Sony MDR-Z1R High-Resolution Audio Premium Over-Ear Headphones - Black

Product Information

Starting with the bass, you get a fair bit of quantity (it's no Legend X, but it's certainly up there), but I'd say the defining and unique characteristic here is just how slow the decay is. I don't really have the words to describe it, but you can hear it long after the slam has taken place which makes for an extremely satisfying listen. Furthermore, the bass is very well separated from the midrange so you don't end up having any bleed. The bass could comfortably be the star of the show if it wasn't for the mind-boggling treble that the Z1R produces. The upper-treble tweeter also has a very interesting design. It’s a 5mm micro-dynamic driver with Al-coated LCP diaphragm and offers up to 100KHz response — a figure that’s inaudible by all humans but aces the numbers game. In practical use, the 5mm driver has very fast transients and offers the timbral accuracy of a dynamic driver instead of the artificial BA timbre or the fleeting, lightweight nature of EST tweeters. Especially, sounds funny i know, Live Music. Throw in any BluRay or Live DVD and nothing will sound as realistic and authentic as the MDR-Z1R. There are some Live Concerts that i did attend myself and the sound is just 100% spot on and everything sounds exactly like im on the scene. Given how many Headphones advertise with how live and realistic and inside the concert hall they sound, its astonishing how many of these fail miserable with actual live music. What the IER-Z1R does in the end is provide a really big soundstage. Ok stop. It’s kinda beyond soundstage.......it’s the Matrix. It’s the biggest most darn soil-your-shorts-soundstage you or I have ever heard. It’s not just big, it’s everywhere. It’s behind your ears where those things that hold your glasses on end. It’s above your head a distance and almost where the top of your shoulders are. Hold your hand three inches above your head in the center.......yep..it’s there too, it’s everywhere it’s the Matrix. They do sound great, and on sound alone they exceeded my expectations and then some. And i called the Encore's not worth their asking price. These 100% are, if you can wear them. If you have been blessed enough to be worthy of having these placed in your feeble ears, then go for it.

Deeper insertion provides the best bass, while shallower insertion provides the biggest staging. Triple comfort tips provide a more emphasis on the lower end, the silicones being the most neutral, perhaps removing some bass, but i found that silicone tips provide a very nice isolation, better than TC tips. Comply foams are not a match with these IEMs, they mute the treble and affect the signature, making them less revealing and more darker sounding. I am very sceptical when it comes to subjectivity and will question my own experiences and biases vigorously (hence why I have been up until now questioning the Z1R’s performance). But this change in performance of my Z1Rs cannot be understated. I am now on to a live performance of La Mer (Debussy) and I am in the fking hall with the orchestra!

Packaging & Accessories

Time coherence of the sound from the three drivers is just as important as their wide frequency response. The refined-phase structure ensures sound waves are aligned, through precision adjustment of the width and length of each sound path. The magnesium-alloy construction also further eliminates vibration and unwanted resonance to deliver perfect clarity and liveliness across musical genres. COMFORT, ISOLATION, AND FIT​Comfort = horrible. Fit = atrocious. Isolation = above average (when pushed deep into the canals, basically how these IEMs are supposed to be worn). Wearing the Sony IER-Z1R for any length of time is a challenge and will definitely be the deal-breaker for most people. Auditioning the IEM before purchasing is strongly advised. The high has sparkle but never fatiguing as it somewhat overshadowed by the bass. I can say that the high is smooth and detailed. If you can get a fit, and if you love bass — the Sony IER-Z1R is a no-brainer really. I am yet to find something that tops it as the bass-head endgame, and if you know that’s what you want and got the right-sized ears — get ready for some brain-rattling.

Still the king, though given that freedom of judgment and criticism kings enjoy. While the IER-Z1R may beat it in technicality the Z1R remains it’s own unique experience by capturing nuances only a big headphone can do. Slightly less intense and upfront, it’s ends with more relaxed charm. Soundstage is wider and taller on the IER-Z1R but stage depth is about par on the U12t. Imaging is tad more precise on the U12t, though these are marginal differences. Where I found more palpable was the difference in coherence. U12t, despite the 12 drivers, sounded more coherent than the IER-Z1R. Also a slight note about build/accessories: Sony IER-Z1R is quite a bit ahead on those aspects. When the 903cc Kawasaki Z1 was introduced in 1972, it was the largest, most powerful DOHC four-cylinder motorcycle ever produced. That year, the bike set an FIM / AMA 24-hour endurance record, covering 2631 miles at Daytona at an average speed of nearly 110 mph. The Z1 earned MCN’s Machine of the Year award for four straight years, and helped set the template for the next decade of superbike design.

Materials and Technology

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. In many ways it’s impossible to compare apples and oranges. Some may argue that I’m off my medication that the IER-Z1R is an IEM and the Z1R is a full size headphone. Ahh yep? But.......their sound signatures are actually closer together than apart. They do sound the same and have a list of similarities in sound. The difference is imaging placement. So I’ve simplified these concepts for you here. But seriously that is all it really is. The full-size headphone has transducers outside your ears so the soundstage is outside your ears. An IEM goes inside of your cranium so the sound is inside of your cranium and outside your cranium. Also amazingly both the IER-Z1R and full-size Z1R reacted the same way to burn-in with both smoothing out after 100 hours and gaining bass detail and finesse. I compare them to the IER-M9 as this is my reference for pretty much everything and the first thing you notice is the pushed treble. It is a very delicate and well done push that does not cause female vocals to hurt (thanks god non monitor earphone still exist that do not do that), but it causes one issue. If you listen at slightly louder volumes music starts to turn into noise. That is common for all non IEM and it even happens with an IEM at one point, if its too loud, its too loud, but it happens too early with the IER-Z1R imho.