[marhol]

The REAL KING will COMING SOON in 2015 but NOT from SONY

I Wish you happy listening with the upcoming Z7

REGARDS NOMAX

Also Macintosh might be the candidate, with their closed back headphone - MHP 1000, which should cost around 2000 $ . http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Products/pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=headphones&ProductId=MHP1000
 
Nevertheless MDR z7 looks (and sounds !)  very promising as a new Sony flagship. I´m definitely interested. Not a lot of impressions so far, but they will surely come. Searching on internet I found this page:  http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/226770-field-report-ultimate-sound-fair-2014-jakarta-long-topic-and-image-heavy/  . Impressions from recent USF Jakarta exhibition from one visitor - there are also few words on Sony MDR- z7.

 

[HemiSam]

  Also Macintosh might be the candidate, with their closed back headphone - MHP 1000, which should cost around 2000 $ . http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Products/pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=headphones&ProductId=MHP1000
 
Nevertheless MDR z7 looks (and sounds !)  very promising as a new Sony flagship. I´m definitely interested. Not a lot of impressions so far, but they will surely come. Searching on internet I found this page:  http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/226770-field-report-ultimate-sound-fair-2014-jakarta-long-topic-and-image-heavy/  . Impressions from recent USF Jakarta exhibition from one visitor - there are also few words on Sony MDR- z7.

 
Looks like the Macintosh is leaning on Beyer's technology.
 
HS

 

[telecaster]

nice blue mcintosh cable!

 

[Bill-P]

  uh
 
what

 
No, seriously.
 
Certain types of leather when used to mask certain parts of wood ear cups give better low-frequency response. As in... tight, focused, and very clean beats rather than wooly or overly thick.
 
I think wood is generally good for toning midrange and treble, but it's not truly good for bass.
 

  Leather would be cool to honestly, Bill have your head the L3000 yet, it's a shame it doesn't much mention. I'd love to see how it compared to the MDR R10 
 
But honestly though, one of the best sounding closed headphone ever made... was a wood back was is not? 

One of the headphones with the best bass response ever made is a leather headphone, innit? 

 
Only some good bass headphones are actually made of wood (Audeze headphones being an example), but I don't think wood resonance is good with bass.
 
I mean... would Audio Technica make a leather headphone just for the sake of it looking good without it having any actual acoustic dampening properties? I'd think not, right? Plus we all know leather ear pads with good padding can actually increase bass over velour and other types...
 
Wood is good with midrange, though, I won't deny that.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

  Nevertheless MDR z7 looks (and sounds !)  very promising as a new Sony flagship. I´m definitely interested. Not a lot of impressions so far, but they will surely come. Searching on internet I found this page:  http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/226770-field-report-ultimate-sound-fair-2014-jakarta-long-topic-and-image-heavy/  . Impressions from recent USF Jakarta exhibition from one visitor - there are also few words on Sony MDR- z7.

Easily check the show in other sub thread here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/736275/ultimate-sound-fair-2014-jakarta-indonesia-impression-and-report-on-26-and-27-september-2014
 
 
And yeah, I found it's quite few people who doesn't really like Z7 at show, even some of them who don't like the sound still appraise the build and the comfort.

 

[marhol]

  Easily check the show in other sub thread here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/736275/ultimate-sound-fair-2014-jakarta-indonesia-impression-and-report-on-26-and-27-september-2014
 
 
And yeah, I found it's quite few people who doesn't really like Z7 at show, even some of them who don't like the sound still appraise the build and the comfort.

Yes, I have seen this thread. Thank you for the information, photos and impressions, very nice work !
 Is Sony MDR Z7 sound signature in your opinion similar to any of  Audeze LCD 2 models ?  ( I´m asking because you have experience with  different LCD 2 versions)
Is Sony MDR Z7 comparable (in terms of sound quality) to any of LCD 2 versions ?

 

[yaluen]

Originally Posted by Bill-P /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
...
 
I mean... would Audio Technica make a leather headphone just for the sake of it looking good without it having any actual acoustic dampening properties? I'd think not, right? Plus we all know leather ear pads with good padding can actually increase bass over velour and other types...
 
...

 
Referring to this teardown (http://torapo.com/headphone/overhead/audiotechnica-ath-l3000.htm) of the L3000, it's highly doubtful that the leather on the exterior of its wooden cups play any part in the tuning of the headphones. Observe how the rear of the driver capsule is sealed and how the baffle is significantly damped with material. Also considering Audio-Technica's MO of releasing limited edition gear with various luxury accents and finishes, it's entirely possible the leather is simply for show.
 
The leather earpads that serve to couple the drivers to your ears however definitely is part of the system that determines the headphones' acoustic properties.

 

[Bill-P]

   
Referring to this teardown (http://torapo.com/headphone/overhead/audiotechnica-ath-l3000.htm) of the L3000, it's highly doubtful that the leather on the exterior of its wooden cups play any part in the tuning of the headphones. Observe how the rear of the driver capsule is sealed and how the baffle is significantly damped with material. Also considering Audio-Technica's MO of releasing limited edition gear with various luxury accents and finishes, it's entirely possible the leather is simply for show.
 
The leather earpads that serve to couple the drivers to your ears however definitely is part of the system that determines the headphones' acoustic properties.

 
If you have a wood headphone, try pressing your hands against the ear cups lightly during heavy bass passage and try to stop the extra vibration.
 
The sound does change, right?
 
It's the same principle here.
 
The leather material may not be exposed directly as a reflective surface, but it still has a dampening effect on the ear cups, and that applies even more so at lower frequencies, where the entire enclosure would start vibrating from the excess energy.
 
It's not just that whatever is exposed is the only thing that should be considered. Otherwise, there really is no point to that wood material inside the leather cover because the drivers are housed inside a smaller plastic blob that has a felt cover at the very back. They could simply have used plastic instead, right?
 
As for the ear pads, better connection between your ears and its surrounding (skin, skull) with the diaphragms means better transfer of vibration from the diaphragms... which means... more bass. That's why a good seal is so critical to having good bass, and leather just happens to stick to skin quite well...

 

[up late]

Referring to this teardown (http://torapo.com/headphone/overhead/audiotechnica-ath-l3000.htm) of the L3000, it's highly doubtful that the leather on the exterior of its wooden cups play any part in the tuning of the headphones. Observe how the rear of the driver capsule is sealed and how the baffle is significantly damped with material. Also considering Audio-Technica's MO of releasing limited edition gear with various luxury accents and finishes, it's entirely possible the leather is simply for show.

The leather earpads that serve to couple the drivers to your ears however definitely is part of the system that determines the headphones' acoustic properties.

x2 and the same can be said for a-t's woodies imo

 

[takato14]

We all wait for that elusive Orpheus successor... Estats from senn will be highly coveted

the last thing I want is another ludicrously overpriced, poorly designed stat
 
the orpheus was designed to mimick dynamics by being warm and diffuse, and if birgir is right it takes away what makes stats so special
 
I'd much rather have another properly designed dynamic from Sony, that's incredibly disappointing

 

[Saoshyant]

You'd rather have an incredibly disappointing dynamic?

 

[john57]

  Easily check the show in other sub thread here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/736275/ultimate-sound-fair-2014-jakarta-indonesia-impression-and-report-on-26-and-27-september-2014
 
 
And yeah, I found it's quite few people who doesn't really like Z7 at show, even some of them who don't like the sound still appraise the build and the comfort.

I had the same problem with the T70 at the RMAF. I like the T70 much better than some of the users that tried them. Had a long discussion with one user and we were at opposite ends.

 

[thatonenoob]

You'd rather have an incredibly disappointing dynamic?

 No we would rather have an incredibly dynamic disappointment  

 

[yaluen]

 

   
Referring to this teardown (http://torapo.com/headphone/overhead/audiotechnica-ath-l3000.htm) of the L3000, it's highly doubtful that the leather on the exterior of its wooden cups play any part in the tuning of the headphones. Observe how the rear of the driver capsule is sealed and how the baffle is significantly damped with material. Also considering Audio-Technica's MO of releasing limited edition gear with various luxury accents and finishes, it's entirely possible the leather is simply for show.
 
The leather earpads that serve to couple the drivers to your ears however definitely is part of the system that determines the headphones' acoustic properties.

 
If you have a wood headphone, try pressing your hands against the ear cups lightly during heavy bass passage and try to stop the extra vibration.
 
The sound does change, right?
 
It's the same principle here.
 
The leather material may not be exposed directly as a reflective surface, but it still has a dampening effect on the ear cups, and that applies even more so at lower frequencies, where the entire enclosure would start vibrating from the excess energy.
 
It's not just that whatever is exposed is the only thing that should be considered. Otherwise, there really is no point to that wood material inside the leather cover because the drivers are housed inside a smaller plastic blob that has a felt cover at the very back. They could simply have used plastic instead, right?
 
As for the ear pads, better connection between your ears and its surrounding (skin, skull) with the diaphragms means better transfer of vibration from the diaphragms... which means... more bass. That's why a good seal is so critical to having good bass, and leather just happens to stick to skin quite well...

 
I see where you're coming from in regards to cup vibration, but considering what is shown in the teardown, that the cups are ostensibly acoustically isolated from the drivers, it would make sense to focus any efforts into damping the mechanical connection where the cups are attached to the baffle as what energy that is conducted is only through there. Why damp, if indeed a leather covering does so appreciably, the rest of the cup but for decorative purposes?
 
Anyways, that's enough of that. Just want to say the Z7 has got my attention and am eagerly awaiting comparisons with Denon and Fostex closed dynamics.

 

[Bill-P]

 
I see where you're coming from in regards to cup vibration, but considering what is shown in the teardown, that the cups are ostensibly acoustically isolated from the drivers, it would make sense to focus any efforts into damping the mechanical connection where the cups are attached to the baffle as what energy that is conducted is only through there. Why damp, if indeed a leather covering does so appreciably, the rest of the cup but for decorative purposes?
 
Anyways, that's enough of that. Just want to say the Z7 has got my attention and am eagerly awaiting comparisons with Denon and Fostex closed dynamics.

 
But the cups are not isolated from the drivers acoustically. At low enough frequencies, the plastic enclosure becomes irrelevant and any movement of the diaphragm would start affecting everything that is connected to the housing, including the ear cups. Also notice how the leather also protrudes slightly and into the part where the ear cups are connected to the plastic housing? That's your cue for damping the mechanical connection.
 
It looks pretty, but I don't think that's the only thing it does.
 
A good test would be to take one of Audio Technica's other headphones that have a similar structure and put leather where it matters and see if there is indeed a difference. I have tried just that with the ATH-W1000, and leather does improve its bass response appreciably. I lack the ability to make an aesthetically pleasing cover for the wood ear cups, but I wouldn't doubt that doing so would have had an even more pronounced effect since covering just the insides of the ear cups already makes so much of a difference.
 
But anyway, yeah, I'm interested in the Z7 as well. A 70mm driver won't need any acoustic trick to reproduce great bass, and then it's up to Sony to tune the rest of the other ranges. Knowing their previous products (CD3000, R10), I think we can expect greatness, but probably not at the level of the R10.