Anyone got these? I'm tempted to try. The OEM pads smell terrible and are not that comfortable. Not bad but I have seen better leather pads to be honest.
I suppose they’re worth a try if you don’t like the current pads. I don’t notice the smell much but the stock pads definitely make my ears sweat more than any other headphone I’ve tried. I have to wipe them off after each use.
Anyone got these? I'm tempted to try. The OEM pads smell terrible and are not that comfortable. Not bad but I have seen better leather pads to be honest.
My pads don’t have any smell. I just sniffed them.
They don’t make my ears sweat.
They have not degraded.
They keep my ears warm walking in cold weather.
Serial number 18729.
Obviously Z7’s.
Thanks for the link anyhows!
If the z1r makes you feel sweating or squeezed you can also try bend reverse the headband (a lot). You can see the earpads of the Z1R stick together when you place the headphone on the table and this actually indicates it has quite side pressure.
Find a picture of Focal Utopia, see how apart its earpads are, and bend back the Z1R's headband until you've got the same. Then you will find these cans incredibly loose and comfortable
Don't worry since the Z1R uses b-Titanium for its headband frame and its very hard to break; so maybe you cannot do this to the Z7s...
I own both the Z1R and Meze Empyreans. Both are phenomenal headphones. I've made some initial observations after owning the Empyreans for over a week listening with the leather pads and a mixture of music but mostly Metal and Rock. If you own the Z1R I wouldn't say run out and get the Empyreans unless you want something more comfortable that feels like a pillow and the Z1R's would feel like a pressure point after a while in the middle of my head. Did A/B comparisons and it wasn't a blowout by any means for the Empyreans although I found them better for movies and the Z1R's better for music depending on the genre. Empyreans have a wider soundstage and better separation. Z1R's had a tad harder hitting bass and was tighter. Empyreans sounded a bit loose in comparison but better sub bass. Z1R's sounded a bit faster, more forward and crisp with better highs. Empyreans are very warm and have no sibilance whatsoever. The Z1R's would have a treble peak that sounded harsh to my ears when using the Schiit Gumby, but I guess that depends on gear because it went away when I got a Chord dac. Both were very dynamic. Great deal of sound leakage from the Empyreans which is to be expected from open cans. The main thing that felt better about the Z1R's was how crisp they sounded like they had a fast decay or something while the Empyreans sounded slightly slower and a little distant while the Z1R sounded more forward with harder hitting guitar riffs. I would be happy with either headphone.
I rarely check in here anymore, cuz I'm happy. Bought WM1A and Z1R last July, brought to me straight from Tokyo by my wife and daughter who were visiting family. 8 months later, I couldn't be more satisfied with the purchase(s). Was a little iffy about the sound sig from the Walkman at first, which was just a bit veiled to my ears. But updating the WM1A to FW 3.0 (and then 3.1) made a huge difference for the better ... rock, jazz, acoustic all have such a natural, balanced sound. For me even classical is extremely enjoyable so long as it's a solo or chamber performance ... this combo is a bit too "U" shaped I guess for full orchestral recordings, but it's not a deal killer by a long shot. 90%+ of the time I'm on "Direct Source" and it's bliss. The Z1R is phenomenal. Before this headphone, if you asked me what was the most comfortable my answer would have been the MA900, which I still own and love. But curiously, unlike any other headphone I've owned, the Z1R actually gets more comfortable after wearing a while. About 45-1hr in with the Z1R, and I don't feel it on my head anymore, at all. For me at least, the Z1R doesn't get hot, and doesn't clamp. Nothing clanky or cheap, nothing ornamental, and nothing creaky. Praise the Lord, no creaks! And the Z1R also stays comfortable because it manages to deliver detail without pain or shrillness in the treble. I love it.
I was fortunate to pick up the WM1A and Z1R, plus a Benks case, glass screen cover, and Sony remote control, on sale at Bic Camera for about $2300 total. That probably influences my appraisal of this gear, but if they weren't excellent it wouldn't matter that I got a great price. $2300 is still enough money that I expected, and needed, to be wowed. It's 8 months later and I am still wowed every day, so I thought that was worth saying here.
Started off tonight with Nirvana, Bleach. Then Norah Jones, The Fall. Now on Com Truise, In Decay. Haven't adjusted a thing but the volume, all sound fantastic.
using the ta zh1es and the balanced stock cables, well doubles the price of the z1rs, but the details are evident especially when turning down the ta's volume way down.
recently doubling that investment into stax 009s as the z1rs are quite dark. of course closed and open types is not a fair comparison.
I absolutely love my Z1R with most music genres but when it comes to metal... Don't want to be rude but metal and Z1R are not meant for each other. Change my mind.
I absolutely love my Z1R with most music genres but when it comes to metal... Don't want to be rude but metal and Z1R are not meant for each other. Change my mind.
This was the reason why I sold mine. Maybe I should've bought $600+ cables to see if I could get the bass to be less sloppy on fast hitting bass tracks, but I gave up on them as I thought even really expensive cables would have to perform a miracle to fix it to work with metal. Maybe I did give up on them a bit too early as they are good at other genres of music, but I listen to mostly metal so I decided to move on.
I absolutely love my Z1R with most music genres but when it comes to metal... Don't want to be rude but metal and Z1R are not meant for each other. Change my mind.
This was the reason why I sold mine. Maybe I should've bought $600+ cables to see if I could get the bass to be less sloppy on fast hitting bass tracks, but I gave up on them as I thought even really expensive cables would have to perform a miracle to fix it to work with metal. Maybe I did give up on them a bit too early as they are good at other genres of music, but I listen to mostly metal so I decided to move on.
They sound great with Metal to me. What would be an example of a headphone you consider is geared for Metal? I would not describe the Z1R's as having sloppy bass. Quite the opposite.
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