[raybies]

For a closed back can someone give me an accurate description of the soundstage. Any impressions with hugo2 would be great too.

No Hugo experience, but the Z1R has the most spacious ss I have experienced with a pair of headphones.
On my digital amps/walkman it's not amazingly floaty but with some tracks you can feel like your floating in space enveloped by music.
On the tube amp it's really nice, spacious... and I have felt like the sound was physically coming at me from outside.

So I'd score them high for spaciousness and I'd also say it's one of their selling points.
I haven't done a side<>side with an open set but they're comparable to my miniDSP HD phase/room correct stereo speakers 3m apart in my bedroom...

... I know sound doesn't travel in space.

Just placing them on your head w/ no audio can sound a little echoey.

I love a wide soundstage.

 

[musickid]

Great reply many thanks. I will investigate further.

 

[Satir]

n/a

 

[MacedonianHero]

For a closed back can someone give me an accurate description of the soundstage. I'm unable to audition them at present. Any impressions with hugo2 would be great too. Thanks mk.

Simply the best soundstaging I've heard from a closed-back headphones. Wider than the HD650 to my ears, but definitely not up to the same as say the HE1000 V2, HD800/S, or Abyss Phi.

 

[bytor33]

For a closed back can someone give me an accurate description of the soundstage. I'm unable to audition them at present. Any impressions with hugo2 would be great too. Thanks mk.

I use that combo every day at work and the sound stage is like a 3D bubble around you, very deep and a lot of height to it. It’s maybe not quite as wide as the Ether C Flows I had before, but that’s probably because the C Flows have a bit more pronounced treble in the 6-7k range. That fatigued me though so I’m overall happier with the Z1Rs, plus they’re more comfortable.

 

[sosrah]

I'm to find someone that enjoy Z1R like me: certainly it departs from sound footprint of most of the high end headphones but with it finally i enjoy rhe listening instead of doing critical listening all the time.
I chose Z1R after several monrhs of comparison with Sennheiser hd800S: i bought HD800S after I wanted her so much, but after some time the thing that i like most was the soundstage while i found veey annoying the lack of bass(for my taste) and the fact that it sound at best only in very silent environments.
In the same period i heard about Z1R and i did something little crazy and i bought it.
I could compare extensively both headphones , at the end Z1R came out victorious and i sold hd800s without remorse (more than one year ago).

 

[Slim1970]

I'm to find someone that enjoy Z1R like me: certainly it departs from sound footprint of most of the high end headphones but with it finally i enjoy rhe listening instead of doing critical listening all the time.
I chose Z1R after several monrhs of comparison with Sennheiser hd800S: i bought HD800S after I wanted her so much, but after some time the thing that i like most was the soundstage while i found veey annoying the lack of bass(for my taste) and the fact that it sound at best only in very silent environments.
In the same period i heard about Z1R and i did something little crazy and i bought it.
I could compare extensively both headphones , at the end Z1R came out victorious and i sold hd800s without remorse (more than one year ago).

I'm like you. I really enjoy how the Z1R's present music however unconventional that maybe. To my ears the Z1R's sound good, really good.

 

[up late]

No Hugo experience, but the Z1R has the most spacious ss I have experienced with a pair of headphones.
On my digital amps/walkman it's not amazingly floaty but with some tracks you can feel like your floating in space enveloped by music.
On the tube amp it's really nice, spacious... and I have felt like the sound was physically coming at me from outside.

So I'd score them high for spaciousness and I'd also say it's one of their selling points.
I haven't done a side<>side with an open set but they're comparable to my miniDSP HD phase/room correct stereo speakers 3m apart in my bedroom...

... I know sound doesn't travel in space.

Just placing them on your head w/ no audio can sound a little echoey.

I love a wide soundstage.

you've not heard the hd800 and abyss? they have the most spacious presentations that i've heard from a headphone. it's been quite a while since i compared the z1r and th900 but i thought they were comparable in that area. that said, "sound stage" isn't what i prioritise in a headphone.

 

[musickid]

How is the sony's closed back design able to produce a very good soundstage wide and deep as reported? What are the design features that enable a closed back to do this?

Also any impressions with mojo would be great.

 

[ervin192]

The Z1R doesn't significantly absorb sounds; it adopts a carefully calibrated chamber and paper closure to guide the sound, making part of it flow away from the seemingly closed back, thus expels excess sound.
This creates a unique signature of the cans' soundstage. When it's properly driven the sound becomes like floating.

 

[Luis Alberto]

To add further the wavelengths are ingeniously projected or "guided" from the paper enclosure to your ear canal creating an open wide-band effect. I would guess that this comes with quite a bit of computer modeling and critical listening. I can imagine how this Sony technique would sound with a closed version of an HD800 signature. IMHO listening to open back earphones is a huge limitation in noise control.

 

[up late]

gee this is all so sciencey

 

[musickid]

Would a chord mojo bring out the best of sony's soundstage? From what i understand then sony's soundstage is on par with open back cans?

 

[Slim1970]

Would a chord mojo bring out the best of sony's soundstage? From what i understand then sony's soundstage is on par with open back cans?

The Z1R's play nicely with the Mojo and Hugo 2. I had the Mojo before I upgrade to the Hugo 2 and remembered how good the Mojo sounded with it. The Z1R's are not difficult to drive at all and Chord products have very nice synergy with it.

 

[ervin192]

Would a chord mojo bring out the best of sony's soundstage? From what i understand then sony's soundstage is on par with open back cans?

Not sure with the Chord gears but pairing with open backs - I have to say no. They are different in experience. The closed ones have better isolation so you never feel like you're connected with the outside atmosphere. If you require this then it's mission impossible. Close cans show you "another world".