[glassmonkey]

These differences point to bad production control by Sony. This debacle is good for nobody.

 

[thatonenoob]

@jude thank you for bringing more measurements to the table. I have always felt that this forum is a great place to express different perspectives and bring more measurements to the table, especially in a logical and reasonable manner. This is without a doubt, helpful. While my rig lacks the sophistication of yours, I would like to add my data here (from my review), as I think some may find it relevant too.

 

[glassmonkey]

I seriously believe there needs to be some type of standardized protocol where a headphone being reviewed is tested to be within certain standard deviation to the "average" or "typical" unit in production. This needs to be tested and stated at the beginning of the review to be a legitimate one. Now that I think of it, isn't this sort of common sense?

Come on! Just after the LCD4 vs Utopia debacle, another one?? We are better than this. How am I to ever trust any review, I wonder... (no offense and nothing personal)

The reviewer isn't the problem, it's the manufacturer. The manufacturer shouldn't be sending out units like this one. I applaud Tyll for publishing exactly what he receives. As a reviewer who talks to other reviewers, this kind of thing would hold back some people from publishing. This is wrong. Negative findings are incredibly important. Tyll's publication may force Sony to have better quality control.

 

[jude]

Tyll's pair is not the only one with different measurements, there're another measurements on another headphone forum which show the Z1R ringing like a bell at 3khz and 10khz and awful CSD plots.

Maybe Sony sent you cherry picked pairs for you to listen and measure, like Focal did with the first Utopia for Tyll...

Again, the first pair is a prototype (X009) sent by Sony. The second unit is a production unit sent by another Head-Fi'er.

As for others' measurements: I can't vouch for the measurement equipment and methods used by others.

Given a pattern of measurement oddities in recent reviews, I have to question whether Tyll's equipment is fully functioning properly. No knock on him, and I'm sure there is some production variation playing a role, but it just seems a little weird to me. I think we all have a vested interest in that equipment working properly.

Perhaps Tyll will chime in, but I'll assume that his analyzer and microphones are kept calibrated. Our Audio Precision APx555 analyzer is calibrated to spec, as is our APx1701, and we'll keep them that way. We also routinely run the APx self-diagnosis routines to make sure both the analyzer's analog and digital sections are performing as expected. We also keep our systems calibrated with two different pistonphones which take into account both temperature and barometric pressure (at the time of calibration).

 

[TSAVJason]

Tyll's pair is not the only one with different measurements, there're another measurements on another headphone forum which show the Z1R ringing like a bell at 3khz and 10khz and awful CSD plots.

Maybe Sony sent you cherry picked pairs for you to listen and measure, like Focal did with the first Utopia for Tyll...

It's a shame because Z1R is such a beautiful headphone...

It's not uncommon for a manufacturer to make a running change on products during its "current" life. It's also not uncommon for pre-production to differ from production. Sony doesn't cherry pick what they send but they do cherry pick reviewers. I've been told by Sony they sent "a set" out of the then 12 sets to Jude for 2 reasons. 1st they feel he is a good study and objective reviewer. 2 he's earned their respect with his creation of head-fi/CanJam. I don't always agree with Jude but he has earned my respect as well.

 

[echineko]

Moving forward, I think it would be very useful for reviewers to source independently purchased headphones from buyers/forum members to ensure that there's a standard baseline for their technical performance.

I know this won't be very easy to implement (just look at Tyll having problems finding other LCD-4s recently), but for flagship level gear, it would be very useful. Personally I'd rather wait a bit to see an exhaustive review rather than risk this sort of variance to get faster impressions.

 

[Maelob]

Tyll's pair is not the only one with different measurements, there're another measurements on another headphone forum which show the Z1R ringing like a bell at 3khz and 10khz and awful CSD plots.

Maybe Sony sent you cherry picked pairs for you to listen and measure, like Focal did with the first Utopia for Tyll...

It's a shame because Z1R is such a beautiful headphone...

I think we have to be careful in blaming the headphone- We need to think of the possibility is not the headphone but the variations in measuring equipment or the conditions of the test, calibration etc etc

 

[Maelob]

These differences point to bad production control by Sony. This debacle is good for nobody.

Disagree until we know how different units measure under the same control test- i believe that ultimately measuring equipment, calibration and test conditions need to be standardized

 

[jude]

Disagree until we know how different units measure under the same control test- i believe that ultimately measuring equipment, calibration and test conditions need to be standardized

I absolutely agree with @Maelob's post. Tyll's unit might be an outlier, and I'd appreciate the opportunity to measure it.

 

[silverbox]

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

Another set of measurements. Looks similar to all the other measurements except CSD's don't look very nice.

 

[jscmd2000]

I think a reputable reviewer would, and should be responsible, to test the subject to be legitimate.
But then, even if this is done under rigorously strict protocol, how can you be sure if YOUR headphone is an outlier or broken... lol.

 

[Maelob]

The issue is that under real standardized conditions and equipment, the same headphone should measure the same at different facilities. Maybe this is an opportunity to create a "headphone measurements association" that share the same standards.

 

[thatonenoob]

I think a reputable reviewer would, and should be responsible, to test the subject to be legitimate.
But then, even if this is done under rigorously strict protocol, how can you be sure if YOUR headphone is an outlier or broken... lol.

That's why when providing impressions, leave room for interpretation and possibility. What one feels is absolute, sometimes isn't.

 

[Wyd4]

Again, the first pair is a prototype (X009) sent by Sony. The second unit is a production unit sent by another Head-Fi'er.

As for others' measurements: I can't vouch for the measurement equipment and methods used by others.



Perhaps Tyll will chime in, but I'll assume that his analyzer and microphones are kept calibrated. Our Audio Precision APx555 analyzer is calibrated to spec, as is our APx1701, and we'll keep them that way. We also routinely run the APx self-diagnosis routines to make sure both the analyzer's analog and digital sections are performing as expected. We also keep our systems calibrated with two different pistonphones which take into account both temperature and barometric pressure (at the time of calibration).

Calibrated or not, his subjective review/listening experience mirrored that of the measurements, so rather than his rig, I would question the headphones he tested and in turn perhaps a 2nd pair needs to be sent for review to confirm. While a sample of 3 hardly adequate, as you said previously, it is encouraging that 2 pairs (and a subjective reviews from the forum here) indicate a far more positive experience.

 

[inventionlws]

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

Another set of measurements. Looks similar to all the other measurements except CSD's don't look very nice.

Speakerphone's FR measurement is quite similar to Tyll's with a pronounced 10k and 3k peak. The square wave looks similar as well.