The IER-Z1R is only $100 more with Campfire Audio's cheapest balanced cable. The FW10K is $100 less. Both outperform the Solaris by big margins in certain aspects. The difference is the Solaris is American and has gotten disproportionate publicity in the West.
I tried deep insertion with the IER-Z1R for 30 minutes and my ears rung for at least a week. I spent a decent amount of time with the Solaris and thought the seal was good. Briefly I was impressed while using a laptop of all things, but usually and perhaps always there was an overall prosaic quality to the sound. With the IER-Z1R you can at least say the bass catches your attention. If you're going to do balance do it brilliantly or have an actual soundstage. Or have incredible clarity and resolution. Good is not good enough at this price.
I tried deep insertion with the IER-Z1R for 30 minutes and my ears rung for at least a week. I spent a decent amount of time with the Solaris and thought the seal was good. Briefly I was impressed while using a laptop of all things, but usually and perhaps always there was an overall prosaic quality to the sound. With the IER-Z1R you can at least say the bass catches your attention. If you're going to do balance do it brilliantly or have an actual soundstage. Or have incredible clarity and resolution. Good is not good enough at this price.