Just ear MH1 will always be the top choice and in a league of its own as nothing will beat the experience of a fully tailored and personalised sound signature.
The IER-Z1R will be for people who don't want a custom/with an eye to sell their phones later down the path, otherwise the Just ear MH2 will beat it in terms of fit and comfort, which in turn will also affect sound as fit of IEM is crucial to sound quality, and Just ear fitting as done by Sugano-san is second to none to any CIEM.
M9 isn't really worth considering - there are too many competition in that price bracket and it doesn't really stand out unless you are a diehard Sony brand fanboy and must own a full set of Sony gear. It's a really awkward product IMO.
I am lean towards the JE, it will be the MH2 monitor version (in to female vocal), as the MH1 is not available in hong kong. I will test it out first, as I think it will be too big.
I am lean towards the JE, it will be the MH2 monitor version (in to female vocal), as the MH1 is not available in hong kong. I will test it out first, as I think it will be too big.
I asked Sugano-san before and in all his time of making hundreds of Just ear ear moulds (while taking into considerations of fit and driver placement for optimal sound reproduction) he only ever rejected one person for having ear lobe too small. The Just ear is also a two bore tube system so again unless your ear canal is really really tiny you should be fine.
I wear the Xelento, and the EX monitor series (EX1000, EX800 and EX600) without any problem, but the Z5 won't fit, even with the hook, they just fall out, but anyway, I will test in first, they do have them I Hong Kong for test.
The Z5 and the EX series has that weird shape where none of the weigh of the phone is supported by your ear and everything relies on the friction between the ear tip and your ear canal to hold it in place, so that's an outlier. I've tried the Z5 and EX series before and they doesn't stay in my ear long either as my ear canal gets sweaty/oily really quick when using low grade silicon tips which irritates the skin so the friction between the ear tip and my ear canal decreases rapidly over time so any IEM that's not very form fitting falls out. The Just ear are customs so they will be fully fitted to the shape of your ear even better than the Xelento so they won't fall out so there's nothing to worry about.
Good luck.
Final word - IMO Sony headphones is still build around their long history and experience as a dynamic driver headphone company (and looking at your collection, I think you will agree), whereas their pure BA products such as the M7/M9 are just "me too" products where they are forced by consumer demand to make similar offerings to the competition in the market, but it's not where their heart and mind is really at - even though they aren't necessarily bad products per se. The M9 may be their "flagship BA IEM", but for that price I find it lacking the soul and immense passion as compared to their other products (whereas the M7 is very price competitive for the performance, so I let it slide), and this is especially true when compared to the Signature Series IER-Z1R or the Just ear. I understand why they had to make a M9, but as a Sony product it's also the least interesting to me. I mean seriously - a flat monitor-esque multi BA IEM for musician use, who hasn't done that before?
Good luck.
Final word - IMO Sony headphones is still build around their long history and experience as a dynamic driver headphone company (and looking at your collection, I think you will agree), whereas their pure BA products such as the M7/M9 are just "me too" products where they are forced by consumer demand to make similar offerings to the competition in the market, but it's not where their heart and mind is really at - even though they aren't necessarily bad products per se. The M9 may be their "flagship BA IEM", but for that price I find it lacking any soul or passion as compared to their other products (whereas the M7 is very price competitive for the performance, so I let it slide), and this is especially true when compared to the Signature Series IER-Z1R or the Just ear. I understand why they had to make a M9, but as a Sony product it's also the least interesting to me.
I've been using Sony about 30 years, even my EX600, I've had it 8years, and it's like new, I have always like DD, and XBA3 is the first BA I have, then I purchased the XBA300, but didn't like the SQ I just gave it away.
Not had a hybrid, so I will probably give the JE a go.
Good luck.
Final word - IMO Sony headphones is still build around their long history and experience as a dynamic driver headphone company (and looking at your collection, I think you will agree), whereas their pure BA products such as the M7/M9 are just "me too" products where they are forced by consumer demand to make similar offerings to the competition in the market, but it's not where their heart and mind is really at - even though they aren't necessarily bad products per se. The M9 may be their "flagship BA IEM", but for that price I find it lacking the soul and immense passion as compared to their other products (whereas the M7 is very price competitive for the performance, so I let it slide), and this is especially true when compared to the Signature Series IER-Z1R or the Just ear. I understand why they had to make a M9, but as a Sony product it's also the least interesting to me. I mean seriously - a flat monitor-esque multi BA IEM for musician use, who hasn't done that before?
Pure BA arrangements ARE something relatively diffferent though it’s an exciting field that is changing fast. I would guess Sony has a deep interest in BA technology and wants to see where it goes. Just the fact that they have a stance in the BA world, being one of the few long standing high profile electronics companies which not only design and make revolutionary new styles of BAs; but look to be successful in utilizing them in most of their IEMs. Sony takes a pretty big pie slice out of the chart of world BA producers.
It’s exciting as you could say, nothing Sony uses is off the shelf. Everything they use is made by Sony in Japan (in the products I know of). It’s truly the next level to see manufactures order custom made BAs from the large Chinese BA makers. And while there is success from some companies using off the shelf BA, this new era is allowing those few companies to custom build a sound.
With the emerging technology of building custom BA devices we are now seeing what appears to my eyes as larger BA drivers. Only my qdc Anole V3 seems to have excessive bass. If this is due to an exceptionally large BA, the crossover or the implementation, I don’t know? What I do know is the decay of the bass with hybrid/DD/BA IEMs has a difference in tone; in comparison to pure BA implementations. Also I personally have a large investment in pure BA arrangements; I’m not sure how they will fend as time moves on? Just this trend of hybrid DD/BA is an example of the public probably liking DD bass better?
Obviously Sony has come to a conclusion adding two DDs and one BA to the IER-Z1R is the way to go there. If it truly is the IEM version of the Z1R; it will be exciting times.
And making musician monitors strictly BA arrangements may not be THAT new or revolutionary, but Sony feels they can bring a new design of custom “T” BA to the market and have a viable competitive product to offer.
Offering three different tunings of the Sony made Just ear CIEM is again another example of Sony offering products to yet another different sector of the IEM community.
In my eyes they are covering the field; making IEMs to jump around with and an IEM to remain stationary with along with the Just ear line. The form-factor of the M9/M7 may in fact block-out a lot of outside noise? Also they look really comfortable to use. I guess it’s just time before we see how well they are recieved? Myself....I have my sights on the IER-Z1R, and it’s really the only IEM I have any interest in this year.
In one sweep Sony is moving us into their new era of the T-Shaped BA.
Pure BA arrangements ARE something relatively diffferent though it’s an exciting field that is changing fast. I would guess Sony has a deep interest in BA technology and wants to see where it goes. Just the fact that they have a stance in the BA world, being one of the few long standing high profile electronics companies which not only design and make revolutionary new styles of BAs; but look to be successful in utilizing them in most of their IEMs. Sony takes a pretty big pie slice out of the chart of world BA producers.
It’s exciting as you could say, nothing Sony uses is off the shelf. Everything they use is made by Sony in Japan (in the products I know of). It’s truly the next level to see manufactures order custom made BAs from the large Chinese BA makers. And while there is success from some companies using off the shelf BA, this new era is allowing those few companies to custom build a sound.
With the emerging technology of building custom BA devices we are now seeing what appears to my eyes as larger BA drivers. Only my qdc Anole V3 seems to have excessive bass. If this is due to an exceptionally large BA, the crossover or the implementation, I don’t know? What I do know is the decay of the bass with hybrid/DD/BA IEMs has a difference in tone; in comparison to pure BA implementations. Also I personally have a large investment in pure BA arrangements; I’m not sure how they will fend as time moves on? Just this trend of hybrid DD/BA is an example of the public probably liking DD bass better?
Obviously Sony has come to a conclusion adding two DDs and one BA to the IER-Z1R is the way to go there. If it truly is the IEM version of the Z1R; it will be exciting times.
And making musician monitors strictly BA arrangements may not be THAT new or revolutionary, but Sony feels they can bring a new design of custom “T” BA to the market and have a viable competitive product to offer.
Offering three difference tunings of the Sony made Just ear CIEM is again another example of Sony offering products to yet another different sector of the IEM community.
In my eyes they are covering the field; making IEMs to jump around with and an IEM to remain stationary with along with the Just ear line. The quality of the M9/M7 may in fact block-out a lot of outside noise? Also they look really comfortable to use. I guess it’s just time before we see how well they are recieved? Myself....I have my sights on the IER-Z1R, and it’s really the only IEM I have any interest in this year.
The Sony IEMs are the only things that interest me now, apart from the Spiral Ear SE6, which I hope to get in a few weeks.
I am tired of amateur DIY brands charging 2000$ for half baked products with glaring defects, and that will get an upgrade with "breakthrough proprietary tech" within 6 months. Half of these don't even sound good, or have decent fit.
So I focus, on a much more sparse basis, on reliable brands such as Sony.
The Sony IEMs are the only things that interest me now, apart from the Spiral Ear SE6, which I hope to get in a few weeks.
I am tired of amateur DIY brands charging 2000$ for half baked products with glaring defects, and that will get an upgrade with "breakthrough proprietary tech" within 6 months. Half of these don't even sound good, or have decent fit.
So I focus, on a much more sparse basis, on reliable brands such as Sony.
Me too product or not. Sony needs to cater to the general public on a limited budget. That's bread and butter. You can forget about the existence of Just Ears or Z1Rs, if they aren't making enough money.
They are not a boutique outfit. They are a corporation with many mouths to feed.
From an product excellence point of view, yeah sure but how many can they sell to recoup the investment cost.
It's good they are following the trend, sprinkled with some Sony'ness in them. And I hope they are successful with the low and mid tiers, so that they are more inclined to invest in their personal audio division.
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