Living up to high expectations

I had a good feeling about the Sony MDR-Z7 headphones from the moment I unboxed a sample pair at my desk. They're impeccably built with the all-metal design interrupted only by soft leather on the earpads and headband. Listening to these headphones confirmed my suspicions. They offer an extraordinary amount of detail, excellent instrument separation, and an appealingly smooth finish in the high frequencies. They also go plenty low enough to cover the depths of the bass register. Music sounds big and punchy with the 'Z7 headphones, especially with a good source like Sony's Hi-Res Walkman. That's a killer combo for outstanding sound on the go.

Exquisite detail, accuracy, and smoothness

The design of the MDR-Z7 headphones is all about high-performance sound. The key to their level of detail and spaciousness is the 70mm drivers — they're 40 percent larger than the drivers found in most over-the-ear headphones. The 'Z7's large drivers help reduce reflections and uneven dispersion that can occur within the earcups. The result is sound that's tighter and more accurate when it hits your ears. And the earcups are made of aluminum to limit resonance within the chamber, to keep your music sounding clean and natural. Each earcup features a small acoustic port near the bottom. This helps control airflow for more accuracy in the lowest frequencies. The bass is consistently bold and tight without ever being boomy.

Like a glove

I expected great sound from the MDR-Z7 headphones. What I didn't expect was for them to be so incredibly comfortable. They're rather lightweight for an over-the-ear design, and the leather on the earpads and headband is flat-out luxurious. That's important because you're going to want to listen to these headphones for a long time once you get a taste of their sweet sound.

Balanced and unbalanced cables

There are two detachable cables included with the Sony MDR-Z7s. There's one with a single miniplug connector for portable devices (a 1/4" adapter is included for home stereos). The second is a balanced cable with separate miniplug connectors for the left and right channels — it's tailor-made for Sony's PHA-3 DAC/amplifier. Both cables attach to the left and right earcups with clever screw-on connectors to ensure they only disconnect if you want them to.