[Oregonian]

like you said, wildly varying opinions. For me these are great sounding I love the bass and while I wish they had a bit more treble I question whether I would like it If they did. I really find I am enjoying being able to listen at a bit louder volume without have ear fatigue. I have worn these for 2+ hours with nothing but enjoyment with zero after effects.

About nails it for me. Been doing some side by comps with my MD7000 and tho they are "cut from the same cloth" somewhat the treble of the Denon is more present which at times is good or bad in relation to the Z7.

Love them both still.........both are keepers.

 

[Mickice]

   
That is a nice all Sony setup.
 
Does the PHA-1 receives/outputs the 24/192 natively, combined with the A15?

Two ways:
- The A15 can line out the 24/192 audio signal for amping.
- A special cable can be bought to get digital out like using it as a storage device.

I go the line out route in the picture with CD quality flacs or use the amp stand alone on PC.

The best part about my pic is that this is all new-age SONY, nothing retro. Everything is currently offered by SONY which is a back to form like position for them. Kazuo Hirai their new CEO is doing wonders. 

 

[x838nwy]

Mdr-z7 vs. Alpha Dogs

mac mini-> audirvana+ -> exogal comet -> lehmann linear -> cans

The lehmann is mine but everything else belongs to the shop (Munkong Gadget, Bangkok). The Exogal actually has a headphone out, but i'm not familiar with it and not entirely sure how good its headphone out is, so i decided to stick with the lehmann which i find to be quite neutral and more than capable of driving my ad (with 10dB gain setting).

I forgot to bring my mbp so Norah Jones on dsd64 was first up. Immediately noticeable was the much wider soundstage on the z7. The difference is quite staggering. The gain in width is at a slight sacrifice of the depth of the soundstage compared to the ad, at lest it seems to these ears. What i have problems with is what seems to be the slightly prolonged decay of the bass notes. It sounds almost resonant at times which is odd. I adjusted the fit (which is crazy comfortable, btw) but this oddity remains.

The mids and treble to these amateurish ears are good. Less intimate than the ad's but very smooth and there was no piercing sibilance or peaks that i could detect. (I also feel the exogal is extremely 'analog' sounding which might have helped) In fact, i rather like its very relaxed qualities a little more than the alpha dogs which seems to have this hd800-ish treble at times.

Moving on to "Dark Knight Rises" the soundtrack - the difference between the two was really apparent. The track "a storm is coming" was just not happening on the ad's. Here the z7 clearly went *much* lower. What was fluttering on the ad's became proper rumbles with the z7. In "A Fire Rises" from about 2:40 onwards, the z7's bass vs. the ad's lack thereof was very clear. Now while there ARE these added lower frequencies, it's also very clear that it's very umm... wobbly/wooly it's almost as if the driver, baffle and cup assemblies were vibrating(?).

The Z7's are like listening to big speakers, with lots of space in between while the ad's are like a really good pair of monitors, toed in at your head, fairly close by. I like both and i can see more people enjoying the z7 more. They really do do a lot of things well. What spoils it for the z7 for me is while it sounds as if it has an added subwoofer (compared to the ad's), sadly it is also a pretty badly set up subwoofer.

Which is a shame. Sony has so much right here and the build quality and comfort are both excellent. The presence of its bass is probably what gives it a really nice sense of space and it is a very pleasant effect for a nearly closed pair of cans at this price. But the weird bass is just too big a spoiler for me. May be a mkII version will have this fixed? Perhaps someone can come up with a mod for them? That'd make a pretty awesome pair of cans. But in its stock form, i don't think they're for me... At least not for now...

 

[Mickice]

'It sounds almost resonant at times which is odd.'

I have also heard this with higher notes, they seem to ring out for an extremely long time. 

 

[x838nwy]

'It sounds almost resonant at times which is odd.'


I have also heard this with higher notes, they seem to ring out for an extremely long time. 

What is odd is that these resonances surely would show up on measurements so i can only assume they're there intentionally (?) and if so, what's the purpose, i wonder?

 

[MaybeITasteGood]

.

 

[wahsmoh]

Mdr-z7 vs. Alpha Dogs

mac mini-> audirvana+ -> exogal comet -> lehmann linear -> cans

The lehmann is mine but everything else belongs to the shop (Munkong Gadget, Bangkok). The Exogal actually has a headphone out, but i'm not familiar with it and not entirely sure how good its headphone out is, so i decided to stick with the lehmann which i find to be quite neutral and more than capable of driving my ad (with 10dB gain setting).

I forgot to bring my mbp so Norah Jones on dsd64 was first up. Immediately noticeable was the much wider soundstage on the z7. The difference is quite staggering. The gain in width is at a slight sacrifice of the depth of the soundstage compared to the ad, at lest it seems to these ears. What i have problems with is what seems to be the slightly prolonged decay of the bass notes. It sounds almost resonant at times which is odd. I adjusted the fit (which is crazy comfortable, btw) but this oddity remains.

The mids and treble to these amateurish ears are good. Less intimate than the ad's but very smooth and there was no piercing sibilance or peaks that i could detect. (I also feel the exogal is extremely 'analog' sounding which might have helped) In fact, i rather like its very relaxed qualities a little more than the alpha dogs which seems to have this hd800-ish treble at times.

Moving on to "Dark Knight Rises" the soundtrack - the difference between the two was really apparent. The track "a storm is coming" was just not happening on the ad's. Here the z7 clearly went *much* lower. What was fluttering on the ad's became proper rumbles with the z7. In "A Fire Rises" from about 2:40 onwards, the z7's bass vs. the ad's lack thereof was very clear. Now while there ARE these added lower frequencies, it's also very clear that it's very umm... wobbly/wooly it's almost as if the driver, baffle and cup assemblies were vibrating(?).

The Z7's are like listening to big speakers, with lots of space in between while the ad's are like a really good pair of monitors, toed in at your head, fairly close by. I like both and i can see more people enjoying the z7 more. They really do do a lot of things well. What spoils it for the z7 for me is while it sounds as if it has an added subwoofer (compared to the ad's), sadly it is also a pretty badly set up subwoofer.

Which is a shame. Sony has so much right here and the build quality and comfort are both excellent. The presence of its bass is probably what gives it a really nice sense of space and it is a very pleasant effect for a nearly closed pair of cans at this price. But the weird bass is just too big a spoiler for me. May be a mkII version will have this fixed? Perhaps someone can come up with a mod for them? That'd make a pretty awesome pair of cans. But in its stock form, i don't think they're for me... At least now for now...

Nice review. I'm interested to hear a modded Z7 and unmodded Z7 next to each other. One can only dream... Most likely at the next SoCal CanJam coming up in March. A closed headphone roundup comparison would be so awesome. D7000, TH900, TH600, LCD-XC, Alpha Prime,  Alpha Dogs, ZMF x Vibro, ATH-W3000ANV, MDR-Z7.. that will be my goal when CanJam approaches

 

[Byrnie]

 
Nice review. I'm interested to hear a modded Z7 and unmodded Z7 next to each other. One can only dream... Most likely at the next SoCal CanJam coming up in March. A closed headphone roundup comparison would be so awesome. D7000, TH900, TH600, LCD-XC, Alpha Prime,  Alpha Dogs, ZMF x Vibro, ATH-W3000ANV, MDR-Z7.. that will be my goal when CanJam approaches

There has already been a review of that sort:
 
Part 1:
http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2014/01/05/sub-500-closed-back-headphone-roundup/
 
Part 2:
http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2014/07/18/flagship-closed-back-headphones-from-mrspeakers-audeze-and-fostex/
 
Enjoy!

 

[wahsmoh]

  There has already been a review of that sort:
 
Part 1:
http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2014/01/05/sub-500-closed-back-headphone-roundup/
 
Part 2:
http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2014/07/18/flagship-closed-back-headphones-from-mrspeakers-audeze-and-fostex/
 
Enjoy!

Those are both fantastic articles.. but they still aren't up to date on a MDR-Z7 comparison with all the closed TOTL headphones.

 

[Byrnie]

Those are both fantastic articles.. but they still aren't up to date on a MDR-Z7 comparison with all the closed TOTL headphones.

I think with multiple imptessions here you can guage where the Z7 fits in. Just my .02. Let me know if you find an article with it though because I love closed headphones.

 

[x838nwy]

BTW, I totally forgot to mention that my AD's were in their "default" bass setting. (For those not familiar to the AD's, they come with a set screw on each cup. These can be turned inwards or outwards to tune the bass response. I kept mine where Dan Clark thinks is best.)
 
Came to work this morning and played the Dark Knight Rises through my Mac Mini->Direct Stream->LAu->LCD-3 and yup, this is what bass should sound like. The Z7 is like when you just bought a new sub from Cerwin Vega and just want to shake furniture with it for laughs.
 
My AD's are off to be upgraded to Primes tomorrow. Would love to do the same comparison when I get them back, but since Dan is a bit noncommittal on schedules (and I don't blame him) I'm not holding my breath.

 

[dweaver]

Its interesting I have tried that Black Night track along with several Hans Zimmer tracks and not had any wobbly or wooly issues. I wonder if there might be the odd unit that does have some physical issues. It might also be the difference in setups as I do not have very powerfull amps.

 

[x838nwy]

Its interesting I have tried that Black Night track along with several Hans Zimmer tracks and not had any wobbly or wooly issues. I wonder if there might be the odd unit that does have some physical issues. It might also be the difference in setups as I do not have very powerfull amps.

It's more of a relative thing, really. I mean on its own without comparison, it can sound like a really powerful bass response. After all, it's mostly synthesized/edited/modified sounds and not actual instruments and as such might be hard to judge what those tracks should sound like. I can imagine that with some headphones, the lower frequencies might disappear entirely and the listener wouldn't even notice without any comparison. If possible, do try it against a pair of LCD-3's or HE-6's or something to perhaps get a picture of how it should be then try the Z7 again.
 
And my apologies if I don't articulate what I hear very well. I wouldn't say it's "wooly" in the sense that the bass notes are unclear - they are. They just seem to go on for quite a lot longer than with other headphones I have. In any case, if there's one thing that varies most among audiophiles is the preference for bass. It may very well be your cup of tea and that's awesome. I'm sure Sony employed great talents to design and tune these things and if your tastes concur with theirs, then who am I to say you're wrong!

 

[Mickice]

Not sure if The Dark Knight soundtrack is an ideal test, but if you like it enjoy.

I'd rather test this:

 

[x838nwy]

  Not sure if The Dark Knight soundtrack is an ideal test, but if you like it enjoy.

I'd rather test this:

 
Lolz. It's 6.99 on iTunes and I use to for checking out the bass on things. That and my Portishead albums.