[grizzlybeast]

I'm curious what you guys think are the competing headphones in this class?

Fostex 600 and 900, T1, Alpha Prime/Dog. What else that sounds really good between $500 and $1000 circumaural, sealed.

Zmf x vinro
Pandora hope vi

 

[Maxvla]

Negative on the vibro, but the Pandora is good competition.

 

[grizzlybeast]

^In your very subjective opinion. I prefer the vibro to the pandora but a good margin.

 

[Maxvla]

Vibro seemed unfinished when I heard it. Gaps in frequency response and some roughness all over.

 

[TheBoss]

  I'm curious what you guys think are the competing headphones in this class?
 
Fostex 600 and 900, T1, Alpha Prime/Dog. What else that sounds really good between $500 and $1000 circumaural, sealed.

 
In the ~$500-tier?
Sony's previous closed headphone flagship... blue-boxed Sony professional  MDR 7520.

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

How about the new Ultrasone Performance 880, and I've heard mentioned many times the Shure 1540 maybe?
 
And would the Ultrasone Sig DJ count, or isn't it over the ear enough?
 
 
 
.... on a side note, I'm looking forward to doing a mini "head to head" with the Alpha Dogs and Alpha Primes in two weeks in NYC with MrSpeakers

 

[dweaver]

The one I have experience with is the SRH-1540 which I personally struggled with and ultimately sold. Both are technically on par with each other but sound vastly different. The 1540 always sounded expansive and detailed but at the expense of intimacy, always feeling a bit to far away unless you turned up the volume and then it became to aggressive for me. The Z7 on the other hand feels more intimate and yet large. It gives up some of the midrange and treble detail in exchange for being able to used at a louder volume without being fatiguing.

Note I am still getting used to the Z7 so my thoughts on them are still forming and may yet change.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

Zmf x vinro
Pandora hope vi

Pandora VI<<<<<<
 

 

[Currawong]

  How about the new Ultrasone Performance 880, and I've heard mentioned many times the Shure 1540 maybe?
 
And would the Ultrasone Sig DJ count, or isn't it over the ear enough?
 
 
 
.... on a side note, I'm looking forward to doing a mini "head to head" with the Alpha Dogs and Alpha Primes in two weeks in NYC with MrSpeakers

The Ultrasone Performance 880 is definitely a candidate for someone who wants a brighter sound and doesn't care about the rest of the package so much. The Sig DJs are over-ear unless you have huge ears.  I liked what I heard from the 880s better, but they aren't as classy-looking as the Z7s.

 

[money4me247]

  I'm curious what you guys think are the competing headphones in this class?
 
Fostex 600 and 900, T1, Alpha Prime/Dog. What else that sounds really good between $500 and $1000 circumaural, sealed.

 
I feel like there are few options in this class because closed headphones' main pro is noise isolation for portable usage which makes most closed options to be in the portable sub-$400 price range. Otherwise, if you are looking for a full-sized pair of headphones for home usage, open headphones generally sound more natural and have better sound stage.
 
I don't really see the demand for closed $500+ headphones when open headphones generally outperform closed at the same price point. I guess if you really like a specific closed headphone's sound signature or are looking for the bassy reverb that closed designs have.
 
This class seems to be a really weird niche in the already pretty niche headphone hobby from my perspective.

 

[Lorspeaker]

..z7 felt toyish to me, after the salesman kinda toss it around on the table.
Lost the "I must be careful with this can" feel

 

[Dopaminer]

  I'm curious what you guys think are the competing headphones in this class?
 
Fostex 600 and 900, T1, Alpha Prime/Dog. What else that sounds really good between $500 and $1000 circumaural, sealed.

 
For me, the Performance 880 and Shure 1540 are the closest competitors.  
 
However I believe your question with  `this class` needs to be narrowed significantly.  TH900 is going to be at least double the price of the Z7/880/1540.  Both Fostex don`t seal well enough to be called `sealed`, IMO.  The Alpha Primes, which after listening to in Tokyo last month I would describe as best or 2nd-best sounding of all of the above, are just too big/heavy to compare to the Z7/880/1540, IMO and according to my needs.
None of them fold except the 880, I believe.  This is potentially a deal-breaker for me.  
 
Too many,varied deal-breakers in `this class`.   

 

[Oregonian]

I'm curious what you guys think are the competing headphones in this class?

Fostex 600 and 900, T1, Alpha Prime/Dog. What else that sounds really good between $500 and $1000 circumaural, sealed.

TH-600

The Z7 is so Denon/Fostex like to me........

 

[dweaver]

The Z7 reminds quite a bit of my old D7000, so I get where your coming from Oregonian

 

[MacedonianHero]

 
I would say the isolation level is somewhat similar between the two. But the K545 is slightly better. To test I sat in my computer room with no music playing. The K545 blocked out just a smidge more sound especially the upper frequencies. But the differences are very small. The bigger sound of the Z7 makes that all go away once the music starts though

Thanks!