MartussDer
Head-Fier
Hi.
This is my first post, and i decided to make a comparison between some of my closed back headphones.
Here we have three of the most popular closed back headphones in a relatively low cost. I have had the t5p 2nd gen for about 4 months, Z7 for 1 year and thx00 for about 4 months.
During that time i have tested the three headphones with the next audio equipment:
-Nuforce udac3
-nobsound ns08e
-macbook air and imac
-monoprice tube amp 25watts
-fiio x7ii
-fiio x3ii
-sony nw-wm1a
-little bear b4
-little bear b4x
-topping dx7s
Due to the neutrality of the sound of dx7s, i decided to only reference it DAC/AMP combo for this review, i.e, all the information about the sound of these headphones is only about how they sound in the topping dx7s.
______________________________________________________________________
BUILD, COMFORT AND ISOLATION.
Sony mdr z7:
The materials are very premium, we have magnesium like metal material, leather in the top of headband and some kind of leather protein in the bottom of it and in the earpads. The serial Number is printed aside of the hinge and the feel of the headphones is of a premium product. The cups are also of metal.
The comfort is amazing!! Is very soft and with the necessary pressure in the head.
The isolation is very good, but not excellent. We have a little "sound scape hole" in the botton of the cups, nevertheless the isolation, for example, in the office is excellent but not enough good for the traffic or city.
BUILD: 10
COMFORT: 9.5
ISOLATION:8.5
Beyerdynamic T5p 2nd Gen:
Materials are just good. The general feel of headphones is like mid category because we do not have metal in the cups. The headband is very soft and we have leather in the top and some kind of protein leather in the other part of the body. Also, in the top of the headband we have the brand of the headphones written over the leather. The earpads are of protein of leather too. The hinges are of some kind of metal very flexible and thin (very good) and the cups are of plastic (why????) and we have only a metal plate stuck over it.
The comfort is good. They are very soft and the pressure over the head is little less in comparison to z7. BUT the earpads are very small. My ears do not fit well and the cushions crush them a bit.
The isolation like mdr z7 is very good. I think it has the same level of isolation of z7 for both escenarios described above.
BUILD: 9
COMFORT: 8
ISOLATION:8.5
Fostex thx00 purpleheart:
Materials are good. All the chassis is of metal (i am not sure what kind of metal) but the headband is not comfortable, is very thin and do not have enough padding. Both the headband as the earpads are of protein of leather. Nevertheles the highlight of the thx00 are the cups. Are just BEAUTIFUL! The wood is solid, and shiny. You can see the grain very good.
The big problem of these cans is the isolation!!! The isolation is BAD!! They have a little slit bettwen the driver chassis and the cups. This slit is around all the circumference of the cups and all the external sound can enter inside like a semi-open headphone.
The comfort is good, but not the best. They fit very good in the head and with the ears.
BUILD: 8.5
COMFORT: 9
ISOLATION:6
________________________________________________________________-
SOUND
Sony mdr z7:
In the lows we find a lot reverb in al the range. Also all the low region show a little more gain. We can not hear enought texture of the instruments because the reverb envolve almost all details.
In sub-bass we can find only a little extension but not like the "Extra bass sony versions". Just a little touch of sub-bass.
In the mid range the instrumental separation is only decent and the vocals are very present with enough nature. We do not have any roll-off in the mid range.
In the highs the fidelity is very very good and refined, like a high end headphones. The separation is good and the frequencies sound thin, smooth and with enough detail.
The soundstage is amazing!! Is wide in all directions like a open back headphones. Also the soundstage in the low range is expansive due the reverberation.
Beyerdynamic t5p 2nd Gen
Low frequencies are just amazing!! Because we have a lot texture like t1 2nd gen (i have these too). You can hear all the details of the instruments with a little touch of warmth. And nothing of reverberation. In the sub bass we do not have extension. They just do not exist in these cans. Then, for jazz are the best, but for electronic or others genres i do not recommend them.
Mids have very good separation but not excellent. Yes, t5p has details but has a little touch of warm and a little roll-off in the upper-mids. Then, female vocals suffer a little bit.
In the highs the same history about warmth sound. We have excellent separation, refined sound like z7 but the warmth is not the better option if you want to analyze details.
Soundstage is wide but is not the best. If hd800 is 10, t1 is 9, z7 is 8, t5p is 7. The sensation of sound is a little congested and we do not have the airy sound of an open back headphone. In the back to the head, the soundstage lacks (a little bit).
Foxtex thx00 purpleheart
The lows in two words: Sublime and funny. The texture and details are not the best words for this kind of sound. The thx00 has reverb in the low range, but less in comparison to z7, i.e, we can find better behavior than z7 but the best part is in the "sub-bass". The sub-bass has a lot presence, gain, and reverb; then for electronic or genres with too much bass, they are the better option of the three.
The mids are very good, the instrumental separation is better than z7 and t5p. Yes!!! Better than t5p. I think is because the design of these headphones is like a semi-open, so, the sounds waves can go out and the results is a very airy sound. But the frequencies sound a little weird. The sound is not enough refined, details are there, but not with the best quality. Also we have a little roll-off in the upper-mids, but is less in comparison to t5p.
In the highs we can find the same behavior of the mids, airy sound, excellent separation and the weird sound. Here the frequencies are a little "grainy " and with some emphasis. With dx7s, sometimes they are a little uncomfortable because they has some peaks. The details are just good, but t5p and z7 are a little better due the refined sound.
The soundstage is very good, but again, they suffer in the front and back. Z7 is wider in all directions.
____________________________________________________________________
SUMMARY
The bass of sony Z7 has a lot reverb and it does not have texture. Sub-bass is just enough. The mids are very good for vocals but lacks in separation. Highs are good and refined. Z7 has the wider soundstage of three, more expansive sound in low and mids. The word to define these cans is: smooth.
T5p 2nd gen has a little touch of warmth in all the frequencies range, with a lot of texture in low region and very well-controlled, the sub-bass is missing, and they have a little roll-off in upper-mids but have very good details in highs and mids. Soundstage is good.
Thx00 purpleheart has an airy sound with almost excellent separtion. The bass region has reverb but less than sony. The sub-bass are amazing with a lot of presence. The mids and highs are good, but sound grainy. Soundstage is good.
________________________________________________________________
Thank you for read it.
Regards
P.D. I do not how to insert pictures hah.
________________________________________________________________
UPDATE: It turns out that some time later I discovered that the sony mdrz7 has a more controlled bass than fostex, with little reverberation if you amplify it as it should. This review was using the single end of the topping. If I used the XLR the thing changed a lot, leaving the sound of z7 closer to that of t5p regarding control. Even so, everything else in medium and high range, remained in all 3 hearing aids. It should be noted that both fostex, t5p 2nda and m1060c can be used with simple amplifiers. The sony mdr Z7 NO !! And it is to be expected due to that 70mm driver.
This is my first post, and i decided to make a comparison between some of my closed back headphones.
Here we have three of the most popular closed back headphones in a relatively low cost. I have had the t5p 2nd gen for about 4 months, Z7 for 1 year and thx00 for about 4 months.
During that time i have tested the three headphones with the next audio equipment:
-Nuforce udac3
-nobsound ns08e
-macbook air and imac
-monoprice tube amp 25watts
-fiio x7ii
-fiio x3ii
-sony nw-wm1a
-little bear b4
-little bear b4x
-topping dx7s
Due to the neutrality of the sound of dx7s, i decided to only reference it DAC/AMP combo for this review, i.e, all the information about the sound of these headphones is only about how they sound in the topping dx7s.
______________________________________________________________________
BUILD, COMFORT AND ISOLATION.
Sony mdr z7:
The materials are very premium, we have magnesium like metal material, leather in the top of headband and some kind of leather protein in the bottom of it and in the earpads. The serial Number is printed aside of the hinge and the feel of the headphones is of a premium product. The cups are also of metal.
The comfort is amazing!! Is very soft and with the necessary pressure in the head.
The isolation is very good, but not excellent. We have a little "sound scape hole" in the botton of the cups, nevertheless the isolation, for example, in the office is excellent but not enough good for the traffic or city.
BUILD: 10
COMFORT: 9.5
ISOLATION:8.5
Beyerdynamic T5p 2nd Gen:
Materials are just good. The general feel of headphones is like mid category because we do not have metal in the cups. The headband is very soft and we have leather in the top and some kind of protein leather in the other part of the body. Also, in the top of the headband we have the brand of the headphones written over the leather. The earpads are of protein of leather too. The hinges are of some kind of metal very flexible and thin (very good) and the cups are of plastic (why????) and we have only a metal plate stuck over it.
The comfort is good. They are very soft and the pressure over the head is little less in comparison to z7. BUT the earpads are very small. My ears do not fit well and the cushions crush them a bit.
The isolation like mdr z7 is very good. I think it has the same level of isolation of z7 for both escenarios described above.
BUILD: 9
COMFORT: 8
ISOLATION:8.5
Fostex thx00 purpleheart:
Materials are good. All the chassis is of metal (i am not sure what kind of metal) but the headband is not comfortable, is very thin and do not have enough padding. Both the headband as the earpads are of protein of leather. Nevertheles the highlight of the thx00 are the cups. Are just BEAUTIFUL! The wood is solid, and shiny. You can see the grain very good.
The big problem of these cans is the isolation!!! The isolation is BAD!! They have a little slit bettwen the driver chassis and the cups. This slit is around all the circumference of the cups and all the external sound can enter inside like a semi-open headphone.
The comfort is good, but not the best. They fit very good in the head and with the ears.
BUILD: 8.5
COMFORT: 9
ISOLATION:6
________________________________________________________________-
SOUND
Sony mdr z7:
In the lows we find a lot reverb in al the range. Also all the low region show a little more gain. We can not hear enought texture of the instruments because the reverb envolve almost all details.
In sub-bass we can find only a little extension but not like the "Extra bass sony versions". Just a little touch of sub-bass.
In the mid range the instrumental separation is only decent and the vocals are very present with enough nature. We do not have any roll-off in the mid range.
In the highs the fidelity is very very good and refined, like a high end headphones. The separation is good and the frequencies sound thin, smooth and with enough detail.
The soundstage is amazing!! Is wide in all directions like a open back headphones. Also the soundstage in the low range is expansive due the reverberation.
Beyerdynamic t5p 2nd Gen
Low frequencies are just amazing!! Because we have a lot texture like t1 2nd gen (i have these too). You can hear all the details of the instruments with a little touch of warmth. And nothing of reverberation. In the sub bass we do not have extension. They just do not exist in these cans. Then, for jazz are the best, but for electronic or others genres i do not recommend them.
Mids have very good separation but not excellent. Yes, t5p has details but has a little touch of warm and a little roll-off in the upper-mids. Then, female vocals suffer a little bit.
In the highs the same history about warmth sound. We have excellent separation, refined sound like z7 but the warmth is not the better option if you want to analyze details.
Soundstage is wide but is not the best. If hd800 is 10, t1 is 9, z7 is 8, t5p is 7. The sensation of sound is a little congested and we do not have the airy sound of an open back headphone. In the back to the head, the soundstage lacks (a little bit).
Foxtex thx00 purpleheart
The lows in two words: Sublime and funny. The texture and details are not the best words for this kind of sound. The thx00 has reverb in the low range, but less in comparison to z7, i.e, we can find better behavior than z7 but the best part is in the "sub-bass". The sub-bass has a lot presence, gain, and reverb; then for electronic or genres with too much bass, they are the better option of the three.
The mids are very good, the instrumental separation is better than z7 and t5p. Yes!!! Better than t5p. I think is because the design of these headphones is like a semi-open, so, the sounds waves can go out and the results is a very airy sound. But the frequencies sound a little weird. The sound is not enough refined, details are there, but not with the best quality. Also we have a little roll-off in the upper-mids, but is less in comparison to t5p.
In the highs we can find the same behavior of the mids, airy sound, excellent separation and the weird sound. Here the frequencies are a little "grainy " and with some emphasis. With dx7s, sometimes they are a little uncomfortable because they has some peaks. The details are just good, but t5p and z7 are a little better due the refined sound.
The soundstage is very good, but again, they suffer in the front and back. Z7 is wider in all directions.
____________________________________________________________________
SUMMARY
The bass of sony Z7 has a lot reverb and it does not have texture. Sub-bass is just enough. The mids are very good for vocals but lacks in separation. Highs are good and refined. Z7 has the wider soundstage of three, more expansive sound in low and mids. The word to define these cans is: smooth.
T5p 2nd gen has a little touch of warmth in all the frequencies range, with a lot of texture in low region and very well-controlled, the sub-bass is missing, and they have a little roll-off in upper-mids but have very good details in highs and mids. Soundstage is good.
Thx00 purpleheart has an airy sound with almost excellent separtion. The bass region has reverb but less than sony. The sub-bass are amazing with a lot of presence. The mids and highs are good, but sound grainy. Soundstage is good.
________________________________________________________________
Thank you for read it.
Regards
P.D. I do not how to insert pictures hah.
________________________________________________________________
UPDATE: It turns out that some time later I discovered that the sony mdrz7 has a more controlled bass than fostex, with little reverberation if you amplify it as it should. This review was using the single end of the topping. If I used the XLR the thing changed a lot, leaving the sound of z7 closer to that of t5p regarding control. Even so, everything else in medium and high range, remained in all 3 hearing aids. It should be noted that both fostex, t5p 2nda and m1060c can be used with simple amplifiers. The sony mdr Z7 NO !! And it is to be expected due to that 70mm driver.
Last edited:
