[fiascogarcia]

Nothing that I've heard. And before you point fingers at the self-appointed Z1R cheerleader here, I'm not saying it's the best at everything. Just that its sound profile, design and fit is unique, and everything else I use is mostly complementary, including Rn6, Xe6, Trifecta, IE900, MSE...

Yes, and that explains why I've sold and re-purchased the Z1R twice now. Think I learned my lesson, and its here permanently now!

 

[Deferenz]

Fir Audio's new upcoming 12mm single DD iem?

Yes the Electron 12, with the '12' being derived from the width of the DD.

Thanks guys.

 

[Lumithium]

I originally written an 8k words review for Grand Maestro, but Windows decided to restart itself for a Windows update without any prompt and head-fi didn't save the draft after I click save, so all that went down the drain.

But I still have some of my notes, specifically the bass section on the Grand Maestro, with the vocal switch off, aka the bass mode on. And with the black module, this part is important. Black module has a strong sub bass boost, blue module does not.

GM is a fun IEM for the bass, but due to the way it is tuned, the best use case is electronic music, specifically Drum and bass, and it's subgenres.

Loading sub bass heavy tracks such as the ones from Billain, this IEM works great. On the start of Transhumanist for example. The sub bass boost makes the kicks sounding extra grand. And on the track Overlord, which is already sub bass heavy, this IEM really feels like you are listening to subwoofers. This effect generally works great on electronic music with a sub bass focus. You will be hearing the rumble better.

And the tuning also allows for leaner lower mids, which means more space the rest of the instruments to shine. Whether it is violin or female singers, this type of tuning will allow these instruments or vocals more space to work with, more stand out.

This massive sub bass boost however, brings a problems to music that does not have the sub bass focus. Take most kicks for example, it is made of 3 parts. The start "tick" sound, which goes from 10kHz to say 300Hz. And then there is the body, the "punch" of the sound, it goes from say 300Hz to 80Hz. And lastly you have the decay of the sound, which goes from the 80Hz to even lower frequencies.

This will already create problems with most acoustic kick drums. It is not significant, but most of these kicks will sound less clean, due to the punch of the kicks being less pronounced. In most of the pop music, this isn't that big of an issue. One of the tracks I can demonstrate it will be Coldplay - Everglow, the kick sounds more like a ball of sound than a distinct kick. It does not sound ideal. This problem can get worse still, Hiroyuki Sawano - Voices of the chord for example features a kick that is really strong on the sub bass, it now sounds even less like a kick to me, to a point where I'd consider it leaning wrong, if my mood isn't in for a bassy sesh.

On other soundtracks, this sub bass is bit mixed to me. On battle themed soundtracks, GM adds more of the decay to each drum hit, it makes the atmosphere more intense in my opinion. But then when you switch to more uplifting soundtracks, this effect can feel a bit overkill. I found on tracks such as Audiomachine - Glowing Embers, this effect is a bit too much, it is taking too much space.

Now these problem will go away with the blue module, as it has less sub bass. Because of that, I think GM is the best option for bass (if you purchase the extra module). The black module will greatly reward you if you feed it with the proper music, but for cleaner bass, the blue module is probably the better pick. I think it will work better for more styles of music. But even with black module, with longer time listening, your ears will adjust so that these issues won't bother you.



Trifecta on the other hand has a warm tuning, for me this is not something I will really call bassy. Unless you listen to tracks that has fewer lower mids content, the bass wouldn't standout as much. Trifecta iirc has no sub bass boost to the level like GM (black switch) compared to mid bass, so for kicks, it won't have that problem GM has, but on the other hand Trifecta is also known for being a slow pair of IEM, and struggles with anything speed.
I don't listen to hip hops at all, but for classical music, if I were to pick between the two, it will come down to the instrument I mainly listen to. If I crave for cellos and other lower mids heavy instruments, I think I would prefer the trifecta, as the warmer sound will highlight the texture of these instruments more. I remember loving the sound of the Thummim because of how the cello sounds on it. GM has a lean lower mids, so it won't be the best choice for these instruments. But for violin etc, I will not pick Trifecta at all. Unfortunately I find this area of frequencies to be Trifecta's biggest downfall. As soon as you reach into the upper mids - treble range, I find Trifecta to just sound weird at best. GM on the other hand stick to the mainstream-ish tuning, so it is alright. It is not the IEM to have amazing mids that wows you, but it also won't do any bad to the recording. Unique Melody's IEMs such as Mentor, New Masons are all just better option for mids imo.

For pop music, again it will depend on the region. The most amount of pop songs I listen to is j-pop. Where the singers compared to western signers tend to sound more petity, here I would pick GM over Trifecta, to give the singers as much stage as they can, more lower mids means less space for the voices to come through, not a great match for many Asian singing. The exception is with older pop songs, where I like the extra warmth. Having less elements in the upper registers will also help with the Trifecta's treble weakness.

Both of the IEMs have their problems, For GM, it will be the bass, it has the best bass in business, but I wouldn't say it is for everyone, especially if you are not getting the blue module, or for Trifecta, the speed or the tuning at the upper registers could spill problem for your music. If you are looking at GM, maybe you can also look into Annihilator? Hope this helps, @deep2285.

 

[Scubadevils]

Yes agreed on Z1R, absolutely unique and impossible to draw a line to anything that might be deemed an upgrade. I struggled with fit and sold but have often pondered giving it another go…

 

[deep2285]

I prefer RN6 with RS8 over 320Max.

I have gotten used to Darwin softwear and it is hard for me to actually look any further than RS8.

 

[Rockwell75]

Yes, and that explains why I've sold and re-purchased the Z1R twice now. Think I learned my lesson, and its here permanently now!

I've sold it twice and am considering giving it a third go. Mid-bass/lower mids is an area I'm particularly fixated on, which is why IER Z1R is a specialist IEM for me...however what it does is so good, as has been indicated here, it cannot be topped to this day on the market.

I originally written an 8k words review for Grand Maestro, but Windows decided to restart itself for a Windows update without any prompt and head-fi didn't save the draft after I click save, so all that went down the drain.

But I still have some of my notes, specifically the bass section on the Grand Maestro, with the vocal switch off, aka the bass mode on. And with the black module, this part is important. Black module has a strong sub bass boost, blue module does not.

GM is a fun IEM for the bass, but due to the way it is tuned, the best use case is electronic music, specifically Drum and bass, and it's subgenres.

Loading sub bass heavy tracks such as the ones from Billain, this IEM works great. On the start of Transhumanist for example. The sub bass boost makes the kicks sounding extra grand. And on the track Overlord, which is already sub bass heavy, this IEM really feels like you are listening to subwoofers. This effect generally works great on electronic music with a sub bass focus. You will be hearing the rumble better.

And the tuning also allows for leaner lower mids, which means more space the rest of the instruments to shine. Whether it is violin or female singers, this type of tuning will allow these instruments or vocals more space to work with, more stand out.

This massive sub bass boost however, brings a problems to music that does not have the sub bass focus. Take most kicks for example, it is made of 3 parts. The start "tick" sound, which goes from 10kHz to say 300Hz. And then there is the body, the "punch" of the sound, it goes from say 300Hz to 80Hz. And lastly you have the decay of the sound, which goes from the 80Hz to even lower frequencies.

This will already create problems with most acoustic kick drums. It is not significant, but most of these kicks will sound less clean, due to the punch of the kicks being less pronounced. In most of the pop music, this isn't that big of an issue. One of the tracks I can demonstrate it will be Coldplay - Everglow, the kick sounds more like a ball of sound than a distinct kick. It does not sound ideal. This problem can get worse still, Hiroyuki Sawano - Voices of the chord for example features a kick that is really strong on the sub bass, it now sounds even less like a kick to me, to a point where I'd consider it leaning wrong, if my mood isn't in for a bassy sesh.

On other soundtracks, this sub bass is bit mixed to me. On battle themed soundtracks, GM adds more of the decay to each drum hit, it makes the atmosphere more intense in my opinion. But then when you switch to more uplifting soundtracks, this effect can feel a bit overkill. I found on tracks such as Audiomachine - Glowing Embers, this effect is a bit too much, it is taking too much space.

Now these problem will go away with the blue module, as it has less sub bass. Because of that, I think GM is the best option for bass (if you purchase the extra module). The black module will greatly reward you if you feed it with the proper music, but for cleaner bass, the blue module is probably the better pick. I think it will work better for more styles of music. But even with black module, with longer time listening, your ears will adjust so that these issues won't bother you.



Trifecta on the other hand has a warm tuning, for me this is not something I will really call bassy. Unless you listen to tracks that has fewer lower mids content, the bass wouldn't standout as much. Trifecta iirc has no sub bass boost to the level like GM (black switch) compared to mid bass, so for kicks, it won't have that problem GM has, but on the other hand Trifecta is also known for being a slow pair of IEM, and struggles with anything speed.
I don't listen to hip hops at all, but for classical music, if I were to pick between the two, it will come down to the instrument I mainly listen to. If I crave for cellos and other lower mids heavy instruments, I think I would prefer the trifecta, as the warmer sound will highlight the texture of these instruments more. I remember loving the sound of the Thummim because of how the cello sounds on it. GM has a lean lower mids, so it won't be the best choice for these instruments. But for violin etc, I will not pick Trifecta at all. Unfortunately I find this area of frequencies to be Trifecta's biggest downfall. As soon as you reach into the upper mids - treble range, I find Trifecta to just sound weird at best. GM on the other hand stick to the mainstream-ish tuning, so it is alright. It is not the IEM to have amazing mids that wows you, but it also won't do any bad to the recording. Unique Melody's IEMs such as Mentor, New Masons are all just better option for mids imo.

For pop music, again it will depend on the region. The most amount of pop songs I listen to is j-pop. Where the singers compared to western signers tend to sound more petity, here I would pick GM over Trifecta, to give the singers as much stage as they can, more lower mids means less space for the voices to come through, not a great match for many Asian singing. The exception is with older pop songs, where I like the extra warmth. Having less elements in the upper registers will also help with the Trifecta's treble weakness.

Both of the IEMs have their problems, For GM, it will be the bass, it has the best bass in business, but I wouldn't say it is for everyone, especially if you are not getting the blue module, or for Trifecta, the speed or the tuning at the upper registers could spill problem for your music. If you are looking at GM, maybe you can also look into Annihilator? Hope this helps, @deep2285.

This is a thorough and fair appraisal.

 

[phiemon]

Yes, and that explains why I've sold and re-purchased the Z1R twice now. Think I learned my lesson, and its here permanently now!

Yes agreed on Z1R, absolutely unique and impossible to draw a line to anything that might be deemed an upgrade. I struggled with fit and sold but have often pondered giving it another go…

I've sold it twice and am considering giving it a third go. Mid-bass/lower mids is an area I'm particularly fixated on, which is why IER Z1R is a specialist IEM for me...however what it does is so good, as has been indicated here, it cannot be topped to this day on the market.

What would interest me about the Z1R is how the technicalities are. The Z1R is quite old (2017?), so I wonder to what extent it can compete with current TOTLs.

 

[deep2285]

I originally written an 8k words review for Grand Maestro, but Windows decided to restart itself for a Windows update without any prompt and head-fi didn't save the draft after I click save, so all that went down the drain.

But I still have some of my notes, specifically the bass section on the Grand Maestro, with the vocal switch off, aka the bass mode on. And with the black module, this part is important. Black module has a strong sub bass boost, blue module does not.

GM is a fun IEM for the bass, but due to the way it is tuned, the best use case is electronic music, specifically Drum and bass, and it's subgenres.

Loading sub bass heavy tracks such as the ones from Billain, this IEM works great. On the start of Transhumanist for example. The sub bass boost makes the kicks sounding extra grand. And on the track Overlord, which is already sub bass heavy, this IEM really feels like you are listening to subwoofers. This effect generally works great on electronic music with a sub bass focus. You will be hearing the rumble better.

And the tuning also allows for leaner lower mids, which means more space the rest of the instruments to shine. Whether it is violin or female singers, this type of tuning will allow these instruments or vocals more space to work with, more stand out.

This massive sub bass boost however, brings a problems to music that does not have the sub bass focus. Take most kicks for example, it is made of 3 parts. The start "tick" sound, which goes from 10kHz to say 300Hz. And then there is the body, the "punch" of the sound, it goes from say 300Hz to 80Hz. And lastly you have the decay of the sound, which goes from the 80Hz to even lower frequencies.

This will already create problems with most acoustic kick drums. It is not significant, but most of these kicks will sound less clean, due to the punch of the kicks being less pronounced. In most of the pop music, this isn't that big of an issue. One of the tracks I can demonstrate it will be Coldplay - Everglow, the kick sounds more like a ball of sound than a distinct kick. It does not sound ideal. This problem can get worse still, Hiroyuki Sawano - Voices of the chord for example features a kick that is really strong on the sub bass, it now sounds even less like a kick to me, to a point where I'd consider it leaning wrong, if my mood isn't in for a bassy sesh.

On other soundtracks, this sub bass is bit mixed to me. On battle themed soundtracks, GM adds more of the decay to each drum hit, it makes the atmosphere more intense in my opinion. But then when you switch to more uplifting soundtracks, this effect can feel a bit overkill. I found on tracks such as Audiomachine - Glowing Embers, this effect is a bit too much, it is taking too much space.

Now these problem will go away with the blue module, as it has less sub bass. Because of that, I think GM is the best option for bass (if you purchase the extra module). The black module will greatly reward you if you feed it with the proper music, but for cleaner bass, the blue module is probably the better pick. I think it will work better for more styles of music. But even with black module, with longer time listening, your ears will adjust so that these issues won't bother you.



Trifecta on the other hand has a warm tuning, for me this is not something I will really call bassy. Unless you listen to tracks that has fewer lower mids content, the bass wouldn't standout as much. Trifecta iirc has no sub bass boost to the level like GM (black switch) compared to mid bass, so for kicks, it won't have that problem GM has, but on the other hand Trifecta is also known for being a slow pair of IEM, and struggles with anything speed.
I don't listen to hip hops at all, but for classical music, if I were to pick between the two, it will come down to the instrument I mainly listen to. If I crave for cellos and other lower mids heavy instruments, I think I would prefer the trifecta, as the warmer sound will highlight the texture of these instruments more. I remember loving the sound of the Thummim because of how the cello sounds on it. GM has a lean lower mids, so it won't be the best choice for these instruments. But for violin etc, I will not pick Trifecta at all. Unfortunately I find this area of frequencies to be Trifecta's biggest downfall. As soon as you reach into the upper mids - treble range, I find Trifecta to just sound weird at best. GM on the other hand stick to the mainstream-ish tuning, so it is alright. It is not the IEM to have amazing mids that wows you, but it also won't do any bad to the recording. Unique Melody's IEMs such as Mentor, New Masons are all just better option for mids imo.

For pop music, again it will depend on the region. The most amount of pop songs I listen to is j-pop. Where the singers compared to western signers tend to sound more petity, here I would pick GM over Trifecta, to give the singers as much stage as they can, more lower mids means less space for the voices to come through, not a great match for many Asian singing. The exception is with older pop songs, where I like the extra warmth. Having less elements in the upper registers will also help with the Trifecta's treble weakness.

Both of the IEMs have their problems, For GM, it will be the bass, it has the best bass in business, but I wouldn't say it is for everyone, especially if you are not getting the blue module, or for Trifecta, the speed or the tuning at the upper registers could spill problem for your music. If you are looking at GM, maybe you can also look into Annihilator? Hope this helps, @deep2285.

Yes it does. To be honest, Trifecta vs Grand Maestro is not an easy pick. I considered XE6, Trifecta and Grand Mastro.

I took XE6 out of the equation because it has a mid bass elevation as compared to sub bass.

Between the Trifecta and Grand Maestro, there are a few things that makes the former a bit more interesting.

I am a fan of slower bass or an overall slower sound. Fast sounding IEMs with Harmanish tuning are quite easy to find in the market but something with that 80's stereo 2 channel sound and a out of the box tuning deserves my money.

I like unique presentations, therefore the Trifecta seems like a better buy for my personal collection.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

What do you think as a proper upgrade from IERZ1R then?

The Z1R is a great IEM that is unique in what it does. It is marked by outstanding bass quality, great impact and tonality. And, it has an extremely clear presentation in the highs. Mids are a bit weak (especially in the lower mids) making it a tough sell for male vocals and the fit is very difficult for many. It is a classic and anyone who goes down the audiophile journey will want to experience it. It definitely belongs in the IEM hall of fame.

If you want a proper upgrade to it, then I would buy a DMP-Z1 and the Brise BSEP for Z1R cable. That is the best I have ever heard it and the warmth of the DMP helps to warm up the mids brilliantly. The Z1R scales up better than any other IEM I have tried.

Otherwise, if you want to find a complementary set, anything in the watercooler top 10 will do it. It really depends on what specifically you are seeking. I would go for something that is outstanding in the mids or grittier in presentation to complement the Z1Rs strength. That would be a set like Noble Ronin or Annihilator or even something like Singularity that has great sub bass but a much grittier sound. I would have also recommended something like an Amber Pearl or Red Halo/Les Jardin, but that would be higher than you budgeted.

 

[Rockwell75]

Yes it does. To be honest, Trifecta vs Grand Maestro is not an easy pick. I considered XE6, Trifecta and Grand Mastro.

I took XE6 out of the equation because it has a mid bass elevation as compared to sub bass.

Between the Trifecta and Grand Maestro, there are a few things that makes the former a bit more interesting.

I am a fan of slower bass or an overall slower sound. Fast sounding IEMs with Harmanish tuning are quite easy to find in the market but something with that 80's stereo 2 channel sound and a out of the box tuning deserves my money.

I like unique presentations, therefore the Trifecta seems like a better buy for my personal collection.

I think you're on the right track personally. I generally rec the Trifecta quite cautiously because it's a pretty egregious and unique presentation. However based on what you say here you've clearly done your research and seem to know exactly what you're getting into. Plus, Trifecta + Hop Hop is a great match. I think you're in for a treat if you go this route.

 

[fiascogarcia]

If you want a proper upgrade to it, then I would buy a DMP-Z1 and the Brise BSEP for Z1R cable. That is the best I have ever heard it and the warmth of the DMP helps to warm up the mids brilliantly. The Z1R scales up better than any other IEM I have tried.

Funny you should mention that!

 

[deep2285]

I think you're on the right track personally. I generally rec the Trifecta quite cautiously because it's a pretty egregious and unique presentation. However based on what you say here you've clearly done your research and seem to know exactly what you're getting into. Plus, Trifecta + Hop Hop is a great match. I think you're in for a treat if you go this route.

Since I am going to spend over $3 K and it will be my first IEM above $1,300 (Singularity) asking questions was vital as reviews can only do so much. I value user experience a lot more than reviews and this is the great thing about Watercooler.

Audiophiles are willing to answer questions quite patiently.

 

[claud W]

I've sold it twice and am considering giving it a third go. Mid-bass/lower mids is an area I'm particularly fixated on, which is why IER Z1R is a specialist IEM for me...however what it does is so good, as has been indicated here, it cannot be topped to this day on the market.



This is a thorough and fair appraisal.

Recently purchased IER Z1R. I have put off buying one since I moved from headphones to IEMs. No reason other the negative fit posts. Money well spent.

 

[chickenmcnug]

Funny you should mention that!

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

 

[deep2285]

Funny you should mention that!
It

My goodness. It looks marvelous.