Sony MDR-Z1R

At least they got the Harmon bass bump right...right? it's all about offering the consumer more diversity anyways.

 

I had a chance to hear these shortly after I had sold off my Z7's. I remember thinking they were very muddy, and apart from the build quality/comfort there was nothing remarkable about them. I guessed at their value being about a grand, and nearly had to pick my jaw off the floor when the rep told me the msrp. My face told the guy pretty much everything he needed to know.

Meh, if I had to spend money on a Sony these days, a hundred bucks gets me a used V6 and better pads (it needs a bit more depth, and some felt or fluff in front of the driver).

 

I'm convinced these (and maybe the Z7) are tuned for J-pop. Or at least they are flavored for Japanese youth...

 

Here I was, a Sony (Playstation) fanboy hoping these would be good, even if only so that they could stay relevant in the really high-end personal audio world. Tried the Z7 a while back and didn't exactly love it, and a local Sony Center had the Z1Rs playing out of whatever their new flagship DAP was— I was underwhelmed, but attributed their overall meh-ness to the fact that I wasn't really listening to them under ideal conditions.

The weird FR is their biz, but what in the hell is with impulse response?

 

Impulse response and frequency response are mathematically related. You can derive one from the other (there's a thread on here somewhere with in-depth discussion of this). Two different ways of looking at the same thing.

 

did anyone else notice the reference to George Cardas?

I may have understood it wrong but Tyll seems to think that the whole Fibonacci grill thing is marketing BS (I agree 100%) and then he says that George Cardas would be proud....

Cardas to me is a snake oil salesman.

Example: http://www.cardas.com/clarifier_app.php

I'm surprised he threw in a reference like that if that's what he meant.

 

I'd say it's due to Cardas' obsession with the Golden Ratio, as even his wooden riser blocks he calls "Golden Cuboids" and have dimensions of 1" x 1.618" (Phi).

http://www.cardas.com/myrtle_wood_blocks.php

 

Tyll should have tried to tape the bassport on the top of the cup.
Removes the thick bass without really affecting the rest.
Orange is with the vent blocked
Black is stock

Source: https://clarityfidelity.blogspot.de/2017/02/sony-mdr-z1r-over-ear-headphones.html

 

Still... Bass distortion looks pretty bad, specially for a 2k headphone.

 

Tell us how you really feel Tyll! Just a question, has Tyll changed his approach wrt negative reviews? Or, is the Sony really that poor a value that this review is a public service announcement of sorts?

 

Yup. I will do a negative review when it's newsworthy or people need to be warned off something expensive...or, as in this case, both.

 

Distortion may actually not be the problem as far as I can tell. I mean on Tyll's graph distortion looks better than on the Eikon with its 50mm paper cone.
What I'm worried about is the impulse response being poo. The Z7 was actually quite good in this area, being pretty much dead after a millisecond. Z1R on the other hand seems to go on for ever with way more high frequency noise.
I wonder if this is a characteristic of the transducer, the housing or both.
Would be a nice experiment to transplant Z7 drivers into Z1R cups and Z1R drivers into Z7 cups. I think both use Sony's bayonet mount for mating the driver to the baffle, so it should be pretty easy to pull off.
Except no one is going to do that because nobody cares about these headphones.

 

If you're talking about the crap at 1.7kHz and between 2.5-5kHz, yup. The bass ditortion might indeed be the smallish magnet.

 

Nice idea - just did the "gaffer tape mod" and it does more than pulling down the lower bass: The sound character changes directionally from "wet/bloomy" to more "dry&focused".

For now just testing my new Z1R which I bought after reading Tyll's review with a minimal rig (iFi mini, Vorzuge Pure 2):
Audirvana and Equilibrium (4db boost Q0.7 at 1216 Hz with a Subtype 110 filter, -2.6db at 10kHz 11.23Q with a Subtype 88)

Without the mid range presence boost via eq I'm finding e.g. Dave Matthew's voice in "When The World Ends (Live At Radio City)" too subdued (would recommend to use this track to verify if you want to eq similarly).

So far the Z1R is a keeper. Will post more later but wanted to share and encourage the experiment with taping the bass ports, and recommended EQ.

Edit: Just received my Metrum Adagio. Listening to Adagio -> Liquid Fire (Siemens tubes) -> Z1R.
Learning: Forget the iFi -> Vorzuge combo (above).
Z1R sounds like a completely different phone (much much much better).
Similar effect as with Focal Utopia - listen to them on a PMP and you will be pleased. Listen on e.g. a power amp (speaker tabs) and you will never go back.

Now I can see how this could open a HE6 style debate about "have you heard the Z1R with a sufficiently beefy amp?" ...

 

Hi Tyll,
I've bought most of my headphones only after reading your reviews (difficult to listen to all gear).
Funny thing is that in Munich, I've listened to them all: Utopia, Elear, AQ Carbon, Mr Speakers, HD800S, LCD4, etc, mostly driven by a small amp embedded in the desk.
Then I've discovered the Sony's with Kimber cables and the mouth watering Woo Audio D33. I've stood and listened more than the guys were prepare to accept, and then came back with a friend. We decided that they were among the best, period.
Now your review came as a surprise I confess. I do believe in your findings, but also remember what we've actually heard.
So one Elear with a Lehman amp should be better sounding than the MDR1 with the Woo....
Obviously the Ether C with the Woo..
Vlad

 

I found the Z1R's to be a bit of a train wreck, just like Tyll (and I don't always agree with his impressions, but always respect his work). I walked up to the Sony booth at CJNYC and pulled out my own 1Z DAP as I wanted to listen to my songs using the same 4.4mm connector. The Sony reps were very excited for me to hear them. So I put on the Z1R's (very comfortable!), plugged them in and was...underwhelmed, for the very reasons Tyll summarized in his review. Especially so since I was using their TOTL DAP which the Z1R's were marketed to pair perfectly together.

To my ears the Aeon's I heard shortly thereafter were much more engaging and resolving, and just as comfortable, for so much less $$$.

 

I can totally relate to this experience, comparing portable devices (tested Cowon Plenue P1, Sony NW-ZX2, both with and without Vorzuge Pure II).
Perhaps it's the large driver, but these cans need a big amp to remove the congested sound issues.
Nothing to do btw how far you have to dial up the volume - the Vorzuge was at 9am (medium gain setting), and still didn't cut it compared to Liquid Fire.
Cf. Vlad12's impressions listeing on the Woo D33.

Too bad that Sony marketing is suggestively putting the Z1R next to two devices that are not ideal for driving it ... (the walkman and that mediocre desktop amp)