[damex]

hello,
i am in a search for over closed back over ear headphones. let's say 800-1000$ is a sweet spot for headphones+balanced cable.

plan to use them with Sony PHA-3.
i am looking at sony mdr-z7 which is sold for 440$~ locally. already come with balanced cable.
i tried them and it sounds pretty good. is there anything else i could try to get instead of them within this budget?

it is kind of 'upgrade' from 250ohm dt770 pro. i gave dt1770 pro a shot and decided that difference is not worth much (and harder to amp since no balanced... only 3pin xlr) - plus it cost 700$ locally.
i also tried many other headphones over all this years/in a long run but sticked to dt770. have extra cash to sink and want an upgrade to use with my sony pha3.

thank you.

 

[Tim Le]

What kind of music do you listen to mostly? The mdr-z7 + balanced cable is a very good price at $440, especially considering people paid $700 for just the headphones about a year ago (I believe the balanced kimber cable was another $200 or so).

I step up from the mdr-z7 would be the Fostex th900. I think I saw one on the head-fi classified with a balanced cable for $1000. If you're looking for a headphone with better mids and highs, but less bass, I highly recommend the Final Audio Sonorous VI. It still retains a "fun" sound signature, but it renders vocals and instruments much better than the mdr-z7. Finally, if you want a closed back headphone that is closer to reference, the MrSpeakers Aeon is right up your alley. There are a lot of great cable builders here on head-fi who will build you a balanced cable for $100-$150.

Hope that helps!

 

[cossix]

Try browsing ZMF website. Their Atticus headphone is pretty damn good

 

[damex]

What kind of music do you listen to mostly? The mdr-z7 + balanced cable is a very good price at $440, especially considering people paid $700 for just the headphones about a year ago (I believe the balanced kimber cable was another $200 or so).

I step up from the mdr-z7 would be the Fostex th900. I think I saw one on the head-fi classified with a balanced cable for $1000. If you're looking for a headphone with better mids and highs, but less bass, I highly recommend the Final Audio Sonorous VI. It still retains a "fun" sound signature, but it renders vocals and instruments much better than the mdr-z7. Finally, if you want a closed back headphone that is closer to reference, the MrSpeakers Aeon is right up your alley. There are a lot of great cable builders here on head-fi who will build you a balanced cable for $100-$150.

Hope that helps!

thank you.

mdr-z7 already come with balanced cable in a box (not kimber cable but still a nice one) and i don't need to spend extra for balanced cable... unless original one breaks
this increase of z7 a bit more ;p

i play various metal (trash, speed, heavy and etc) genres, rock and music like country/pop recently

top played right now is:
Scorpions, The Who, Kansas, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Seger, Megadeth, Nazareth, Anthrax, Dokken, AC/DC, Sodom, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Pantera, Slayer, Evildead, Exodus, Machine Head.

oh.. and there is also a special place for Le Scrawl in my library

i appreciate bassy headphones

 

[Tim Le]

thank you.

mdr-z7 already come with balanced cable in a box (not kimber cable but still a nice one) and i don't need to spend extra for balanced cable... unless original one breaks
this increase of z7 a bit more ;p

i play various metal (trash, speed, heavy and etc) genres, rock and music like country/pop recently

top played right now is:
Scorpions, The Who, Kansas, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Seger, Megadeth, Nazareth, Anthrax, Dokken, AC/DC, Sodom, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Pantera, Slayer, Evildead, Exodus, Machine Head.

oh.. and there is also a special place for Le Scrawl in my library

i appreciate bassy headphones

The mdr-z7 is definitely a bassy headphone, but it's also considered a bit slow. You won't clearly hear things like double bass drums and sixteenth note cymbal hits. I totally forgot about the ZMF atticus mentioned above. If you can spend the money, you won't feel the need to ever upgrade

For country, rock, and pop, the mdrz7 is great.

 

[damex]

The mdr-z7 is definitely a bassy headphone, but it's also considered a bit slow. You won't clearly hear things like double bass drums and sixteenth note cymbal hits. I totally forgot about the ZMF atticus mentioned above. If you can spend the money, you won't feel the need to ever upgrade

For country, rock, and pop, the mdrz7 is great.

i tried to search... and i could not find ZMF headphones in local shops in vietnam to try they're kind of rare.
need to fly to thailand to try them ... or somewhere else ;p

maybe there some other headphones from major brands to consider?

 

[damex]

Weird situation. It is not ‘new and sealed’ z7 for 440$.... no way i will get dat... local shops ask 700~800 for z7. Pricy

I checked ZMF and what is stopping me is that for example ZMF Vibro MK2 have less then 500$ msrp - NO you won’t get it even for 1.5x of msrp in South East Asia... atleast that is what websites list. If you go to zmf website - you wait for weeks and have no way to try what are you going to get. Shipping it back if it would be bad? No way. Weird situation with their headphones... but i would gladly pay 500$ for Vibro mk2... if i ever had a chance to try it here.

Okay, i see sony mdr-z1r. Is it considered an upgrade from z7? I see it available for 1700$... but with that weird 4’ sony balanced cable. I can expand budget that much ... what could i do about balanced? Kimber Kable and let it go?

 

[chimney189]

Weird situation. It is not ‘new and sealed’ z7 for 440$.... no way i will get dat... local shops ask 700~800 for z7. Pricy

I checked ZMF and what is stopping me is that for example ZMF Vibro MK2 have less then 500$ msrp - NO you won’t get it even for 1.5x of msrp in South East Asia... atleast that is what websites list. If you go to zmf website - you wait for weeks and have no way to try what are you going to get. Shipping it back if it would be bad? No way. Weird situation with their headphones... but i would gladly pay 500$ for Vibro mk2... if i ever had a chance to try it here.

Okay, i see sony mdr-z1r. Is it considered an upgrade from z7? I see it available for 1700$... but with that weird 4’ sony balanced cable. I can expand budget that much ... what could i do about balanced? Kimber Kable and let it go?

From what I've read around the forums it seems that the MDR-Z1R is a more refined Z7. There is one in the classifieds for under $1400, which sounds like a good deal.
The Vibro from ZMF is definitely one of his more 'bassy' headphones available. I believe it would be a better investment than the Z1R if you end up disliking them.

 

[damex]

From what I've read around the forums it seems that the MDR-Z1R is a more refined Z7. There is one in the classifieds for under $1400, which sounds like a good deal.
The Vibro from ZMF is definitely one of his more 'bassy' headphones available. I believe it would be a better investment than the Z1R if you end up disliking them.

oooohh.. one of 'more' bassy? how does it compares to beyerdynamic lineup ? :3 yohoho i would get THAT!

 

[chimney189]

oooohh.. most bassy? so beyerdynamic is not even close to them ? :3 yohoho i would get THAT!

Yes sir! I'm not sure how Beyer headphones match up to them.

 

[chimney189]

I recommend reading up on this: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/4c5r0j/zmf_x_vibro_mkii_review/

 

[damex]

thank you, guys
got myself mdr-z7 and waiting for payment day to order zmf vibro mkII

 

[cossix]

thank you, guys
got myself mdr-z7 and waiting for payment day to order zmf vibro mkII

Good luck! Zach makes really great headphones over at ZMF, I think you'll like it!

 

[damex]

ouch... left ear stopped playing some low frequencies and became too quiet on that z7 and i returned it.
got another pair... used it for another hour after unbox and connection inside right socket became loose. returning!

wassup with that quality ;/ feels like modern beyerdynamics is a real tanks in headphone world...

 

[damex]

there is a little to add to my story with headphones.

i got one mdr-z7 pair and it died on me with left ear going low volume and playing little to no low frequency.
replaced it with another mdr-z7 and it right ear started dropping off during play.
played them from sony pha3 using balanced connection.

got a refund. such luck. >_>

started thinking if i should go and get zmf vibro mk2 or consider mdr-z1r... or anything else in that price rage since mdr-z7 was bloody pleasant to use.