[buzzlulu]

I am back into this hobby after a 15 year absence - wandering along in two channel land (which I still inhabit).
Back in "my day" the only cans around were the Sennheiser 650's, Grado's and a few outlying stragglers (back in 2003/2004). Coming back here last October definitely showed me that "Dorothy we are not in Kansas any more"

My journey these past few months has had me audition a number of headphones and attend CanJam NY in February. I have now settled in and own pairs of B&O H9 bluetooth ANC for airline travel, B&W P7W for at home bluetooth listening, and finally a pair of Focal Utopia's as my main open back headphone. A pair of Elear's also passed by these shores however they did not stay.

I have had the Sony Z1R's here two times - each for multi week auditions. Each time they went back - HOWEVER - they still have left an indelible impression in my mind - and there is a good chance they will make a return yet again - this time to stay.
I continue to search out a pair of closed back headphones which I can use in the same room when my wife watches television - a pair which does not leak enough to bother her - and which adequately block out sounds from the television. For now the only reason they left my house is that I felt that each time I needed to grab a pair of headphones - it would be the Utopia's. As such it seems like quite a bit of money spent for something which may spend a lot of time on the shelf.

During both of the times I had the Z1R I thoroughly enjoyed their engaging presentation. I did not find the bass to be overwhelming and agree with others who have commented that ultimately there is a significant amount of detail retrieval present - perhaps it does not manifest itself during the initial listens. If you listen though you will see that it is there. What they do have is a somewhat "darker" presentation - I have inquired several times on the previous thread about peoples experiences with different cables. So far many do not seem to have much experience with these however several have mentioned the Wireworld Nano Platinum Eclipse Silver cable. While I preferred, and bought, the Kimber Axios Copper cable for my Utopia rather than the Wireworld which I had on demo - I realize that I cannot pass judgement on the Wireworld/Sony pairing as I have not listened to it.

The build quality, construction and comfort, imho, is off the charts. I found the Z1R's to be more comfortable than my Utopia's.

If there is one negative to them, one which very well may be particular to me and my ears, I would say that it is with the large drivers and the tight seal they make against my head. The 70mm drivers pump out quite a bit of energy - the tight seal means that this energy remains trapped - and it did cause me to notice it and give a bit of pressurized discomfort to my ears. Up until now I have only seen only one other poster mention this.

Thats all for now - coming from someone who actually has heard these wonderful headphones!

If someone can point me in another direction for a pair of TOTL closed back cans which can stand toe to toe with my Utopia's then I am all ears to listen.

 

[nordkapp]

Ok. I'm on scene now. Looking forward to lively and constructive discussion.

 

[greggf]

Geez, buzzlulu, no reason for me to post my impressions, because mine parallel yours. They do pressurize, but only at higher levels of inherently bassy music. Fortunately, they are one of the few headphones that sound good at lower volume levels.

 

[Beagle]

I'm re-posting my original comments (with some additions) from the pair I borrowed last week. I'm getting my own set shortly and will comment further after more extensive listening. I did get about 15-20 hours in on the borrowed pair.

I thought the Z1R sounded great, totally like music. I got the fullness, the richness and lack of grain and grit that one often hears over audio gear (compared to live sounds)....'full-sized' replicas of voices and instruments, not miniatures. I think John Grado referred to this as "warm harmonic color" (color here being a good thing). It did sound rather "big" compared to some other headphones. I put the Z1R aside and spent a few days with the JVC DX1000 and the AKG K612, K240 which, to my ears, sound flat, as in "studio monitor flat", but not a lot of fun or musical enjoyment on offer (the DX1000 does sound pretty good though). The AKG's I had used when recording a friends band years earlier. Then I returned to the Z1R....and heard exactly what Tyll heard. The day after, I went out to the market area and took in some live buskers, as well as a couple of small jazz outdoor performances across the river. That evening, I put on the Z1R and listened to some Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. The Z1R sounded like what I remembered hearing live earlier on...the tone, the timbre..the fullness. I wanted to keep listening to the headphones. Always a good sign that all is well.

 

[buzzlulu]

Geez, buzzlulu, no reason for me to post my impressions, because mine parallel yours. They do pressurize, but only at higher levels of inherently bassy music. Fortunately, they are one of the few headphones that sound good at lower volume levels.

Wow - this actually makes me feel good - knowing it is not my ears. I assume you kept your pair and that it does not bother you that much?

The interesting thing is that I wear glasses. If I listen with my glasses off the seal is completely tight and the pressure is there. With my glasses the seal is broken just enough to equalize inside outside pressure and allow the escape of trapped energy. The sound does change slightly though - but I recall not enough to make a significant change in the general flavor

 

[Imperfectionist]

Reporting in.

The z1r is a pair of bass heavy headphones. It has a slight holographic sound quality which I paired with idsd black label.
Listening to female jazz vocals are seductive and intoxicating.
Quality of build: no problem with leather pads or leather on the headband as I live in the tropics.
Is it worth it's price tag? Subjective to the listener preference.
If the z1r doesn't work for your taste, put it down and move on. It's not the end of the world.

 

[Imperfectionist]

Wow - this actually makes me feel good - knowing it is not my ears. I assume you kept your pair and that it does not bother you that much?

The interesting thing is that I wear glasses. If I listen with my glasses off the seal is completely tight and the pressure is there. With my glasses the seal is broken just enough to equalize inside outside pressure and allow the escape of trapped energy. The sound does change slightly though - but I recall not enough to make a significant change in the general flavor

What music were you listening to that has that type of pressure? I know I do not face a problem with crystallize by Lindsey Stirling, which is violin plus dubstep. If the bass is too much for you, try lowering the bass via eq.

 

[buzzlulu]

I do not think it is a bass issue per say. Instead I attribute it to extremely large 70mm drivers pumping out a lot of "energy" which remains trapped due to the tight seal made by the closed back. I think this creates somewhat of a pressurization effect.

When the Z1R came out many said that it was extremely bass heavy. I did not think that - I instead find it to be a strong tuneful bass which adds much to the musicality of the headphone.

Let. me also add to my initial impressions above, and following up to imperfectionist comments, that it also presents an amazing holographic 3d sound which really allows you to hear the room/venue. Very atmospheric!

 

[Ricky64]

A couple of questions... How do they do with classical? I'm assuming complex passages are not as well defined? Soundstage not as large?
Also, at a much lower price, I hear the Audioquest Nightowl described in similar timber terms. Anyone heard both of these units?
th

 

[Imperfectionist]

A couple of questions... How do they do with classical? I'm assuming complex passages are not as well defined? Soundstage not as large?
Also, at a much lower price, I hear the Audioquest Nightowl described in similar timber terms. Anyone heard both of these units?
th

It does well on mikazuki no Mai (dance of the crescent moon). It has both quiet passages and complex ones.

 

[Imperfectionist]

I do not think it is a bass issue per say. Instead I attribute it to extremely large 70mm drivers pumping out a lot of "energy" which remains trapped due to the tight seal made by the closed back. I think this creates somewhat of a pressurization effect.

I think I understand this effect when I do use se846 iems. The complete seal makes the sound unbearable. I used to mod the silicone tips with another piece of foam to for a complete seal, thinking that is the correct way. But on some songs, it's really unbearable.

 

[nordkapp]

I am back into this hobby after a 15 year absence - wandering along in two channel land (which I still inhabit).
Back in "my day" the only cans around were the Sennheiser 650's, Grado's and a few outlying stragglers (back in 2003/2004). Coming back here last October definitely showed me that "Dorothy we are not in Kansas any more"

My journey these past few months has had me audition a number of headphones and attend CanJam NY in February. I have now settled in and own pairs of B&O H9 bluetooth ANC for airline travel, B&W P7W for at home bluetooth listening, and finally a pair of Focal Utopia's as my main open back headphone. A pair of Elear's also passed by these shores however they did not stay.

I have had the Sony Z1R's here two times - each for multi week auditions. Each time they went back - HOWEVER - they still have left an indelible impression in my mind - and there is a good chance they will make a return yet again - this time to stay.
I continue to search out a pair of closed back headphones which I can use in the same room when my wife watches television - a pair which does not leak enough to bother her - and which adequately block out sounds from the television. For now the only reason they left my house is that I felt that each time I needed to grab a pair of headphones - it would be the Utopia's. As such it seems like quite a bit of money spent for something which may spend a lot of time on the shelf.

During both of the times I had the Z1R I thoroughly enjoyed their engaging presentation. I did not find the bass to be overwhelming and agree with others who have commented that ultimately there is a significant amount of detail retrieval present - perhaps it does not manifest itself during the initial listens. If you listen though you will see that it is there. What they do have is a somewhat "darker" presentation - I have inquired several times on the previous thread about peoples experiences with different cables. So far many do not seem to have much experience with these however several have mentioned the Wireworld Nano Platinum Eclipse Silver cable. While I preferred, and bought, the Kimber Axios Copper cable for my Utopia rather than the Wireworld which I had on demo - I realize that I cannot pass judgement on the Wireworld/Sony pairing as I have not listened to it.

The build quality, construction and comfort, imho, is off the charts. I found the Z1R's to be more comfortable than my Utopia's.

If there is one negative to them, one which very well may be particular to me and my ears, I would say that it is with the large drivers and the tight seal they make against my head. The 70mm drivers pump out quite a bit of energy - the tight seal means that this energy remains trapped - and it did cause me to notice it and give a bit of pressurized discomfort to my ears. Up until now I have only seen only one other poster mention this.

Thats all for now - coming from someone who actually has heard these wonderful headphones!

If someone can point me in another direction for a pair of TOTL closed back cans which can stand toe to toe with my Utopia's then I am all ears to listen.

Great post. I too crossed into HPs from 2 channel stereo- back in 2003. Prior I was strictly a 2 channel guy-now I split my time pretty evenly. My first set of "audiophile" cans were the HD580s, only just recently selling them.
Fast forward to present day. Owning the Elears too, I can say comfort and build wise the Z1R is the clear winner. Yes, there is a bit more spl in the Z1R given the closed design-nothing very minor volume attenuation can't correct. Dynamically speaking, I believe the Sony to be every bit the equal of Elear. I know I am talking open vs. Closed backs here, but these 2 cans are my go to's 90% of the time, hence the comparison. Air, leading and trailing edges, soundstage front/back, side/side and frequency extension probably favor the Elear, by a hair. Tonal accuracy I'd say neither one is spot on but damn close. But.........something about the Z1R leads me to it the majority of the time. 70% of my listening is to electronic/synth based music in some way shape or form. The Z1R is so much more enjoyable with this genre to my ears. In this regard it's an Elear on roids! Clarity, speed, lower end extension.......I could go on and on. I'm not some zombie fanboy here-just my 2 cents. FWIW. As for another closed back-Ether C Flow seems to garner praise from a well known reviewer, although I have never heard them and of course they are planars too.

 

[nordkapp]

Reporting in.

The z1r is a pair of bass heavy headphones. It has a slight holographic sound quality which I paired with idsd black label.
Listening to female jazz vocals are seductive and intoxicating.
Quality of build: no problem with leather pads or leather on the headband as I live in the tropics.
Is it worth it's price tag? Subjective to the listener preference.
If the z1r doesn't work for your taste, put it down and move on. It's not the end of the world.

"Bass heavy". Try the supposedly designed for studio monitoring neutral Beyer DT1770......then you will see bass heavy.

 

[Ricky64]

Great post. I too crossed into HPs from 2 channel stereo- back in 2003. Prior I was strictly a 2 channel guy-now I split my time pretty evenly. My first set of "audiophile" cans were the HD580s, only just recently selling them.
Fast forward to present day. Owning the Elears too, I can say comfort and build wise the Z1R is the clear winner. Yes, there is a bit more spl in the Z1R given the closed design-nothing very minor volume attenuation can't correct. Dynamically speaking, I believe the Sony to be every bit the equal of Elear. I know own I am talking open vs. Closed backs here, but these 2 cans are my go to's 90% of the time, hence the comparison. Air, leading and trailing edges, soundstage front/back, side/side and frequency extension probably favor the Elear, by a hair. Tonal accuracy I'd say neither one is spot on but damn close. But.........something about the Z1R leads me to it the majority of the time. 70% of my listening is to electronic/synth based music in some way shape or form. The Z1R is so much more enjoyable with this genre to my ears. In this regard it's an Elear on roids! Clarity, speed, lower end extension.......I could go on and on. I'm not some zombie fanboy here-just my 2 cents. FWIW. As for another closed back-Ether C Flow seems to garner praise from a well known reviewer, although I have never heard them and of course they are planars too.

Relating to Ether C Flow; I listened to them through the unbalanced output on my WM1Z; these headphones were extremely comfortable, but the upper midrange was quite recessed, uninvolving, and lacked dynamics. A complete opposite of the Audeze LCD-X. This week I might be able to hear the Z1R's via the 4.4 balanced output of the WM1Z. Will report out the results.

 

[Imperfectionist]

"Bass heavy". Try the supposedly designed for studio monitoring neutral Beyer DT1770......then you will see bass heavy.

It's heavier than those users that are used to sterile signatures. It's better to warn them first.
But bass has weight in z1r. Certainly wouldn't described it as neutral or bass anemic.