MDR-Z1000 new Sony flagship headphones - Page 96

my friend bought it around november of 2011 and i just opened it about a week ago. i hope their "update" doesnt include that nasty squeaking noise that my friend's pair is getting =(

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/626301/sony-mdr-z1000-squeaking-noise-problem

Just got mine today. No squeaking. Did your friend's develop this problem or was it there from the beginning?

 

Build quality is AMAZING. Every inch of it just oozes with quality. Cables are very nice too.

 

Sound wise: Impressive so far. I hear a lot of strengths/potential, might be just what I was looking for as a counterpoint to my other bass heavy cans. I will be burning them in over night to see if anything changes tomorrow. And then do a proper duel against the DT1350s.

 

So far very happy and excited. Some highlights so far: Amazing timbre, probably the best I've heard or close to it. Resolution is acceptable (plankton) as high as the DT1350s. Vocals are sweet with a nice sheen to them, like a gilded lily. No offensive shrill treble or boomy sub-bass. Bass is very well controlled thanks to the generous roll-off and treble is nice and smooth with pretty darn good extension. Nothing bad stands out about them almost "boring" which in my experience is actually a good sign at this preliminary stage.

Edited by M-13 - 9/7/12 at 12:30am

he using it everyday since he bought it so the problem probably developed with "wear and tear"

 

when i first tried it few months ago, it doesnt have that squeaking noise.

Been listening intently for the past couple of hours. Going through my entire collection. Wow... the Z1000 is amazing. It makes me sad that the Head-Fi community at large pretty much ignored these and swept them under the rug. To be honest the bass is just right with these, much more than something like the HD598, just a tiny bit less than the DT1350s in the deep sub-bass region where only test tones go, not actual music. Vocals are some of the sweetest brilliant/clear presentation I've ever heard. Treble extended so smooth... soaring without the slightest bit of sibiliance, so much treble yet it's not shrill. Very non-fatiguing, well isolating, comfortable all-rounders.

 

With so many proclaimed Sony fanboys running around. I'm surprised they haven't been shouting the awesomeness of the Z1000 from every mountain top.

 

This coming from a long time owner of LCD-2 R2/HE-500. (Not that Z1000 should be compared to these guys)

 

Currently running Z1000 from Lyr/Bifrost with Telefunken PCC88s. Definitely overkill but I like it. Talk about authority!

Edited by M-13 - 9/7/12 at 1:10am

i didnt bought a z1000 because comparing a cd900st and z1000 at the same volume because of the cd900st being abit harder to drive sounds 95% the same to me using the stock z1000 cables.

 

im getting an MDR1 though!

Nice impressions! When I had the Z1000s I enjoyed them, however my few complaints were that it didn't have enough bass punch/impact and I found the treble slightly peaky here and there. Other than that, they are great-sounding headphones.

One big thing is the soundstage... not very wide or intimate, that's for sure.

Nah... soundstage is near the bottom of the list for me in terms of importance. I think when I was new to this hobby I was impressed by super wide soundstage, like when I first got my K701 or when I heard the HD800. Now the width just sounds artificial to me and unrealistic. For me it's all about plankton/resolution and pleasing tonality now, which the Z1000 has in spades, especially for sealed circumaural, not to mention the amazing timbre. Of course the funny thing is that I find the Z1000 soundstage width just right. Not too big or small. I think I agree with Muppet Face who says that the shape is pancake. The other subtle thing about the Z1000 is the superb coherency, lending itself to a super easy listening experience.

 

But yeah if soundstage width in absolute terms is important then stay away from the Z1000.

Edited by M-13 - 9/11/12 at 12:45am

 

Your impressions mirror mine. And I've got HE-5LE and Signature Pro to compare this to. Outstanding headphones at any price point and more than worth it at the current price.

I'm not saying that wide soundstage is all there is to it. The Z1000's soundstage is oddly spaced -- it's too 'far' to be intimate, but it doesn't have supporting width to it's distance, so to speak. I'm not well versed in audio terms but that's how I hear it.

I've bought my Sonys a while back second hand, like new at a ridiculously low price with already performed hole mod. I didn't pay much attention to the 'phone because it got a lot of trash in a German forum. But eventually I kept picking it up more often and by now I am very impressed by it's performance.

 

For me, it has a great balance between neutral audiophile sound and musical fun value. Impressive it manages to do this without being V-shaped.

 

I have nothing bad to say about the soundstage. It's intimate, yes, but separation is good so it doesn't matter. The music does suck me in with these. Any genre.

 

One question, though. Is the MDR-7520 really the same? Is it Sony's aim to achieve the hype the Z1000 deserved by selling the same model as a different headphone - and probably addressing different people with a 'professional' tag? Or maybe they exchanged some third party supplier materials and they didn't want to call it rev2 as 'revision' most likely would be understood as the first version being faulty. Could make sense as apparently the Z1000 is out of production.

Anybody have some insight?

Hifiguy had both 7520 and z1000 and said to him they sound exactly the same. I only own the z1000 and I like it or maybe I'm just a Sony fanboy like m13 said lol.

Is it true that Z1000 production was ended? What about 7520?

Quote Sony.com: 

 

Sorry, the MDR-Z1000 is no longer available.

hmm.. its still available on sony.co.jp