Ok, so I've poured enough hours in to these cans to finally offer some sort of opinion, my initial feelings are.....I love them. Which to be honest, is bad news, because now I'm going to end up being poorer for it. Ultimately though, whilst still not perfect (nothing ever is lol) they are pretty much what I was after, and fit my criteria so well it's almost perplexing.
I essentially wanted a musical, more bassier accompaniment to my HD800 and T1, but closed, and without sacrificing too much detail and soundstage, and the MDR-Z1R offers basically exactly that. I initially tried the LCD-2.1's, but found them too dark, and too laid back in terms of detailing, to the point that to me they sounded quite claustrophobic, bloated and lacking sparkle. I'm not quite sure why they received the incredible hype they did, because to me they were the BEATS by Dre of the audiophile world, eg having a bit too much emphasis on bass presence over articulation. Then again, BEATS headphones are super popular too lol.
Then the LCD-XC's I auditioned fixed all that, but instead had at times a slightly coarse, and oft thin or hot sounding top end. Almost like the highs sometimes felt artificially broadened, just to make up for the bass impact. Plus I read about QC issues across their different product lines, and that soured my interest.
Then I gave the T1 2nd Generation a go, but whatever they did to it, just didn't sound as good as the originals. They lost the detailing and dynamism of the T1.1's, and the difference in bass impact was negligible, so the trade off's were no way worth it.
I can honestly say that for me, the MDR-Z1R's strike a better balance than the aforementioned Audeze cans, at least for me. The MDR-1ZR's have all that low end drama and emotion, whilst still having a very refined, smooth, but highly detailed top end, with remarkably competent imagining performance, and plenty of still natural sounding sparkle. Even the soundstage is much bigger and more holographic than I imagined it would be, especially given these are closed cans. The soundstage is obviously still not on the level of the German rivals. Bass prominence and musicality often comes at a cost, luckily the cost here is a worthwhile one, at least to me.
Whilst I would switch between my LCD2.1's and the T1's and think, do you know what, no, I'm sacrificing too much soundstage, separation and detailing for that bass. I don't have that same feeling A/B'ing with the Z1R's. I hear similar differences, but the musicality, highs and imaging of Z1R's is potent enough to compensate. It doesn't sound as congested either.
Don't get me wrong, they do sound very different to the T1's and HD800's. The HD800 is the soundstage king, I mean, it puts you right in the middle of some massive auditorium and lets your mind explore it, but I feel that comes at the cost of some engagement, body and sweetness. The sonic presentation is a tad too cold and clinical for a lot of music, and the bass impact is tepid. Then you have the T1's, mine at least offer a sweeter package, with more liquid highs, punchy mid bass, and better imaging, but at the cost of some of the HD800's epic soundstage. Detail retrieval however is still bonkers, and easily comparable to the HD800, but ultimately they still lack some of that sub bass goodness, which is perhaps the T.1's only weakness. Then come the MDR-Z1R, which offer a much more engaging and emotional overall sound compared to the others. It feels weighty, powerful and impactful. Where the T1's sometimes make you feel like you're listening to a pristine studio recording, the MDR-Z1R's comparatively often give you the feeling of being stuck in a small club or venue, listening to a live performance. Both mostly sound realistic, fluid and honest in their portrayals, they just go about it slightly differently,
With the T1's, it's incredibly easy to separate instruments, and shift your focus from all the different layers and elements within a track. The immense imaging and airy soundstage allows that. The Z1R also allows you to do that, you just have to work a bit harder for it. All the same sounds and details are still there and present, it's just they have more of a bassy foundation and background to it all. An atmospheric thickness so to speak. As a result the Z1R's often times sound a tad on the dark side, especially if a particular track has a constant sub bass presence, and especially in comparison to the German cans, but the mids, detailing and highs are excellently balanced enough to punch above the bass presence without sounding remotely hot or artificial like some other bassier cans, to the point where you don't feel like you're missing out in exchange for that gorgeous bass. What you're left with is a pair of headphones that strike a beautiful balance between engagement and overt technical proficiency.
Having that incredible bass impact, and stunning sub bass detail and presence (probably better than in any other headphone I've ever tested), with what is a mostly very natural sounding overall presentation across the board, whilst at the same time retaining copious amounts of detail, makes for some truly addictive listening.
In any case, I'll offer more impressions soon.
