[NooBee]

It's tax time again and after paying some bills I will treat myself to a new set of headphones. A present to me for all my yearly hard work. 

  I currently own the Focal Spirit Classic, which I believe are fantastic cans. What I love most about them? Mid range, how well it handled all vocals,in my opinion they are smooth, natural sounding and quite free of sibilants. That is important to me because i primarily listen to vocal jazz. What I like least about them? They are a little uncomfortable, the clamping force is a bit much for my head,they get pretty hot and I would prefer a little more room around my ears inside the ear cups. Also I would love a wider sound stage. Which brings me to the choices above. Both the AQ's and the Z7's  I assume be considered semi-open. I would love open back because they will be for home use only anyway and open back usually offers the wider sound stage that I'm looking for. Only problem is i don't really have a quiet listening space as of yet, so I understand room sound and leakage will be an issue for now. $700 is what I am willing to spend and all of my above choices fall in line. The Amiron's  fully open design could possibly offer an even better soundstadge, which I prefer, but sound leakage and room sound will most likely be worst, so that could be more of a problem for now. I haven't completely ruled them out but I feel from some reviews I read the Nighthawks and the MDRZ7 maybe more of the sound profile that prefer. I've never owned a Beyerdynamic headphone before, I heard that some are rather bright treble but I read the Amiron Home are smoother than most.
I also own a JDS Labs Objective O2 DAC, sweet little amp, love it! All my HP choices seem to be rather easy to drive but I'm sure they all could benefit from good power. 
I mentioned that I love vocal jazz, but i also listen to jazz, rock, blues, and hip hop. I'm pretty wide open when it comes to music. I also own several Hi Rez files from 24/96, 24/192, and some DSD files, the latter two I access through my Yamaha A-S801 intergraded amp which has an excellent ESS Sabre DAC and headphone amp as well. I also considered the Sony and the Beyerdynamic for their extended frequency range to take more of an advantage of my Hi Rez files. Not sure what the Freq range is on the AQ's, it may not even matter.
So to recap, primarily I want super comfortable, Full Bass, natural mid range, smooth treble, wide soundstage, cans that handles most music pretty well from cd quality and up. (as possible for under $700. I know a tall order, Lol!

) And as looks go I think they all are great looking cans, the AQ's look more state-of-the-art (which i'm kinda leaning towards), the Sony have a very sophisticated look and the Beyer's just look super comfy. Looks are secondary but still important to me. So if anyone owns or has experience with any of these cans please leave me your thoughts, opinions and recommendations or if I left out some important info please let me know, Thank you. All are appreciated.

 

[obobskivich]

Jazz, blues, hip-hop, smooth mids, spacious, comfortable, nicely extended, and good looks? Audio-Technica ATH-W1000X. :atsmile: Alternatively, if you don't mind spending a bit more, JVC HP-DX1000.

I've not heard any of the three you're actually asking about, but I'll add that I've never heard a Beyer that isn't bright (bordering on shrill in some cases) and lean/thin sounding. Comfort on the Beyers isn't bad, but I think better exists (AT, Sennheiser, Bose, etc). I probably would look elsewhere based on the sound signature you're describing, but that's me.

I'd dump the "freq range" and "Hi Res" branding discussion entirely - its marketing fluff. Sadly.

 

[NooBee]

Thanks for the recommend. I will check them out.

 

[Buddhahacker]

The Beyerdynamic is a brighter HP as compared to the MDR-Z7.  It also has a tighter bottom.  And all around a more accurate HP. However, I tend to gravitate to the MDR-Z7 more often and the Z7's are one of my go-to headphones.  They are just lusher if that makes sense. Putting them on is like going to you favorite pub with all of your friends around you. Very comfortable but no as accurate as a T-1 or HD-800 etc.  The latter have their time and place but so do the comfortable headphones. 
 
I wrote a quick comparison of the two somewhere. I'll see if I can find it.  
 
Make certain you check out used/warehouse options at Amazon.  The T-1 gen.1  is frequently under $700 and I picked up the MDR-Z7 from what appears to be the Sony refurbisher  in the US, Secondipity.  I'll link the Amazon storefront for Secondipity below.  The T-1 I picked up from Amazon Warehouse over a year ago for ~$700.  It was in mint condition.  The MDR-Z7 from Secondpity for $317.  It was refurbished but in pristine condition with all of its cables and manuals. The original box was clearly used. 
 
Storefront for Secondipity https://www.amazon.com/shops/A3FG7YW6YCE8DR?ref_=v_sp_storefront

 

[Buddhahacker]

Found it:
"
Here are my thoughts comparing the two.  The genres I used for the comparison included jazz, rock and classical.
 
The T1 is a more detailed, accurate and crisp headphone.  The highs really shine and the base is much tighter than the Z7.  Cymbals have a nice decay.  Due to the T1s being more open it has better stage presence.  This gives you the sensation that you are actually in the club listening to the jam session.  My only complaint with the T1s is that they sometimes come right to edge of being sibilant. They never cross over but they awfully close sometimes.  It takes energy to listen to the T1 which can make listening to them a bit tiring. 
 
I find the Z7 to be a more balanced between the highs/mids/bass. The T1s sometimes have a bit of a V quality to them.  Overall, I find the Z7 to be more musical and warm while the T1 is more accurate and detailed.  I also find that during the day when I have more energy I gravitate to the T1s and in the evening I almost always pull out the Z7s.
 
Hope this helps. 
 
 
Setup:
T1 - single ended
Z7 - balanced using Kimbel cables
PHA-3 DAC/Amp
 
A few of the albums used for the comparison:
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
My Favorite Things - Eric Alexander Quartet
Mozart Violin Concertos - Trondheim Solistene
"

 

[NooBee]

The Beyerdynamic is a brighter HP as compared to the MDR-Z7.  It also has a tighter bottom.  And all around a more accurate HP. However, I tend to gravitate to the MDR-Z7 more often and the Z7's are one of my go-to headphones.  They are just lusher if that makes sense. Putting them on is like going to you favorite pub with all of your friends around you. Very comfortable but no as accurate as a T-1 or HD-800 etc.  The latter have their time and place but so do the comfortable headphones. 
 
I wrote a quick comparison of the two somewhere. I'll see if I can find it.  
 
Make certain you check out used/warehouse options at Amazon.  The T-1 gen.1  is frequently under $700 and I picked up the MDR-Z7 from what appears to be the Sony refurbisher  in the US, Secondipity.  I'll link the Amazon storefront for Secondipity below.  The T-1 I picked up from Amazon Warehouse over a year ago for ~$700.  It was in mint condition.  The MDR-Z7 from Secondpity for $317.  It was refurbished but in pristine condition with all of its cables and manuals. The original box was clearly used. 
 
Storefront for Secondipity https://www.amazon.com/shops/A3FG7YW6YCE8DR?ref_=v_sp_storefront

Thanks Buddhahacker, years ago when i got into audio, i felt that i wanted accuracy over musicality every single time but that has not be the case. In fact after refining my taste, i think it's the very opposite. After listening to so many speakers that were considered more accurate and then listening to speakers that were considered more musical, the musical ones were just more fun and more pleasing to my ear. The same applies to my headphones. I think base on your help and other opinions on Beyerdynamic HP's, i feel the MDRZ7 maybe the better fit. One down, one more to go. Thanks you for your valuable input.

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