's MDR-7506, sold outside Japan as the closest equivalent, differs by folding and by using a coiled cord. The collaboration box adds a navy NEW ERA 9TWENTY cap that was not sold separately, embroidered with the slogan A MUSIC MOMENT on the front and the channel logo on the back, with an adjustable size of 57 to 61 cm.

Pairing

Sony built the MDR-CD900ST for professional monitoring, and for more than 30 years it has been plugged into equipment in Japanese recording studios, post-production rooms and broadcast stations, where it is regarded as the de facto standard monitor. The artists who appear on THE FIRST TAKE also wear this model while recording their one-take performances, which is the link behind the collaboration. Sony describes its driver as custom-developed for high resolution and low distortion in monitoring use.

Alternatives

The Sony MDR-M1ST, introduced in 2019 at JPY 34,650, is a hi-res studio monitor headphone that inherits part of the MDR-CD900ST design.