So I've spent a good while with the Annihilator and the Z1R paired with my new X1s GT.
If there's one thing they share in common -- is that they love power. Hedonistic amounts of power. These thing really will flex their muscles with a powerful amp, and certainly will benefit from a DAC with a hint of warmth/musicality.
I was impressed before when I paired the Annihilator to a powerful portable DAC/Amp like the iDSD Gryphon, but a full desktop DAC/Amp, even one that isn't relatively expensive like the Aune X1s GT with its
ES9038Q2M chip and quad discrete amps tuned for a more dynamic and musical signature really lifts these two into another level, especially when connected to the powerful Penta 4.4mm connector
(1200 mW @32 Ohms, more than enough to even drive some rather power hungry headphones).
Generally speaking I'm more sensitive in picking up high frequency sound, but I think this is sort of the same for any human ears, just a matter of how much from person to person's canal, since everyone's hearing are still different. But here, I'm definitely in for a treat that I thought I was familiar with the Annihilator, this time with a desktop DAC/Amp, it's like I have to revisit it again for a thorough listen.
If there's one thing I can describe about the Annihilator -- it is like a
Supernova of treble. An IEM designed for trebleheads that loves the high frequency, and is all about the energy and sparkle.
The Annihilator just soars to insane height when plugged into the Aune. The gargantuan amount of treble here is almost frightening, but the curious thing is that it was free of peaky response or sibilance. And if there IS sibilance, it's mostly from some of my not-so-good content like Komm, Susser Todd (the singer really needs a better mic should there be a remaster or remake).
As I crank the volume up, I keep hearing more and more microdetails as it pick on the recordings fed. It's like an IEM that won't stop giving back if you feed it more and more power. It just tempts me to keep going just to hear what I've missed out initially when paired with less powerful portable dongles when I'm commuting during my weekdays work travel for every half an hour journey.
And yet despite reaching to almost uncomfortable volume for my ears, the Annihilator just smirked and went "Come on, bro, is this all you can give?" and it feel like it can STILL keep giving, but I realized that I have to stop once I reached 1'o clock dial on the volume knob because that's when my ears will start to ache.
I sadly cannot do the same on the power feeding and volume cranking to the Sony IER-Z1R as I feel like the treble on that is a lot less refined to my ears, and not just that, in terms of intensity and "hotness", it felt way too much for my ears as well, which seem to make sense to me at least. Because these two couldn't be more opposite from one another in their strengths.
If the
IER-Z1R is the
Grand Maestro of Bass, the
Elysian Annihilator is the
Overlord of Treble. Simple as that.
The bass hits well enough too with just the right amount of texture and decay, but it's definitely the least impressive part of the Annihilator, which is the opposite of the Bass Lord Sony IER-Z1R. Because compared to the Sony, that thing's looooooong decay and rumble just gives off such an euphoric feel around my head when that low end hits and went by. I hate to say this, but the Annihilator just didn't give me that same level of satisfaction on the low end, but there's nothing to be ashamed of because the Annihilator has that mighty treble edge that the Sony just couldn't give me either.
The Annihilator has a balanced feel of decay and punch, which is great in its technicality, but it's certainly the completely opposite of Sony's bass, top it off with the incredibly deep-bass sound signature out of the Aune X1s unit, and you get a very addictive recipe for bassheads who love all the controlled amount of bass and all the rumbling to spare.
And this is where the Sony IER-Z1R has the Annihilator licked a bit.
The Z1R's bass, paired with the already deep and hard-hitting bass from the Aune X1s GT -- is a cocktail of addicting, rumbling, deep, impactful, and most of all --
CONTROLLED bass.
I cannot stress enough how incredible the bass is on the Z1R. It really is on a league of its own when driven with proper power. I may have to do more testing in future but so far I haven't quite found an IEM yet that can truly trade blows with it.
Maybe my opinion on this will change when I try to pair the
Diva with the Aune, with the bass dialed up to the max of course.
Mmmmm...
On the midrange, they both have just as much presence to my ears with Annihilator favoring more on the upper mids (most likely thanks to that humongous level of treble), which to my ears at least -- gave it a more energetic overall feel that I can vibe with just about any vocal focused songs, but I personally find it best experienced with relaxing songs like Moon River (Andy Williams), Fly Me to the Moon (Brenda Lee) and of course, Spanish Harlem (Rebecca Pidgeon).
The Sony Z1R on the other hand put the midrange to the backseat in favor of the intense treble and that exciting low-end (effectively V-shaped), but it's not to say that it's completely lifeless or dull and muddy. It's still a balanced midrange, just that it's being pushed to the back a bit more than I would've preferred. It has potential but those who are looking for thick, lush and smooth midrange would probably have to look elsewhere.
Putting aside the volume thing, the Annihilator's also got quite big 3D soundstage. Wide and tall enough to be considered music-hall too. You know how there used to be the saying "This IEM makes me feel like listening to full-size speaker setup" ? Granted, if we're to put on that objectivist pants and speak physically and scientifically; no IEMs can sound like speakers. However, if we toss that pants to the side where the sun doesn't shine; if there really was a comparison that is close enough to hit home on that statement; emphasis on "close enough" mind you -- it'll be this IEM. You just need to really give it the power to scale for that experience because I cannot stress this enough -- the Annihilator will only show its colors if you got the juice to feed it.
The same can be said for the Z1R too. With the power fed by the quad amps from the Aune, the Sony just gives that humongous staging that makes me feel like I'm in a live hall and the overall presentation is pretty lifelike. And it does it without any awkward, unnatural exaggeration that make things feel too artificial which often results in a bizarre imaging. And I'm very pleased to report that I found no such artificial weirdness on staging with this pair up from my ears.
These things demands the best from you just as they will give you back the best in equal.
In conclusion:
If you are a bonefide
basshead who loves
bass like nobody's business
, give a try for the Sony IER-Z1R. You'll be very happy with it, and I know I will be too, if I got the dough to actually BUY one. xD
If you're a
treblehead and you really want that soaring
high energy treble that extends infinitely, give the Annihilator a try first before considering a buy. It is significantly more expensive after all, compared to the IER-Z1R, but it also has more technicality than the Sony, in all fairness.
P.S: And as always, PLEASE TRY FIRST before considering a buy. No IEMs at this price range are worth a blind purchase because there's always gonna be buyers' remorse if it turns out to not be the sound their ears like...