[krayzie]

So funny after over 1000 posts on the Z1R including the closed thread, and nobody on head-fi has figured out the obvious about the sound of these headphones. I thought the Z7 gave a good hint but it wasn't quite there yet. The Z1R and with how they try to tune the WM1Z it is all too obvious.

Sony tried to go back to their glory days by mimicking their sound signature of the mid to late 80s. The Z1R to me is trying to return to the days of MDR-E282/E484/CD900/V7 where it was bass heavy yet with smooth resolving details. I would presume the bass heavy version of the R10 had the same premise.

By the early 90s the sound shifted to focus more on analytical instead of fun, with 1-bit current pulse D/A CD Players having a similar shift in sound after 1989.

I guess it's been almost 3 decades and people have either forgotten or not experienced the Sony audio of the 80s. These new signature products merely serve as re-education about music enjoyment, the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ of the audio world. You either get it or you don't.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Indeed, that is what I have always said and felt about the Z1R. Sony authored a signature that they believed was musical and worth hearing. It is either going to work for you to varying degrees, or it won't to varying degrees. I don't think Sony ever represented their approach with the Z1R as a dead flat, neutral headphone. Personally I really, really enjoyed the Z1R, and I enjoy other signatures. I am thankful that companies like Sony still care enough to make a statement and author a piece like the Z1R. It is also in my eyes a very tactile, and aesthetic accomplishment which is part of the art statement.

 

[Slim1970]

The Z1R's are excellent sounding headphones. When I get a new set of headphones I try not to judge them based on price. Instead I just listen to their musical presentation to see if it fits what I like my music to sound like. The one thing I don't like is cold, flat, and thinny sounding headphones. For me the Z1R's are a long way from that. I don't mind the bass boost because it stays within the bass frequencies and doesn't bleed. The mids are smooth as butter and the treble gives you all the details and clarity without shouting at you. The Z1R's to my ears are a beautifully tuned, light weight, musical masterpiece of a headphone. I can listen to them with any genre of music with joy and a smile knowing I'm hearing everything in the music. I can't really say that about all the other headphones in my collection.

 

[larzy]

I still love mine - try playing Coldplay's Adventure Of A Lifetime in these - sound explosion

 

[up late]

So funny after over 1000 posts on the Z1R including the closed thread, and nobody on head-fi has figured out the obvious about the sound of these headphones. I thought the Z7 gave a good hint but it wasn't quite there yet. The Z1R and with how they try to tune the WM1Z it is all too obvious.

Sony tried to go back to their glory days by mimicking their sound signature of the mid to late 80s. The Z1R to me is trying to return to the days of MDR-E282/E484/CD900/V7 where it was bass heavy yet with smooth resolving details. I would presume the bass heavy version of the R10 had the same premise.

By the early 90s the sound shifted to focus more on analytical instead of fun, with 1-bit current pulse D/A CD Players having a similar shift in sound after 1989.

I guess it's been almost 3 decades and people have either forgotten or not experienced the Sony audio of the 80s. These new signature products merely serve as re-education about music enjoyment, the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ of the audio world. You either get it or you don't.

thanks for enlightening us about sony's motivation for introducing the z1r. the "bass heavy" version of the legendary r10 is relatively bass lite compared to the z1r by all accounts, however.

 

[Sonic Defender]

The Z1R's are excellent sounding headphones. When I get a new set of headphones I try not to judge them based on price. Instead I just listen to their musical presentation to see if it fits what I like my music to sound like. The one thing I don't like is cold, flat, and thinny sounding headphones. For me the Z1R's are a long way from that. I don't mind the bass boost because it stays within the bass frequencies and doesn't bleed. The mids are smooth as butter and the treble gives you all the details and clarity without shouting at you. The Z1R's to my ears are a beautifully tuned, light weight, musical masterpiece of a headphone. I can listen to them with any genre of music with joy and a smile knowing I'm hearing everything in the music. I can't really say that about all the other headphones in my collection.

Indeed.

 

[Lookout57]

I don't find the Z1R to be bass heavy. To me they have a warm balanced sound that allows the bass to be heard when required. But still has the details without the harshness of my LCD-X which I haven't listen to since I got the AXIS-Cu cable.

 

[kp297]

I have no idea what you are asking I just watched that video.

Sorry for the confusion, the video appears as a thumbnail on my phone instead of a video.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I don't find the Z1R to be bass heavy. To me they have a warm balanced sound that allows the bass to be heard when required. But still has the details without the harshness of my LCD-X which I haven't listen to since I got the AXIS-Cu cable.

Yes, it is an interesting headphone. Simply calling it bass heavy or emphasized may miss the actually totality of the signature on which I completely agree with you. If you were to consider a warm signature, within that signature there would be a range, some signatures more balanced than others within the range and the Z1R I agree was balanced within that warmer signature style. It is a lovely headphone and I hope that those who own it really tune out the detractors and enjoy it for what attracted them to it in the first place.

 

[nc8000]

Yes, it is an interesting headphone. Simply calling it bass heavy or emphasized may miss the actually totality of the signature on which I completely agree with you. If you were to consider a warm signature, within that signature there would be a range, some signatures more balanced than others within the range and the Z1R I agree was balanced within that warmer signature style. It is a lovely headphone and I hope that those who own it really tune out the detractors and enjoy it for what attracted them to it in the first place.

Oh I do

 

[Maelob]

Yes, it is an interesting headphone. Simply calling it bass heavy or emphasized may miss the actually totality of the signature on which I completely agree with you. If you were to consider a warm signature, within that signature there would be a range, some signatures more balanced than others within the range and the Z1R I agree was balanced within that warmer signature style. It is a lovely headphone and I hope that those who own it really tune out the detractors and enjoy it for what attracted them to it in the first place.

I admit it, I was one of those that got detracted and conflicted. How could I enjoy something that some people hated. But at the end I realized that I really had a lot of fun. This is the third pair I owned and finally made piece with my ears, and no plans of selling them anytime soon.

 

[up late]

I don't find the Z1R to be bass heavy. To me they have a warm balanced sound that allows the bass to be heard when required. But still has the details without the harshness of my LCD-X which I haven't listen to since I got the AXIS-Cu cable.

Yes, it is an interesting headphone. Simply calling it bass heavy or emphasized may miss the actually totality of the signature on which I completely agree with you. If you were to consider a warm signature, within that signature there would be a range, some signatures more balanced than others within the range and the Z1R I agree was balanced within that warmer signature style. It is a lovely headphone and I hope that those who own it really tune out the detractors and enjoy it for what attracted them to it in the first place.

describing the z1r's sound signature as bass heavy is a not a criticism. take a look at any fr chart and you will see that that the z1r's bass is emphasised relative to the rest of the frequency range. it's really no different to characterising a grado as bright because of its prominent treble. making that observation about the z1r doesn't automatically make you a detractor. you can still enjoy its sound signature for what it is as i did.

 

[Redcarmoose]

So funny after over 1000 posts on the Z1R including the closed thread, and nobody on head-fi has figured out the obvious about the sound of these headphones. I thought the Z7 gave a good hint but it wasn't quite there yet. The Z1R and with how they try to tune the WM1Z it is all too obvious.

Sony tried to go back to their glory days by mimicking their sound signature of the mid to late 80s. The Z1R to me is trying to return to the days of MDR-E282/E484/CD900/V7 where it was bass heavy yet with smooth resolving details. I would presume the bass heavy version of the R10 had the same premise.

By the early 90s the sound shifted to focus more on analytical instead of fun, with 1-bit current pulse D/A CD Players having a similar shift in sound after 1989.

I guess it's been almost 3 decades and people have either forgotten or not experienced the Sony audio of the 80s. These new signature products merely serve as re-education about music enjoyment, the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ of the audio world. You either get it or you don't.

Yes!!!

thanks for enlightening us about sony's motivation for introducing the z1r. the "bass heavy" version of the legendary r10 is relatively bass lite compared to the z1r by all accounts, however.

@https://www.head-fi.org/members/krayzie.2086/

I’m pretty sure you never heard the R-10 with your above statement?
The R-10s were pretty flat and modestly mid-forward animals.IMHO. They may have just been extremely flat. Like the most flat ever, so they sounded slighly mid-forward to my ears as a result.

Not to argue.........but.......I don’t hear the Z1R having a complete love affair with the midrange? To tell you the truth, I am at a loss to fully explain what the Z1R ......IS? At times male vocals are taking a back seat in the mix, though yesterday Robert Smith and “The Cure” had what sounded like normal male vocals listening out of the 1Z with firmware 2.0 and high output enabled. So in reality.............I’m probably just as confused as I think you are.

But I do know what I like..........and after all these years........I’m smitten with this headphone........whatever it is?

Cheers!

 

[up late]

Yes!!!



@https://www.head-fi.org/members/krayzie.2086/

I’m pretty sure you never heard the R-10 with your above statement?
The R-10s were pretty flat and modestly mid-forward animals.IMHO. They may have just been extremely flat. Like the most flat ever, so they sounded slighly mid-forward to my ears as a result.

Not to argue.........but.......I don’t hear the Z1R having a complete love affair with the midrange? To tell you the truth, I am at a loss to fully explain what the Z1R ......IS? At times male vocals are taking a back seat in the mix, though yesterday Robert Smith and “The Cure” had what sounded like normal male vocals listening out of the 1Z with firmware 2.0 and high output enabled. So in reality.............I’m probably just as confused as I think you are.

But I do know what I like..........and after all these years........I’m smitten with this headphone........whatever it is?

Cheers!

i haven't, but i'm wondering if you understood my post?

 

[Redcarmoose]

i haven't, but i'm wondering if you understood my post?

I was in agreement with you. Yes, the R10 was not bass heavy in any way. And I’m not able to comment on mid-eighties Sony sound either as I just didn’t get to hear any Sony headphones from then.

My post was directed at krayzie.

As with speculation that the mid-eighties Sony house sound was placed into all the eighties headphones and even into the R-10.