[Polky74]

I listen to them with Final E tips, Effect Audio Ares 8W cable and connected to the Venture Electronics RA2BFE and I am very happy with their bass.

 

[DynamicEars]

Z1R is not a bass monster. That's a common misconception. It has incredibly deep, punchy and realistic bass, but it's no Legend X in bass quantity. The best I've heard Z1R bass is plugged in to a desktop amp. That will give you the size you're after. No cable is going to give you bigger bass if you plug Z1R into a weak source, dongle or phone.

I would definitely agree with all of these statements.

Seconded.
I don't know how some people mistaken Z1R with big bass, overwhelming bass. The Z1R bass isn't big. It is about the quality and impactful bass, not the quantity. Maybe some are listening with low volume, that can perceived bigger lower end and more recessed mids, but once you on decent volumes or louder, they are become balance.

Source.

1 Nailed strike word. Z1R need decent power too to sing.

So to maximize Z1R capabilities you'll need power, good source to drive and amp them, then the correct eartips that give you perfect seal thus will bring subbass at their best, while some types of eartips can "expand" soundstage and improve imaging by having great treble extension past 10khz. From my experience, great eartips with Z1R are :
1. Pentaconn coreir, latex like material can make perfect seal for sub bass, and the brass is delivering great extension, imaging at the best. The brass material doesn't absorb or at minimum high frequencies like most eartips available. Cons : expensive, the eartips stem half occupied with brass metal so it won't grip the small Z1R nozzle very well that lead the eartips occasionally stuck in your ears while taking out the Z1R.
2. Spinfit W1, not as tacky as azla xelastec, crystal or even coreir but enough to stick on your inner ear to get perfect seal. Medium bore also "just nice" with Z1R nozzle's diameter. Also have large sounsstage. Cons : a bit long nozzle stem made the Z1R a bit sticking out from your ears, or go with smaller size with deeper insertion.
3. Azla sedna crystal, also provide perfect seal because of the material, imaging quite sharp but isn't as expanded as those two above, wide bore thus can make lower trebles are bit more forward especially around 6khz (can considered as their con since Z1R already have boosted 6khz)
4. Divinus Velvet
Smooth material but good fit, still not as sealed as tacky material but everything else are goof with this. Wide bore but with very tight bottom part so grip the Z1R nozzle very well, shaped like spiral dots but without the dots inside. Overall balance presentation and great with fit, and not pricey.
5. Latex H570
Great seal made great subbass, trumpet/horn shaped inner chamber sonic delivered with minimum damping but the material itself is very rubbery which absorb high frequencies, still sharp but not as sharp as pentaconn coreir.
6. Moondrop spring
Very good seal and hold the Z1R nozzle tightly, wide bore but fit can be problem for some, great extension too.

The rest like other spinfits I call then inferior pairing with Z1Rs (more v shaped, or less extension), spiral dots can't grip Z1R nozzle well may have sound leak (reducing subbass), other azlas don't have sticky material that inferior for seal (subbass = perfect seal), tangzu sancai also i cant call perfect seal with them, final E made mid bass little bit bigger and anything else.
Fit also very personal here, so you may have different perception.



Some of my eartips collections, there are more of them but I like to buy almost every after market eartips.

 

[wolfstar76]

Seconded.
I don't know how some people mistaken Z1R with big bass, overwhelming bass. The Z1R bass isn't big. It is about the quality and impactful bass, not the quantity. Maybe some are listening with low volume, that can perceived bigger lower end and more recessed mids, but once you on decent volumes or louder, they are become balance.



1 Nailed strike word. Z1R need decent power too to sing.

So to maximize Z1R capabilities you'll need power, good source to drive and amp them, then the correct eartips that give you perfect seal thus will bring subbass at their best, while some types of eartips can "expand" soundstage and improve imaging by having great treble extension past 10khz. From my experience, great eartips with Z1R are :
1. Pentaconn coreir, latex like material can make perfect seal for sub bass, and the brass is delivering great extension, imaging at the best. The brass material doesn't absorb or at minimum high frequencies like most eartips available. Cons : expensive, the eartips stem half occupied with brass metal so it won't grip the small Z1R nozzle very well that lead the eartips occasionally stuck in your ears while taking out the Z1R.
2. Spinfit W1, not as tacky as azla xelastec, crystal or even coreir but enough to stick on your inner ear to get perfect seal. Medium bore also "just nice" with Z1R nozzle's diameter. Also have large sounsstage. Cons : a bit long nozzle stem made the Z1R a bit sticking out from your ears, or go with smaller size with deeper insertion.
3. Azla sedna crystal, also provide perfect seal because of the material, imaging quite sharp but isn't as expanded as those two above, wide bore thus can make lower trebles are bit more forward especially around 6khz (can considered as their con since Z1R already have boosted 6khz)
4. Divinus Velvet
Smooth material but good fit, still not as sealed as tacky material but everything else are goof with this. Wide bore but with very tight bottom part so grip the Z1R nozzle very well, shaped like spiral dots but without the dots inside. Overall balance presentation and great with fit, and not pricey.
5. Latex H570
Great seal made great subbass, trumpet/horn shaped inner chamber sonic delivered with minimum damping but the material itself is very rubbery which absorb high frequencies, still sharp but not as sharp as pentaconn coreir.
6. Moondrop spring
Very good seal and hold the Z1R nozzle tightly, wide bore but fit can be problem for some, great extension too.

The rest like other spinfits I call then inferior pairing with Z1Rs (more v shaped, or less extension), spiral dots can't grip Z1R nozzle well may have sound leak (reducing subbass), other azlas don't have sticky material that inferior for seal (subbass = perfect seal), tangzu sancai also i cant call perfect seal with them, final E made mid bass little bit bigger and anything else.
Fit also very personal here, so you may have different perception.



Some of my eartips collections, there are more of them but I like to buy almost every after market eartips.

Best tips are Sony's own, someone recommended here, mabybe @gLer, or some simple foam tips. Coreir is interesting tps, I tried and loved them, but eventually I returned back to the simple Sony tips since Coreir improved the midrange at slightly the cost of bass.

 

[subguy812]

Best tips are Sony's own, someone recommended here, mabybe @gLer, or some simple foam tips. Coreir is interesting tps, I tried and loved them, but eventually I returned back to the simple Sony tips since Coreir improved the midrange at slightly the cost of bass.

Sony EP-EX11 tips seem to provide me the best comfort and sq with the ZR1

 

[DynamicEars]

Best tips are Sony's own, someone recommended here, mabybe @gLer, or some simple foam tips. Coreir is interesting tps, I tried and loved them, but eventually I returned back to the simple Sony tips since Coreir improved the midrange at slightly the cost of bass.

Sony EP-EX11 tips seem to provide me the best comfort and sq with the ZR1

Yeah I also own bunch of sony eartips, ep-ex11, sony hybrids ep-NI1000,etc. On some part I agree that this is the safe eartips to go with, balance sound, "reduce" boosted 6khz on Z1R because of the small bore, grip tightly with Z1R nozzle and decent seal too.
Since he asked about improvement especially on bass and soundstage (correlation with imaging and treble extension), there are some after market eartips that have specialty on those departments, just sharing my thoughts and experiences and eartips are really down on personal experience, especially fit wise

 

[wolfstar76]

Yeah I also own bunch of sony eartips, ep-ex11, sony hybrids ep-NI1000,etc. On some part I agree that this is the safe eartips to go with, balance sound, "reduce" boosted 6khz on Z1R because of the small bore, grip tightly with Z1R nozzle and decent seal too.
Since he asked about improvement especially on bass and soundstage (correlation with imaging and treble extension), there are some after market eartips that have specialty on those departments, just sharing my thoughts and experiences and eartips are really down on personal experience, especially fit wise

Tips are also personal, different people will have different experience for the same tips. Unfortunately Z1R won't have CIEM option even for third party re-shell business, the only thing you can try is tip. I think I have to mention one option, which is the customized tips, for example Eartune Fidelity:

https://www.adv-sound.com/collections/ear-tips/products/eartune-fidelity-custom-fit-eartips

​

 

[gLer]

Best tips are Sony's own, someone recommended here, mabybe @gLer, or some simple foam tips. Coreir is interesting tps, I tried and loved them, but eventually I returned back to the simple Sony tips since Coreir improved the midrange at slightly the cost of bass.

Sony EP-EX11 tips seem to provide me the best comfort and sq with the ZR1

That's what I use I agree it's the 'safe' option, but I firmly believe Z1R is one of those rare IEMs that was perfectly designed, from.cable to tip, and there's really nothing I'd change about it. The only reason I use EP-EX11 over the almost identical stock silicone tips is because they're black, which I think looks better than cream.

 

[nc8000]

Seconded.
I don't know how some people mistaken Z1R with big bass, overwhelming bass. The Z1R bass isn't big. It is about the quality and impactful bass, not the quantity. Maybe some are listening with low volume, that can perceived bigger lower end and more recessed mids, but once you on decent volumes or louder, they are become balance.



1 Nailed strike word. Z1R need decent power too to sing.

So to maximize Z1R capabilities you'll need power, good source to drive and amp them, then the correct eartips that give you perfect seal thus will bring subbass at their best, while some types of eartips can "expand" soundstage and improve imaging by having great treble extension past 10khz. From my experience, great eartips with Z1R are :
1. Pentaconn coreir, latex like material can make perfect seal for sub bass, and the brass is delivering great extension, imaging at the best. The brass material doesn't absorb or at minimum high frequencies like most eartips available. Cons : expensive, the eartips stem half occupied with brass metal so it won't grip the small Z1R nozzle very well that lead the eartips occasionally stuck in your ears while taking out the Z1R.
2. Spinfit W1, not as tacky as azla xelastec, crystal or even coreir but enough to stick on your inner ear to get perfect seal. Medium bore also "just nice" with Z1R nozzle's diameter. Also have large sounsstage. Cons : a bit long nozzle stem made the Z1R a bit sticking out from your ears, or go with smaller size with deeper insertion.
3. Azla sedna crystal, also provide perfect seal because of the material, imaging quite sharp but isn't as expanded as those two above, wide bore thus can make lower trebles are bit more forward especially around 6khz (can considered as their con since Z1R already have boosted 6khz)
4. Divinus Velvet
Smooth material but good fit, still not as sealed as tacky material but everything else are goof with this. Wide bore but with very tight bottom part so grip the Z1R nozzle very well, shaped like spiral dots but without the dots inside. Overall balance presentation and great with fit, and not pricey.
5. Latex H570
Great seal made great subbass, trumpet/horn shaped inner chamber sonic delivered with minimum damping but the material itself is very rubbery which absorb high frequencies, still sharp but not as sharp as pentaconn coreir.
6. Moondrop spring
Very good seal and hold the Z1R nozzle tightly, wide bore but fit can be problem for some, great extension too.

The rest like other spinfits I call then inferior pairing with Z1Rs (more v shaped, or less extension), spiral dots can't grip Z1R nozzle well may have sound leak (reducing subbass), other azlas don't have sticky material that inferior for seal (subbass = perfect seal), tangzu sancai also i cant call perfect seal with them, final E made mid bass little bit bigger and anything else.
Fit also very personal here, so you may have different perception.



Some of my eartips collections, there are more of them but I like to buy almost every after market eartips.

To me the Pentaconn coreir is the best tip I’ve tried and I have had no problem with them gripping the stem of the iem and they have never come off. I also use them on the 7hz Timeless that is my travel (not commute) iem

 

[gLer]

To me the Pentaconn coreir is the best tip I’ve tried and I have had no problem with them gripping the stem of the iem and they have never come off. I also use them on the 7hz Timeless that is my travel (not commute) iem

Sadly Z1R doesn't even fit into my ear canals with Coreir size S. They just hang there, which is not a good thing for Z1R.

 

[sanakimpro]

Cable update: IER-Z1R official cables have arrived and fit well. Sounds the same with the OG cable for me.

I was initially shocked that the cable tip at the MMCX end are different shades of silver/grey to the IER shell. However, I later realized that the OG cables and the Sony in-store IER also had different colors.. Weird how I didn't notice this after ~1.5yrs owning this beauty.

As mentioned, the cost was $60 (~5% of RRP) for me and I'm super happy as I was expecting $150-$200 cables (given the RRP of IER was $1200 for me) or have to go down the rabbit hole of finding 3rd party audiophile grade cables. I recall when having same experience when AK T8ie MKII 3.5mm cable wore out and, A&K's dealers weren't nearly as helpful and I had to buy other 3rd party cables. This makes me appreciate Sony all the more.. hopefully this IEM lasts a long time

 

[gLer]

Cable update: IER-Z1R official cables have arrived and fit well. Sounds the same with the OG cable for me.

I was initially shocked that the cable tip at the MMCX end are different shades of silver/grey to the IER shell. However, I later realized that the OG cables and the Sony in-store IER also had different colors.. Weird how I didn't notice this after ~1.5yrs owning this beauty.

As mentioned, the cost was $60 (~5% of RRP) for me and I'm super happy as I was expecting $150-$200 cables (given the RRP of IER was $1200 for me) or have to go down the rabbit hole of finding 3rd party audiophile grade cables. I recall when having same experience when AK T8ie MKII 3.5mm cable wore out and, A&K's dealers weren't nearly as helpful and I had to buy other 3rd party cables. This makes me appreciate Sony all the more.. hopefully this IEM lasts a long time

Did you buy from AliExpress? Do you have a link?

 

[sanakimpro]

Did you buy from AliExpress? Do you have a link?

I bought from local authorized Sony service center/spare parts provider in Malaysia. If you live in the US, maybe you can try Sony Encompass?

https://sony.encompass.com/item/12434619/Sony/1-912-774-21/

 

[DynamicEars]

Cable update: IER-Z1R official cables have arrived and fit well. Sounds the same with the OG cable for me.

I was initially shocked that the cable tip at the MMCX end are different shades of silver/grey to the IER shell. However, I later realized that the OG cables and the Sony in-store IER also had different colors.. Weird how I didn't notice this after ~1.5yrs owning this beauty.

As mentioned, the cost was $60 (~5% of RRP) for me and I'm super happy as I was expecting $150-$200 cables (given the RRP of IER was $1200 for me) or have to go down the rabbit hole of finding 3rd party audiophile grade cables. I recall when having same experience when AK T8ie MKII 3.5mm cable wore out and, A&K's dealers weren't nearly as helpful and I had to buy other 3rd party cables. This makes me appreciate Sony all the more.. hopefully this IEM lasts a long time

Z1R + brand new original cable + DX320 + pentaconn coreir

 

[Pmorelle]

DX320 isn't spoke much theses days, but still such a beast

 

[sanakimpro]

Z1R + brand new original cable + DX320 + pentaconn coreir

Well spotted @DynamicEars!! Yes, I'm on DX320+Amp 14 most of the time and it sounds wonderful with the IER! I'm considering to get 1ZM2 to unlock the Sony+Sony synergy but listening with my ears to the DX320+Amp14, it's really hard to justify the upgrade ..

DX320 isn't spoke much theses days, but still such a beast

I think I have demoed the 1ZM2 more than 5 times in last few months and still think the DX320 holds itself well 🖒