[Gibson59]

In case it's helpful to anyone with my taste in sound, I want to share that after returning my Z1R I have found my ideal closed back headphone in the Mr Speakers Aeon. While I truly appreciated the Z1R for is sound stage, resolution and comfort amongst other things, the bass was just a bit too much for me, the sound a touch warm and the vocals a bit recessed. All of these have been addressed with the Aeon and I'm happy to say they really do contend the Z1R in comfort, detail and soundstage (soundstage a touch smaller/more intimate) as well. It's incredible that these two closed backs sound as open as they do. One final element that was very important to me was sound league... I'm sure I'll take flack for this, but the Z1R just didn't isolate as well as I needed, whereas the isolation on the Aeon is amazing... there is no contest here IMO if that's important to you. No doubt the Z1R is a strong, high quality and rather unique offering from Sony, but for me the Aeon coming in at roughly 1/3 of the retail price of the Sony is an unbeatable value and IMHO a no brainer unless someone is after the deep bass of the Z1R. The Aeon comes so close in most respects to the Sony I just couldn't justify the price unless I needed that bass. The bass on the Aeon is not lacking, but comes nowhere near as deep as the Z1R. I'll also add that while the Aeon is a lot closer to neutral, it is still a "fun" sounding can, which is something I was worried I'd miss when I returned the Z1R. I think the bass which made the Z1R fun has been replaced by the great mids on the Aeon.

Just food for thought here, not trying to put the Z1R down AT ALL (I almost kept mine), I can see why it has many proud and satisfied owners. Just happy to finally have found my closed back can with the Aeon.

 

[wirefriend]

What source did you use with Z1R and is it the same as with Aeon?

 

[Gibson59]

What source did you use with Z1R and is it the same as with Aeon?

Yep, same exact chain... Roon (Mac Mini)->Schiit Bitfrost Multibit->Wells Audio Milo->Aeon (and Z1R before I returned it)

Stock headphone cables with both the Z1R and Aeon.

 

[wirefriend]

Yep, same exact chain... Roon (Mac Mini)->Schiit Bitfrost Multibit->Wells Audio Milo->Aeon (and Z1R before I returned it)

Stock headphone cables with both the Z1R and Aeon.

Have you tried Ether C Flows? Those are often told to be Z1R's competition with more neutral sound.

 

[rgs9200m]

Also try the ZMF Eikon. I'm a big fan of the Sony Z1R with a bright-leaning but super-resolving EMM DAC, and the Eikon is spectacular with a neutral and friendly-sounding Chord Hugo TT.
The Sony and the ZMF are both great in my book. The Sony is more unique, and the ZMF more conventional, but both have great fleshed out natural textures and sound liquid and organic.

Both of these I feel are very non-mechanical humanistic sounding headphones. The Z1R to me pairs well with a DAC and AMP that leans to the detailed/analytical side of the spectrum, which firms up the bass and produces great imaging. The Eikon actually works with a more liquid-sounding DAC and amp with not much harshness.

The Z1R and Eikon are both favorites of mine. (And the Eikon especially is a terrific bargain IMHO.)

Synergy is a big part of how a headphone sounds.

 

[TSAVJason]

Hello Sony Z1R owners! Let's have a chat about these Sony Signature Series Headphones.

A couple guidelines please!

1) only owners, sponsors that are currently Sony Signature Series authorized dealers or proven past owners should provide impressions on the Z1R
2) perspective owners should feel free to ask questions about the Z1R and/or its compatibility with other products.
3) please keep your product comparisons to a relative price point. Our suggestion is if there is more than a 25% difference in the manufacturers suggested retail price let's just call it an unequal comparison .....fair?

 

[paulchiu]

..not sure why the most active Z1R thread is closed.

Just read the Stereophile review on new ABYSS Phi headphone and the SONY Z1R was mentioned. Considering that the price of the Z1R is less than half of the ABYSS Phi, this comment by Stereophile's headphone enthusiast Herb Reichert is eye-opening.

 

[Lucky87]

Hey guys first post with the Z1R and coming from Z7 from Sony I was expecting a bigger wider sound stage. It felt maybe 10% bigger but everything was so balanced and tuned. Listening to all different types of music I am amazed with the Z1R's ability to bring music come to life in a three dimensional presentation, with layers of layers of instruments. I have been waiting a long time for these Z7 and Z1R headphones. I might as we'll give Sony my paycheck because I have bought so so much stuff in the last 2 years.

 

[paulchiu]

Adding 100% silver cables to the SONY MDR-Z1R opens up the soundstage even more. Complex musical passages are now clearer with even less fatiguing than versus the SONY stock or SONY Kimber offerings.
Of course, adding the same 100% silver cabling to the ABYSS yields similar benefits but it is far more comfortable enjoying music with the SONY MDR-Z!R for hours over the reference grade ABYSS.

 

[nc8000]

Indeed. I have bought the full Signature series (dap, amp and headphone) plus the dap dock abd the usb recording record player the last 4 months and sold most of my other stuff except JH13 ciem and qJays V2 that I use as headset with my iPhone. The Sony sound philosophi of immersing in the music and listening to the music rather than the gear has really hit home with me so I'm now set for many years to come

 

[Whitigir]

Indeed. I have bought the full Signature series (dap, amp and headphone) plus the dap dock abd the usb recording record player the last 4 months and sold most of my other stuff except JH13 ciem and qJays V2 that I use as headset with my iPhone. The Sony sound philosophi of immersing in the music and listening to the music rather than the gear has really hit home with me so I'm now set for many years to come

Yes, very immersive, and while Sony is at that, they make sure to try and have the fluidity of Tubelike sounds as much as possible, and it carries through all signature pieces

 

[madmax7]

Nice setup!

 

[banco-sg]

i need to sell my kidney first to get my hands on DAVE...

 

[pietcux]

Yes, very immersive, and while Sony is at that, they make sure to try and have the fluidity of Tubelike sounds as much as possible, and it carries through all signature pieces

I have my Z1r and WM1A with me at work everyday. I can only listen one or two tracks in a row, but the instant immersion of this system always makes me smile. Best investment ever done in regards of audio imho.

 

[nc8000]

Just been listening to a binaural recording of Saint-Saens Organ Symphony. I've never heard the organ rendered so powerfull and lifelike on any headphone rig before