Sony IER-Z1R Review : Endgame(?)

It's literally only over a year after I've got my BL-01s that suddenly, one of my friends finally had their hands on (what I constantly hear from him) one of the best sounding IEMs on the market. We all know there's an endgame to every hobby so when I heard my friend just spent money on something that retails for 7k+ MYR/~1800USD (at the time), I was genuinely intrigued. To be able to spend such an amount on a pair of IEMs is just unimaginable.

But anyways-

He lent it to me, and here we are.

Big thanks to Whang for lending me his pair to test drive for a few days, and as of the time I am writing this I have probably stole it from his hands and listened to it for more than 50 hours already

The IER-Z1R is literally Sony's top of the line flagship IEMs. What you're getting out of this is the best that Sony can offer, courtesy of Eiji Kuwahara. But whether it delivers and justifies it's hefty price that most people cannot even comprehend for an "earphone", let's talk about it now.

A TRUE UNBOXING EXPERIENCE

Now, before I even talk about the IEM, let's just take a moment to appreciate the packaging that Sony did to made you feel like you've got your money's worth.

In a nutshell, the unboxing experience is literally the equivalent of a jewelry box. Opening the top of the lid reveals a hard case that houses the 2 headshells within. Underneath that are literal magnetic trays that can slide out like drawers to reveal the other accesories, which are the 2 cables, balanced and unbalanced to MMCX terminations, as well as two types of tips with a wide array of sizes, to ensure the fit is good for almost everyone. To say that this unboxing experience doesn't heightens the experience of getting this pair would be an understatement.

BUILD QUALITY & FIT

The Z1R itself is has a very big shell and it is entirely made of zirconium alloy, so it overall has a heft to it. Its overall design in terms of ergonomics depend on the medium-longish nozzle to be inserted into your ears so that a good seal exists, as well as being able to hear the full effect of the super tweeter. The stock cables also feel premium with a rubberized feel to it (not those soft rubber where it gets sticky), and has little memory to it, making it look as natural as well.

However, with such builds come sacrifices, such as half of my ear canal's virginity.

Due to the weight of the Z1R, personally, my ear canal does start to hurt a little after listening to it for more than 1 hour due to the constant pressure, so keep that in mind. Its not that I love to make my earholes feel like they're being f'ed, but you really need to shove it in deep to create a seal and to get all of that treble extension. And to add to this, the hook design is just not functional because the length and angle of the hook just totally goes over your ear. I think this is best described by Joshua Valour in his reviews.

SOUND

Source : Foobar2000 -> JCally JM10 Dongle DAC (CS43131) -> S.M.S.L. SH-6 Amplifier -> Stock IER-Z1R

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.

TECHNICALITIES

Now I usually start talking about the bass, mids, and highs, but the Z1R can only be so good due to its technicalities. When I first listened to this IEM, the first thing that made me feel awe was the amount of resolution. Every single element in every song somehow gets a balance to shine regardless of whether they're main tracks of the song such as the lead guitars and vocals, or just layered, accompanied tracks, such as synths, layered vocals, and the micro detailed stuff from chimes to bells and strings in the back. Everything just comes in a full package.

Dynamics on this thing, paired with one of the widest soundstages I've heard then (only to lose to the Elysian Annihilator by a margin, but a lot to the Elysian X) makes the busiest tracks sound even more amazing than congested. You have like 10 things going on from vocals to cymbal crashes to kick drums to guitar leads to horns etc etc? Yeah we got you covered. The ability of the Z1R to retain resolution of everything is just elevated with the amazing separation it delivers.

Detail retrieval is only slightly behind the Elysian Annihilator but at this point, I'm literally comparing supercars. Anything at this price point will not disappoint to make you have an intimate and immersive experience with the music. One way to describe the Z1R's detail retrieval performance would be everything is presented in a more controlled and smooth manner, while the Annihilator sounds more organic and will not be shy to sound strong when its needed.

BASS

• Bass on the Z1R is well controlled and has a polite amount of subbass to it; low ends sound clean and lean without any bloatiness or muddiness

• Subbass sounds amazing with the extension, giving it a very smooth end to it

• Midbass seperates from the subbass well, showing its own characteristics from the rumbles

• Kick drums sound thumpy in the most organic way possible

MIDS

1.Vocals

• Vocals do sound slightly recessed but its only noticeable if you try to nitpick, other than that it still sounds so much better than anything else

  • Male vocals such as Mac Miller sound clear, crisp, sharp

  • Rap vocalists from Tyler, The Creator, Logic, Kanye West, EARTHGANG will probably show the most instance of recessed vocals, but otherwise still slaps a ton of dynamics, making each vocalists' sound having even more characteristic

  • Vocals of Sampha from his album Process will sound slightly hollow and less prominent

  • Vocals from Stromae sound more sharp, rough and dominant within the mix ever so slightly, but is never shadowed, nor-overemphasized compared to the entire ensemble (eg. Fils de joie)

  • J-pop female vocals will tend to shine the most, with vocalists such as Lilas Ikuta (from YOASOBI) delivering her pieces with dominance

  • Aimer's raspy and low voice aided by the dynamics ot the Z1R sound strong and immersive

  • Hana Kanazawa sounds airy, intimate, and sharp, maybe a tad bit sibilant

  • LiSA is a little hit or miss, personally thinking it might have more to do with the mixing

  • Occasionally voices will sound sibilant but nothing else

2. Instruments & Everything else

• Polyphia - Playing God with their Flamenco sounding acoustic electric guitars have never sounded ever so organic with the amount of harmonics and plucking

  • Microdetails such as nails plucking the nylon strings are accentuated enough to make it sound even more raw and as live as possible. One way the owner of the Z1R describes this is that the Z1R basically makes everything sound like its a live session.

• Micro details such from slight finger slides on the guitar to the moment the finger leaves the strings all adds to the organic experience of the songs

• Violins sound airy and light, while retaining its clarity

• Pianos sound sparkly and each note is accented with the pianist's intention - to make it sound strong when it needs to, and to make it sound subtle and soft yet maintaining its presence

• Layered vocals accompanying the pieces shines in itself, giving tracks with stuff like this to have another layer of ambience to it

HIGHS

• Treble has never sounded so resolving and is so well controlled

• Chimes and bells are sparkly, bright, yet retain a lot of body

• Microdetails are emphasized like a separate piece with its own area

• Cymbals, Rides and Crashes having natural timbre with decent amount to treble extension, giving it pleasurable decay

• Piano and guitar notes going this high have great tonality aided with the transparency

• Anime-esque mixes with a ton of electronic synths will shine the most here with bright and sparkly notes all over, without even making it sound congested what-so-ever

FINAL THOUGHTS

Honestly, I don't think there's anything else I can add to this other than continuously simping on this pair of IEM. Listening to it for the first time is the equivalent to seeing new colors. But one of the best part of listening to this IEM is that it taught me about almost everything IEM related, mainly the depictions. I finally understand what's called soundstage, bass bleed, bloated mids, sparkly treble, tonality etc., the list just goes on.

Personally I wouldn't shell out this much money for an IEM, but if I actually have a surplus of money and years later I'm still into this hobby, maybe. But for now I'm just going to continue and bother my friend to lend me his pair.