I am considering buying the Z1R again, I bought them in late 2017 and held them for about nine months. Back then, I needed a few home appliances and the Z1R were sitting on my desk most of the time since I worked from the office. Now Things have changed due to Covid, and now I rarely leave the house, I loved the Z1R years ago, and the HD6xx lack depth and Bass hence why the Z1Rs are in my mind. Thinking of getting these in the coming weeks, can't wait.
I’m listening to DCD-Anastasis in 44.1-24 bit right now. Using the MDR-Z1R-Kimber-TA-Cradle-AQ USB-Walkman 1A.
I can’t believe how both natural and exciting this is right now. The vocals are not set back at all. Everything is perfectly in place. Part of it may be the recording, as often the recording sounds great on all styles of playback from the $49 IEM from a phone........on up?
But obviously here it’s full and sublime, taking place in with the drums finding a large large imaging, way better than the IER-Z1R. Just due to the physical size of the MDR-Z1R the sound is bigger than any IEMs I have ever heard. I have kinda been hoping for this experience to come as to tell you the truth, I don’t use my MDR-Z1R nearly as much as I should. While there is still a very very slight lack of crispness to the bass edge....truly I don’t care. I look at it as just the personality of the headphone. I do need to try a higher damping factor than the TA, but that will come with time. It’s nothing really that gets in a way of anything. I can actually ignore it, as truly I’m not sure if it’s just part of the whole..... an interlocked and integrated part of the total experience? So much of what I listen to has just been ever so slightly more sculpted bass tones with my usual IEMs. But if you can over look that aspect of a bass tone, imagine.......maybe it’s that unfocused reverberated sound of a room response being reimagined again in headphone style?
Both male and female vocals are in place. Funny how I used to ponder the possibility of off positioning, there?
The sound has body and weight far outweighing any IEMs. I never thought I would say that. As years ago I always felt the IER-Z1R had more visceral impact? And truly it may still, except I played a trick on my hearing. I went and abstained from the IER-Z1R for a long long time and am working my way to it again. There is nothing wrong with such tomfoolery as this is in the end all an illusion anyway. An illusion of real humans playing instruments.
But maybe the most satisfying thing is to walk back into this dimension and find it totally totally with out question natural and pure. There is nothing out of place. It holds that balance of peace and excitement both intertwined and in one. This is one of the best headphones I’ve ever heard!
There really is nothing to adjust to again. It’s like coming home after a long vacation to find all in place, with that charm that only a home can provide.
Edit:
All vocals seem in place? It doesn’t matter what recording that is played.....this is paradise......really?
I own an Asgard One. Not sure though what the difference is between the two. Though the Asgard One is not a DAC. When I do use the Asgard One with the Cambridge Audio DACMagic Plus or TA as the DAC, it’s fantastic. That would be using the included cable and not the 4.4mm Kimber. Sorry as I have not done a direct comparison between the two set ups, but the Asgard One and Cambridge Audio DACMagic Plus was something I could absolutely live with as a daily driver! The best part was how defined and crisp the low-end was, funny too, it may not have all the euphoria in processing of the TA, like DSD upscale/remastering, DEEE HX, or the Phase Linearizer.....but that was just some slight candy coating?
But as far as sound stage and detail it was incredible. Big authentic and authoritative washes of sound. Great pace as well as seemingly showing all the MDR-Z1R was made of. I have not heard the Asgard DAC, I think they offer two choices but I would guess you will not be disappointed in any way. The other thing was the original Asgard was pretty close to perfect as far power goes. Not too much power or too little. Also the original Asgard is normally referred to as slightly bright, so that’s good too.
But if you have never heard the MDR-Z1R, try to reserve judgment on it and listen to it for about two days before coming up with any opinions on it.
I own an Asgard One. Not sure though what the difference is between the two. Though the Asgard One is not a DAC. When I do use the Asgard One with the Cambridge Audio DACMagic Plus or TA as the DAC, it’s fantastic. That would be using the included cable and not the 4.4mm Kimber. Sorry as I have not done a direct comparison between the two set ups, but the Asgard One and Cambridge Audio DACMagic Plus was something I could absolutely live with as a daily driver! The best part was how defined and crisp the low-end was, funny too, it may not have all the euphoria in processing of the TA, like DSD upscale/remastering, DEEE HX, or the Phase Linearizer.....but that was just some slight candy coating?
But as far as sound stage and detail it was incredible. Big authentic and authoritative washes of sound. Great pace as well as seemingly showing all the MDR-Z1R was made of. I have not heard the Asgard DAC, I think they offer two choices but I would guess you will not be disappointed in any way. The other thing was the original Asgard was pretty close to perfect as far power goes. Not too much power or too little. Also the original Asgard is normally referred to as slightly bright, so that’s good too.
But if you have never heard the MDR-Z1R, try to reserve judgment on it and listen to it for about two days before coming up with any opinions on it.
I doubt that you'll run into any issues pairing the MDR-Z1R with a variety of amps, the Asgard 3 included. The Sony plays well with a host of devices, even some beefier DAPs, so the Schiit amp - a powerful device in itself - should have nary a problem in this regard. I've tried using the MDR-Z1R with over a dozen units, including DAPs, portable and desktop amplifiers, and DAC + amp combos; all's good on that front.
By the way, did you mention that your Asgard 3 also serves as your DAC? So, you have the AKM / Multibit DAC card installed?
I doubt that you'll run into any issues pairing the MDR-Z1R with a variety of amps, the Asgard 3 included. The Sony plays well with a host of devices, even some beefier DAPs, so the Schiit amp - a powerful device in itself - should have nary a problem in this regard. I've tried using the MDR-Z1R with over a dozen units, including DAPs, portable and desktop amplifiers, and DAC + amp combos; all's good on that front.
By the way, did you mention that your Asgard 3 also serves as your DAC? So, you have the AKM / Multibit DAC card installed?
Has anyone worn out their stock pads yet? It seems that if you were to keep them clean and use some high-quality leather conditioner, they'd probably last at least a couple of years, if not more (with regular use).
Has anyone worn out their stock pads yet? It seems that if you were to keep them clean and use some high-quality leather conditioner, they'd probably last at least a couple of years, if not more (with regular use).
The manual explicitly advises against the use of conditioners etc. Just wiping it down with a moist cloth is sufficient. The pads hold up fine in my experience. Only the undersize of the headband is prone to some light 'cracking' of the leather.
The manual explicitly advises against the use of conditioners etc. Just wiping it down with a moist cloth is sufficient. The pads hold up fine in my experience. Only the undersize of the headband is prone to some light 'cracking' of the leather.
Thankfully, this has yet to appear on my own MDR-Z1R; however, this is a common occurrence on the handful of units that I've seen in the wild. This is also true of its younger sibling, the MDR-Z7M2. The headband (almost always) appears to be the first to go.
Thankfully, this has yet to appear on my own MDR-Z1R; however, this is a common occurrence on the handful of units that I've seen in the wild. This is also true of its younger sibling, the MDR-Z7M2. The headband (almost always) appears to be the first to go.
The underside of the headband in my pair is cracked and peeled, this part is pleather, but a better quality pleather than the Z7's. The inner parts of the pads are pleather too, my Z1R is almost 4 years.
The underside of the headband in my pair is cracked and peeled, this part is pleather, but a better quality pleather than the Z7's. The inner parts of the pads are pleather too, my Z1R is almost 4 years.
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