On the flipside if I go that "crazy" with tone control I find myself enjoying this:
Am I going to screw myself if I rely on eq/tone control? I don't even have much of a clue whether I'm listening to something unnatural and off.
Would you know anything about how well Sony daps execute EQ? I'm using a ZX300.
I bailed on full-size headphones, dacs, and amps after I exhausted my options. Settled on good value with an HD650 and a Magni (3). The LCD-X was not $700 ahead even driven by an additional $2700, o and absolutely crucially EQed by Sonarworks aka the LCD-X decrappifier. I came back looking for unicorns/reasonable value in iems. What can I say, I'm an idle idiot. Perhaps insane if Albert Einstein's silly quote is to be taken too seriously.
Don't know. One thing you can try is to download DMG Equilibrium trial. Then do A/B between DMG equilibrium and your Sony daps using the same setting.
Why don't you drive your hd650 with a $3,000 amp rather than looking for a non-existing unicorn. I personally didn't even try, but people seemed to rave that setting.
Just wanted to record an update, after about 100 hrs of burn in. I can feel more bass presence, its not as tight as Atlas or boomy like Z5, its somewhere in between.
1Z owners, what are the best audio settings that you prescribe?
Also I heard Sony launched a custom IEM along side with Z1R/M9/M7 is it a custom version of Z1R ?
Ok, let me point out some positives. Only 30 hours in and I think the Z1R beats the Solaris in soundstage, imaging, and separation. There is a depth I didn't pick up on the Solaris and I think positioning of sounds is better. Separation is I think better. Soundstage is likely larger. Imaging may end up being seriously superior to that of the Solaris. I am quite enjoying this Laura Branigan song now. Bass is definitely better on the Z1R than on the Solaris. I actually hear rumble on this song whereas I heard none on the Solaris:
I'm actually getting remarkably good sound, it has to be said. Clear, expressive, [quite possibly much] better portrayed in space which plays a major part in immersion and enjoyment, the bass absolutely kicks the Solaris' ass to my recollection. In 30 hours I think sound has improved by a leap. If I get the same improvement over the next 120 I would be an idiot to let these go. I need to find Toto's balls though.
Keep in mind I'm heavily boosting the "middle" though, and as I just discovered on one of the aforementioned songs without boosting it the sound as a whole falls through. So really we can start talking about an Achilles Heel of the Z1R. It's all the more reason I want to know, what the hell?
Ok, let me point out some positives. Only 30 hours in and I think the Z1R beats the Solaris in soundstage, imaging, and separation. There is a depth I didn't pick up on the Solaris and I think positioning of sounds is better. Separation is I think better. Soundstage is likely larger. Imaging may end up being seriously superior to that of the Solaris. I am quite enjoying this Laura Branigan song now. Bass is definitely better on the Z1R than on the Solaris. I actually hear rumble on this song whereas I heard none on the Solaris:
I'm actually getting remarkably good sound, it has to be said. Clear, expressive, [quite possibly much] better portrayed in space which plays a major part in immersion and enjoyment, the bass absolutely kicks the Solaris' ass to my recollection. In 30 hours I think sound has improved by a leap. If I get the same improvement over the next 120 I would be an idiot to let these go. I need to find Toto's balls though.
Keep in mind I'm heavily boosting the "middle" though, and as I just discovered on one of the aforementioned songs without boosting it the sound as a whole falls through. So really we can start talking about an Achilles Heel of the Z1R. It's all the more reason I want to know, what the hell?
Ok, let me point out some positives. Only 30 hours in and I think the Z1R beats the Solaris in soundstage, imaging, and separation. There is a depth I didn't pick up on the Solaris and I think positioning of sounds is better. Separation is I think better. Soundstage is likely larger. Imaging may end up being seriously superior to that of the Solaris. I am quite enjoying this Laura Branigan song now. Bass is definitely better on the Z1R than on the Solaris. I actually hear rumble on this song whereas I heard none on the Solaris:
I'm actually getting remarkably good sound, it has to be said. Clear, expressive, [quite possibly much] better portrayed in space which plays a major part in immersion and enjoyment, the bass absolutely kicks the Solaris' ass to my recollection. In 30 hours I think sound has improved by a leap. If I get the same improvement over the next 120 I would be an idiot to let these go. I need to find Toto's balls though.
Keep in mind I'm heavily boosting the "middle" though, and as I just discovered on one of the aforementioned songs without boosting it the sound as a whole falls through. So really we can start talking about an Achilles Heel of the Z1R. It's all the more reason I want to know, what the hell?
You need to do yourself a favor and everyone else, who is beyond helping you. You need to put the IER-Z1R in a box somewhere for a week. Come back later and start fresh. Your lost in the woods and there is no way out for you at this point.
I think you'll be surprised by the end. I do need someone to authoritatively address EQ. I don't think I've experienced anything close to this much improvement in sound with any headphone or iem I've tried over the first 30 hours.
You need to do yourself a favor and everyone else, who is beyond helping you. You need to put the IER-Z1R in a box somewhere for a week. Come back later and start fresh. Your lost in the woods and there is no way out for you at this point.
People are too timid on this forum. I'm not deaf nor am I panicked. I'm glad things have changed for the better. At the same time there is a shocking flaw that needs to be addressed. It's a good idea to have impressions through the burn-in period. There are many people on this very forum who believe burn-in is total nonsense, let alone on reddit where they'd tell you it's basic physics or something that it's nonsense. I don't buy it's a case of my brain getting used to things. By the way, some of the people who sold their Z1Rs didn't even reach this point, at least one guy didn't. But yes the best thing to do is just to follow instructions (I haven't read any of the stuff that came with these so I don't know if Sony recommended burn-in) and then judge. It has been a Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde experience in multiple ways. I really did not expect to be hearing what I am now after yesterday. Funny thing is, going back and forth between +7 on the middle tone control and no EQ that may very well be making the biggest difference. I would so badly like to know what they were thinking. For crying out loud, this also puts bass in a proper place and enables me to appreciate the soundstage. What were these people thinking!!? Wouldn't surprise me if it significantly accounts for perceived clarity as well. It's unbelievable.
You know what, I have the perfect comparison for this though few if anyone might have the experience to appreciate it. Pick up an Audeze LCD-X. Will set you back at least $1000 new. Hook it up to whatever the hell you want under $3000 combined between DAC and amp. Spend $50 on an application called Sonarworks. All it does is EQ a headphone according to the Harmann curve or whatever it is I believe. All you do is select the headphone and click a button, then tick off lower volume to avoid clipping. It's literally the difference between whatever degree of garbage you'd find accurate and good sound. You can't make this stuff up without people not believing you. With all the money involved. What I'm experiencing is the same shitshow. It boggles my freaking mind that these people can create super expensive headphones but demonstrably can't tune them right to make money. It literally short-circuits my brain.
By the way, the HD650 gets worse if you Sonarworks EQ it. That's how you know you're not an imbecile. O, and the best detail, the LCD-X is supposed to be neutral.
I don't think it's timidity so much as a willingness to let people go about this hobby in their own way and a tacit recognition that no two people perceive sound the same way. One man's garbage is often another's gold and things you describe as "outrageous" or "lacking" might not be perceived by someone else or they are it might be right up their alley.
Which was mentioned yesterday in reference to the graphs. It's not the way it sounds to me. The only other headphone or iem I recall being this weak with vocals in particular was the HD800S. I know you haven't heard these. I'd like to know whose gold these mids are, which apparently extend beyond vocals depending on what the ZX300's middle tone control does, and how it could've been determined that this tuning was the way to go with Sony's only totl iem. It seems like a very niche-oriented decision to me that obscures the Z1R's spatial ability, its clarity, and undermines its bass. It's a mystery to me.
By the way, if you're curious about my LCD-X parallel, multiple of the few people who tried Sonarworks agreed it made a serious difference. Strangely people very much seem to enjoy subjective opinions when they are positive (and they hang around threads dominated by such subjective opinions) but when they are negative subjectivity discounts them. Think of it as maybe I'm just trying to get enlightened. Who are the people who find this signature ideal? Can we even find out or do we trust the wisdom of Sony or deplore it? I am fascinated, not to mention invested.
Which was mentioned yesterday in reference to the graphs. It's not the way it sounds to me. The only other headphone or iem I recall being this weak with vocals in particular was the HD800S. I know you haven't heard these. I'd like to know whose gold these mids are, which apparently extend beyond vocals depending on what the ZX300's middle tone control does, and how it could've been determined that this tuning was the way to go with Sony's only totl iem. It seems like a very niche-oriented decision to me that obscures the Z1R's spatial ability, its clarity, and undermines its bass. It's a mystery to me.
By the way, if you're curious about my LCD-X parallel, multiple of the few people who tried Sonarworks agreed it made a serious difference. Strangely people very much seem to enjoy subjective opinions when they are positive (and they hang around threads dominated by such subjective opinions) but when they are negative subjectivity discounts them. Think of it as maybe I'm just trying to get enlightened. Who are the people who find this signature ideal? Can we even find out or do we trust the wisdom of Sony or deplore it? I am fascinated, not to mention invested.
What do you think of them? What songs? What dap or dac/amp? The only things I've read about them are the "lukewarm" feelings of reviewers. I know at least one fan is fine with them but he did limit the music he listens to to trance and heavy metal. And I think a couple people mentioned they were clear rather than rich. That's beside the point. What do you think of their strength, presence, and position? The incredible thing is I'm finding the "middle section" to be much more impactful than as pertaining to vocals, and I'm no treble-head either in case the adjustment of the ZX300 is perhaps extending into the treble range. I knocked the treble boost back down to 0.
What do you think of them? What songs? What dap or dac/amp? The only things I've read about them are the "lukewarm" feelings of reviewers. I know at least one fan is fine with them but he did limit the music he listens to to trance and heavy metal. And I think a couple people mentioned they were clear rather than rich. That's beside the point. What do you think of their strength, presence, and position? The incredible thing is I'm finding the "middle section" to be much more impactful than as pertaining to vocals, and I'm no treble-head either in case the adjustment of the ZX300 is perhaps extending into the treble range. I knocked the treble boost back down to 0.
Z1R vocals? Overall, I thought they were perfectly fine. Lower mids are slightly recessed, with a rise in the upper mids, which is pretty standard for a Japanese IEM - making it sound better with female vocals. Bass, treble, and upper mids are all good to great on the Z1R, so I’m happy to overlook a slight weakness in the lower mids. It’s not even like there’s a huge lower-mid dip anyways, compared to other V-shaped IEMs.
The Z1R was under my wish list, but since I was gifted a dap, I ran out of lines in my signature.
As for the amp/dac/dap... I really don’t care much about that for IEMs. To me, priority number 1 & 2 for IEMs is comfort and convenience, so if you need some elaborate setup for your regular run-of-the-mill 3.5mm IEM, the IEM’s a bit of a failure already.
But to answer your question, I’ve used the Z1R with the Chord Hugo 2, Chord Mojo, iFi Nano iDSD BL, a couple random daps (don’t recall exactly, but probably the AK SR15 & SP1000m), and possibly even my EarStudio ES100.
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What can I say, I'm an idle idiot. Perhaps insane if Albert Einstein's silly quote is to be taken too seriously.
