[sardar17]

  Nah - they're different. The EX1000 sounds more spacious to me. There's clear separation between the channels and you can identify sound positions. The Z5 might do that, but it envelops you with bass, first and foremost. Maybe they underestimated the bass power of that dedicated dynamic driver vs the two BAs? Each one excels in it's own area. Either way, I'm 99% sure the next IEMs for me are gonna be custom. Probably some A12s from 1964.

sony has screwed up in a serious way with this bass obsession,i am bewildered why they do not improve upon the ex1000 further rather than going this hybrids without crossovers things??
 
I mean at least they should sell ex1000 and ex7550 alongwith the hybrids to give people a chance right?

 

[RedJohn456]

  Nah - they're different. The EX1000 sounds more spacious to me. There's clear separation between the channels and you can identify sound positions. The Z5 might do that, but it envelops you with bass, first and foremost. Maybe they underestimated the bass power of that dedicated dynamic driver vs the two BAs? Each one excels in it's own area. Either way, I'm 99% sure the next IEMs for me are gonna be custom. Probably some A12s from 1964.

 
Not necessarily true. I find the Z5 to be warm not necessarily bassy. Depends on what you're running them out of, output impedance matching etc. Driving them properly, I find them to control bass quite well. The imaging is simply world class and its like I'm in a chamber hall of music. At higher volumes it honestly sounds like I am wearing an over ear pair of headphones. The ex1000 doesn't do that for me. This is comparing them directly. YMMV
 

 
sony has screwed up in a serious way with this bass obsession,i am bewildered why they do not improve upon the ex1000 further rather than going this hybrids without crossovers things??
 
I mean at least they should sell ex1000 and ex7550 alongwith the hybrids to give people a chance right?

 
Sardar, try and audition them if you can. Have you had a chance to hear either the ex1000 or 7550? You might be surprised by how well the Z5 performs. I would say the EX1000 and Z5 are same tier but with a different take on sound signatures. Like I said earlier, Sony is reading the market shift with more people getting into high end audio and peoples predilection for modern close mic recording, means that they don't want to give people headaches with hot treble.
 
Did you know that the angle of the dynamic driver tilt in the EX1000 is responsible for its treble tilt? Perhaps thats why they worked that out and its not present in the Z5, in addition to a conscious deacons to tune it a certain way. Truth be told, I LOVE how treble is handled on the Z5. Am listening to some Iron Maiden now and I love how the cymbal crashes sound. Z5 has superb instrument separation and sound layering. It is kind of unfair to write them off not having heard it yourself, rather than repeating others impressions  My 2 cents [going by the weak ass canadian dollar, might not be worth all that much ] 
 
Again YMMV and this is in my experience but I have been listening to the Z5 and EX1000 side by side, so I am able appreciate their differences. 

 

[Charlie Norwood]

  Hello, Thread - I just got my Amazon XBA-Z5s a couple of days ago. A few weeks prior, I bought the EX1000s, and was totally blown away at how spacious and positional the soundstage was. Prior to that, I had some Shure E5Cs, which were replaced by a pair of SE425s under warranty. After using the 425s for around 4 years, I upgraded to the 535s and was totally disappointed: there was very little gain from the 425s, aside from a little bass. I was expecting much more, given the price gap. The EX1000s wholly impressed me compared to the 535s. I'm on the fence with the Z5s so far. The bass is very prominent and positionally forward, sometimes to the detriment of mids. I was wondering if an amplifier would do much good, and was eyeing the Schiit Fulla or the Fiio E10k. The Dragonfly is pretty highly recommended, but I'd rather have a mini \ micro USB female connection over a dongle. Thoughts on an amp that would give a nice mid bump?
 
Thanks!

 
My experience with sony's XBA's so far is that regardless of the low impedance, they all need to be amped. If you can swing it, the oppo ha-2 with its super flat eq, really helps the mids out with the z5 and is an all around great match for them.
 
But, I should state that I'm in Sony's wheelhouse for sound sig. I listen almost exclusively to rap, with a little modern pop, house/edm type ish, and then maybe some classic rnb/soul, sprlnkled in - so basically anything with some boom and a groove. I've sampled a few rock songs through the z5 and have had some trouble getting the highs good without serious eq'ing. I think for the price people want these to be reference quality (and I know some folks on here like @dweaver do find them great for all genres) but I think that they mostly are for contemporary pop recordings (which all use a hip-hop beat, even current pop-country) and Sony tuned them to match that sound as best they can.

 

[sardar17]

   
My experience with sony's XBA's so far is that regardless of the low impedance, they all need to be amped. If you can swing it, the oppo ha-2 with its super flat eq, really helps the mids out with the z5 and is an all around great match for them.
 
But, I should state that I'm in Sony's wheelhouse for sound sig. I listen almost exclusively to rap, with a little modern pop, house/edm type ish, and then maybe some classic rnb/soul, sprlnkled in - so basically anything with some boom and a groove. I've sampled a few rock songs through the z5 and have had some trouble getting the highs good without serious eq'ing. I think for the price people want these to be reference quality (and I know some folks on here like @dweaver do find them great for all genres) but I think that they mostly are for contemporary pop recordings (which all use a hip-hop beat, even current pop-country) and Sony tuned them to match that sound as best they can.

bingo.........thats what the problem is.

 

[sardar17]

   
Not necessarily true. I find the Z5 to be warm not necessarily bassy. Depends on what you're running them out of, output impedance matching. Driving them properly I find them to control bass quite well. The imaging is simply world class and its like I'm in a chamber hall of music. At higher volumes it honestly sounds like I am wearing an over ear pair of headphones. The ex1000 doesn't do that for me. This is comparing them directly. YMMV
 
 
Sardar, try and audition them if you can. Have you had a chance to hear either the ex1000 or 7550? You might be surprised by how well the Z5 performs. I would say the EX1000 and Z5 are same tier but different but with a different take on sound signature. Like I said earlier, Sony is reading the market shift with more people getting into high end audio and peoples predilection for modern close mic recording, means that they don't want to give people headaches with hot treble.
 
Did you know that the angle of the dynamic driver tilt in the EX1000 is response for its treble tilt? Thats why they worked that out and its not present in the Z5, in addition to a conscious deacons to tune it a certain way. Truth be told, I LOVE how treble is handled on the Z5. Am listening to some Iron Maiden now and I love how the cymbal crashes sound. Z5 has super instrument separation and sound layering. It is kind of unfair to write them off not having heard it yourself, rather than repeating others impressions  My 2 cents [going by the weak ass canadian dollar, might not be worth all that much ] 
 
Again YMMV and this is in my experience but I have been listening to the Z5 and EX1000 side by side, so I am able appreciate their differences. 

Is ur ex1000 home??
Comparisons lad,comparisons..........

 

[dweaver]

RedJohn546 your impressions of the EX1000 sound a lot like my experience. They were wonderful when they worked for certain music but the treble made that a narrow selection. Glad my memory is pretty accurate. I would say the 7550 is the most balanced of the Sony IEMs in this form.

 

[RedJohn456]

 
Is ur ex1000 home??
Comparisons lad,comparisons..........

Yup have them both at home, pretty much went over the major differences. Build quality is better on the EX1000 but for me personally, the comfort for long term use is better when using the Z5. I touched upon the differences in sound signature in the earlier posts and I honestly don't know all the terminology to be able to describe it aptly. Honestly, its like comparing apples and oranges, not a matter of which one is better. Horses for courses. It may seem like a cop out, but its true. Its all about what kind of music you listen to and how you want to use them. Z5 has better isolation and a non fatiguing sound so thats my main iem for the moment. They have a greater genre bandwidth and the bass is one of a kind. It rumbles, it goes low and it has texture. Puts on a show when listening to dark broody songs and I love it. 

 

[RedJohn456]

 
Is ur ex1000 home??
Comparisons lad,comparisons..........

I am in the process of returning them. If the EX1000 seems like your cup of tea and if you want it, pm me to discuss details. I will be sending it off monday so message me before then if you're interested. 

 

[sardar17]

 
I am in the process of returning them. If the EX1000 seems like your cup of tea and if you want it, pm me to discuss details. I will be sending it off monday so message me before then if you're interested. 

Nope,i don't want peaky treble so if i decide to buy the ex line,it would be 7550 and not ex 1000.I was fed up with gr07 sibilance to do the same mistake twice.

 

[dweaver]

Sardar17, from the sounds of it the 7550 will be right up your alley. They are not as bass heavy as the Z5 and while possibly a bit a more relaxed in the treble region than the Z5 this could be one area where sonic memory could be slightly off and they could be closer than I think. They also have a more neutral midrange (not warm and not cold or bright) as compared to the thicker lush midrange of the Z5. I am still patiently waiting for my Rockets to arrive, if they don't float my boat as a neutral midrange oriented IEM I may end up selling or trading them for another pair of 7550 for my alternative signature to the Z5.

 

[BlinkST]

 
bingo.........thats what the problem is.

So the problem is not that they suck. The problem is that your source might suck. 
 
Talk about moving goalposts.

 
No point in even talking about this product if you've never even used it with it's ideal chain [Hi-res files > Balanced Amp > Balanced cable > Z5]. 
 
Quote:

  Z5 requires a running in period in order to work to its best ability.  It keeps improving in all areas!  It really shines when listening to high res files! ( Best with Sony PHA-3/ MUC-M20BL1 balanced cable )

 

  Shortly about its SQ with XBA-Z5 (100 hours of burn-in) balanced:
 
Pros:
-  Enormous sound stage, very wide and deep 
-  Great instrument separation
-  Great channel separation (thanks to a balanced connection)
-  the most powerful, detailed and controlled bass I have ever heard from a portable device - goes really deep, sub bass is also great
- Very detailed sound overall
- Warmish and more on the dark side I think
- Analytical as well due to a Sabre DAC
 
Cons:

1. Operation time
2. Charging time
3. Gets really warm during a playback
4. Weight and size (I'm personally fine with it)

 
Specific Sabre I guess sound signature (some albums to me sound differently and strange after my Fiio X5 rig (PCM 1792)
 

 
Quote:

   
I am a bit late there, but since I have owned both for several months now : if you want to use it both for portable and home usage as dweaver I'd say definitely the Z5, I know you specified based purely on sound but I don't think the Z7 would be practical to use portable and I also think that you're not trading off sound quality. Another aspect is that you'll need an amp to properly drive the Z7, which adds to the bulk and budget. Z5 will sound great out of a decent player.
 
Z7 and Z5 share common qualities but have slightly different sound sigs :
 

1. Z7 has a wider soundstage (but not by that much considering we're talking full size headphone vs IEM), smoother bass and overall a more laid back character (both are non fatiguing though) as well as a slightly more "coherent" sound. Comfort is also better IMHO, but it's a strong point of the Z7 and the Z5 comfort depend on your ears and personal perferences in terms of tips (the Z5 are comfy enough especially with alternate tips, but not up to the comfy pads on the Z7)
    
2. Z5 is not as wide in terms of soundstage but I would say that there is better depth (crazy, since the Z7 are very nice already in that department), the Z5 have that 3D sound quality that is so enthralling. They're wide and deep but intimate like a small concert venue I find trebles have more sparkle than the Z7 (it gives better "air") and bass is tighter / punchier.

 
One thing is for sure, I have owned some very good IEMs like IE800 and SE846, but the Z5 is the only IEM I have owned that give me full sized like bass and such a 3D soundstage (It's even better when you have a nice dac / amp, run balanced on the PHA-3 they truly shine). That's the first IEM that I would make me forget about owning a full sized headphone. 

 

[kergin]

What Comply or other tips should I get for these headphones? The only ones that give enough seal out of the box are the hybrids, but they feel brutal in my canals. The Z5 doesn't seem to have as deep insertion as the EX1000s, which I wasn't expecting. I am warming up to their sound...

 

[dweaver]

The EX1000 definitely has a longer nozzle allowing for deeper insertion. For me so prefer the Z5 (and 7550) because of the shorter nozzle as I prefer shallower insertion.

 

[gerelmx1986]

  What Comply or other tips should I get for these headphones? The only ones that give enough seal out of the box are the hybrids, but they feel brutal in my canals. The Z5 doesn't seem to have as deep insertion as the EX1000s, which I wasn't expecting. I am warming up to their sound...

Yep the foam filled hybrids feel like torture devices

 i bought some comply but they refunded my order after the got lost in transit to mexico, plan to rebuy the same order againw hen i have some money, but gosh have to pay some medical testing and i want to save for my Oppo HA-2 too decisicions decisions

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

  Yep the foam filled hybrids feel like torture devices

 i bought some comply but they refunded my order after the got lost in transit to mexico, plan to rebuy the same order againw hen i have some money, but gosh have to pay some medical testing and i want to save for my Oppo HA-2 too decisicions decisions

 

Torture?.....Guess I'm about to see