[Sonic Defender]

Yes, the Z1R while still not as expansive as the 800S for instance is extremely impressive for a closed headphone. I sold my TH900 quite some time ago so I can't recall with any accuracy, but I would be shocked if it was more than modestly more open and airy sounding than the Z1R. As per thaonenoob's measurements I have just lately started taking the 3kHz frequency down a hair and it does take a tiny amount of bite away that I could see bothering some people, certainly at louder volume such as I like.
 
Yes, I have to thank my Southern neighbours for all of the fantastic music that has been created below the 49th parallel. It is so funny, I'm taking a Canada US relations course taught by a very experienced scholar on the topic and just now am writing a paper on how our new Prime Minister should conduct himself when dealing with President Trump. It would be nice if the level of cooperation and respect you see here in the forums is continued. Hopefully it won't be like the relationship between PM Diefenbaker and JFK. JFK hated him so much that he actually ordered significant and open interference in the 1963 election here so that Lester B Pearson would win and become Prime Minister. It is eye-opening to learn how much interference the Kennedy Administration was responsible for. Makes the Russian hacking scandal seem tame in comparison!  

 

[Sonic Defender]

i look forward to comparing them if a z1r ever becomes available for audition here

Where is here?

 

[krumley7882]

The Ether C Flows are great closed-back headphones too...I really enjoyed them too! That said, I bought the Z1R.

Awesome. That is saying a lot!

 

[227qed]

Deleted.

 

[kefs]

the th900 is a closed-back can alright, but it's vented and provides little in the way of isolation from outside noise. i imagine that the z1r does a much better job of that.

One thing i found with my first proper listen yesterday was it offers very little isolation from ouside noise at all, infact without playing anything through them, it was like you had nothing over your ears.

 

[up late]

which can are you referring to?

 

[Rowethren]

I think I must be psychic or something... I woke up and put on Rush - Moving Pictures then started reading this and everyone is talking about Rush lol


Really sad to hear he is struggling but I guess it isn't surprising, some of the notes he hits in his older albums are insane!

 

[zolkis]

the th900 is a closed-back can alright, but it's vented and provides little in the way of isolation from outside noise. i imagine that the z1r does a much better job of that.

 
AFAIK this is incorrect. The TH900 cups are closed all around and there is no vent to the outside - only towards the ear chamber (and even that through damping) but that's sealed by the ear pads from the outside. So outside noise has to travel through wood or pads.
However, the pads are not sealing as well as the Sony pads, and anyway the TH900 leak more than most closed headphones - but much less than vented or open headphones.

 

[up late]

i was under the impression that the th900 was vented but you know it inside out so i stand corrected. i've always regarded it as a closed can anyways, and not concerned myself with it being defined as closed, semi-closed/open or vented. so there you go, it's actually a closed can that doesn't seal all that well.

 

[Rchandra]

Sonys customer service is a bit of a hit or miss if you don't fix a issue in the short window you get you are pretty much screwed. They make so much money as a whole that they can get away with that. I am speaking from experience I had a old Walkman mp3 player that was replaced in 30 days and another Walkman that could not be replaced due to it being 2 months in... The warranty didn't cover the part... Kinda disappointing. So I'm 50 50 with the customer service.

 

[dxanex]

I've been following this thread for a while, couldn't resist and finally pulled the trigger on the Z1R. Really interested in comparing them to the Focal Elear, which continues to impress me every day. I haven't seen a whole lot in the way of comparing the two, info is somewhat sparse. I'm hoping the Z1R is a clear upgrade and not a side-grade, as I'm often finding the Elear shockingly good sounding in multiple genres of music.
 
I'll be sure and post any helpful impressions I may have once I've given the Z1R a good listen for a few days.

 

[heliosphann]

GU1DO any chance you could post a picture of your earpads and their thickness? Having handled a few of these, what's become apparent is that small variations in the earpads are possible, due to their hand made and hand stiched nature. Most variations are minor, but some can be more damming.

I actually returned one pair because of ear pad stitching alignment issues, as well as my left and right earpads being different thicknesses and shapes.

Sony were completely awful in dealing with this issue, and claimed they were not faulty even though they were different to what was advertised, different to other earpads on other Z1R's, different to each other (left and right), and also to how they should have looked based on all marketed material.

If I didn't love how they sounded, I would have never purchased another pair out of meagre principle. It isn't so much that a QC issue with the earpads existed that annoyed me, but Sony's complete reluctance to acknowledge it, or replace them.

Sony went from claiming they couldn't help because I didn't request assistance in the first 14 days (even though I actually did in the first 7 days of purchase) ,to then claiming my earpads weren't covered because of physical damage (even though they arrived mis-stitched and shaped the day I opened them), to finally claiming they simply weren't faulty despite acknowledging that they looked different to each other and to what was advertised. This entire process took 2 months, as their response rate was around an email response every week to two weeks. Thankfully in the end my retailer allowed me to return my pair even though the 30 day period had passed.

I'll post some images showing the earpad issues later, the same ones I sent to the engineers.

The weird thing as well is that the thinner or slimmer the pads were, the more forward and intricate the sound was, perhaps less bassy too, so there was actually a very slight difference in sound as a result of the earpad differences. This was more obvious doing A/B switches with the other earpads from another pair I had.

I'm wondering if I have an issue with this as well. I keep having a comfort issue with just my left earpad. Absolutely no issues with the right pad. Never had this problem with any headphones ever.

 

[SHAMuuu]

I'm wondering if I have an issue with this as well. I keep having a comfort issue with just my left earpad. Absolutely no issues with the right pad. Never had this problem with any headphones ever.

Certain foams and their varying densities can bring about the awareness of the asymmetrical nature of one's head. Not to say this is the case, but sometimes a break in really is required unless the memory foam is really soft and contours almost instantly. Its very well possible your head is perfectly symmetrical and the fault is that of SONY.

 

[beowulf]

The most "open" sounding closed headphone I've come across and better than many open-backed headphones too!

I compared them a lot with the HD800 and it was impressive how spacious the Z1R sound. Not as open of course, but for closed cans I don't recall hearing anything more airy. They still sound a bit contained in such a comparison, but the added body and punch compensate that with good fun.

 

[Sonic Defender]

One thing i found with my first proper listen yesterday was it offers very little isolation from ouside noise at all, infact without playing anything through them, it was like you had nothing over your ears.

I agree, it doesn't offer much isolation, some, but not much. I think it is a trade-off of course as the cup design is so important that I suspect to make more isolating cups the acoustic properties would have to change too much. It works well enough for my needs, but yes, in my little music room I have to run a small space heater much of the time and when music isn't playing I can easily hear it, but the sound is dampened a little so the Z1R does provide some isolation.