Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Burn-in – don’t really believe in it unless we’re talking about your ears and brain getting used to the sound. This is a demo model anyways, so it has at least several hundred hours on it already. Just my own experience that as I said I feel compelled to share because it has been very real for me.
This will by my first review as I go through and finally review my collection. The IER-Z1R is one of my favorites and seemed like a great place to get started. In combination with the pushed treble, they give you an unique impression of an speaker system in an perfect room which is a very fun tuning, i am absolutely admitting that, but it can get tiresome and it is not an accurate rendering of the song (again, not an IEM, so no issue). You should be aware of that. They are not objectively perfect. They may be subjectively perfect for some, but there exists songs who do not cope with this tuning well. Bass on the Z1R is well controlled and has a polite amount of subbass to it; low ends sound clean and lean without any bloatiness or muddiness For the 1977 model year, the Z1000 ( KZ1000 in North America) appeared — a bike that would stay in production as a police model until 2005! A year later, the Z1-R appeared — a Z1000 with angular bodywork, 3.4 gallon “coffin” tank, 28mm carbs, dual 18″ cast alloy wheels, triple discs, self-canceling turn signals, and a few other upgrades. Compared to Solaris, Z1R still hold a slight edge on every front ( bass, instrument seperation, and soundstage) although both have quite similar sound.It should be noted that Tip selection, insertion depth are pivotal as if subpar they will not sound like 2k+ earphones. So in 2016 we saw a couple new products introducing the Signature Series and celebrating the 70th birthday of the Sony Corporation. The introduction was the WM-1Z digital audio player, the WM-1A digital audio player and the TA-ZH1ES DAC/amp and finally the full-size Z1R headphones arrived.
Sony has just implemented firmware update 3.02 as a change from the included sound signature possible with 3.01. In my uses 3.02 may have taken the Walkman 1Z DAP and moved it into 1st place as the ultimate way to listen to the IER-Z1R. This review is not really complete without at least some mention of the firmware and improvements to sound. Obviously this would be subjective though it’s hard not to notice that the 1Z, IER-Z1R and firmware 3.02 seem to be tailor made taking the IER-Z1R to a previously unknown level of quality in sound reproduction. IMO I think this region is where the Z1R's get a lot right in. There a very good sense of air and clarity, but i think the tuning is where these shine. Some BA drivers can make the treble sound off-ish. My personal experience with BA-driver setups (Encore's, JHA Roxanne) are that they just don't quite sound as natural. I know i said that in my Encore review, that they had very natural sounding highs, but after listening and comparing to the Z1R's, something just sits more right with the trebles. Cymbals and crashes don't sound as holographic is the best way to describe it. Like most of the sound signature, it just sits right. Now the detail in this region is also impeccable. The air in the treble also lends a hand to the massive sound stage that these have. At the same time I’m not sure about this particular U shape tone being an existing thing in headphone history. The 1989-1990s Sony house sound was more middle of the road. We may even have Dr. Dre to blame introducing the ridiculous bass-heavy “Beats” changing popular sound signature history, channeling the night-club spirit into everyday sound perception. If you choose to believe the new Sony sound is the old-school “Hi/Fi” sound or the sound of high school car stereos; it’s your call, not mine. In terms of midrange, I prefer the A8000’s vocals by a margin over the IER-Z1R. Final knows how to tune the midrange and the vocals/string instruments are as articulate as they can be on the A8000. Every subtle nuance is highlighted including vocalists breathing in/out. Timbre is another strong point here with the metallic tinge of steel strings being evident against the more natural, softer tone of nylon strings.
Materials and Technology
From all the Headphones i've listened and/or owned so far (HD800S, HD820, Several Focal and LCD, pretty much everything from Meze and Hifiman, Moondrop VENUS and so on) nothing ever sounded as Live as the MDR-Z1R
The super tweeter is on a coaxial position against the nozzle. This layout directly delivers accurate super high notes to your ears, with an ultra-wide frequency response up to 100 kHz. So be warned, your mileage will vary significantly. If there is anything to take away from this, please demo these first. Fortunately, this was a fight that i came out victorious. After a solid week of breaking my ears in and using Sony's own hybrid tips, i found a way to let them sit in my ear, without much discomfort, for hours on end. For once i actually used the cable clip included. So for most of us this is already going to be the largest soundstage ever created my mankind in an IEM. But you already knew that before you started reading right? But if I may, I would like to introduce another concept that is going on here. I choose an IEM and two full-size headphones as these three actually represent Sony’s recently introduced top of the line models. Being the level they are at they were/are completely hand made in-house at Sony’s headphone factory in Tokyo Japan. This in itself remains in strict contrast to everything else Sony has released recently except the Z5 IEM and DMP-Z1 desktop unit; which are also in-house builds.It’s important to note the playing field has been leveled with all headphones being used with the same equipment and music. Only with this methodology could the differences be accurate and comparable. It also should be said, all this equipment was designed to be part of one ecosystem, all sounding optimized yet slightly different. Your choice as best would really be a matter of taste in the end. After owning this headphone a couple of interesting concepts can come to mind. There are better recordings out there, but what about musicianship, what about sonically unearthing a classic? At times audio isn’t about the best sound possible. At times it’s about retrieving and excavating and old classic. For many Led Zeppelin’s first album is a liked album but not a favorite. Recorded prior to any fame, the album has a slightly rough recording style. At first it can seem minimalist in approach. But with the IER-Z1R the microscopic detail starts to unfold the classic in a new and profound way. Often based on Monitoring with pushed, piercing upper mids, sometimes in combination with pushed bass (no midbass though, we're audiophiles!). Tries to be as much as possible to be the opposide of Club to make sure, you know you're listening to an audiphile headphone. If it doesn't hurt, its not audiophile. If you can't bear the pain, you're not audiophile enough. --> Only plays well with selected audiophile songs. You are not an real audiophile if you listen to anything, that doesn't sound well with these. If anything sounds wrong and off with these, its always the song and the quality of your recording. To summarize: if you like V-shaped sound signature and aren’t too bothered about the subtleties of vocals — this is it, this is the IEM to end all V-shaped IEMs.
One note: This baffled me as i never found a difference between tips with other IEMs, well, the IER-Z1R is my first IEM, that changes sound depending on fit (shallow vs deep) and tips (Triple comfort, vs Silicone vs Comply foamies). Taking the Sony house sound to a more mature and maybe advanced level; because everything is clearer; it’s that detailed 3D no stopping clarity! A more physical and carved-out bass than with the full-size Z1R yet focused like the Z7. The IEM here actually becomes of more finesse yet touchable as well as comprehensible! Here we are met with a more in-your-head soundstage, being a more concentrated and mind-bending elixir. And to be truthful the sound IS different than just a BA arrangement. We have a single per side midrange balanced armature equipped with a magnesium diaphragm, silver-coated copper voice coil and groovy gold interconnects. Still this IEM does not sound like the regular balanced armature signature style. Sony 1A (The 1A is at times better due to the IER-Z1R adding parallels to the 1Z sound, all by itself) The Z1R is a true TOTL IEM, even though i eventually decided to let mine go due to the treble, i still think they are absolutely one of the best IEM's i have ever heard.As for ear tips, the IER-Z1R comes with a good selection of foam and silicone. I personally found the silicone to be the more comfortable of the two, and to work best with the fit, even compared to some 3rd party tips I've tried. But if anyone has recommendations, I'd love to hear them. At the end of the day the IER-Z1R is still an in-ear and will never have soundstage performance matching ToTL full size headphones or speakers. However, they've one of the best soundstages for IEMs. Rather than being a 3-blob imager, the Z1R does well in placing sounds and instruments at distinct places in space, with enough depth to separate them out. They also avoid that 'in your head' sensation that some IEMs can have. Treble elements are like fireworks in the sky. And every once in a while you’ll hear new aspects of songs you never heard before. Small things like an accent which was always there but somehow hidden all these years. Thus the quality of treble that doesn’t need sibilance edging brightness for detail. The detail here emulates life. The decay and timbre emulates life. And finally the treble presentation is diffuse like speakers in a room. There is some slight guitar emphasis going on in Queens’s Bohemian Rhapsody, I guess it’s always been there but somehow the song sounds new? So we always read about some reviewer telling tales of noticing a small little new thing in a song. My cynical side tells me we hear these new details because of an unusual frequency response normally. But I must admit it’s most likely going on here due to ability of resolve. If you clean your windows the outside is more detailed. Still this style of listening experience is why we are here. It’s surprise, “they actually did that part like that?” “That part was always like that?” Huh? The infamous IER-Z1R Midrange: Can’t we have it all? I mean we are paying a lot of money here. Can’t we simply have everything? The best answer here is the word “perspective”. The midrange is a perspective. It’s actually there completely. Try listening to Bohemian Rhapsody, get yourself into a dark room. Turn-off your cell phone and close your eyes and listen to the Queen song in full while paying close attention and you tell me if the midrange is completely there? Also while your at it what’s your opinion of the vocal rendition? You decide for yourself. Still if that doesn’t work you may have to stay after school? Maybe some other dusty midrange album?
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