[Redcarmoose]

Debating on the 4.4 or 3.5, pros/cons? Should i get an adapter, does that even exist?

Well that’s a great question.

People are having good luck with the Kimber cables however they fit into the system. I’m not a total expert on matching adapters with cables? There is basically 1/4 inch single ended and 4.4mm Pentaconn balanced cables supplied with the Z1R.

I suggested to/phronesis a 4.4mm balanced as he does not show any support equipment in his profile. It would be best to get the cable which goes with your equipment and stay away from adapters when possible.

The Sony ecosystem relates with 4.4mm fitting everything plus it’s balanced. So if you have a 4.4mm plug as an output it is the way to go. Then your also able to use the plug on home amps and with the Walkmans which support 4.4mm. Though there is nothing wrong if someone is using a 4 pin balanced and get the Kimber for the Z1R that works.

Also amazingly any other Sony headphones like the Z7 or Z7MK2 use the same cable as the Z1R as headphone inputs; so it’s a system.

If you have multiple headphones and multiple sources it saves you $.

There is 3.5mm balanced but you rarely see it used as well as the 2X 3.5mm balanced that came with the Sony Z7; which again is not used much.

The adapters which work easy are 2.5mm balanced to 3.5mm balanced and 2.5mm balanced to 4.4mm balanced. The issue is I don’t think there is any correct way to go balanced to single ended or single ended to balanced. And of course there are plenty of single ended 3.5mm to 1/4” around. But typically adapters are known to add a slight change in sound which you want to avoid.

Though you also want to think ahead, so if an adapter would work until you get more equipment in rare situations it could be the way to go; as it’s temporary.

Cheers!

 

[21qz]

Well that’s a great question.

People are having good luck with the Kimber cables however they fit into the system. I’m not a total expert on matching adapters with cables? There is basically 1/4 inch single ended and 4.4mm Pentaconn balanced cables supplied with the Z1R.

I suggested to/phronesis a 4.4mm balanced as he does not show any support equipment in his profile. It would be best to get the cable which goes with your equipment and stay away from adapters when possible.

The Sony ecosystem relates with 4.4mm fitting everything plus it’s balanced. So if you have a 4.4mm plug as an output it is the way to go. Then your also able to use the plug on home amps and with the Walkmans which support 4.4mm. Though there is nothing wrong if someone is using a 4 pin balanced and get the Kimber for the Z1R that works.

Also amazingly any other Sony headphones like the Z7 or Z7MK2 use the same cable as the Z1R as headphone inputs; so it’s a system.

If you have multiple headphones and multiple sources it saves you $.

There is 3.5mm balanced but you rarely see it used as well as the 2X 3.5mm balanced that came with the Sony Z7; which again is not used much.

The adapters which work easy are 2.5mm balanced to 3.5mm balanced and 2.5mm balanced to 4.4mm balanced. The issue is I don’t think there is any correct way to go balanced to single ended or single ended to balanced. And of course there are plenty of single ended 3.5mm to 1/4” around. But typically adapters are known to add a slight change in sound which you want to avoid.

Though you also want to think ahead, so if an adapter would work until you get more equipment in rare situations it could be the way to go; as it’s temporary.

Cheers!

Thank you, very informative. Is there a difference between 2.5 and 4.4 balanced?
I want the 3.5 balanced preferably because my Cayin N8 has the tube in 3.5 only.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Thank you, very informative. Is there a difference between 2.5 and 4.4 balanced?
I want the 3.5 balanced preferably because my Cayin N8 has the tube in 3.5 only.

Yes, you should get what you like the sound of, that’s always first priority around here. The only thing to think about is after you get a 3.5mm balanced cable you don’t have many choices in using it with anything else.

Though I have a Mee Adapter set, it’s for IEMs being MMCX but it’s a system that lets you use 2.5mm with 3.5mm and 4.4mm. So there is always a chance of finding adapters.

You always see adapters for sale but the confusing thing is that they sell misnamed adapters which are either misnamed or dangerous.

One advantage 4.4mm gives is there is way more contact area. So folks indulge that it’s easer to make contact. The 4.4mm is also 5 pole, but only 4 poles are used. Also 4.4mm is a nice size for both home and on the go.

The other main thing is that 4.4mm is more robust, hence maybe less prone to bending. But there are many choices, not sure what combinations the Kimber comes with, though there are always custom cable makers which will use Kimber wire and get the plugs you need.

 

[cho8]

Kimber can put on whichever connectors you need but are slightly over double the price of the Sony version

 

[claud W]

Do the Z1Rs scale up with better amplification? Anyone here using them with good tube amp?

 

[Phronesis]

Hopefully, we can be honest in this thread about our impressions of the Z1R?

Day 2 of auditioning them isn't going well at all, and the problems evident from the first hours of listening to them are even more evident now. FR and other measurements suggest that they're poorly designed, and listening confirms it. The bass is bloated and boomy and intrudes into the mids. The highs are a mess, with a lack of energy and realism for cymbals, horns, and some vocals, combined with an unwelcome treble peak around 10 kHz. The dip in the lower highs makes some things sound more distant, which is probably why the Z1R seems to have a decent image size. The overall effect is an incoherent tonal balance which substantially impacts enjoyment of the music.

Across the vast majority of tracks I've tried, the Meze 99 Classics are far superior at $300, and even the M40X at $100 is usually significantly better. It's a rare track where the Z1R beats those two - typically a flawed recording where the flaws in the Z1R tend to conterbalance the flaws in the recording. And comparing with the HD800S? Fuggedaboutit, the HD800S is light years beyond the Z1R.

Right now, I wouldn't be interested in the Z1R at even $250, because it's a relatively rare track that doesn't reveal its flaws. I'll give it a few more days, but I'll very surprised if I do an about face and wind up liking them with more listening. I can't see how cables can fix these flaws, and I don't think it's reasonable to ask my ears/brain to adapt to such a deficient tonal balance.

 

[nc8000]

Hopefully, we can be honest in this thread about our impressions of the Z1R?

Day 2 of auditioning them isn't going well at all, and the problems evident from the first hours of listening to them are even more evident now. FR and other measurements suggest that they're poorly designed, and listening confirms it. The bass is bloated and boomy and intrudes into the mids. The highs are a mess, with a lack of energy and realism for cymbals, horns, and some vocals, combined with an unwelcome treble peak around 10 kHz. The dip in the lower highs makes some things sound more distant, which is probably why the Z1R seems to have a decent image size. The overall effect is an incoherent tonal balance which substantially impacts enjoyment of the music.

Across the vast majority of tracks I've tried, the Meze 99 Classics are far superior at $300, and even the M40X at $100 is usually significantly better. It's a rare track where the Z1R beats those two - typically a flawed recording where the flawed in the Z1R tend to conterbalance the flaws in the recording. And comparing with the HD800S? Fuggedaboutit, the HD800S is light years beyond the Z1R.

Right now, I wouldn't be interested in the Z1R at even $250, because it's a relatively rare track that doesn't reveal its flaws. I'll give it a few more days, but I'll very surprised if I do an about face and wind up liking them with more listening. I can't see how cables can fix these flaws, and I don't think it's reasonable to ask my ears to adapt to such a deficient tonal balance.

Naturally you can be honest as this is what you hear but I totally disagree with your findings. What amp are you driving them with ?

 

[Phronesis]

Naturally you can be honest as this is what you hear but I totally disagree with your findings. What amp are you driving them with ?

Hugo 2

 

[nc8000]

Hugo 2

Never tried that. Am using them with the Sony TA amp and sometimes with the Sony 1Z dap. While I totally agree that the Z1R does not follow todays “norm” for a neutral or reference phone they are to me the most musical phone I’ve ever heard or owned. They have more bass than I previously thought I would like but I love it and don’t at all find that it bleeds into the midrange. They have a great soundstage and nice detailed treble. I use them with the Axios pure copper cable. I have had this combo for about 1 1/2 year and believe that they will stay my main phone for many years to come

 

[Phronesis]

Never tried that. Am using them with the Sony TA amp and sometimes with the Sony 1Z dap. While I totally agree that the Z1R does not follow todays “norm” for a neutral or reference phone they are to me the most musical phone I’ve ever heard or owned. They have more bass than I previously thought I would like but I love it and don’t at all find that it bleeds into the midrange. They have a great soundstage and nice detailed treble. I use them with the Axios pure copper cable. I have had this combo for about 1 1/2 year and believe that they will stay my main phone for many years to come

Have you tried the Meze 99 Classics? They're not shy on bass, yet to my ears much better overall than the Z1R.

 

[nc8000]

Have you tried the Meze 99 Classics? They're not shy on bass, yet to my ears much better overall than the Z1R.

Yes I tried them at canjam in London a few years ago and didn’t find them anything special, not in any way bad but also they in no way exited me or made me want them.

 

[kman1211]

Hopefully, we can be honest in this thread about our impressions of the Z1R?

Day 2 of auditioning them isn't going well at all, and the problems evident from the first hours of listening to them are even more evident now. FR and other measurements suggest that they're poorly designed, and listening confirms it. The bass is bloated and boomy and intrudes into the mids. The highs are a mess, with a lack of energy and realism for cymbals, horns, and some vocals, combined with an unwelcome treble peak around 10 kHz. The dip in the lower highs makes some things sound more distant, which is probably why the Z1R seems to have a decent image size. The overall effect is an incoherent tonal balance which substantially impacts enjoyment of the music.

Across the vast majority of tracks I've tried, the Meze 99 Classics are far superior at $300, and even the M40X at $100 is usually significantly better. It's a rare track where the Z1R beats those two - typically a flawed recording where the flaws in the Z1R tend to conterbalance the flaws in the recording. And comparing with the HD800S? Fuggedaboutit, the HD800S is light years beyond the Z1R.

Right now, I wouldn't be interested in the Z1R at even $250, because it's a relatively rare track that doesn't reveal its flaws. I'll give it a few more days, but I'll very surprised if I do an about face and wind up liking them with more listening. I can't see how cables can fix these flaws, and I don't think it's reasonable to ask my ears/brain to adapt to such a deficient tonal balance.

Of course you can be honest about your impressions, not everyone likes them and opinions and impressions are strongly divided on them. This hobby has a lot of variation and honestly I don't think people hear the same considering how strongly divided impressions on headphones can be. Their FR response does seem to be controversial, but FR is not what I personally look for at first, it's rather driver and fidelity potential and honestly in that regard I found the Z1R fantastic. The Meze is okay, never fell in love with them, stupid easy to drive and always reminded me a bit of the HD 6xx family at least with the old pads. The M40X is low-fi and honestly unnatural sounding, don't even understand it's praise,, still have it, but never listen to it as it doesn't satisfy my standards. I do also have a MDR-1A which I find to be an unnatural sounding piece of junk, the Z7 is okay. The Z1R is the first thing good I've heard from Sony in a while imho.

 

[Slim1970]

Hopefully, we can be honest in this thread about our impressions of the Z1R?

Day 2 of auditioning them isn't going well at all, and the problems evident from the first hours of listening to them are even more evident now. FR and other measurements suggest that they're poorly designed, and listening confirms it. The bass is bloated and boomy and intrudes into the mids. The highs are a mess, with a lack of energy and realism for cymbals, horns, and some vocals, combined with an unwelcome treble peak around 10 kHz. The dip in the lower highs makes some things sound more distant, which is probably why the Z1R seems to have a decent image size. The overall effect is an incoherent tonal balance which substantially impacts enjoyment of the music.

Across the vast majority of tracks I've tried, the Meze 99 Classics are far superior at $300, and even the M40X at $100 is usually significantly better. It's a rare track where the Z1R beats those two - typically a flawed recording where the flaws in the Z1R tend to conterbalance the flaws in the recording. And comparing with the HD800S? Fuggedaboutit, the HD800S is light years beyond the Z1R.

Right now, I wouldn't be interested in the Z1R at even $250, because it's a relatively rare track that doesn't reveal its flaws. I'll give it a few more days, but I'll very surprised if I do an about face and wind up liking them with more listening. I can't see how cables can fix these flaws, and I don't think it's reasonable to ask my ears/brain to adapt to such a deficient tonal balance.

It's good to be honest about what you're hearing. The Z1R's seem to be hit or miss with a lot people. I love mine as I find them extremely musical headphones. I guess they are not the sound signature you're looking for.

 

[21qz]

Simple as that!
Based on how your feedback i would recommend the HD820's or Focal Utopias!

 

[Phronesis]

Of course you can be honest about your impressions, not everyone likes them and opinions and impressions are strongly divided on them. This hobby has a lot of variation and honestly I don't think people hear the same considering how strongly divided impressions on headphones can be. Their FR response does seem to be controversial, but FR is not what I personally look for at first, it's rather driver and fidelity potential and honestly in that regard I found the Z1R fantastic. The Meze is okay, never fell in love with them, stupid easy to drive and always reminded me a bit of the HD 6xx family at least with the old pads. The M40X is low-fi and honestly unnatural sounding, don't even understand it's praise,, still have it, but never listen to it as it doesn't satisfy my standards. I do also have a MDR-1A which I find to be an unnatural sounding piece of junk, the Z7 is okay. The Z1R is the first thing good I've heard from Sony in a while imho.

I don't usually pay much attention to measured FR either, but looked at it for the Z1R to try to understand why I'm hearing them the way I do. I don't put the M40X in the category of serious headphone hi-fi, but I find it to be pretty good sounding for the price, and generally better than the Z1R.

It's good to be honest about what you're hearing. The Z1R's seem to be hit or miss with a lot people. I love mine as I find them extremely musical headphones. I guess they are not the sound signature you're looking for.

I wasn't actually looking for a particular signature, just a really good closed-back. My LCD-3, Clear, HD800S, 99 Classics, and LCD-i4 all have somewhat different signatures, but I like them all.