[Rowethren]

  @Rowethren, glad somebody can give at least a little perspective as compared to the Ether C Flow. If you had to chose just the Z1R or the C Flow what are your thoughts? It sounds like you found the C Flow a little lean and analytic in comparison to the Z1R.

 
I would chose the Z1R so far if it had to be closed but I think overall I prefer my  Ether Flow (open) the most as it is such a nice expansive sound, not as much bass but it is still very defined and impactful.
 
There was a shipping mess up which is why I ended up with the Ether C Flows for a while and I have to say I was glad to have the open ones back. There is just something about the Ether C Flow that my ears didn't like, I think it was a combination of the mids sounding a bit recessed/flat and the treble being a bit too harsh for me. Also the Ether C Flows go a tad lower on the sub bass compared to the open but the mid bass seemed to suffer for it, whereas the Z1R dig deep in sub bass and have great mid bass as well.

 

[XERO1]

Originally Posted by Sonic Defender /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
It sounds like you found the C Flow a little lean and analytic in comparison to the Z1R.

 
Just about every other TOTL headphone will sound a little (or a lot) lean and analytical when compared to the Z1R.

 
That's one of the things that makes them special.

 

[purk]

Rather buy another headphone than drop over $1K on a cable.

Buy a used Moon-audio silver dragon and reterminate the connectors to fit the Z1R and you can have a very good upgrade cable for around $200 or less.

 

[rgs9200m]

I don't know about the flow, but the original Ether I had was a little lean so I sold it.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

They are indeed, around £1k for a decent length of the Axios which is just insane! The Toxic Cable Hydra 22 @ 2.5m I am getting is only around £470 for comparision which will put my total all in for these headphones at £1754 need my 4pin XLR cable though!

That is crazy expensive man. Over a grand for cables is to much. How much better will they sound though.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

It's a disgusting hobby at times. 1k for cable is ludicrous

That is crazy expensive man. Over a grand for cables is to much. How much better will they sound though.

 

[Sil3nce]

  Buy a used Moon-audio silver dragon and reterminate the connectors to fit the Z1R and you can have a very good upgrade cable for around $200 or less.

 
I feel like I trust your words a lot more about the Z1R.
Been seeing a lot of hype in this thread.
And while it makes me feel good about having picked these up myself, I feel like I appreciate an objective outlook on these headphones.
After all, the Z1R is just another headphone in your menagerie 

 

 

[deafdoorknob]

I would chose the Z1R so far if it had to be closed but I think overall I prefer my  Ether Flow (open) the most as it is such a nice expansive sound, not as much bass but it is still very defined and impactful.

There was a shipping mess up which is why I ended up with the Ether C Flows for a while and I have to say I was glad to have the open ones back. There is just something about the Ether C Flow that my ears didn't like, I think it was a combination of the mids sounding a bit recessed/flat and the treble being a bit too harsh for me. Also the Ether C Flows go a tad lower on the sub bass compared to the open but the mid bass seemed to suffer for it, whereas the Z1R dig deep in sub bass and have great mid bass as well.

Ether C F sounds overly damped with a weird treble zing... amongst expensive planars they sound "small" for want of a better word, ether open and ether open F both sounds bigger (not really a soundstage thing, it's more a sense of physical scale), LCD 2/3/4/X for all their tonal aberrations really excels in sounding big, i would say even hd800, and the beyer T5p sounds bigger as well. MDR z1R rivals the audeze in this, with better tonality and technicalities, and in a closed format to boot.

 

[Sil3nce]

Ether C F sounds overly damped with a weird treble zing... amongst expensive planars they sound "small" for want of a better word, ether open and ether open F both sounds bigger (not really a soundstage thing, it's more a sense of physical scale), LCD 2/3/4/X for all their tonal aberrations really excels in sounding big, i would say even hd800, and the beyer T5p sounds bigger as well. MDR z1R rivals the audeze in this, with better tonality and technicalities, and in a closed format to boot.

 
Yeah, I preferred the open Ethers much more than the closed models.
It's almost like night and day. 
 
I still think the original open Ethers are my favorite out of those headphones. 

 

[sarinfuhrer]

Going balanced with Z1r through Pono using Sony Z7 supplied cable. I would say, the tone of the instrument & depth are the best i've heard out of portable player setup. Suggestion to Z1R owner to try this out if possible.
 
 

 

[Hi 5]

I know it's a stellar match for the Z7, and was thinking it would be a similar combo with the Z1R

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[gelocks]

Sorry guys.
Ears still messed up and taking therapy (breathing)...

 

[Sonic Defender]

Sorry guys.
Ears still messed up and taking therapy (breathing)...

No excuse, you dropped the ball.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I know it's a stellar match for the Z7, and was thinking it would be a similar combo with the Z1R

Thanks for the heads up!

Just noticed you have the Fidelio X2 in your signature. If you get a chance I strongly encourage you to try the two new ONKYO headphones, A800 (open) and H900M (closed). The drivers were made by the same company that does the Fidelio drivers, but of course made to ONKYO's specifications. I reviewed the A800 and think it is fantastic, same with the H900M that I will review soon. Just wanted to suggest them as you may get a chance to demo them sometime who knows.

 

[MTMEtim]

@Rowethren
, glad somebody can give at least a little perspective as compared to the Ether C Flow. If you had to chose just the Z1R or the C Flow what are your thoughts? It sounds like you found the C Flow a little lean and analytic in comparison to the Z1R.

This is Craig from Music To My Ears in Pittsburgh, using Tims account until the mods set mine up... anyways I did some comparrisons between the Z1R and the Ether C flow after multiple people were asking about it. For the record it's a great question because when listening to them both in an A/B comparison I found a lot of similarities in the two when it came to classic rock. Once I switched over to some ambient techno from the band Bonobo one difference came out. The bass of the Z1R was boosted and the the Ether C Flow sounded more neutral comparatively. Even though the Z1R was boosted it still had great control and impact. Listening to Fleetwood Mac's "the dance" album it was more difficult to discern the two. I am going to do more listening on this to try and discern the two more. If anyone has any questions about other headphone comparrisons They would want feel free to PM me. This is just part of what I do here and I love doing it. Btw the amp used for comparison was the Sony TAZH1ES and Moon audio 260 D CD player