[Whitigir]

I can't believe they are going with that silver plated copper stuff again for the stock cable, it's gonna sound like crap as with the Z7. It's like Sony is trying hard to sell that Kimber Kable option.

Agreed, Silver plated copper crap....and I have seen people who still say that don't believe in cables

 

[beowulf]

I can't believe they are going with that silver plated copper stuff again for the stock cable, it's gonna sound like crap as with the Z7. It's like Sony is trying hard to sell that Kimber Kable option.

Cabling is the least I'm worried about in this model. If that is the only thing shared with the Z7, there's no need to worry

 

[Whitigir]

Cabling is the least I'm worried about in this model. If that is the only thing shared with the Z7, there's no need to worry

Don't you worry about the "driver cables." You know ? They cables inside the housing connect from the jacks to the drivers ? What if it still use cheap SPC crap ? .

 

[beowulf]

Don't you worry about the "driver cables." You know ? They cables inside the housing connect from the jacks to the drivers ? What if it still use cheap SPC crap ? .

That might cripple the sound a bit, but if the rest is poorly designed, nothing will save it.

That said, I'm quite excited with all the comments about how open and absent they sound and once again in this review they are compared to a speakers /out-of-head spacious feeling, probably due to the resonance profile with the cup shape and insulation material. Unless I got it wrong, the Z1R have a slight advantage there? That would be impressive.
But maybe the translated engrish means the opposite:

'HD800 also sound field feeling for the open exit well, but a little advantage in the spread it is the sound of the MDR-Z1R. This was surprised again.'

Add good resolution, warm mids but with an overall bright signature and an open but not too thin feeling and I might be able to get rid of both the CD3000 and the 800 S. Build quality definitely seems to trump both easily already, although that's never our priority.

Cmon Sony, give us a monster of airy spacious detailed accuracy but with foot-tapping fun (no matter what frequency charts on popular sites show) and it will be 1990 all over again... in a good way!

 

[Joeybgood]

  Summarized:
 
Smooth and good "presentness"
Soudstage extends very well, makes you think the sound is coming from outside of the headphones.
Neutral, lots of details from instrument, easy to grasp instrument placement while listening.
Solid mid-bass range impact.
Having decent attacks with drums while not being stimulating, close to the real life drums.
Vocal is clear and full of nuance 
 
Maybe will update the HD800 comparison later...

Much tks!

 

[Sonic Defender]

....and I have seen people who still say that don't believe in cables

Like me, I've never been able to hear a difference, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy what you believe in.

 

[XERO1]

Don't you worry about the "driver cables." You know ? They cables inside the housing connect from the jacks to the drivers ? What if it still use cheap SPC crap ?

.

​I think Sony missed a huge opportunity by not using Kimber Kable for the internal wiring of the Z1R (like they did with the NW-WMZ1 DAP).  It would have went a long way to make their optional Kimber Kables for the Z1R a much more attractive option.  Especially when connecting the WMZ1 and the Z1R together.  Oh well.

 
Who knows, maybe Sony will pull a 'HiFiMAN' and release the "Now Wired With Kimber Kable" MDR-Z1R-v2 next year!  

 

 

[gto88]

  Who knows, maybe Sony will pull a 'HiFiMAN' and release the "Now Wired With Kimber Kable" MDR-Z1R-v2 next year!  

 

 

[power]

if the they used  yellow gold plated wire  it would keep the "king" looks going on

 

[Whitigir]

​I think Sony missed a huge opportunity by not using Kimber Kable for the internal wiring of the Z1R (like they did with the NW-WMZ1 DAP).  It would have went a long way to make their optional Kimber Kables for the Z1R a much more attractive option.  Especially when connecting the WMZ1 and the Z1R together.  Oh well.

Who knows, maybe Sony will pull a 'HiFiMAN' and release the "Now Wired With Kimber Kable" MDR-Z1R-v2 next year!  :tongue_smile:  

:veryevil:

Lol, I doubt Sony does that...see how hi-fi man is ruining their brand images ? such joke is found everywhere

 

[fullranger]

My ZR-1 piggy bank hasn't hit the halfway mark yet, however, if I sell my soul it may get a fair bump.
Whitigir should expect I'll send my Z7 flagship to him for mods, then I plan to have a trio of Sony over and in-ear products worthy of a good review for head-fi enthusiasts.
Listening to Tidal is fueling the hi-fi beer-muscles.

 

[deafdoorknob]

didn't realise that TAS offered some brief impressions (last few paras)

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/sonys-new-signature-series-components/

 

[beowulf]

didn't realise that TAS offered some brief impressions (last few paras)

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/sonys-new-signature-series-components/

 
Interesting. Once more comments about how airy and natural they sound in a comparison with normal speakers.
 
"[...]A/B comparison to the system Wilder uses for mastering, which includes Duntech Princess loudspeakers deployed in an acoustically perfect environment. [...] listening as the engineer switched back and forth between the Duntechs and the headphones. [...] Well, I’ve never been much of a headphone user but was surprised by how close these two listening experiences came to one another. The decay characteristics were amazingly similar; dynamics and spatiality were as involving with the ’phones as with the mighty Duntechs."
 
Not bad since the Duntech are probably..slightly bigger and heavier.
 

 

[thanatosguan]

Ah yes, so I was in the WM1Z/1A discussion thread and someone reposted this from a Chinese source. (http://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404016687673396764) I'll translate the part regarding Z1R here. The interviewee is Mr. Tsunoda Naotaka.
-
 

 
Q: Is Z1R on the same level as the legendary Qualia 010?
A: Yes. 
 
Interviewer's note: I couldn't believe this so I double checked. Z1R is on the SAME RANK with Qualia 010.
 
Q: Which is better, Z1R or Qualia 010?
A: Well, although I designed Qualia 010, and Z1R is designed by my protégé, I think Z1R is the better headphone. This headphone has Sony's latest and best research and technology put into it. You can't compare the tools and research environment nowadays to 20 years ago.
 
Interviewer's note to self: Are you sure you're not hyping this too much?
 
Q: Why not announce this with the MDR-Z7?
A: Past market researches indicate consumers are not very interested in expensive headphones, therefore MDR-Z7 was the flagship model. Of course, Z7 utilized a lot of new technologies and is very competitive in its market segment.
 
Q: Can you talk about the difference behind the thinking of Z7 and Z1R?
A: Z7 is focused on listening to "live music". (Hard to understand here, maybe he means to feel the air) Z1R is designed to let you feel all the music (lit. let you feel all the breath of music). There were many compromises made on the Z7 due to cost whereas there's none on the Z1R. We also ran lots of calculations and researches for a long time and Z1R is the result of it.
 
Q: Why the 120kHz frequency response? Isn't it way above audible frequency? Many people say this is useless.
A: Higher frequency response means higher resolution to micro-sounds. Ultrasonic frequencies also interferes with audible frequencies and result in audible sounds. Higher frequency response also means faster transient response, therefore timing of the sound will be very accurate. Since Inter-aural Time Difference (ITD) is an important sound cue for human hearing, precise and accurate timing of sound delivery is paramount. To achieve this level of accuracy and precision you need ultra-high sensitivity to achieve milisecond or even microsecond levels of precision. Headphones with this level of precision naturally has ultra-high frequency response. Therefore, in a hi-end system, ultra-high frequency response is a must.
 
Interviewer's note: Mr.Tsunoda talks like an engineer. All the causal relationships are explained clearly and basically answered all the questions as far as I can understand.
 
Q: Do you know Tomohiro Matsuo's MDR-EX1000 is extremely popular?
A: Yes.
 
Q: A lot of manufacturers are pushing high-end dynamic IEMs. A lot of people are expecting Sony launch a successor to the EX1000.
A: Noted. I'll try to rush the related researches. (Mr. Tsunoda whipped out his notebook and wrote down this information)
 

-
 
Just a quick translation.
 
Edited for information regarding EX1000. IMHO, XBA-Z5 is more like a variant than a successor.

 

[deafdoorknob]

thanks for the translation!!