[Rockwell75]

You mean like a blind purchase?

Not for me no-- I demoed it a few times in SoCal.

Just a quick DIY trick if you struggle with too slippery Nozzles where the Tip just doesn't want to stay. (like on my Supermoon)
I found tiny rubber bands at a dentist where they are used to be applied on braces for slow pulling.
In my case they fit perfectly around the inside of the tip. The tip has way better grip now. Please use this trick on your own risk. Maybe in some weird scenario the tip falls off, the rubber band detaches itself and stays in the ear channel. I happily use it like this and find the worst case scenario unlikely to happen.

Hey man it's been a while-- I hope you've been well.

 

[Rockwell75]

I took a break from traveling and business seven years ago. I came back to India and relaxed for 5 years in a city which is known for Ashtanga Yoga.

Since the past two years, I somehow gathered the strength to move to Bangalore. Last year I got into this hobby to cope with the stress of living in such a big city.

I am sure that travels to Canjams will start soon and I am also aware of the fact that once I start doing it, there won't be any stopping.

I owe this hobby that much and meeting coolers is something I am looking forward to.

Come to NYC! Epic times ahoy.

 

[deep2285]

Come to NYC! Epic times ahoy.

Haven't been to big apple since 2010. Hopefully soon

 

[MatW]

The weakness in its lower mids is one of the reasons why Z1R is outside of my personal top 10. It does have top 5 bass with is very noteworthy.

There are 2 ways to correct for the Z1Rs weak lower mids. The auto EQ parametric EQ parameters work brilliantly. I used to listen to it with a Chord Hugo 2 and Equalizer APO to correct for the weakness in the mids. Also, a warm source does it too, hence the DMP-Z1.

I want to listen to this. I never liked the Z1R cause of absolute lack of lower mids.

I think you guys are referring to the upper mids, not lower mids?

For me the recessed upper mids make them easy to listen to with energetic music. You can really turn up the volume... But it can make them sound somewhat dull with eg classical.

 

[Rockwell75]

I think you guys are referring to the upper mids, not lower mids?



For me the recessed upper mids make them easy to listen to with energetic music. You can really turn up the volume... But it can make them sound somewhat dull with eg classical.

Nope, lower mids. They have no meat/substance to them. I sold this set twice for that exact reason. Upper mids quite the opposite, which is by this set is so popular with folks who enjoy female vocals/asian vocal pop. This would be a classic case of a graph being misleading imho.

 

[osocan]

I think you guys are referring to the upper mids, not lower mids?



For me the recessed upper mids make them easy to listen to with energetic music. You can really turn up the volume... But it can make them sound somewhat dull with eg classical.

My experience too. I can really crank up the volume without feeling the strain. And that helps to bring out the bass even better. Listen to it loud is how I enjoy my music.

 

[twister6]

Nope, lower mids. They have no meat/substance to them. I sold this set twice for that exact reason. Upper mids quite the opposite, which is by this set is so popular with folks who enjoy female vocals/asian vocal pop. This would be a classic case of a graph being misleading imho.

Yes, that's exactly how I perceived it as well (going by a distant memory, of course), they (ier-z1r) were lacking body in sound which usually attributed to lower mids being south of neutral. Back then, I was driving it from WM1Z at CanJam NYC, but later was told they need A LOT more powerful source to bring them up to their full potential. So, who knows...

 

[MatW]

Nope, lower mids. They have no meat/substance to them. I sold this set twice for that exact reason. Upper mids quite the opposite, which is by this set is so popular with folks who enjoy female vocals/asian vocal pop. This would be a classic case of a graph being misleading imho.

Measurements show the opposite of what you're saying indeed. Maybe there was a poor fit in play, as these are tricky to get a good fit with. I've uploaded the graph again in my post above, with the labels at the bottom. I guess it's a matter of definition. I think 2-3 kHz is commonly referred to as the upper mids.

Here is another graph.

 

[twister6]

With the recent discussion about UM's AP, many shared their impressions which all align with more authorative bass impact and more natural top end, finetuning MM to a perfection. And now, since we all aligned on how it sounds, here how it actually looks

 

[Piotr Michalak]

The weakness in its lower mids is one of the reasons why Z1R is outside of my personal top 10. It does have top 5 bass with is very noteworthy.

There are 2 ways to correct for the Z1Rs weak lower mids. The auto EQ parametric EQ parameters work brilliantly. I used to listen to it with a Chord Hugo 2 and Equalizer APO to correct for the weakness in the mids. Also, a warm source does it too, hence the DMP-Z1.

+1
Had Z1R twice, sold twice, will not return.
Don't understand what the hype is about.
Bloomy bass dominating over mids.
Recessed mids overall. Thus recessed vocals.
Middle mids rather low on quality produced by 1 BA marrying two DDs together. Thus lack of coherency in the mids. Not tragic, but it's there if you focus on it for a bit.
Last but not least, treble peaks. Not super aggressive, but problematic when listening for longer than 5-15 minutes.
Overall a rather good IEM but far away from totl offerings or winning any contest. Still hyped though.
"I want to believe".
Sony's newest TWS - wf-1000xm5 - is much, much better.

 

[Piotr Michalak]

With the recent discussion about UM's AP, many shared their impressions which all align with more authorative bass impact and more natural top end, finetuning MM to a perfection. And now, since we all aligned on how it sounds, here how it actually looks

No aggressive treble peaks at least on mine. Do you actually hear these?

Aaand I got the bass on the same levels as MM at least on paper.

Nope I don't want to start another IEC711 discussion

Measurements show the opposite of what you're saying indeed. I've uploaded the graph again in my post above, with the labels at the bottom. I guess it's a matter of definition. I think 2-3 kHz is commonly referred to as the upper mids.

Here is another graph.

Hmm strange. Maybe there's a quietly published Z1R mk2 with less bass? Or these targets... Harman already pretty aggressive, not neutral.

Either way I think Z1R is something that has to be heard and thankfully is easily passed along (sold) if needed, so everyone can check if it works for them or not.

 

[Auricon]

With the recent discussion about UM's AP, many shared their impressions which all align with more authorative bass impact and more natural top end, finetuning MM to a perfection. And now, since we all aligned on how it sounds, here how it actually looks

My body get behind this graph unfortunately not my wallet

 

[twister6]

No aggressive treble peaks at least on mine. Do you actually hear these?

Aaand I got the bass on the same levels as MM at least on paper.

Nope I don't want to start another IEC711 discussion


Hmm strange. Maybe there's a quietly published Z1R mk2 with less bass? Or these targets... Harman already pretty aggressive, not neutral.

Either way I think Z1R is something that has to be heard and thankfully is easily passed along (sold) if needed, so everyone can check if it works for them or not.

No aggressive peaks in AP that I'm hearing. But as you probably aware, sometimes it's a matter of sound perception. You adjust one part of the spectrum which affects the perception of another part. And yes, regardless of multiple measurements I took, let's not go into that discussion

 

[Rockwell75]

Measurements show the opposite of what you're saying indeed.

They suggest the opposite for sure, however I've always been highly suspicious of the notion that FR graphs are reliable means of gleaning anything but relatively superficial idea of what an IEM sounds like-- and this is a great case in point of that. I think @Piotr Michalak might be onto something when he says:

Middle mids rather low on quality produced by 1 BA marrying two DDs together. Thus lack of coherency in the mids.

Thus maybe the issue is not a tonal one but disjointed timbre between the thick and meaty DD bass and thinner BA mids (and richer DD treble).

Either way I would take this situation to be a good lesson on why one should only put so much stock in an FR graph and trust their ears above all.

Either way I think Z1R is something that has to be heard

I think this is true of all IEMs honestly. The fetishization of FR curves and tendency to regard them as providing anything near a complete picture of how an IEM sounds is one of the most lamentable trends in this hobby right now...IMHO.

 

[MatW]

They suggest the opposite for sure, however I've always been highly suspicious of the notion that FR graphs are reliable means of gleaning anything but the most superficial idea of what an IEM sounds like-- and this is a great case in point of that. I think @Piotr Michalak might be onto something when he says:



Thus maybe the issue is not a tonal one but disjointed timbre between the thick and meaty DD bass and thinner BA mids (and richer DD treble).

Either way I would take this situation to be a good lesson on why one should only put so much stock in an FR graph and trust their ears above all.



I think this is true of all IEMs honestly. The fetishization of FR curves and tendency to regard them as providing anything near a complete picture of how an IEM sounds is one of the most lamentable trends in this hobby right now...IMHO.

I can confirm that the recessed upper mids shown in the graph align completely with how I'm hearing them, and I can smell upper mids from a mile away.. I'll take them out later tonight and focus on the lower mids, see how I hear them.