Sony MDR-Z1R

I should probably add, once EQ'd I do think these are enjoyable and would probably make a lot of people quite happy. Personally, I'd rather have something I can enjoy without EQ, even if it does benefit from a bit (eg HE1000). As of today I'm off the Hifiman train though so I'll sit on the money for a bit and see where the market goes.

 

Thanks for vicariously satisfying our curiousity, @pedalhead - I don't even feel miffed that I don't have a chance to listen to them..

 

Yeah, I keep switching between Z1R and HD650 and thinking to myself, why would I spend an extra £1500 on the Sony? Maybe if I really really needed a closed headphone...but tbh I'd probably go with either the Andro's or that other nice IEM we heard and keep the change.

 

For good or bad, it sounds "Z7ish" to me, minus the resonance issues with the ear cups. Maybe a little less blobby?

 

So you sold the HEK in the end, rather than paying through the nose for an upgrade?

("The HiFiMan train" sounds like it might be operated by Southern- serious reliability issues, price gouging and an original approach to ethics, truth and customer service...)

 

haha . I do feel I may be cutting off my nose to spite my face by selling the HE1000 as, honestly, I've not yet heard anything I prefer (maybe Utopia, but need some quiet time with it first). However, music listening is an emotional endeavour and I'm generally emotionally pissed off with Hifiman these days. In the meantime, I have some HD650s here and a mate is sending me his Dharma to play with for s & g's.

 

As @pedalhead stated over on HF, starting points matter a lot. As someone whose primary HPs over the past few years have been the TH600/900/X00 series and who listens primarily to rap, I'm finding the Z1R to be very open/airy with a not particularly overwhelming bass (somewhere closer to the X00 and 600, far from the 900, on most tracks).

 

Maybe you can get the pair that @pedalhead had for cheap as an "open box" clearance in a few days from amazon.co.uk?

 

Got mine for $1800 (yes $) from Amazon UK

 

Yep, Amazon UK £1700

I'm happy to admit that I'm probably being quite hard on the Z1R because I'm accustomed to the clean bass & wide stage of the HEK. Funnily enough, @The Life , I heard the Fostex X00 the other day and felt the bass was also too much for my taste. I can totally see Fostex fans enjoying the Sony.

 

The impressions from @pedalhead as pretty right where I expected. Basically it's a very slight rework of the z7. Sony can be both brilliant and moronic. I cancelled my pre-order on the walkman 1a yesterday but may come to regret it. Oh well, I can always pickup one later.

 

Yeah as I said, I can see a lot of people liking them. Most of the problems with the bass for me are when I'm listening at fairly loud levels, and depends on the particular track. Coming from the HEK, I want more airiness, which I guess is going to be hard with a sealed headphone. Anyway, I don't feel the need to have them hanging around any longer. They're boxed up and ready to be picked up tomorrow.

 

In my guess, Z1R may sound much better to my ear unlike many others criticize here
I hypothesize what matters here is rather a sonic preference.

I assume the reference point for @pedalhead would be HEK v1. I try to imagine the tonal balance of z1r based on this assumption.
Two main points can be considered: bass and top-octaves.

First, let's think of bass.
Bass response of hek v1 is very ruler-flat. This has been verified by multiple measurements. @pedalhead felt some emphasis on the bass at least by 3db. This amount, if accurate, indeed can be more pleasing for many people. Studies conducted by Dr Olive argue +4~+6 dB at 20Hz can satisfy trained listeners better (so called 'harman-target'). Also, we can find more emphasis on sub-mid bass in B&K curve for in-room response, too. Of course, equal-loudness curve must be considered here. Interestingly, @pedalhead also mentioned listening volume mattered.

On the other hand, treble can be explained very similarly. HEK had slightly more energy in top octaves, and slightly bright (at least brighter than hd650 to my ears). Both B&K and harman target commonly indicate slightly reduced top octaves might sound more natural (surely we may lose some details and/or airiness as a trade-off). Considering HD650 is actually one of the ideal response for harman target in terms of treble response (see this graph if you are interested), z1r's treble may be slightly more recessed thus feels darker.

So, I am thinking that Z1R might be designed and engineered very carefully, and may simulate high-fidelity loudspeaker reproduction better. This may not be for everybody (this kind of reproduction sometimes sounds slightly muddy and less revealing, but generally sounds more natural and less fatigue in long listening), but it may be worthwhile giving a try IMO.

 

Can't wait for these to be compared to Eikon, I've got hunch that Eikon will have similar sound at a half price.....

 

@WNovizar , Same here too. That's why I am considering preorder Eikon

 

Thanks for the impression. And yes a comparison between the X00 and Z1R would be appropriate. I listened to the Z7 for a few times, and the bass overshadowed the mids a bit too much to my taste. Hopefully I get to hear the Z1R too someday.