Sony IER-Z1R Review and Measurements

Discussion in 'IEM Measurements' started by purr1n, Jun 7, 2019.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Measurements first, subjective impressions a bit later.

    Sony IER-Z1R Frequency Response
    Take everything over 8kHz with a grain of salt
    upload_2019-6-13_22-44-13.png

    Sony IER-Z1R Harmonic Distortion (at above levels)
    upload_2019-6-13_22-4-51.png

    upload_2019-6-13_22-4-59.png

    Sony IER-Z1R Impedance
    [​IMG]


    P.S. Obligatory photo:
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2019
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Comparison to Campfire Audio Andromeda
    upload_2019-6-7_19-29-55.png
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Distortion of JVC-FD01 for reference
    upload_2019-6-13_22-11-19.png

    Slighter higher overall than Sony, but less 3rd order from 2-4kHz. 3rd and 4th don't increase as much going below 40Hz.
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2019
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Subjective impressions:
    • Low end lays it on thick but not sluggish, this is not explained by FR (usually emphasis in high bass for this), but more likely a result of the higher than average distortion, especially D2.
    • Overall tonal balance is like the modded JVC from the mids on down. However, the IER-Z1R has more emphasis in the lower treble and has a bit of spotlit zing in the mid/high treble. This zing is a little bit like the Elear's, but more evident.
    • Timbre is a bit disjointed between highs and lows, possible because of the sudden rise in the 3rd harmonic from 2kHz to 5kHz that also coincides with a drop in the 2nd harmonic.
    • The high end is lively sounding, however, the low end can't seem to get it up in terms of dynamics. This further adds to the sense of disjointedness between the highs and the lows. The lows remind me of super inefficient speakers with 2x8" woofers that have good extension.
    • Bass is less murky than the JVC FD01, but it just can't get it up like the JVC.
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2019
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Taking Q&A and requests to try to hear specific things... now is your chance. I don't want to hear anyone complain that they were being misled one way or the other.
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Oh crap... this isn't a DD/BA hybrid is it?
     
  8. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    The distortion is reflective of the config (dynamic low+mid, BA tweeter, dynamic super tweeter). How about the impedance? The dynamic woofer is based on the Z1R over-ears, so you can say mission (probably to recreate the over ear in an IEM) accomplished i guess lol?
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2019
  9. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    Resolution and soundstage/layering? I guess Andromeda is the de facto reference here.
     
  10. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    Does it sound like a $2k IEM?
     
  11. Cellist88

    Cellist88 Friend

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    Maybe the iem needs some constant burn-in like the solaris before a final say.

    Comparisons with the solaris would be nice as it seems to be the other option that is highly regarded.

    Specifically in the mids in relation to vocals. The solaris seems to have a depression at 4k, but sony is elevated in this area. I didn't like the bite the pp8 had and the one small gripe I had with the solaris was this rasp/hollowness in the mids.

    Agree @jowls Resolution, soundstage/layering, imaging precision. Also since its less sensitive than campfire iems, if the thing actually scales with more powerful amps.
     
  12. EagleWings

    EagleWings Friend

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    Yep, it’s a hybrid. It has 2 x DDs and 1 x BA. One DD handles lows and lower mids, the BA handles upper mids and lower treble and the second DD handles upper treble. Possibly why 3rd HD dominates in the 2-5kHz region.

    Are you using the ZX2 as your source? Just to bullet proof your impressions regarding the limp bass, may be try it with a desktop amp? I constantly see fanboys throw the ‘you are not using a powerful source’ line on the Z1R thread on HeadFi. To be fair though, I have come across DD based IEMs (Rhapsodios and Dita) that work noticeably better on desktop amps, and the Z1R could be like that.
     
  13. Crinacle

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    @purr1n I tested my unit out of curiosity (haven't done distortion measurements in a while) and wasn't getting high distortion numbers like yours was. For context, mine was registering about 0.1~0.2% THD (-50dB SPL maximum in absolute terms) with no particular harmonic dominating. Or if it did, it would still be D2 from 3k up, at any case it's around the ballpark of the typical DD IEMs I've measured on this site. No third harmonic fuckery going on, which is pretty interesting since most hybrids I've measured always have D3 taking over past 1k. What were your settings in this case?

    Interestingly, I did get that 800Hz spike in distortion as well in certain shorter averaged settings. I assume that's where the crossover point is.

    IER-Z1R.png
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2019
  14. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Repeating @Ash1412 's request, I'd like to see the impedance too. The hybrids I've measured haven't had profiles that are too crazy, but they've all been DD bass & BA mids & highs - I haven't seen a DD - BA - DD, and it'd be interesting to see how amp-sensitive this might be (both in terms of FR changes and likely response to power).
     
  15. Crinacle

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    Impedance measurements are also available on 0dB:
    [​IMG]

    Full suite here (including THD)
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Let me go back and check my levels and calibrations. For harmonic distortion, I do push the SPL hard.
     
  17. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Similar character to other hybrids, and with that range the FR shouldn't be too amp sensitive.
     
  18. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    So added impedance should tame upper treble zing? Probably wouldn’t take much and too much might kill any air.
     
  19. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Guesstimating - that c. 12k peak would come down 2-3 dB with around 4 ohms output impedance.

    Edit: actually a bit less - 1.5-2 dB.
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2019
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Good catch! Took me an hour to figure out. Still not totally sure, but it seemed to be related to a USB cable which screwed up the registered SPL. With Windows, it's never easy. I redid the plots above.

    I don't think the 800Hz spike is related to the xover point. In many instances, they can be measurement artifacts. Since we both have it, might be related to the housing or something inside.
     

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