[cute]

  ^^^ I knew throwing silver at these headphones would do something special....

 
Silver can be a broad category.  I can't vouch for other silver or silver content wire, but the wire I used is a special new design Type 4 Litz that can only be found at DHC or Norne!

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  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.

 
The claps are very crisp, and fade smoothly away.  And the bass (drum?) does have some good authority.  Thanks for sharing

 

[purrin]

 
What I am really trying to boil the pot down to is a simple comparison of z7 vs AD or Vibro that I think would be a good contribution to the thread. 

 
I don't have Vibro or AD on hand, but I do have other T50RP mods: the Paradox and Slants. The Paradox and Slants are a bit better, especially if Z7 is unmodded. I stuffed acoustic fiber to tone down the Z7's bassyness / hollow coloration; and added small strips on the baffle and driver to "tighten" up the Z7's sound. After mods, Z7 has tonality similar to Slants. Slightly bassy and warm tuning, upper mids a touch recessed with a bump in the mid treble. Slants seem to emphasize the definition or tape-noise region, "sssh". The Z7 has a bump slightly below that in the sibilance region "ssss". The Paradox / Slants have more heft and don't sound as soft in the bass and also have more bass texture. The Z7 may have marginally better mids - close call here. Z7 isn't as deep in terms of stage, esp. compared to Slants. Z7 isn't as crisp - it tends toward an overall softer and relaxed sound with some "indistinctness."
 
Compared to TH900. TH900 is technically superior with much better bass quality and much more bass quantity down in the sub to low bass regions.  Z7 bass seems emphasized evenly (with not as much heft in sub bass compared to TH900) with some bleed into the mids. TH900 sounds much clearer has extremely good "blackground" (one of the best). However TH900 also has a sharp treble peak which adds sort of a hard slappy glare or sharpness, which to me, I find bothersome on most systems. The Z7's treble bump is more gentle with just minor emphasis on es's.
 
In stock form, I find Z7 rather uncompetitive (mid-tier), because of an overly warm and bassy sound which tends toward softness and indistinctness. After mods, I find the Z7 a rather compelling solidly upper mid-teir dynamic headphone with better detail retrieval and bass quality / quantity while still retaining its warm signature.
 
I may be looking at the Z7 with rose-tinted glasses b/c I am somewhat of a Sony fanboy.

 

[sujitsky]

So I went to the nyc Sony store on Madison (hoping against hope that they would have one to listen) and the people there hadn't even heard of these! :s

 

[Saraugie]

First 10 minutes listening to MAC >iTunes ALAC > Audio~gd 11.32 > Z7s at office, volume pot at 11:00 minimal leakage extending my arm to 20" - 2'? cannot hear them.
 
Quick impressions listening to 'Time to Say Goodbye' show tune and The Melvins 'Nude With boots'  good range top to bottom NOT a bass hitter with these 2 songs. Detail is good, the show tune I can hear the vocals well and the backing violins, there is some muddying in the treble. I think the Z7 will struggle with lots of instruments and vocals going on.
A simple blues song just came on and the Z7 handled like a champ. Good separation, good bass, cymbal crashes sustained a bit, the lead guitar is heard as it should be. In fact the lead and bass are shinning as they solo.
 
Light, well made, very good looking……I'd say it is worth every penny of the $700 it costs. Going to keep for 2 weeks and then return.  I'll use my wife's B&W's P7 when playing and jamming with my electronic drums. The LCD3 for listening to music is still king at my house.  Cannot see using these for portable and I have excellent IEMs for going out and about.
 
Having said the above it would be extremely easy to not send the Z7's back, keep and groove with them.
______
 
Have been listening for the last 1/2 hour to iTunes radio the Classic Rock station with the same gears. I did adjust the Gain to the higher setting on the 11.32 and I am having a few wow moments. 'Go Your Own Way' Fleetwood MAC, (not a big fan but of course on the radio this has been played to death lol)…..anyway it sounds the best I ever heard it. Nice separation and all instruments shining. Vocals are clear and no mud. "Light My Fire" now, am a BIG fan and it sounds as good as I can remember. I'm sure I've played it on my home rig.
 
And the Z7 is very comfortable to wear which I think no one has said anything to the contrary.

______
I have Ser# 139. Amazon got some of the first batch. Hey Jeff what is yours?

 

[Dopaminer]

Great impressions fellas ! 

 

[nephilim32]

I think this would be an extremely interesting pairing with the Z7's. bass heaven all over!
Love to hear what others would think about paring the SUBPAC into your soundchain.
http://thesubpac.com/order/subpac-s1/

 

[Bill-P]

So PriceJapan said they got my order in and will ship it out in a few hours.

And I almost canceled and tried to go with Amazon, but ah well, seeing as I paid and all... (refund on Paypal would then take an additional few days to go back to my bank, and only then can I place an order with Amazon)

So hopefully, I'll have mine in next week, and if nothing goes wrong, will compare extensively against the HE-560. Who knows, I have a thin and fast amp here that may just make it shine.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

when I compared the stock cable against the Kimber (unbalanced), the difference was HUGE.  Makes the stock cable unlistenable.  

 

[grizzlybeast]

http://m.store.sony.com/products/27-MUCB30UM1

Says cables out of stock until December.

So PriceJapan said they got my order in and will ship it out in a few hours.

And I almost canceled and tried to go with Amazon, but ah well, seeing as I paid and all... (refund on Paypal would then take an additional few days to go back to my bank, and only then can I place an order with Amazon)

So hopefully, I'll have mine in next week, and if nothing goes wrong, will compare extensively against the HE-560. Who knows, I have a thin and fast amp here that may just make it shine.

When did you order?

 

[gr8soundz]

  when I compared the stock cable against the Kimber (unbalanced), the difference was HUGE.  Makes the stock cable unlistenable.  

 
Hope that confirms the Kimber is worth it. Should have my z7s by next week; already looking into the cables. Thinking of having a custom silver made or maybe grab the Kimber if it goes on sale.
 
As far as I know, no silver plating or such on the Kimber but it is an 8-wire cable.

 

[Maxvla]

FYI, my listening impressions at RMAF were with the Kimber unbalanced cable. I don't know if the cable made a significant difference.

 

[Dopaminer]

So PriceJapan said they got my order in and will ship it out in a few hours.
So hopefully, I'll have mine in next week, and if nothing goes wrong, will compare extensively against the HE-560. Who knows, I have a thin and fast amp here that may just make it shine.

 
Really looking forward to your comparison of these two. I keep forcing myself NOT to buy the 560. . . .  Realistically a closed can is what I need, but an open can that travels well/better than HD800 is super appealing too.  

 

[likenother]

Hello everyone!!!
 
First post here; I had to post to find out more about the "right" cables for MDR-Z7.
 
I just ordered MDR-Z7, XBA-Z5, PHA3 and balanced Kimber Kable MUC-B20BL1 a few days ago, thought I would be set, then I read about different cables. Hope some experts can explain which is the better cable: DHC, Norne or these Kimber Kable engineered cables from SONY; and which cables would you guys pair with MDR-Z7 if cost is no concern.
 
Thanks!!!

 

[gr8soundz]

  Hello everyone!!!
 
First post here; I had to post to find out more about the "right" cables for MDR-Z7.
 
I just ordered MDR-Z7, XBA-Z5, PHA3 and balanced Kimber Kable MUC-B20BL1 a few days ago, thought I would be set, then I read about different cables. Hope some experts can explain which is the better cable: DHC, Norne or these Kimber Kable engineered cables from SONY; and which cables would you guys pair with MDR-Z7 if cost is no concern.
 
Thanks!!!

 
I'm no cable expert but all the cables you mentioned should be better than the ones Sony includes (better sound and materials). As for which among them sounds better; doubt any one person would invest in all of them so comparisons may be difficult.
 
I was about to order a cable from www.plussoundaudio.com (they already have the z7 in drop down choices) but am considering that the Kimber may be better since it was engineered alongside the z7.