[Cutie59]

The people who said 1z couldn’t power ier z1r such bs !!! I use high gain 4.4 connection about 65-80. Most the time around 70. If you never use it don’t make your opinion ! Sony IER z1r with 1z Or 1A Or mojo. Would Be the end game !!! Easily!! It’s the same flavor of the mdr z1r. But a better performance. Yes it’s better

 

[marvin3003]

I listen with my ta zh1es. se 300mw output per channel and balanced 1200mw per channel.
In my opinion it is not that big of difference and i even doubt it is because of the power difference. Could also be se vs balanced.

In which song and situations do you think you can hear the difference because of the power output.

 

[rutter]

Which dap are you comparing to? For me the ZX300 sounded very wrong, as I've detailed. I have no problems of that magnitude with the iBasso DX228. Due to the positive effect the $100 Magni and Fiio A5 had I suspected that power output was the primary culprit. Like I wrote then I really wonder if the IER-Z1R sounds good on the WM1s and if so how or why. I think the ZX300 is pretty damn bad with this iem without eq, and I had to eq heavily.

 

[ddmt]

zx300 with z1r sounds good to me (high gain, 4.4mm, volume around 60), although z1r sounds really good with dmp-z1. If you don't have a full seal with iem, nothing will sound good.

 

[toughnut]

It's not only how much wattage you can pump to the drivers but how fast the load can swing...

 

[rutter]

zx300 with z1r sounds good to me (high gain, 4.4mm, volume around 60), although z1r sounds really good with dmp-z1. If you don't have a full seal with iem, nothing will sound good.

Well, I wasn't using the triple comforts yet (though I thought I briefly tried them with the ZX300 and am currently using M rather than MS, but I do sort of roll it; I also don't recall the DX228 having similar problems with the hybrid silicone tips I was using with the ZX300; nonetheless I do contradict myself on top of page 159), which helped. I guess if a bunch of people who have the ZX300 vouch for it I'll defer.

 

[rutter]

Here's the one post that puts forward an explanation for why maximum power matters:

Not exactly true. Max power certainly does matter. You seem to have forgotten to take into account the volume peaks of a recording, especially for recordings with a large dynamic range like classic music. To have a life-like and distortion free reproduction, simply having enough power to reach the average sound level (103dB in your case) is not enough. Instead, you will need much more power, since to achieve best sound quality you need to reproduce these peaks without distortion. This is the exact reason why maximum power output DOES matter, even though, as you correctly state, no one actually listens at max volume (unless they want permanent hearing damage).

A case in point-- HD650. According to solderdude's calculations, for about 80db average levels you only need 0.2V (we're using volts here since hd650 are almost always voltage limited, not current limited), power even an iPhone can provide. Yet if you were to reproduce the 120dB peaks, you will need 24V, which is something the majority of amps cannot do. To quote solderdude, '120dB may seem a lot and painful but really isn't due to these peaks being very short and will just sound "dynamic".' So by your logic, as long as the iPhone can supply enough power to drive the cans to their average sound level, max power is then irrelevant, which as anyone who has owned a HD650 can tell you, is certainly NOT true.

 

[candlejack]

It's not only how much wattage you can pump to the drivers but how fast the load can swing...

Alright, so how fast does the load have to "swing?"

 

[raelamb]

I'm a happy American that got mine today courtesy of Drew and Nichole at my go-to vendor Moon Audio. Out of the box they are simply sublime and very similar in sound to my favorite headphone their brother the MDR-Z1R's. My CIEMs the JH16V2's are going in the drawer

 

[Mathieulh]

The 1z does not struggle to power the z1r - at least how I listen to music. Typically speaking I have volume setting between 60-70 depending on the recording and file type. I simply can't imagine going much higher without damaging my hearing. And the two sound quite beautiful together.

It depends on what you listen to, if you listen to pre-loudness war music with wide dynamic range, the lack of power becomes somewhat obvious as the details aren't quite present/forward as they should be. Would most people only listening to modern music notice? I somewhat doubt so. In fact the NW-WM1A should be powerful enough to drive the IER-Z1R (but certainly not the MDR-Z1R!) in most scenarios.

Power isn't only about volume output, this is why there are both impedance and sensitivity measurements, in fact low impedance devices (such as what good IEMs would be) require higher current (but lower voltage) to drive.

About the difference of power output between the NW-ZX300 and the NW-WM1A/Z, it would be worthwhile if it was 50mW@32Ohms, as it turns out it's 50mW@16Ohms, which is quite negligible.

That said, the lack of power output on Sony Walkman DAPs contributes to their long battery life, which is one of the most interesting point of Sony DAPs. It's still much an improvement compared to what we used to get on the NW-ZX2 and earlier Sony devices.

Quite frankly, if hard to drive listening apparatus is what you are keen on listening while on the go, Sony DAPs aren't for you. (Unless you fancy carrying an extra portable amplifier, of course.)

 

[rutter]

40 isn't that low impedance, by the way

 

[candlejack]

I'm no electronics/audio engineer, but I'm pretty good at smelling bull.

 

[ZenErik]

Thanks for the advice guys. I've had a change of heart. Even though the IER-Z1R only requires 0.5mW to hit 100dB and and 50mW to reach the pain threshold of 120dB I have purchased this power amp to ensure that my IEMs receive the power they require to truly shine and not require 'crazy amounts of EQ' like they require on the truly horrible ZX300.

Sounds amazing so far. Thanks for showing me the light.

 

[candlejack]

Thanks for the advice guys. I've had a change of heart. Even though the IER-Z1R only requires 1mW to hit 100dB and and 50mW to reach the pain threshold of 120dB I have purchased this power amp to ensure that my IEMs receive the power they require to truly shine and not require 'crazy amounts of EQ' like they require on the truly horrible ZX300.

Sounds amazing so far. Thanks for showing me the light.

Lol, the light is probably coming from your zirconium IEM's turning incandescent.

 

[Mathieulh]

40 isn't that low impedance, by the way

I didn't say the IER-Z1R are low impedance IEMs, I said most good IEMs are low impedance, in fact I did say the NW-WM1A should have enough power to drive the IER-Z1R specifically in most scenarios, it will just lack details in wide dynamic range tracks (compared to when driving them from more powerful amps (on an equivalent DAC or even using the WM1A as a source)).

Is it a deal breaker? I don't think so.