i couldn't disagree more subjectively speaking and the measurements that i've seen for both headphones don't support your opinion - quite the opposite actually. i hasten to add again that i liked the z1r.
The th900 bass is less distorted but thin, or much distorted and bloated, I've mentioned both situations. It's never too easy to make the th900 bass sound "normal" and as a past user I do have lots of complains about this.
i know we're disagreeing over subjective impressions here, which is ultimately pointless but your descriptions of the th900's bass are contradictory and i can't relate to either of them. perhaps you prefer your bass rendered with more mid-bass, which the z1r provides. the th900 produces the cleanest and most "organic" sounding acoustic bass that I've heard from a closed-back dynamic headphone. anyway, i doubt that we'll find any common ground over how the z1r's and th900's bass compares, which is fine.
To my ears the Z1R's has the bass of a very good subwoofer. It's deep, fast, and head filling. It's never boomy or bloated it's just big. The bass on the TH-900 seems a bit faster with very good decay, sounds a bit cleaner, which could be because the TH-900's sound is more forward, open and dynamic, and goes just as deep as the Z1R's. They both do bass very, very well. The difference to me is the headphone tuning and the headphone presentation itself.
I forgot to add a comment about the HD 800S's bass. The bass on the HD800S's is good but it lacks the sub bass response of the Z1R's and TH-900's. I always add sub bass to my HD 800S's with my Pro iCan and they sound phenomenal with the added low end. The thing is when I turn the volume up with the added the sub bass the HD 800S's begin to distort.The same thing happens when I turn up the volume with my Utopia's. So there seems to be some driver limitations with the HD 800S's and the Utopia's for that matter.
I have the Sony/Kimber Kable coming tomorrow. It's my first quality aftermarket cable. The only reason I got it was because the seller was basically giving it away. So I couldn't pass on it . I'm curious to see what it will sound like compared to the Z1R's stock cable, which I have no issues with.
The mids and treble is where the Z1R and the TH-900 start to differentiate themselves. The Z1R's has the better mids as the TH-900's are a very good sounding V-shaped headphone. The treble on the Z1R's is perfectly tuned for that headphone to my ears. It's so easy to turn the volume up on the Z1R's and just sit back and enjoy the music. The treble on the TH-900's is vivid, somewhat airy, detailed and clear. I was avoiding using the term "bright sounding" intentionally because I don't find them to be sibilant at all. But what I can say is after listening to them at high volume my ears do ring when I take off the TH-900's, lol. I just think this is a result of the extreme V-Shape tuning of that can. That's never the case with the Z1R's. With that said, I still love the treble clarity on the TH-900's. It's part of what makes that headphone special. It is better than the Z1R's treble? That's a tough one because they both have excellent extension. The Z1R's are just tuned differently.
The more I think about it, the more I'm realizing just how good the Z1R's are. I'm never really wanting more when listening to them. Think about this, as good as the HD 800's I think they could use more sub bass. With the LCD-4's the treble is the talking point. The treble is good on them but it could use a little more to make it a more balanced headphone. The Utopia's, does just about everything right but could use a little more bass for my taste. When I put on the Z1R's I don't have any complaint's. Everything is as it should be. It's not just me either. I've had friends over to listen to some of my headphones and they get the most musical enjoyment out of the Sony's. They like certain aspects of the other headphones I have but they tend to listen to the Z1R's the longest. It's strange, but that's always the case. They really do let you enjoy the music.
I have the Sony/Kimber Kable coming tomorrow. It's my first quality aftermarket cable. The only reason I got it was because the seller was basically giving it away. So I couldn't pass on it . I'm curious to see what it will sound like compared to the Z1R's stock cable, which I have no issues with.
The mids and treble is where the Z1R and the TH-900 start to differentiate themselves. The Z1R's has the better mids as the TH-900's are a very good sounding V-shaped headphone. The treble on the Z1R's is perfectly tuned for that headphone to my ears. It's so easy to turn the volume up on the Z1R's and just sit back and enjoy the music. The treble on the TH-900's is vivid, somewhat airy, detailed and clear. I was avoiding using the term "bright sounding" intentionally because I don't find them to be sibilant at all. But what I can say is after listening to them at high volume my ears do ring when I take off the TH-900's, lol. I just think this is a result of the extreme V-Shape tuning of that can. That's never the case with the Z1R's. With that said, I still love the treble clarity on the TH-900's. It's part of what makes that headphone special. It is better than the Z1R's treble? That's a tough one because they both have excellent extension. The Z1R's are just tuned differently.
The more I think about it, the more I'm realizing just how good the Z1R's are. I'm never really wanting more when listening to them. Think about this, as good as the HD 800's I think they could use more sub bass. With the LCD-4's the treble is the talking point. The treble is good on them but it could use a little more to make it a more balanced headphone. The Utopia's, does just about everything right but could use a little more bass for my taste. When I put on the Z1R's I don't have any complaint's. Everything is as it should be. It's not just me either. I've had friends over to listen to some of my headphones and they get the most musical enjoyment out of the Sony's. They like certain aspects of the other headphones I have but they tend to listen to the Z1R's the longest. It's strange, but that's always the case. They really do let you enjoy the music.
It only happened once. I was listening to “Chemical Warfare” by Slayer and got pumped up. It’s an freaking awesome song! The thump of the bass drums and the energy of the Fostex I kind of lost my bearings for a few minutes.
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. I'm curious to see what it will sound like compared to the Z1R's stock cable, which I have no issues with.
Be careful with those loud listening sessions. Just saying! 
