[Mickice]

^^ Seems a little aggressive no? He obviously has an issue from a brand new pair, for those that don't listen to sub bass music might not even have picked up on this. Good bit of info for those that own the Z7 to give it a test. 

 

[AnakChan]

Yes I guess it is a little aggressive but at the same time I hope it drives the point home. There are ways to raise an issue appropriately. The internet is a very powerful tool for dissemination of information - and very quickly at that too. Therefore the way of presenting an issue is relevant to raise awareness vs creating a scare.
 
If this is an issue report, then it would have been good to see what research was done such as if the makers support team was consulted...what did they say? Or if not, then was a survey done and what was the result. Rather than just "My unit is bad, you should check yours...I'm surprised maker XXX QC passed such a product".
 
Anyway, that's my style and obviously others have theirs too. Which is why I use "I" a lot in my previous post.

 

[warrenpchi]

  ^^ Seems a little aggressive no?

 
It's a fair statement I think.
 
At 4:06, Lachlan says "Frankly, I'm surprised that this kind of issue passed quality control..."
 
Why?  Because Sony is supposed to be perfect and infallible?  It's not like this issue is rampant and being reported left and right.  On top of that, how do we even know that this issue existed at the factory and isn't the result of rough handling in shipping?  My point is, there is far too little data on the cause or scope of this issue to say something sensationalist about Sony's quality control.

 

[a_recording]

  No rattle here, except when I forgot to screw the plugs on. @a_recording are you sure it isn't that?

 
Nope, cables are secure.
 
I am not pleased that issue that has apparently passed basic QC, but hopefully I'm the only one who runs into it. I can confirm that the demo unit did not have this problem, nor do the two Z7 owners that I know.
 
Users have reported similar issues with the Z1000 / 7520 / MDR-1R in the past.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/652242/sony-mdr-7520-possible-wide-spread-problem-left-earcup-faint-rattle-noise-with-low-frequencies
 
Since I experienced the same issue with my Z1000 I have a particular interest in it. In the case of the Z1000 I could not say that the problem was always present because I did open that thing up more than a few times.
 
Some of these products are meant to be hand matched for tolerances and I would have expected some automatic sweep to pick up the rattle. Still, no QC process is perfect and perhaps the flaw developed in transit. In any case the unit will be replaced so I'm not trying to raise hell.
 
I think there is some value in sharing this information with other new owners just so they can double check their own units. I like to share my complete experience with a product. It's not my role to protect the company from their own QC.
 
Anyway hopefully I'm the only one who runs into this.

 

[ogodei]

   
I didn't notice with the one I demo-ed and it seems from other reports here, few or no one else seems to have either. Guess we'll have to wait till more Z7 owners speak up.
 
I have to admit I'm somewhat skeptical with these styles of reports. I'm not saying that there's nothing wrong with that particular unit as there obviously is. However the approach could have been more palatable by doing a little more research first (such as consulting the manufacturer's support team first, or even asking the the audience with "Mine does this, does yours?") rather than just jumping straight to a public problem report primarily whilst conducting the quantitative research as a secondary.

 
Haven't heard this problem while I've had the cans (about a week). I just ran a test sweep and no issues like this.
 
I don't think the poster has an obligation to investigate if the issue exists anywhere else before reporting it but yeah, he does take a slightly alarmist tone about the whole thing.  Unfortunately that's amazingly typical these days.
 
I do like where he expresses his shock and dismay that this sort of problem could even occur after he spent so much of his money on these headphones.  Comments like that are also typical but they lend perspective to the review.

 

[warrenpchi]

 
I think there is some value in sharing this information with other new owners just so they can double check their own units.

 
Yes, I agree.  

 

 
I like to share my complete experience with a product.

 
Again, yes, a good thing I think.  

 

 
It's not my role to protect the company from their own QC.

 
No, it's not.  But to reiterate... is this the fault of QC?  

 
Products pass through a variety of hands and handling methods after leaving the factory.  And lets not forget that defects in performance may not manifest at the time of manufacture, even under the most stringent of tests.
 
Personally, I would feel uncomfortable stating, implying or insinuating that this is expressly Sony's fault, based solely on an assumption of that being so, after experiencing this in a single isolated unit, and in the absence of any other such reports.
 
Occam's Razor would tend to suggest that this is simply a case of an item that has failed (for whatever reason) and should be exchanged under warranty.  I'm not sure I see a bigger scandal or conspiracy than that.

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

I don't have any problems with the Z7. It may be an issue where it could have been dropped before or after packaging. I have had some 'unexpected' situations when I bought a z walkman way back when it was released here in the US from a Sony style store. After I purchased the product and went to the car I noticed that the oval shaped sticker had been carefully cut but I don't know if the walkman had been taken out(it looked like it was carefully placed back). I got a brand new one when I went back. So what i'm saying is maybe it's not a problem with the 'quality control' strange things happen but I don't think it's a quality control issue.

 

[a_recording]

  I'm not sure I see a bigger scandal or conspiracy than that.

 
I'm not implying one.
 
I'm providing a data point, and prompting users to check their own units. 
 
I really have no obligation to do a detailed investigation into this issue before posting my own thoughts or findings. Posting the video on here and talking about it on the thread is really the only means I have of investigating. Some people buying this unit right now (like me) are within consumer return periods for their units. I think they would appreciate being prompted to test their own units sooner instead of waiting for me to conduct some quasi-quantitative analysis which really serves to protect no one but the manufacturer.
 
Maybe this seems unfair, because it might not be the manufacturers fault. We might never know what happened. But again, this is a risk of business that manufacturers already understand. It is again not my role to balance things out and give them a break.
 
The only way for me, like any other customer, to see if this is a widespread issue of concern, is to publicly share the issue with others, demonstrate exactly how to reproduce the issue, and see if anyone else has the problem. That's my survey. I think any person who has spent (or might spend) substantial amounts of money on a product like this would appreciate a heads up.

 

[audionewbi]

I think we are getting too passive aggressive here, i am glad Lachlan pointed those things out. No one is saying Sony is not doing their job but than again remember how hm901 had all those issue after there regress 3 QC?

As consumer I like to have as much feedback as I can get on a product .

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  Saw this from Lachlan's YT channel.  I tested mine and did not hear any rattling noises.  Anyone here has this issue?
 
 

 
I'll speculate that whats causing that "fluttering" sound is maybe:
 

 
Maybe the thin screen/mesh material came loose and is flapping at low frequency, when more air is moving?  There are 2 of these in each ear cup; bottom and top.  And that could have happened before or after "QC".  That's what a warranty is for....
 
If I was a gambling man, I'd bet I could replicate this...

 

[Lorspeaker]

i must agree that it is more a FLUTTER than a RATTLE...
 
maybe some of these 70mm monster drivers need to " flex in or flex out" for another 50 to 100 hours before they shake off their flutter ?

 

[dweaver]

nothing like that with my pair and I was testing sub bass last night.

 

[takato14]

  One word impression of the MDR-Z7:

Terrible.
 
More later.

Alright, maybe terrible is a tad harsh, but hear me out.
 
They're way too dark. This one is self explanatory. They have poor treble extension which causes things to sound muffled and sometimes veiled. It also takes away that sense of "air" you get from certain headphones. "Feel the air" is definitely not a good marketing slogan for these.
 
Their bass is bad. It's at times aggressively hot and gives me headaches. It's too warm and lacks definition. Very soft and muddy. It also doesn't have nearly as good bass extension as their grandfather, which is unacceptable in this day and age. My bass standards/preferences are probably much different from most people, so take this part with a grain of salt I guess.
 
Their presentation is poor. This is, almost literally, a closed MA900. Let me explain what's wrong with that. With the cups restricting the soundstage width, it causes the center channel of the MDR-Z7 to feel compressed. The staging is plenty deep, but the left and right are being compressed towards it. Essentially what this equates to is an intangible, confused sphere of sound that sounds like it's coming out of a tunnel or a tin can. Very artificial sounding.
 
They suck the life out of everything I throw at them. This one is a bit more abstract. Something about the combination of the muddy bass, lack of air, and presentation manages to make music sound dead. Vocals have no intricacy or finesse to them. Subtle imaging ques are absent. The timbre of instruments is completely off. These do not make music, they make noise. Overly bassy, dull, compressed noise. Consumers will probably adore these. Audiophiles should look elsewhere.
 
Build quality is absolutely fantastic. This is one of the nicest looking, nicest feeling headphones I've held in a long time. Comfort is equally superb (though the pads get hot). 
 
Please note that these are impressions on a modded MDR-Z7. After taking the mods out, everything became worse. 
 
Other than the negatives they have decent separation and sound relatively smooth, but that's ONLY after mods. Their grandfather, the Sony DR-Z7 from 1978, slaughters them in almost every conceivable way. These are not $700 headphones by any means. A good way to think of the MDR-Z7 is like the spoiled grandchild of a millionaire: it may seem like it has everything going for it on the surface, but in reality it lacks all of the skill and talent that got its family it's riches in the first place. 
 
Perhaps I'm being a perfectionist, but these headphones did not satisfy me at all and didn't come anywhere close to besting my own equipment, most of which is over 30 years older than it and wasn't nearly this expensive when it was new. That is what I would call a problem. 
 
Peace. 

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

^^^^ but other then that, they're a real gem........lol

 

[kman1211]

  Alright, maybe terrible is a tad harsh, but hear me out.
 
They're way too dark. This one is self explanatory. They have poor treble extension which causes things to sound muffled and sometimes veiled. It also takes away that sense of "air" you get from certain headphones. "Feel the air" is definitely not a good marketing slogan for these.
 
Their bass is bad. It's at times aggressively hot and gives me headaches. It's too warm and lacks definition. Very soft and muddy. It also doesn't have nearly as good bass extension as their grandfather, which is unacceptable in this day and age. My bass standards/preferences are probably much different from most people, so take this part with a grain of salt I guess.
 
Their presentation is poor. This is, almost literally, a closed MA900. Let me explain what's wrong with that. With the cups restricting the soundstage width, it causes the center channel of the MDR-Z7 to feel compressed. The staging is plenty deep, but the left and right are being compressed towards it. Essentially what this equates to is an intangible, confused sphere of sound that sounds like it's coming out of a tunnel or a tin can. Very artificial sounding.
 
They suck the life out of everything I throw at them. This one is a bit more abstract. Something about the combination of the muddy bass, lack of air, and presentation manages to make music sound dead. Vocals have no intricacy or finesse to them. Subtle imaging ques are absent. The timbre of instruments is completely off. These do not make music, they make noise. Overly bassy, dull, compressed noise. Consumers will probably adore these. Audiophiles should look elsewhere.
 
Build quality is absolutely fantastic. This is one of the nicest looking, nicest feeling headphones I've held in a long time. Comfort is equally superb (though the pads get hot). 
 
Please note that these are impressions on a modded MDR-Z7. After taking the mods out, everything became worse. 
 
Other than the negatives they have decent separation and sound relatively smooth, but that's ONLY after mods. Their grandfather, the Sony DR-Z7 from 1978, slaughters them in almost every conceivable way. These are not $700 headphones by any means. A good way to think of the MDR-Z7 is like the spoiled grandchild of a millionaire: it may seem like it has everything going for it on the surface, but in reality it lacks all of the skill and talent that got its family it's riches in the first place. 
 
Perhaps I'm being a perfectionist, but these headphones did not satisfy me at all and didn't come anywhere close to besting my own equipment, most of which is over 30 years older than it and wasn't nearly this expensive when it was new. That is what I would call a problem. 
 
Peace. 

It's always good to have multiple impressions of a headphone. I can handle dark or bright, and I can handle somewhat bad bass. But the thing that worries me is that you say it doesn't have any life to their sound. I'm not sure if this can be alleviated in different amps or not. But a headphone not having any life to their sound bothers me, I really have to try them out to see if I find them lacking in life or not. This is why I felt mixed about many Beyers I've heard despite their very clean sound, most sounded sterile to me. It's also why I dislike most cheaper Senns as they are too dull which is interesting because the HD 600/650 have plenty of life and emotion to their sound and they are darker than a lot of Senns I've heard.