TravPriceProduct note · Japan × US9.3% cheaper in Japan
Is Sony MDR-MV1 Open-Back Studio Reference Headphones cheaper in Japan? the US vs Japan, a US$31.57 gap | 2026 price check
Cheaper in Japan by US$31.57 (9.3%): Japan ¥46,983 ≈ US$308.42, the US US$339.99.
01 · Verdict
9.3% cheaper in Japan- Japan list price
- ¥46,983incl. tax · Japan chain retailer list price (kakaku.com price comparison; Yamada Web.com, in stock; Kojima / Edion / Sofmap same price; Bic Camera.com ¥50,625) · In stock
- Converted US currency
- ≈ US$308.42JPY/USD 0.006564 · Bank of Taiwan board
- US list price
- US$339.99excl. tax · Official promotional price; the original price was not recorded in this check · Listed
- cheaper in Japan
- US$31.579.3% · US list price as denominator
US stickers exclude state and local tax; Japan stickers include tax. The bases differ, so this is not a landed cost.
Japanincl. tax、the USexcl. tax; where the tax basis differs, only the list prices are compared; a comparison of two named sources’ list prices, before card fees, shipping and tax refunds. Checked 2026-09-18. Before you order, use theJapan source page and the US source pagecurrent prices.
Japan vs US price table
| Market | List price | Source · checked | Tax basis · stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| JapanJapan chain retailer list price (kakaku.com price comparison; Yamada Web.com, in stock; Kojima / Edion / Sofmap same price; Bic Camera.com ¥50,625) | ¥46,983 | Kakaku.com product page ↗ | incl. taxIn stock |
| USOfficial promotional price; the original price was not recorded in this check | US$339.99 | Sony US official store ↗ | excl. taxListed |
| Japan convertedJPY/USD 0.006564 (JPY/TWD 0.2076 ÷ USD/TWD 31.625) | US$308.42 | Bank of Taiwan rate ↗ | Spot sellingNot a card or cash rate |
| Gapcheaper in Japan | US$31.57 | 9.3%US list price as denominator | Extra fees not includedCard fee, shipping and tax-free extra |
To use your own FX, fees and shipping, open the Price calculator.
Is it worth buying in Japan?
Japan ¥46,983 (lowest among the chains, Yamada Web.com), Taiwan NT$11,290 — both are list-price snapshots as of the check date; shipping, tax refunds, and card fees are not included. This is a professional monitoring headset, and the price gap between Japan's chain price and Taiwan's authorized-distributor price is more pronounced than for typical consumer headphones.
- With a 1.5% foreign card fee: Japan comes to about US$313.04, still below the US by US$26.95.
- Break-even rate 0.0072 USD/JPY: above it the the US sticker is the cheaper one (this check used 0.0066, cross-converted from the Bank of Taiwan yen and dollar rates).
Before you buy
- Fixed at comparing the MDR-MV1 unit itself; do not compare against the MDR-M1, MDR-7506, or other monitor headphones.
- Japan price is the listed price at major chain retailers (Yamada / Kojima / Edion / Sofmap, ¥46,983), not the lowest price from an unnamed online store on a price-comparison site.
- The Taiwan price is a retail-channel list price, not the brand's official price; price and stock follow the page on the day of verification.
05 · Sources
Each price keeps its source link, price kind, tax basis and check date, and is calculated with the TravPrice comparison method. If a price or model is wrong, check the source page and report it.
- Japan price
- Kakaku.com product page ↗Japan chain retailer list price (kakaku.com price comparison; Yamada Web.com, in stock; Kojima / Edion / Sofmap same price; Bic Camera.com ¥50,625) · incl. tax · In stock · checked 2026-09-15
- US price
- Sony US official store ↗Official promotional price; the original price was not recorded in this check · excl. tax · Listed · checked 2026-09-18
- FX
- Bank of Taiwan FX ↗Bank of Taiwan spot selling reference rate; the US dollar is cross-converted · JPY/USD 0.006564 (JPY/TWD 0.2076 ÷ USD/TWD 31.625) · 2026-09-10 23:22:00 (Taiwan time)
- Model match
- MDR-MV1 open-back monitor headphones, main unit only (wired, φ6.3mm standard plug)Japan price is taken from kakaku.com's 'MDR-MV1' (K0001528870) page — the lowest listed price among major chains, ¥46,983 (Yamada Web.com, in stock; Kojima Net / Edion / Sofmap priced the same), while Bic Camera.com's own page lists the same item at ¥50,625; the comparison site's 'lowest price' of ¥40,471 comes from an online-only store with no physical location and is not used. On 2026-09-12, Yamada Web.com returned Access Denied to this browser, so the chain's own product page couldn't be reached — the URL is left as the kakaku.com product page, with the chain's name noted in the 'kind' field. Taiwan is PChome 24h's 'SONY MDR-MV1 Open-Back Professional Monitor Headphones [Authorized Distributor Stock, 12+6 Month Warranty],' DYAQ9M-A900G9P6S, listed at NT$11,290. Both sides are the same single MDR-MV1 model with no color variants. US price, checked 2026-09-18: the US official site has the MDR-MV1 open-back monitor headphones on promotion at US$339.99.
- Official product page
- Brand product page ↗Product images on this site are redrawn illustrations; use the official page for appearance, extras and packaging.
- This page generated
- Generated from the same checked data; it is recalculated when the data updates.
Keep reading
Headphones and speakers: 51 Japan–Taiwan matches, 65% of items cheaper in Japan
We compare 51 verified same-product prices: 33 cost less in Japan and 18 cost less in Taiwan. Median Japan savings are 13.5%; Bowers & Wilkins B&W PX8 Flagship Active Noise-Ca… has the largest cash gap at NT$8,907.
02Product detailSee the full comparison for this product
Sources, FX and extra-cost estimates.
03Same-category comparisonApple AirPods Pro 3
AirPods Pro 3 · White · MagSafe Charging Case USB-C · no engraving
04Same-category comparisonApple AirPods Max 2
AirPods Max 2 · Blue · Standard set