[palchiu]

Why do you guys call them Sony/Kimber cables? Is Kinber a pary of Sony?

It's Sony, Emgineered with Kimber.
 
Kimber has own Axios series. https://axios.kimber.com/

 

[AppleheadMay]

This is why, the "engineered with Kimber Cable" part.

They're very much separate entities, who happen to partner for a few collaborations.

 
 

 
It's Sony, Emgineered with Kimber.
 
Kimber has own Axios series. https://axios.kimber.com/

 
 
Ah, thanks for clarifying guys, I didn't even know this cable existed.
 
So is there any difference between this cable and the Axios? There sure is a difference in price.
I noticed both the Sony/Kimber and Axios are OFC but the standard Sony cable is silver plated OFC.

 

[palchiu]

S/K use 8 OFC? wires braided, Kimber use 16 OFHC wires braided. I believe they used different wires.
 
Sony's use very thin 4 SPC wires.
 
I won't recommand S/K, at that price range many aftermarket cables may choose.

 

[AppleheadMay]

  S/K use 8 OFC? wires braided, Kimber use 16 OFHC wires braided. I believe they used different wires.
 
Sony's use very thin 4 SPC wires.
 
I won't recommand S/K, at that price range many aftermarket cables may choose.

 
Thanks Palchiu, nice info!
I hope to get my Z1R soon and if I find it as good as I read here I think the Axios cable may be a nice option for these phones. I would require longer than 3m anyway to use in the living room with the Realiser.

 

[gto88]

wow, the cable cost $1000 for 3m. isssss it really worth it?

 

[echineko]

  wow, the cable cost $1000 for 3m. isssss it really worth it?

Of course not, no cable that expensive is really "worth it". The question really is, does it make a positive improvement to sound quality, and is it within your budget? People have been known to pay a lot chasing that last few % of quality over what they have, more power to you if you can afford it, I say 

 

[sosrah]

wow, the cable cost $1000 for 3m. isssss it really worth it?

In my opinion no, 180€ i spent on kimber/sony is already enough, and only because i want a balanced 4pin with original connectors headphone side without cannibalize the stock cables.

 

[beowulf]

It's almost two weeks now that i'm enjoying them both: after all your impressions posts and the photos, the price drop convinced me to jump on the boat.
I continue to alternate them and i'm convinced that Z1R is the one that best suits with all genres; altought i prefer HD800S sometimes, depending what i'm listening, i could have only the Sony and live happily without the need for other headphones. The contrary is not true.
 

 
Very curious we went through the same sequence and ended up with similar conclusions. They are both enjoyable indeed, and the HD800S does have a space in collections and their own strengths, but I'm not the type of user who likes to have gear that isn't used all that often...always feels like parked [i.e. wasted] funds - with the exception being models that aren't depreciating anymore (mostly due being hard to find, which is definitely not the case with the HD800S).
 
That's one of the beauty of the Z1R, they're a bit of a jack of all trades, being good in multiple areas, although particular models beat them in certain specifics.
 
 

 

[beowulf]

  By the way, who is the guy in the photo?   Part of the Sony Engineering/Design Team?  I know from one of the promotional videos the chief engineer is a fairly young guy.

 
Ikao Tsunoda. An audio critic/reviewer, I believe.
http://www.sony.jp/audio/special/interview/ZH1ES/

 

[sonics]

   
Ikao Tsunoda. An audio critic/reviewer, I believe.
http://www.sony.jp/audio/special/interview/ZH1ES/

Nice catch. Maybe one of his test cases was to wear Z1R backwards to hear differences in sound

 

[AppleheadMay]

In my opinion no, 180€ i spent on kimber/sony is already enough, and only because i want a balanced 4pin with original connectors headphone side without cannibalize the stock cables.

 
Where in Europe did you find the Kimber?Sony? And at that price!

 

[sosrah]

Where in Europe did you find the Kimber?Sony? And at that price!

In Europe i didn't find it anywhere: i bought from Amazon JP, the price was cheaper than Amazon.com too (tought i see now it is realigned).

 

[TSAVJason]

Why do you guys call them Sony/Kimber cables? Is Kinber a pary of Sony?

Sony manufactures the cable under license using Kimber Kable technology that's why.

 

[TSAVJason]

well, Amazon US has em, was shopping for the cheapest.  I just refuse to pay more than 1500 usd for these.

Buywise.com is the seller on Amazon.com. They are not an authorized Sony dealer for any Sony products. The admit in the ad that they are non-US units and that they are warranting the units themselves. I checked, they have no technicians for repair and would send them back to the country of origin to get them repaired if there is a product failure. Unfortunately their source for these units was discovered and is now shut down for gray market transshipping. If you buy from them you're saving $150 USD from retail. Even at $1000 below retail it isn't a good risk to buy them from BuyWise.com

 

[purk]

I personally think Jason has a good point.  I don't think a saving of $100 or $200 is a good idea for expensive items such as signature products.  I would love to buy with warranty as well unless I can get a deep deep discount from those amazon seller.  What's warranty period for the Signature gears?   5-year ES warranty type deal?