[WTPek]

 
Greetings,
 
This is just a heads-up about my experience, today, after I ordered a pair of Z7's at this great price from Amazon UK.
They've been £474-ish for a while so when I saw them for £339 I jumped on them.
 
They arrived a couple of hours ago, and to cut to the chase, they are most definitely NOT new headphones.
Inside Amazon packaging is the Sony box inside a plastic wrapping. The wrapping had been opened as the white sticky
seal was torn open. The Sony box was not sealed-as-new, it was just the bare box.
The flap that one pulls out to then lift the inside black box out, was bent and either side (where somebody had evidently
opened it previously) was ripped a little.
Pulled out inside black headphone box - right by the little tag that one pulls to lift the box open was a large, smudged
mark, which was obviously a fingerprint that somebody had then tried to wipe clean,
So, I wasn't too happy. I expect something to be brand new, unless otherwise stated. 
I paid less (a lot less) recently, to buy a refurbished MacBook Pro, and that is fine, I realise this that is not an absolutely
brand new item.
But whatever the reason behind Amazon being able to offer the Z7 at this price, I am not happy that something arrives
that has so obviously been opened and used, and yet is still being sold as a new item.
 
Incidentally, when I had a look at the headphones themselves (out of curiosity, as I had already decided they were
going back) I noticed something disconcerting. They are lovely to wear, but when I moved my head (every time) there
was a click-type sound from the left-hand ear cup area.
At first I thought perhaps some part of the cable was touching the ear cup when I moved my head, but it wasn't. I couldn't
make out what it was, but every single time I turned my head from left side to right side, I heard this click-type sound.
Was that perhaps why somebody else returned this? Or do perhaps Sony have a job-lot of returned/defective Z7's that
they have offered to Amazon for a low price? Which Amazon then pass on, and shift lots of units?
 
Anyway, when I ordered these two nights ago, there were supposedly 9 in stock; an hour ago there was 1.
I sincerely hope that others who have jumped on these at this good price, do indeed get a brand new, SEALED item.
I'm not getting a replacement, as now, at this price, I am not confident that these are 100% brand new & "perfect" items.
 
Best of luck.
 
R.

I did the same mistake as you did. Saw it at 339 GBP and I jumped onto it as well.
 
Received it today and it is indeed opened before (plastic wrapping has a small piece of white tape on top, looks ripped). Faced the same click sound on the left cup, but it was gone when I detached the cable. So I'm not so sure what's the problem. I submitted for a return already after stumbling upon this thread.
 
I must say, thank you for the heads-up. 

 

[Demibeard]

I must have been very lucky, I too saw the £339 price, and purchased, there is no visible evidence of them being 'pre-owned' , none of the cable bags were opened, nor the instructions, no fingerprints anywhere. I have no click sound.
 
They look brand new, or did, they've not spent much time off my head.
 
One thing I did notice is that initially, they seemed quiet, but after half an hour or so of listening, I had to lower the volume, and keep lowering it for some time.
 
If this is some sort of perceived new tightness, I'm not sure. Now though my ZX1 can drive these at a reasonable level on it's own, not deafening, nowhere near, but full volume is scowl inducing.

 

[WTPek]

  I must have been very lucky, I too saw the £339 price, and purchased, there is no visible evidence of them being 'pre-owned' , none of the cable bags were opened, nor the instructions, no fingerprints anywhere. I have no click sound.
 
They look brand new, or did, they've not spent much time off my head.
 
One thing I did notice is that initially, they seemed quiet, but after half an hour or so of listening, I had to lower the volume, and keep lowering it for some time.
 
If this is some sort of perceived new tightness, I'm not sure. Now though my ZX1 can drive these at a reasonable level on it's own, not deafening, nowhere near, but full volume is scowl inducing.

I envy you for that.
 
I managed to play with it for quite a while and I must say they are very very comfortable. Love the wide soundstage and accuracy of the bass.
 
Too bad, £339 is a bit too much for me to pay for something that seems to be "opened before" (though I must say, it looks perfectly brand new when I first opened it, and I'm sure there's a way to seal those cable bags back nicely). 
 
Glad to know your purchase is a brand new one.

 

[davidmolliere]

 
But the PHA-1A looks beautifully compact and so then the only thing that "bothers" me about imagining taking a pair of Z7's out with me, as effectively a pair of portable cans, is the cable, as I've mentioned.
How easy do you guys think it would be to get another cable made that could be able to be attached to the Z7, with its screw-on attachment to the cups? Repeating myself here, but if I could get a nifty 1.2m or so cable, then re-acquiring a Z7 might be on the cards for me, especially as I now wouldn't be getting the PHA-3, which saves me £500.
 
The PHA-1A tempts me though, as it look lovely and even though the Z7 doesn't fold flat or compact down, I would still on occasion be happy to take it out with me as the 1A is so brilliantly compact.
 
Thanks for any thoughts.

 
 
Interresting product, beautiful, apparently designed to be paired with MDR1A, from the specs I'd say it might be short powering the Z7 (giving 80mW at 32Ω, at 70Ω not sure, forgot the math behind this...), also it's apparently a Wolfson DAC so warmer sounding probably. I personally think the Z7 doesn't need a "warm" source
 

Sampling Frequency/Bit	PCM: Max. 192kHz/24bit
Impedance	8Ω-600Ω
Frequency Response	10-100kHz
Maximum Output	Approx. 148mW + 148mW (8Ω, 10% distortion) Approx. 80mW + 80mW (32Ω, 1% distortion) Approx. 16.4mW + 16.4mW (300Ω, 10% distortion)
Output(s)	Stereo mini jack (Only a 3-pole stereo mini plug is supported)
Input(s)	Computer/WALKMAN®/Xperia connecting port, iPhone/iPad/iPod® connecting port
Power Source / Battery Type	Built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery
Battery Life	Approx. 6h
Battery Charging Time	Approx. 2h
Dimensions (W x H x D)	Approx. 62 x 18.5 x 109 mm
Weight (Without Cord)	Approx. 145g
Supplied Accessories	Digital cable for WALKMAN®, Digital cable for Xperia®, Micro-USB cable, Silicone belts and Protection sheet

 
As I own a FiiO E18, and I have tested it with the Z7, it's sounding great already. Less detail, soundstage and imaging not as good as the PHA-3 but still very enjoyable
 
It's really portable too and has better power ( >300mW@32Ω), has a TI Burr Brown PCM1798 DAC and I don't know how the PHA-1A will be priced but probably pricier.
 
There are probably other options that I don't know, but FiiO E18 is a good portable source for the Z7 IMHO.

 

[Mink]

  I must have been very lucky, I too saw the £339 price, and purchased, there is no visible evidence of them being 'pre-owned' , none of the cable bags were opened, nor the instructions, no fingerprints anywhere. I have no click sound.
 
They look brand new, or did, they've not spent much time off my head.
 
One thing I did notice is that initially, they seemed quiet, but after half an hour or so of listening, I had to lower the volume, and keep lowering it for some time.
 
If this is some sort of perceived new tightness, I'm not sure. Now though my ZX1 can drive these at a reasonable level on it's own, not deafening, nowhere near, but full volume is scowl inducing.

I had the same thing. They are getting louder with time, never experienced this with other headphones.

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  Perhaps, for those Z7 users who want to use it if not out and about, but certainly not "tethered" to the listening room, then the soon-to-be-released PHA-1A might be a compact solution that might partner the Z7 really nicely? It may not be the optimum (which one presumes the PHA-3 to be) but they have to have made it at least with a nod to the Z7 one would think - that it can at least drive them reasonably well and with decent results.
I know the PHA-3 isn't as compact as its two earlier siblings, but when I had it in mind I was thinking that at least with the battery it was easily movable, even if not (for me) of a size that I would take it into town with me when I'm sat in various places reading, writing and stuff. But no battery here dealt with that ...
 
But the PHA-1A looks beautifully compact and so then the only thing that "bothers" me about imagining taking a pair of Z7's out with me, as effectively a pair of portable cans, is the cable, as I've mentioned.
How easy do you guys think it would be to get another cable made that could be able to be attached to the Z7, with its screw-on attachment to the cups? Repeating myself here, but if I could get a nifty 1.2m or so cable, then re-acquiring a Z7 might be on the cards for me, especially as I now wouldn't be getting the PHA-3, which saves me £500.
 
The PHA-1A tempts me though, as it look lovely and even though the Z7 doesn't fold flat or compact down, I would still on occasion be happy to take it out with me as the 1A is so brilliantly compact.
 
Thanks for any thoughts.

 
There is a cable upgrade for that...
 
http://store.sony.com/high-performance-portable-audio-cable-for-mdr-z7-zid27-MUCB12SM1/cat-27-catid-All-Portable-Audio-Cables;pgid=DgROWvRBGMlSRprFGwcWgP2_0000psNA46R9?_t=pfm%3Dsearch%26SearchTerm%3DMUC-B12SM1
 
Though its a bit pricey

 

[MaceHane2]

Thanks. Cable looks about perfect ...
 
...except for the fact that it will likely end up costing at least half (if I bought again from Amazon UK (in hope of getting a genuinely new unit) at the current price of 339) of the cost of the headphone itself. Which is insane.
 
Why they couldn't come with a shorter cable is yet another stupid decision on Sony's part. Not everyone using a headphone at home wants a bloody great huge & heavy cable weighing them down. Couple of years ago I bought my dad a MDR-1R to use with his iPod Classic and ho only listens on his sofa with iPod on his lap (or resting on sofa by his side) and to do that with the Z7's, with that long cable would be an inconvenience to him (and others I suspect)
 
Focal have the right idea with for example the cables they supply with their Spirit Pro - long audiophile cable and very nice quality (and perfectly weighted) shorter cable.
 
So yeah, nice cable - but does anyone know how to get a "version" of this, to fit the ear cup connectors, that won't end up costing probably close to (if not more than) £200?

 

[Mink]

The Z7s prove me again that headphones and speakers dictate the quality of sound for the most, amp and source are of much lesser concern.
The Z7s are completely grainless with almost every album and track I have listened to.
I revisited Beth Orton's Central Reservation after a couple of years and there just isn't any vibrating, edgy non-musical artifact in her voice. This album is completely grainless with the Z7s!
This grain always made me assume it was the recording itself, because different cables, more expensive sources and amps never got rid of it.
I especially tried (years ago) different sources, because the number 1 rule in the Audiophile Universe is "source first!". "Garbage in, garbage out".
Yes I brought this CD with me when I auditioned Hifi gear and this made me especially trust my own ears and to not upgrade my CD player and amp, because it was pointless.
Back at these days I foolish enough never suspected headphones and speakers had the biggest say about it. The Denon D5000s were the first pair of headphones that gave me a true hint in the right direction, but now these Sony's really prove that grain for the biggest (if not the whole part) is not source or amp related.

 

[TokenGesture]

I agree about vocals - they Z7's do something special with vocals - Sharon Van Etten's Are We There was spellbinding.  Add in the spacious soundstage (these sound like open phones) then at £300 isn these are something of a bargain

 

[RandomHajile]

Back up to £456 odd on Amazon !

I thought they were going to sell the 12 they had instock at £339 before a price change

I should get mine on Monday.

 

[MaceHane2]

Yes. Now I feel convinced that there was a reason they were available at that price. I can only speak for myself and for me that reason was that they were not selling me a new item.
 
edit: Another thought. When (if, because has it been discontinued?) Amazon France get the Beyerdynamic T5p back in stock, they're asking 613 euro's. To order from UK that will work out easily less than £500. Okay I haven't heard the T5p (or the Z7 properly, as in with an appropriate amp) but I'd hazard a guess that the T5p is quite comprehensively the "better" headphone in most respects. And it also most certainly does NOT need a high quality amp to show its quality. Yes a nice amp will certainly reveal more of its high end abilities, but its designed to be a portable amp that can be driven (and sound excellent) from pretty much anything.
 
I ended up regrettably cancelling my order for the T5p as my funds are limited and something else has popped up (non-headphones unfortunately!) and it's a shame as boy was I looking forward to getting them! I reckon <£500 for a T5p is a monumental bargain.

 

[RandomHajile]

When I bought mine at 6am, the stock went down to 7, and held it's £339 price.

But when I checked some minutes ago, price went up £117 and stock was showing 8.

I'm sure Sony would just use their outlet.sony.co.uk store to get rid of returned stock if anything.

 

[Progreacja]

  Yes. Now I feel convinced that there was a reason they were available at that price. I can only speak for myself and for me that reason was that they were not selling me a new item.
 
edit: Another thought. When (if, because has it been discontinued?) Amazon France get the Beyerdynamic T5p back in stock, they're asking 613 euro's. To order from UK that will work out easily less than £500. Okay I haven't heard the T5p (or the Z7 properly, as in with an appropriate amp) but I'd hazard a guess that the T5p is quite comprehensively the "better" headphone in most respects. And it also most certainly does NOT need a high quality amp to show its quality. Yes a nice amp will certainly reveal more of its high end abilities, but its designed to be a portable amp that can be driven (and sound excellent) from pretty much anything.
 
I ended up regrettably cancelling my order for the T5p as my funds are limited and something else has popped up (non-headphones unfortunately!) and it's a shame as boy was I looking forward to getting them! I reckon <£500 for a T5p is a monumental bargain.

I don't think that was the case... Usually if the box was open (return etc.) they put the product in "warehouse deals" category  with short description of the packaging... I wouldn't be surprised if somebody in the warehouse of amazon was "testing" them without permission 

 
 
BTW if you look for a bargains on Amazon you should try CamelCamelCamel http://camelcamelcamel.com/ you can set up the alerts for desired product when the price drops to desired level.. Sometimes you have to be patient, but it helped me to get some nice deals, when I wasn't in a hurry. AND you can see what was the price in past. I bought one year ago from  Amazon Germany (image missing)Denon AH-D600 for 128 Euro, thanks to this tool!

 

[Bill-P]

  Yes. Now I feel convinced that there was a reason they were available at that price. I can only speak for myself and for me that reason was that they were not selling me a new item.
 
edit: Another thought. When (if, because has it been discontinued?) Amazon France get the Beyerdynamic T5p back in stock, they're asking 613 euro's. To order from UK that will work out easily less than £500. Okay I haven't heard the T5p (or the Z7 properly, as in with an appropriate amp) but I'd hazard a guess that the T5p is quite comprehensively the "better" headphone in most respects. And it also most certainly does NOT need a high quality amp to show its quality. Yes a nice amp will certainly reveal more of its high end abilities, but its designed to be a portable amp that can be driven (and sound excellent) from pretty much anything.
 
I ended up regrettably cancelling my order for the T5p as my funds are limited and something else has popped up (non-headphones unfortunately!) and it's a shame as boy was I looking forward to getting them! I reckon <£500 for a T5p is a monumental bargain.

Don't get too hung up on the T5P. It is a better headphone than the Z7 at stock... if you don't listen to bass-heavy music.
 
But as soon as you play any bass at all, the Z7 holds a significant lead over the T5P.
 
And the modded Z7 is simply leaps and bounds better than the T5P.
 
And that's only where sound is concerned. Comfort, design, etc... the Z7 would easily surpass the T5P.

 

[Quiz]

Also posted this in the Z5 thread...
 
I currently have a Titanium HD in my desktop computer. Could I power the Z5 or Z7 without an amp with the Titanium HD? Thinking of using one or the other for PC gaming. Will the Z7 have a better sound stage than the Z5 when it comes to PC gaming?
 
Lastly, is it possible to connect the PHA-3 to my Titanium HD? If yes, how?