SONY MDR-Z1R WW2 Signature, Hi-Res Headphone, Black (International Version)

I don't consider myself an audiophile by any standard, but just love listening to music. My best analogy is that Jay Leno isn't a race car driver, but he does own and enjoy driving a lot of fast cars. These headphones deliver that in spades. Going from a $300 pair to an $800 pair to these I can tell the difference immediately. I forgot to bring these to work today and had to 'suffer' with my Bose QC25s (the at the time $300 pair) and it was brutal. That's how spoiled these make you. Listening to Z1Rs after either of my previous cans is like OMG. Despite how large these are, they are extremely comfortable. These are the first pair of headphones I've owned that have 'new car smell.' Sound quality and detail is excellent and you don't need an amp to use them on your phone. However, I'm using a Dragonfly Red and it just makes them even better. If you're willing to drop a few mortgage payments on a set of cans, get a Dragonfly because at this point lol. My amp on my PC can make these bang if I choose to, but it's not really a great idea. They have a very relaxing feel to them - you can have music blasting and fall asleep with these on. Don't get me wrong, if you listen to something like metal or hardstyle these can still deliver, but it's kind of like being knocked out by silk gloves instead of a baseball bat. If you plan on going deaf and absolutely blasting music these are not ideal, my $800 Audeze pair does much better at this. If you blast music sound quality will fall apart, but again I'm talking deafening levels. Anything else, just wow. You'll listen to genres you never listen to just because how good these sound. Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture, Indiana Jones - Theme Song, Technotronic - Move This, etc. I listen to a lot of trance music and one of my favorite DJs is DJ Tiesto from the late 90s/early 2000s. I find most of his recent stuff unlistenable. Driving to work the other day I listened to his Ultra set at Miami 2018 in my car. Bad at best. I put the same set on these headphones and thought, "yeah this is pretty good." That's what these things do, they make you love listening to music. The other feature that I love with these is the *option* of your wires locking into the headphone or being detachable. This is almost the sole reason I didn't buy a pair of Mr Speakers Ether C Flows. Snag the wire once and you're done. I go the the gym every other day and I don't want to worry about losing a few mortgage payments because I snagged a stupid wire. Yes it's happened since purchase. The negatives to these are the wires. The wire quality is excellent, but the user friendliness is nonexistent. You have two wires - a 10 foot wire with a traditional headphone jack and a ~4 foot wire with a 4.4mm Sony headphone jack. This means for portable use, you have to either buy a custom made wire elsewhere for at least $150 (generally twice that) or have this massive 10 foot wire. Awful. The other wire won't connect to anything except Sony products and buying a converter cable is difficult and costly. Etsy currently has a converter jack that's $169. Just for the jack. The Ebay wires I bought for $50 from China don't work with an iPhone as you'll only get sound through one ear. Out of spite, I will never purchase any Sony product made for this wire. If you are purchasing these for home use, the wire length doesn't matter, but if you want to use them elsewhere keep that in mind. I currently have a Moon Audio Dragon wire, and I think the entire 'wire will bring better sound' is complete crap, but I don't want to have some 10 foot wire when working out and other options are closer to $1000 - *for a wire*

I've had these for a few days so I guess I'm still burning them in but I don't know if I believe in that. I think it is more about letting my brain adjust to the sound signature and just fall in love with them. Upon first listen, I wasn't blown away by much other than the bass. My other headphones include the HD800, HD58X, HD650 and HE-400i. I'm used to a brighter sound signature and my 800's have the DuPont mod to try and tame them a bit because I'm pretty sensitive to sibilance. I'm not afraid to apply a little EQ to help balance the sound and I have different presets for all my headphones, including the Z1R now. I'm giving this headphone a trial between my two amps: Audio-gd NFB28.38 and Little Dot MKIII. I don't like it as much on the tube amp. The bass seemed more muddy on the MKIII but it's also why I love the HD800's on it because it adds some punch and bass to them. The tube amp likes the higher impedance anyway which the Z1R doesn't have. In fact, the 64 ohm impedance rating seems high based on testing because these are very loud on the NFB28 at modest volume settings. All of my other headphones need a higher setting to make the same volume. In terms of sound quality, going from the brighter headphones to these is what creates some disappointment. These have plenty of treble, especially with EQ, but they don't have that immediate brightness that makes you feel like the response is wide and open. It's more of a sound through a hollow piece of wood which sounds awful, but it's not as bad as that sounds. It's just that all the lows and mids are super pronounced, but the highs don't resonate with the same forward energy. You can still feel the ear strain from the highs with the right music so highs are not lacking, they just aren't as forward or complete. These cans are really tuned for certain music. Dance music really pops on these but I don't really like that stuff. Live music is absolutely amazing. It's like these were tuned for it and I couldn't believe how well it brought that stuff to life. Metal and rock guitar really crunches and sounds amazing with that emphasized low end. I've never heard bass guitars sound so forward and present on some of my music until these headphones. That totally blew me away. Overall, I'm falling in love with the sound signature and you quickly adapt to what I don't want to call a dark sound (because it isn't dark like the HD650) but a bit more of a bass/mid-centric sound with highs present to no extreme level unless a track is screamingly high. I'm going to listen to these when I want an easier, full sound and I will use my HD800's when I want a wider, more treble present, more explosive sounding playback but with less bass. That's about all I can say. The Z1R is a unique headphone compared to the others I have and fits well by being so different. Is it the headphone to replace all the others? Nope. It's just another tool in my arsenal to try and find the right sound that matches my mood that day. I think my next headphone to try will be the Fostex TH-900mk2 but I have to let the wallet cool down for a while!

I’m a bit of a headphone nut, and own most of the high-end headphones on the market, from Audeze LCD2 and LCD-X to T1s to Focal Utopias. These Sony’s have a high-quality driver and sound pretty good for a closed can, but the sound is very sculpted with an emphasis on mid bass. Sub-bass is limited and treble is very rolled off. They remind me of the LCD2s, but even more mellow. The treble is even more rolled off, and they are less dynamic and the bass is not as tight. They do respond to EQ on both ends. What I like: Great resolution Decent-sized, 3D and precise sound stage Solid build Comfortable: light and soft Great isolation: I’m using them on a plane right now. They are large and expensive, but there are no audiophile grade noise cancelling headphones other than AKG N90Q which are not as comfortable. Sound good for a closed can Respond to EQ Balanced, replaceable cable What I don’t like Sculpted sound that is not neutral Very relaxed sound - which can be enjoyed too for the right music/time About 30 hrs of burn in. Cable: WyWires Red. DAC: RHA Dacamp1 in balanced mode.

Headphones are great! BUT be wary buying these used. Mine didn't come with a balanced cable and was super dirty, which was disappointing because it was listed as "Mint" by the seller.

I can hear clearly now, like never before in my headphone life. Just had to get over that price hump to get here.

The good: - Quality build - Very comfortable ear cups - Wide soundstage - Head band can adjust to fit very large heads. I'm 6'2" and I had a lot of adjustment notches to spare The bad: - The headband isn't padded enough to be comfortable, at least on my head. However, this could be solved with an aftermarket pad. - The bass majorly bleeds into the midrange. It really takes away from its impactfulnes. Bass is plentiful but doesn't slam, at least not with a neutral eq - You'll have to EQ to bring out the mids and highs and eliminate a lot of the midbass bloat. I'd rather not fuss with that - These absolutely wear like you're Marvin the Martian. You'll have to make peace with that I was hoping the Z1R would replace my Denon AHD9200 headphones, but that wasn't the case. The 9200 ear cups press on my ears which isn't ideal (unlike the Sony), but I'm not willing to sacrifice sound quality to this degree for more comfort.

I bought this set to accompany Sony’s other little treasure the NW-WM1Z portable DAP or flagship Walkman. The combo sounds fantastic, well defined in all areas with an impressive soundstage. Even though the original release dates back to 2016 the headset is very competive and replaces or is used as an alternative to my B&W over ear P9 set. I went for a closed back set as not to bother other people in the room, noting they may compete quite well with open back units when it comes to “airiness”. I have to say they are big, nevertheless wear more comfortably than the P9 set for longer duration sessions. They sound a little less bass heavy though still fit the signature sound of Sony’s signature series. Which is warmer compared to more analytical sounding kit like iBasso DX200 which i also enjoyed a lot and still do. It is a matter of taste, noting that you can listen to this set for hours and hours without noticing any fatigue or tiredness which i feel is not so for many other sets/combo’s. Did do extensive internet research prior to actually buying it, which to be honest showed a lot of similar opinions and which prove to me to be quite truthful and accurate. The price is steep but absolutely worth it.

I'm on my 6th week of listening to my Sony Z1R headphones. Every listening session seems to get better and better and always starts with an involuntary laugh at how ridiculously good they sound to my ears. Kudos to Sony for their decision to throw their R&D prowess behind these headphones. One could rattle off the innovations that went into the design and build, but the only spec that really matters is how they sound to my discerning ears. I've been through just about every audiophile headphone over the past 3 years. I've purchased and sold dozens of cans ranging from top-end planar to dynamic to electrostatics. I thought I had found the ultimate closed headphone in the MrSpeaker Ether Flow C until I heard the Z1R for the very first time. I could not unhear it and ultimately unloaded my Flow C's because I just didn't use them anymore. So my collection is now a pair of Senn. HD800S open headphones and my Sony Z1R closed headphones. I have to say that my Z1R gets 80% of my listening sessions simply because they pair the best with the majority of my amps and source material. I still grab my HD800S for tube listening on my Woo WA8 at home, but the Z1R goes with me when I head to the coffee shop or office. The sound isolation is outstanding, even at low volume. And when you pair these with Sony's ZH1ES headphone amp ....just wow! I've gone back and listened to my collection of live recordings and am hearing background audio content I've never heard before. And the soundstage delivered from the ZH1ES into the Z1R is like something I've never heard before on any amp or headphone combo. Even at CanJam this past year, the only thing I heard that exceeds this combo would be the Sennheiser Orpheus. Even when I listened to the Sony combo at CanJam, I don't remember it sounding as good as what I'm now getting at home. Yes, these are very expensive in comparison to other choices. My justification for shelling out $4K for the Sony Z1R + ZH1ES combo was pretty simple. Once I got them, they became like "my precious", my one-ring to exceed everything else. So I sold off everything else and now have a reference system that satisfies me so much, I have no desire to shop for anything else. I've found my ideal setup in the Z1R, which can travel with me and my WM1A, my Woo WA8, or be my desktop audio reference when I'm at home and paired with my ZH1ES.

Leyendo muchos comentarios sobre estos auriculares me hacían estar poco seguro sobre si cuadrarían con mi gusto. Especialmente por dos razones: tratarse de unos auriculares cerrados (no había escuchado ningún cerrado que me diese ni de lejos la apertura de sonido que me gusta) y varios comentarios sobre que tienen un sonido excesivamente cálido. Pues bien, solo puedo decir que es el auricular que más me gusta de todos los que tengo y he probado. Me parece una absoluta delicia en cuanto a su equilibrio general, naturalidad en la presentación del sonido, increíble apertura y definición espacial (máxime cuando son unos auriculares cerrados) y una calidad de construcción y presentación absolutamente acorde con un producto de élite. Cada vez que los escucho refuerzan más y más la sensación de encontrarme ante un producto muy madurado, muy afinado/refinado y en el que se han empleado muchos recursos y cuidado en su desarrollo. Para mi es un absoluto clásico y una demostración magistral de lo que se puede lograr cuando se aunan el saber hacer y los recursos casi ilimitados que pone una gran compañía cuando quiere crear un producto bandera. Extraordinario. P.D.: Tal y como se comenta son unos auriculares que, si bien son fáciles de mover incluso con un móvil o un reproductor portátil, agradecen y se muestran en todo su esplendor con amplificadores dedicados de enjundia. Por cierto, no hacerse una idea total de su sonido recién estrenados...Efectivamente, son auriculares que necesitan de unas buenas 200 de horas de uso para empezar a "abrir" su sonido. Y no, esto no es placebo o acostumbrarse a ellos.

Qualità del suono ECCELLENTE! Consigliate sopratutto a chi davvero è appassionato di alta fedeltà ed ha un hi fi a componenti di fascia alta. Devo dire che hanno superato le mie aspettative che erano già alte. Oltre all’eccellente qualità del suono sono anche molto confortevoli da indossare. Non so nella storia di Sony se, a parte le MDR-R10 KING risalenti a fine anni Ottanta inizio anni novanta, siano state prodotte altre cuffie di questo livello. Grazie ad Amazon per avere reso facilissimo l’import!

Nach langem Zögern - Z7 und Z7m2, B&W P9 und andere Kopfhörer bereiten mir schon lange sehr viel Freude mit ihren sehr unterschiedlichen Abstimmungen und Klangbildern, wobei wahrscheinlich der Z7 derjenige ist, zu dem ich am häufigsten greife - ist es nun doch dazu gekommen. Anfangs war ich skeptisch, weil ich mir einen wirklichen Sprung in der Klangqualität nicht vorstellen konnte. Mit dem Öffnen des Pakets hat sich der skeptische Ansatz aufgelöst. Es ist einfach … sehr gut, was die Z1R leisten (fast immer mit dem NW-WM1A ohne Volume-cap). Das zwingt zum Grinsen im Gesicht. Extrem weit, klar, breit im Spektrum, präzise, offen und mit einem Tiefgang, der seinesgleichen sucht. Für mich weit jenseits der Denon- und Pioneer-Topmodelle, die ich auch hatte und von denen ich mich getrennt habe - zu wenig homogen und ausgeglichen. Der Z1R ist einfach Klasse.

Exquisite, a thing of beauty it is Gorgeous and is packed like a precious jewellery with every part of this headphone being premium and MADE IN JAPAN very nice and powerful sound on the warm side and clear and crisp non fatiguing treble very fun enjoyable experience if your budget allows get one and experience this pure bliss

(Update Jan 2017: After almost 3 months ownership, the initial opinion remains. To my ears these are the best closed cans you can get. Emphasis to -closed-. There are limitations by design, but otherwise, the Z1R are indeed the new R10) Build quality is absolutely fantastic... you can tell they were assembled by a human with great care, and I'm even including the case. The no-nonsense minimalist design of the Z1R - where nothing is added beyond what is necessary for the sound signature and comfort is a 10/10. Still, this might be as closest as Sony got to the R10/CD3000 in recent years... Are they very good sonically? Yes. Are they good enough to surpass the old classic or even justify the current MSRP cost? I'm not sure yet... I'll tell you in a few days. But whoa... have I mentioned how outstanding they are in materials/assembly? PROS: -Outstanding build quality. Top notch materials and machining/assembly. Super simple design, nothing added beyond what is necessary for sound. No decoration, no useless plastic, nothing. Function over form. Even the case is very well built, wood frame, about 5kg. -Excellent soundstage/imaging/positioning for closed cans. This is the closed cousin of the the HD800[S] in sense of space. -Great sound isolation (Truly closed, not semi, which can be a plus in some scenarios). Despite that, they still sound airy and resonance is very low. -Nice thin, light cable, not microphonic, nice ridges and great grip. No need for 2kg cables (cof-cof-Utopia-cof) -Sweet,sweet mid-range.Not laid back but not in-your-face. Diana Krall on DSD sounds natural and captivating. -Higher mids and treble are on the warm side but still excellent resolution. All the detail is there without being sibilant or harsh. -Tight, punchy bass with great extension. Not a silly bloated Z7. Combined with the previous darkish-tonality and soundstaging you get a signature that does give a sense of live speakers. Massive Attack's Blue Lines? Check. Hotel California? Check. Chemical Brothers? Check. Telarc's classical and opera? All Chesky binaural recordings? Check. and so on and on... -Very easy to drive. Impedance/sensitivity help. No need to spend 30-100% of the headphones cost in amping. -Comfort is excellent, they fit and feel lighter. Despite a sense of warm up normal with leather pads, they're flawless. LESS GOOD: -Despite high quality, bass can be fatiguing in some tracks. They're very rare but I hit a few, "few" as in single digit amount. They're great on jazz, classical, pop, rock and pretty much anything without an insanely bloated bass mastering. Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" Live is a negative exception, it's like a punch in the face when the bass guitar enters at around 1:30s. But I didn't experience that bass fatigue with many tracks, the deep sub-bass extension on Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy"? No problem! It sounds tight and precise, just right. The murderous sub-bass on "Why So Serious"of the Dark Knight OST, that makes many headphones pop and die...Just perfect, a visceral thump that is a close to full-size speaker sound as you're going to get with headphones. -Soundstage is airy and holographic but still not as good as on the HD800/HD800S. But good luck finding closed headphones that match those... -Just realized I don't have enough complaints, so I'll complain about the price and say that these should be landing in the 1.6-1.7K bracket for perfection. What else.. hmmm, you might want a slightly brighter sound if that's your style, but I usually prefer very bright signatures and still enjoy the Z1R a lot. Put Chesky's Macy Gray's "Stripped" or Melissa Menago's "Little Crimes" albums playing in these and you will see how amazing they are. The level of detail in both is fantastic, bass, mids, treble just right. The airy sense of the recordings, the great positioning and layering. All there. In fact, I recommend these two Chesky albums to any audiophile who wants to test gear. OVERALL: -95/100. I'm taking the other 5% because I do prefer a bright sound in general and these are bright, but could be a tiny bit brighter to please my old ears. They are good, very very good. MDR-CD3000/MDR-R10 level of good? I think so, if you get past the aura of untouchable godliness of the R10, these are a totally modernized superior new tool (this has been admitted by the designer of the R10, now mentoring one of the Z1R designers). The only question is if they're worth the full MSRP price. Maybe. -I'd recommend these for any type of music that isn't very bass-heavy naturally, and from that I mean ridiculously poorly mastered super bassy. [Disclaimer] All photos are of my set and I didn't get anything for this review except spending my own money. Ah. That's how reviews sound better.