candlejack
Headphoneus Supremus
Wow, so much knowledge being dropped on us in the last 2 posts.
SONY IER-Z1R
- Thread starter leylandi
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Agreed. But the bass in the VE8s are real good tho
GiullianSN
Headphoneus Supremus
Z
Actually you can have really good low end with BA, if well implemented and you have a good seal, but you will never have the extension of a DD well implemented and tuned. As I mentioned on Youtube reviewer that was praising an BA low end as "the best in the world and can't be better" (a lot of hype), we need to understand the difference between "BA low end" and "DD low end" before saying that. Noble Khan is an example of DD low end not explored as expected.
Apparently quite a few Andro were put up for sale though, based on what has been said here.
I'm assuming when you mention "good BA bass" you refer to the U12t? I'm not surprised given I have heard it and found it impressive but nonetheless it still couldn't replicate what a poorly impelemented DD such as the Solaris/Khan did for me. It felt like a very "forced" lift in the bass region. In fact, I found the U18t to be punchier although it languished behind in sub-bass.
Although I haven't demoed the VE8 (very difficult to get a hold of), I might be inclined to agree purely based on the VE8's reputation as being among the best at timbral reproduction.
What do you not like about the bass in the Solaris/Khan? While I know it's not as earth shaking as the bass in the Z1R I love the bass in Solaris and have heard good things about the Khan as far as bass goes.
I would call it relative. The Khan has fairly consistent sub-bass but the mid-bass lacks authority. The Solaris fares better than the Khan (to my ears) but it certainly is not quite as "dense" per se as the Z1R. Again, just how I hear things. Ymmv. I'd ask you to demo them before passing judgement based on written reviews.
candlejack
Headphoneus Supremus
Well, I'm about to put one of my Andromeda up for sale, but completely unrelated to the discussion here.
GiullianSN
Headphoneus Supremus
I would need to spend more time with the Khan and Polaris, but the time I spent with them (a couple hours), both didn't impress me. At that time I had my Andromeda S as reference. I will try to spend more time with them at some point. Also the JH Lola and JH Roxanne, those are also on my list.
PS.: if anyone has any of those and is selling/swapping, let me know.
PS.: if anyone has any of those and is selling/swapping, let me know.
Personally I have found that sometimes despite all the discussion and positive hype something is given, it's more telling what someone actually decides to part with in the end.
But I guess it's just me, and at least for me, my Z1R isn't going anywhere soon.
Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
I’m thinking it’s like getting used to a dim reading light. Where after some time someone could change light bulbs and it would be a different world. After only a day with the IER-Z1R.....I tried the Noble Khan. Though also the IER-Z1R has maybe hit a sweet spot, having less pronounced bass than the N8 but of course way more than the Khan. For whatever reasons........hearing the IER-Z1R was like hearing a correct tuning.........it was like there was no compromise or nothing missing.......I thought? Though I feel having other IEMs around is good for comparison. As if you only have one great IEM, nothing is around to consistently remind you just how great it is.
I mean any flagship is going to be musical. If you separate that analysis section of you mind and try to key into just the music going on with any good IEM....there is entertainment there. IMO
Still there is something about the IER-Z1R which could make someone basically sell off everything else! Lol.
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Listened to these headphones yesterday. Compared to CA Andro S. I'm not exactly an audiophile so that was a brief session. Listened through Sony NW-ZX (and with/without PHA 3). From my impressions:
Andromeda is a good IEM, but seriously lacks bass. The bass is tight, but not resolving, I believe due to lack of sub bass presence. So the songs sound not as engaging as on DD IEM's.
Z1R sound like a bass monster after CA. They are noticeably harder to drive than Andro and FH5 that I have now. High resolution and clear detail. Overall great headphones, but I have 3 issues with them:
1) They are not as comfortable as Andro and far less comfortable than FH5. To the point that I had a slight fatigue after a short session.
2) They have a noticeable "barrel" effect. I believe it also can be called 'warm', meaning they have a darker tone and low frequencies prevail. Looks like this is a feature of sony tuning. Sony Z7 that I own has the similar signature (although much more noticeable).
3) The price. They sound 5% better than FH5 and about 8-10% better with PHA3. But would I pay 1750$ more for the difference? Probably not.
Andromeda is a good IEM, but seriously lacks bass. The bass is tight, but not resolving, I believe due to lack of sub bass presence. So the songs sound not as engaging as on DD IEM's.
Z1R sound like a bass monster after CA. They are noticeably harder to drive than Andro and FH5 that I have now. High resolution and clear detail. Overall great headphones, but I have 3 issues with them:
1) They are not as comfortable as Andro and far less comfortable than FH5. To the point that I had a slight fatigue after a short session.
2) They have a noticeable "barrel" effect. I believe it also can be called 'warm', meaning they have a darker tone and low frequencies prevail. Looks like this is a feature of sony tuning. Sony Z7 that I own has the similar signature (although much more noticeable).
3) The price. They sound 5% better than FH5 and about 8-10% better with PHA3. But would I pay 1750$ more for the difference? Probably not.
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After having these monsters for some weeks now, I say it's probably the only audiophile IEM ever. From impressed to love. Album after album, i get eargasm, first time happened to me for IEM.
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