[pietcux]

Hi everyone,
Just found this thread after posting in a new one so will close the other to post the same here.

I'm having the Z1R just after owning Denon D7200 and they are totally different. First i was sure the Z1R are actually broken because of many sound inaccuracies. Now i understand (after reading around) that with a good cable (not stock one) and a matched AMP they get to be amazing.

Usually they are connected to a laptop with Tellurium Q Black II cable (amazing one) and playing trough Musical Fidelity M1 HPAp Headphones DAC/AMP. I can get the Hugo 2 for a good price here but i see here that it is not so recommended for these headphones, especially if i play mostly electronic & rock music.

Any tip on the needed setup to get Z1R full potential (or almost full) is welcome !

Sorry for you, but if you don't like the intended sound of this headphone it is much better for your wallet and soul, just to grab a different headphone.

 

[raybies]

I'm having the Z1R just after owning Denon D7200 and they are totally different.

I'm not sure what the D7200 sound like, but I came from the D5000, and I find the Z1R very similar with better extension on both ends, enhanced clarity and a spacier sound stage.
I use them with a ZX300 balanced.
What's your issue with them?
Accuracy is way over rated (and without measuring equip. also subjective)... like a totally natural woman, faint moustache, hairy legs and all

 

[up late]

Hi everyone,
Just found this thread after posting in a new one so will close the other to post the same here.

I'm having the Z1R just after owning Denon D7200 and they are totally different. First i was sure the Z1R are actually broken because of many sound inaccuracies. Now i understand (after reading around) that with a good cable (not stock one) and a matched AMP they get to be amazing.

Usually they are connected to a laptop with Tellurium Q Black II cable (amazing one) and playing trough Musical Fidelity M1 HPAp Headphones DAC/AMP. I can get the Hugo 2 for a good price here but i see here that it is not so recommended for these headphones, especially if i play mostly electronic & rock music.

Any tip on the needed setup to get Z1R full potential (or almost full) is welcome !

you "found this thread" after i posted the link to it in the one you started. try using the search function in future.

 

[vourt]

you "found this thread" after i posted the link to it in the one you started. try using the search function in future.

Yes, thank you for that. I actually searched and got to another Z1R thread that was closed, so this one is great.

 

[Hanafuda]

I'm having the Z1R just after owning Denon D7200 and they are totally different. First i was sure the Z1R are actually broken because of many sound inaccuracies. Now i understand (after reading around) that with a good cable (not stock one) and a matched AMP they get to be amazing.

I saw your other post too. I think people here are going to want more explanation of what you mean by 'sound inaccuracies.' What does this mean? Compared to what? You said you thought they were broken. Are you saying you think your Z1R is defective? Whatever problem you're having, I'm no expert and I don't own the Z1R yet (I'm shopping), but I don't think a cable or an amp is going to solve whatever issue you have.

 

[nc8000]

Hi everyone,
Just found this thread after posting in a new one so will close the other to post the same here.

I'm having the Z1R just after owning Denon D7200 and they are totally different. First i was sure the Z1R are actually broken because of many sound inaccuracies. Now i understand (after reading around) that with a good cable (not stock one) and a matched AMP they get to be amazing.

Usually they are connected to a laptop with Tellurium Q Black II cable (amazing one) and playing trough Musical Fidelity M1 HPAp Headphones DAC/AMP. I can get the Hugo 2 for a good price here but i see here that it is not so recommended for these headphones, especially if i play mostly electronic & rock music.

Any tip on the needed setup to get Z1R full potential (or almost full) is welcome !

What do you find is wrong ?

It is important to remember that Sony did not tune this headphone to be a neutral reference phone like what most high end phones these days serm to aim for. The Z1R is totally it’s own with a very different tunig that to me is aiming for listening to and enjoying the music rather than analyzing the music and the up stream gear.

This approach is not for everybody and there are a sizeable number of people who really don’t like this phone (stretching to almost hatred and violence against those who like it.

If the basic sound sig is not to your liking I doubt any cable or up stream gear is going to significantly change that.

 

[vourt]

What do you find is wrong ?

Well.. Its hard to explain, i felt that some of the higher frequencies are missing in one ear, but when i changed the cable sides i found it to be non phones issue (still not sure and will test more soon), also their lows are way taking over all other frequencies - that's i could fix a little bit with Equalizer. Since i already own them and selling will get me to lose lots of cash, i thought of trying other equipment to match them into.

 

[pietcux]

Well.. Its hard to explain, i felt that some of the higher frequencies are missing in one ear, but when i changed the cable sides i found it to be non phones issue (still not sure and will test more soon), also their lows are way taking over all other frequencies - that's i could fix a little bit with Equalizer. Since i already own them and selling will get me to lose lots of cash, i thought of trying other equipment to match them into.

Sounds really as if you don't like them at all.

 

[bytor33]

I can get the Hugo 2 for a good price here but i see here that it is not so recommended for these headphones, especially if i play mostly electronic & rock music.

Not sure where you heard that, most here find the Hugo 2 to be a great match for the Z1R’s. I mainly listen to rock and electronic as well and love the combo. The Hugo 2 will help tame the lows a bit as it’s a very neutral DAC with low output impedance.

 

[Hanafuda]

In terms of sound - and I have to admit that's what matters in this hobby - it's highly subjective. Some people love the Z1R, some hate it (even more in other forums, ahem).

I was away from this particular thread for a while, and in catching up and reading your full post above plus the one before it (both on pg. 95) just wanted to say I really appreciate your assessment. I've been over there to that other forum and read their Z1R thread, and it's really amazing to see how they only seem to have the one measuring stick for whether a headphone is 'good' or not. I've purchased headphones and iem's in the past based on 'audiophile' approval and was underwhelmed by the sterility and lack of liveliness in the sound. They weren't high-dollar items (ATH-AD700, ATH-IM02), but were supposed to be great for the money. They were alleged to have that desirable 'neutrality' - sounded like a cake with the icing scraped off to me. Other products I've owned (ATH-ES7, Super.fi 5 Pro, MDR-MA900) have been much more satisfactory to my ears, though they all got the same kind of mix of vitriol and praise I'm now seeing with the Z1R, because they weren't "neutral" enough. I guess I'm not cut out to be in the audiophile club. So be it.

I'm spending the money because I enjoy music. I don't want to analyze music, I want to enjoy it. I backed off the Z1R recently because I made a couple other purchases that burst my budget, and we have a big $$ trip to Japan happening in a couple months. But my wife talked me back into it. Good wife. So I'm back on board. When I read your first post back on pg. 95, I was very impressed with your remarks about the Z1R's build and design. Then I saw this in your "pros":

3. Fun. Very fun.

Ok then, sold. Other than feeling that I got my money's worth in the physical build & design itself, fun is the only reason I buy this junk.

(I was also very influenced by the Z review video where he observes that everyone else's TOTL is in a race and Sony's showing up in an ice cream truck, handing out ice cream.)

 

[raybies]

Well.. Its hard to explain.

Sony high end products have among the best quality control known... and a lot of us have seen videos of them assembling the Z1R, so your chances of getting a new defective pair is almost nil.
What's your serial #, mine is low 53xx which were supposedly assembled in January and shipped directly to Sony Aus then me (I called Sony frequently after placing my order in December).

Are you sure you're not letting your psychoacoustics be influenced by that reviewer who caused a storm... the very same person who had my D5000 on the wall of fame for sooooo many years and which are clearly inferior in every conceivable way to the Z1R's, and also the ones people claim Denon have rebirthed in the D7200?

It could also be that you're not used to having a HP which can render <10Hz and >20kHz, and now you find yourself with the new experience of having an Odaiko inside your head which is making you question their accuracy... but I also have this unsubstantiated feeling you could be trolling.

 

[up late]

Well.. Its hard to explain, i felt that some of the higher frequencies are missing in one ear, but when i changed the cable sides i found it to be non phones issue (still not sure and will test more soon), also their lows are way taking over all other frequencies - that's i could fix a little bit with Equalizer. Since i already own them and selling will get me to lose lots of cash, i thought of trying other equipment to match them into.

changing cables isn't going to fundamentally change a headphone's sound signature. there's nothing wrong with applying some eq but again, using it to try and drastically alter the headphone's sound signature might create more problems than it solves.

while I can understand your reluctance to sell the headphone at a loss, it doesn't make much financial sense to be spending money on ancillary gear in the hope of fixing the problem that you are hearing either. sometimes the best course of action is to cut your losses, sell the headphone and find another that is more to your liking.

 

[Hanafuda]

My only balanced out is a ZX300 walkman;
I rate my enjoyment of the ZX Balanced + Z1R @ 86% (Vol 95, DSD 105)
I also have a SE 300B tube amp (source: WXC50) and I rate the Tubes + Z1R @ 97%

So SE has the nicest sound thus far, but maybe if I had a better balanced source that could change.

Last night I was A<>B Gustav Holst The Planets in DSD(ZX) and 24/192 FLAC(ZX/300B), and I much preferred the 300B tube amp.

That volume's pretty high. Is that what it takes on the zx300 on high gain to get acceptable volume out of the Z1R? I have been reading that the Z1R actually isn't that hard to drive, and I think you told me once before that the zx300 actually has more output power on hg balanced than your 300B tube amp>? I am hoping to get by on the zx300 for a while until I scratch up enough for a nice DAC/AMP combo for stationary listening, since I just confirmed over in the zx300 thread that it can do digital line-out with the right cable. (not intendng to use the Z1R as a 'portable', just being able to move about the house, different rooms)

 

[PCheung]

If you think your Z1R is defective, you better send it back to Sony for checking and ask for a replacement before switching cable or amp.

 

[musicmaker]

+1 get it checked.

I'm listening to the Z1R now - a DSD256 Laura Polence with the L3 Holo and GS-X mk2 and it sounds fantastic. Pair these with the right setup and they sound amazing. I'm yet to own another headphone as comfortable as these.

BTW, I did own the Hugo a few weeks ago and wasn't blown away by the H2/Z1R combination. Didn't sound bad but I felt the headphones didn't sound their full potential.

I now have the RME ADI-2 Pro and with a bit of eq, the Z1Rs come to life. Thoroughly enjoying the combo.