Sony MDR-Z7

[Dusty Chalk]

So apparently, they're balance-able.  Set up to work with the Sony PHA-3 through....wait for it...yet another (set of) connector(s)!

 

More words

[n_maher]

That stock cable is awful.  

[Dusty Chalk]

That's not the stock cable, that's the Kimber Kable cable.  The stock cable is just a matte, non-coiled black cable, with these really nice-looking connectors on them (the connectors look to be the same).

 

I'd connect to a picture of them, but all the pics I googled were on head-fi.

[n_maher]

That stock cable is awful.  

 

Fixed.

 

At least it's not dog-pecker-pink like Jena Labs.  That's as close to a compliment as I can get.

[Dreadhead]

Actually it's not kimber it's Sony (sadly)

http://store.sony.com/high-performance-balanced-audio-cable-for-mdr-z7-zid27-MUCB20BL1/cat-27-catid-All-Portable-Audio-Cables

[skullguise]

Made with/by Kimber ("Sony headphone cables engineered with Kimber Kable®").  And yes....it's ugly......

[Dusty Chalk]

Fixed.

 

At least it's not dog-pecker-pink like Jena Labs.  That's as close to a compliment as I can get.

You may have noticed I didn't say anything to the contrary.  But I don't really care about what my cables look like.

 

As long as they're black.

[cetoole]

You may have noticed I didn't say anything to the contrary.  But I don't really care about what my cables look like.

 

As long as they're blurple.

fify

[shellylh]

At least it's not dog-pecker-pink like Jena Labs.  That's as close to a compliment as I can get.

 

Thanks for the very vivid description of that color Nate. 

[nopants]

that's not how you spell light urple

 

I think the color looks okay...if you're wiring an amplifier with it. That choice of termination though, why didn't they just go with something like a mini 4 pin xlr or lemo? According to the faceplate it doesn't even drive 2 outputs via those jacks

[Dusty Chalk]

fify

You are correct sir.  Well, blurple or black, just not ... that other thing that shall remain otherwise unnamed.

[wink]

At least the color is not Chartreuse.....  That would be confusing...  

Edited June 4, 2015 by wink

[n_maher]

Thanks for the very vivid description of that color Nate. 

 

I think that's how I characterized those cables many years ago and I strive for consistency in my loathing of that manufacturer's products.

[Dreadhead]

Made with/by Kimber ("Sony headphone cables engineered with Kimber Kable®").  And yes....it's ugly......

I meant it was sad that Sony was selling that shit themselves but I guess I should have said "Available direct from Sony (Sadly)"

[purk]

I actually own the Z7 and In the stock form the bass is bloated and over done.  Tonally this is a warm, bassy, and dark sounding phones.  I use the moon-audio silver dragon and that really help out the sound tremendously. The stock wire is ultra thin and is limiting the performance of the headphones.  I also own the PHA-3 and this go together well.  I still like the SA5000 black dragon that I have over the Z7.  The build quality on the Z7 is excellent though.  It does rendered soundstage very well for a closed phones but still fell short of the CD3000.  

Edited June 4, 2015 by purk

[skullguise]

I think that's how I characterized those cables many years ago and I strive for consistency in my loathing of that manufacturer's products.

 

I don't like them either....I seem to recall some critical review of their sound and exorbitant cost some years ago, and Ms. Crock replied nastily and used her Native American heritage as a tool to implicate racism or bias in the review.

[Torpedo]

So these compared to the CD3000 and R10, how do they fare?

[purk]

So these compared to the CD3000 and R10, how do they fare?

 

I don't have the stock CD3000 anymore but do own the recabled one.  The CD3000 is amazing once recabled and running balanced.  Hirsch mentioned this several years back and I totally agreed with him now.  The CD3000 is nearly as good as the HD800 out of the GS-X MKII when I compared them side by side.

[Torpedo]

I know about the CD3000 pretty well, just wanted to know how does the Z7 compare to it or to the R10.

[purk]

I prefer the CD3000 better than the Z7 over all.  Bass on Z7 reaches lower and has more impact but definitely is overdone.  Soundstage is wider & deeper on the CD3000 but the Z7 is almost as deeper but falls short on the width of the soundstage.  Midrange & details are definitely more superior on the CD3000.  The Z7 once recabled has slightly better treble compared to the CD3000.  The CD3000 is a tad bright on the treble even after the cable upgrade.  

 

The R10 is superior to the Z7 in all counts beside the bass impact/output. 

[Torpedo]

Thanks. I gave my CD3000 to a friend. It's a very good headphone, but the R10 is better on every parameter I can think of. However the Z7, probably due to my own stupidity, look interesting, perhaps for those occasions one is away home and needs not to disturb the people around.

[kugino]

there's an R10 available FS at HF...seems like the owner doesn't understand what "perfect" means, as the pics show spotting on the metal parts, a fairly big ding on one of the cups. what's one of these worth these days?

[Dusty Chalk]

I've had these for a couple weeks now, and have only got several dozen hours in so far, but I really like these MDR-Z7's.  Without saying which is better, I'd say it's tonally closer to the R10 than the CD3000.  I've been using them exclusively out of the NuForce, and I don't hear the bass bloat that purk talks about (it's not prominent, anyway -- it is slightly more bloated than the R10s [from memory], but certainly not PS1/Leatherhead/DT770 territory).  They're fairly straightforward, and epitomize the boring sound that I appreciate so much ("if they sound boring to you, listen to more interesting music").  I certainly like them (from memory) better than the Focal Spirit Pros and the Shures (which both strike me as more diffuse), and do not yet have the Oppos to compare them too.  They're not as good as the VTGs or the Leatherheads (which both strike me as less diffuse).

 

They seal really well -- the earpad practically has my ear cut out of it perfectly, like they took an impression (when?!?!?).  So these have become my new work phones.

[elnero]

I've had these for a couple weeks now, and have only got several dozen hours in so far, but I really like these MDR-Z7's.  Without saying which is better, I'd say it's tonally closer to the R10 than the CD3000.  I've been using them exclusively out of the NuForce, and I don't hear the bass bloat that purk talks about (it's not prominent, anyway -- it is slightly more bloated than the R10s [from memory], but certainly not PS1/Leatherhead/DT770 territory).  They're fairly straightforward, and epitomize the boring sound that I appreciate so much ("if they sound boring to you, listen to more interesting music").  I certainly like them (from memory) better than the Focal Spirit Pros and the Shures (which both strike me as more diffuse), and do not yet have the Oppos to compare them too.  They're not as good as the VTGs or the Leatherheads (which both strike me as less diffuse).

 

They seal really well -- the earpad practically has my ear cut out of it perfectly, like they took an impression (when?!?!?).  So these have become my new work phones.

I've had the Z7's since they were released. I bought them mainly because I have recurring problems with TMJ and initial reports said these were quite comfortable. I have to say, I really love the Z7's both for comfort and sound. Paired up with a Concero HP they're one of, if not my favorite full-sized headphone.

[purk]

I've had the Z7's since they were released. I bought them mainly because I have recurring problems with TMJ and initial reports said these were quite comfortable. I have to say, I really love the Z7's both for comfort and sound. Paired up with a Concero HP they're one of, if not my favorite full-sized headphone.

The ergonomics on them are outstanding.  You should upgrade the stock to silver cable to improve its performance.  Stock Sony wire is really thin and is holding the Z7 back a great deal.

 

 

I've had these for a couple weeks now, and have only got several dozen hours in so far, but I really like these MDR-Z7's.  Without saying which is better, I'd say it's tonally closer to the R10 than the CD3000.  I've been using them exclusively out of the NuForce, and I don't hear the bass bloat that purk talks about (it's not prominent, anyway -- it is slightly more bloated than the R10s [from memory], but certainly not PS1/Leatherhead/DT770 territory).  They're fairly straightforward, and epitomize the boring sound that I appreciate so much ("if they sound boring to you, listen to more interesting music").  I certainly like them (from memory) better than the Focal Spirit Pros and the Shures (which both strike me as more diffuse), and do not yet have the Oppos to compare them too.  They're not as good as the VTGs or the Leatherheads (which both strike me as less diffuse).

 

They seal really well -- the earpad practically has my ear cut out of it perfectly, like they took an impression (when?!?!?).  So these have become my new work phones.

 

The Z7 bass is quite a bit stronger than both the R10 & CD3000 in a direct comparo.  Its bass output (quantity) is even more pronounced than that of the HD650 and very similar in level to the Denon D5000 IMO.  I'm glad that you like them in a stock form, but they do improve quite a great deal with a good cable swap as well as driving them via a good balanced amp.  The Z7 does a soundstage really well for a closed phones...but then again the CD3000 can still better it.