Pioneer has to be one of the most synonymous brands associated with audio with decades of experience building high performance headphones and audiovisual equipment. We tested the latest pair of headphones to come out of the woodwork, the SE-MS5T and it’s Bluetooth equivalent, the SE-MS7BT.
Getting the headphones straight out of the box the build feels quite plasticky but has some nice design touches to lift the otherwise unremarkable, if retro, exterior. The padding is a nice soft leatherette material that covers the headband and ear pads making them incredibly comfortable to wear. The wire for the headphones is chunky, high quality and has a textured feel to it. On the wired headphones (SE-MS5T) there’s a single button for playing and pausing tracks, with multiple presses controlling the skipping of tracks.
The Bluetooth version (SE-MS7BT) has buttons for power, volume (doubling up for track skipping) and a middle button for play, pause, and to answer calls thanks to the useful built in microphone. In addition to all these features it comes with an awesome 12 hour battery life. As soon as the juice runs out simply plug in a cable and use them as normal, no problem! The button controls of the MSTB7BT is quite counterintuitive, rather than a single press adjusting the volume up or down a touch, it skips a track, and a long press adjusts the volume. Given more time you might get used to it, but I could never fully bond with it. Both headphones have 40mm driver units, however the MS7BT’S have their own amplifier to drive these units so in theory should offer different sound characteristics.
Sound-wise I tested the wired MS5T first by listening to a great track called Paris by The Chainsmokers. It’s a great track for the headphones to get stuck into revealing a huge level of detail to the Pioneers. Detail that whilst clear, overpowers the rest of the sound and leaves the track feeling slightly cold, when it should fill your ears with a warm sound the artist is known for. I tried the same track on the Bluetooth version and it was largely the same story. There was more power thanks to the built in amps but it was still the same slightly clinical sound.
I then auditioned Chunky by Bruno Mars: a great track with a real funky bass line that you can’t help but tap and bop along to. Ultimately with both sets of headphones they lacked the fun factor, it would seem these headphones favor a more restrained sound, which depending on your music taste could be a good thing! The frequency response of these headphones 9Hz to 40kHz would have you believe these can dish out big bass. Although they may delve deep the bass is somewhat swamped by the top end.
Body Moves by DNCE was the final track of the day. It’s another track that makes you want to get up and dance for sure. The headphones bring across the rhythm of the track and vocals well, giving a nicely balanced midrange. But yet again there’s still a lack of low end here, which is a shame as they are very likable for their detail and midrange. It’s just a shame the bass isn’t quite there to tie everything up.
All in all these headphones would make a great choice for someone interested in a more precise sound rather than warmth and balance between the bass and midrange. That of course all comes down to personal taste at the end of the day. If you would like to try them out for yourself, contact your local store!
Click to find out more about the Pioneer SE-MS5T & SE-MS7BT
Author: Aaron, Bournemouth store
