[fidgeraldo]

Just answering the OP that they sound nothing alike

I am just kidding.

Cheers!

 

[nc8000]

Totally agree, two different worlds. Just answering the OP that they sound nothing alike

To me they certainly shared the general Sony sound sig. I’ve had and used and loved both since each came out but in the end it was the IER that got all the use and I have now sold the MDR to my youngest son who love them for gaming and movies (he hardly ever listens to music).

 

[feverfive]

Sadly they don't sound anything alike. MDR has more forward mid/upper treble, and lacks the resolution of the IER across the range. Still a fantastic sounding headphone though, with probably the best build quality I've seen on any headphone.

Much appreciated. :sigh: Kinda what I expected, TBH.

 

[sanakimpro]

I know the comparison is difficult at best given IEM vs. full-sized closed back headphones, but curious if any IER-Z1R owners have also spent a fair amount of time with the MDR-Z1R headphones. Is there a comparison to be had between the two?

Last month, I luckily, and **finally** after years of trying, got to audition the IER-Z1R (had them for 2 weeks). I LOVE them from a sonic perspective. But, alas, I am not one of The Chosen in terms of fit. I had to hold each earpiece at the back with a finger while listening to keep them seated in the optimal position (yes, believe me, I tried many, many different ear tips... trust me on that). Even using my fingers to hold them optimally, they also were not at all comfortable for me.

Sooo, I haven't been able to get them out of my mind, thus, enters the MDR-Z1R headphones as a possibility. I had never really considered these in the past as I have only fairly recently been more into headphones than IEMs. So I am playing catch-up trying to learn about a, what?, 7+ year old product, LOL.

Hey feverfive,

Here's my quick review from a pages months back "I demoed the MDR-Z1R headphone today and in short, Nope, gonna pass. While the bass was much higher quantity than IER, and I mean a LOT, almost like a car subwoofer, the vocal response was quite hot especially when I saw a 3-4KHz spike after the fact.. It was too piercing for some of my K-Pop test tracks and I quickly lost interest.. IER-Z1R LIVES ON!!"

My sense is they don't sound alike simply because they use different driver technology - single 70mm dynamic for MDR and 2 dynamic + 1 BA for IER; while tuning could theoretically follow "Sony house sound", they don't sound a like to me especially on female vocals. If IER fit is an issue, I suggest considering either the IER-M9 or Sennheiser IE900 with better fit.. IER-M9 is more linear/reference sounding with less sub and mid bass boost while IE900 is close to the IER-Z1R from memory.

Good luck!

 

[yimmieg]

this might have been covered somewhere in this thread but I’m new . Anyone know if/when the follow up is coming?

 

[gLer]

Hey feverfive,

Here's my quick review from a pages months back "I demoed the MDR-Z1R headphone today and in short, Nope, gonna pass. While the bass was much higher quantity than IER, and I mean a LOT, almost like a car subwoofer, the vocal response was quite hot especially when I saw a 3-4KHz spike after the fact.. It was too piercing for some of my K-Pop test tracks and I quickly lost interest.. IER-Z1R LIVES ON!!"

My sense is they don't sound alike simply because they use different driver technology - single 70mm dynamic for MDR and 2 dynamic + 1 BA for IER; while tuning could theoretically follow "Sony house sound", they don't sound a like to me especially on female vocals. If IER fit is an issue, I suggest considering either the IER-M9 or Sennheiser IE900 with better fit.. IER-M9 is more linear/reference sounding with less sub and mid bass boost while IE900 is close to the IER-Z1R from memory.

Good luck!

I agree, IE900 has many shades of Z1R. Good call.

 

[nc8000]

this might have been covered somewhere in this thread but I’m new . Anyone know if/when the follow up is coming?

Nobody knows except perhaps somebody inside Sony

 

[yimmieg]

Nobody knows except perhaps somebody inside Sony

Thanks…I heard crinacle drop a hint in one of his videos and thought maybe peeps here would know more. Thanks!

 

[Vamp898]

I think the next things that will get a replace will be XBA-N1/XBA-N3 and XBA-Z5 (which is from 2014)

 

[newworld666]

I think the next things that will get a replace will be XBA-N1/XBA-N3 and XBA-Z5 (which is from 2014)

I am really afraid, that when Sony quits a tech (as they do for decades) .. they never come back again... I suppose they consider IEM market became really tiny and is almost dead.
They seem to concentrate on TWS and Wireless Headphones only for a while.. for Europe there are almost no wired IEM left on their catalogue in 2024.. even DAPs are really quiet too.

 

[Vamp898]

I am really afraid, that when Sony quits a tech (as they do for decades) .. they never come back again... I suppose they consider IEM market became really tiny and is almost dead.
They seem to concentrate on TWS and Wireless Headphones only for a while.. for Europe there are almost no wired IEM left on their catalogue in 2024.. even DAPs are really quiet too.

But to be fair, Europe was always like that. The Situation didn't really got worse, it basically is unchanged for like 10 years and longer.

The XBA-Z5 (2014), XBA-300 (2015) and IER-M7/M9 (2018) have never been sold in Europe to begin with.

But the market is very alive in Japan. Unrelated to that, there are a lot of big brands in Europe too which doesn't make it easier for Sony.

There is Shure, Westone, Vision Ears and of course all the Chinese ones like FiiO and Moondrop.

And the SE846 and Mach 70 are some very tough competition, especially with Sony being known to heavily overprice everything they produce.

 

[fidgeraldo]

I suppose they consider IEM market became really tiny and is almost dead.

Hmm, do you follow the "Discovery" thread? Folks bring there a lot of what's new on the market. The CHFi production is crazy.
Not only that, but there is a lot of budget, mid-tier stuff on the market, as well as high-tier stuff. Almost every day, something new pops up.
If there is a reason why Sony gives up, it's more because they can't or don't want to fight there any more.
They look at the biggest profit and see obviously more profit elsewhere, such as in the BT market.
IEMs are dead...I wouldn't think so.

Cheers!

 

[newworld666]

Hmm, do you follow the "Discovery" thread? Folks bring there a lot of what's new on the market. The CHFi production is crazy.
Not only that, but there is a lot of budget, mid-tier stuff on the market, as well as high-tier stuff. Almost every day, something new pops up.
If there is a reason why Sony gives up, it's more because they can't or don't want to fight there any more.
They look at the biggest profit and see obviously more profit elsewhere, such as in the BT market.
IEMs are dead...I wouldn't think so.

Cheers!

Probably due to Apple first and then other the biggest android firms .. but BT items took the lead because most of smartphones don't have any plug for IEM anymore .. so people need to buy at least USB dongles which is far from being convenient particularly while charging the smartphones at office or home.

Basically I feel sad that IER-Z1R, M9 and XBA_N3 are probably among the best IEMs I ever used and will be the end after 20 years (no one recent Chifi IEM, nore any TWS I bought these last ten years can approach the sound quality of these 3 IEM)... and I own really a lot.
In 2024, I am waiting for the soundcore sleep A20 and that will be the last IEM I will ever buy probably, unless Sony does something new, but I really doubt they will do.

 

[sanakimpro]

Hi guys,
Been a while from Headfi for a while as just really enjoying the ZM2+Z1R combo and keep unlocking new songs and getting more impressed. Truly believe this is almost GOAT/endgame for me and as good as it gets for portable audio...

Unfortunately, I lost one side of the Pentaconn Coreir Brass today (Large size) so came back looking for tip recommendation. Turns out I have a pair of M size Coreir brass and it fits me better and sounds a step better than L size.. Blessing in disguise I guess.. From recent posts, seems Sony's cheap and cheerful EP-EX11 remains highly recommended. I also see Pentaconn now has a Brass vs Aluminium version..

2 questions on tips:
1. Who has tried the Pentaconn Brass vs Aluminium Alloy core? Worth to get both or similar?
2. For the Sedna Max, I don't see ASMR / MAX.. can you please share link? I'm solving for bass impact and quality first, then soundstaging and imaging next.. less fussy about mids and treble

Appreciate your thoughts

Bumping this - any thoughts on Pentaconn Brass vs Aluminium core? I like the brass over OG tips and Final Type E and wondering about the newly released AL core. Seller says AL could be more neutral than Brass but wanted to check. TQ!

 

[DynamicEars]

Very interesting discussions on Z1R vs Anni 23 - I haven't heard Anni 23 but see it's ranked highly on Crin, Headfonia etc.. Is it really worth the hype and owning Anni 23 AND Z1R given the $3K pricetag? I see conflicting opinions on Anni 23's bass quality. Again, I listen mostly to Kpop, OSTs, classical music, and deep, impactful and clean bass is the #1 importance for me..

On a side note, I actually met Mr Lee himself at an audio show in 2022. Quite a nice guy and patient to explain the IEM, cables, how it's made etc. Apparently he makes the IEMs by hand himself At the time, I heard the Anni OG and recalled it was good but put off by the price. And there was also Elysian X which was even more costly..

The treble is the best I've ever heard, the best EST implementation so far. If you are treblehead, and have extra money to spend then you can go ahead. As overall package the Annihilator 2023 is superb almost perfect IEM. They have great bass with speed and impact ( I guess the impact is coming from the compensation of the subbass quantity instead of big impact driver like Z1R) *note : the bass still half level below propen driven Z1R, but everything else is better than Z1R. The mids are detailed without being shouty, trebles are the best, technicalities also top notch. Timbre isn't the best but not bad at all. The only drawback is the price of course, hefty price tag. But from my personal side, 3k is big amount for me and I would think thrice to spend for something 5-10% better than Z1R, nor I would sell my Z1R to fund up Anni 2023, I will surely miss the Z1R bass if I do that.
So afterall its really depend on your budget, just like Storm.

Linear in term of sub-bass and mid-bass ratio? I am wondering how does Volur compare to Bonneville, in which case I think the mid-bass is more emphasized.

Sorry, I should've stated more clearly, the bass increment or shelf is linear style from lower mids 500hz going up until sub bass, linear bass shelf I meant instead of tuck up / tuck in bass like Z1R / Mest / u12t / u4s / Storm / Annihilator 23

I know the comparison is difficult at best given IEM vs. full-sized closed back headphones, but curious if any IER-Z1R owners have also spent a fair amount of time with the MDR-Z1R headphones. Is there a comparison to be had between the two?

Last month, I luckily, and **finally** after years of trying, got to audition the IER-Z1R (had them for 2 weeks). I LOVE them from a sonic perspective. But, alas, I am not one of The Chosen in terms of fit. I had to hold each earpiece at the back with a finger while listening to keep them seated in the optimal position (yes, believe me, I tried many, many different ear tips... trust me on that). Even using my fingers to hold them optimally, they also were not at all comfortable for me.

Sooo, I haven't been able to get them out of my mind, thus, enters the MDR-Z1R headphones as a possibility. I had never really considered these in the past as I have only fairly recently been more into headphones than IEMs. So I am playing catch-up trying to learn about a, what?, 7+ year old product, LOL.

I think I wrote the differences between 2 on this thread last year, the MDR Z1R didn't have Wow effect at the first listen like the IER version. They tuned similarly but the 12mm DD in IER Z1R have much better impact compared to 70mm driver in MDR version of Z1R. The MDR still have big sub bass but not as impactful. Then the high mids area is exactly like @gLer Said, more forwarded so overall MDR Z1R is less u shaped. It still a very good headphone, refine trebles and great extension but I feel more like "nothing so special" compared to the IER version.
I feel from my XBA N3 to IER Z1R, its like way different level, far away. But from my MDR 1Am2 (which is on similar price like N3) to MDR-Z1R (similar price to IER Z1R), I only feel like upgrade overall adn more refinement but I don't feel huge improvement like the in ear counterparts. Hope this helps

Sadly they don't sound anything alike. MDR has more forward mid/upper treble, and lacks the resolution of the IER across the range. Still a fantastic sounding headphone though, with probably the best build quality I've seen on any headphone.

Completely agree

this might have been covered somewhere in this thread but I’m new . Anyone know if/when the follow up is coming?

Nope, the Z1R still stand to date and barely beatable, if you have enough time to see top reviewers around the world, there is always Z1R on at least big 10, or even big 5 till now, the rest of the list can be vary but Z1R always there.
And the polling on watercooler thread end of last year I think? Z1R is no 2 from all IEM beating other modern big boys, only beaten by the no 1, Fir Audio Radon6 not by much votes.