[CoiL]

Hmmm... though, many users have already found X2 outperforming HD650/HD600 ...even Tyll rates X2 very highly. Flagship or not ...makes You think doesn`t it?
Price and flagship tag doesn`t definitely mean it is better HP than some other much cheaper

 

[mandrake50]

The Z7 is Sony's flagship, costing around $700 while the X2 is Philip's flagship and costs around $300.  The first few reviews and first impressions of the Z7 have been mostly positive, and I don't believe that anybody would would purchase a $700 pair of headphones or give them positive reviews if they were outperformed by a $300 pair of headphones.

That is a big assumption... and probably a bigger reach. Whether one likes a certain set of headphones really should not depend on what they cost. Of course around here it does seem that a bigger price just has to make an item better. Not true in my experience! But I am sure that many bought the Sony simply because it is the flagship TOTL $700 headphone. Los of us are that compulsive around Headfi. So if it is expensive it has to be good, right? But maybe not for me, or the OP. In addition the OP mentioned price vs performance. Maybe 2.5 times the price is not worth the percentage difference in sound to the OP. Maybe he just did not like the sound signature. Maybe he decided that his budget simply could not support the expenditure.

Lets see how many of the Z7s end up for sale soon.

 

[eac3]

  The Z7 is Sony's flagship, costing around $700 while the X2 is Philip's flagship and costs around $300.  The first few reviews and first impressions of the Z7 have been mostly positive, and I don't believe that anybody would would purchase a $700 pair of headphones or give them positive reviews if they were outperformed by a $300 pair of headphones.

 
Thanks. I have been keeping my eye on the z7..looking for a closed back alternative to the original x1's. Many mentioned the vmoda m100's are a close match but not in my opinion (speaking from personal experience) --sounds to downed out . I don't know about outperformed but I do like the sound more from my x1's than I did from the alpha dogs ($600) or mad dogs (pros) ($300-400).

 

[Uberclocked]

Would you say that going from the what I like to call "pseudo summit-fi" tier (e.g. Fostex TH600, Sennheiser HD 700, Beyerdynamic T90, Grado PS500e, Audio Technica ATH-W1000x,

 HiFiMAN HE-560, ​

etc.) to the mid-fi tier is a downgrade if they were similar sounding headphones?  Yes, it most likely would be.  Even though the Sony Z7 and Fidelio X2 possess different audio characteristics, the Z7 would be an upgrade over the X1 due the fact that they are in entirely different tiers (keep in mind that there are exceptions, but this I do not consider this to be one of them because the Z7 sounds decent for the price).  One could trade the Z7 for a different pair of cans in the "pseudo summit-fi" tier that have a similar sound signature to the Fidelio X2's and they would most likely be superior.
Does the Fidelio X2 hit above its price range?  I would say yes, most definitely.  Does it hit high enough to displace cans in the "pseudo summit-fi" tier?  Probably not.  I understand that sound signature preference definitely plays a very important role in determining whether a pair of headphones is an upgrade or not, but if we take that out of the equation (even though then we are comparing apples to oranges), the Z7 is and upgrade from the Fidelio X2.

 

[CoiL]

Another example, I`ve seen 2-3 persons in this forum preferring X1/X2 over LCD-2 ...hmmm. Makes think again... 
Not saying that X1/X2 is better HP but that "tier" thing, higher price and "hyped" HP thing is pretty pointless imho.
And like it or not, sound signature preference is part of equation. Or are You just following "what majority hears and hypes" without listening to Your own ears/brain? And closed vs. full-open HP just can`t be compared as "upgrade" or "superior". They just are different and that`s it. 
Personal preference and other things kick into equation again.... not to mention differences in source gear. This is endless subject and quite pointless to discuss. If one person thinks 300$ HP is better than top-notch 3-4x higher price HP, then it is purely that persons own preference and opinion that can`t be argued by claims like "this is definitely upgrade and better". 

 

[Byrnie]

Would you say that going from the what I like to call "pseudo summit-fi" tier (e.g. Fostex TH600, Sennheiser HD 700, Beyerdynamic T90, Grado PS500e, Audio Technica ATH-W1000x,

 HiFiMAN HE-560, ​

etc.) to the mid-fi tier is a downgrade if they were similar sounding headphones?  Yes, it most likely would be.  Even though the Sony Z7 and Fidelio X2 possess different audio characteristics, the Z7 would be an upgrade over the X1 due the fact that they are in entirely different tiers (keep in mind that there are exceptions, but this I do not consider this to be one of them because the Z7 sounds decent for the price).  One could trade the Z7 for a different pair of cans in the "pseudo summit-fi" tier that have a similar sound signature to the Fidelio X2's and they would most likely be superior.
Does the Fidelio X2 hit above its price range?  I would say yes, most definitely.  Does it hit high enough to displace cans in the "pseudo summit-fi" tier?  Probably not.  I understand that sound signature preference definitely plays a very important role in determining whether a pair of headphones is an upgrade or not, but if we take that out of the equation (even though then we are comparing apples to oranges), the Z7 is and upgrade from the Fidelio X2.

Sound signature is so important that I don't think you can exclude it. Also if you did exclude it then I would still disagree as it would still be subjective whether something is an upgrade or not.

 

[Byrnie]

Thanks. I have been keeping my eye on the z7..looking for a closed back alternative to the original x1's. Many mentioned the vmoda m100's are a close match but not in my opinion (speaking from personal experience) --sounds to downed out . I don't know about outperformed but I do like the sound more from my x1's than I did from the alpha dogs ($600) or mad dogs (pros) ($300-400).

My suggestion would be to get the Shure 1540 ($500) and save yourself $200.

 

[eac3]

My suggestion would be to get the Shure 1540 ($500) and save yourself $200.

 
Thank you. Someone did suggest this to me awhile back (maybe you?) and I have added it to my amazon cart.and..tracking head-fi since then.

 

[caracara08]

Wanted to buy these off Amazon but wasnt available. I decided to try out the HD700 but will be trying these out next if I do not like the HD700.  I hope Amazon gets them in soon.

 

[Byrnie]

Wanted to buy these off Amazon but wasnt available. I decided to try out the HD700 but will be trying these out next if I do not like the HD700.  I hope Amazon gets them in soon.

me too man! The 700s are a great headphone but they can be a little picky about what amp you use. I hear they sound great on tube amps.

 

[Stochastic]

  Would you say that going from the what I like to call "pseudo summit-fi" tier (e.g. Fostex TH600, Sennheiser HD 700, Beyerdynamic T90, Grado PS500e, Audio Technica ATH-W1000x,

 HiFiMAN HE-560, ​

etc.) to the mid-fi tier is a downgrade if they were similar sounding headphones?  Yes, it most likely would be.  Even though the Sony Z7 and Fidelio X2 possess different audio characteristics, the Z7 would be an upgrade over the X1 due the fact that they are in entirely different tiers (keep in mind that there are exceptions, but this I do not consider this to be one of them because the Z7 sounds decent for the price).  One could trade the Z7 for a different pair of cans in the "pseudo summit-fi" tier that have a similar sound signature to the Fidelio X2's and they would most likely be superior.
Does the Fidelio X2 hit above its price range?  I would say yes, most definitely.  Does it hit high enough to displace cans in the "pseudo summit-fi" tier?  Probably not.  I understand that sound signature preference definitely plays a very important role in determining whether a pair of headphones is an upgrade or not, but if we take that out of the equation (even though then we are comparing apples to oranges), the Z7 is and upgrade from the Fidelio X2.

 
The audio industry is pretty notorious for overpricing goods.  It's not like the PC industry where 9/10 times a $1000 PC is hands down superior to a $500 PC.  Since it's very difficult to evaluate a product who's value is inherently subjective, brand name and marketing can inflate prices massively.  Not that I'm an expert, but from what I gather the headphone industry suffers particularly from this.  See this: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wi8M-HSeK0JF33P-5ypydQjQ4OshRQhvWM0IX2h0NQ8/edit#slide=id.p

 

[Byrnie]

The audio industry is pretty notorious for overpricing goods.  It's not like the PC industry where 9/10 times a $1000 PC is hands down superior to a $500 PC.  Since it's very difficult to evaluate a product who's value is inherently subjective, brand name and marketing can inflate prices massively.  Not that I'm an expert, but from what I gather the headphone industry suffers particularly from this.  See this: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wi8M-HSeK0JF33P-5ypydQjQ4OshRQhvWM0IX2h0NQ8/edit#slide=id.p

the infamous "state of flagships" slideshow. There's a lot of great info in there!

 

[Uberclocked]

   
The audio industry is pretty notorious for overpricing goods.  It's not like the PC industry where 9/10 times a $1000 PC is hands down superior to a $500 PC.  Since it's very difficult to evaluate a product who's value is inherently subjective, brand name and marketing can inflate prices massively.  Not that I'm an expert, but from what I gather the headphone industry suffers particularly from this.  See this: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wi8M-HSeK0JF33P-5ypydQjQ4OshRQhvWM0IX2h0NQ8/edit#slide=id.p

 
Yes, the law of diminishing returns applies everywhere, especially in hi-fi audio.  However, say you traded the Z7 for a pair of headphones in the same tier.  I'll use the ATH-W1000x as an example.  Would the ATH-W1000x be a better overall pair of headphones than the ATH-A900x (Audio-Technica's "pseudo summit-fi" headphones vs their mid-fi pair)?  Yes, it would.  Keep in mind that this is just an example, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.  I'm not bashing on the Fidelio X2's or anything, they're an amazing pair of headphones, especially for the price.

 

[obsidyen]

  You returned your Z7 for this?  I'm pretty sure that that's a downgrade. >.<

Well, most times you pay a premium for the brand name. If Sennheiser released HD 750 as a successor for HD 650 with exactly the same sound as X2, this page would now be well over 1000 pages with a lot of hype. And yes, you'd pay three times the price of X2. I've just ordered my X2 before hearing it yesterday, it's very good indeed. Much better than you'd think. I can't stand the lean and bright sound of many new brands (such as Hifiman) and I prefer a European sound tuning. X2 just gives me that. Besides, it sounds amazing out of a computer or an iPad! You don't need a thousand dollar amp.

 

[Head1]

The thing with the Z7 is that it has no predecessor, so one doesn't know what to expect from it. You really have to be a Sony fanboy to drop $700 on it. The X2 OTOH replaces the X1 and has been equated to the HD600, and that says a lot.