Sony MDR-Z1R

Crikey, that's a heck of a cut so soon. Although I returned mine (phew), at the new price they're a far more tempting proposition.

 

Amazon.it has them for 1665€. At this rate they will be sold for 1000€ right after Christmas .

 

Hahaha glad I got this for USD 1500. As I said before this headphone should be priced at around Eikon price

 

Where????

 

@gbeast check my profile

 

Well I went ahead and had a sneak peek with the Sony: Easy to drive (straight outta from tidal->iphone), super comfy, nice bass impact, decent isolation. Too short audit time made it hard to make better notes.

Pretty positive first impressions. Not gonna bite the 1800€ bullet tho, my last pair of closed cans were Ether C and I've learned from my costly mistakes.

In my eyes MDR-Z1R has promise but at current situation it's waaaay overpriced. They had the fun factor which tickles my gaming bone in a very nice manner. Should the price drop remarkably they could well be the sort of closed cans I've been looking for. Versatile, fun and impactful. Need moar auditing and better source/amp to make better remarks.

 

Interested in how these compare vs the Ether C. I didn't even realize these were closed back until now because of the weird mesh/grill on the outside of the cups.

 

Comparing cans from the memory ain't the best way to go but here are my quick thoughts about Sony vs Ether C:

-Sony had better bass presence and impact
-C might have been a tad more resolving, difference was not big by any standards
-C's were leaner and more neutral
-not sure about the sound stage
-Sony felt more comfortable on my nuggin'

I'd go with the Sony if I had to pick one from these two.

Mandatory YMMV and sack of Habanero.

 

Long before I got the Z1R, I tried the C and wasn't intrigued. I got the Z1R on a if-I-don't-love-it-I'll-return-it-for-a-refund lark and I haven't even thought about returning it. It has become my Galatea.

 

Damn the prices are falling, I just nabbed pair for 1188£. Gonna exploit Amazon's awesome return policy shamelessly should my opinion about these cans change after extensive test drive. Warehouse deals ftw!

 

I have to say, these come in a big ass box!





As of now I have to say... I LIKE A LOT!!!
Even straight from the phone, their sound is quite good and inoffensive.

Listening to Wiz Khalifa and The Cure (yeah, don't judge me!!!) and these are doing a better job than the Ether Flow-Cs to my ears. Need a bit more time, but these might be keepers for me (do note that my fave closed-back == Ultrasone Signature DJs --> http://www.changstar.com/www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,2084.0.html ).

 

I'm more worried about the condition of the cups in 5 or 10 years...

I'd like to think there will be headband parts available as replacements, even if someone has to order them from Japan.

 

Have you done listening through different sources of purely out of phone? I know it's easy to drive from basically anything but pairing with tube amps is in my great interest. The warehouse deal I picked was canceled - I decided to play the waiting game after all. Price is still too high.

 

Out of my phone and through:
1) PC (foobar) --> Schiit Modi 2 Uber --> Burson Soloist SL
2) Phone --> iFi iDSD micro

So, as you can see, no real "expensive" nor the very best options but enough for my ears/preferences (and definitely no tubes. ).
They sound excellent through all and I actually enjoy them more through the ifi iDSD Micro!
I have to say that the more I listen to them, the more I like them! Their tone is excellent, imaging is great, bass is not super overpowering (but it is a bit elevated), mids-treble transition doesn't sound problematic to my ears, etc. etc. And they are comfortable to boot! I think I found a winner! And I haven't had anyone tell me that they are hearing my music so leakage is probably minimal or acceptable for my work office. All good so far.

 

How is the resolution and overall vocal performance compare to the HD650? They look damn sexy!

 

Hey everyone. I've been around for quite some time but kept procrastinating on creating the account. Finally got around to it.

I've had them since the first batch (or close to that) was shipped in Europe (October 10 or so). I bought them after getting a lot of information, but it was also a leap of faith, which I took merely because I could return them easily, and in fact expected to do so.

Soon it will be two months of ownership and I have to say they have become one of my favorite headphones. Sound quality is fantastic and very speaker-like with good bass and mids, an overall warmish signature and good sense of space, build quality and materials are outstanding and so is the very functional minimalist design and overall presentation (the wood/leather/satin case alone gives you the feeling you're unboxing a luxury watch and I can see it lasting 30 years easily, which is good for resale value).

Sony gets a lot of flak and a lot of it is well deserved. I haven't bought Sony gear in many years, but this release is worth it. Won't get into the cliches of calling them the new R10, since around three decades have passed, but I can see these becoming a special model, given enough time. I got the MDR-CD3000 almost 20 years ago and back then some people thought they were quite "meh" but they managed to survive in my inventory all this time (and are now worth more than they cost, even inflation-adjusted) and I think the Z1R are the set that might finally take their place.

So I can say I have been positively surprised. I've actually sold my HD 800 S recently, am considering selling the CD3000 and know a couple of people who sold both a HEK and a K812 because they got the Z1R. In all these cases the reason was not that the other headphones are bad, quite the contrary, they are very good (and quite different of course), but like me, those users prefer not to have several TOTL models due to limited listening time, and the Z1R have proven to be better all-rounders. Sounding good, impeccably built (they make a few TOTL competitors feel like a Happy Meal toy), quite easy to drive and having the benefit of isolation while still sounding very open and holographic (for closed cans).

IMO, they are worth even the retail price, which is something I haven't said about many headphones. A decent discount will make them irresistible.

Might go for something nice and open soon tho, and perhaps a Z1R+Utopia combo is my Closed+Open sweet spot to park the wallet for several years.

 

good seeing you around here beowulf

 

I've got these headphones since a week ago and I find that one their main characteristics is the ability to sound good without being amped. Right now the source I most enjoy them is from a DAP. At the same time I think that the amp must be chosen with care, or sometimes they can be too bassy. It's not that I don't like them, because I do, but you don't need anything that makes the bass more prominent or going uncontrolled. In any case I find the bass quite textured if that's the word, easy to follow and I like the foundation it gives. Nevertheless I don't think these headphones are dark, and I find them well balanced (the bass just a bit elevated). In contrast with the Alpha Dogs I've got I'd say that the MDR-Z1R are in a total different level, crystal clear and much more funny and enjoyable. I think they are a keeper although I'll wait for a proper source.

 

It's really nice that you've found the ultimate cans for you. I had another short go with them too and was enjoying my time. A lot. Best closed headphones I've heard so far. 1800€ good? Nope. Gotta disagree with you there. Then again I'm not money man.

I could not care less with extravaganza packaging or other non-audio fuss. They should push cheapo version (packaged inside used condom) for all I care. Enjoy them anyways.

Comparison to ZMF Eikon/Atticus? Anyone?