Sony's new flagship 2014 - MDR-Z7

[Bill-P]

  Well shooot, looks like I learned something useful this thread after all! Non the less, yea It's nice to seem the HE 560 has a touch less distortion an a smidge more mid range. Though I still need a Pre Production unit, as my HE 4 has Full Wood Cups [ jk] 
 
Meh I would b, but I've shifted my Head Fi Meet funds to getting an hm901 

 
The veneer doesn't look half bad IMO.
 
But yeah, I'd like a pre-production unit myself. Though I suspect the wood causes the sound to be "thinner" compared to plastic, so that would be a bit far away from my projection.
 
My preference is a thick, full headphone that's open, clean, clear, with good soundstaging, and strong bass that extends down to 0, but without protruding into the midrange.
 

   
As mentioned before, it's all about preference.
If you see Oregonian's preferred cans, they all have something in common (guess what it is... ). Since I pretty much know what he likes (similar to what I like as well), I'm pretty sure I will like these!!!
 
So, yeah, if you are afraid of how the treble might turn out for you, I'd definitely suggest you wait. Also, seeing that the price of the Z7 is cheaper in Japan, that must DEFINITELY mean that some "used" units might pop up for like $500 on the classifieds or the price will come down soon on amazon, etc. etc. etc.

I'd almost think that he would have grabbed an LCD-XC and called it a day.
 
I don't think I have heard a headphone... open or closed, that can quite match it in terms of bass impact. Its treble is a bit north of neutral for me, but it's also one of the headphones I can tolerate.
 
Its soundstage is pretty narrow, but depth is very very good.

 

[money4me247]

  hmmmmm HE 560 lookin real good 

hahah i have a he-560 and I really enjoy it! they are definitely not colored or 'fun' or dark though. very neutral presentation.
 

  Here's measurement on a past version of my ES10, courtesy of purrin. And notice how it doesn't have a significant bass hump.

I would be wary of cross-comparing frequency response graphs as different people measuring them compensate differently & set-up differently, so the comparison results are not as relevant. I do like how you bring up two sources of measurements: tyll's & purrins. I do really appreciate your attempt to bring in more objective comparative data for us deciding!

 

[richbass]

   
For one, I prefer closed back most of the time.  The HE-6 is the first open back that blew me away and it took three tries (first was out of the headphone out, second was through the HiFiMan speaker tap adapter box, then straight from speaker taps direct) to get it "right".    I also feel the comfort discussion about the new HFM offerings is overrated - for one thing, neither the HE-400 or the HE-6 is uncomfortable to me at all and the new units don't fit me all that great.  So the Sony beats them on comfort and build quality. 
 
Sound to me was close with the HE-560.  They were just a step or two below the HE-6 side by side so not a huge dropoff but not at the same level regardless.  Both were tested the same way, out of speaker taps via a XLR connector so it was a fair fight.  It just didn't wow me (the 560).  And the Sony is just maybe a notch below the HE-6 (as is my D7000 by the way) so if I were to rank them it would go -
 
HE-6
Sony Z7
Denon MD7000
HE-560
D5000/LA2000
D600
HE-400
HE-400i
 
or something like that.    I prefer the HE-400 clearly over the HE-400i.  They messed with an amazing planar bass machine when they cut the bass back a bit.  My opinion anyway. 
 
Sorry if I'm rambling now guys.  Trying to help you guys out on what the Sony Z7 is and is not.  It's hard to put in words how I feel about sound but I know what I like and the Z7 is a keeper.  Now of course I have too many dang headphones of the closed/bassy variety but I listen to a lot of music on headphones so they will all get their turn.  Right now Sony has dominated my headphone time since Thursday night.  And I like that it is less V shaped while still having plenty of bass. 

Oh man ! The lcd 2 is just $200 more than Z7 !!! What you think about it guys?

 

[Bill-P]

  I would be wary of cross-comparing frequency response graphs as different people measuring them compensate differently & set-up differently, so the comparison results are not as relevant. I do like how you bring up two sources of measurements: tyll's & purrins. I do really appreciate your attempt to bring in more objective comparative data for us deciding!

 
My original purpose was to compare the HE-560 to the HE-6, and Tyll's data are just more consistent than purrin's, since purrin changed his setup right around the time he measured the HE-560. So comparing purrin's measurements of the HE-560 and HE-6 wouldn't be reliable. If anything, it would just highlight even more how the HE-6 is V-shaped and the HE-560 isn't.
 
I only pulled purrin's measurements of my ES10 out for some perspective since nobody else measured them. Maybe I'll send them to Tyll one of these days... once I'm done with their final tuning.

 

[Oregonian]

   
The veneer doesn't look half bad IMO.
 
But yeah, I'd like a pre-production unit myself. Though I suspect the wood causes the sound to be "thinner" compared to plastic, so that would be a bit far away from my projection.
 
My preference is a thick, full headphone that's open, clean, clear, with good soundstaging, and strong bass that extends down to 0, but without protruding into the midrange.
 

I'd almost think that he would have grabbed an LCD-XC and called it a day.
 
I don't think I have heard a headphone... open or closed, that can quite match it in terms of bass impact. Its treble is a bit north of neutral for me, but it's also one of the headphones I can tolerate.
 
Its soundstage is pretty narrow, but depth is very very good.

 
I auditioned the XC...................and HATED it.  Wore it for 30 minutes, put it back in the box and shipped it out the next day.  Really.

 

[gelocks]

 
I am waiting till u get these (no pressure 

). U r the only one that can compare them to the Shure SRH-1540. I had the Shure fr\or awhile, really enjoyed them. Wondering if these will sound similar or better.

 
LOL!
Bear in mind that I no longer have the SRH1540s due to them leaking too much (for my taste) sound out... but yeah, I enjoyed them even with their boosted bass and polite highs. Their imaging was just excellent like their open brother SRH1840 and Alpha Dogs even though it didn't have as much air as those two.
 

   
I'd almost think that he would have grabbed an LCD-XC and called it a day.
 
I don't think I have heard a headphone... open or closed, that can quite match it in terms of bass impact. Its treble is a bit north of neutral for me, but it's also one of the headphones I can tolerate.
 
Its soundstage is pretty narrow, but depth is very very good.

 
Hahaha
Well, just like Oregonian, I also found the LCD-XCs underwhelming... they were just missing "something"... (my notes on it should be somewhere out there... ) and they were heavy as... well, quite heavy!

 

[Bill-P]

 
I auditioned the XC...................and HATED it.  Wore it for 30 minutes, put it back in the box and shipped it out the next day.  Really.

 
It's probably the narrow soundstage.
 
But outside of that, I think it has good bass if nothing else.
 

 
Hahaha
Well, just like Oregonian, I also found the LCD-XCs underwhelming... they were just missing "something"... (my notes on it should be somewhere out there... ) and they were heavy as... well, quite heavy!

 
Heft and weight be damned.
 
But to be honest, that's why I have a HE-560 now and not an LCD-2. Aside from the HE-560 having more clarity, it's also a lot more comfortable.
 
Now to be honest again... I heard the pre-production, prototype LCD-XC. And then I heard a production version again when I went overseas this past summer.
 
Something was off indeed.
 
The prototype sounded very very organic, much like a closed LCD-2, but with better imaging and soundstage. Somehow the production version sounded a bit tizzy, overly sharp, with a bit of a treble tilt.
 
I didn't give it much thought, because I thought some other factor (cable, etc...) might have affected it. But perhaps the production version is simply voiced that way?

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Soundsgoodtome, if a Portland/Seattle meet ever happens I'll have these along with LA-7000, maybe HE-6 if a capable amp is available.

Hey! Could I interest you in a Seattle meet? I ask because I think @BIG POPPA who's the main organizer for the meets here said that a Seattle meet will happen before a middle of the road one between Seattle and Portland. I believe @grizzlybeast showed interest in a Seattle meet as well. Y'all can carpool maybe?

 

[Oregonian]

Hey! Could I interest you in a Seattle meet? I ask because I think @BIG POPPA
who's the main organizer for the meets here said that a Seattle meet will happen before a middle of the road one between Seattle and Portland. I believe @grizzlybeast
showed interest in a Seattle meet as well. Y'all can carpool maybe?

Highly unlikely because of being so busy this time of year with my daughter being in school and we spent a fair amount of time on the weekends down at Eugene. But that's not a no so we'll see. Do you have a date for the Seattle meet already?

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Highly unlikely because of being so busy this time of year with my daughter being in school and we spent a fair amount of time on the weekends down at Eugene. But that's not a no so we'll see. Do you have a date for the Seattle meet already?

No, unfortunately not for either. The Seattle meet thread should be here very soon according to BPoppa.

I was under the impression that a halfway meet was going to happen before another Seattle but I'm guessing not enough interest showed on the IC thread and a lot of the regulars from Seattle weren't too eager with a Chehalis meet (which is right smack in between Portland and Seattle).

 

[lexnihilo]

Anyone have a Z7 comparison to the D2000?

Also what post # is Jude's impression?

 
After an hour or so of A/B testing out of a DX90, my impression is that the D2000 has more sub-bass but is otherwise brighter. The Z7 sounds darker and more musical, mostly due to much more forward mids and a smoother transition from bass to lower mids - at least to my ear.
 
The Denon exhibits a much stronger V, but extends further in both directions, which can be good or bad depending on music genre and listening preferences. Also, the Denon is also more prone to sibilance at higher volumes, which is not the case with the Sony. AWOLNATION's "Sail" was amazing on the Z7 and downright painful on the D2000, while Pachelbel's "Canon" was a tossup, with maybe a slight edge to the D2000 for exhibiting more detail in the highs.
 
Soundstage is a bit wider on the Z7. Comfort and isolation, the Z7 wins hands down.
 
I'll post more impressions after I get some more ears-on time.

 

[Makiah S]

   
After an hour or so of A/B testing out of a DX90, my impression is that the D2000 has more sub-bass but is otherwise brighter. The Z7 sounds darker and more musical, mostly due to much more forward mids and a smoother transition from bass to lower mids - at least to my ear.
 
The Denon exhibits a much stronger V, but extends further in both directions, which can be good or bad depending on music genre and listening preferences. Also, the Denon is also more prone to sibilance at higher volumes, which is not the case with the Sony. AWOLNATION's "Sail" was amazing on the Z7 and downright painful on the D2000, while Pachelbel's "Canon" was a tossup, with maybe a slight edge to the D2000 for exhibiting more detail in the highs.
 
Soundstage is a bit wider on the Z7. Comfort and isolation, the Z7 wins hands down.
 
I'll post more impressions after I get some more ears-on time.

Wow that was this fellows First post here after being a member for almost 2 years now :O thank you very much man!
 
It's... kinda good n bad to hear the MDR Z7 is Darker than the D2k [which I felt was already rather Dark] Though, we did already know that the MDR Z7 was a dark headphone. Though "less of a V" compared to the D2k is nice :3
 
but one more impressions confirming a "dark" sound ^^ 

 

[Bill-P]

Well, hm, so now I'm curious, how does this song sound like on the Z7?
 

 
On my reference rig, the one bass note is full, strong, authoritative, the clap resonates to infinity, and the overall mood is very laid back.

 

[grizzlybeast]

d2k dark?????

 
 
dang my memory can be off, I think because they were harsh I assume bright. 

 

[Makiah S]

  d2k dark?????

 
 
dang my memory can be off, I think because they were harsh I assume bright. 

I thought it was Dark, which throws me cuz every one called them Bright too,
 
I should mention, My D2k had Lawton Pads, Lawton Driver Mods, Cocobolo Wood cups and a BTG Midnight Cable... so... it wasn't exactly "stock" but my D2k Was Dark