[pietcux]

Thats not a crack, it's just a wrinkle. Leather wrinkles. Sony has used leather on the headband and good leather wrinkles a bit, if you can't see* the hide beneath it then its not cracked. It will develop some more of these wrinkles over the coming weeks and months. I've highlighted the areas where those wrinkles will appear in the coming months. The Z7 headband also wrinkles in the same way. Don't worry it's just regular "wear and tear". It won't get any worse, once those wrinkles appear they don't get deeper.

To increase the life of the leather I would suggest you wipe the oils using a slightly damp cloth after using since body oils will wreak the leather over time. Use a good leather conditioner/ cleaner(the kind used for car seats is good) once every 2-3 months and it will be fine. Just do rub too vigorously as that can do more harm than good.

Earpads are genuine sheepskin leather. Headband is genuine leather.

My Z7 also shows some slight wrinkles.

 

[TSAVJason]

Thats not a crack, it's just a wrinkle. Leather wrinkles. Sony has used leather on the headband and good leather wrinkles a bit, if you can't see the hide beneath it then its not cracked. It will develop some more of these wrinkles over the coming weeks and months. I've highlighted the areas where those wrinkles will appear in the coming months. The Z7 headband also wrinkles in the same way. Don't worry it's just regular "wear and tear". It won't get any worse, once those wrinkles appear they don't get deeper.

To increase the life of the leather I would suggest you wipe the oils using a slightly damp cloth after using since body oils can wreak the leather over time. Use a good leather conditioner/ cleaner(the kind used for car seats is good) once every 2-3 months and it will be fine. Just do rub too vigorously as that can do more harm than good.

The

A good response! I might suggest McGuires Liquid Gold not Cavalli hahaha. McGuires has leather conditioning included with a clearning solution in one so it's basically a wipe on wipe off product with no harmful additives. Another thing I would add is unless your body oils are quite substantial or you use lots of hair care products don't use any clearners/conditioners more than twice a year.

 

[Kramer01]

Ill see what sony says that or i may try a coconut oil on it, I beleive the oils can smooth it out its a weird looking crack for sure.

Leather develops a wrinkle where it flexes. Don't worry there is nothing wrong with it. Just like a leather jacket or leather couch it will develop some creases and wrinkles, its NORMAL.
Its only a tear if you can see the foam in the headband or you are seeing the white bits of the hide like you would on a worn out leather couch.

 

[rnros]

On the follow-up FR vs Price post: My vote remains clearly with the Nageno/Tsunoda/Shiomi/Wilder team.

Of course, the Z1R is not perfect. And, FR measurement technology is not perfect. And, Headphone FR measurement technology is even less perfect. But, yes, a useful tool.
Also, the acoustic designer/engineer is not perfect, but a level of discipline and connection to reality are required, as the work will be judged by peer professionals, and consumers who vote with dollars. IMHO, the esteemed Sony team, with tuning assistance from Mark Wilder, hit their design target. And, I am very happy with their work.

Still loving all the time I spend with the Z1R. Would never part with it. Sure, other headphones will be added to the group, but the Z1R stays. For me, it's about the balance of high performance to unacceptable flaws. There are many headphones that are very exciting , but the __Fill in the Blank__ is annoying, and pulls you out of the story, ahh, I mean music. (Ever watch a film? Catch yourself saying "Ah, what the...") And the exceptional level of accurate bass and realistic soundstage are remarkable. Others have a very different assessment, there are many different criteria we use to evaluate sound performance.

Does this sound like hype?:
"Sound quality is superb; this is an extraordinarily dynamic and punchy headphone. Unlike most high-end headphones, the Focal Elear seem to have no Achilles heel. It's very easy to just get wrapped up in the music and be unaware of the headphones themselves.
Focal has done an absolutely beautiful job of producing a worthy high-end headphone. They've driven a spike in the diminishing returns curve that's going to have competitors scurrying to find ways to tighten their game up. This headphone is a game changer." InnerFidelity

Before I heard the Elear, I would have no reason to think so. After I heard the Elear, I wasn't sure. Could be an honest impression, based on personal perception/experience. But, I felt very fortunate to have had an opportunity to audition the headphone before making the purchase. Yes, a great headphone for some, but not for me. Point being, it did not live up to the extreme InnerFidelity enthusiasm and recommendation.

Just my opinion on two reviews that deviated substantially from my own experience. IMHO, the Elear is 'hyped' in the positive direction and the Z1R is 'hyped' in the negative direction. Just two more data points to judge the InnerFidelity judgements.

 

[rnros]

Leather develops a wrinkle where it flexes. Don't worry there is nothing wrong with it. Just like a leather jacket or leather couch it will develop some creases and wrinkles, its NORMAL.
Its only a tear if you can see the foam in the headband or you are seeing the white bits of the hide like you would on a worn out leather couch.

Agree that it's normal. Leather hides can have wrinkles or creases before they are cut and used.
Cracking would be when the surface layer actually cracks and exposes the layer beneath.

 

[greggf]

Innerfidelity is a hype machine. Again, the shirts. It is designed to make money. It is designed to do so by entertaining - hyping up, hyping down, playing with that infantile Wall. Like Letterman's old Top Ten lists, which mocked the concept of lists. Again, as a journalist, I ask, how could you be so naive as to think otherwise? What is rare and worthy of respect is the occasional John Atkinson who can manage to be both entertaining and reasonable. Or Jude. Or a Mark Wilder in his industry! Those are dinosaurs.

 

[rnros]

Innerfidelity is a hype machine. Again, the shirts. It is designed to make money. It is designed to do so by entertaining - hyping up, hyping down, playing with that infantile Wall. Like Letterman's old Top Ten lists, which mocked the concept of lists. Again, as a journalist, I ask, how could you be so naive as to think otherwise? What is rare and worthy of respect is the occasional John Atkinson who can manage to be both entertaining and reasonable. Or Jude. Or a Mark Wilder in his industry! Those are dinosaurs.

LOL on the shirts. Agree with most of what you say.

 

[TSAVJason]

Innerfidelity is a hype machine. Again, the shirts. It is designed to make money. It is designed to do so by entertaining - hyping up, hyping down, playing with that infantile Wall. Like Letterman's old Top Ten lists, which mocked the concept of lists. Again, as a journalist, I ask, how could you be so naive as to think otherwise? What is rare and worthy of respect is the occasional John Atkinson who can manage to be both entertaining and reasonable. Or Jude. Or a Mark Wilder in his industry! Those are dinosaurs.

Jude is a dinosaurs? Would that be a veggysaurus or a meatasaurus? I don't disagree with your original IF comment but I don't think Jude is anything of the kind. Infact he is quite diligent in my opinion on trying to bring information more than opinion to the masses.

 

[rnros]

Jude is a dinosaurs? Would that be a veggysaurus or a meatasaurus? I don't disagree with your original IF comment but I don't think Jude is anything of the kind. Infact he is quite diligent in my opinion on trying to bring information more than opinion to the masses.

I don't think that including Jude in a group with Atkinson and Wilder was intended as a negative, the opposite actually. In fact your points of diligence and information would apply to all three. My impression was that he meant it in the sense that it was 'old school' or 'dying breed'.

Could be wrong, I always thought that whenever someone referred to me as dinosaur, they meant it as a compliment...

 

[buzzlulu]

Does this sound like hype?:
"Sound quality is superb; this is an extraordinarily dynamic and punchy headphone. Unlike most high-end headphones, the Focal Elear seem to have no Achilles heel. It's very easy to just get wrapped up in the music and be unaware of the headphones themselves.
Focal has done an absolutely beautiful job of producing a worthy high-end headphone. They've driven a spike in the diminishing returns curve that's going to have competitors scurrying to find ways to tighten their game up. This headphone is a game changer." InnerFidelity

Before I heard the Elear, I would have no reason to think so. After I heard the Elear, I wasn't sure. Could be an honest impression, based on personal perception/experience. But, I felt very fortunate to have had an opportunity to audition the headphone before making the purchase. Yes, a great headphone for some, but not for me. Point being, it did not live up to the extreme InnerFidelity enthusiasm and recommendation.

Just my opinion on two reviews that deviated substantially from my own experience. IMHO, the Elear is 'hyped' in the positive direction and the Z1R is 'hyped' in the negative direction. Just two more data points to judge the InnerFidelity judgements.

100% agree with your assessment of the Elear. I had a pair here for several weeks and was thoroughly unimpressed.

Followed up with a demo (and ultimate purchase) of the Utopia. Now that impressed me and lived up to the hype.

So yes - reviewers are not God.

I will say however that if a large number of reviewers are in agreement and all consistently heap praise on the same item - in this case the Utopia and Z1R - then I tend to discount the lone wolf who writes something so completely different.
It just simply does not make any sense

 

[TSAVJason]

I don't think that including Jude in a group with Atkinson and Wilder was intended as a negative, the opposite actually. In fact your points of diligence and information would apply to all three. My impression was that he meant it in the sense that it was 'old school' or 'dying breed'.

Could be wrong, I always thought that whenever someone referred to me as dinosaur, they meant it as a compliment...

Personally I think Old School is what this genre of audio seriously needs. Demo rooms, places you can go to listen to a vast majority of personal audio products. Places that treat you with respect and care that give you the opportunity to make the right choice rather than guessing and often making bad choices or receiving terrible service. So I see old school as a good thing for the HeadGear world. I'm not particularly thrilled with reviewers that think they are the final word on topics and I find that products can measure on graphs very similarly but have dramatic differences in SQ so I'm not impressed with graphs as a certainty either.

 

[rnros]

Personally I think Old School is what this genre of audio seriously needs. Demo rooms, places you can go to listen to a vast majority of personal audio products. Places that treat you with respect and care that give you the opportunity to make the right choice rather than guessing and often making bad choices or receiving terrible service. So I see old school as a good thing for the HeadGear world. I'm not particularly thrilled with reviewers that think they are the final word on topics and I find that products can measure on graphs very similarly but have dramatic differences in SQ so I'm not impressed with graphs as a certainty either.

Now, that's just too much common sense and decency for most folks!

I hear you loud and clear.

 

[TSAVJason]

Well it's us ol' geriatrics's only that know this type of relationship and think this way. It's because that is how we old guys were treated in our early years. None the less I think it's the correct way.

So my loving Spousal Unit decides I need some new shirts for Father's Day. She goes online and clicks the buy now but first she reads the reviews. About 30% of the reviews say buy 1 size larger because they run small. Ok so she did. I wear a large generally. She ordered X Large. It comes I try it on and guess what? I was able to get my 17 yo 5'7" 145 lb son in the shirt with me. The one review from a clothing reviewer is what caused her to go the xtra size up. I think the reviewer may have been Gy-Normous trying to fit into the large shirt hoping he wasn't too big and subsequently provided a bogus review. I'm not small by any means but I'm not overweight either. So reviewers often disappoint the masses that read them. I think the proof to what you want is always in your ears as it relates to audio. Just find a way to listen. I know a lot of you now and I understand that there are many areas that just don't have stores that deal in personal audio. I also know that facilities like ours are very rare but I believe we should all campaign our local independent hi fi shops to engage the personal audio genre so that blind buying online can be reduced significantly. Just my opinion as an old guy.

 

[greggf]

No, no, I was saying that Jude is a dinosaur in that his integrity is a rare thing nowadays. It's good to be a dinosaur, as Jason is saying.

 

[up late]

Innerfidelity is a hype machine. Again, the shirts. It is designed to make money. It is designed to do so by entertaining - hyping up, hyping down, playing with that infantile Wall. Like Letterman's old Top Ten lists, which mocked the concept of lists. Again, as a journalist, I ask, how could you be so naive as to think otherwise? What is rare and worthy of respect is the occasional John Atkinson who can manage to be both entertaining and reasonable. Or Jude. Or a Mark Wilder in his industry! Those are dinosaurs.

maybe he just really likes hawaiin shirts and has been wearing them before innerfidelity came into being. i happen to like the wall of fame, and let's not forget that the headphone market is a predominantly younger demographic than the hi-fi market.

and of course the site is trying to generate revenue - it's not a benevolent society and neither is stereophile that john atkinson edits and writes for. both publications are owned by the same company by the way.

while john and tyll are contrasting personalities, i think their different styles suit their respective audiences. john's reserve fits with the established stereophile, and appeals to the predominantly older audiophile that it attracts. tyll's exuberance fits with innerfidelity and a younger audience that is more interested in personal audio, and headphones in particular. both may have more in common than meets the eye, including placing equal importance on subjective impressions and objective measurements in their reviews.