[zazex]

  It's actually easy to compare the two. They just don't sound the same after the comparison

 Don't find the Sony like the 650, either.
 
I thought Sony did a fine job with the Z7.  

A terrific job, IMO.
 
It's striking that reading through this immense thread,
over 3K posts, there's hardly a bad word to be found.
 
Most unusual.
 
And, at the same time, there's certainly plenty
of praise.
 
Then there are those that, it seems, don't know
quite what to make of them. 

 

[TMRaven]

There's plenty of negative impressions on them.

 

[zazex]

  There's plenty of negative impressions on them.

Hmmm,  following this thread from the beginning, what negative impressions
have been posted are more of the uncertain variety....very few emotional
"horrible headphones" sort of posts in comparison to the total number of
posts in the thread (i.e. ratio)....not to mention the incredible hype at the
beginning which the actual headphones had to match or overcome
 
 
I like Sony electronics in general,  but I've no reason to support (or not)
these headphones.  I had a good feeling about them, bought them
at full initial list, and  have been enjoying them tremendously along
with my other headphones.
 
Cheers,

 

[TMRaven]

But they are still there.  As the nature of any thread on head-fi that revolves around a certain product, the people who like the product will stay within the thread and keep posting about it, and the people who didn't like it will leave and move on to other threads.  The hype surrounding the Z7 wasn't as strong as other headphones for the very reason of there being plenty of mixed emotions from the getgo concerning its sound.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

Have the new Kimber cable, unbalanced. Apogee ONE for iOS pairs very well with Z7 and Z5.

 

[czcsfb]

Hey Mike, glad you got your Kimber cable, looking forward to hear your thoughts on it. 

 

[purk]

I'm burning my Z7 in right now and the Z7 has opened up very nicely especially with the Sony PHA-3.  I'm planning to make an adapter so I can run the Z7 balanced out of my GS-X MKII.  IMO, a really good silver cable upgraded should really benefits the sound of the Z7.  It well help tighten up the bass, bring out details & vocal, and enhance the treble response.  I'm not too keen on the Z7 in single-ended configuration but do like it in a balanced mode out of the PHA3.  I also have the CD3000 and I for now I do like the CD3000 better.  BTW, the R10 is still very much superior to the Z7 in all counts except in bass output.

 

[Mickice]

  A terrific job, IMO.
 
It's striking that reading through this immense thread,
over 3K posts, there's hardly a bad word to be found.
 
Most unusual.
 
And, at the same time, there's certainly plenty
of praise.
 
Then there are those that, it seems, don't know
quite what to make of them. 

This I agree with, the signature might not be for everyone but its detailed, clean and sharp, with very little hashness, you can really crank these suckers for hours. (Not really advised tho.)

The only phones that really best it, are better more expensive gear. 

 

[zorin]

I'm sorry if I came off a bit harsh to you. I would really appreciate questioning or correction of what I said. If I'm being wrong, then I need to know.

The gist of what I wrote is that I don't believe in the idea of choking points in conductors that aren't subjected to any noticeable amounts of thermal resistance. Rather, we will have three basic things to fight; resistance, inductance and capacitance. These will be proportional to the length of a given cable.

At the same time, it seems that some cable-makers rather than just reducing these characteristics can use them to tune the cable for a specific kind of headphone: increase inductance to tame highs; increase resistance to even out impedance differences, etc.

I'm not arguing in favour of cable upgrades in any general way. I think there's a lot that can be done to tailor the sound before cable upgrades need come in to consideration. But if people want to experiment or buy after-market cables for their gear, I think it's OK. A lot of people would say we audiophiles are a crazy bunch anyway, even without the fancy cables

That means that for instance headphones like Beyerdynamic T1 need a cable not with a UP OCC oxygen free clean wire but with a filthy [with impurities] low quality wire, because a substandard wire has higher resistance and this higher resistance would "even out impedance differences" [about 800 Ohm when considering T1] between parts of the frequency spectrum when generated by the headphones' driver - isn't that so ?

 

[joey99]

I finally got to try out the Z7 in hong kong last night for an extended time. Got to compare them with a few beyers and the shure 1540 and 1840 and a few others the sales recommended. I was actually going out to buy the Z5 but didn't like them at all vocals were all lost in the background .. coming from a 846 .. I couldn't pull the trigger on it.
 
Love the comfort of the 1540 and 1840. These things are crazy light and feels like you're wearing nothing .. really great design. Too bad the 1540 sounded too closed in and muffled for me. Loved the 1840 .. sounded very much like the 846 but much more open of course .. too bad I don't have use for an open can .... anyway didnt' want something that sounded same as the 846. But 1840 is very good very nice .. might have one one day.
 
The Z7 just looks amazing and they're so light! pads are so comfortable .. but I can't see myself using these for long periods .. the clamping is a little much and seems like it can get really hot after a while. Bass is crazy on these when the music calls for it. separation of vocals and bass and instruments is really good and I get a very 3d sound from these where I have to look around the room to see where the music is coming from .. this is what I wanted from a hp! 
 
needless to say .. for HK$4000 (about US$500)..I walked out with a Z7. It was cheaper than all the ones above and I liked the look and build of them the most too. But I"m pretty sure usually the shures should be cheaper .. I think US products are more expensive in hongkong.
 
tried a few beyers after that .. and after just a few seconds on things like the T70, T90 .. I thought where's the bass?! compared to the Z7, everyhting else didn't have much bass. 
 
Had a few more hours on them last night and just couldn't stop listening to them. very happy Just love how I can hear music coming from everywhere ... such a wide and deep sound stage for a a closed can. I usually look for cans and iems with fairly forward vocals .. the Z7 is neither forward or recessed and I find these just nice.

 

[zorin]

If you like an example of how "poor" the MDR Z7 is playing some music, please take a listen to the new album by Bears's Den, named Islands. Fantastic album, here below is the link. This is a great album so I recommend it to anyone, but it serves as an example for the Z7 performance.

http://www.bearsdenmusic.co.uk

Is not that it sounds bad, it is worse, it sounds intolerable. And this is not an album with complex music reproduction.

If anyone takes a listen to this music using the MDR Z7 and thinks that the Z7 is good or great, please share that because then maybe I have a "lemon", a defective unit.

P.S. BTW I listened to this album today with my B&O Beoplay H6 and it sounds great. Then I arrived home to do a new test of the Z7 and my God, my jaw dropped, I could not believe how bad it plays this simple music vs the B&O H6 (or any other decent headphone)

This is a well mastered album, very good sound. This style of music is not my cup of tea but I admit, a pretty good music. This album sounds excellent on Audio Technica.
 
Quote:

Not going to sign up for spotify, but I looked up their channel on youtube. Listening to the music on my Sony MA900s, which are similar, but even darker than Z7s and it sounds great! I heard the H6 at RMAF and thought it was pretty meh.

You do not have to sign up to spotify. Just go to either :
1 - deezer.com and register and listen for free [you do not have to choose stream to phone or to tablet, just go to search and type the name of band and the name of an album to get straight to it, or type the name of the band and pick an album to listen to.]
2 - grooveshark.com and register and listen for free. The search mode on this site is a bit wonky, sometimes you have to search different ways to get to an album or song.
3 - musicme.com and register and listen for free. Search the artist/band and then click on
A - 'Tous les albums...' [All albums of...] on top of page
B - 'Tous les titres...'  [All songs of ...]  lower on the page

 

[zorin]

   
I feel like there are few options in this class because closed headphones' main pro is noise isolation for portable usage which makes most closed options to be in the portable sub-$400 price range. Otherwise, if you are looking for a full-sized pair of headphones for home usage, open headphones generally sound more natural and have better sound stage.
 
I don't really see the demand for closed $500+ headphones when open headphones generally outperform closed at the same price point. I guess if you really like a specific closed headphone's sound signature or are looking for the bassy reverb that closed designs have.
 
This class seems to be a really weird niche in the already pretty niche headphone hobby from my perspective.

You describe the situation of some 50 years ago.

 

[jeremya]

I've had the MDR-Z7s for a couple of months now and I really like them. I heard them first at RMAF and couldn't get them out of my mind... They really shine with high-res music. I agree with many that the low-end is both substantial and yet can seem tubby / flubby or unfocused with some units (like the circuit in my iPhone 5S), the Geek Out 1000 I have really seems to reign them in pretty well.
 
The thing I like most about them (and I like a very sharp, clinical sound) is that I feel like they let me see more into the music at times than I do with other (albeit less expensive) cans. With some things they don't seem as outright musical as my HD650s were, but what they lack in presentation they make up for with apparent accuracy. I suppose it would be like comparing accurate frequency response vs. accurate time domain response. I feel like the Sony's, while being very capable with their extended frequency range, seem even more capable in the time domain. Despite being huge, their drivers really do turn on a dime, which leads to some very awesome listening.
 
I concur with others on listening fatigue. I find that I can listen to them for hours on end -- however, I also find that the drivers are conditioning me to turn the music *down* just as much as they make me want to turn it up. They really do present such a nice soundstage, and reveal so much of the music, that I can listen at progressively quieter and quieter volumes and still enjoy the music every bit as much. For example, right now I'm listening to Pentatonix first album at 8% volume through the Geek Out 1000. I have to turn my Sound Blaster X-Fi (external usb dac) up much, much higher to get the same energy from the cans. It's nuts. I'm sure this must be preserving my hearing to some extent... which I view as a bonus.
 
Adding a linear power supply (Geek LPS4) really just dropped the noise floor even further, which has let me turn it down even more of late (again without feeling I'm losing anything)... I can't wait to hear what these sound like with the Geek Pulse Xfi in balanced mode...

 

[hola]

Cable... and now linear power supply...

 

[TokenGesture]

Sounds great without any upgrades