Sony legend continues - The MDR-Z1R Headphones Review 

Please check my gear list (also in my Head-Fi profile) to see what headphones and other products I have or have used BEFORE asking how the Z1R compares or works with something. headphone-earphone.reviews/about/. If I don't have/haven't used something, I can't answer your question. Thanks.

Audiophiles can be arrogant sometimes, but you are not. You are very informative without showing off your knowledge. Kudos

So in the end, i think this is the perfect headphone for me, really, people is having a hard time to say it, but they are prefering a colored headphone over a transparent because at this level of fidelity the usual problems became quite unnoticeable, and for many hours listenings, the relaxed treeble accomodates. Thank you for the review.

Great review Currawong, I prefer your reviewing style and format.

My HD800 - a surgeon's knife. My Z1R - when I want to become immersed in the music. Totally agree with your comments. jirams

most of my listening is for fun and relaxing so i do prefer a bit more of a V or W sound sig of cans... i heard these and kudos to Sony​ cos they sound really great.

I have a set...love them. So comfy too. Definite end game for me. Very happy.

Another great review, waiting for now an Ether C Flow Review and comparison with Z1R, by the way I follow you on head-fi as well :)

You should be a audiophile professor you explain things amazingly. Thank you for the time you take to review headphones for dummys like me.

The Sony R10 (bass heavy) are the ONLY headphones I heard that simply vanished and there was just music…

Isn't it interesting that "enjoyable" has become the opposite of "neutral."

Nice review. Love the history lesson in the beginning. I want some Sony headphones.

70 mm progressed from: XB1000-MA900-Z7-Z1R-Z7MK2. So yeah, a 8-9 odd driver, start from modern Sony tuning, all they put on the flagship of their line. So probably, if, Sony ever made a new open headphone line, it'd probably also be using the 70.

Really nice review! I am a Z1R owner, and I totally agree what you describe about this can. Btw, the cable makes really huge difference for Z1R. I bought a silver/copper hybrid cable for it, this cable bring up the brightness(a lot) and make the bass punchier. And with my fully balance set up, the soundstage is larger than single end(still smaller than hd800 tho). I would say this headphone is really a endgame for me :)

Hi Currawong, do the pads get warm and sweaty after long listening sessions? Thanks for the informative review I enjoyed it 😊

Great review Amos! Always value your opinion and have been using the Z1Rs for 10 days now and liking them so far. Picked them up (after your headfi thread & video here) at the airport in Singapore, 'burnt' them in on the 14 hrs on SQ32 to San Francisco and then really enjoyed them on the 16+ hrs on SQ31 coming back :-) Listened to them via the Hugo and Dragonfly red and they sounded good. Isolated well on the flight and when I took them off and kept them aside cups together I couldn't hear the music. As a result I never used the Roxanne or 846 also in my bag and which I always use on long flights fatiguing as UIEMs can be. With better resolution and sound stage they significantly upped the music vs my Mezze 99 classics (of course at 5x the price) which have been my go-to closed phones since last year. I am curious how they will sound with other amps both portable or desktop, I did feel at some points of my listening that the Hugo wasn't driving them to their potential but we will see. Any plans to check out the Sony ZH1ES? Thanks again for your reviews and advice

great review

An old timer here that does not believe in "streaming". Marantz SA-7S1 DSD Player - Aesthetix Calypso Signature Linestage (NOS Tubes (2) Philips Holland SQ E188CC & (2) Mullard CV4004) - EAR HP-4 (4) NOS RCA VT-229) - Sony Zed = Analogue Heaven playing Classic Rock even without an herbal supplement. IC's by Van den Hul and the Kimber Headphone Cable. With the decrease in price and for those that prefer a warmish, musical and non-fatiguing SS picking up a pair of these cans is a no-brainer. Yeah, this cat is still grooving to the 60's and 70's vibe since it sure beats the hell out of the present.

Any chance you'll be doing a review of the ZMF Eikons any time soon? I really enjoy your reviews :)

Bismillah I would love to hear your opinion on how these compare with the cascade. Please. Thanks for another great video

So now the question, for the basshead with expensive taste, if you pump a bunch of power into this and EQ everything but the bass down so that the trebles doesn't pierce through your head, will they take it, or will they just start distorting and make everything else sound like it's playing through a fan. The only other can I know that had 70mm drivers was the XB-1000s and they have a very tunnel-like sound, whereas this looks like it would somehow sound good whilst housing massive drivers to make your head shake. An example song is something like "Arctic" by Aether.

Hi Currawong, Terrific review. I wonder if the z1R isolates well enough for office use? Currently use IEMs which isolate well,but fatigue after awhile. Thanks.Paul

I have these for a few hours. I bought them, so long I like them. I don't mind strong bass, actually- I like the bass performance with these. There's a lot of detail in it. 3 kHz peak of these HPs (result of resonance) is more of a deal to me, along with attenuated lower midrange. It colors male voices with strange, shrieky timbre (they sound higher in pitch). This may sound good for some rock music however. high mid/low treble (4,5,6,7 k) attenuation followed by 8,9,10k peak makes for strange timbre in most percussions. They sound hollow, without the usual hit/slam I was used for. This also makes sibilant noises less aggresive (most of the sibilance in vocals lies in the higher mids and lower treble I guess) sounding and puts these instruments/ noises rather backward to the mix. They sound more like a detail to make the mix more interesting rather than the main attraction. I don't think 10k peak adds much sibilance. Guess most of it that's present with Z1R comes from 3k peak. So long- I like electric guitars and female voices with these. They lean on to the aggresive side (maybe because the uneven frequency response?), but still enjoyable and not overly tiring to my ears. Electric guitars remind me of those old Marshall combos. Bass hits with physical impact- I feel it. I like it. Soundstage and separation is great so long. Kinda like helmet of sound with nice depth to it- some things really seem to be further away than others. Nighthawk does this too- maybe it's because attenuated mids? So these do things the other way around compared to most headphones I heard. Most high-end/ mid tier headphones hardly have any bass (I hardly hear melodies in bass spectrum with most other headphones), they only use it to make the final sound more appealing, while much of the energy lies either in mids or in highs- those percussions are bread and butter to many headphones I tried. Melodies and details in the bass spectrum gets lost to me (I can list HD600 and HE400i as an example). The main meal to Z1R are bass guitar and synth melodies, along with some kick drums in the big soundstage, while these only use percussions to make the whole mix a bit more interesting. A thing at the address of isolation measurement at innerfidelity- I also happen to own Nighthawks. They measure at -12dB of ambient noise attenuation. Z1R measure at -14 dB. Thing is, these Z1Rs seem to me as much better isolating pair than Nighthawks. Is the 2 dB difference really that big, or is there some problem with measurement? a lil thing of notice- these look great in my hands, but they look so dumb on my noggin. Kinda like huge, black, cyclopean nipples. Tilted drivers hit my ears a bit at the front. I have average ears.

Hey Amos. Great Review albeit’s quite a bit old I am considering getting these. How do they compare to the Meze Liric’s? Thanks for answering.

I have these suckers since Feb. Bass wise it's pretty awesome.

This might be a good closed back headphone to add to the collection, the only closed back I found appealing so far.

Another great review. Do you mind focusing on mid-fi too, like the 600s, 650s the recent monolith m1060s, in addition to these high end headphones?

I wonder if any the differences you mention are noticeable to the untrained ear like mine that just likes how expensive these headphones are.

Denon AH D9200 or the Sony mdr z1r better for pop and acoustic?

Nice video! What do you think of these compared to the AudioTechnica W3000ANV? I've been eyeing the MDR-Z1R but I'm concerned that the Z1R won't bring enough new to the table for its cost since I already own the W3000ANV. My general guess after your video and reading various impressions is that the Sony would likely bring better bass and soundstage but the mids would not be as nice.

I'm using these with SONY's TA-ZH1ES amplifier. I just got the Z1R for a few days. The sound still doesn't sound that warm to me yet (compare to the Rogers LS3/5A stereo speakers at my home), everything seems to be too harsh and sharp. I hope they will sound better as I breaking them in more.

Another great review. So if your going for 2k$ headphone these or the Ether Flow on a soild state amp ? Are the Z14 worth 4x the price of the Z7? Really does a $500-700$ Kimber cable make that much audible difference ? Love to see blind testing with 10 people and listen with 2 different types of cables. I have some custom cables but made with T2 copper and balanced connectors but were $150. Better pairing with tube amp or would it be too warm ? Thanks for the great reviews Amos.

Great review!! I’m thinking of getting a set of headphone. I prefer closed. I have 2 choices in mind at the moment. This Sony or the Shure SRH1540. Any chance you’ve listened to the Shure? Unfortunately I can’t directly listen to the Sony as I have to get it from Australia (you sound like you’re from Australia. I’m from NZ and unfortunately we don’t have it in our Sony stores) it’ll be interesting to get an input from you. Cheers

nice review, Currawong...there has been lots of mention on headfi that the stock cable is premium, or isnt't allowing these cans to show their full potential...cables are always such a dicey subject (double blind testing for me, please, to show real vs placebo diffs)...did you ever ask the maker/chief designer/engineer about these cables at some recent canjam meeting?

Wondering how those would compare to Stellias 🤔

Have you ever heard the Sony R-10, either the bass heavy or light version? If so, I wanted to see if this was finally the product they made that would replace that, or even come close to it. From what I read, it had a lot of euphonics, perhaps colored to give you that enjoyable sound. From your review, I get the impression that this might be trying to attempt that signature sound... although I don't recall it having treble heavy or bright sound. Btw, out of all the headphones and companies flooding the market, Sony iteration of this particular headphone (R10's) is what I'm waiting for...whenever they get around to making it. Sennheiser already made theirs with the Orpheus HE-1, which is ridiculously priced. The balls on Sony's court now to bring out their killer, which according to some stood neck-and-neck with the Orpheus back in the days.

I have to ask what would you prefer at this price range 2k would you stick with the z1r or something else?.. I still remember purchasing my z1r off this review :) I enjoyed them a ton but after a while began questioning the price I paid for them lol

A local pawnbroker has a pair of these going for about half of retail price. Would you trust buying these used or recommend saving and buying straight from Sony (warranty etc…)

Will you ever review denon d7200? And compare it with z1r and z7m2

Hi is this Sony still in your collection? Just wondering if you think this is worth keeping after all these years and a bunch of new headphones.

Currawong, What are those beefy looking headphone hooks behind you? Thanks!

excellent review , may ask what is the name of the headphone holders name or type you have hoked to your table behind you? that would be perfectly with my set up too...

would you say the Z1R are better than the Aeon by Mr speakers? which one would you choose? or are they very different from each other?

I think the Sony MDR-Z1R is better off for being entertaining vs neutral as I don't think any closed-back could beat an open-back chasing pure neutrality at a medium to flagship price level. Based on various accounts and reviews closed-back headphones seem to hit a high end engineering wall much sooner. However, I have more need of a closed-back vs open-back for most times dunning headphones, so that makes the MDR-Z1R my next headphone to test drive / purchase. And sometimes entertaining is more fun than neutral if the neutral headphone lacks a bit of energy or is just to the side of too reserved.

It's funny how people diss the Z7 when they obtain a higher priced headphone.

Hi I see you have the modified z7. I am thiking of uprading to z1r. Is it worth it? Is there a big difference between modified z7 to z1r? Regards Johan

This cans are superb! I love them!

Your one of my favourite reviewers, Currawong. Thanks my Head-Fi brother. The Z1R's are amazing with the Woo Audio WA 8. Almost as good as the LCD XC's. :)

Do you remember the difference between these and open Ether flows in terms of soundstage and bass performance? Thanks!

Hi Currawong, Do you think Z1R's low impedance compare with other flagship dynamic-driver headphone is a issue when picking amp? Will NFB-1AMP be a good amp for z1r?

Hello sir, I plan to get the kimber cable for the Z1R, but m not sure whether it's worth the money or not. from ur experience, does the kimber cable make the difference to justify the price? Thank you for ur answer.

I guess the 4.4mm balanced cable is a good way to go; it's just annoying that that all the balanced gear presently is XLR. And just on principle I'm not paying $200 bucks for a damn cable (how much a balanced xlr cable costs).

how are these out of a hugo 2 ? Do they compliment eachother?

Planning to use these for sound design. You think it will be suitable ?

Thanks mate for the review. How do you think it would stand against NAD HP-50? Tyle have been saying that NAD's are so good that they deliver 95% of the performance of Ether C Flow. So wondering it might be the same for Sony's. Would you mind to share your opinion with us please? Thanks.

Having listened to both the Z1r and Hifiman Edition X v2. Which would you pick regarding sound? I have the HD 800s. Which of the 2 would accomadate my Senns?

Amos, do you have a favourite planar for mids/vocals?

Awesome phones. Like speakers. No fatigue. Lots of definition. Nice review. My only disagreement is that they are not grating at all; just the opposite.

How does this compare with Ether C Flow? Thanks!

The acoustic chambers of the Z7s are Magnesium, not plastic.

Do you need to utilise an amplifier if you run them through a new sony DAP such as a ZX300 Walkman or will they be short on power?

can you tell me how can i connect to a balanced input if the headphones cable terminates with two 3.5mm, ends? if i have the nfb 28, how do i connect a balanced sony cable (2x3.5mm splits) to a one balanced input? thanks.

How many hours to burn in?

Is that earcup plastic? I remember the mesh on the outside of the cup feeling plasticy is it metal or plastic? Cheers.

This has been going for 1399-1699 now, much better deal.

Australians pay ridiculous amounts of money on the sony site AU 2300 bux wow that's money many cant afford, Im a big Sony fan but really that's big dollars.

Nice tubes

HD800/Z1R = HD800S ?

Can you please come and explain to my girlfriend why these are the "bargain option" 😘👍

Guess you have to run noise reduction on your recording.. It's hissing

Focal Clear = best ever!

earboob headphones

Receipt number: K9M3R37W9ECQN3N249B0?

what AMP do you use?.$120?....$1000?.....$2000?....$3000? ....What is the source of your music...." Compressed Bloated downloaded files" ?? headphone ONLY reproduce what is Feed into them!!!

You look like bill o reilly

I agree with Tyll from innerfidelity. I don't like the Sony. I own the Focal Utopia Headphone.

He lost me when he said zed. 🤢