Hi Karl (any relation to Bernd?
),
I'm really no good at comparisons, but I'll try to quickly sum up my impressions regarding SEM1, TH-900 and MDR-Z1R. I bought the TH-900 on a whim and never really came to terms with how it sounds. Being a fellow owner, you will realise that its midrange is massively sccoped out. I knew it had recessed mids beforehand, but did not expect to which degree that would be the case -- and to which extent it would bother me. I've only really ever listened to it on my own setup (Surface Book-->Hugo-->V281), but in this constellation it sounds much too bright, lean and aggressive for my taste. I happen to like more of a full, yet spacious sound, and the TH-900 stayed far behind my expectations, even more so as I was looking for a can to listen predominantly to electronic music, for which it was recommended as a perfect match. I did not find this to be the case at all. Subbass is great, but midbass impact, which is far more important for the kind of music I mainly listen to, is comparatively weak, so I'd consider the reports about its prodigious qualities for Techno and most kinds of electronic dance music a misunderstanding or well-spread myth. Depending on your music choice, you might fare better with HipHop, reggae and dub, where subbass is more crucial.
Apart from the subbass, I don't think it does anything particularly well. What killed me however, were the piercing highs. A good deal of my hearing probably went down the drain while I kept turning the dial up looking for "dat bass" that I was promised and just getting highs upon highs sticking hot needles into my ears instead. Fatigue galore with this headphone, which is by no means warm except its pronounced subbass, quite the contrary, and not pleasant to listen to at all as far as I'm concerned. Consequently, I have stopped dealing with it it entirely. This might help you judge if we have similar preferences and our impressions of the TH-900 align. If they don't, you probably won't agree with how I hear the other two either.
The Z1R is just about everything I hoped the TH-900 would be: a fun can that has a very visceral bass impact (midbass is much better than TH-900's -- listening to the Z1R, it's almost like I can feel the amount of air being pushed through the cups. To me, it's like a glorified version of a Meze 99, Pro900 or TH-900 without all the bad stuff. Quite good with my music library, but I do get some ringing in my ears even after shorter listening sessions. This is probably due to listening too loud because the bass is just so much fun, and most probably to its closed construction. It's definitely not about the highs with this one, as they are slightly rolled-off, which I mostly find agreeable. However, this contributes to it sounding closed-in and subdued compared to the SEM1. Going back to the Pioneer from the Z1R, it's like the oft-cited veil is lifted every single time. I consider the Z1R a fun can, the resolution of which is not up to par with the likes of SEM1 or HD800. I do not agree with the reports of wide soundstage or spacious sound. As far as I've seen, they are usually followed by "... for a closed can", which I think is the crucial part. The SEM1 is, quite frankly, in a totally different league when it comes to airiness and spacious sound. I don't think it's a fair comparison due to the different nature of the construction. In general, I would be hard pressed to name a single characteristic of the Z1R that excels over the SEM1, but this might be due to my preferring open cans over closed ones (which, as my experiences with TH-900 and Z1R have taught me, I apparently do). Paradoxically, even though the Z1R is "fun-sounding", it fails to excite me in the way the SEM1 does. (I know that too much initial excitement can be a bad thing in the long run, but with the SEM1, it just never left me. It's an adrenaline-filled, yet completely fatigue-free listen every time.) So, I'm keeping the Z1R as a closed alternative, but I'm curious to see how often I will reach for it over time.
Most people seem to quite like it though, and I would also characterise it as a "nice", "good" or "decent" headphone for some fun listening. There's just no way it's
SEM1 good, and I wouldn't consider it "summit-fi" either, FWIW. Price-wise, I'd place it smack-dab in the middle of the 1000-1300$ bracket. What it lacks, to me, is exactly that spaciousness and clarity that I associate with "high-end" sound and that the SEM1 nails so incredibly well. I've realised how hard it is to find a headphone that combines this sort of openness and clarity with amazing bass impact. Most of the so-called TOTL cans just sound anemic to me (think HD800), and with the TH-900 erring on the bright side and the Z1R on the dark side, the SEM1, to my ears, remains the only headphone I've heard to date that has been able to walk this line with confidence and just unfailingly deliver. It just doesn't leave a single box unchecked.
In short: SEM1--------->Z1R------------------->TH-900.
I hope this helps a bit. I see you're in Germany as well, so feel free to PM me with any further/more specific questions; might be easier for us to continue
auf Deutsch.
Edit: Oh, and to answer your other question, the symmetrical cable I have is reterminated to 4-pin XLR.