[kman1211]

Beyer is great but from the reviews the T1 doesn't sound all that much better over 600ohm880.

The musicality factor and impact of z1r as ppl stating in this thread is something NEW

and yea I'm sure this new 70mm is light years better than first one they released.

Wonder about impact though. If equal or better will buy Sony logo and pray to it

That much impact plus good emotional musicality to make tears

Bass tears and musicality tears equals heaven.

I'm mighty mighty jealous of you folk that have this on your head lol


***$$ does Sony sell this ear pad separate or z7 pads?

The T1 is quite a bit better than the DT 880 600 ohms to my ears, while I'm not the biggest fan of either headphones tuning(not usually a fan of bright with linear bass), the T1 is definitely in a different league than the DT 880. To me the biggest problem with the T1 is the treble has a tendency to be hot(though it doesn't really get piercing in the same way as the DT 880 can), it truly does have some excellent mids though the treble can take away from it at times, it's not near as bad as the T90 though. Honestly I would take the DT 1990 over the T1 due to it's warmer tuning and stronger dynamics. I'll also take the Amiron over the T1. The two newest Tesla Beyers are honestly the two best Tesla's to my ears. The Tesla Beyers are also a lot more musical than the older DT Beyers to my ears and have a very different sound character to them.
 
The Z1R is really musical, a lot more musical than the Z7 to my ears. Sony has finally gotten the 70mm drivers done properly with the Z1R, all the previous Sony 70mm driver headphones, the Z7, MA900, and XB1000 all had notable flaws.

 

[greggf]

I got the Z1R from Woo Audio today, and listened to them this evening along with my three other headphones, the Sony Z7, the HD800, and the HD800S.  I intend to sort these out in short order, in order to keep just one or two.
 
I use a Bryston BHA-1 headphone amp and a Yamaha CD-S2000 SACD/CD player.  I ran the Senns both balanced, and, sorry, the Sonys not balanced.  Music came from 4 discs:  Reiner FESTIVAL SACD Analogue Productions, Lee Morgan TOM CAT Audio Wave xrcd24, Roy Orbison MYSTERY GIRL Mobile Fidelity gold CD, and Tsuda SATIE JVC 20 Bit K2 CD.
 
I have to say that the Z1R seems to be fully worth the U.S. list price, and hangs just fine with both the HD800 and the HD800S.  It's certainly a top-of-the-line, flagship headphone.  When I got the Z7, I was disappointed, because it clearly wasn't TOTL, even though it had that spot for Sony briefly.  No disappointment with the Z1R.
 
Now, that's not the same as wanting to live with the Z1R.  For whatever reason, I've tended toward Sennheisers and STAX.  My default headphone was the HD600/580, then various STAX up to and including the 009 (always with, and surely limited by, STAX amps), and then the HD800 and HD800S.  I hope to figure out whether to stick with the Senns or add a little meat to my listening.
 
The first thing that kind of surprised me was that the bass of the Z1R doesn't come off as "too much".  It's not even present unless it's in the music.  And the Z1R isn't even a dark headphone, at least on the solid state Bryston.  What I did notice, though, is that meat hanging off the bones of the music compared to the Senns.  Music is rich on the Z1R.  Not dark, not bassy.  Rich.  I want to say, "full of happy overtones", but I'm not sure if that makes any sense.
 
I was also surprised that treble is fully present on the Z1R.  To my ears, the treble is more like that of the HD800S than I would have expected.  At higher volumes, it can even bite a little bit.  And mids were in no way sunken; I can't say that they were exceptional on Orbison, but they were not in any way deficient either.
 
Which means that the Z1R seem very balanced top-to-bottom.  Again, that surprised me, because these have been described as bassy headphones, and because the Z7 are a bit lopsided, with more diffuse bass.  It's this balance, combined with the rich sound, that seems to define the Z1R in my early listening.  And grandeur.  The Z!R have a sense of grandeur on classical music.
 
All said, the HD800S probably throw off more detail, better separate musical lines, and have airier treble.  It's the familiar problem:  do you enjoy analyzing your music, and hearing every sniffle?  Or do you want one big colorful brushstroke?
 
fwiw, I think you can buy the Z1R and not worry about its value.  Whether or not you want what it offers is the real question.  It's Sony's take on a TOTL headphone.  It looks like they couldn't have done much better.

 

[Sp12er3]

^SHAMuuu the only amount of eq-Ing I did when demoing the Z1R is the bass boost switch on my Q1. When it's on and am listening to some pretty bass heavy music, it was quite an exhilarating moment. The Bass, I can feel its thumping on my chest.
Oh, I'll be sharing my full first impression of Z1R here https://randomnessdotco.wordpress.com/2017/01/08/impresi-pertama-flagship-sony-mdr-z1r/
It's written in Bahasa Indonesia tough, if I do have some spare time I do intend to translate it into English.

 

[beowulf]

I can now see why the 650 has achieved legendary status. At only $314 on Amazon now it's very tempting!

But maybe wait a little longer and save for the 800S for open back accompaniment to the Z1R. Might be more of a contrast to make it worth having both.

I think the HD800S (or 800) is a good complement to the Z1R. Tonality and overall signature is quite different but the extra brightness and bigget sense of space (width especially) can be refreshing. And when they sound thin, back to the fun, lush and meaty Z1R.

I sold mine only because lately it's been impossible to listen in a fully quiet room and background noise really kills the 800.

Plus...Z1R is quite greedy taking ear time,so the 800 were getting insufficient attention given the price tag.

 

[Sp12er3]

@greggf I can't say it better than you sir!
The K702 that I bring to add a bit of comparison just doesn't have the same level of clarity and overall technicality of the HD800 it seems, it just wasn't a fight. The Z1R has the same level of clarity as the K702 while adding much more "meat" to the overall sound.

Ah, I must say, I did borrow a few pics, one from beowulf, 3 from thatonenoob, I hope you guys don't mind

 

[beowulf]

 
I have to say that the Z1R seems to be fully worth the U.S. list price, and hangs just fine with both the HD800 and the HD800S.  It's certainly a top-of-the-line, flagship headphone.  When I got the Z7, I was disappointed, because it clearly wasn't TOTL, even though it had that spot for Sony briefly.  No disappointment with the Z1R.
 
Which means that the Z1R seem very balanced top-to-bottom.  Again, that surprised me, because these have been described as bassy headphones, and because the Z7 are a bit lopsided, with more diffuse bass.  It's this balance, combined with the rich sound, that seems to define the Z1R in my early listening.  And grandeur.  The Z!R have a sense of grandeur on classical music.

I did a lot of direct comparisons with the 800 and noticed early that the Z1R were not the silly sloppy bass cannons that some people were talking about (without listening) mostly due to the driver size and Z7 reputation.

There are tracks that can show some slightly overwhelming low-end but I've found those to be relatively rare.

The first thing that kind of surprised me was that the bass of the Z1R doesn't come off as "too much".  It's not even present unless it's in the music.  And the Z1R isn't even a dark headphone, at least on the solid state Bryston.  What I did notice, though, is that meat hanging off the bones of the music compared to the Senns.  Music is rich on the Z1R.  Not dark, not bassy.  Rich.  I want to say, "full of happy overtones", but I'm not sure if that makes any sense.

I was also surprised that treble is fully present on the Z1R.  To my ears, the treble is more like that of the HD800S than I would have expected.  At higher volumes, it can even bite a little bit.  And mids were in no way sunken; I can't say that they were exceptional on Orbison, but they were not in any way deficient either.

All said, the HD800S probably throw off more detail, better separate musical lines, and have airier treble.  It's the familiar problem:  do you enjoy analyzing your music, and hearing every sniffle?  Or do you want one big colorful brushstroke?

One of my first impressions while hopping from the 800 to Z1R was that they sounded a bit veiled, darker, smoother. Had a bit of disappointment thinking treble wasn't as sharp as I like. But it didn't took long to realize all the detail was still there, nice resolution, great separation and positioning even without the large width of the 800.

So while I fully agree the 800 are much airier in general, I don't think they have much more detail or separation, it's that Z1R warmish smoothness giving that impression sometimes.

fwiw, I think you can buy the Z1R and not worry about its value.  Whether or not you want what it offers is the real question.  It's Sony's take on a TOTL headphone.  It looks like they couldn't have done much better.

If Sony discontinues it fast (which is possible, they have weird strategies) I wouldn't be surprised if in a decade they are worth nice $, especially if not many units are sold and the used market doesn't have many offers.
Might be wrong, but this might become an icon.

Typed this while looking at mine, so, had to take a quick shot

 

[AppleheadMay]

Good to know. I should clarify however. I'm from bass land, where sub 30 hz frequencies push enough air to violently shake paper sandwiched between pads (see extreme bass club page 1). This is only accomplished with heavy eq of subbass frequencies and very powerful amps. Th900 is number 2 on the list, but given my experience with thx00, it would be no where near top ten without eq and amping.

So, as far as I know, the z1r has not yet been evaluated for "cannon" ability using eq and amping.

So despite having fantastic bass in standard trim, can any z1r owners attest to whether or not they "hit" as hard as th900 with amp and eq?

I do love all music, and simply cannot justify a large purchase on anything that isn't a cannon haha. I need the one do-it-all headphone that can blow my brains out like I'm at a rave one minute, and then move me to tears with beauty like I'm in a concert hall with the world's best orchestra the next. Maybe after I'm done raving and crying, Then I probably just want to listen to some smooth jazz to calm myself down after the roller coaster of sound. ...then I'll probably get gangster when my Boyz come knocking and bump the...well you get the idea.

Th900 seems top contender for this right now, but I am oh so eager to find out if the z1r can blow my brains out so I can have some serious fun with electronic music, movies, games, etc.

So z1r or th900???

Thank you thank you to whomever can provide some legitimate insight here--I will forever be in your debt!

 
Man, that's got to be the hardest question ever. I'll try to help but I'll probably won't be any help at all. 
I compared both (and some other phones) at length this weekend.
Let me first say that my TH-900 is actually a full LA-900. If you'd ask me to choose betwwen a stock TH900 and the Z1R I'd get the Z1R.
With the LA-900 the picture looks different. If I really have to compare the bass, and I'm sure not everyone will agree certainly if they heard the stock TH-900, I'd say the bass on the Z1R is a bit deeper, the one on the LA-900 is a bit faster with a little more impact. Though the differences are minimal regarding bass, to my ears the whole sonic signature of the cans couldn't be more different. 
To put it plain simple: I was planning to save me a buck or two and only keep one closed pair of cans but after testing I found that the LA-900 (which I had first) can't be replaced by the Z1R (which I had last). But it goes vice versa as well, I can't let go of the Z1R in favor of the LA-900 as well. Both are wonderful cans and they deserve their place along my M1 and HD650.
Looking at the price though a new (full) LA-900 will set you back enough over 2k while a Z1R will cost you about 1.4-1.6k if you search a bit and can wait.
But I'd definitely get the Z1R over the TH-900 if you don't want to do the mods, they do make quite a difference, also in the bass region.

 

[Rchandra]

Could anyone tell me if these are worth the extra $1200 over the focal elear?

 

[Whitigir]

Man, that's got to be the hardest question ever. I'll try to help but I'll probably won't be any help at all. 
I compared both (and some other phones) at length this weekend.
Let me first say that my TH-900 is actually a full LA-900. If you'd ask me to choose betwwen a stock TH900 and the Z1R I'd get the Z1R.
With the LA-900 the picture looks different. If I really have to compare the bass, and I'm sure not everyone will agree certainly if they heard the stock TH-900, I'd say the bass on the Z1R is a bit deeper, the one on the LA-900 is a bit faster with a little more impact. Though the differences are minimal regarding bass, to my ears the whole sonic signature of the cans couldn't be more different. 
To put it plain simple: I was planning to save me a buck or two and only keep one closed pair of cans but after testing I found that the LA-900 (which I had first) can't be replaced by the Z1R (which I had last). But it goes vice versa as well, I can't let go of the Z1R in favor of the LA-900 as well. Both are wonderful cans and they deserve their place along my M1 and HD650.
Looking at the price though a new (full) LA-900 will set you back enough over 2k while a Z1R will cost you about 1.4-1.6k if you search a bit and can wait.
But I'd definitely get the Z1R over the TH-900 if you don't want to do the mods, they do make quite a difference, also in the bass region.

This is what I totally agree with and had been saying for a while. To me, Z1R is perfect from Stock and out of the box....., yeah 900 has faster bass and that is why both of them are different signatures. But Z1R wins IMO

 

[SHAMuuu]

Soft bass AND chest pounding bass?
 
If they beat the th900 for bass impact, then it would make @Hawaiibadboy list of top 10

 
he'll have to test them!
 
Otherwise someone put a piece of paper on it , and video tape it lol
 

 

[kyo86sg]

Anyone know if the Kimber Cables for the Z7 will improve the soundstage over the Stock cable? I know they are compatible as my local sony sales staff informed me.
 
Bad news is that I heard that these Sony "Kimber" cables are low on stock every where and Sony is not manufacturing them anymore! Thus I was thinking should I pick them up while they are still available now?

 

[LaCuffia]

I don't think there is improvement in sound stage, which is a strength of the Z1R to begin with....thinking of returning mine too.

 

[227qed]

   
Man, that's got to be the hardest question ever. I'll try to help but I'll probably won't be any help at all. 
I compared both (and some other phones) at length this weekend.
Let me first say that my TH-900 is actually a full LA-900. If you'd ask me to choose betwwen a stock TH900 and the Z1R I'd get the Z1R.
With the LA-900 the picture looks different. If I really have to compare the bass, and I'm sure not everyone will agree certainly if they heard the stock TH-900, I'd say the bass on the Z1R is a bit deeper, the one on the LA-900 is a bit faster with a little more impact. Though the differences are minimal regarding bass, to my ears the whole sonic signature of the cans couldn't be more different. 
To put it plain simple: I was planning to save me a buck or two and only keep one closed pair of cans but after testing I found that the LA-900 (which I had first) can't be replaced by the Z1R (which I had last). But it goes vice versa as well, I can't let go of the Z1R in favor of the LA-900 as well. Both are wonderful cans and they deserve their place along my M1 and HD650.
Looking at the price though a new (full) LA-900 will set you back enough over 2k while a Z1R will cost you about 1.4-1.6k if you search a bit and can wait.
But I'd definitely get the Z1R over the TH-900 if you don't want to do the mods, they do make quite a difference, also in the bass region.

Thanks for the insights, much appreciated.  I guess at the end of the day, the big question is--can you make impactful, visceral bass by amping and eqing the z1r?  You certainly can with the th900, but whether or not the z1r responds similarly is what I really need to know.
 
Thanks!

 

[Whitigir]

Who said Z1R doesn't have visceral impact ? Lol...

 

[227qed]

Who said Z1R doesn't have visceral impact ? Lol...

  to me, Its hard to describe the bass on z1r. it's on the soft side, yet still have the punchiness when song demand it. despite being soft, the bass is well controlled, and present the listener with vast low end detail (by-product of being soft though. if too weighty, will mask any faint low-end detail). Reverb & bassline in recording still preserve.
 
i will not describe it as having Visceral bass, and make your eardrum bleed, at least with my portable setup.