It was a veiled reference to the fact that it was something of a miracle I was able to withstand the pull wrought by a lifetime of being a Sony fanboy coupled with the drumbeat obbligato of hype for Sony and disdain for Campfire that permeated the audio community I was frequenting at the time to decide for myself that, despite all the great qualities the Z1R does possess, I actually prefer the sound of the Solaris overall. It was a decision I agonized over for a few weeks and I had to eat crow a bit as I posted in a few places that I was going to sell my Solaris...but I couldn't bring myself to do it and when I ultimately decided to return the Z1R I was following my heart and gut, which was attended by a "liberating" feeling that I was making the right call. Bear in mind that this is in no way a comment on the quality of the Z1R and is rather entirely a matter of me coming to terms with my own preferences and priorities. The liberating quality of the Solaris for me is that it has taken me beyond a lifelong obsession with bass that had defined much of my audio life to that point. I felt something similar when I chose the Solaris over the Atlas earlier that same year. The Solaris is the first IEM to allow me to appreciate a more balanced sound where bass response is more relegated to being a support player and not the star of the show. For this reason while I can readily acknowledge that, taken on its own the bass of the Z1R is superior to that in the Solaris, I actually prefer the bass of the Solaris when judged according to how it fis in to the signature as a whole. Usual caveats that this is all just my subjective opinion etc. etc.
Fit was ok if I wasn't moving. There was something about how the highs and lows meshed together that triggered my OCD and subtly fatigued me over time.
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