[Legumez]

Crinacle fit his like picture one, but he self-professes to have giant black hole ears so I interpreted that to mean he can't get any sort of seal otherwise. I've googled whether iems are supposed to be inside your ear canal and while you're not necessarily supposed to shove them in there they are supposed to go inside. Meanwhile my ears are ringing after a few minutes.

What volume level are you listening at? It's hard to do a direct comparison given I don't have your source or the Z1R on hand yet, but it seems like you may be listening at an overly high volume.

 

[Dog Lover]

Well, you don't "have" to use anything. Any smartphone (with a headphone jack, haha) should technically be able to drive the IER-Z1R. It's just a matter if that's fine with you or not. Not way I'm dropping $2K on an IEM and pairing it with a standard DAC (like the one in the OP 5T). At very least I'd run it from an LG phone that has a Quad DAC.

Thanks for the reply. I might use my DAP for daily listening. The only reason I asked this is because I saw that Crinacle uses his iPhone w/ dongle for his daily listening while using the IER-Z1R.

 

[Dog Lover]

Depends how much you believe in power memes. I can't speak for the OnePlus 5T, but I would say that the IER-Z1R sounds great from the following to me: iPhone 7 + dongle, Samsung Galaxy S10e, iFi nano iDSD Black Label, Sony TA-ZH1ES. I am happy with the sound of this IEM from any of those devices and probably many more. It has never sounded wrong or 'underpowered' from any of those devices. Might it sound even better with some setup that costs thousands more? I can't rule that out. Sure maybe.

Thanks, I might switch between my OnePlus 5T and iBasso DX150 for listening so I could compare them thoroughly on whether there is a stark difference between the two sources.

 

[Ricky64]

Depends how much you believe in power memes. I can't speak for the OnePlus 5T, but I would say that the IER-Z1R sounds great from the following to me: iPhone 7 + dongle, Samsung Galaxy S10e, iFi nano iDSD Black Label, Sony TA-ZH1ES. I am happy with the sound of this IEM from any of those devices and probably many more. It has never sounded wrong or 'underpowered' from any of those devices. Might it sound even better with some setup that costs thousands more? I can't rule that out. Sure maybe.

Hi;
I have a 1Z and a TA-ZH1ES. For whatever reason, I find the IER Z1R sounds better on the desktop amp at high gain.
Of course, YMMV.

 

[rutter]

What volume level are you listening at? It's hard to do a direct comparison given I don't have your source or the Z1R on hand yet, but it seems like you may be listening at an overly high volume.

At the same volume I had listened before without ear ringing.

 

[Legumez]

[/QUOTE]

At the same volume I had listened before without ear ringing.

Does it sound louder or the same as before with a deeper insertion?

 

[rutter]

I compensate accordingly. By the way, my ear canals are rather bent.

 

[Jalo]

I am in Hong Kong now and yesterday went to Let's Go Audio and was playing around with the Sony DMP-Z1 with the Empyrean full size headphone, then I paired my Z1R with the DMP-Z1 and frankly I much preferred the Z1R over the Empyrean. I found the Z1R is much more personal, intimate, immediate, without loosing much sound stage which is suppose to be the strong point of full size headphone over the Z1R.

For those people thinking they can drive the Z1R with a smart phone or any music device. I was comparing my Z1R to the 64 Tia Forte on my WM1Z. However, the Tia Forte was only available in 3.5 (SE) and my Z1R has 4.4 balance cable. I was listening to a piece of music where a double bass and drum would come in all of a sudden. I first listened to my Z1R and when the bass started to roll in I felt the physical impact of the lower bass. Then I switch it off with the Tia Forte and at the moment where I expected the bass to roll in and I didn't hear anything. I asked the store owner if the Tia is broken, we finally put a 4.4 balance cable on the Tia and the bass started to appear though at the lesser amount. It is pretty clear to both of us that without the 4.4 balance out put in high gain the entire lower bass is almost absent. I doubt if any smart phone can have the similar amount of out put similar to a dedicated balance out put of the 1Z.

 

[rutter]

Although keep in mind the balanced output of the 1Z is actually pretty weak. At or under 300mW into 16 ohms. By contrast what I currently have in the the iBasso amp8 is 1.2W into 32 ohms I think. Never got a chance to compare if that makes a difference between these two daps, but I did think the ZX300 was held back by its power output.

 

[Dog Lover]

Hi;
I have a 1Z and a TA-ZH1ES. For whatever reason, I find the IER Z1R sounds better on the desktop amp at high gain.
Of course, YMMV.

While I'll also use the IER Z1R on my desktop, I mainly wanted to use it on my a mobile device. Is there a big difference between a phone/DAP and a desktop with amp?

 

[Jalo]

Although keep in mind the balanced output of the 1Z is actually pretty weak. At or under 300mW into 16 ohms. By contrast what I currently have in the the iBasso amp8 is 1.2W into 32 ohms I think. Never got a chance to compare if that makes a difference between these two daps, but I did think the ZX300 was held back by its power output.

I actually have the DX220 with Amp8 module reserved at the Ibasso dealer in Hong Kong, but after auditioning the DX220 with Amp1 Mk2, I wasn't struck with it sound signature. I know the Amp8 suppose to have 780 mw. I am still thinking if I should go and pick up the Dx220.

 

[Dog Lover]

I am in Hong Kong now and yesterday went to Let's Go Audio and was playing around with the Sony DMP-Z1 with the Empyrean full size headphone, then I paired my Z1R with the DMP-Z1 and frankly I much preferred the Z1R over the Empyrean. I found the Z1R is much more personal, intimate, immediate, without loosing much sound stage which is suppose to be the strong point of full size headphone over the Empyrean.

For those people thinking they can drive the Z1R with a smart phone or any music device. I was comparing my Z1R to the 64 Tia Forte on my WM1Z. However, the Tia Forte was only available in 3.5 (SE) and my Z1R has 4.4 balance cable. I was listening to a piece of music where a double bass and drum would come in all of a sudden. I first listened to my Z1R and when the bass started to roll in I felt the physical impact of the lower bass. Then I switch it off with the Tia Forte and at the moment where I expected the bass to roll in and I didn't hear anything. I asked the store owner if the Tia is broken, we finally put a 4.4 balance cable on the Tia and the bass started to appear though at the lesser amount. It is pretty clear to both of us that without the 4.4 balance out put in high gain the entire lower bass is almost absent. I doubt if any smart phone can have the similar amount of out put similar to a dedicated balance out put of the 1Z.

Thanks for the reference! I actually noticed a difference when I used the 4.4 balanced cable as compared to the normal cable. May I know the piece of music you're listening to so I could use it as reference when I audition the IER-Z1R again and compare the differences for myself?

 

[rutter]

I actually have the DX220 with Amp8 module reserved at the Ibasso dealer in Hong Kong, but after auditioning the DX220 with Amp1 Mk2, I wasn't struck with it sound signature. I know the Amp8 suppose to have 780 mw. I am still thinking if I should go and pick up the Dx220.

Amp8 is 1.2W according to what I read in the DX220 thread, confirmed by iBasso-Paul. The amp has a big effect on the sound signature so I'm not sure how much you can take away from amp1 mk2, and I don't even know if you were balanced. I'd be curious what your impression of the DX220 with amp8 would be, and you do have to burn them in, but personally at the moment I'm not sure I can recommend them.

 

[Jalo]

Any music with a lot of dynamic swing will show that differences as long as you have sudden low bass like any double bass or drum or low register organ notes will do.

 

[Jalo]

Amp8 is 1.2W according to what I read in the DX220 thread, confirmed by iBasso-Paul. The amp has a big effect on the sound signature so I'm not sure how much you can take away from amp1 mk2, and I don't even know if you were balanced. I'd be curious what your impression of the DX220 with amp8 would be, and you do have to burn them in, but personally at the moment I'm not sure I can recommend them.

I stand corrected and yes it is 1.2 W with the Amp8. But just keep in mind amp power is only one factor in a sound signature. There are other things that make up the sound.