[XERO1]

Originally Posted by purk /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Imagine you buy the Z1R today only to see a Z1R MK2 later in a year (and a) half.  How would that make you feel?

 
Yeah.  Good point.

 
 

The z7 build is unmatched, the sound... Thats another story... It had so much hype before it was released and when people finally heard it... The thread literally died! Only a few people were posting about how they were happy with the sound. I have yet to see so much hype around a product followed by such a drastic lack of interest.

Lots of bass with no solidity, Very odd midrange tonality.

Such a disappointment.

 
Agreed.  Such a missed opportunity. 

 
I can only pray to the Headphone Gods that Sony finally gets it right with the Z1R! 

 

[purk]

  As you seem to be an expert for aged to antique Sony headphones, where do you order new pads if needed, or do you still use the original ones? I saw some old post about the CD3000 and others, where the protein leather pads had already fallen apart in 2004.

3rd party only sadly.  The fit is good but the softness of the replacement pads are not the same as the original.  You can get a leather smith to revamp the headband with real leather however.

 

[thatonenoob]

Here's to hoping that Sony will provided an extended life warranty or suppot in case something goes wrong. Either that or they build it as stronk as the T1.

 

[beowulf]

No need for extended warranty. There's no pleather, flimsy suspending bands or other previous mistakes. It's going to last decades unless someone goofed basic design Samsung-style.

The Z1R will easily wipeout any recent flavors of the month when it comes to build quality. That includes Mr Speakers, Audeze, Hifiman, etc, probably even Focal's recent four digit toys. And I expect it to easily surpass Sennheiser's 800/800S too.

Sound quality however remains to be seen... Er, heard. Might be less brilliant...a lot less...

 

[thatonenoob]

No need for extended warranty. There's no pleather, flimsy suspending bands or other previous mistakes. It's going to last decades unless someone goofed basic design Samsung-style.

The Z1R will easily wipeout any recent flavors of the month when it comes to build quality. That includes Mr Speakers, Audeze, Hifiman, etc, probably even Focal's recent four digit toys. And I expect it to easily surpass Sennheiser's 800/800S too.

Sound quality however remains to be seen... Er, heard. Might be less brilliant...a lot less...

Agreed a lot is hinging sonically. Frankly I've got high expectations after the Elear and Utopia.

 

[beowulf]

Agreed a lot is hinging sonically. Frankly I've got high expectations after the Elear and Utopia.

Indeed. With this one I'm not betting on a safe so-so meh-ish 4/5, it's going to be either an epic R10-grade contemporary classic or a laughable flop that will make the Z7 seem like great value for money.

But who knows. Let's see what happens.

 

[Whitigir]

Agreed a lot is hinging sonically. Frankly I've got high expectations after the Elear and Utopia.

From my experiences, having high expectations in anything will guarantee disappointment. The higher the expectations, the higher the disappointment

 

[thatonenoob]

From my experiences, having high expectations in anything will guarantee disappointment. The higher the expectations, the higher the disappointment

Very true indeed. Oh bother...

 

[beowulf]

From my experiences, having high expectations in anything will guarantee disappointment. The higher the expectations, the higher the disappointment

Very true and a great warning for life in general. But why not have some fun expecting the unlikely extraordinary? Its R10 all over again for sure!

[/later finds out they suck more than noise canceling Beats out of battery]

 

[XERO1]

For me, the Z1R doesn't have to be the greatest headphone ever made.
 
It just has to be really good. 
 
And only when I hear it with my own two ears will I finally know if it is or isn't.
 
Reviews are only good up to a certain point.
 
It always reminds me of the scene in the movie Training Day, when Denzel's character is trying to read the newspaper, and he says to Ethan's character, "You see this?"  He holds up the newspaper.  "It's 90% bullschiit.... but it entertains me."

 

 

[akg fanboy]

Out of curiosity, how frequent are revisions for Hifiman products? They can't possibly be as bad as A&K, can they? I find that company's release cycle downright offensive.

Most freqeunt akg releases are just rebrands or for the low end headphones. We haven't seen a successor to the 700 line yet nor a revision to the 800 series.
The he1000v2 is as "offensive" as you'll get. A revision in just 1 year to fix some flaws from a $3000 flagship, and everyone who bought the original gets left out

 

[fullranger]

Purk... great point regarding maintenance of superphones! "You can get a leather smith to revamp the headband with real leather however."
I don't know if anyone even thought of that before.
Craftsmanship is available all over the world, so someone locally can likely do a great job with headband and earpad replacement for members beloved headphones. Super point, man!

 

[thatonenoob]

Purk... great point regarding maintenance of superphones! "You can get a leather smith to revamp the headband with real leather however."
I don't know if anyone even thought of that before.
Craftsmanship is available all over the world, so someone locally can likely do a great job with headband and earpad replacement for members beloved headphones. Super point, man!

Agreed. But also remember that altering earpads can change acoustic transparency and absorption which may lead to interesting new results.

 

[purk]

Agreed. But also remember that altering earpads can change acoustic transparency and absorption which may lead to interesting new results.

Earpads are the tricky part and can definitely changed the acoustic aspects of the sound.  However, I don't think the difference will be significant at all going from pleather to leather if you ask me assuming the original inner urethane foams/cushions are used.

 

[mrtim6]

One thing I can say from experience is Sony has been making extremely high quality equipment for many decades.

Unless one takes the time to view excellent websites such as the vintage knob (yes seriously), it's difficult to gage just how much high end goodness Sony has churned out over the years.

I own the TA-N7 released in 1977 this VFET power amplifier has excellent build quality and sounds sublime. I also have the Sony TA-88 preamplifier the build quality on the atenuator is astonishing, it makes the volume control on my Leben CS300XS seem clunky- which its not!

Japanese high end Hifi build quality is simply the bench mark in my eyes.

Just take a look at the monster of extreme engineering that is Sony SS-GR1 which also used biocellulose drivers in the tweeter & mids a'la R10 headphones

http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-TA-N7B.html

http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-TA-E88B.html

http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-SS-GR1.html



I also have vintage Japanese speakers the Yamaha NS-2000 from 1982 and the Diatone DS-5000 (see my avatar pic).

Again the build quality of both speakers walks all over most speakers manufactured today in fit finish and sonic performance.

Sony's attention to detail historically is not lacking when they are serious - as mentioned previously the other manufacturers will struggle to match Sony build quality- the 50 million $ question is whether they have nailed it sonically.

Apologies if I went off subject a bit, however Sony's pedigree in hi end audio IMO is worthy of inclusion.