IMR - R1 Thread

[Jackpot77]

Still listening to the Zenith (been alternating on and off today with a pair of Ollo S4R cans that arrived this morning). Very fun day.

For anyone who enjoys a bit of Joe Bonamassa (or just rock / funk crossover) I recommend checking out Digging In The Dirt or Don't Funk With Me by the band Rock Candy Funk Party. Superbly recorded and some very tasty guitar and bass grooves on there to enjoy with one of the bassier filters on the Zenith.

 

[nlowran]

[deleted] this was already covered

 

[sino8r]

Looking at the pictures they're in pretty bad condition. They want £250 for them too, which is ridiculous when the B stock only cost that. I suppose £450 is ridiculous when they've paid £250. I wonder what warranty Bob will offer to people buying them from eBay.

Probably none. He only offered a year on b stock. I hope he doesn't offer one. Who knows what the seller did to them or how abused they were.

 

[nlowran]

I told him I didn't need another pair either mine sound great, I suggest if yours are fine you do the same. I know Bob has some great projects in the work and I don't want to compromise those releases by making this a bigger deal then it is.

 

[dobis4ever]

Hi,
just a question not to sound and polarity but to quality of built of the R1 Z.

at my right zenith the adjustable port valve knob is really loose and wiggles if not full open or closed... left is way better and feels firm and tight even half open / closed.
so..
what about your's ??

anybody out there with loose and wiggling knobs ?

(if not, i hope the replacement R1z are ok)

 

[sino8r]

The only thing I'm concerned about now is whether the balance issues that some have reported are due to the driver flex. I can swear that my R1s were slightly off balance on the right and that was the side that flexed like a muscle head at the gym...

 

[floro7979]

My Zenith has high frequencies bad, very high. It's not a solution to change the cable. Does anyone else have this problem?

I do not know whether to expect the best from the new unit or the money back.

Zenith sounds better than R1?

Thank you.

 

[Sito Lupion]

First sound impressions after about 50 hours of use.

the bass is tighter and less present than in the r1, the subwoofer is not so marked so now the bass has more detail.
the middle zone has improved since it is now more present, the voices sound great, with a lot of detail, but somewhat bright.
the treble ones have been cut in extension but they gain in brightness in the zone average high, which to some people can be something annoying to him.
also the sound stage has been reduced a bit compared to the r1, it is not so expanded from the left to the right but I do believe that they were something in depth.
about the comfort and the fit for me is perfect, now they stay in place and I do not have to adjust them from time to time as with the r1.
I used the pink filter and I have it connected to the MF V90 desktop amplifier.

although we have to wait for Bob to send us the replacement unit the final sound I guess it will be very similar to this.

 

[sino8r]

Hi,
just a question not to sound and polarity but to quality of built of the R1 Z.

at my right zenith the adjustable port valve knob is really loose and wiggles if not full open or closed... left is way better and feels firm and tight even half open / closed.
so..
what about your's ??

anybody out there with loose and wiggling knobs ?

(if not, i hope the replacement R1z are ok)

That seems to be normal. I don't see a possibility of the vents being only half open unfortunately. They appear to lock in either open or close.

I think these are light years ahead of the R1 as far as the vents go. The R1 vents barely functioned. I did a mod on mine and it helped with driver flex and soundstage slightly. Here's a picture that shows how small the vents actually are behind the dial on the R1.

 

[sino8r]

First sound impressions after about 50 hours of use.

the bass is tighter and less present than in the r1, the subwoofer is not so marked so now the bass has more detail.
the middle zone has improved since it is now more present, the voices sound great, with a lot of detail, but somewhat bright.
the treble ones have been cut in extension but they gain in brightness in the zone average high, which to some people can be something annoying to him.
also the sound stage has been reduced a bit compared to the r1, it is not so expanded from the left to the right but I do believe that they were something in depth.
about the comfort and the fit for me is perfect, now they stay in place and I do not have to adjust them from time to time as with the r1.
I used the pink filter and I have it connected to the MF V90 desktop amplifier.

although we have to wait for Bob to send us the replacement unit the final sound I guess it will be very similar to this.

I thought the soundstage is larger on the Zenith. The bass is definitely more controlled although I won't say it's less present. I'm really thrilled with how mine sound compared to the R1. It's definitely more refined and has more changes than I thought it would. These are just my thoughts. We all heard things differently. Heck, I didn't even realize mine were out of phase until I switched sources. Apparently, Dolby Atmos was compensating for the phase issue and didn't even hear a difference lol! Things have been very chaotic on this thread this week but I imagine things will settle down when people get their replacements. I was kind of disappointed that things have been rough for Bob and the fix is very simple. I have to remember that not everyone has worked in IT field like myself and aren't comfortable taking their iems apart like some of us here. But these are pricey iems to alot of people so I understand their frustrations as well. Bob is great with customer service so I think things will be okay after the rough start.

 

[Sito Lupion]

I agree, the zenith improves the r1 in the whole aspect in general.
as with the r1, I have the ports closed, and having less extension in the treble, my sensation is of minor scene.
about the amount of low in the r1 I use blue filter and in the zenith the pink filter, it is definitely not so marked, I like the pink filter much more now.
Of course they are my initial impressions, but I repeat that we will have to wait until Bob sent us the definitive unit to make a final assessment.

 

[jeffhawke]

although we have to wait for Bob to send us the replacement unit the final sound I guess it will be very similar to this.

I sold my R1 once I received the tracking number (I should have kept it); having said that, the unit I got, even after flipping the right connector (it was definitely out of phase) idoes not sound as good as my R1 did, imo. Psychoacoustics? Maybe. I'll just wait for the replacement to compare the two, and then I'll send the first one back to Bob.

 

[Sito Lupion]

I sold my R1 once I received the tracking number (I should have kept it); having said that, the unit I got, even after flipping the right connector (it was definitely out of phase) idoes not sound as good as my R1 did, imo. Psychoacoustics? Maybe. I'll just wait for the replacement to compare the two, and then I'll send the first one back to Bob.

That's true, even with the correct polarity does not sound like it should.

Also, in my unit, I have a terrible flex, especially in the right capsule, the sound comes and goes with any movement of my head... there is definitely something badly soldered or connected in them.
in the R1 I have always used the blue filter, but now it is too bright for me.

Today I will try the copper filter.

 

[Immortal]

That's true, even with the correct polarity does not sound like it should.

Also, in my unit, I have a terrible flex, especially in the right capsule, the sound comes and goes with any movement of my head... there is definitely something badly soldered or connected in them.

Same here, with also a slightly lower volume on the right. Today, after 70 hours of burn-in, I'm trying with the open-vent. I started using them with the same config I'm using in the R1s, so copper filter, closed vent, spiral dot tips... but with standard quality audio (i.e., youtube HD) the quality is crap. Don't know if they're too much "unforgiving" or what, but R1s seems a lot better. Today I'm trying with the open vent and it seems less muffled. Anyway, these days I'm listening to music while I'm working so I'm not completely focused on them, so take this with a grain of salt.

 

[McCol]

With refernce to the ebay sellers.

I had my Zenith up for sale recently here but not on ebay. However once it was announced about the potential issues I took them straight them off. I only placed them for sale as I thought they sounded pretty bad, now I know it's a fault, I'll wait for the replacement pair. The originals I will send back to Bob, only fair as his customer service has been pretty much excellent.