Sorry, guys. The production-version MDR-Z7 arrivedbefore I left for vacation. I took it with me, though......so I was able to get some listening time with it.We're in the middle of shooting the CanJam 2014 preview video (late, because I partially lost my voice for the past few days), so I don't have the time right now to say much about it.What I will say is this: To my ears, this is Sony's best headphone in quite some time--for my preferences, perhaps their best so far, period.The imaging is outstanding, and I suspect it's at least in part due to the huge angled drivers. Now if you automatically assume that a 70mm driver is not responsive or detailed, or is going to be boomy, then you haven't heard Sony's MDR-MA900, which I'm a big fan of. If you love the MDR-MA900 (and I do), know that the MDR-Z7 is at a'nother level up. It seems Sony learned a lot about the advantages that can come with a responsive,driver, and squeezed all they learned into the new drivers and overall design in the MDR-Z7.As far as tonal balance goes, it is quite even-handed, with bass that is deep and rich, and what I'd call mild accentuation. Bass control is excellent, to my ears. (If one of your wishes for the MDR-MA900 was more extended, more present bass, say hello to your wish-come-true.) The MDR-Z7's midband is very resolving, with what I hear as general neutrality throughout. Treble resolution and extension sounds exceptional, andsparkly to my ears. I'm very sensitive to sibilance, and the MDR-Z7 doesn't accentuate it at all to my ears (thankfully). If I had to characterize the Sony MDR-Z7 in a few words, I'd say..."Rich and detailed." If you gave me a few more words, I'd say "Holy poo, that imaging!"The production Sony MDR-Z7's build quality feels excellent. The fit and finish is impressive. The detents on the headband sizing mechanism report their positions with nice clicks and are numbered, which is certainly helpful. (I know to size mine at "8" on each side, and the fit is perfect.) Comfort isCompetitors? The Fostex TH900 is one. In terms of isolation from ambient noise, the Sony MDR-Z7 seems about as closed (which is to say not super-closed) as the big Fostex. In term of its signature, the Sony is more even-handed; and whereas I couldn't see the TH900 being used for monitoring in a studio environment, I won't be surprised to see the Sony MDR-Z7 in studios.Sony works hard on all of their premium headphones, but seemed togive this one a particularly large amount of effort, knowing it would be their new flagship. They involved a lot of people in its development (in terms of letting people hear it along the way)--pros and enthusiasts alike--and I think it paid off handsomely.I was thrilled when early on its development, they showed up at Head-Fi HQ with someearly prototypes of it, like this one (I blurred part of the photo, as I wasn't sure how much of this early prototype's insides should be shown):Here's a photo of Sony's Kenji Ide (left) and Naotaka Tsunoda (right) at Head-Fi HQ, which I think was taken during that visit:Earlier this year, they met me in Nashville, Tennessee to let me listen to prototypes of the MDR-Z7, MDR-1A and PHA-3 that were closer to production. Here are photos from that visit:(Left to right) Sony's Shunsuke Shiomi, Kenji Ide, and Naotaka Tsunoda, in Nashville.It was nice to be able to listen and provide feedback at each stage. (Again, there were many, so I was just a single data point.) And what was most exciting to me was hearing how the Sony MDR-Z7 got better and better at each successive stage. They should be very proud of this one (and I'm sure they are).This Sony MDR-Z7 is very special. And with Sony's unfortunate tendency to discontinue the models that foster the most passion from their fans, I can assure you I will eventually own at least a couple MDR-Z7's.(I don't have the Kimber upgrade cables for the MDR-Z7 yet, or the Sony PHA-3. I'll say more about those later.)