[discoprince]

Whoa. That price Japan deal comes to $1506 USD for the MDR-Z7 AND the PHA-3 shipped FedEx on Oct. 18th.  That is really tempting...

 

[bixby]

For the few minutes I spared to listen, the new Sony sounded pretty nice with my HRT Microstreamer at CanJam.  Especially  nice was the very nice treble quality.  Not a hint of hardness and a bit nicer mids than the 7520.  Must see if I can listen some more tomorrow, if I get back.

 

[Dopaminer]

  Yeah, bummer.
 
I guess I can spend those extra minutes to whip up a dual 3.5mm mono to single 4-pin XLR adapter so that I can plug the Z7 into my desktop amp. That wouldn't be a big deal.
 
The big deal now is the sound. I'm expecting great things from Sony.

 
Please whip one up for me as well.  
 
That PH-3 is nearly twice the price of the Z7, here in Japan, so I doubt very much one will be in my future...

 

[zazex]

The Z7 are going to have to be some freaking astounding headphones
considering all the PR, hype, and the manner in which it's being played...
 
 
Of course, as has been noted, this is mostly 'noise' (no disrespect intended)
pending opening the box, putting them on, and having a listen.
 
 
I am very much looking forward to doing just that.

 

[jjcha]

I think you are gonna have to take one for the team and order one so we can have a San Jose or Santa Cruz mini listing meet

 

[Bill-P]

   
Please whip one up for me as well.  
 
That PH-3 is nearly twice the price of the Z7, here in Japan, so I doubt very much one will be in my future...

 
Sure thing!
 
Since it looks like there'll be a fair number of Z7 owners, I'll take this chance to cash in!!!
 
Haha, just kidding. But seriously, I'd think Sony should have included one in their package. Otherwise the cable seems useless for most owners who don't happen to have the PHA-3 handy.
 

I think you are gonna have to take one for the team and order one so we can have a San Jose or Santa Cruz mini listing meet

 
Well, since I did miss out on the last meet due to an unfortunate incident, I'll definitely list a new mini meet soon.
 
And the Z7 will definitely be at the meet, of course. Assuming PriceJapan honors my order.
 
Plus you haven't heard my HE-560 and ES10 yet.
 
I'm sure my ES10 would give your SR-X quite a match.

 

[ogodei]

  Yeah, bummer.
 
I guess I can spend those extra minutes to whip up a dual 3.5mm mono to single 4-pin XLR adapter so that I can plug the Z7 into my desktop amp. That wouldn't be a big deal.
 
The big deal now is the sound. I'm expecting great things from Sony.

 
The balanced cable provided for use with the PHA-3 appears to end in 3 pole 3.5mm jacks so I don't know if mono ports will work.  And it looks like the connecters at the head phone screw on somehow so it might be difficult to switch the plugs at that end.
 
My plan is to cannibalize the cable they send and add the 4-pin XLR, since I will never be able to use it for anything else anyway.

 

[head-hi]

Well, my curiosity for these are high, but my focus is now on the Alpha Prime for a few hundred dollars more.

 

[Bill-P]

   
The balanced cable provided for use with the PHA-3 appears to end in 3 pole 3.5mm jacks so I don't know if mono ports will work.  And it looks like the connecters at the head phone screw on somehow so it might be difficult to switch the plugs at that end.
 
My plan is to cannibalize the cable they send and add the 4-pin XLR, since I will never be able to use it for anything else anyway.

 
Oh yeah, they are 3-pole.
 

 
So dual 3-pole 3.5mm to either dual 3-pin XLR or 4-pin XLR connector then.
 
I smell an adapter box now rather than just a simple plug... but ah well.

 

[john57]

I believe that the third pole is just for the shield ground. I would use a test meter and listen for the clicks in the driver to make sure that I am using the right  pair of wires for a 4-pin XLR. I do not see that will hold you back.

 

[Bill-P]

I could just measure the impedance from one pole to another to figure out which ones need to be which. Usually with headphones in balanced configuration, the ground pin can be left out since most headphone drivers only need 2 poles, and those 2 poles are interchangeable so they could be... well, anything. So if I can see an impedance with 2 of the poles, then that means they are either the + or - poles (they should be interchangeable), and then the other one would be ground, which is left out. Good test: measuring between ground and one pole would give... nothing.
 
Connecting to 3-pin XLR would be pretty straight forward as well. One pole for each pin.
 
Now I would be kind of surprised to see Sony use all 3 poles for something, and that I get different impedance measurements.

 

[Dopaminer]

  I could just measure the impedance from one pole to another to figure out which ones need to be which. Usually with headphones in balanced configuration, the ground pin can be left out since most headphone drivers only need 2 poles, and those 2 poles are interchangeable so they could be... well, anything. So if I can see an impedance with 2 of the poles, then that means they are either the + or - poles (they should be interchangeable), and then the other one would be ground, which is left out. Good test: measuring between ground and one pole would give... nothing.
 
Connecting to 3-pin XLR would be pretty straight forward as well. One pole for each pin.
 
Now I would be kind of surprised to see Sony use all 3 poles for something, and that I get different impedance measurements.

 
Proprietariness Sucks, IMO, BTW.  

 

[Neogeo333]

Sony is king in that department.   Damn betamax comes to mind and also their stupid memory cards for there digital cameras.  They learned but still makes products with proprietary tech on some products.

 

[Bill-P]

Well, that's the problem there.
 
I can't quite figure out if they're using 3-pole plugs because it's cheaper to re-use the 3-pole connectors they already have in stock from making all those devices (PHA-1/2, Walkmans, phones, etc...) instead of ordering separate mono 3.5mm connectors which... almost nobody uses anymore (seriously!)...
 
Or if because all 3 poles are used and that the ground reference pole is for something else!
 

 
Anyhow, I heard from some friends overseas who have heard the Z7. They described it as thus:
 
Balanced response from bass, midrange, to treble
Midrange sounds a bit recessed, or maybe the soundstage is just that big
Z5 sounds warmer, with more bass than Z7
MDR-1RA is cleaner, clearer, and with a bit cleaner and harder bass thud than MDR-1R, but can still be considered "V-shaped" compared to Z7
 
The same friends mentioned my ATH-ES10 being "balanced", which to my ears sounds a bit "dark-ish", or more so than "neutral", so take that how you will.
 
I think my mental image is shaping the Z7 to be more and more like a realization of my perfect dark sound signature headphone. Not too bass-heavy, but not too bright, either.

 

[Dopaminer]

  Sony is king in that department.   Damn betamax comes to mind and also their stupid memory cards for there digital cameras.  They learned but still makes products with proprietary tech on some products.

Agreed, although I thought Betamax was a universal format that lost out to another, VHS...  
 
And it would seem they have `learned` : that new walkman has an SD slot and micro USB for data transfer and charging....  It`s like iBasso and Fiio are driving the industry these days.....