With all due respects, There is nothing wrong with trying to gain more business for your business. About pricing control, the customers have to blame the manufacturers and not the business owner.
Back onto the Z1R, I have to say that regarding the bass. The bass only get slow, and soft on the places that it was needed, and called out for. Many people talking in general that the bass is slow, and soft....this is not the case. I am sorry, but I disagree with this. This is the case to me where the bass is being so controlled, not overly sped up or restrained back where it couldn't even do anything and distort.
Regarding the ringing in the mid, I do not hear it. I have no ability to hear it, and while I have no problem distinct the differences between cables, equipments and even digital cables and plugs....for the life of me, I can not tell if there is any ringing in this headphones. Believe me, I tried so hard to tell and I looked everywhere for it, because I do not support the idea of having Magnesium dome in the headphones. I rather have Nano-composite dome.
Really, I can not hear this ringing. However, I can tell you that in the lower trebles regions and specifically in some track, the trebles has more metallic tonal body, and speedy with great resolution. I do love the Z1R magical mid spectrum from Lower mid and to upper mid transcended into lower trebles. It is so dang good.
The lower trebles is so good that from th900 and my modified balanced SA5000 do not carry this tonal body in the trebles as the Z1R. It played out, with it own resolution, but it lacks the metallic and thick tonal body like in Z1R.
I admit that this is the first pair of headphones I ever owned to be in this piece region. However, I had been loving music and live concert my entire life, and I had attended many and many of them, from raw live performances to large scale stadium like concert. There is a place in me where I could tell the real quality from bad quality.
If I can sum up the Z1R: authenticity on bass, sub bass, decay, speed, timbres....it carries emotions. The same thing for trebles, and then that oh so smooth, lush, and magical mid range that is so full and mouth drooling good.
If there is anything strange about the Z1R, I would say that in some tracks, there are specific regions that got amplified and they are mainly Sub-bass and Lower trebles. However, it is good, it feel good, and it is musical. I am confused, whether this is what I was supposed to hear from the studio engineers intentions toward the consumers ends like me ? Or should I be hearing things like other people had been saying from SA5000, to HD800 ? I do know one thing is that I rather enjoy Z1R for musical experiences than be picking at separated layers, plays, and notes. I rather enjoy the symphonic details as a whole....than separated plays that are so far a part to be enjoyable.
Now, I had been asking myself, why had Sony produced such headphones ? Musical headphones and is so good at it ? Why did they not stick to references like many others ? The only reason I found out myself is that the market now is "primed, ripened" that the typical and casual consumers are made aware of "high quality" is possible from portable gears for enjoyments. They do not have to keep on sticking with stereo home systems anymore. In the past, the typical consumers and the market was dominated by MP3 and IPods.....which was pushed and controlled by Apples....and Sony almost died out. Luckily they are still here, and we couldn't blame the market though, because back then everyone just started out with internet, and dial-up....a 320kbps MP3 took minutes to upload or download ....
Now, it is primed, and Sony saw the chance, they jumped right on it. The heart of Sony had not changed....Z1R is the product where Sony yet proved again, Music shall be enjoyable and not only critically clinical anymore.
One may ask, why had headphones manufacturers stocked to "references only" in the pass ? Because the typical consumer market was not primed for it, and they would not sell it. However, to those who do find uses for headphones, it gotta be "references" and to be used in "studio". Hardcore enthusiasts and or audiophiles stuck around and adapted into it, and believe it or not....these were small market....hence a "niche" market. Not anymore, now the typical consumers is made aware and is willing to spend on it. I have no doubt that Z1R will be not the only First of it kind, but also be the top of the line for years as (closed back, and musicality with high fidelity playback)
So, that means Sony is leaving the references market ? I doubt it, Sony is just not there yet, and if Z1R is so welcomed by the typical market, then Sony will work on this "niche market". Because eventually the high demand of the typical markets will be evolved into higher standard, and that will need more critical details from the studio and engineers.....that mean the references products will see a surge of demand from both the engineers and the audiophiles. So rest assure, Sony will get right back into references lines
To those hardcore audiophiles that found themselves being so disappointed by Sony ? Do not despair, Sony never advertised Z1R to be references, but rather being musical, and the ability to feel the music. This is Sony statement that Z1R is musical products for the typical consumers.
In conclusion and my personal point of view, this is a huge success from what Sony is aiming for. I am glad Sony did so, and proudly be an owner that love his Z1R
Pre-ordered from Amazon UK from US.
