People may write about aftermarket cable good luck, but I purchased the MMCX Sony/Kimber 4.4mm and didn’t like the overall sound in comparison to the included 4.4mm cable.
Also on a side note the Sony/Kimber would not come back off. I’m 5’11” and a 255 pound powerlifter, and with all my might could not separate the two. Finally it broke free.....both sides that way!
I will keep that in mind! I also understand that the stock cable is great, but also good to know down the line if I were to change the cable which ones would work. Still doing research in the totl iem space but I think I am definitely leaning more towards Z1R. Main concern is the fit, as they are a massive shell.
I will keep that in mind! I also understand that the stock cable is great, but also good to know down the line if I were to change the cable which ones would work. Still doing research in the totl iem space but I think I am definitely leaning more towards Z1R. Main concern is the fit, as they are a massive shell.
It’s not size or weight but how they fill the open areas inside your ear, and how they achieve weight balance. They may not fit everyone as we have learned, but if someone blindly put them in your ear, and didn’t tell you what IEM they were, you would be surprised. As they fit and feel nothing like they look. IMO
The outside look, and even how they look in someone’s ears is misleading to how they feel. IMO
You are absolutely correct. I actualy demoed the Legend X yesterday and the size of the shell was also quite large, but despite that I got a perfect fit. Unfortunately I think the bass on thisr are a bit too strong and boomy for me, maybe if they only had 1 DD I would have forked over the cash right there.
I've seen it. Eight minutes of not much. Bass great, treble good "yada yada" to use his words if you get a proper fit, mids questionable. Might as well go to the frontpage of his site and try to read too much into the sentence fragments he graces us with.
So the Z1R gets a grade of S= (by the way, I wonder if we'll ever get the One Punch Man of iems), highest one, but is listed toward the bottom of this top tier. The summary states:
The signature is mild v-shape.
The Solaris gets an A=, which is tier four but there are a lot of tiers and these are still considered some of the best by many. He finds the Andromeda S to be better for whatever reason, getting a grade of S- or tier two.
Signature is balanced. So I might piece these two summaries to mean that the Solaris is all-around solid whereas the Z1R is just more advanced or refined (it's ironic how he mentions the mids of the Solaris critically but not of the Z1R). Highly defined sound and spacious imaging capabilities being singled out conveys better technical performance and design to me. Except this is the summary he leaves for the Andromeda S:
I kind of doubt Campfire made the later and more expensive Solaris less coherent with a soundstage we don't need to mention. Did the different treble tunings of the two trick him or give him that impression or sensation? I do know that at the other place we shall not speak of some agree that the Andromeda S sounds better (to them) and single out the effect of an airier treble, whatever that means. I've also seen it mentioned that treble can create the sensation of more space.
In case you haven't deduced, the IEMs within the tiers are alphabetically ordered. Hence why 64 Audio appears at the very top and Vision Ears comes out at the bottom. That's consistent within all the other tiers too.
I finally tried these in person, and they look even bigger than the pictures led me to believe.
After reading the reviews, I expected more. They didn't wow me upon first listen unlike the Jomo Trinity Brass which felt to me like a clear upgrade over the Andromedas (which are my daily drivers).
Overall, they are a very solid iem. The main focus of the bass is not on the midbass, but rather on the subbass. It reaches very deep and is very very well controlled and very fast with no smearing or bleeding into the lower mids. In contrast, the Trinity Brass have monster bass which feels heavy and growls, but at the cost of speed and some smearing.
The highs are very clear and well extended, even more so than the andromedas. In tracks, I can hear the cymbals clearly in the background. But these do not have the same upper mid-lower treble emphasis that the andros have which adds shimmer in the female vocals.
The Z1Rs have better instrument seperation and detail than the andros. But it is not like the Trinity Brass which made me feel like I was rediscovering details in my musics again.
Overall, I would say that these are a very solid pair of hybrids, very refined with no major flaws. However, I would prefer the Trinity brass because of its absolutely dirty bass. Then again, in Singapore, the sonys are twice the price of the andromedas while the Jomos are thrice the price.
It is still amazing to see how the andros stack up with these iems that cost 2-3 times its price. Obviously it cannot match the bass of the dynamic driver, but everything else from the mids to the highs can still keep up.
I would still say the Z1R is still the most refined hybrid I have heard, I have a feeling that it is one of those iems that does not impress me on first listen, but will grow on me with time. Note that at 1.8k usd (Using singapore prices to convert to USD), it is one of the cheapest in the new totl hybrids, eg noble khan and jomo trinity, tia trio which cost way over 2.3k usd. It is more expensive than the solaris, which cost 1.5k usd, but I would say its better than them
The best way to view reviews and reviewers is simply research. After reading a couple of reviews you can get a basic idea. Still it’s always up to yourself to put the effort out and do the demos. There is no substitute for personal listening.
I actually feel sorry for the few who put too much effort to get an understanding online, only to be disappointed at first IEM listen. It’s a waist of time to read reviews on line as they can only do so much. It’s normal that folks are going to have opinions about reviewers. The best reviewers can do it get a thick skin as the internet is full of folks with nothing better to do than piss people off.
People may write about aftermarket cable good luck, but I purchased the MMCX Sony/Kimber 4.4mm and didn’t like the overall sound in comparison to the included 4.4mm cable.
Also on a side note the Sony/Kimber would not come back off. I’m 5’11” and a 255 pound powerlifter, and with all my might could not separate the two. Finally it broke free.....both sides that way!
Agree, i don't use the Kimber as it sounds nowhere as good as my other cables plus my red mmcx doesn't click and its plain dangerous for those price gems of ours.
Disappointing Sony with this one.
Btw, I can't believe the stuff being said on this thread about Z5 and Solaris, jeez...
Agree, i don't use the Kimber as it sounds nowhere as good as my other cables plus my red mmcx doesn't click and its plain dangerous for those price gems of ours.
Disappointing Sony with this one.
Btw, I can't believe the stuff being said on this thread about Z5 and Solaris, jeez...
I actually found it on-sale slightly over $100 USD, but they do go good with the BGVP DM6. But it’s crazy when you hear about them not letting go and pulling IEMs in half.........it’s nuts!
You mean what, folks loving the Z5 and Solaris over the IER-Z1R?
Love is in the eye......or ear rather....of the beholder.
I finally tried these in person, and they look even bigger than the pictures led me to believe.
After reading the reviews, I expected more. They didn't wow me upon first listen unlike the Jomo Trinity Brass which felt to me like a clear upgrade over the Andromedas (which are my daily drivers).
Overall, they are a very solid iem. The main focus of the bass is not on the midbass, but rather on the subbass. It reaches very deep and is very very well controlled and very fast with no smearing or bleeding into the lower mids. In contrast, the Trinity Brass have monster bass which feels heavy and growls, but at the cost of speed and some smearing.
The highs are very clear and well extended, even more so than the andromedas. In tracks, I can hear the cymbals clearly in the background. But these do not have the same upper mid-lower treble emphasis that the andros have which adds shimmer in the female vocals.
The Z1Rs have better instrument seperation and detail than the andros. But it is not like the Trinity Brass which made me feel like I was rediscovering details in my musics again.
Overall, I would say that these are a very solid pair of hybrids, very refined with no major flaws. However, I would prefer the Trinity brass because of its absolutely dirty bass. Then again, in Singapore, the sonys are twice the price of the andromedas while the Jomos are thrice the price.
It is still amazing to see how the andros stack up with these iems that cost 2-3 times its price. Obviously it cannot match the bass of the dynamic driver, but everything else from the mids to the highs can still keep up.
I would still say the Z1R is still the most refined hybrid I have heard, I have a feeling that it is one of those iems that does not impress me on first listen, but will grow on me with time. Note that at 1.8k usd (Using singapore prices to convert to USD), it is one of the cheapest in the new totl hybrids, eg noble khan and jomo trinity, tia trio which cost way over 2.3k usd. It is more expensive than the solaris, which cost 1.5k usd, but I would say its better than them
Congratz on getting it~ so, will you keep it and play around with more Eartips options while letting it burn in for a while? (I hear 100hours is more than plenty enough) or would you try reaching out for those Trinity Brass and sell? I bet more than a couple people here would be willing to pry them off your hands~!
I actually found it on-sale slightly over $100 USD, but they do go good with the BGVP DM6. But it’s crazy when you hear about them not letting go and pulling IEMs in half.........it’s nuts!
You mean what, folks loving the Z5 and Solaris over the IER-Z1R?
Love is in the eye......or ear rather....of the beholder.
Congratz on getting it~ so, will you keep it and play around with more Eartips options while letting it burn in for a while? (I hear 100hours is more than plenty enough) or would you try reaching out for those Trinity Brass and sell? I bet more than a couple people here would be willing to pry them off your hands~!
In case you haven't deduced, the IEMs within the tiers are alphabetically ordered. Hence why 64 Audio appears at the very top and Vision Ears comes out at the bottom. That's consistent within all the other tiers too.
The best way to view reviews and reviewers is simply research. After reading a couple of reviews you can get a basic idea. Still it’s always up to yourself to put the effort out and do the demos. There is no substitute for personal listening.
I actually feel sorry for the few who put too much effort to get an understanding online, only to be disappointed at first IEM listen. It’s a waist of time to read reviews on line as they can only do so much. It’s normal that folks are going to have opinions about reviewers. The best reviewers can do it get a thick skin as the internet is full of folks with nothing better to do than piss people off.
Much of it falls on reviewers as well. Kitechaser is correct that if you read reviews of anything that's expensive the language tends to be positive and at best you have to try to read in between the lines for accurate information. One of the good things Crinacle does is not try to flex his audio cliche vocabulary and bend over backward to portray everything in a positive light. He does need to flesh out the impressions he provides.
My 1st impression of IEM-Z1R was meh... (during Canjam Singapore 2019). Kept fidgeting it trying to get a good seal with various methods. Kuwahara-san saw it and changed the tips for me and my jaw literally dropped.
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