Sony's new flagship 2014 - MDR-Z7
Jun 22, 2018 at 7:16 AM Post #8,461 of 9,173
Jun 22, 2018 at 7:41 AM Post #8,462 of 9,173
I’d say about a 1/4 wide and 1/2 inch tall. I just compress it in there so it fits around the rim underneath the pads.

Okay, thanks for the information. I found some adhesive backed Poron foam. 1/2 inch thick. Guess I can try that. I saw a photos somewhere months ago of a modded Z7 with two layers of foam and they were cut so as to be offset. Not sure what effect that has on the sound. I can experiment. I'm not having any ear touching issues as of yet.
 
Jun 22, 2018 at 7:51 AM Post #8,463 of 9,173
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I was wrong about the whole ears touching drivers issue. It seems that my left ear was actually pushing onto the inside of the cup so it was just a false impression, thank you.
After a week of using them (a lot), i have some mixed feelings about these.


I felt disappointed with the Z7 when I first got them. It tooke a several days to warm up to them. Within a couple weeks I was hooked. I never listen to my HD650 or HD600 anymore. They sound underwhelming compared to the Z7. So you might continue to warm up to the Z7 as you listen to them.
 
Jun 22, 2018 at 8:41 AM Post #8,464 of 9,173
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I felt disappointed with the Z7 when I first got them. It tooke a several days to warm up to them. Within a couple weeks I was hooked. I never listen to my HD650 or HD600 anymore. They sound underwhelming compared to the Z7. So you might continue to warm up to the Z7 as you listen to them.

I think my main issue might be the fact that i've only listened, for around 8 years or so, to 2 headphones: DT880 and a pair of Technics RP-DJ700. I actually used the Technics for all of my projects and i think i might have gotten a tad too used to their sound. You are right, though. The more i listen, the more i enjoy them. I have a pair of HD600 around the house and while they do sound beautiful, they seem to be, exactly as you pointed, underwhelming. We have a word, in my language, for this, it's called "sterp" - which means empty/hollow/undefined/barren :)

It is not all in the graphs. To me the DT990 sounds more natural and consistent, the Amiron more just a little hollow and less natural. No big deal though. On top the built quality of the DT1990 is stellar and the Amiron is just ok.

That's what i was thinking. I'm not a man of graphs and never issued a purchase based on what they've shown me. I can't find a place to test the Amirons, sadly. The only place i can order them from is outside my country and this makes the whole "sound is subjective" issue even worse.
 
Jun 29, 2018 at 1:44 PM Post #8,465 of 9,173
Can anybody recommend a balanced cable for using these with my soon to arrive NW ZX300?

Thank you.

Shane D
 
Jun 29, 2018 at 8:33 PM Post #8,466 of 9,173
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Jun 29, 2018 at 9:19 PM Post #8,467 of 9,173
Jun 30, 2018 at 1:39 AM Post #8,468 of 9,173
Thank you. That price is not bad. Probably about $125.00 Canadian. I would like to find a Canadian source, but I will check them out. I would like to have it for next weekend, if possible.

Shane D
Yout might want to use the Sony Kimber cable terminated to 4.4mm balanced. It will improve the sound at large, just because it is balanced. It is around 300 $ from Japan though.
 
Jun 30, 2018 at 6:39 AM Post #8,469 of 9,173
Yout might want to use the Sony Kimber cable terminated to 4.4mm balanced. It will improve the sound at large, just because it is balanced. It is around 300 $ from Japan though.

$300.00 for a CABLE? I know there are many that feel that cables can be almost magical, but I am not really one of them. I wonder if I could just get the balanced cable that came with the phones re-terminated? I'd like to keep the cost between $100.00 to $150.00, but I will keep an open mind.

Thanks for the input!

Shane D
 
Jun 30, 2018 at 8:29 AM Post #8,470 of 9,173
$300.00 for a CABLE? I know there are many that feel that cables can be almost magical, but I am not really one of them. I wonder if I could just get the balanced cable that came with the phones re-terminated? I'd like to keep the cost between $100.00 to $150.00, but I will keep an open mind.

Thanks for the input!

Shane D
I know that it is expensive. Sadly Sony does not offer a cheap balanced cable for the Z7. There ois no need to spend that much. But you should get a balanced cable to get the most out of the dap and headphone that you have. I could benefit from the Z1R stock cable and experience how much the Z7 improves balanced on my WM1A. Sony simply does not sell it seperate. Now I got the Sony/Kimber also as a backup solution for both headphones. You could have the balanced cable which comes with the Z7 reterminate to 4.4mm Pentaconn too. The plugs are starting to get availble.
 
Jun 30, 2018 at 8:50 AM Post #8,471 of 9,173
I know that it is expensive. Sadly Sony does not offer a cheap balanced cable for the Z7. There ois no need to spend that much. But you should get a balanced cable to get the most out of the dap and headphone that you have. I could benefit from the Z1R stock cable and experience how much the Z7 improves balanced on my WM1A. Sony simply does not sell it seperate. Now I got the Sony/Kimber also as a backup solution for both headphones. You could have the balanced cable which comes with the Z7 reterminate to 4.4mm Pentaconn too. The plugs are starting to get availble.

Just when I think I am finished...

Shane D
 
Jun 30, 2018 at 9:42 AM Post #8,472 of 9,173
Try contacting @PETEREK
He makes some very nice 4pin XLR reterminated cables(Or from scratch) for the Z7. Or even Venus audio.
I bought @PETEREK’s cable he made for this HP. It’s very nice and may/probably be less expensive then going out on eBay or something of the sort. Plus he’s a trustworthy guy and it’ll be quality.
Since rebuying this HP, I’ve fallen in love with it’s signature all over again. It’s also somewhat modded and sounds so much better then the first one I owned. The cable had a lot to do with it.

Edit: you want this for a DAP. My bad. Anyway. If anyone is looking for a great balanced cable for their desktop setup, I’d highly recommended going to him on Etsy.
 
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Jun 30, 2018 at 5:58 PM Post #8,473 of 9,173
I'm beginning to question Sony's reliability here. Last night, the left channel on my Z7 has stopped working. I originally thought it was my cable (spent an hour resoldering my TRRS jack and all), but sadly it is the left driver that went dead. I disassembled everything and indeed it was the left driver that no longer making any music. My Z7 has less than 500 hours of play time and I'm the original owner...very disappointed. I will have invest $130 on this piece of crap and order a replacement from Sony. Sorry for my rant guys.

this exactly just happened to me right now. these have very low miles and were working great when i last used them (a month ago?). ugh.

edit: does anyone know how i can get a new driver or have it repaired? i contacted sony and they said i have to go through united radio??? i looked them up and they have a ton of awful yelp reviews and they are on the opposite coast. seems like there should be SOMETHING on the west coast. i really couldn't believe how bad sony's support was.
 
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Jun 30, 2018 at 8:00 PM Post #8,474 of 9,173
$300.00 for a CABLE? I know there are many that feel that cables can be almost magical, but I am not really one of them. I wonder if I could just get the balanced cable that came with the phones re-terminated? I'd like to keep the cost between $100.00 to $150.00, but I will keep an open mind.

Thanks for the input!

Shane D
Yes, just get the cable reterminated which I believe is possible. I used to get all such work done by a member here PETEREK. It has been a few years so I'm not sure if he is active, but even being from the US I found his work reasonably priced, and of a high caliber. Maybe see if he is still active?
 
Jun 30, 2018 at 8:02 PM Post #8,475 of 9,173
Try contacting @PETEREK
He makes some very nice 4pin XLR reterminated cables(Or from scratch) for the Z7. Or even Venus audio.
I bought @PETEREK’s cable he made for this HP. It’s very nice and may/probably be less expensive then going out on eBay or something of the sort. Plus he’s a trustworthy guy and it’ll be quality.
Since rebuying this HP, I’ve fallen in love with it’s signature all over again. It’s also somewhat modded and sounds so much better then the first one I owned. The cable had a lot to do with it.

Edit: you want this for a DAP. My bad. Anyway. If anyone is looking for a great balanced cable for their desktop setup, I’d highly recommended going to him on Etsy.
So funny, I just recommended him as well as I hadn't read to the bottom of the thread. Glad to see he is still active, he did a few things for me and each time did them very well.
 

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