[john57]

I wanted to point out that the HE-560 is still a good headphone and if you are happy with it that is the only thing that counts. If Dan did not have the Alpha Prime I would be happy with the HE-560 and it would a nice addition to my good 7520. I have open headphones as well and with the Alpha Prime I feel that I am not wanting anything more in soundstage in spite of its being closed.

 

[dabotsonline]

i remember reading in some british forum that abbey road stockpiled these headphones because theyre that good as studio monitors... but im not sure if theyre z1k or the 7520

Hi @TheBoss , can you remember what forum that was (or, even better, find a link?) Thanks.

 

[bixby]

here is the only mention I recall:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/682534/sony-mdr-7520/450

 

[Mike F]

  here is the only mention I recall:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/682534/sony-mdr-7520/450

 
Yes, that was me! I've been trying desperately to remember where I read or heard that! Reading my post from the above link, it seems that I'd read about it earlier in this thread, but I can't find in now. It's also possible that I heard it from the UK dealer that told me about David Gilmour purchasing a number for his personal studio.
 
However, I intend to find out whether it's true - I'll phone Abby Road sometime in the next few days and report back!

 

[Brazenways]

Lightly used (9/10) on sale at BHP for 250$! Damn good deal if your in market for one.

 

[bixby]

   
Yes, that was me! I've been trying desperately to remember where I read or heard that! Reading my post from the above link, it seems that I'd read about it earlier in this thread, but I can't find in now. It's also possible that I heard it from the UK dealer that told me about David Gilmour purchasing a number for his personal studio.
 
However, I intend to find out whether it's true - I'll phone Abby Road sometime in the next few days and report back!

It's a good story nonetheless, I think I'll take creative marketing license and perhaps use said anecdotal story on my sale ad for my 7520s.  Seems no one here is interested so off to that great auction site they go.

 

[Mike F]

Well, I've just had a conversation with one of the technicians at Abbey Road, and he wasn't aware that they had any 7520's, but, as he he said, it's a big place with many people doing different things so it's possible that there are some there. However, he did say that they used to have a large number of 7506's, but that gradually over the years they had 'migrated' out of the building, courtesy of people who thought that they would be better employed elsewhere(!).
 
They used the 7506's mostly for the conductor of orchestral sessions when the the conductor needed a high quality headphone monitor. They use DT100's for tracking and engineers generally use Sennheisers, although he couldn't be specific about which ones.
 
I suspect that the 7520's would be too expensive to consider for tracking use, and of course production is always done with open headphones or monitors, so it was probably just a rumour I'm afraid.............

 

[power]

Given there main monitors use a form of lcp as there midrange, it does not surprise me they do have a similar nature. I'm listening now to my b&w's and it's not any less impressive, there driver compliment is aluminum and lcp ie. Kevlar. Wich does peek my interest in the z7. Gotto,love the repasado s though. Honey gold:bigsmile_face:

 

[starfly]

Given there main monitors use a form of lcp as there midrange, it does not surprise me they do have a similar nature. I'm listening now to my b&w's and it's not any less impressive, there driver compliment is aluminum and lcp ie. Kevlar. Wich does peek my interest in the z7. Gotto,love the repasado s though. Honey gold:bigsmile_face:

The Z7 has the same Sony house sound as the 7520, except with more forward mids. Only spent 10 minutes with them at CanJam and then not even listening very closely. But that was my overall impression of them.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

  The Z7 has the same Sony house sound as the 7520, except with more forward mids. Only spent 10 minutes with them at CanJam and then not even listening very closely. But that was my overall impression of them.

Any word for clarity, speed, and difference? Are the Z7 have the same tone as the 7520 or are they a darker/warmer phone?

 

[starfly]

 
Any word for clarity, speed, and difference? Are the Z7 have the same tone as the 7520 or are they a darker/warmer phone?

Hard to say given my short listening session. Tonality wise mids a bit more forward compared to 7520, which might make the 7520 seem a bit darker (or the Z7 seem brighter, however you want to put it). I wasn't really interested in full-size cans at CanJam, especially not closed cans as I'm still very happy with the 7520 and don't plan on replacing those until they break. Was more interested in listening to open cans (of which I have none) and CIEMs, which I'm actually in the market for. I just more wanted to hear the difference between the 7520 and Z7, and the more forward mids of the Z7 was the most obvious difference.
 
I actually spoke to Jude about the Z7 after I listened to them (Jude is a big fan of the 7520) and he said that he agrees on my observation that the Z7 has more forward mids and that whenever he writes up a second impression of the Z7 he would mention that (I suppose he didn't mention that on his first write up / preview of the Z7).
 
Oh, another thing I noticed about the Z7 was the cable. The cable they were using at CanJam (don't ask me what brand, a copper braided cable it was) made this annoying creaking/clicking/clacking sound. At first I thought it might be cheap build quality of the Z7, but upon further inspection the build quality of the Z7 seemed great and it was just the cable itself, specifically the plugs that connect to the headphone. Would be easy to fix by just taping around it, but I thought it was stupid that it had that problem to begin with. Not sure if these cables will ship with the Z7 if you buy them or if they were using different cables at the show.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Ah, I believe those are the optional Kimber cables which I would assume costs a pretty penny. Not a big fan of bloated pricing cable though, so if I do go down the Z7 road it'll have to be a helluva deal for me to spend more on those.

As for the impressions it seems a bit all over the place!! I'm starting to think the Z7 are neutral-ish like the 7520 for some people to call them dark and some (like yourself) to say they're brighter than the 7520. IMO the 7520 does have a strong bass but not enough to say that the mids and highs are pushed back because of it. This is making me want to audition the Z7 that much more. I'm looking forward to Judes second impression.

 

[john57]

Sounds like they are using the optional Kimber Kable since they are copper colored not the stock cable. That tells me it might not be worth the money for the optional Kimber cable. I am hanging on to my 7520 and the 7520 is plenty bright and it seems that the Z7 is brighter yet with even more low bass than the 7520.

 

[groovyd]

why is it no companies ever get the oem cable right?  always something crazy about them, too long, heavy, stiff, creaky, strange connectors...

 

[john57]

  why is it no companies ever get the oem cable right?  always something crazy about them, too long, heavy, stiff, creaky, strange connectors...

we are talking about the special high price aftermarket cables sold by Sony but made by another.