Looking to pull the trigger on this pair of headphones to compliment my Stax SR-L500. I'm basically buying it for a fully closed pair of heaphones with a dark sound signature with a lot of bass for my hiphop/bass centric music. Am I making the righ choice?
Only you can make that call, you know your preferences better than anyone. What I will say, is the only headphones that would be better than this is TH900 or Z1R. A decent alternative is the ZMF Atticus. So if you are purchasing the Z7 sufficiently below what you can get the TH900/Z1R for in your area (and comfort of Z7 is better than Atticus IMHO) then based on the economics I would say its a solid choice.
You can only know for sure when you've heard them in person. That being said, I've kept my Z7 alongside my Z1R, Focal Utopia, Focal Stellia and Campfire Cascade. The Z7 is that good for me. Good luck!
Looking to pull the trigger on this pair of headphones to compliment my Stax SR-L500. I'm basically buying it for a fully closed pair of heaphones with a dark sound signature with a lot of bass for my hiphop/bass centric music. Am I making the righ choice?
Only you can make that call, you know your preferences better than anyone. What I will say, is the only headphones that would be better than this is TH900 or Z1R. A decent alternative is the ZMF Atticus. So if you are purchasing the Z7 sufficiently below what you can get the TH900/Z1R for in your area (and comfort of Z7 is better than Atticus IMHO) then based on the economics I would say its a solid choice.
You can only know for sure when you've heard them in person. That being said, I've kept my Z7 alongside my Z1R, Focal Utopia, Focal Stellia and Campfire Cascade. The Z7 is that good for me. Good luck!
I've previously owned the TH 900, and while I did like them a lot, they were a bit too sharp up top for me. And I'm not going to lie, price is a major factor here. The Z7s will put me back 200$, while used TH 900 is more like 800$ or more. I'm glad to hear the Z7s are held in high regard by you - it seems a lot of people have a special place for the z7s, which tells me they are at least somewhat unique.
One of my first forays into audiophile equipment was the in-ears XBA H3, and while they had their issues, they will always have a special place in my heart for their unique presentation. It gave me a belief that Sony was onto something in their design, and hopefully the z7s will follow suit.
I’m guessing that the MDR-Z7 and most STAX gear would be considered polar opposites. Meaning at first the biggest issue to overcome would not be if the new headphone is capable or not, but if the listener is able to mentally adjust to the new sound signature as being correct.
I've previously owned the TH 900, and while I did like them a lot, they were a bit too sharp up top for me. And I'm not going to lie, price is a major factor here. The Z7s will put me back 200$, while used TH 900 is more like 800$ or more. I'm glad to hear the Z7s are held in high regard by you - it seems a lot of people have a special place for the z7s, which tells me they are at least somewhat unique.
One of my first forays into audiophile equipment was the in-ears XBA H3, and while they had their issues, they will always have a special place in my heart for their unique presentation. It gave me a belief that Sony was onto something in their design, and hopefully the z7s will follow suit.
All this talk of the MDR-Z7 inspired me to pull it out into the above configuration for a listen. Really surprised how complete.... yet truly underrated the Z7 is. Fact is that with the right gear in front it climbs and climbs. In comparison to running the Schitt Asgard single ended even using the outputs of the TA as a DAC, the Asgard leaves much to be desired.
Feeding the Z7 right results in changes to such a grand competitive place.......I can almost see the Sony big wigs and engineers nodding their heads in approval back in 2014. They must have been thinking that this IS the new Sony flagship!
Looking to pull the trigger on this pair of headphones to compliment my Stax SR-L500. I'm basically buying it for a fully closed pair of heaphones with a dark sound signature with a lot of bass for my hiphop/bass centric music. Am I making the righ choice?
It's fully closed, but has two vents, one is a biggie, so isolation may be disappointing if you're looking a closed set just for that aspect specifically, the Mk2 does it a bit better in that regard.
That's not the first time i heard that being said, it also seems that people who like both/either the Z7 and Z1R wouldn't like the Z7M2 too much (Zeos, Josh, you) and people who doesn't really like the Z7/ Z1R prefer the Z7M2 over either (Purk, Lachlan)
Yeah, 200 usd for a new Z7 would be fantastic, I got mine at 210 used , pretty old also, 6XXX one, tho the body is impeccably well taken care of, the OG pads and Headband already flaked off and the foam deflated. seller included good 2 pads (one leather, one alcantara) replacement for it tho, so am fine with the deal.
The Z1R seems to have an over-all bigger soundstage but the character of the Z7 is one where at times least expected details make it out farther with amazing imaging and timbre.
Looking to pull the trigger on this pair of headphones to compliment my Stax SR-L500. I'm basically buying it for a fully closed pair of heaphones with a dark sound signature with a lot of bass for my hiphop/bass centric music. Am I making the righ choice?
Although I don't listen to a lot of hip-hop, I can definitely say the bass is wonderful on these headphones, and for the price in the aftermarket they're tough to beat. There are classical and rock tracks I listen to in which the bass seems to vibrate my whole body. I've never heard headphones with this much bass before (but it's still controlled and doesn't overwhelm the rest of the music).
@Redcarmoose that link will be removed by a mod if you don't do it yourself
Thanks for the replies everyone. Another reason for why I'm going with the z7 is that based on my extensive reading on forums, the perceived sound quality to price ratio is off the charts with these headphones. A lot of people keep them in seriously high end rigs, and you can really only say that about a handful of headphones in that price range (used that is). Basically, HD600/650 and z7. Having previously owned the HD650 (and liking them a lot), they aren't really of interest to me, and further, having been through a lot of headphones, I think character is so important. And thats what I think Sony does so well - their headphones have plenty of character. I get a feeling that they are completely out of touch with the audiophile crowd, and thats a good thing.
Anyways, a bit disappointing that they aren't as closed as I thought they were. Its not like I'm going to use them in a noisy environment or anything, its just when my girlfriend is doing stuff around the house (I'm sitting in the living room) the wide open Stax just lets in too much. Further, the type of music I listen to in the Stax is the kind of music where being interrupted is super annoying. Blasting EDM in the z7s is less likely to be interrupted 8)
Does any of you guys listen to metal in the z7s? One of the main reason I think they will complement my stax so well is for the bass, mostly for bass centric music like dubstep/EDM or music that needs thickness and warmth to the sound, such as hiphop - in that vein, I think it could be fun to have some serious weight behind some metal tracks with double pedals beating my head in - the stax aren't quite up to task there
@Redcarmoose that link will be removed by a mod if you don't do it yourself
Thanks for the replies everyone. Another reason for why I'm going with the z7 is that based on my extensive reading on forums, the perceived sound quality to price ratio is off the charts with these headphones. A lot of people keep them in seriously high end rigs, and you can really only say that about a handful of headphones in that price range (used that is). Basically, HD600/650 and z7. Having previously owned the HD650 (and liking them a lot), they aren't really of interest to me, and further, having been through a lot of headphones, I think character is so important. And thats what I think Sony does so well - their headphones have plenty of character. I get a feeling that they are completely out of touch with the audiophile crowd, and thats a good thing.
Anyways, a bit disappointing that they aren't as closed as I thought they were. Its not like I'm going to use them in a noisy environment or anything, its just when my girlfriend is doing stuff around the house (I'm sitting in the living room) the wide open Stax just lets in too much. Further, the type of music I listen to in the Stax is the kind of music where being interrupted is super annoying. Blasting EDM in the z7s is less likely to be interrupted 8)
Does any of you guys listen to metal in the z7s? One of the main reason I think they will complement my stax so well is for the bass, mostly for bass centric music like dubstep/EDM or music that needs thickness and warmth to the sound, such as hiphop - in that vein, I think it could be fun to have some serious weight behind some metal tracks with double pedals beating my head in - the stax aren't quite up to task there
I listen to Dead Can Dance regularity along with EDM and 80% Metal. The Z7 is very complementary to these genres. The MDR-Z7 is just fun but with enough reality and detail that it doesn’t end up simply just fun; there is some serious music reproduction going on too. There could always be the paranoia about the Sony house sound leaving out the midrange that Metal needs; but it doesn’t seem to be the case to me?
@Redcarmoose that link will be removed by a mod if you don't do it yourself
Thanks for the replies everyone. Another reason for why I'm going with the z7 is that based on my extensive reading on forums, the perceived sound quality to price ratio is off the charts with these headphones. A lot of people keep them in seriously high end rigs, and you can really only say that about a handful of headphones in that price range (used that is). Basically, HD600/650 and z7. Having previously owned the HD650 (and liking them a lot), they aren't really of interest to me, and further, having been through a lot of headphones, I think character is so important. And thats what I think Sony does so well - their headphones have plenty of character. I get a feeling that they are completely out of touch with the audiophile crowd, and thats a good thing.
Anyways, a bit disappointing that they aren't as closed as I thought they were. Its not like I'm going to use them in a noisy environment or anything, its just when my girlfriend is doing stuff around the house (I'm sitting in the living room) the wide open Stax just lets in too much. Further, the type of music I listen to in the Stax is the kind of music where being interrupted is super annoying. Blasting EDM in the z7s is less likely to be interrupted 8)
Does any of you guys listen to metal in the z7s? One of the main reason I think they will complement my stax so well is for the bass, mostly for bass centric music like dubstep/EDM or music that needs thickness and warmth to the sound, such as hiphop - in that vein, I think it could be fun to have some serious weight behind some metal tracks with double pedals beating my head in - the stax aren't quite up to task there
I listen to RATM, System of a Down and 2Pac on my Z7’s. They perform wonderfully, especially 2Pac.
Also I do indulge in JPOP and retro electronic and those are excellent on the Z7 as well.
Glad to read that... I gave serious consideration to picking up the Mk2. For the originals, I really enjoy mine, without any DSP or EQ.
Still using them at work with my PHA-3, digging the new Carl Finlow (the MDR-Z7 are the perfect EDM cans).
it's fully closed, but has one big venr, isolation may be disappointing if you're looking a closed for that aspect specifically, the Mk2 does it a bbit better in that regard.
That's not the first time i hear that said, it also seems that people who like both/either the Z7 and Z1R wouldn't like the Z7M2 too much (Zeos, Josh, you) and people who doesn't really like the Z7/ Z1R prefer the Z7M2 over either (Purk, Lachlan)
Yehh 200 usd for a new Z7 would be fantastic, I got mine at 210 used , pretty old also, 6XXX one, tho the body is impeccably well taken care of, the OG pads and Headband already flaked off and the foam deflated. seller included good 2 pads (one leather, one alcantara) replacement for it tho, so am fine with the deal.
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, pretty old also, 6XXX one, tho the body is impeccably well taken care of, the OG pads and Headband already flaked off and the foam deflated. seller included good 2 pads (one leather, one alcantara) replacement for it tho, so am fine with the deal.
