Hello again. I hope everyone had a healthy start/progress throughout the week, as well as a wonderful weekend.
Over the past few weeks, I've spent some more time with A306 on the go at work lately, appreciating how this lightweight portable dap continues to draw me in to the different emotions and colorful sounds of music day by day, while drowning out the bustling ambient noise from the city to the streets and in to the stores & back to the warehouse.
Following up on my previous post in regards to the IER-M9, after having finally picked up my order from FedEx about two weeks ago, I did spend some time with this set (and did some listening mostly with classical music, paired with Sony WM1AM2 and A306 after work), with few hours of listening done so far (due to work being quite busy most of the week).
Sony IER-M9 (with Divinus Velvet ear tips & stock cable in 4.4 balanced).
Sony A306 (Japan model, with FatBear case). Sony IER-M9 (with stock cable in 4.4) & Sony WM1AM2 (US model, with Benks case).
In some ways, the tonality and transient of M9 do share some similarities with IER-Z1R with its somewhat fluid tonal heft and lively natured sound presentation.
Going by comparison from memory, I found Z1R to be slightly more resolving in detail and noticeably more dynamic with tighter & more weighted bass, along with more depth and textured decay in the lower end. And, while it's not a significant step ahead of the M9 transitioning to the mids, the M9 handles slow acoustics, slow tempo piano and instrumental performances from the midrange in a more up-close/intimate and slightly more detailed but 'naturally' presented way. Both sets bring that shared sense of energy-driven feel & character of sound, but I feel the M9 brings the music & performer a bit more close to the listener in a noticeably slower paced way with a more savory thick bodied sound profile, whereas the Z1R takes several more rows back from center stage and presents & projects parts and nuances of the music in a more quick-attentive approach from a vast amphitheatre-like stage.
From the highs, most of the treble from M9 is smoothly presented with decent weight and extension, but I get the sense that detail in the lower to upper end of treble loses some of its information and presence as it transitions to a smoother flow in transients and coherence in its overall presentation.
Imaging and dynamics are overall similar on both sets when casual listening is done on the go & around about. But, in a more close-up critical listening session, the differences noticeably begin to show where the Z1R is a noticeable step ahead of the M9 in nearly most technical aspects with more grand-spacious staging, more headroom, greater dynamics/physicality and more immersive imaging.
Overall, the M9 may be less technically adept than the Z1R in most fast-tempo, explosive dynamic-oriented and busy/complex passages of classical/vocal performances, but I find the tonal balance and dense profiled tonality matched by an intimately spacious presentation of the M9 to be satisfying to hear and comforting to feel and be in the heart of the music.
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