[alpha421]

Kimber cables for the Z7 comes in two types: PHA-3/PONO balanced and SE (singled ended).

 

[Whitigir]

Thought they were made for the PHA-3 balanced out?

Well... Z7 is easy on the amp. I usually run them straight out from the Macbook Pro cuz I bring them with me on the move. It's one of those headphones that looks robust enough to take a beating on the road and comfy enough to wear for a long time.

I run it straight out of Zx2 and listening at 65% . Yes, cables do improve it, I use silver cables and I love it.

 

[yakkosmurf]

   
Thought they were made for the PHA-3 balanced out?
 
Well... Z7 is easy on the amp. I usually run them straight out from the Macbook Pro cuz I bring them with me on the move. It's one of those headphones that looks robust enough to take a beating on the road and comfy enough to wear for a long time.

I have never tried them from my MacBook as I don't keep music on it.  But, I have found the Z7s to be terrible out of my Xperia Z5 or my iPhone 6S.  I prefer to use my in ear headphones when using either of those sources on the go, which is usually my Z5.

 

[israikc]

  I have never tried them from my MacBook as I don't keep music on it.  But, I have found the Z7s to be terrible out of my Xperia Z5 or my iPhone 6S.  I prefer to use my in ear headphones when using either of those sources on the go, which is usually my Z5.

I've listened to mine straight out of my MacBook Pro (2010) and they sound really good, although they sound a little better when I'm driving them with the Fiio E17 using the optical input to connect to the Mac.
 
They also sound good out of my Xperia Z3 even though the volume is almost insufficient

 

[yakkosmurf]

  I've listened to mine straight out of my MacBook Pro (2010) and they sound really good, although they sound a little better when I'm driving them with the Fiio E17 using the optical input to connect to the Mac.
 
They also sound good out of my Xperia Z3 even though the volume is almost insufficient

Insufficient volume is definitely the biggest issue straight out of a phone.

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  Kimber cables for the Z7 comes in two types: PHA-3/PONO balanced and SE (singled ended).

 
You can also reterminate the Kimber like I had done...
 

 

 
And another thanks to @PETEREK...

 

[alpha421]

Nicely done.

 

[purk]

I run it straight out of Zx2 and listening at 65%

. Yes, cables do improve it, I use silver cables and I love it.

I was able to audition Whitigir's cable and it was indeed a nice improvement over a Moon-Audio Silver Dragon that I have...let alone the stock cable.

 

[gerelmx1986]

 

  I've listened to mine straight out of my MacBook Pro (2010) and they sound really good, although they sound a little better when I'm driving them with the Fiio E17 using the optical input to connect to the Mac.
 
They also sound good out of my Xperia Z3 even though the volume is almost insufficient

Insufficient volume is definitely the biggest issue straight out of a phone.

yup same here but with XBA-Z5 i thin will be returning to my ZX100 (got it back issuing refund later, cannot deal with russian customs LOL)

 

[israikc]

  Insufficient volume is definitely the biggest issue straight out of a phone.

Yes, specially with Sony Xperia phones, they're just too quiet. Sometimes I like my music loud (you just can't headbang to quiet music...) and the Z3 isn't loud enough with some of my gear like the MDR-Z7 and sometimes the XBA-4
 

  yup same here but with XBA-Z5 i thin will be returning to my ZX100 (got it back issuing refund later, cannot deal with russian customs LOL)

I've been using the Z7 straight out of my A17 Walkman and the sound is awesome! I also listened to them from my iPod Shuffle and thanks to the detail retrieval of the Z7 I could hear the iPod SQ is not as good as the A17 or any of my phones

 

[GoodGucciGoo]

I just got my Z7 and I absolutely adore the craftsmanship! Every detail of this headphone is just so beautiful and not to mention it has serial number lol. Call me worldly or whatnot I like my headphones to have serial numbers. I don't get why this headphone is contentious tho. To my ears, it sounds perfectly fine. Why don't some of the head-fiers find this headphone enjoyable? 

 

[thanatosguan]

I just got my Z7 and I absolutely adore the craftsmanship! Every detail of this headphone is just so beautiful and not to mention it has serial number lol. Call me worldly or whatnot I like my headphones to have serial numbers. I don't get why this headphone is contentious tho. To my ears, it sounds perfectly fine. Why don't some of the head-fiers find this headphone enjoyable? 

The bass can get bloated. It's just a different style to your normal Sennheiser. No less accurate tho.

It has a very laid back sound. If you pick up some studio monitor headphones you'll notice Z7's qualities immediately.

Objectively they have high bass distortion and dipped mid responses, but measurements don't necessarily tell the whole story. Evidently, many enjoy the sound.

 

[pietcux]

I just got my Z7 and I absolutely adore the craftsmanship! Every detail of this headphone is just so beautiful and not to mention it has serial number lol. Call me worldly or whatnot I like my headphones to have serial numbers. I don't get why this headphone is contentious tho. To my ears, it sounds perfectly fine. Why don't some of the head-fiers find this headphone enjoyable? 

As I got the Z7 I was only amazed by its sound and thought this is the last can I will ever need. Then HeadFi and comments from friends talked me out of it and I sold it. After only 4 month I bought it again because I missed it's very emotional way of presenting my music. The only can that I am interested in now is the Sony Z1R as it seems to be a perected Z7. So if you like the Z7 as it is, take it listen to your music and enjoy.

 

[GoodGucciGoo]

Cool thanks! I really enjoy my Z7 with my Schiit Stack (Vali2+Modi2). Not sure why ppl are saying Z7 has a laid back sound tho, it's not what I am hearing from it lol. Maybe my tube amp changes the sound signature of the can?  

 

[pietcux]

Sure tubes change the sound a lot, but I can enjoy the Z7 straight out of my sold state amps or my DAP.