Sony Z1000 heads armada of new headphones

The Gadget Show  Wednesday 02 March 2011

Sony's new Z1000 headphones

We’re always on the prowl for top-quality headphones, so hats off to Sony for outing its new Z1000 pro-grade cans.

These studio-friendly headphones feature extra wide-range “HD” drivers utilising a newly crafted Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) diaphragm for a responsive yet lightweight construction.

The near-oxygen free cord is guaranteed as almost completely lossless, and ones your precious audio does reach your ears, you’ll be able to enjoy it to the full thanks to the noise-cancelling earpads.

Sony says the Z1000s will be available at the end of the month, and while we haven’t heard a price as yet, don’t expect them to be overly cheap.

If they are beyond your price range, however, maybe one of the four new ZX Series alternatives might be more your thing. Also announced yesterday and on sale end-March, the ZX cans are designed more with the commuter in mind, still offering high levels of audio quality but with an emphasis on reduced sound leakage – good news for your fellow travellers.

The range is headed up by the ZX700 with its 50mm driver units, with the ZX500, ZX300 and ZX100 offering more budget-friendly alternatives.

Last of all is the EX Series of in-ear headphones, which covers seven models in total, the highlight being the EX1000, which has the same LCP construction as the flagship Z1000s.