I guess everyone has very different ears then, and that's to be expected. To me, the IER-Z1R has the least offensive yet sufficiently resolving highs, at least with the stock tips. However, wide-bore tips e.g. Sedna tips do create some sibilance, whether due to the tips changing insertion depth or bore size or something else.I've had a few more days with the z1r, wearing it for more extended periods and also I went by my head-fi dealer to test it against the competition. So I can comment a bit more on it.
- Still looking for the perfect fit. After about 1.5 hours my R ear becomes irritated by the outside edge of the cylinder. It seems that the deeper the insertion, the less it offends my outer ear, but it feels like I'm somewhat abusing my inner ear.
- After these 2 weeks of adjustment, I'm really starting to dig the sound. Actually, that's not accurate. I've liked it from day 1, but now I know what I like and why I like it.
- Testing it against 2 other well regarded IEM's has helped dispel any doubts I may have had about the sound quality. The 2 IEM's were the u12t and the Solaris. I will not go into detailed comparisons (that's also not how I went about comparing them in my head) but I can say that for me the z1r sounded quite a bit more natural. This is something I was only able to truly appreciate after carefully listening to the 3 IEM's one after the other. The z1r is an exciting headphone and that is fairly easy to hear from the first audition, but how natural and true to life it sounds is more difficult to pick up. It's not a quality that jumps out at you. Quite the opposite, it is something that gets out of the way and allows you to enjoy the music without you really knowing why. I've seen some people on the "other side" complain about the quality of the treble or the coherency of the 3 driver setup... those people must be nuts or deaf, or have ulterior motives. The treble specifically stood out to me (ok, I was focusing on it) for how much more nuanced and full-bodied it was compared to the u12t and the Solaris. Not that I ever thought the Solaris treble was bad (I've had it on loan for a week and really enjoyed its treble), but the z1r exposed it as inferior.
- The z1r is a bit sibilant. Initially I was nervous about this, but I've now come to an interesting conclusion. Reproducing sibilance is not a bad thing. Emphasizing it, yes, that is something that should definitely be avoided, but if the original recording had it, then I want to hear it. The Solaris and the u12t are less sibilant, but I started to feel that sibilance was intentionally tuned out in order to make vocals less offensive, but at the cost of (you guessed it) naturalness.
These are definitely the best headphones (big or small) I've heard so far.
I shouldn't have to say this, but... All of the above represent just my personal opinion, which is based on impressions obtained in less than laboratory conditions with ears that are less than perfect.
I completely see where you're coming from, and at the end of the day, the only pair of ears that matter are your own.FOR THOSE FREE FOR A LONG READ.
Before even starting I would like to remember that whatever I write here about these IEMs are completely subjective and in this case it's my unique opinion, feel free to have yours, but always remember to respect your forum colleges.
Ok, let’s go, I will divide this into scores and music genres, 1 for top and 4 last (spoiler, none of them are bad).
Let’s start where everyone starts when they buy a new pair of IEM.
Unboxing and Presentation:
Do I need to say that Z1R is the best unboxing experience in the IEM department EVER? I remember when I saw them for the first time on a local audio show and the guy handed me the box and said to open, it was like opening a pandora box, when you open the “lid” and it opens to show the IEM carrying case, drawers and everything else. Unforgettable, even knowing that would never be the same as one opening your own one, the one bought with hard owned money (my girlfriend jokes that she would ask me with that case and IEMs inside and that even the best ring I would give her would not beat the Z1R on the carrying case). The M9 was the closest to that sensation, all beautifully thought and placed in the box for the best impression. Then 64 audio and your name on the case and opening for one’s custom made and long waited personal look, but simple and robust
on other aspect, expected as this is made for musicians on tour. Campfire has that common experience as every IEM from them simple paper-box-case-IEMs, like hiding Gems, not an expensive beautiful piece of art, boring to be honest.
(1-Z1R, 2-M9, 3-A12T, 4-Andro)
After the first impression opening your long waited new babies. You jump straight to try them. Now you come with the second point of this impressions…
Comfort:
On this one I need to mention how well Sony thought about customer experience and didn’t measure costs when designing the M9, this was designed to be used by musicians on stage and moving around. They are extremely robust, light and comfortable, the triple comfort tips + M9 makes you forget you have something in your ears really easy. The magnesium shell makes total sense in this case and small diameter bore makes it easy for insertion on small years like mine. A12T comes just there too, hard to compare CIEM and UIEM, but I’m impressed with M9 comfort and placing and removing an UIEM is easier. But the CIEM is as good as your ear impressions, with a few exemptions of fit issues. Then Andro S (not the former greens), they are comfortable but has some weight to it that when moving around makes it also move and sometimes lose the seal. Then comes the Z1R, this one was made to have the “best sound signature” and look good first and then the fit without compromising the first two. It is heavy and on small ears the sharp edges will touch some points of the ear, some may not care, but I do when I have the other three at the same time.
(1-M9, 2-A12T, 3-Andro S, 4-Z1R)
But you guys may say “I don’t care about those things go to the main point; how do they sound compared to each other?”. Ok, now that you have your babies in your ears is time to pump your best tunes and get your mind blown away…
That’s what I did and by this time I was on a Hip-hop mood, so I started straight away pumping songs from Wiz Khalifa and then Billboard Hip-hop playlist from Tidal. Right to the point, Z1r has the deepest, more extended and more charming low end of all (period). Feeling like a room with a multi-thousand-dollar stereo hi-fi setup. M9 has the deepest Low end for a BA. A12T is really really close to M9. Andro has the shallower Low end but still detailed and kind of in place. The DD of the Z1r gives a deep and extended low end that fits amazingly well for this genre. The BAs from the M9 and A12T are deep but on a fast and quick way that also makes this style enjoyable with them, but miss the deep rumble of a well implemented DD like the Z1r. The Andro S is more focused on the mid-highs and the miss on the low end makes the highs more pronounced and, on some songs, actually sparkly.
Talking about mids, all four IEMS can all be considered V shaped, with A12t showing better clarity/details anywhere between deep lows to highs, M9 not far behind being really slightly muddied compared to A12t. Z1r being the more relaxed and putting the singer a bit more behind, but detailed as necessary to make the song pleasing like having a 2.1 sound system. Andro mid low and mid high feels more blended compared to all others, strangely not in a good way for me. Jumping to the highs, Andro has a clear and detailed highs but totally sparkly compared to the others. A12t with amazing controlled Highs. Z1r with nice high extension never ever sparkly, highs right enough. Imaging and sound stage all are well represented here, only M9 having the narrower sound stage of them, as expected as it is made for stage use. I won’t get int too much details as hip-hop is not the best to try soundstage.
Quick song examples with deep bass, male voice, strings and sparkly highs that one can see who can handle the whole frequency is “Old Town Road (Remix) – Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus”, or “Wow. – Post Malone”, “Sunflower – Post Malone, Swae Lee”
(1-A12T, 2-Z1R, 3-M9,4-Andro S)
Conclusion for now:
Z1r even being placed last in Mids, that made it lose the first place, is still the best for this kind of music, not because of the audiophile sharp knife way to compare things, but for the pleasure and enjoyment it brings to the kind of music in this genre. Reminds the big American cars with big subs,
that is exactly the kind of sound Rappers look for. The A12t is by far the most balanced one, best allrounder. the best value for the buck will go for the M9, not the refinement of the Z1R, but same sound signature for a whole lot less. I used to love my Andro, but putting these 4 together, the findings were definitely a big surprise. Taking the comfort out of the equation, the gap between Z1R and M9 increases, making it more realistic, but for me comfort is as important as all the rest. Not that Z1r is unusable, it is just heavier than all others and has some sharp edges that you will definitely feel after a couple hours.
Done with Hip-hop lets make a sweet transition to Classic and progressive Rock.
Here is where things get more interesting as the deep and extended low end is not under the spotlight as before and the whole dynamic range, speed of the transition and highs extension are more important on the long guitar riffs, vocals, drum cymbals and plates. But don’t be fooled the Z1R can shine here as much as any other. Roger Waters déjà vu is quite a complex song that cover all frequencies really well, A12t again was the best balance and detailed one, but Z1r performed really well with incredible details for the low end focus this one has. M9 right behind with incredible details and not sparkly at all. Andro, the best Mids just behind A12t and as expected really close to M9 but brighter than the others and sparkly on the highs. “Dream Theatre – Forsaken” Mids I wanted to see on the Z1r, really balanced all the way even with a male voice, but slightly on the background. "Mastodon - Ember City", makes the M9 shine on the Imaging and Separation, impressively much clear than the others. Steve Wilson's Periah, is another example that again makes M9 Shine. A12t showing amazing separation/imaging and Soundstage on both of then. For the friends that loves the old masters' Led Zeppelin, try “Ramble on” and see for your self the soundstage and imaging of the Z1r as well as on “Black Sabbath – Planet Caravan” where we have a percussion on the back that you can lay down close your eyes and hear every beat flowing from L to R, totally separated from the guitars. Not a classic rock, but still worth mention, "Foo Fighters - Sunday Rain" you will get a good imaging and soundstage example where A12T and Z1r outperform the other two.
The results kept A12t an allrounder, but Sony showed that M9 sound signature is a good choice for this genre as it is more balanced on all frequencies, sub bass is not getting more attention than Mids as it is expected on Rock songs. Impressively Andro S and Z1R were really close in score, but for different reasons, one has the best low end and highs and the other has the best Mids. Money for the buck is again with the M9. impressive results for the cost compared to the others.
*I had to stop the comparison of the all four here as the Andro got sold.
Wrapping up my findings here, I can say that these results got me by surprise, as listening to each of the IEMs by itself on a “relaxed” mood with no intention of comparison I loved all of them for their own signatures and feelings each one brings. But when putting them on the same desk and at the same time, the differences between them are clear. As I mentioned before Z1R is the most enjoyable fof all, with the feeling of “grabbing a beer, a nice book and relaxing on the couch after a tiring day”, that is priceless, but going back to the beginning, they were designed with two things in the priority list, sound and look, comfort was not priority here and after a couple hours these IEMs will remind you that. The A12T is the most detailed and controlled on all frequencies bringing forward Low/Mid/high when needed by the song, definitely and easy to love signature, if you’re looking from a CIEM, keep them on the list to check, on the other hand is the most expensive of the list and takes some time to be built and to get to you. I can’t guarantee the same sound as the UIEM version as we all know tips and fit changes sound. But I expected these results for those two, but what impressed me the most was the M9/Andro S results as they have similar price, but totally different sound, for this price M9 is a no brainer. More balance and control than the Andros, deeper low end when needed and no harsh highs on any song I threw at it, when Andro struggled to keep the control and went sparkly. For my preferences theses guys won a place on my all time “top” list.
The IER-Z1R (and tbf the 12t and M9) showed me the limitations of the Andro/S bass but the mids and highs and staging weren't things I replace so easily (at least to my ears). Personally wasn't a huge fan of the demo U12t's staging or mids, but I was pretty sold on the bass. I see where you're coming from with the all-rounder thing and CIEMs are harder to let go of in the first place
.Oh, and just something else to consider is that I've heard 64 Audio CIEMs are slightly better/more refined/different compared to the UIEMs, or at least their demos, and with the 12t, I've heard the A12t is consistently better than the U12t.
Also, fit is hugely important and that varies for each person. I actually find the IER-Z1R to have the deepest insert and best seal for a UIEM, which isn't something you'll read for most people.
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