[ButtUglyJeff]

I'm still debating which cable upgrade to go with.  My future amp uses 4 pin XLR.  So I'm going between a Silver Dragon, or getting a Sony/Kimber, and having it reterminated...
 
If you think the Z7 is "real close", I would strongly consider a simple cable upgrade.
 
Decisions, decisions....

 

[gr8soundz]

   
I totally agree with you. 
 
However, if you have oily skin, your skin oil gets on the earpad which concerns me. (Because I do!)
 
I really should write some impressions and etc like you. 
 
It has been about three - four month since I have used Z7 and I haven't had any moment where I didn't like them. 

 
I have oily skin and quickly got tired of wiping down my headphones so often.
 
Might be overkill, but I started using something like these at home and they work for me so far:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009CDXPCG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=EWA9CUCTHPNC&coliid=I3TC3AHY6UIY3Y
 
I tested the sound with/without them several times and they didn't seem to affect the sound quality (admittedly, my ears rarely pick up anything past 16khz). The material is fairly thin and porous enough; similar to the fabric already covering most headphone drivers. Just make sure not to cover the ports atop and below each earcup on the Z7.

 

[SptTablo]

  I'm still debating which cable upgrade to go with.  My future amp uses 4 pin XLR.  So I'm going between a Silver Dragon, or getting a Sony/Kimber, and having it reterminated...
 
If you think the Z7 is "real close", I would strongly consider a simple cable upgrade.
 
Decisions, decisions....

Would you still recommend me to do a cable upgrade even if I have a Kimber? 
 
Mine is the 1.2m one. 
 
I was originally considering getting a pure silver cable by surf cable.

 

[SptTablo]

   
I have oily skin and quickly got tired of wiping down my headphones so often.
 
Might be overkill, but I started using something like these at home and they work for me so far:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009CDXPCG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=EWA9CUCTHPNC&coliid=I3TC3AHY6UIY3Y
 
I tested the sound with/without them several times and they didn't seem to affect the sound quality (admittedly, my ears rarely pick up anything past 16khz). The material is fairly thin and porous enough; similar to the fabric already covering most headphone drivers. Just make sure not to cover the ports atop and below each earcup on the Z7.

Nice idea. 
 
When I have my "listening session", it usually lasts hours since it is time when I do my assignments and etc in the evening so when I finish my listening, they are shiny due to my skin ...
 
Since you said that it does not effect the sound, I might as well give it a try. 
 
If I pick up some changes in the sound I might as well cut out the center part. ( I doubt it though.)
 
Thanks for the idea again!

 

[gr8soundz]

  Would you still recommend me to do a cable upgrade even if I have a Kimber? 
 
Mine is the 1.2m one. 
 
I was originally considering getting a pure silver cable by surf cable.

 
Haha...... 2 for 2.
 
I have a pure silver Surf Cable for my Z7. 
 
Don't like to EQ and had a hard time finding a good match for my iBasso R10. The Z7 fit the bill but bass was a little loose and wanted more treble. Pure silver cable solved that.
 
Surf Cable cost (even with pure silver) was lot cheaper than the Kimber too.

 

[SptTablo]

   
Haha...... 2 for 2.
 
I have a pure silver Surf Cable for my Z7. 
 
Don't like to EQ and had a hard time finding a good match for my iBasso R10. The Z7 fit the bill but bass was a little loose and wanted more treble. Pure silver cable solved that.

Oh wow. 
 
So there is evident change in the sound signature..
 
They asked me 150 USD for pure silver cable. (Including shipping to Canada that is.)
 
How much did they ask you?

 

[gr8soundz]

  Oh wow. 
 
So there is evident change in the sound signature..
 
They asked me 150 USD for pure silver cable. (Including shipping to Canada that is.)
 
How much did they ask you?

 
Can't recall exact amount but it was around $150 (think I paid $10 more for a combo termination). Still, much easier to stomach that for pure silver compared to Sony asking $230 for all copper (more strands in the Kimber but still......).
 
Also, the earpad covers I got were white. They were a bit cheaper and only for home use. Didn't wanna spend too much just to test them out but I'll be getting the black ones next time.

 

[SptTablo]

   
Can't recall exact amount but it was around $150 (think I paid $10 more for a combo termination). Still, much easier to stomach that for pure silver compared to Sony asking $230 for all copper (more strands in the Kimber but still......).
 
Also, the earpad covers I got were white. They were a bit cheaper and only for home use. Didn't wanna spend too much just to test them out but I'll be getting the black ones next time.

Aha, thanks for your input. 
 
I got Kimbers from Sony Korea for free as they had a promotion where if you purchase Z7, you could choose from three variations of Kimber and they will give you for free.
 
So compare to the stock cable, if does tame bass a bit and brightens the can a bit, right?
 
I really wished I lived in US.
 
Too bad variety of products is bad in Canada. (Plus exchange rate bumps the price a lot)

 

[gr8soundz]

  Aha, thanks for your input. 
 
I got Kimbers from Sony Korea for free as they had a promotion where if you purchase Z7, you could choose from three variations of Kimber and they will give you for free.
 
So compare to the stock cable, if does tame bass a bit and brightens the can a bit, right?
 
I really wished I lived in US.
 
Too bad variety of products is bad in Canada. (Plus exchange rate bumps the price a lot)

 
Lucky you. No free Kimber cables over here.
 
I needed a shorter cable than the 10ft stock but couldn't find a really cheap one so I spent a little more for the full silver.
 
Never tried the Kimber but did try a copper Surf Cable before going to silver. Even that cable sounded a bit better than stock.
 
Not sure how much improvement (if any) between the Kimber and surf silver. If the Kimber sounds better vs. stock I say stick with that and save your $150 (or put it towards another upgrade).

 

[SptTablo]

   
Lucky you. No free Kimber cables over here.
 
I needed a shorter cable than the 10ft stock but couldn't find a really cheap one so I spent a little more for the full silver.
 
Never tried the Kimber but did try a copper Surf Cable before going to silver. Even that cable sounded a bit better than stock.
 
Not sure how much improvement (if any) between the Kimber and surf silver. If the Kimber sounds better vs. stock I say stick with that and save your $150 (or put it towards another upgrade).

True. 
 
I have a Cayin C5 portable amp and ever since I got IFI Nano iDSD - it is awesome btw - I wanted to get better headphone amp. 
 
Since Kimber does have improvements over stock one (although it is still silver plated copper cable), I will save my money towards Micro iCAN headphone amp.
 
And then if I can spare 150, why not try pure silver?
 
I mean I honestly think if you can change the sound signature of the one can by spending 150 bucks, I would rather do that than buying different can. (Although there is another debate whether it is evident enough to see the difference or not. I will see it myself.)
 
Thanks again for your help gr8soundz!

 

[Gadget67]

I'm still debating which cable upgrade to go with.  My future amp uses 4 pin XLR.  So I'm going between a Silver Dragon, or getting a Sony/Kimber, and having it reterminated...

If you think the Z7 is "real close", I would strongly consider a simple cable upgrade.

Decisions, decisions....

I'm a cable agnostic myself, but I do believe a silver cable will produce a slightly brighter signature and may (or may not) diminish the darker, heavier characteristics of the Z7's. The stock Sony copper cable is Oxygen free copper and I'm skeptical that the copper Kimber cable would produce a measurably better result. Full disclosure, I do use a Moon Audio silver dragon cable ( balanced dual 3 pin XLR) with my Audeze LCD-X and I think it's an "improvement" over the stock cable. Your mileage may vary!

 

[zazex]

I'm a cable agnostic myself, but I do believe a silver cable will produce a slightly brighter signature and may (or may not) diminish the darker, heavier characteristics of the Z7's. The stock Sony copper cable is Oxygen free copper and I'm skeptical that the copper Kimber cable would produce a measurably better result. Full disclosure, I do use a Moon Audio silver dragon cable ( balanced dual 3 pin XLR) with my Audeze LCD-X and I think it's an "improvement" over the stock cable. Your mileage may vary!

 
Silver plated copper cables (SPC) result in brighter sound than pure copper cables.
Not only from my own experience, but from custom cable makers like
milian acoustics who warn that the SPC is brighter.
 
I tried SPC cables on my Z7's, but I'm ready to order the Kimber from Amazon.
 
I found the SPC too bright and sort of caustic, especially at higher levels.
 
 
Notably, the Kimber appears to be backordered 

Seems that folks are buying the stuff
in numbers greater than anticipated
 
And, withal, even using the stock cable I still think the Z7's
are really fine headphones.  I would not hesitate to
recommend them.

 

[Gadget67]

I'm a cable agnostic myself, but I do believe a silver cable will produce a slightly brighter signature and may (or may not) diminish the darker, heavier characteristics of the Z7's. The stock Sony copper cable is Oxygen free copper and I'm skeptical that the copper Kimber cable would produce a measurably better result. Full disclosure, I do use a Moon Audio silver dragon cable ( balanced dual 3 pin XLR) with my Audeze LCD-X and I think it's an "improvement" over the stock cable. Your mileage may vary!

Silver plated copper cables (SPC) result in brighter sound than pure copper cables.
Not only from my own experience, but from custom cable makers like
milian acoustics who warn that the SPC is brighter.

I tried SPC cables on my Z7's, but I'm ready to order the Kimber from Amazon.

I found the SPC too bright and sort of caustic, especially at higher levels.


Notably, the Kimber appears to be backordered 
Seems that folks are buying the stuff
in numbers greater than anticipated

And, withal, using the stock cable I still think the Z7's
are really fine headphones.  I would not hesitate to
recommend them.

I didn't realize the Kimbercables were silver plated copper. I may change my mind on those!

 

[SptTablo]

I didn't realize the Kimbercables were silver plated copper. I may change my mind on those!

What many people say about Kimber cables for Z7 is that it is not an upgrade where you can hear the difference evidently but it is a sort of an upgrade where you are not gonna be able to go back to stock cable. 
 
I hope that made sense...

 

[Kerouac]

I have the Kimber balanced cable now for some weeks and I can definitely hear an improvement in sq with it over the Z7 stock (balanced) cable out of my Pono Player. Better treble, tighter bass, more details etc...
 

 
The downside imo is that the Kimber kable hasn't got the best ergonomics. It's very well build (real eye candy), but also a bit stiff and sturdy. Because I use my Pono mostly to walk around the house, the stock balanced cable feels much lighter and comfortable on the go. And that's why I'm seriously considering to sell the Kimber again for around the price I got it (€150)
I guess it's a great cable for desktop use though...