[ButtUglyJeff]

  It sounds a lot like my LA D5K, which also sounds rather nice at louder Volumes, as at lower Dbs the bass can get a little over whelming 

 
....as does my LA TH600

 

[elnero]

   
 
Yeah, I was the one that posted that link. Still on backorder, which prompted me to e-mail them since Sony got out of backorder already and readily available for purchase. 
Kinda tempted to head to downtown Toronto to see if they have a demo to listen, but I kinda want to surprise myself. 

 
Excellent, I hadn't noticed that Sony was out of backorder, hopefully that a good sign. When NCIX had the special on Sony had been showing the expected shipping date as the 20th of October but when that date came they went to straight to backorder and all the estimates for the other new pieces got pushed out by quite a bit so I was a little disappointed. Hopefully them being in stock with Sony Canada means NCIX will have them very soon.

 

[zhenya]

It's called the 'Fletcher-Munson curve' and the phenomenon is similar with both loudspeakers and headphones.





This is why the Z7's mid-bass hump isn't a total deal-breaker for me (though, I still have yet to hear them) because I tend to listen to my music at higher than average listening levels, so that should help compensate for the somewhat heavy mid-bass and soft highs that the Z7's are reported to have.

Thanks! Never knew that and good to know there is some science behind what I'm hearing. Still it says a lot about this headphone that it took me over 10 years in this hobby to really notice it. the Z7's balance changes much more drastically than any other headphone I have, and it's not suited to what I would consider normal office listening levels.

Youre not being the "bad boy". You're saying how much you hate an SUV when you're clearly in the market for a mini scooter. There are different types of headphones and this clearly isn't your type.

While it is absolutely true that there is plenty of room for preference, it is also possible that there are real technical differences between gear that are not just due to preference. No other headphone in my collection exhibits the kind of bipolar response that the Z7 does, and for a $700, near flagship level can, that needs to be made known to prospective buyers. At this price the response should be a lot more consistent.

 

[Malfunkt]

Is it that hard, all these years later to just give us a MDR R10 improved variant?

again what I heard in my limited session, was that my 7550s were significantly more balanced. Primarily, the bass seemed quite accentuated, which could muddy the sound on many recordings. Was not quite expecting that type if tuning. I've let a number of non headfiers try more neutrally curved headphones and they all liked them. Why would Sony tune a headphone in such a way? Perhaps Sony only market tested this headphone for dubstep listeners.

Also regards the Fletcher-Munson curve, the idea of designing a v-shaped headphone (with bass and highs accented) is to aid for low level listening - similar to a 'loudness' eq setting. I'm curious to whether increasing the volume on a headphone like the Z7, the measurable db for the high and low frequencies become more balanced with the mid-range.

Would be interested to hear from Oregonian again. He has a great collection of closed backs to compare too

 

[zhenya]

Any chance that was a t spot called Halo Nightclub (now known as the Bower)?

 
I honestly can't say, but the name does ring a bell. It was over a decade ago!

 

[Makiah S]

Is it that hard, all these years later to just give us a MDR R10 improved variant?

Would be interested to hear from Oregonian again. He has a great collection of closed backs to compare too

I'm with you, and I'm working on catching up to frank my self lol 

 

[marhol]

 
I will try to describe the sound. The album Island by Bear's Den (stream here) is an album where the band uses background instruments to plan a mosaic of sounds that frame the vocals. Bear’s Den wraps the music in dense reverberation on songs that include keyboards or strings often with low frequency sounds, some of them subtle, but present.
 
A decent headphone (and I have tried several like B&O Beoplay H6, VModa M-80, Sony XBA-2, Beyer T70p, Ety ER4P), will be able to separate the various sounds of the background music while keeping the voices upfront and dominant as it is the singing what drives the melody of the song.
 
When you play this album with the Z7 it highlights all the defects of this can. First, the background mosaic of sounds become a monotone sound where instead of appreciating the beauty of the mixed sounds you just get a constant blur of sound. This is due to the enhanced frequency range of the Z7 from 40-200 Hz that screws up the texture of sounds in the album. In addition, the receded mids in the Z7, due in part to the resonance of the low frequencies and bleed into the mid range, will present the voices lifeless and flat, without any presence, blended with the blurred sounds in the background. In addition, the "polite" high frequencies of the Z7 don't help much to add any spark to the music. So, the result is a blur of monotonic sound with terrible instrument separation, continuous resonance, and lifeless music. On top of this the Z7 gets to do the impossible, it makes good music to feel boring.
 
This is what I describe as intolerable for a $700 can. Any other one of my headphones, with different degree, are able to play this album with a different style between them, but much better than the Z7. 
 
The Z7 is a flawed can that will be forgotten very soon. As soon as the hype passes away it will be remembered as a failed intent by Sony to make an audiophile headphone.
 
I am amazed about anyone who describes this can as an audiophile headphone and claims that it has very good resolution, dynamics and technicalities. I appreciate that we all can have different opinions, and each one's brain and ears integrate the sounds differently, but this is not an audiophile headphone worth its price.
 
And believe me I don't have anything against Sony, I love Sony as a brand and I have several Sony headphones. I also cherish their desired to get serious into High Res audio and make better products for people like us, who get nuts about quality sound. This is what makes the Z7 so disappointing. It is a beautiful headphone, very well crafted, extremely comfortable, made in Japan, a land of good taste for quality sound, and they designed a flawed product. So disappointing.
 
I said enough and I don't want to become the "bad boy" against the MDR Z7, so this may be my last post in this thread. I have the headphone in my home, and gave it a good try, and much to my dislike I will return it. I hate to return things, and I try to convince myself of a single reason to keep it but I can't find any.
 
My last pice of advise. For anyone burning in desire to buy the MDR Z7, please make sure to get it from a vendor with a good return policy, you may need it.

Disappointing to read... Contrary to your words, there are similarly or even higher priced headphones which have (or may have) issues with certain parts of the particular recordings, let it be shrillness,  veil or congestion... As much for my self consolation.

But I can see your point, regardless of sound signature preferences, people do expect certain level out of 700 $ headphones...
Unfortunately your post reports about serious technical issues with the MDR z7. Recent posts indeed have not been very encouraging and reflected somewhat of delusion from the hype... I don´t know if people were expecting too much, or if the headphone really is that bad. And impressions are going on extremely confusing e.g. cute  in one post praised MDR z7 and compared it favourably against LCD-2...:
 
Originally Posted by cute /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I was just comparing my DHC Silver Hybrid cable on the LCD 2F and Z7.  Using this same cable on both, the Z7 bass has more impact, and is tighter than the LCD 2F.  Vocals were very close...soundstage width similar and treble sparkle goes to the Z7!
 
and a few hours later... :
 
Originally Posted by cute /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 
No way are they better than the Audexe LCD 2F, unless you really like laid back HP's.  They aren't too bad for the $699 price, but compared to my Alpha Dogs and X Vibro, they are just no match in tone and musicality.  Mine are going back to Amazon as much as I tried to like them, just too much lacking in the vocals that the AD and Vibro have!
 
From comparing (favourably !) to the mighty LCD-2 to questioning its value in 700$ price bracket in one day... 
 
Such posts simply epitomize (and you could find many similar ones in this thread)  this strange polarity surrounding  MDR z7. Being a Sony fan and seeing all the great build quality, elegance and comfort from the videos and reports I really wanted to buy these, but...second thoughts crept in. Probably will have a chance to try them myself in the early December (and hopefully will report  even more confusing statements to the mess Congrats to all of you, who are satisfied with their purchase and others ...well, bless the return policy.  

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 I´m in a market for a comfortable, good designed, easy to drive, warm sound signature, not V-shaped, not resonating,  under 1000 €   headphones, which DOES NOT need extra modding and fancy cables to sound competitive with upper mid fi /summit fi headphones. Am I asking too much ?

 

[Lorspeaker]

Did someone just wished for a.....

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Pandora6? 

 

[thatBeatsguy]

  Did someone just wished for a.....

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Pandora6? 

It seems so.

 

[XERO1]

I'm curious to whether increasing the volume on a headphone like the Z7, the measurable db for the high and low frequencies become more balanced with the mid-range.
 

 
The measurable FR will not change with volume (at least until significant levels of distortion become a factor). 
 
The Fletcher-Munson curve models the way the human ear/brain subjectively perceives changes in the speaker's or headphone's FR at various volume levels.

 

[BRCMRGN]

   
Oh yeah, they are 3-pole.
 

 
 

Does anybody know if the Sony balanced pin configuration is the same as the balanced mode on the PONO player? It also uses dual 3.5mmTRS for balanced operation.

 

[TheBoss]

Is it that hard, all these years later to just give us a MDR R10 improved variant?

 
Yes.  Only around 2000 samples were ever made.  The type of wood used for the housing is also very exotic and they grow slowly (zelkova?)
 
Price wise (and barring the one-off MDR R10) I think the MDR Z7 is Sony's real closed headphone flagship not seen since the CD3000.
 

again what I heard in my limited session, was that my 7550s were significantly more balanced. Primarily, the bass seemed quite accentuated, which could muddy the sound on many recordings. Was not quite expecting that type if tuning. I've let a number of non headfiers try more neutrally curved headphones and they all liked them. Why would Sony tune a headphone in such a way? Perhaps Sony only market tested this headphone for dubstep listeners.

Also regards the Fletcher-Munson curve, the idea of designing a v-shaped headphone (with bass and highs accented) is to aid for low level listening - similar to a 'loudness' eq setting. I'm curious to whether increasing the volume on a headphone like the Z7, the measurable db for the high and low frequencies become more balanced with the mid-range.

Would be interested to hear from Oregonian again. He has a great collection of closed backs to compare too

 
Once again it's always the blue-boxed MDR 75## pro series lineup that consistently offer neutral to balanced sound... but they're not audiophile grade since these are aimed at audio professionals the treble is often slightly reduced. 
I also think of the blue-boxed MDR 75## pro series lineup as the Dell Optiplex/Latitude and Thinkpad of headphones.
 
 
MDR 7550 (or MDR EX800st as called in Japan) really is a good value (hint - they're not even ~$300 anymore)  It's that good at "dissecting" complex & multi-layered bass notes without distortion and doesn't leak to the mids/trebles.  For those with niche music taste where extended treble is needed may find 7550 lacking in that department, but for vocal monitoring and listening to top-40 music... it's the best!!!

 

[fiascogarcia]

Sony better sell a lot of these!!  They are expecting to report a $2.1 billion loss this fiscal year! 

  Maybe Just Ears will ultimately become a protected subsidiary.

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

LOL. That's par for the course when it comes to Sony. The only thing they make money on these days is insurance, property sales and the Spider Man movies.

 

[TheBoss]

LOL. That's par for the course when it comes to Sony. The only thing they make money on these days is insurance, property sales and the Spider Man movies.

 
and video games!
 
PS4 now owns the console market not just in the States, but the world!