So for a while it seemed like Sony was done with high end flagship full-sized headphones.
They had the MDR-MA900 and the MDR-Z1000 , but neither of them filled the same niche, as
something like the SA5000. Last year, at the end of last year, Sony released this. This
is the Sony MDR-Z7,which is a high end flagship full sized CLOSED headphone.
And if you’ve watched this channel long enough, you’ll know that I have a soft spot for Sony, but I will
be the first one to tell you that the company puts out just as many hits as they do misses.
So the question is this one of the hits or the misses? You’re watching Lachlan Likes
A Thing, and let's find out! Today's review was crowdfunded by several months worth of
contributions from these awesome viewers. If you enjoy my comment and want to see more
cool gear like this on the channel, join in and help out by following the link in the
description of this video. Thanks. So I bought the Z7 at the end of October in 2014 and if
you remember from my earlier videos this is actually my second unit, because the first
unit had some issues. It rattled with low frequency bass tones. Luckily, no issues with
this second unit. Now I bought the Z7 at a staff discount price because I have a friend
who works at a Sony retail kiosk. I was asked not to disclose what the staff price is for
these kinds of headphones, but I should let you know that I bought the Z7 for well below
the MSRP for this headphone, which is $799 Australian dollars. I’ve noticed this morning
that the Amazon retail street price for this headphone is $529 USD, and at the end of this
review I’ll let you know if I think that's a fair price or not for these headphones.
Now from that price tag you can tell that this is a serious product from Sony. It's
not as expensive as some of the other flagship headphones like the Sennheiser HD800, but
in terms of pricing it's kind of similar to something like the Fostex TH600, which puts
it at the top of the middle-tier or at the bottom of the top tier, depending on how you
want to look at it. You can tell from just looking at the headphone, in terms of build
quality Sony themselves consider this a top tiered product, because they’ve basically
just pulled out all the stops. Sony went all out with the fit and finish on this headphone.
The Z7’s external design screams quality. We can start with the gorgeously shaped magnesium
metal earcups, which have a speckled texture and sculpted curves to them that just love
the camera. The attention to detail is fantastic: the stitching on the plush headband, the precision
of the adjustment mechanisms, the luxurious softness of the earpads.I feel like you could
spend hours just marvelling at the exposed driver alone. Just try not to get hair in
it. The one thing to note is that the Z7 is a closed headphone, but it has not one but
two ports on each earcup at the top and bottom. This means that noise isolation is actually
quite poor with this headphone, and I would not recommend it if external noise isolation
is critical. Needless to say, this headphone is too large to be used as a portable. The
detachable cable on the Z7 is just as nice, with a secure screw-in mechanism, serrations
on the cable below the Y-split that prevent tangling, and a substantial Y-split and headphone
jack. Sony also sells some fancy high end cable
for the Z7, but you know I don’t go in for that kind of thing.
Now all of this would be moot if the headphone felt like a tonne of bricks on the head, but
I’m very happy to report that the Z7 is actually a very very comfortable headphone.
First of all it's very lightweight. It’s 335g, which is actually very light for a headphone
of this size - especially if you consider that something like the M50X weighs 285g.
The headband is really well designed on the Z7. It makes a really broad point of contact
with the top of my skull, so there's really even pressure distribution. There's a nice
plush cushion at the top of it. The earpads are really. They have a really broad surface
to them. They make a lot of contact with the side of the head. They're still not going
to be quite as breathable as an open backed headphone but they are very comfortable earpads
that do manage to seal with my glasses so that's a big plus in my book.
Everything about the Z7 seems to have been considered from the point of view of listening
comfort for hours and hours and that applies just as much to the actual physical comfort
of this headphone as it does to the sound signature. So what do I mean by that? Well
this is where we get into the sound of the Z7 and this is where I have some pretty mixed
feelings about the Z7. I’ve had this headphone for well over 3 months now, and I’ve developed
a sort of love hate relationship with it. I’ll put it bluntly. The Z7 is an really,
really thick sounding headphone. It has a strong emphasis on the bass and the lower-mids,
and the higher frequency treble is rolled off and is quite blunted with this headphone.
And that description will scare off a lot of people immediately, because the Z7 is quite
unusual for a headphone in this price range. It doesn't have a lot of apparent immediate
detail in the treble, it doesn't have that kind of finesse that you would expect from
a headphone of this price range. But it's also the kind of headphone that has some really
interesting qualities to it. So the best aspect of the Z7’s sound is that it has a really
spacious, a really big sense of scale and depth, especially in the bass. It has a very
bomnastic kind of sound to it. And it has a really clear tone in the mids, they're quite
well full bodied. They're very clean sounding. Those are the best aspects of the sound. But
for a lot of people this is just going to sound immediately because of that treble roll
off, it's going to sound congested, it's going to sound compressed, it's going to sound even
uncontrolled with the sheer amount of bass that there is on the Z7. And I think a lot
of people are just going to put this headphone on and just listen to it for a minute and
then dismiss it entirely. And I think that's kind of a risk that Sony took with this signature.
Now I shouldn't say that the mids are entirely lacking in energy because the mids as I've
said do have a lot of body to them. Especially the lower mids. But even with the female vocals
they have a sort of glossy forwardness to it. But the treble is rolled off and that
means that it robs everything of an overall sense of space or an overall sense of air.
Probably the most controversial aspect of the Z7 is gonna be the bass. Because it's
got an absolutely massive bass section. And it's not like low, throbbing, kind of stomach
churning sub-bass like it is on the Fostex TH600. It's not punchy or crunchy like you'd
find on a V-Moda M100. The Z7 has more of a broad, more of a diffuse kind of bass tone.
It has a very broad bass emphasis and it sounds sort of diffuse. On the one hand it gives
everything this resonant, grand sense of impact. On the other hand it doesn't sound very punchy,
it sounds somewhat loose, some people are going to say it sounds artificial, or uncontrolled
or even a little bit flabby.
Now, I’m not going to sugar coat this. I bought this headphone for well below recommended
retail price. If I had bought this headphone at the recommended retail price I would be
sorely disappointed, because it seems to lack the kind of finesse or fidelity that a lot
of headphones around this price have. So compared to the TH600 it doesn't nearly have that kind
of level of treble detail or texture. Now for a lot of people myself included the TH600
is very forward in the treble so that's, you know, the other side of the coin. But, it...
I feel like the Z7 is a little too far the other way. Even compared to something like
the V-Moda M100, the M100 actually seems to be punchier and better controlled than the
Z7. It doesn't have that sense of scale, it doesn't have that sense of, you know, overall
spaciousness to the sound. But it is more of a tightly controlled headphone.Even Sony’s
own MDR-1A gets you a lot of the technical performance of the Z7 and even, I would say,
a bit more energy in the mids and the treble. But the 1A has a much kind of heftier, I would
say, poorly integrated bass section compared to the Z7. But you know, this will get you
most of the way there. And compared to an open headphone like the AKG K712 or even the
HD650, this is a completely different sort of sound. If you think the HD650 sounds veiled,
you will think the HD, sorry, you will think the Z7 sounds like it’s been stuffed into
a sleeping bag.
Despite of all of this, despite all of this, there's something about the, the, pure sense
of scale and the, and the clarity of the tone in the mids which is kinda satisfying with
the Z7. And it definitely works better for some genres than for others. It's a signature
that as I said, you can listen very happily to all sorts of genres of music for very long
periods of time without any sort of fatigue. And I'll show you some examples of where I
think it works well and where I think it doesn't work well. The Z7 is a relatively undemanding
headphone, and doesn’t require a great deal of amplification. It’s perfectly happy with
my Objective 2 amplifier, and it seems you can even drive it comfortably out of portable
players, though I’m not sure why you would. The ethereal R&B track Lights On by FKA Twigs
is the kind of music the Z7 does brilliantly with. The Z7’s glossy mids mean that the
artist’s atmospheric vocals kind of float above a very deep, pulsing, turbulent bass
line. By the way, this is probably my favourite new musical discovery this year so far, and
it’s well worth checking out.
Likewise, the Z7 does nicely with acoustic guitar and male vocals. Oblivion from Patrick
Wolf’s album Sundark + Riverlight just shines on the Z7, where the clarity of midtone really
lends this track atmosphere and dynamics.
The Z7 doesn’t do nearly so well with stringed instruments and upper harmonics. On the track
Many Lives -> 49MP by Final Fantasy (also known as Owen Pallett) the Z7 just sounds
dull and stuffy, and the strings lack the kind of bite or texture that you would expect
because of the high frequency roll off.
On a track like Radiohead’s Fake Plastic Trees, the Z7 stumbles as well, because the
cymbals and the vocal texture and reverb are dulled due to the high frequency roll off,
and as a result the whole dynamic of the track is compressed.
So I’m going to end this review by just telling you how I would approach the Z7 if
I was considering buying it. First of all, I wouldn't buy this headphone without a demo,
and you should be able to demo this headphone at any Sony retail kiosk, if they have those
were you live. If they don't, see if you can demo the MDR-1A, because it doesn't sound
entirely like the Z7, but it sounds very very close. So it's got that same kind of diffuse
tone to it. It's maybe a little more forward in the mids. It has much more of a heftier
bass tone but this will give you a decent impression of the sound of the Z7 and if you
like this you'll probably like the Z7. Heck you may even like the 1A more than the Z7
depending on your kind of preferences.
Now if you want a headphone that has a lot of bass and you want something that's more
controlled, I actually think the M-100 is for many people going to be a better choice
than the Z7. First of all it's cheaper, second of all I would say it's more of a tight sound
with much more energy in the mids. That said it doesn't have that sense of scale and it's
not nearly as comfortable as the Z7 so if you want something that's going to be worn
for hours and hours for home use again the Z7 is sort of a candidate in that respect.
Now the comparison to the TH600 is really interesting. If you remember, I almost bought
a TH600 in Hong Kong. And the real reason I held back was because I had the Z7 at home.
And that isn’t to say that like the Z7 more than the TH600. But as much as I like the
TH600 and it is a phenomenal headphone with this incredible, incredible bass section and
this amazingly detailed treble section I found the TH600 treble can be fatiguing and it doesn't
work for every single kind of track. And if I was going to have one closed headphone that
I was going to wear at home for long periods of time I felt safer owning the Z7 than I
would with the TH600. My last comparison is going to be a little bit out of the left field,
but it sort of makes sense if you’re the kind of person who is after a flagship product
and you want it to be a Sony: so it's a comparison with the MDR - sorry, the XBA-Z5, which is
the sort of the IEM flagship cousin of the Z7. Now if the Z7 sounded like the Z5 this
review would have been a lot more positive because basically the Z7, sorry, the Z5 has
the sound that I wish the Z7 had. They both have a really grand, kind of bassy sound to
them. But the bass on the Z5 haiss better controlled, it's punchier. And also the treble
on the Z5 is more detailed, it's a bit more forward, it has a bit more energy to it without
being too forward. So honestly of the three new Sony flagship products: the Z7, the Z5
and the MDR-1A, I feel like the Z7 is the weakest in its respective product category.
So if you asked me whether I thought it was a hit or a miss, at the recommended retail
price, I would have to give this headphone a miss. Even close to that recommended retail
price I feel like it doesn't really compete well with other headphones - open headphones
or closed headphones - in that sort of pricing category. Now that said I don't think it's
a terrible headphone. I think it's actually quite a unique headphone that's going to work
really well for particular genres of music, if you listen to a lot of electronic or a
lot of, kind of more aggressive genres I think the Z7 works really well. And I personally,
you know, despite all its flaws, really enjoy using the Z7 because it's really comfortable,
it works relatively well with all kinds of genres of music. It's relaxing and mellow
to listen to. You can wear it for hours and hours. So for some people this is going to
be a headphone that they can just buy and that's the only headphone they'll ever need.
The critical flaw I think is just with the pricing. Where the pricing puts it compared
to other alternatives. So if you can find the Z7 at something like $400 to $450 US dollars
I think that's a fair price to pay for the Z7. If you're going to pay more than that,
I would really hesitate because at that point you're going to ask yourself, what is the
premium I'm going to place on the Z7's comfort and build quality? Because that's what you're
really paying extra for. Anyway I'm looking forward to your comments and questions about
the Z7. This was a pretty interesting review to do. And once again a big thank you to all
the viewers who helped out to get this headphone on the channel. I couldn't have done it without
you and you know, if you want to join in and help out you can do that at patreon.com/lachlanlikesathing.
You can also talk to me on Facebook at facebook.com/lachlanlikesathing or on Twitter @lachlikesathing. Thank you
to all my regular subscribers and happy listening!