Still running in my new Sony in ears, but absolutely stunning what they do. Soundstage which I thought was impossible for in ears, overall detail, bass quality…, a more detailed review to follow when I have some more meters behind me with them.
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Bert - i’m going to have to put you on my ignore list 
@BertBird…If you compare it to your big Naim system,.do you sometimes get the feeling that this is better.
I am thinking,.for you do not have the problem of the room’s impact.
/Peder🙂
I would never say it’s better. My main system is just that good. But the mobile setup is an extremely good alternative, and it should be at this pricepoint.
@BertBird,…I understand what you mean,. but still.
It can be incredibly good with different earphones,.in-ears options.
I remember saying to a friend a few years ago, when I had listened to my headphone-system.
What if I had such a bass rendition from my large active-system.
So one system has something that the other does not have,.and vice versa.
/Peder🙂
Will write some more about my new buds, but I found this review from Headfi to be pretty good reflecting the essence:
Sound Quality
They are the best IEMs I have ever heard to date, in summary, they sound like the bigger MDR-Z1R. They have no trouble spitting details and resolution, they have the most natural sound for an Hybrid IEM.
SOURCE: Sony NW-WM1A Fw 3.01, 4.4 output w/ Lossless files ranging from 16 & 24 bit flac to DSD (some ripped with a Pioneer BDP-160)
Bass: The bass region has emphasis in the Subbass, therefore, it reaches deep and very low notes can be heard, rumbles nice and has a very well defined texture, the mid bass is very well balanced, there is no bloat and no bleed into the Mids. The lowest of notes can be heard with these as well with the MDR-Z1R (Froberger edition Volume 6. AEOLUS /Bob van Asperen DSD 2.8MHz, Bach: The four great Toccatas and Fugues, SONY Classical / E. Power biggs DSD 2.8 MHz & Dittersdorf & Vanhal: Double bass Concertos. Hyperion records UK, Swedish Chamber orchestra, 16/44.1 FLAC).
Mids: perhaps a bit recessed, this can be attributed to the lack of power of sources. But they soubd pretty fine for me natural, voices have a very nice presentation Mozart Le Nozze di figaro Phillips Mozart edition (2006 REISSUE) FLAC 16/44.1, violin and pianos, in general instrumental music have a nice presentation, very accurate and natural Beethoven piano sonatas DECCA V. Ashkenazi FLAC 16/44.1, Charpentier Music for the Chappel of versailles, ALIA VOX/J. Savall (DSD 2.8MHz). Flutes don’t sound shouty or aggressive at all, the same for female voices in operistic passages, (Mitridate Re di ponto Mozart Phillips edition, FLAC 16/44.1).
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.
Soundstage & Instrument separation: Probably the biggest soundstage in an IEM I’ve ever heard, surpassing that of the XBA-Z5 and equating that of the MDR-Z1R/HD800S, pretty inmersive experience, same for instrument separation, each instrument is present as a single entity with it’s own air arround it. Notes come from every where, basically you’re gunned down with notes from every where wow, as like listening to a pair of professional floor standing speakers. (Krebs- Organ works. Weinberger brothers, label Motette 16/44.1. Striggio mass for 40 and 60 voices, Hervé Noquet, Glossa, DSD 2.8MHz. Bach the six partiten, Martin Gester, Ligia, FLAC 24/88.2).
One note: This baffled me as i never found a difference between tips with other IEMs, well, the IER-Z1R is my first IEM, that changes sound depending on fit (shallow vs deep) and tips (Triple comfort, vs Silicone vs Comply foamies).
Deeper insertion provides the best bass, while shallower insertion provides the biggest staging. Triple comfort tips provide a more emphasis on the lower end, the silicones being the most neutral, perhaps removing some bass, but i found that silicone tips provide a very nice isolation, better than TC tips. Comply foams are not a match with these IEMs, they mute the treble and affect the signature, making them less revealing and more darker sounding.
Compared to my Previous sony IEM, the XBA-Z5: the IER-Z1R have better bass control and texture, better bass extension. Better mids, despite the recession, bigger soundstage, Very airy treble and well extended (this was the achiles heel of the Z5 a very rolled-off treble, every time i wanted to play a hi-res track, the Z5 wanted to give that extra detail but this tuning didn’t allow them to, simply hearing this brick-wall annoyed me). The isolation and fit is clearly better as for the build too, luckily the IER-Z1R don’t have any paint job to discolor after years of use.
Compared to the MDR-Z1R, this seems absurd at first, to compare an IEM to a can, but woah, they share the same sound tuning and characteristics, big stage outside your head close to open-back Headphones. Very organic sound close to a speaker setup. Sincerely after of abbandoning my MDR-Z1R for burning the IER-Z1R in, I was expecting a difference in sound, perhaps being disappointed by the MDR-Z1R? No, I noted NO DIFFERENCE in signature AT ALL.
Summary
Very detailed IEMs a worthy TOTL from Sony, performing close to speaker setups and open cans. No trouble switching between MDR- und IER-Z1R.
PROS
+Great bass extension and texture & control
+Natural timbre
- Gargantuan soundstage
+Very resolving while staying true to the recording.
+Airy highs without being sibilant
+ZERO Hiss
+Vast array of accessories included
+Stupendous Isolation levels
+Sturdy build.
CONS
-Price
-Shells on the big n’ heavy side
-Tricky to get used to fit
-Require power to really shine
- You may get weird looks at public transport/The street
-Very revealing of bad recordings, bad music files (e.g. MP3 at lower than 320 kbps)
-Very dependant on tip fit
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Had a WOW experience with my buds today. So far I had been running them on the same power level as the Shure 846’s. And was in this mode of yes great externsion, great soundstage etc…, but still missing a bit the extreme exitement. Today I cranked up a little the power…, and see what happened I immediately started to move my feet and head on the beats I heard… WOW this is a crazy piece of kit and makes you asking yourself if you really need more.
You won’t belief it from me writing it down, but they do give you a kind of feeling of listening to speakers…
If you can give them a try. They are expensive but they are worth the pennies… For those who didn’t follow the thread so muc. The buds are the new Sony IER-Z1R’s.
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Have now some more flying hours on my buds. I think for the owners of a Sony Walkman - you should allow yourself an auditioning of these ones. They are that good.
Key features for recommendation:
- Broad spectrum. Goes from very low till very high. These buds have serious rounded bass, without sounding to much.
- Soundstage is amazing. It’s sometimes as if you are listening to normal speakers.
- Fit and seal are great. I had with the Shure a certain fit which lead to good results - but seal wasn’t perfect in all situations. With the Sony’s even lying down doesn’t affect the seal. Perhaps smaller ears might have an issue though.
- Accessories are great. Balanced cable as well. A great collection of tips, only box is ok not great as it doesn’t seal on closure.
- Details, you hear everything. Without sounding too fatiguing …
I think they don’t have a lot of competition. From what I know I would say only the Ultrasone Saphire might be comparable, while the seal was questionable for me with them.
Now listening this. I haven’t heard anything sound that good in a mobile setup…, listening tip Echoes…
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I just had this thought that I guess I am very close to mobile heaven. And I would be challenged to see how I could even further improve on my setup…
- The Sony Walkman is still the best or one of the three best choices from an sound perspective. Competition Hugo, Astell & Kern Ultimate 2000…
- Unchallenged battery life, it’s really an important factor for mobile use.
- In ears are fabulous and are usable in all scenarios for mobile use. The Walkman also drives them well.
- Just saw that soon a 1tb micro sd card will be available. With internal storage the total capacity will be at 1.2 tb, which gives you a decent storage capacity.
- Only downside is the missing WiFi and Tidal / Qobuz…, while running the device in usb Modus gives you also the functionality - as I am always wearing a phone with me.
So bottom line I am very happy and with the 1tb card at the end point of what I am looking for.
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Interesting about the 1TB card. That would answer the only remaining issue I have is that I can’t fit all my music onto the 1Z. At home it’s not an issue as it’s usually used (with a Streambox S2 Ultra) as a Roon endpoint. Although it’s close, ultimate SQ from this device is when playback is from the on board storage rather than in USB mode. It’s a purchase, combined with the MDR-Z1R headphones (or my Shure IEMs at work) that never fails to delight.
I am auditioning a few other headphone solutions to make a more permanent setup so I don’t need to keep bringing my 1Z home. A Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ and Hugo TT2 should be a good start but if they don’t significantly raise the bar on the Sony then i’ll stay where I am.
James the Hugo might be the slightly better option as it also even better drives hungry headphones. However the price to pay is the reduced mobility and a different sound signature. As mentioned before I have the feeling I have reached an endpoint at least for the foreseeable future…
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I’m up to 245hrs on my WM1Z now and I’m starting to hear what all the fuss is about.
When it was brand new before the burn-in I wasn’t sure if I’d wasted my money as it didn’t sound that special but it is really starting to open up now and sounds very good indeed.
Has anyone tried using it through Naim amplification? Wondered how it compared to a Naim source when not using it for portable hifi? I only have a cheap mini-jack to phono cable to try this so I’m not sure that would do it justice.
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Hi Bert - mobility isn’t the issue, I’m just wondering if I can exceed the SQ of the 1Z for my home headphone setup. I suspect the bar is going to be pretty high so it’ll be interesting to compare the Mytek / Chord options…
Yes it needs a decent run in time to sound at it’s full. I had the feeling that point was reached after about 200 hours, I pushed it a bit to get quicker through. It’s the same while advised at 150 hours for my earbuds.
Your suggested setup in Naim amplification. I guess that it’s not optimized for that kind of use case and the connection cable might also become the weak point.
Have just returned from holiday where I’ve had chance to fully listen to WM1Z + SE846 and it really is a superb combination. I’ve never enjoyed portable music as much as listening on this device.
One of the big surprises was listening to The Strokes albums. I’ve always thought their production was very raw but it amazed me how this device deconstructed all of the individual parts of the recording yet made it sound so musical.
It is expensive, but well worth it IMO.
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1Z deserves a better companion than good old 846… Stellia is a bliss…
or you can ask Bart for his opinion on his quite new Sony IEM…
Correct, while I would also say that the Shures are definitely much better than quite some competitors at similar price ranges…
Bert is a very kind person…
or maybe a half price ( here me being nice actually 1/4 price ) chi-fi will destroy them nowadays unfortunately… they used to be a star in good old days… my 535 was the most expensive iem 495USD, it was a crazy price
The 1Z + 846 is my holiday music source this week too. Glad to hear you are enjoying the 1Z. - it’s a super device.
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