[Sp12er3]

I have listened to them for a short while, have had to work a lot so it was as a quick inbetween. They do sound alright, dark without veil and without sibilance, total blackness between tones very little resonance from the cups. It's the kind of sound I associate with high end audio gear, nothing is tinny. They sound meaty and not starved for power. Overall very good!

My pair was manufactured in Japan 2018 with serial nr 5196, contrary to later pairs made in Thailand. They seem to have made a detour through Russia as there was a Russian sticker on them. Probably from some overstock which trickled over to the EU to be sold at a reduced price, I feel lucky to have caught the deal

More impressions will follow!

I thought all Z7M2 are made in Thailand?
Its the Z7 and Z1R thats made in their hand assembled factory in Japan.

 

[CoryGillmore]

I thought all Z7M2 are made in Thailand?

They are.....not sure what dude is getting at here

 

[xeizo]

They are.....not sure what dude is getting at here

I can tell what I'm getting at, it says "Manufactured in Japan" on the box. Could be Sony printed the wrong text on the box of course, but that's what it says.

edit. I have solved the "mystery", Sony does print some misleading text on the box. At the end of the box text it says "Manufactured by Sony Corporation **long adress** Japan" with big letters BUT if one reads the printed with very small letters long text above it one can read: Headphones: Made in Thailand, Cable: Made in China, Adapter: Made in China etc
On the cans themselves there's no sign of where it was made, only that it is made by Sony and imported by Sony.

 

[hifi80sman]

I can tell what I'm getting at, it says "Manufactured in Japan" on the box. Could be Sony printed the wrong text on the box of course, but that's what it says.

edit. I have solved the "mystery", Sony does print some misleading text on the box. At the end of the box text it says "Manufactured by Sony Corporation **long adress** Japan" with big letters BUT if one reads the printed with very small letters long text above it one can read: Headphones: Made in Thailand, Cable: Made in China, Adapter: Made in China etc
On the cans themselves there's no sign of where it was made, only that it is made by Sony and imported by Sony.

Yeah, they're all (Z7M2) made in the Thailand. It is a bit misleading if you don't read all the text. Yes, Sony Corp., headquartered in Japan, did manufacture the headphones...in Thailand.

 

[CoryGillmore]

I can tell what I'm getting at, it says "Manufactured in Japan" on the box. Could be Sony printed the wrong text on the box of course, but that's what it says.

edit. I have solved the "mystery", Sony does print some misleading text on the box. At the end of the box text it says "Manufactured by Sony Corporation **long adress** Japan" with big letters BUT if one reads the printed with very small letters long text above it one can read: Headphones: Made in Thailand, Cable: Made in China, Adapter: Made in China etc
On the cans themselves there's no sign of where it was made, only that it is made by Sony and imported by Sony.

Yeah it's pretty dumb how they went to a cheaper production method and still raised the price by a few hundred bucks. The Z7M2 is built really solid but I still feel the Z7 feels a bit better. Plus that "Made In Japan" on the side makes me feel better. My IER-M9 is made in Thailand too. But they feel amazing and even the finish has held up on mine after over 1000 hours of use and I use to take them to work with me every day.

 

[xeizo]

Made in Thailand may be, but they sound damned good, at least my pair does. I love the sound, a clear step up from the HD600 particularly in dynamics. The most dynamic sound I have heard from a can as of yet, only high end loudspeakers fed from monster amplifiers have sounded that dynamic for me previously. I think that's the biggest treat of the MDR-Z7M2 not FR or resolution or soundstage, but lack of compression.

edit. I went back in the thread and saw there was some discussion about amping, Z7M2 may require some but possibly rather quality than quantity. They run freaking loud from my Presonus HP4 without any clipping anywhere in the whole frequency range. Presonus HP4 isn't very powerful, 150mW @ 50 Ohms, but it's dead neutral as it's studio gear and it can provide good voltage swing as it's discrete headamps(no OP) are fed from 16V.

Normal sound chain for enjoying music is:

Tidal Masters -> Motu M2(ESS SABRE32 ULTRA) TRS out -> balanced cables -> Presonus HP4 -> MDR-Z7M2

Sounds excellent so far, urge to continue to listen is almost annoying ...

 

[521994]

I’ve spend some time with mine using them at work, home and on the go. Very pleasant sound on the dark side and very good for the price I’ve paid. Very happy with these but after some days I went back to my Audeze LCD-MX4 and I was reminded me why the Audeze are amazing. There is no comparison between these two. Then is did an extensive listening with several headphones. Brought into the game my HD800s, grado, audio Technica and more. The Sony of course are nowhere near the HD800s in terms of soundstage and clarity BUT, and that’s a big but, I found where these stand within my collection. These headphones are like butter. Smooth, thick, tasty and I love them for two reasons. The first is that these are kind of friendly headphones and i keep playing music over and over digging into my music collection an listening to music I haven’t heard for ages. Somehow this warmth is very very engaging. The other reason these are keepers for me is because these allow me to hold back from other headphones and when I visit other headphones again its like reinventing my other gear. Sometimes, we as audiophiles and to talk from my side, i have the tenancy to look for the next, the better, the missing part. Actually these headphones help me to step back from other gear, relax, enjoy the music and when my ears and brain have been adjusted (my burn in) I go back to other headphones with a renovated perspective. And for these two reasons these will stay with me for the long run.

 

[xeizo]

I’ve spend some time with mine using them at work, home and on the go. Very pleasant sound on the dark side and very good for the price I’ve paid. Very happy with these but after some days I went back to my Audeze LCD-MX4 and I was reminded me why the Audeze are amazing. There is no comparison between these two. Then is did an extensive listening with several headphones. Brought into the game my HD800s, grado, audio Technica and more. The Sony of course are nowhere near the HD800s in terms of soundstage and clarity BUT, and that’s a big but, I found where these stand within my collection. These headphones are like butter. Smooth, thick, tasty and I love them for two reasons. The first is that these are kind of friendly headphones and i keep playing music over and over digging into my music collection an listening to music I haven’t heard for ages. Somehow this warmth is very very engaging. The other reason these are keepers for me is because these allow me to hold back from other headphones and when I visit other headphones again its like reinventing my other gear. Sometimes, we as audiophiles and to talk from my side, i have the tenancy to look for the next, the better, the missing part. Actually these headphones help me to step back from other gear, relax, enjoy the music and when my ears and brain have been adjusted (my burn in) I go back to other headphones with a renovated perspective. And for these two reasons these will stay with me for the long run.

Well, the "Sony sound" is great for just listening to music. I managed with only the MDR-CD770 for almost 20 years
(nice quality btw, it's only the pads which are worn)

 

[xeizo]

The 24/192 remaster of Supertramp "Crime of the Century" have never sounded better for me than with MDR-Z7M2, it's a very dynamic album and with "normal" cans if you choose a comfortable level for the weak segments the peaks collapses and sounds boxy/plasticky.

Not on Z7M2, it swallows the peaks without breaking a sweat. The album sounds excellent from start to finish. Z7M2 is like built for Classic Rock, I can imagine some other genres doesn't fare as well but as I'm mostly listening to classic rock/hardrock/metal the sound signature is in my personal sweet spot.

However, I have listened to some brand new modern pop/rock on Tidal as well, and even if those are mastered with a lot of compression compared to classic albums they actually sounds good too. The SQ of Z7M2 is by no means perfect, but the sound is fun and easy to listen too and nothing is particularly annoying as far as I can hear. Some has complained mids are recessed, I wouldn't say they are exactly recessed but rather not pushing forward and at the neutral of a scale. Voices renders fine and I can easily pickup where different voices stands and how they articulate in a chorus, but yes it's v-shape but not too much for my taste.

 

[hifi80sman]

The 24/192 remaster of Supertramp "Crime of the Century" have never sounded better for me than with MDR-Z7M2, it's a very dynamic album and with "normal" cans if you choose a comfortable level for the weak segments the peaks collapses and sounds boxy/plasticky.

Not on Z7M2, it swallows the peaks without breaking a sweat. The album sounds excellent from start to finish. Z7M2 is like built for Classic Rock, I can imagine some other genres doesn't fare as well but as I'm mostly listening to classic rock/hardrock/metal the sound signature is in my personal sweet spot.

However, I have listened to some brand new modern pop/rock on Tidal as well, and even if those are mastered with a lot of compression compared to classic albums they actually sounds good too. The SQ of Z7M2 is by no means perfect, but the sound is fun and easy to listen too and nothing is particularly annoying as far as I can hear. Some has complained mids are recessed, I wouldn't say they are exactly recessed but rather not pushing forward and at the neutral of a scale. Voices renders fine and I can easily pickup where different voices stands and how they articulate in a chorus, but yes it's v-shape but not too much for my taste.

Completely agree. I listen to a lot of classic rock/80s rock/hard rock/metal and it's fabulous for those genres. I'm addicted to the 70mm drivers.

 

[CTR640]

I caught headphone-addiction... How is the Z7M2 compared to Amiron Home/Wireless and T5p.2? According to some reviews it's overpriced. Is that true?

 

[xeizo]

I haven't heard Amiron, but sort of overpriced at MSRP yes I paid 400€ which it is well worth. At least for rock music it's a big step up from HD600. Much more energy and dynamics while not being harsh at all.

 

[KarlAgathon]

To this day, I’m a daily MDR-1A user.

A question for anyone in the know. I know these are good with rock according to what I’ve read in the last few pages here.

How are they with electronic music? I I listen to a lot of house, techno and Nu disco.

 

[Sven2015]

I love the Z7M2 regarding to 80's, 90's New Wave / early techno with analog synths. You can hear a very fine and crispy analog sound. In my mind a perfect combination...
but I cannot describe a sound of +2000 with digi. synths, because it's not my music / genre....

I own a dub step album by Lindsey Stirling (2012) with the same album name and this album is great in sound mixing - in many cases you can hear a problem with the wrong heapdhones -> the filigree violin and a hard pumping techno beat in combination. You need a fast system to reproduce it without problems...
The Z7M2 reproduce it without any problems such artifacts, pumping / destroying noises or other issues. I'm very impressed. My WH100XM3 making some trouble....

 

[hifi80sman]

I caught headphone-addiction... How is the Z7M2 compared to Amiron Home/Wireless and T5p.2? According to some reviews it's overpriced. Is that true?

I found the Amiron overpriced. I had that and the Z7M2 and decided to return the Amiron. I actually still have the beyerdynamic Custom Game and prefer that over the Amiron as it relates to price/performance. I'm a closed back guy, so I also prefer the DT 1770 over the Amiron Home (which is an open back).

So, the question really becomes open or closed back. Personally, I've never preferred open back headphones, even though I have some (Drop + HIFIMAN HE4XX).