[Mink]

  I know it is inherent to the closed-back design, and maybe the shape of my ears but I feel they have more unwanted (peaky) resonances, 'ringing' with female vocals and choirs than both my A900Xs and D5000s.
The cups definitely could have been better dampened, if that would be the cause that is....

A very slight lowering of the 1Khz range does the trick, gone is the resonance.
EQing is like magic

 

[qsk78]

   
Thanks. Do the connectors just plug in, or thread in like the stock connectors?

Just plug in. Oyaide.

 

[qsk78]

Can u provide some impression before and after cable upgrade as well as the balanced effect. Silver or copper wire? Your setup looks great!

This is a hybrid - litz (Cu) + silver plated copper with a big % of silver. To me the sound now is more "dry", cleaner on highs with very detailed and punchy bass.

 

[yakkosmurf]

I've had the Z7's for about a week now.  I'm very pleased with the sound.  This is my first try with full size headphones, but I've been serious about how audio for over 20 years.  For portable needs, I was using quality IEMs before.
 
I'm currently driving them with my ZX1, and I can see what others have commented on.  I will say, that I find them better than I expected when powered by the ZX1.  The IEMs ran the ZX1 to about 35 to 40%, while the Z7's are over 80% for the same volume.  I do plan to get a PHA-3 some time down the road.
 
Comfort is first rate, and I can wear them for hours on end while working in my office.  I had auditioned the Sennheister 650 and 700 models, and I find the Z7 is superior to both for comfort.  I prefer the sound out of the Z7 too.
 
I would like to upgrade the cables in the future, but I suspect the PHA-3 is my best shot at improvement at the moment.

 

[Bill-P]

Well, 2 seasoned Head-Fi'er just heard my Z7 w/ stock cable.
 
One of them is very used to the HD800, and... he's highly considering purchasing a Z7, as it sounds better than a lot of closed headphones to him.
 
The other one proclaimed the Z7 as the best full-size closed headphone he has ever heard, and he got as far as the T5P and Edition 8...
 
So... I'm proud of it, and I think that sort of confirmed what I thought initially: the Z7 really is capable of being a successor to the R10.
 

 
Now I need to get those solid silver core cables braided and ready for action...

 

[purk]

  Well, 2 seasoned Head-Fi'er just heard my Z7 w/ stock cable.
 
One of them is very used to the HD800, and... he's highly considering purchasing a Z7, as it sounds better than a lot of closed headphones to him.
 
The other one proclaimed the Z7 as the best full-size closed headphone he has ever heard, and he got as far as the T5P and Edition 8...
 
So... I'm proud of it, and I think that sort of confirmed what I thought initially: the Z7 really is capable of being a successor to the R10.
 

 
Now I need to get those solid silver core cables braided and ready for action...

Send yours over and I'll compare them to my recabled CD3000 & R10!  Beating the Edition 8 isn't much really.  Seriously though the recabled CD3000 is a huge jump from Z7 in a direct comparison.  

 
 
A friend came over and comment that my recabled CD3000 is almost on par with the HD800.  He said its sonic traits are very similar to that of highend Stax headphones.

 

[kman1211]

  Well, 2 seasoned Head-Fi'er just heard my Z7 w/ stock cable.
 
One of them is very used to the HD800, and... he's highly considering purchasing a Z7, as it sounds better than a lot of closed headphones to him.
 
The other one proclaimed the Z7 as the best full-size closed headphone he has ever heard, and he got as far as the T5P and Edition 8...
 
So... I'm proud of it, and I think that sort of confirmed what I thought initially: the Z7 really is capable of being a successor to the R10.
 

 
Now I need to get those solid silver core cables braided and ready for action...

Good closed headphones are hard to find. I really want to see a comparison between the DT 150 and the Z7 in terms of sonic performance. I probably won't be able to audition the Z7 anytime soon sadly.
 

  Send yours over and I'll compare them to my recabled CD3000 & R10!  Beating the Edition 8 isn't much really.  Seriously though the recabled CD3000 is a huge jump from Z7 in a direct comparison.  

 
 
A friend came over and comment that my recabled CD3000 is almost on par with the HD800.  He said its sonic traits are very similar to that of highend Stax headphones.

I haven't listened to the CD3000 but if it's anything remotely like the R10 in sonic performance I wouldn't be too surprised. I was simply in awe every time I have heard the R10. 

 

[Bill-P]

  Send yours over and I'll compare them to my recabled CD3000 & R10!  Beating the Edition 8 isn't much really.  Seriously though the recabled CD3000 is a huge jump from Z7 in a direct comparison.  

 
 
A friend came over and comment that my recabled CD3000 is almost on par with the HD800.  He said its sonic traits are very similar to that of highend Stax headphones.

Well, he owned the Ed.8 and still owns the T5P. But he has heard the Alpha Dogs, Paradox, Enigma, LCD-XC, etc... and he has pretty particular taste in sound and music, so pleasing him wasn't easy at all. I was honestly very surprised.
 
On a more personal note, I don't think my Z7 has gotten that much closer to R10, but I think it is well on its way to becoming an awesome headphone on its own. If only I can just figure out the last step I have to do... both of my friends also remarked on this. There seems to be a very slight bit of extra clarity missing.

 

[purk]

 
Well, he owned the Ed.8 and still owns the T5P. But he has heard the Alpha Dogs, Paradox, Enigma, LCD-XC, etc... and he has pretty particular taste in sound and music, so pleasing him wasn't easy at all. I was honestly very surprised.
 
On a more personal note, I don't think my Z7 has gotten that much closer to R10, but I think it is well on its way to becoming an awesome headphone on its own. If only I can just figure out the last step I have to do... both of my friends also remarked on this. There seems to be a very slight bit of extra clarity missing.

Try a silver cable upgrade Bill!
 

  Good closed headphones are hard to find. I really want to see a comparison between the DT 150 and the Z7 in terms of sonic performance. I probably won't be able to audition the Z7 anytime soon sadly.
 
I haven't listened to the CD3000 but if it's anything remotely like the R10 in sonic performance I wouldn't be too surprised. I was simply in awe every time I have heard the R10. 
 

The CD3000 in a stock form is very good closed phones but it is being held back by a poor quality stock cable.  One of its glaring weakness is the overly pronounce treble and relatively lean signature.   Once you upgrade the CD3000 with a really good copper cable, it really transform the CD3K into a great pair of closed headphones.  I personally love the CD3000 a great deal now after hearing what they can do in a fully balanced system.  They are almost even par with my HD800 in balanced form.

 

[Lorspeaker]

  Good closed headphones are hard to find. I really want to see a comparison between the DT 150 and the Z7 in terms of sonic performance. I probably won't be able to audition the Z7 anytime soon sadly.
 

 
take the dt150...minus out some body...minus out some rumble...minus out some isolation....
ok i better stop here..

 

[kman1211]

Try a silver cable upgrade Bill!

The CD3000 in a stock form is very good closed phones but it is being held back by a poor quality stock cable.  One of its glaring weakness is the overly pronounce treble and relatively lean signature.   Once you upgrade the CD3000 with a really good copper cable, it really transform the CD3K into a great pair of closed headphones.  I personally love the CD3000 a great deal now after hearing what they can do in a fully balanced system.  They are almost even par with my HD800 in balanced form.

From what I noticed a lot of headphones are held back by the stock cable, especially some of the older phones, it definitely becomes more obvious on higher end systems. I was told the R10 is also held back a good amount by the stock cable. Whenever I have the chance to audition the CD3000, I'll give it a good listen, especially if it's recabled.

take the dt150...minus out some body...minus out some rumble...minus out some isolation....
ok i better stop here..

Ah, still would like to try the Z7 sometime. So basically you found it inferior to the DT 150. The DT 150 has scaled up quite nicely on my system as I've been upgrading it, it became very musical and euphoric. Though the headphone that surprised me was the K712, Im just baffled where all that bass and warmth came from as I cleaned up my power source. Still not the best match in the upper registers, I'll have to tube roll to get the right synergy. The headphone that sounds the best on my current system has to be the HD 650.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

I wish Nordost makes a cable for Z7.  

 

[purk]

  I wish Nordost makes a cable for Z7.  

C'mon Mike.  Why do you need an upgrade cable that would cost twice the price of a headphone?  
 
IMO, you can easily reterminated any highend ICs with mini-jack and turn it into the Z7 upgraded cable.  The minijack is super easy to put together..

 

[Mink]

The Sony's are keepers.
The last days there were a couple of moments I decided to return them. Their excentric behaviour with loudness and dynamics. Never did I have to adjust the volume as much! And their way of trying to sound like speakers simply doesn't work with every recording, with some albums it has a negative effect at the width of the sound and it puts some instruments too far back in the mix.
But then I played a couple of CDs that simply never sounded this good, Illuminated by the 360s and The Tennessee Fire and At Dawn by My Morning Jacket for instance. Both for complete different reasons. The 360s sounded never as full, the guitars having more body and grunt. My Morning Jacket's At Dawn at times sounds like a 70s recording, with a round blooming bass and there's something in the soundstage, the ambiance which is really special.

 

[dL.]

Here's my impression and opinion for the Sony Z7.
 
I bought this headphone at the Sony Store almost a week ago as I saw Mike had it paired with the WA7+WA7TP combo which I also have, so I figured why not give it a try since there's a 15 day return policy. In addition, I wanted to see if I can find another headphone that can complement my HD700 as I sometimes find the lower end to be lacking.
 
Let's start with the bass. Hey, that's why I bought this headphone for, and to be honest I thought it was fantastic initially. I was almost convinced that it's better than the HD700. Then later I came to realize that it certainly has more volume than the HD700, but it's not really tight and controlled. The bass texture sounded the same, regardless of the song, with the same thumping effect and the Sony-signature mid-bass "boing" if that makes sense to any of you. And while I appreciate headphones with some bass presence as I prefer a warm headphone signature, I felt like it can sometimes be intruding, especially when it bleeds into the mid.
 
Interesting mids. I have no problem with the mids in general, except for some reason there's a huge inconsistency in the vocal staging. Some songs have really forward mids, while some songs have overwhelming bass with mids that are far too recessed. I've never experienced this with any headphones so far, so I am not sure if this is the "accurate" presentation. It would be nice if someone could explain why this phenomenon exist for the Z7. Also there are traces of mid-bass bleeding. Some may appreciate this darkness and warmth, but not to my ears.
 
Oh my, the treble. They are fantastic surprisingly. I have no complains whatsoever. It is not recessed at all, yet it doesn't kill your ears like the HD700 can. It has just as much detail, but presented very subtly. To my surprise, this is my favourite part about the Z7 as I never feel fatigue listening to the treble range in any song. 
 
How about the soundstage? To my surprise, for a semi-closed can, they are pretty decent. Can I "feel the air"? Sadly no, you will need a HD800 but they are no slouch. Instrument separation is pretty good, but it can compete with open cans like the HD700.
 
Clarity, or lack-of? Sadly, this headphone doesn't have the clarity that I had wish for compared to the HD700. The vocals always sound a bit grainy and I can certainly see why some might appreciate, but to me it doesn't quite work. Is it terrible? Definitely not, but it never gave me a wow factor like the HD700 often do.
 
Super comfy. Almost as good as the HD700. There won't be any problem listening with these for hours, and I have fallen asleep with them many times already.
 
Solid Japanese build quality. Excellent. Better than any Sennheiser imo, and yes that includes the HD800 (because the paint chips). I feel more confident chucking the Z7 around than my HD700. There's also not a single trace of cosmetic blemish and I am very OCD about it (unlike Schiit with cosmetic blemishes in all units that I have seen and opened). Huge kudos to Sony! The genuine leather and stitching is a nice touch. Smells good too! And the serial number badge in the box is very cool. The only thing I don't like is the 1/4" adapter as it is not a screwed-in one. And IMO a headphone at this price should have a 1/4" standard, but I can see why they chose 1/8" or balanced because of the PHA-3 combo.
 
I am going to audition it for a few more days, but so far I am favouring just keeping the HD700 and saving the money for the upcoming EL-8 instead. It's not bad overall, but I don't think it's worth $699.  Let me know what you guys think.
 
dL