Well, I'm piqued. Let's see what Sony can do no holds barred. 

And even cheaper if you have sources to get it for cost as staff. The original HD800 only costs ~900nzd excl. I didn't like them enough to keep my pair. Just waiting for the S to be in stock so i can grab a listen.

Unfortunately, in this reality, we can't be you.

Anyone have any comparisons to other units? Say like Oppo ha-1, or Benchmark?

Is there a way to change the voltage from 120v to 230v within the chassis?

Damn, those ugly connectors again... I love the stained look though, much better than the cheap-looking X00's. Here's to hoping they can best the X00's in sound.

Keen as.

  I'm assuming you got it from overseas? Doesn't seem to be anyone that stocks it locally in NZ.

Awesome stuff, that's re-assuring.

If only they didn't use those ugly as connectors and went with something like MDR-Z7/mini xlr connectors... I think I might go with mk1 and convert them myself, now that it's confirmed that there are no driver changes.

When th900 came out, $2000 with non-removable cables... yeah no. I just wish they made it look a bit more elegant.

They are the same drivers after all; so I doubt that a single acoustic absorber will completely change the sound signature.  The only way to combat that problem [brightness, 6k peak] is to completely redesign the transducer, which they haven't done here.

Before buying anything, you should at least read the policy, terms and conditions of the seller. Don't criticize a business just because you failed to read them.   Article 13:  Concerning shopping orders, as a general rule, we are unable to cancel, return, exchange or make claims on your...

It looks like the lows, mids and highs are doing their own thing; separated by the dips. From the decay they look fast, but that bass... is it because it's resonating in the housing?

Just a joke, no offence intended. It's a lot worse I live; we either jump the gun or read reviews, no such things as open-box demos here.

That's something you should ask the bajillion Beats users out there.

I know there's a lot of hype with a new product, and those who bought it want it to be worth the money they spent on them. But is there anyone that can give an unbiased critique on the bad things about the z7? Knowing Sony, they'll probably have some sort of 'refined' revision in the near future.

NZ gets lumped with AU, it should start distributing in Nov. Since the price is in line with the press release document, I wouldn't be surprised if it was priced 1k+ in NZ.

Someone pick it up from a physical store!!!

"On par/more balanced" than the TH900 at 1/3 the price... Very intriguing.   Sounds like this one will be great with EDM.

Has there been any word about 'the king'?

Just a question, it might have been answered a long time ago, sorry if it has. But can the PHA-2 be used as a DAC while charging from the pc? ie. charge and play through the micro-usb? I might have read that it cannot be used as an amp while charging.   Thanks.

Definitely, paying for return shipping through middlemen really hurts. I wouldn't be surprised if it costs 1/10th of the price of the z7's.

Blutac. The UE accessory kit has an adapter, and iirc it was rated at 100ohms.

  I think the e07k is a tad bassy. The e17 is better than the e07k in my opinion. That said, i only compared them back when i had my ath-m50's.