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Have been collecting some of the most premium headphones avaiallbe for nearly two years. These Z7's were my first pair of Sony in many years. Some of my favorites utilize Planar Magnetic technologies and can get very expensive; around the price range of Sony's Z1's which are thousands of dollars. That said here is why I"m really impressed with Sony. In my opinion Sony backed up just slightly from the cutting edge technologies (which run price up) and stuck to quality materials without adding materials that jump the price up - such as the beautiful wood cups on my Fostex TH-900 mk2's or my Audeze LCD-XC Bocote. But what they did do is introduce a super high quality frameset with no weak spots that are likely to fail. They used premium metal and plastics that were engineered to ensure sonic purity without the susceptibility to vibration or negative resonace pitfuls that we've all heard on lesser products. The 70mm drivers and over-sized ear assemblies ensure that they are comfortable through an entire movie or a multi-album sit. The large drivers are great for accomodating the sub-frequencies that are in movie sound tracks or attacking with authority for Jazz, R&B, Rap or Rock. Yet the large through assembly and adherance to quality connects, cabling and driver & magnet sets make them perfect for low volume classical or standard podcast or television dialogue. I can drive them with ease (they are low impedence - meaning an amp is NOT required0 from my iphone yet with my fiio E12 Amp added in - they can produce rock solid base and frequency at even the lowest of volumes. No batteries or fancy noise cancelling technology but the large cups do a fantastic job at passive lockout - they shut out a perfect amount of ambient noise. I will state that the included cable and the sheer size of the set don't make them the best option for someone is is going to be portable too much; they are designed to be used 'at a spot'. With my Fiio X7 & AM5 integrated hi-power Amp, listening to Tidal HiFi (1411kps) is a tremendous treat. If you've invested in a hi-res home or portable system - don't sell yourself short with the cans - they are probably the most imporant. With my late 2016 Macbook Pro, Tidal HiFi Subscritpion, Amarra SQ+ sound processing - here is the sound path: lossless (full CD Quality Track) - Macbook Pro - output to Amarra SQ+ (about $50 and worth every penny for software) -- through a .5M Pangea Silver USB Cable to my Audeze Deckard Amp -- Sony MDR-Z7's plugged into the 1/4" jack (with their included quality 1/8 to 1/4" adapter) - Wow! I've got headphones that cost eastly 5x more and the difference may be impossible for the average person to hear. Finally even when I skip the headphone jack on my Yamaha CX-A5100 Dolby Atmos & DTS:X Encoded Receiver - and literaly just plug the Z7's into the headphone jack on my Roku Ultra - magic once again! The bottom line is that they give my 95%+ of the performance of my very best - and I don't have to open a Pelican Style case every listen and wipe them down - bla bla bla. They are premium enough for your favorita above CD quality (think DSD) yet forgviign enoguh to rough it through a lower quality source or file such as standard Pandora or the like source. In many ways they are my 'best of everything' set. If a person were to break the ranking into 4 or 5 categories such a Price to performance (value), Bass (yes I like bass too), Imaging/Attack/Decay/Etc., and a couple more categories - with a 1 least and 5 best system. The Z7's are my only pair that don't even come close to dipping below a 4 in any category. The bottom line is this. At this price range they have no competition. I don't think anything under $700 compares, even if the 'Audio World' isn't quite ready to start handing to many accolates back to the long time silent Sony. Did you notice they 'get mentioned' in the reviews with the top of the line sets in the World' yet they always fall just short of top honors. Every time I listen to these it scares the hell out of me when I realize the write ups on Sony's latest hi-res series that's been introduced - including these Z7's big brother the Z1's. I don't want to buy or listen to the Z1's just yet - because it is a safe bet that they will smack around some of my very best Senns, Audeze, Ultrasone and Fostex standing favorites. I've put the hours in - I own a bunch of headphones - and if you ask me - the Sony's are the masters of understated brillance in every aspect. Highly recommend!Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
These MDR-Z7 cans are wonderful. Excellent low end, clear highs, and only slightly recessed mids enough they don't hurt your ears. They are easy to power to. I use mine as gaming and they have a very wide sound stange... beautiful headphones.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
If I had to sell all of my headphones and could only keep one the Sony's would easily be my choice. Sure there are headphones out there with better soundstage but there all open backs and almost always have a downside, it could be a lack of bass, body, treble, or really anything, and then there not really usable except when you have a quiet background. Don't get me wrong I own mostly open backs but I wanted a good closed back set of headphones with a good bass response so I started trying everything I could get my hands on. This led to the discovery that most cans meeting that criteria had extremely recessed mids and for me vocals are the most enjoyable part of music so they were all out of the question. After a while the Sony's came to my attention while getting some amazing reviews and some not so much I decided to give them a try due to how cheap they can be had for. Revelation, meet the z7, they are astonishing to hold in person, so well built and looks amazing, and then how they sound. This is what I was looking for, the sound signature is similar to a Sennheiser hd650 with a mid bass bump and warmth throughout, but they keep going were the 650 falls short, there's better sub bass extension, mids do not sound recessed in comparison, and the highs are also a close match the hd650 might sound a tad bit better in the highs but really nothing much, when it comes to soundstage and imaging its the Sony's that come out on top again the Sennheiser just can't compete here they sound narrow and smered compared to the Sony z7. When you look at the price difference that a new z7 can be you might think it's not a big deal it's that much better than Sennheisers and others around that price but the z7 is a CLOSED headphone and it could be had for a very good price if you shop around. So who is this headphone good for, in my opinion really anyone this is a great can for music, movies, gaming, and even the occasional trip with them would be great.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
Simply amazing, Soundstage huge, mids and highs crystaline pure and detailed. Low end Super strong and very detailed as well. Super comfortable and very very well made. Simply amazing, perfect.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
To get the best sound I think you would want to consider the PHA-3 unit but head phone sound good and fit well over the ear
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New