[MuppetFace]

I've always thought of a flagship being the "best" that a particular company makes at a particular point in time. If this is the best headphone Sony is currently producing, well, they can certainly get away with calling it a flagship.

 

[majkel]

So, their flaghship now is a motor boat. Same with AKG - five colors of the same boat to choose, no progress so far, big regression since the K1000 were discontinued. Look at Ultrasone or Grado. They continue to raise the bar. Sennheiser, AKG and Sony gave up years ago.

 

[Amarphael]

Quote:

So, their flaghship now is a motor boat. Same with AKG - five colors of the same boat to choose, no progress so far, big regression since the K1000 were discontinued. Look at Ultrasone or Sennheiser. They continue to raise the bar. Grado, AKG and Sony  gave up years ago.

Now that's more like it.
 

 

[haloxt]

http://en.akihabaranews.com/?gallery=1&post=59572&origine=59572&image=004
 
Their new $735 EX1000 uses "liquid crystalline polymer" drivers, is this also for the peach colored driver in this pic?
 
I don't agree with all this bashing that Sony is going backwards. I recently got the SA5000, balanced and recabled too, and imo its technical performance is far superior to my pro 900 I modified to be more unforgiving and revealing. I can only speculate how high the SA5000 scales but it must be ridiculously high because I don't think my most expensive setup and best recordings have given the slightest trouble to the SA5000, whereas my SA5000 reveals every little flaw and sound characteristic in my best gear and recordings. I think the Z1000 is very promising because it might be more natural/musical and forgiving than the SA5000.

 

[majkel]

Quote:

Now that's more like it.
 

Do you think Sony raised the bar over the R10 with this new closed model? I don't. Nor do I consider the HD800 as a progress from the HE90. The last case is a huge step back. I don't speak the transducer technology, just the sonic result alone. The former - I just doubt the progress but I haven't heard the Z1000, of course. The looks leave me unimpressed.

 

[Mochan]

Gotta agree with this one. I felt Grado and AKG have been stagnating. AKG especially. But Grado too. As for headphone I still think this Sony looks pretty regressive. We'll see how it sounds.
 
Quote:

Now that's more like it.
 

 

[kool bubba ice]

Close up, the headphones look more impressive then the HD800 IMO.. Looks really sturdy, industrial, & slick.. If it can combine both the CD900ST/SA5000 that would be a good thing.. They also seem to be made strictly for studio use, another plus.. The Liquid Crystal Diaphragm is interesting... Curious how it sounds.. My NAGRAs are still king for closed headphone monitoring & studio use.. & would easily pay 735.00 if they bettered them in that area.. It's a bit ironic people laughed at the HD800 design when they thought they were fake.. But once they found out they were real, the same people starting praising the design & material being used.. I heard the lines 'looks cheap.' in regards to the HD800 when the photos first surfaced & people thought they were fake.. I never waivered in my thoughts.
 
Another thing.. Are we so jaded to think that a flagship headphone can't sound like a flagship headphone for under a grand.. Has it been inplanted in our brain that it must cost over a grand before we get excited about that.. In my 4 yrs of serious listening.. The DT48/K240 sextett/Technic 810/K340 taught me other wise.. Lets just wait & hear, before we start bringing our torches to Sony's door step.. Sony still innovates, which can't be said for Beyerdynamic, AKG (recently), Grado.. I can provide IE's from the type of drivers/diaphrams/housing.. I do respect Beyerdynamics for their stability, faith in their headphones & reliability. The DT48 has been around since 1937. The DT880 since 80.. & the 770 & 990 are also 20 plus yrs old. Beyers stands by their products like no other headphone company.. The closest competitor is the Sony 7506.. 20 yrs in production.. To me longevity means somthing.. It proves a headphones worth.. I won't include special headphones like the R10/010/HE90, which were made for the sole purpose of seeing how far you can go in terms of headphone technology.. & were never meant to be produced over the long run..Minus the K1000, which for a ultra hi end headphone had a very impressive 15 yr run.

 

[Skylab]

I'm probably going to Tokyo in November, and I always go to Akihabara when I am there.  If I see a pair, I will buy them.  That driver looks interesting.

 

[vkvedam]

It's sort of a love it or hate it design. But I am interested in auditioning these.

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

Close up, the headphones look more impressive then the HD800 IMO.. Looks really sturdy, industrial, & slick.. If it can combine both the CD900ST/SA5000 that would be a good thing.. They also seem to be made strictly for studio use, another plus.. The Liquid Crystal Diaphragm is interesting... Curious how it sounds.. My NAGRAs are still king for closed headphone monitoring & studio use.. & would easily pay 735.00 if they bettered them in that area.. It's a bit ironic people laughed at the HD800 design when they thought they were fake.. But once they found out they were real, the same people starting praising the design & material being used.. I heard the lines 'looks cheap.' in regards to the HD800 when the photos first surfaced & people thought they were fake.. I never waivered in my thoughts.
 
Another thing.. Are we so jaded to think that a flagship headphone can't sound like a flagship headphone for under a grand.. Has it been inplanted in our brain that it must cost over a grand before we get excited about that.. In my 4 yrs of serious listening.. The DT48/K240 sextett/Technic 810/K340 taught me other wise.. Lets just wait & hear, before we start bringing our torches to Sony's door step.. Sony still innovates, which can't be said for Beyerdynamic, AKG (recently), Grado.. I can provide IE's from the type of drivers/diaphrams/housing.. I do respect Beyerdynamics for their stability, faith in their headphones & reliability. The DT48 has been around since 1937. The DT880 since 80.. & the 770 & 990 are also 20 plus yrs old. Beyers stands by their products like no other headphone company.. The closest competitor is the Sony 7506.. 20 yrs in production.. To me longevity means somthing.. It proves a headphones worth.. I won't include special headphones like the R10/010/HE90, which were made for the sole purpose of seeing how far you can go in terms of headphone technology.. & were never meant to be produced over the long run..Minus the K1000, which for a ultra hi end headphone had a very impressive 15 yr run.

You, sir, have a lot of sense! Mostly agreed.

 

[leeperry]

  

The rebranded neon green AKG 701s look like crap.

got link?
 

dual entry is superior to single no?

nope, these are fairy tales.
 

Same with AKG - five colors of the same boat to choose, no progress so far, big regression since the K1000

SONY have lost their mojo anyway.
 

 
Since when do we care about how it looks and not how it sounds?

 
I dunno...since forever?

 

[spartan123]

Being that I am a rabid SA5K lover I will buy the new Z1000 as soon as I can lay my grubby little hands on a pair.  I am giddy like a lil school boy at the thought of a new Sony hi-end can!

 

[MuppetFace]

 
Quote:

 
got link?
 
 

Check the threads "Waiting For New AKG Flagship Headphones" and "New AKG Line" that are usually on the front page of the full-sied headphone forum. They're getting a lot of [rightfully] disparaging comments right now.

 

[leeperry]

I'm against detachable cables anyway...opamps and drivers need clean soldered joints. And that green K701 looks horrid, that reminds me of the South Park movie bluray directors comments...the production manager was actually colorblind, that sure explains a lot ^^

 

[niranhopper]

I like the classic appearance of the new Sony Z1000. Too bad they seem to look like a closed headphone.