That's the one with the weird y split that disconnects right? I actually haven't read much about it.
Check the IER-Z1R thread, those are coming in, I think this one you have read on the CanJam thread :
Last one by @timorinolee
So glad I preordered
Wish I live in Melbourne. There is nothing in PerthToday I was lucky enough to hear the new Sony IER-M9 and IER-Z1R IEMs, and DMP-Z1R $10k "portable" DAP at the Australian Hifi AV show in Melbourne, along with a slew of megbuck two-channel systems.
For those potentially interested, the M9s sounded extremely flat (aiming for a reference signature) but felt uninvolving, fairly unimpressive technically and quite uncomfortable egeonomically. For AU$1900 I would definitely steer people away from these and towards something like the Andromedas instead.
The Z1R IEMs were utterly different. They are very heavy and built like absolute tanks, easily the best build quality of any IEM I've beheld. They're fairly comfortable when in your ears though (speculatively) perhaps not for long listening sessions due to the weight, and sound fantastic. The signature is somewhat bass and midrange heavy, bass uses DDs and is very prominent though perhaps slightly below basshead levels but doesn't obscure the rest of the sound, the midrange is extremely full and rich, and the treble is very smooth (not fatiguing in the slightest) yet detailed enough to please most people. I haven't yet heard the EE's Legend X but imagine from reading reviews that is the type of IEM the Z1Rs would be competing against. Due to the unconventional ergonomics and heavy weight I strongly suggest trying before buying but find it hard to imagine many people disliking their sonics. My only nitpicks are a slight lack of coherency due to their hybrid nature which is difficult to notice, and I would've personally preferred a bit more treble sparkle and detail.
The other news is the Z1Rs scale tremendously, which I discovered by testing them with the DMP-Z1R portable DAP/amp/thing. Its about four times the size of my old ALO CDM so is very much in the "transportable" category, in fact its even pretty big for a piece of transportable gear and certainly weighs plenty. Build quality is unsurpassed in the portable realm as expected, it looks and feels decadent. The interface is almost identical to a WM1Z and the massive volume knob is a pleasure to use, I'm sure you could have a lot of fun polishing your knob while hearing the sweet sounds this black box emits. I was able to try the Z1Rs from a WM1Z's balanced jack directly followed by balanced on the DMP-Z1R, and the difference felt significant. Notably the bass, dynamics and soundstage improved and the presentation felt more effortless. Sub bass in particular reached very very deep and was an absolute joy to hear, in fact I listened to a pair of MDZ1R headphones through the DMP-Z1R afterwards (could Sony's model numbers possibly be any more confusing??) and preferred the bass from the IEMs which felt tighter and more precise.
To my ears the DMP-Z1R + IER-Z1R IEM sounded like a quality desktop headphone rig, but one that's heavy and impractical enough that if you were going to use it "transportably" it wouldn't take much more effort to carry around a pair of TOTL headphones with it anyway. So I'm not quite convinced over the concept, or the price, but do think it sounds significantly better than the WM1Z and probably the SP1000. If you're the kind of person who has deep pockets and lives in hotel rooms it could be worth checking out.
Oh and here's a completely unecessary photo I took of the beautiful Audio Note Ongaku, a two-channel amplifer worth roughly AU$100k. In that context our little hobby really isn't that expensive at all!
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Wish I live in Melbourne. There is nothing in Perth
Addicted to Audio have a Perth store and Headphonic are over there as well.Wish I live in Melbourne. There is nothing in Perth
Today I was lucky enough to hear the new Sony IER-M9 and IER-Z1R IEMs, and DMP-Z1R $10k "portable" DAP at the Australian Hifi AV show in Melbourne, along with a slew of megbuck two-channel systems.
For those potentially interested, the M9s sounded extremely flat (aiming for a reference signature) but felt uninvolving, fairly unimpressive technically and quite uncomfortable egeonomically. For AU$1900 I would definitely steer people away from these and towards something like the Andromedas instead.
The Z1R IEMs were utterly different. They are very heavy and built like absolute tanks, easily the best build quality of any IEM I've beheld. They're fairly comfortable when in your ears though (speculatively) perhaps not for long listening sessions due to the weight, and sound fantastic. The signature is somewhat bass and midrange heavy, bass uses DDs and is very prominent though perhaps slightly below basshead levels but doesn't obscure the rest of the sound, the midrange is extremely full and rich, and the treble is very smooth (not fatiguing in the slightest) yet detailed enough to please most people. I haven't yet heard the EE's Legend X but imagine from reading reviews that is the type of IEM the Z1Rs would be competing against. Due to the unconventional ergonomics and heavy weight I strongly suggest trying before buying but find it hard to imagine many people disliking their sonics. My only nitpicks are a slight lack of coherency due to their hybrid nature which is difficult to notice, and I would've personally preferred a bit more treble sparkle and detail.
The other news is the Z1Rs scale tremendously, which I discovered by testing them with the DMP-Z1R portable DAP/amp/thing. Its about four times the size of my old ALO CDM so is very much in the "transportable" category, in fact its even pretty big for a piece of transportable gear and certainly weighs plenty. Build quality is unsurpassed in the portable realm as expected, it looks and feels decadent. The interface is almost identical to a WM1Z and the massive volume knob is a pleasure to use, I'm sure you could have a lot of fun polishing your knob while hearing the sweet sounds this black box emits. I was able to try the Z1Rs from a WM1Z's balanced jack directly followed by balanced on the DMP-Z1R, and the difference felt significant. Notably the bass, dynamics and soundstage improved and the presentation felt more effortless. Sub bass in particular reached very very deep and was an absolute joy to hear, in fact I listened to a pair of MDZ1R headphones through the DMP-Z1R afterwards (could Sony's model numbers possibly be any more confusing??) and preferred the bass from the IEMs which felt tighter and more precise.
To my ears the DMP-Z1R + IER-Z1R IEM sounded like a quality desktop headphone rig, but one that's heavy and impractical enough that if you were going to use it "transportably" it wouldn't take much more effort to carry around a pair of TOTL headphones with it anyway. So I'm not quite convinced over the concept, or the price, but do think it sounds significantly better than the WM1Z and probably the SP1000. If you're the kind of person who has deep pockets and lives in hotel rooms it could be worth checking out.
Oh and here's a completely unecessary photo I took of the beautiful Audio Note Ongaku, a two-channel amplifer worth roughly AU$100k. In that context our little hobby really isn't that expensive at all!
