[ledzep]

Bought a selection of Azla tips a bit ago, got the wrong size in the Azla Xelastecs
2 pairs of medium large going spare if someone wants them for the price of just the postage.

 

[Damz87]

Yeah, I ran it off of the Apple dongle for a lot of my listening.

Careful bro, this sort of smack talk can be dangerous around these parts

 

[nc8000]

Careful bro, this sort of smack talk can be dangerous around these parts

Oh one can deffinately enjoy the Z1R from the Apple dongle but they get better when fed better

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

No doubt the Z1R scales well with better gear, I didn't mean to imply that at all.
Good luck to you if you have the $$$ for not one but THREE Chord products !!

My only point is that after 2 months with the Z1R, and despite a little DAP-envy at times when reading this thread, a TOTL DAP with gobs of power is not necessary to enjoy this IEM.
Will a TOTL DAP sound better? Yes it will!
But does Z1R still sound great with a cheap dongle-DAC? Yes it does!

No doubt. If all you own is an Apple dongle and you listen to that all day, you are going to think it's great sound. It is, until you listen to it with much better sources for an extended period of time. I used to think that the BTR5 and DragonFly Red were great sound until I heard the Lotoo PAW S1. After I got that, I stopped listening to the BTR5 and DragonFly red completely. Now that I have the L&P W2, the S1 sounds loose and bloaty, so l can't listen to it any longer. But, this doesn't mean that I will only listen to the best source available. That's not it. What happens with me anyway is that there is a minimum level of sound quality that is an acceptable listen and I will listen to anything that is better than that minimum level. At this time, BA timbre is starting to bother me quite a bit. So, I notice it a lot more than ever before and so I am listening to those IEMs less frequently than before.

 

[Damz87]

Oh one can deffinately enjoy the Z1R from the Apple dongle but they get better when fed better

I was being sarcastic I agree with you.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Will the W2 + iphone drive the z1r adequately?

Yes. It's a great sound.

 

[Bikeboy88]

I may be leading with my chin a little here, but I don't believe "Moar Powah Pleeze!" is really necessary for the Z1R.

While I do agree that it scales nicely with better sources, it is such a great IEM to start with that it sounds pretty amazing with just an iPhone and simple dongle DAC.

I know I can get the best out of it with my BF2/A3 on the desktop, but going mobile is still quite enjoyable with the i1 dongle or SR25. I've listened to the Z1R with a Kann Alpha and a FiiO M15, and while there is a difference to the SR25, it's on the order of single digit %, to my ears anyway. I wouldn't bother with the more brick-like DAPs (ahem, DX300...) because if I can't put it in my pocket comfortably, what's the point?

My advice to anyone considering this IEM, or who is starting out listening to it, is to not worry about how much power you give it, your phone will be just fine. Anything else is a bonus.

I agree. I had been using the Lotoo PAW S1 with my old iPhone 6s, and it had way more power than I could ever ask for, and sounded superb using the 4.4mm balanced connection. Took deliver of a WM1A, and frankly I'm a little underwhelmed. The only issue is power drain. The Z1Rs are a pretty heavy draw on my poor little iPhone battery, but they were driven just fine with the PAW S1.

 

[nc8000]

I agree. I had been using the Lotoo PAW S1 with my old iPhone 6s, and it had way more power than I could ever ask for, and sounded superb using the 4.4mm balanced connection. Took deliver of a WM1A, and frankly I'm a little underwhelmed. The only issue is power drain. The Z1Rs are a pretty heavy draw on my poor little iPhone battery, but they were driven just fine with the PAW S1.

Power is about much more than just volume, it is also about how well the phones are controlled and driven

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Power is about much more than just volume, it is also about how well the phones are controlled and driven

I completely agree. The first thing you notice with more power is the tightening up of the sound and the crispness of the transients.

 

[Bikeboy88]

I completely agree. The first thing you notice with more power is the tightening up of the sound and the crispness of the transients.

I don't have a solid technical background, so I'll defer to folks with more knowledge than myself. I can only offer my own subjective opinion. To me the Z1Rs sound superb through the PAW S1. Better than the WM1A to me so far, but that's just an initial impression, and I understand it takes a while for the WM1A to get broken in (~200 hrs.).

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I don't have a solid technical background, so I'll defer to folks with more knowledge than myself. I can only offer my own subjective opinion. To me the Z1Rs sound superb through the PAW S1. Better than the WM1A to me so far, but that's just an initial impression, and I understand it takes a while for the WM1A to get broken in (~200 hrs.).

Outstanding. The only thing that matters is how it sounds to you.

The Lotoo PAW S1 is a fantastic product. IMHO, the best sound you can get for $100-200.

 

[michaelc]

I don't have a solid technical background, so I'll defer to folks with more knowledge than myself. I can only offer my own subjective opinion. To me the Z1Rs sound superb through the PAW S1. Better than the WM1A to me so far, but that's just an initial impression, and I understand it takes a while for the WM1A to get broken in (~200 hrs.).

I like Paw S1 sound than WM1A which lead me to Paw6k & LPGT.
I have not try WM1A custom firmware through....

 

[Redcarmoose]

I don't have a solid technical background, so I'll defer to folks with more knowledge than myself. I can only offer my own subjective opinion. To me the Z1Rs sound superb through the PAW S1. Better than the WM1A to me so far, but that's just an initial impression, and I understand it takes a while for the WM1A to get broken in (~200 hrs.).

The 1A is amazing with the IER-Z1R. It is a little underwhelming at first but very very different after burn in. Also it’s actually 400 hours as 200 for 3.5mm and an additional 200 for 4.4mm. After that you may want to try Midnight or Midnight Plus or Dawn as a way of boosting the performance and additional massive amount. After you have understood what is possible with regular firmware then an additional boost in detail as well as soundstage maybe will be in order? Though note there will be slightly more use In battery performance. Are you at 3.02 now? The next thing would be the destination change.

Let me put it this way......I purchased the 1Z before the 1A and just purchased the 1A as I was curious. At the start I had 1000 hours on the 1Z and 100 hours on the 1A. I disliked the 1A. The 1A was too thin and was all midrange. Later I started putting more hours on the 1Z, and due to aftermarket firmware fell totally in love with the 1A.

The 1A has so much potential, it’s scary. Now I have both player on destination “J” and it’s great. The destination will allow your player to become warmer. Later after firmware updates I had a choice of the 1A or the 1Z.

Guess what? I went to town using the 1A. So much that now I have 1500 hours on the 1A. I also have slightly over 1500 hours on the 1Z too. The fact that they are still very different players but the firmware makes each have it’s own personality.

You can find the 1A to be almost as good as the 1Z. The 1Z (even with the same destination and Midnight Plus) will have a slightly bigger bass, actually a round bass. Where the cool part about the 1A is the midrange. My gosh what a midrange. In so many ways the 1A midrange is better than the 1Z. So it allows you to actually have two different ways to hear music. Don’t worry! Your in for a spectacular ride. Basically you haven’t heard nothing yet!

Cheers!

https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SonyNWDestTool
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-walkman-os-custom-firmware-non-android.943661/

 

[Bikeboy88]

I like Paw S1 sound than WM1A which lead me to Paw6k & LPGT.
I have not try WM1A custom firmware through....

Yes, good point about the custom firmware. I need to give that a try.

 

[Bikeboy88]

The 1A is amazing with the IER-Z1R. It is a little underwhelming at first but very very different after burn in. Also it’s actually 400 hours as 200 for 3.5mm and an additional 200 for 4.4mm. After that you may want to try Midnight or Midnight Plus or Dawn as a way of boosting the performance and additional massive amount. After you have understood what is possible with regular firmware then an additional boost in detail as well as soundstage maybe will be in order? Though note there will be slightly more use In battery performance. Are you at 3.02 now? The next thing would be the destination change.

Let me put it this way......I purchased the 1Z before the 1A and just purchased the 1A as I was curious. At the start I had 2000 hours on the 1Z and 100 hours on the 1A. I disliked the 1A. The 1A was too thin and was all midrange. Later I started putting more hours on the 1Z, and due to aftermarket firmware fell totally in love with the 1A.

The 1A has so much potential, it’s scary. Now I have both player on destination “J” and it’s great. The destination will allow your player to become warmer. Later after firmware updates I had a choice of the 1A or the 1Z.

Guess what? I went to town using the 1A. So much that now I have 3000 hours on the 1A. I also have slightly over 3000 hours on the 1Z too. The fact that they are still very different players but the firmware makes each have it’s own personality.

You can find the 1A to be almost as good as the 1Z. The 1Z (even with the same destination and Midnight Plus) will have a slightly bigger bass, actually a round bass. Where the cool part about the 1A is the midrange. My gosh what a midrange. In so many ways the 1A midrange is better than the 1Z. So it allows you to actually have two different ways to hear music. Don’t worry! Your in for a spectacular ride. Basically you haven’t heard nothing yet!

Cheers!

https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SonyNWDestTool
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-walkman-os-custom-firmware-non-android.943661/

Wow, great info and insights, thanks for sharing that! I will be patient and am looking forward to experimenting with the various destination and firmware options for the 1A.