Hear nothing but the notes

The MDR-Z1000 is a pair of flagship headphones in Sony's Sound Monitoring series, which always promises impressive sound quality.

These phones really deliver highly accurate sound and allow you to enjoy music even in acoustic isolation.

The Z1000 is a type of high-end closed-over ear headphone for studio monitoring and can take up to 4000mW.

They come with a 50mm high-definition driver unit that delivers a balanced and accurate audio response that's true to life, good enough for professional use.

The driver unit reproduces ultra-wideband from 5Hz to 80kHz, and Sony uses Liquid Crystal Polymer Film in its diaphragm, resulting in superb sound.

The phones are light and comfortable to wear even for long periods thanks to the magnesium alloy housing, which prevents unnecessary vibration.

The noise-isolation ear pads with pressure-relieving urethane cushions are effective in preventing ambient noise from bothering you while you enjoy the music.

During my test, I could barely hear anyone talking nearby. My 15-year-old tester thoroughly enjoyed hearing none of her mum's complaints, saying she "just sounded fuzzy".

I wear glasses and initially felt that the ear pads slightly pressed on the frames, but after a while I got used to it and barely noticed the pressure.

However, after listening to two music albums in a row, the ear pads caused my ears to sweat a little. I wish they'd used a different material.

No such grievance, though, from the 15-year-old, who was tucked into the Z1000 for hours.

I found that the Z1000 reproduced good details, with smooth bass and very clear mid- and high range in various sounds.

My test mostly used an iPad and other smart phones, while the teenager tried the headphones with her notebook and netbook computers.

To get good-quality sound, you need songs that were recorded in high quality as well. If you play digital music you must select the FLAC lossless format. If you play MP3s you should go for those with 320kbps bit-rate for the best quality.

I tested the Z1000 with the album "Sax for Sex - Beautiful Night". The saxophone sounded very sweet with a lot of instrumental detail and the bass was really deep and smooth.

When I tried the headphones with "Best Audiophile Voices V" I was moved by the sweet voice of the female singer. In "Bizarre Love Triangle" the acoustic guitar sounded very clear along with the sweet voice and pulsating bass.

It's good that the cord is detachable. The package comes with two cords - 1.2 and three metres.

The Sony MDR-Z1000 retails for Bt16,990.

      Key specs

_ Type: Closed, dynamic

 (circum-aural)

_ Driver Unit: 50mm,

 Dome type (CCAW adopted)

_ Sensitivity: 108dB/mW

_ Power Handling Capacity:

 4,000mW (IEC)

_ Impedance: 24ohms at 1kHz

_ Frequency Response:

 5 to 80,000Hz

_ Magnet: Neodymium

_ Cord: 7N-OFC Litz cord

 detachable

- Cord Length: three and

 1.2 metres

- Weight without cord:

 Approx 270g