[silverfishla]

Went to RMAF yesterday, mostly to listen to Z1R. Wasnt impressed. I think the Z5 is nearly as good, if not just equal. The Dekoni Blue (modded t50rp) are dope though. Never ownes an ivet ear planar. Its impressive, especially for the price.

That’s funny, I went to Canjam last year and came out impressed by the Dekoni Blues too. Got a pair, they are great and come with two different Dekoni ear pads. An easy transition back and forth from my Z5.

 

[JoshG1217]

Moondrop wasnt there. Pretty empty actually. I was disappointed. I guess can jam pulled out of RMAF.

 

[snapandslide]

Hi everyone - so I've owned this for quite a number of years having bought them in Japan 4 odd years ago on a bit of a whim. Best whim ever and never felt need to upgrade. I'm contemplating upgrading my source however and so it's an opportunity to try balanced.

What has worked well for folk here with the Z5s? I know cables can be murky so avoiding cable threads!

Thanks for the help!

 

[JoshG1217]

I LOOOOVE the M11. Highly recommended. Way ahead of my G8 and actually faster somehow too. I even bought a $35 4.4 black cable that sounds rad with it and is well made. MMCX 4.4mm Headphone Upgrade Cable Plated Silver 8 Wire 152 Core Ear-Hook Cable for SHURE 846 535 215 315 425 NW-WM1Z NW-WM1A ZX300 UE900 W10 W20 W30 W40 W50 W60 HA-FX850 HA-FX1100 XBA HQ5 HQ6 DQSM D2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S9F4S66/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IYxEDbDANKJZ6

 

[snapandslide]

I LOOOOVE the M11. Highly recommended. Way ahead of my G8 and actually faster somehow too. I even bought a $35 4.4 black cable that sounds rad with it and is well made. MMCX 4.4mm Headphone Upgrade Cable Plated Silver 8 Wire 152 Core Ear-Hook Cable for SHURE 846 535 215 315 425 NW-WM1Z NW-WM1A ZX300 UE900 W10 W20 W30 W40 W50 W60 HA-FX850 HA-FX1100 XBA HQ5 HQ6 DQSM D2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S9F4S66/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IYxEDbDANKJZ6

Appreciate the speedy reply Josh! Thanks for the cable recommendation - if I read it correctly it seems to be good over the ears as well (I can't see the Z5s working that well straight for some reason)?

I'm currently using the NWZ-ZX1 (also bought at same time as the headphones...) and i just need a change. I may consider the ZX300 if I can find it cheap, but my narrowed down options are the M11 and the Hiby R5.

 

[JoshG1217]

Son I had the r6 and sold it after getting m11. M11 is much better

 

[JoshG1217]

Cable ia meant for overear use. There is a nice check cable on AliExpress for 65 bucks that I think has better conductivity but for the price this is an excellent cable

 

[snapandslide]

Son I had the r6 and sold it after getting m11. M11 is much better

Noted! And as you've been using it with the Z5 it could be the one!

 

[JoshG1217]

I have been. It has a bigger screen, better battery, is faster, and slightly better sound. It is slightly leaner than R6 in A/B, but I adjust that in EQ anyway. Using Hiby Music App, the thing is just a dream. I have the black leather case that I'll sell you cheap if you want it. I also really like the volume click wheel. I'll post a pic of the combo.

 

[redrol]

I finally plugged balanced cables into my Z5 and DAMN. Nice improvement.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Went to RMAF yesterday, mostly to listen to Z1R. Wasnt impressed. I think the Z5 is nearly as good, if not just equal. The Dekoni Blue (modded t50rp) are dope though. Never owned an over ear planar. Its impressive, especially for the price.

Which Z1R? MDR-Z1R or IER-Z1R? Both sound better than xba-z5 to me

 

[JoshG1217]

Ier z1r. It sounded pretty similar to me. If it was better, it was only slightly better

 

[gerelmx1986]

Ier z1r. It sounded pretty similar to me. If it was better, it was only slightly better

to me the xba-z5 struggle with hi-res audio files on the high frequencies. The IER-Z1R handles the with ease mo clipping or.metallic clicking artifacts like the xba-z5, highs on the IER-Z1R and extended way way up smooth with no brick wall horizon set (even the IER-M7 is more capable than the xba-z5)

 

[JoshG1217]

I've never had that on my set. I use an M11 with Flac files and not have any artifacting at all. There are bits of minor Distortion here and there but I think that often relates to apps and source more than the Z5 it's self. I did not spend an extensive amount of time between the two. I just did a few A&B sets with my M11 and found then to be fairly similar with the Z5 perhaps even being slightly more Musical

 

[gerelmx1986]

I've never had that on my set. I use an M11 with Flac files and not have any artifacting at all. There are bits of minor Distortion here and there but I think that often relates to apps and source more than the Z5 it's self. I did not spend an extensive amount of time between the two. I just did a few A&B sets with my M11 and found then to be fairly similar with the Z5 perhaps even being slightly more Musical

What I refer to as metallic clicking, it's only on higher frequencies , as seem the xba are hard-brickwalled some point before the so-called 40KHz limit they're supposed to handle. Happens.more.ofywn with complex orchesttal/choral works as well full grand.mixture of organ and with the complete set of strings in a Harpsichord