DISCLAIMER: I am neither an employee nor an affiliate of Sony. All photos are taken and owned by me.
SONY'S FEEL THE AIR EVENT (MDR-Z7):
FOR XBA-Z5 IMPRESSIONS, CLICK HERE!
A nifty invitation I got from Sony to attend Feel The Air!
The Sony MDR-Z7, need I say more?
INTRODUCTION:
Last week, I was invited to attend Sony’s
Feel The Air high-resolution audio event here in Singapore. Before I go any further, I would like to offer a
big thank you to Sony for giving me this opportunity to meet with many members of the Sony team, and allowing me to test the latest gear in Sony's audio lineup. I will later provide a link to the general event thread, but here are my thoughts specifically regarding the MDR-Z7.
GENERAL BACKGROUND (intended for those just jumping into the thread):
The MDR-Z7 is Sony’s latest flagship headphone. Featuring a closed, but vented design, the MDR-Z7 promises to deliver an airy and spacious sound, and is complemented by a whole range of other high-fi gear that comprise Sony’s new “High-Res Audio” lineup. It is safe to say that Sony is making a concerted effort to cater to the audiophile market, a goal which was very clearly expressed at IFA. To quote President Masaru Tamagawa, Sony intends on “providing superb sound experience to every audiophile” and creating “a new market around high-resolution audio.”
Currently, the MDR-Z7 is priced at
549 Euros, or
700 USD, which puts it into a highly competitive and established market range (Sennheiser HD700, etc.).
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY:
Chief Sound Engineer, Mr. Koji Nageno, on the MDR-Z7 design philosophy.
Personally, I believe that it is quite important to know the design philosophy behind a pair of headphones, as it helps to guide reviews and impressions in a constructive manner. In the opening presentation at the event, attendees were introduced to the "evolution" of Sony headphones. In the 1970s-early 1990s, Sony's design philosophy was guided primarily by an emphasis on natural sound, which was influenced by the kind of music that existed at the time. It was during this time that the legendary
MDR-R10 was conceived and created. In the 1990s, a shift towards producing headphones that would be compatible with Sony/Philips' Super Audio CD (SACD) format occurred. This led to the creation of the
Qualia-010, which is a deeply divisive pair of headphones to say the least. Fast forward to modern day, Sony has recognized the changes in music tastes, and is now attempting to capture "space" with the
MDR-Z7.
The MDR-Z7s unveiled after a long wait in Singapore.
In order to attain a sense of space in the MDR-Z7's sound, Sony's engineers focused on several key aspects in terms of sound signature. The first is
Super-High Frequency. In other words, engineers sought to develop treble that was clear with accurate positioning. The second is
Super-Low Frequency, which involves using bass to establish a sense of spaciousness (wobble bass, etc.).
Mega Volume was the third aspect touched upon. This was the effort to produce a big sound through effortless "huge bass" with minimal distortion. The final aspect was
Small Sound, which primarily involved reverberations.
With regards to the massive 70mm dynamic driver, Mr. Nageno explained that the large driver would produce natural waveforms similar to those found in speaker setups (by mere virtue of being huge), and that this would help to capture a sense of space. The liquid crystal polymer with aluminum coating offers a compromise between paper materials (with less coloration) and metal materials (with wide frequency range).
Speaking with Mr. Nageno and several other engineers, a theme that I saw was the move to cater to "modern" music, which has a heavier emphasis on bass lines. Sony engineers tried to account for the fact that bass has gone from merely being noise in the background (okay, a bit of an exaggeration) to being leading melodic components in many of today's songs. This is not an easy feat, as there is a fine line between having good bass, and becoming the next pair of bass cannons.
I understand that the "vents" have become a bit of a concern for some, but here's the explanation from Mr. Nageno. The MDR-Z7s are still largely closed, but the vents are required to achieve the promised super-high frequencies and super-low frequencies. Technically speaking, the vents allow airflow to optimize diaphragm movement.
In response to the claims of "transportability"...I can confirm with certainty that the MDR-Z7's are not meant to leave the home in general.
IMPRESSIONS:
DISCLAIMER 2: These are impressions, and do not account for a comprehensive "review". In addition, please take note of the fact that these impression were taken in a live setting. As these are my personal impressions, they are not meant to discount or definitively prove anything.
A fellow reviewer trying out the MDR-Z7. The headphone's large size can be gauged with the Nikon D4 (right).
Great build quality. The vents are clearly visible at the bottom of the headphones.
Let me start with build quality. There were initial concerns that the MDR-Z7 was going to be lacking in terms of build quality, but these worries now seem (in retrospect) quite unfounded. Sony has put in lots of effort into ensuring that the MDR-Z7 looks and feels like
700 dollars worth of headphone. The elegant contours on the headphones are aesthetically appealing, and the components are of high quality. I am particularly impressed by the leather headband and the comfortable ear pads. My pillows aren't remotely close to being as comfortable as the ear pads on the MDR-Z7.
Moving on to the question of leakage, there does seem to be a bit of leakage. As Jude said, this will vary with your volume, but it is definitely there. I'd put it towards the moderate end of things. A fellow reviewer in the room at the time noted the rather large amount of leakage coming from the vents as I tested the headphones. However, seeing that the MDR-Z7s aren't exactly meant to go anywhere but from room to room, I'm not too concerned with this issue.
The sound isolation is solid. It's not the most isolating headphones out there, but with the volume turned to about 1/4 of the way up on a competent amplifier, you will not be hearing the people beside you. The amplifier is something that I do wish to talk about later, so stay tuned!
Now to the actual sound quality. The bass is significant, but in a good way. I personally did not feel that the MDR-Z7's bass was overwhelming or crude. It was, to me, a rather refined bass that added a general "spaciousness" to the sound. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the treble was clear and well defined, and added a needed sparkle that helped to bring the soundstage together. The mids were powerful and smooth, but in my opinion could have been dialed back a little to create even
more spaciousness. In some songs, I did feel that the spaciousness was somewhat reduced by the slightly stronger than usual bass/mid presence.
There is a certain
je nais se quoi about the MDR-Z7's sound signature. It isn't what most would call "balanced" as it definitely has a slight coloration that might make it seem warmer. Clarity is good, but it is not extremely analytical. I personally found the MDR-Z7s to be a very good pair of headphones designed for comfortable hi-fi listening. While testing it, I felt "at home", and I didn't have to put in much effort to enjoy the MDR-Z7's sound. Of course, there were compromises necessary to achieve this, but to me the overall package is very good.
THE AMPLIFIER:
The PHA-3: A lean, mean amping machine.
There is a definite synergy between the PHA-3 and the MDR-Z7. Speaking with Mr. Nageno, I came to understand that the PHA-3 was worked on primarily by electrical engineers, while the MDR-Z7 was worked on primarily by acoustics engineers. However, these different engineers did collaborate together frequently while working on their respective products. I wouldn't go as far as to say that the MDR-Z7 was built specifically for the PHA-3 and vice versa, but this combination definitely sounds good. In fact, I might venture to say that the MDR-Z7 + PHA-3 sounds better than the MDR-Z7 + UDA-1!
The MDR-Z7 and the UDA-1 Amp.
MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS:
Thanks for sticking with me through this review! Really appreciate it. I know some of you might be wondering why I haven't addressed the R10s yet, so I'll do that here. The R10s aren't coming back for a few reasons. First, the wood (Zelkova, if I'm not wrong), can no longer be found. In addition, many of the parts manufacturers that worked with Sony on the R10s have now gone out of business. Most importantly though, Sony's evolutionary approach to headphones means that unless the market shifts significantly, it will probably not be returning to the design philosophy used on the R10s, simply because of how much music has changed in the past 30-40 years.
Overall, this was a great event. I am very impressed by Sony's lineup, and look forward to seeing what new high-res audio products Sony has to offer in the future.
Best Regards,
Thatonenoob
