[terrav]

It's super great to see everyone has the same feeling as mine. The M9 is perfect for me rather than Andro and the Solaris as well

.

 

[OG10]

The IER-1ZR looks so gorgeous.. I bet Campfire Audio have inspired Sony to this.
It will be interesting to see a review between that and the Solaris

 

[gerelmx1986]

I bet the Z1R will be better than the m9, the components used by Sony are of higher quantity on the former

 

[davidmolliere]

I bet the Z1R will be better than the m9, the components used by Sony are of higher quantity on the former

And I bet they will be different

 

[Love Music]

Has anyone compared the m7 to the empire ears evr ?

 

[Hinomotocho]

I've just arrived in Japan for a 1 month holiday, one of my main goals is to replace my XBA-Z5 - I love the sound but can't stand the fit which requires constant adjustment, so they have to go.
When I finally upgraded to the Z5 from the A3 it was a dream because I had reached TOTL. I feel a little bummed that even secondhand only the M7 maybe within my reach. I am open to change and I may really like the M7 when I try them, and I may do myself the favour of not even trying the M9 and 1R, but I may just miss the low end that the Z5 had.
Is there anyone else out there who has happily switched to the M7 from the Z5, or have you gone in search of a hybrid with dynamic driver?

 

[Dsnuts]

Ooo going from the Z5 with it's big Sony sound to a monitor like presenation of the M7. Can't say this is an upgrade to the Z5 especially if your looking for a full bass end. M9 and 1R especially is a different story but imo the M7 is a bit underwelming especailly for the price.

 

[audionewbi]

Ooo going from the Z5 with it's big Sony sound to a monitor like presenation of the M7. Can't say this is an upgrade to the Z5 especially if your looking for a full bass end. M9 and 1R especially is a different story but imo the M7 is a bit underwelming especailly for the price.

Thanks for this, I never got to try the M7, but recent sales got me interest. I honestly think M9, as a package, at is price point competes with the likes of JH Layla.

 

[Hinomotocho]

Ooo going from the Z5 with it's big Sony sound to a monitor like presenation of the M7. Can't say this is an upgrade to the Z5 especially if your looking for a full bass end. M9 and 1R especially is a different story but imo the M7 is a bit underwelming especailly for the price.

I had feared that - if anyone has some suggestions for a Z5 replacement could you please pm me, thanks

 

[Dsnuts]

M7 reminded me a lot of the old EX600 earphones. Same tuning. A bit boring to be completely honest. It was made for monitoring which is perfectly fine for that but for actual music listening.

Pass.

 

[davidmolliere]

M7 reminded me a lot of the old EX600 earphones. Same tuning. A bit boring to be completely honest. It was made for monitoring which is perfectly fine for that but for actual music listening.

Did you hear the M9?
Pretty interested by your take on it

 

[Dsnuts]

I heard all 3 phones at Can Jam this year in Denver. Definitely pass on the M7. M9 is Sony's version of the Andromeda tuning.

I would be willing to bet it will have a similar Fr to the standard Andromeda on how it was tuned. It has some of the best BA bass I have heard sounded more like a dynamic. Even more so than the Andromeda. That is perhaps the magic of Sony's new BAs. They managed to get BA bass even closer to sounding more like real bass. So that was the biggest take away but overall I remember mids being very smooth. M9 had a nice wide stage too. Treble was also done very well on them. Maybe a bit more refined than the Andros here as well. This was just from demoing so I am not 100% on these thoughts but it is what I got from it.

Then I heard the Z1R. It made me forget the other two almost instantly. M9 has its own sound however. The M9 is a bit like how the Andromeda is and the Z1R is like the Solaris. But Sony's version. It is kinda weird how the two companies have earphones that kinda mirror each other.

 

[mrtim6]

Dsnuts - thanks for your initial impressions, can you please provide a bit more info regarding the IER-Z1R and why it made you forget the M9?

I bought the M9 and I’m absolutely wrapped with how they sound even in ‘low-fi’ situations such as paired with my iPad using tidal & dragonfly red they are really engaging. I used the analogy of mini utopia, because like the Utopias, they have great detail, scale really well and still remain positively engaging with most music genres. Unlike the HD800 which is really fussy about dac/amp pairings and comes off frequently as too dry and boring with many recordings despite with the right setup being spectacular on others.

 

[davidmolliere]

@Dsnuts Thanks looks like M9 is really interesting!

 

[Dsnuts]

Dsnuts - thanks for your initial impressions, can you please provide a bit more info regarding the IER-Z1R and why it made you forget the M9?

I bought the M9 and I’m absolutely wrapped with how they sound even in ‘low-fi’ situations such as paired with my iPad using tidal & dragonfly red they are really engaging. I used the analogy of mini utopia, because like the Utopias, they have great detail, scale really well and still remain positively engaging with most music genres. Unlike the HD800 which is really fussy about dac/amp pairings and comes off frequently as too dry and boring with many recordings despite with the right setup being spectacular on others.

It isn't a knock on the M9. The two best sounding phones at the Sony table was the M9 and the Z1R. Z1R has a WOW factor you would never suspect from in ears. It didn't sound like anything else I heard all night. It sounds more like a speaker representation more than earphones or headphones for that matter and they pulled it off to sound correct. It sounded way better than the headphone version.

It was magical and I wasn't even listening to it using their higher end amps. I was plugged in single ended out of my cheap Shanling M3s. It left an impression on me that I will never forget. The presentation of the sound was what was the WOW factor. It was spacious beyond anything else I heard including the audio 64 stuff. In fact the 1R got the attention of the Audio 64 guys as they were curious why people were obsessed over the Sony table. It was because of the Z1R. The M9 is an excellent sounding earphone. The Z1R is more like high end in ear speakers is the best way to describe it.
I can tell Sony threw in a lot of RnD magic into that earphone and what people are gonna get is something completely NEW. Meaning it hasent been done before. And I truly mean that. It was the star of the show for me and there was no close second.

@Dsnuts Thanks looks like M9 is really interesting!

I remember you mentioning you tried out the Andromeda. Imagine that with a Sony twist and you got the M9. Some will say it is a side grade to the Andromeda or upgrade. It will be a matter of taste but I do believe the M9 will be a more musical more dynamic evolution on that tuning. If you have a chance to demo them or check em out at a show. They are worth checking out.