Sony MDR-Z1R High-Resolution Audio Premium Over-Ear Headphones - Black

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These look and feel stunning in the hands. The way Sony presented them in the little jewelry box really solidifies what Sony wanted these to be; a halo product that is one of a kind. They're built very well and can easily last generations with the machining being super precise.

Highs: The highs are pretty well extended without being sibilant, no, they aren't recessed at all, very airy presentation with tons of details and resolution in both Macro and micro-details. Mozart Symphonies 35-41, HV. Karajan, DG, FLAC 16/44.1. J.L Krebs Complete works for Organ (11 volume, 16/44.1 FLAC, Felix Friedrich label Querstand). Mozart Flute Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, DG, Orpheus Chamber orchestra 16/44.1. The XBA-Z5 had pretty recessed treble, thus contributing to it's dark signature. I end this not technical review or thoughts by apologizing to my Z1R because trying to cheat on it.

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To summarize: if you like V-shaped sound signature and aren’t too bothered about the subtleties of vocals — this is it, this is the IEM to end all V-shaped IEMs.

So I broke my own rule of not comparing a new headphone with other headphones until I had listened to it by itself for a few days. I compared with my Sennheiser HD800S, Focal Clear, LCD-3, and Meze 99 Classics, and all four of these sounded a lot better to me than the Z1R. I then went and grabbed my relatively inexpensive M40X and M50X, and they too sounded better to me than the Z1R. What's going on here?

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The bass extends too far into the mids, resulting in a somewhat bloated and boomy bass, and reduced overall clarity. At this point I don't even want to comment on the graph and what-not, if you're talking about IEMs of this calibre, the graph can only tell you so much because other than telling you the IER-Z1R is a mild V-shaped IEM with slightly warm characteristics and recessed mids, it clearly doesn't show anything about its technicality, which I will actually go into first. Disclaimer: The star of this weeks’ picture Sunday is Sony’s MDR-Z1R . We got this sample on loan for a few weeks from Sony Japan. This post is a part of our Picture Sunday series. The Sony house sound is revolutionary. It contains a set of tones which could come off as garish. It’s different for sure.........almost brutish and unrefined yet holding a level of intimate-detail at the same time. If anything it’s weird and different upon a first listen. It also could be considered an acquired taste like blue-cheese, seemingly wrong but then right after acclimation. Personally I love the sound but also realize that it is the result of whole systems and audiophile synergy which smooths out the imbalances and clarifies the strong points. And even with all the ideas of getting correction....tone is everything. For some the Sony house sound will never be acceptable. For many they fall-out of romance due to other headphones offering a more acceptable rendition of reality. There is no right or wrong here, no one sound signature is either containing good or bad taste! Ok, I was making all that up. It does to a point (only to a point) but somehow the IER-Z1R works around the concept offering so much detail along with the color that you could almost believe the above.