This is a bargain! If i didn't own the Z1R I would emigrate to Australia
The good thing about the Z1R is that very few if any has bought it at full price. We can only hope that the ier-z1r will keep the same trend.
Sony Z1R....listening impressions only
This is a bargain! If i didn't own the Z1R I would emigrate to Australia
The good thing about the Z1R is that very few if any has bought it at full price. We can only hope that the ier-z1r will keep the same trend.
Razordogaudio sells them unadvertised for way less than MSRP brand new, I think it was like 1400 or so when I was in the market for one a while back.
I like Z1R and its Abyss-like sound signature. However, R10 has a kind of opposite tuning, but I would choose it over Z1R every time, regardless of price.
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Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
The R-10 was understandably great when I heard it, though I never owned a pair. But, the Z1R has romance!
It’s probably now why the Z1R has polarized views, some still want that mostly flat polite signature like the R-10.
Gonzi
New Head-Fier
In Russia they are $1364 in Sony Store: https://store.sony.ru/product/naushniki-sony-mdr-z1r-313810/
May be closer than Australia for someone
Mathieulh
100+ Head-Fier
I have had my MDR-Z1R for about two weeks now, so it is time for me to share my listening impressions:
As a disclaimer, I am (and have been) using the MDR-Z1R strictly through a balanced output using the NW-ZX300 as a source.
For starters I have been suitably impressed with the wide soundstage provided by what is, for all intents and purposes, a closed-back pair of headphones, there are two other major characteristics to these headphones, first is how defined the instrumentation is, the instrument separation is one of the best I've got to listen to, allowing you to listen to a track at very low volume and still make out each and every instruments, while it is not as good sounding with string instruments as planar magnetic headphones, it still sounds incredible and provides a better listening experience overall, although many open back headphones match it in quality for a fraction of the price, as far as closed back headphones go, there are no contenders.
The other major characteristic is the bass, these headphones are very bassy and this can be an issue for some people/genres, in fact a major complaint I had was that the bass is too tight, which made it impossible to listen on high gain without EQing the bass lower or at medium to high volumes without being extremely fatiguing, let alone on long listening sessions, this made me wonder whether I was going to keep those, that is until I actually switched from the stock cable to the Sony Kimber cable, I was no believer of noticeable sound changes when it comes to different cables, that is until I've made this change, the bass became warmer and more rolled off, which made all the fatiguing problems suddenly dissapear! Suffice to say that the stock cables are just not actually suited for the MDR-Z1R because they make the bass too tight and harsh to listen to, if you invest in these headphones, you are going to need a different set of cables, preferably something Oxygen free copper based, once you make the switch everything becomes a breeze to listen to, again with impressive details, wide soundstage and on point bass.
I've had the opportunity to compare those to both the Sennheiser HD820 and the Focal Elegia, two closed back contenders, and they are no contest, they don't come even close to be as good sounding as the MDR-Z1R are. Of course if you attempt to compare those to Sennheiser HD800 or the Focal Elear or Utopia, then indeed those compete and in many aspects sound better than the MDR-Z1R but comparing open back headphones to closed back ones is akin to comparing apple to oranges in my opinion, if you want open backs, at the price point of the MDR-Z1R you can get a much better sounding pair of Stax with an energizer to drive them.
As far as usability goes, don't expect to use the MDR-Z1R while commuting or in noisy environments, the isolation is decent, but it is not that good, these headphones, just like open-back ones, are meant for silent/low noise environments, if what you wanted was a great way to listen to music while commuting, you are much better off investing in IEMs (I, for instance use the XBA-N3), or headphones with active noise cancelling (although, owning quite a few of these, I can say that IEMs generally sound much better if you can get used to those)
The MDR-Z1R is typically suited for at home or in office listenings, you can pretty much treat it as an open-back pair of headphones with the added bonus of not disturbing anyone standing next to you (because, unlike open-backs, those do not leak noise outside, which is the main reason I wouldn't be using an open back pair of headphones at the office), if that's what you are looking for, or the unique sound characterstics of the MDR-Z1R (typically, a very detailed pair of headphones with wide soundstage and impressive bass), then those are the ones for you. There are no other pair of headpones that sound alike, providing a somewhat unique listening experience that is well worth the investment.
Are they worth the €2200 MSRP? I would say no, but they can be acquired for much cheaper if you have patience, live in the right countries or are willing to grab a second hand pair. In my opinion, if you can acquire a pair at €1800 or below, and are satisfied with the characteristics of these headphones, go for it. That said, considering the price, I would still attempt to find a place where I can give those a good listening before spending the money, after all, people have their own unique preferences when it comes to sound.
As a disclaimer, I am (and have been) using the MDR-Z1R strictly through a balanced output using the NW-ZX300 as a source.
For starters I have been suitably impressed with the wide soundstage provided by what is, for all intents and purposes, a closed-back pair of headphones, there are two other major characteristics to these headphones, first is how defined the instrumentation is, the instrument separation is one of the best I've got to listen to, allowing you to listen to a track at very low volume and still make out each and every instruments, while it is not as good sounding with string instruments as planar magnetic headphones, it still sounds incredible and provides a better listening experience overall, although many open back headphones match it in quality for a fraction of the price, as far as closed back headphones go, there are no contenders.
The other major characteristic is the bass, these headphones are very bassy and this can be an issue for some people/genres, in fact a major complaint I had was that the bass is too tight, which made it impossible to listen on high gain without EQing the bass lower or at medium to high volumes without being extremely fatiguing, let alone on long listening sessions, this made me wonder whether I was going to keep those, that is until I actually switched from the stock cable to the Sony Kimber cable, I was no believer of noticeable sound changes when it comes to different cables, that is until I've made this change, the bass became warmer and more rolled off, which made all the fatiguing problems suddenly dissapear! Suffice to say that the stock cables are just not actually suited for the MDR-Z1R because they make the bass too tight and harsh to listen to, if you invest in these headphones, you are going to need a different set of cables, preferably something Oxygen free copper based, once you make the switch everything becomes a breeze to listen to, again with impressive details, wide soundstage and on point bass.
I've had the opportunity to compare those to both the Sennheiser HD820 and the Focal Elegia, two closed back contenders, and they are no contest, they don't come even close to be as good sounding as the MDR-Z1R are. Of course if you attempt to compare those to Sennheiser HD800 or the Focal Elear or Utopia, then indeed those compete and in many aspects sound better than the MDR-Z1R but comparing open back headphones to closed back ones is akin to comparing apple to oranges in my opinion, if you want open backs, at the price point of the MDR-Z1R you can get a much better sounding pair of Stax with an energizer to drive them.
As far as usability goes, don't expect to use the MDR-Z1R while commuting or in noisy environments, the isolation is decent, but it is not that good, these headphones, just like open-back ones, are meant for silent/low noise environments, if what you wanted was a great way to listen to music while commuting, you are much better off investing in IEMs (I, for instance use the XBA-N3), or headphones with active noise cancelling (although, owning quite a few of these, I can say that IEMs generally sound much better if you can get used to those)
The MDR-Z1R is typically suited for at home or in office listenings, you can pretty much treat it as an open-back pair of headphones with the added bonus of not disturbing anyone standing next to you (because, unlike open-backs, those do not leak noise outside, which is the main reason I wouldn't be using an open back pair of headphones at the office), if that's what you are looking for, or the unique sound characterstics of the MDR-Z1R (typically, a very detailed pair of headphones with wide soundstage and impressive bass), then those are the ones for you. There are no other pair of headpones that sound alike, providing a somewhat unique listening experience that is well worth the investment.
Are they worth the €2200 MSRP? I would say no, but they can be acquired for much cheaper if you have patience, live in the right countries or are willing to grab a second hand pair. In my opinion, if you can acquire a pair at €1800 or below, and are satisfied with the characteristics of these headphones, go for it. That said, considering the price, I would still attempt to find a place where I can give those a good listening before spending the money, after all, people have their own unique preferences when it comes to sound.
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I’m a current Z1R owner and absolutely love these headphones. Over the past year I’ve actually owned two pairs. The first pair was dented in shipping, but I got to listen to them for about 6 weeks. After waiting for a replacement, the dealer stopped selling the high end Sony line and they worked out a refund. I then read good things about the Z7 and thought I should try those. I spent about a week with them and moved on. Compared to the Z1R they were uninspiring. The sub and low bass, treble, soundstage and comfort were not even close in my experience. I was surprised as I really expected them to be similar sonic signatures based on what I read. At any rate, I ended up getting a second pair of Z1Rs mid summer and have logged many very enjoyable listening hours since. Most of my listening has been on the Grace Design m900 with lossless and high res source files using the oem cable.
Here are some of my impressions:
Let’s start with the bass. The low end of the Z1R is the best I have personally experienced period. For reference my previous LCD-3 were very enjoyable but did not reach as low and a pair of LCD-XC I borrowed didn’t match the resolve I get in the low end with the Z1R. Listening to Big Thief’s Mythological Beauty I can feel the air coming off the kick drum as if I’m sitting a few feet in font of the front drum head port. Amazing. I can also hear the drum heads resonate with spectacular detail.
Moving up to low mids, I get no bleed from the bass. They are represented linearly with excellent depth. Interestingly, this is the only place that I would always pick LCD-3. To me, the low mids on those cans is other worldly and bigger than life. On ‘I Need my Girl’ by The National, Matt Berninger’s baritone doesn’t carry near the weight that it does with the LCD-3, but the Z1R still sounds good and is not thin.
The mids and upper mids are where the Z1R amazes me with the depth, height and space it presents around instruments. I’ve compared them directly with the HD800 and to my ears the HD800 presents a very wide soundstage, but the Z1R goes much deeper. Instruments are separated and layered so well with a soundstage that is far outside my head.
The treble on the Z1R is pretty smooth and has tons of air. When directly comparing to LCD-3 again, putting on the Z1R is like taking off earmuffs. Not quite I guess, but the top end extension on the Sony’s is excellent. It renders top end detail and instrument attack with lifelike realism. There is a slight peak in the 10kHz region that is rarely an issue. The only time I have found it a problem is on certain bright (and over compressed) recordings.
Regarding fit and comfort, the Z1R are a joy to wear. Extremely comfortable and I often forget I have them on. Compared to the Audeze there is just no contest. Those start hurting my neck after 30 minutes. The ear pads are very cool and comfortable and the depth of the earcups keep me from feeling closed in. The Z1R provide excellent isolation from external noise and don’t bleed sound into my environment.
Overall the Z1R has checked a lot of boxes for me and am super pleased with them.
Here are some of my impressions:
Let’s start with the bass. The low end of the Z1R is the best I have personally experienced period. For reference my previous LCD-3 were very enjoyable but did not reach as low and a pair of LCD-XC I borrowed didn’t match the resolve I get in the low end with the Z1R. Listening to Big Thief’s Mythological Beauty I can feel the air coming off the kick drum as if I’m sitting a few feet in font of the front drum head port. Amazing. I can also hear the drum heads resonate with spectacular detail.
Moving up to low mids, I get no bleed from the bass. They are represented linearly with excellent depth. Interestingly, this is the only place that I would always pick LCD-3. To me, the low mids on those cans is other worldly and bigger than life. On ‘I Need my Girl’ by The National, Matt Berninger’s baritone doesn’t carry near the weight that it does with the LCD-3, but the Z1R still sounds good and is not thin.
The mids and upper mids are where the Z1R amazes me with the depth, height and space it presents around instruments. I’ve compared them directly with the HD800 and to my ears the HD800 presents a very wide soundstage, but the Z1R goes much deeper. Instruments are separated and layered so well with a soundstage that is far outside my head.
The treble on the Z1R is pretty smooth and has tons of air. When directly comparing to LCD-3 again, putting on the Z1R is like taking off earmuffs. Not quite I guess, but the top end extension on the Sony’s is excellent. It renders top end detail and instrument attack with lifelike realism. There is a slight peak in the 10kHz region that is rarely an issue. The only time I have found it a problem is on certain bright (and over compressed) recordings.
Regarding fit and comfort, the Z1R are a joy to wear. Extremely comfortable and I often forget I have them on. Compared to the Audeze there is just no contest. Those start hurting my neck after 30 minutes. The ear pads are very cool and comfortable and the depth of the earcups keep me from feeling closed in. The Z1R provide excellent isolation from external noise and don’t bleed sound into my environment.
Overall the Z1R has checked a lot of boxes for me and am super pleased with them.
Soundizer
Headphoneus Supremus
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Is the stock cable Oxygen free and Copper based?
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The stock cable is silver plated copper.
To get the best sound get a pure copper cable like the Sony AXIOS or the Kimber AXIOS.
To get the best sound get a pure copper cable like the Sony AXIOS or the Kimber AXIOS.
Whoa. is it a good idea to use freight forwarding service to ship that Z1R from Australia? With that kind of price is hard to pass up on these pairs of headphones! If anyone has a freight forwarding service to recommend please do!!
Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
Kimber MUC-B20SB1 smooths out the mids and adds soundstage to the treble, tightens the bass.
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racebit
100+ Head-Fier
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Parcl, SOSMail, AUSFF
I tried with Parcl, but they asked more than 300 USD to buy it and ship to Europe. And then I would have customs, so no advantage at all for me.
Besides addictedtoaudio.com at 1600 AUD, amazon.com.au holds 1647 AUD, but none of them ships outside Australia.
syke
100+ Head-Fier
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Try Buyee and Tenso
Soundizer
Headphoneus Supremus
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Or I could use my Focal Clear cables which are pure copper and oxygen free.
Peerayu
Head-Fier
Even now Japan is more expensive than Australia
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