[WildMurph]

What's a good deal for a used for a Z7 these days?
Im thinking of upgrading from my Denon.

I bought mine in 2017 on ebay from a guy with a huge collection for I think around $360 USD. That included a pair of 4 foot and 5 foot custom OFC cables from SurfCablesLLC. I considered that to be a good deal at the time and still is. I would say $400 is fair for a pair in really good condition. But I wouldn't pay more than $300 for something that needs some "love" (ie. New Earpads, etc.)

 

[koover]

They’re going for anywhere from $200-$300 from what I’ve seen when they’re up. Just go into the classifieds for headphones and use the search button and input MDR-Z7. That’ll give you a good idea what they’re selling for. A lot of times a buyer will get them for less then the asking price so keep that under consideration.

Edit: I did a search for you and what I quoted above is spot on.

 

[bachatum]

I keep reading that the PHA-3 balanced with the MDR-Z7 are the best pairing. Has anyone tried the Z7 with a balanced amp (or any other amp) and compared against the PHA-3? I'm assuming a dedicated desktop amp would perform better than the PHA-3?
Also, has anyone who previously paired the Z7 with the PHA-3 prefer any other amp (balanced or SE) for the Z7 over the PHA-3? I've heard some folks say you have to use the Z7 with a "balanced" amp to really see them shine.
I'm interested in the PHA-3 but I have no use case for it's "portability" features and prefer to NOT have a amp that uses micro usb, since those connectors can be sensitive to movement and finicky overall. Also, I prefer to have a desktop solution, something that sits still and doesn't move around freely.
I'm thinking about trying to pair the Z7 with either a Jotunheim, Fostex HP-A4BL, or a THX amp.
Currently I'm using the Z7 with my RME Babyface Pro USB interface and don't have any issues but really curious if I can get a noticeable upgrade by pairing the headphones with a dedicated amp/dac.

 

[purk]

I recommend the Gilmore Lite MKII as a great candidate for the Z7 M1.

 

[CoryGillmore]

They’re going for anywhere from $200-$300 from what I’ve seen when they’re up. Just go into the classifieds for headphones and use the search button and input MDR-Z7. That’ll give you a good idea what they’re selling for. A lot of times a buyer will get them for less then the asking price so keep that under consideration.

Edit: I did a search for you and what I quoted above is spot on.

Spot on. I bought mine over the summer for $280 with no visible scuffs or scratches. I just got a Z7M2 a week ago at an absolute steal from the forums and now that I have both side by side to compare, I much prefer the Z7M2.

 

[Sp12er3]

I finally am a proud owner of this beauty

 

[CoryGillmore]

I finally am a proud owner of this beauty

Looks brand new! What’d you give for it?

 

[Sp12er3]

For first impression: whoever said that Denon's D600/7100 sound similar to Z7/Z1R they're right, they're similarly tuned. Other than that, quite an upgrade.

 

[Sp12er3]

That's actually mostly my composition and then editing hiding the mostly flaking lower headband pleather not surprised as it's in the 6000 range, so prob pretty old, plus climate in my country is quite humid.
Other than that, I did cursory inspection a couple minute ago, nothing seem to indicate it's been abused.

 

[CoryGillmore]

That's actually mostly my composition and then editing hiding the mostly flaking lower headband pleather not surprised as it's in the 6000 range, so prob pretty old, plus climate in my country is quite humid.
Other than that, I did cursory inspection a couple minute ago, nothing seem to indicate it's been abused.

Now get the Z7M2 to complete the set!

 

[Sp12er3]

Man, the Z7, Z7M2, and Z1R is built so well I start to wonder how Sony would tackle the design of an open back flagship.

 

[Isloo]

I keep reading that the PHA-3 balanced with the MDR-Z7 are the best pairing. Has anyone tried the Z7 with a balanced amp (or any other amp) and compared against the PHA-3? I'm assuming a dedicated desktop amp would perform better than the PHA-3?
Also, has anyone who previously paired the Z7 with the PHA-3 prefer any other amp (balanced or SE) for the Z7 over the PHA-3? I've heard some folks say you have to use the Z7 with a "balanced" amp to really see them shine.
I'm interested in the PHA-3 but I have no use case for it's "portability" features and prefer to NOT have a amp that uses micro usb, since those connectors can be sensitive to movement and finicky overall. Also, I prefer to have a desktop solution, something that sits still and doesn't move around freely.
I'm thinking about trying to pair the Z7 with either a Jotunheim, Fostex HP-A4BL, or a THX amp.
Currently I'm using the Z7 with my RME Babyface Pro USB interface and don't have any issues but really curious if I can get a noticeable upgrade by pairing the headphones with a dedicated amp/dac.

I highly recommend trying the PDV2 dac from E1DA. It is a fantastic Dac/Amp that brings the best out of the Z7's. The Dac has an accompanying app called HPToy that allows you use a PEQ in graph form to mould the sound. I downloaded the graph measurements from Oratory1990, set the Oratory graph as the background in the HPtoy app and set the peq graph in the app to compensate for the errors in the Z7 frequency response. The result has been what I can only describe as fantastic sound quality from the Z7s. They are now have tight clean bass, balanced mids and nicely detailed highs. I have gone from listening to them occasionally, to using them all of the time now. While it does need you to get a hang of the HPToy app, the results are well worth the effort.

 

[omegaorgun]

I posted this on the Z7m2 thread and wanted to share as they fit perfect and are very well built.

https://www.markertek.com/product/m...s-stereo-audio-plug-cable-end-connector-black

 

[CoryGillmore]

I posted this on the Z7m2 thread and wanted to share as they fit perfect and are very well built.

https://www.markertek.com/product/m...s-stereo-audio-plug-cable-end-connector-black

This would be for if you wanted to build a custom cable for any of the Z headphones? Sweet!

 

[omegaorgun]

This would be for if you wanted to build a custom cable for any of the Z headphones? Sweet!

Yep i made one up!