It is a really great dac/amp

I personally never liked the HD800 or HD800S, but I understand what they do and why many love them. On the other hand I loved the MDR-Z1R from the moment I got it over 7 years ago. However I generally prefer in ears and love the IER-Z1R even more to the point where the MDR was hardly ever used...

That depends. My V2.5 mod sacrificed the 3.5 for a much stronger external BT antenna as I never use the 3.5, but the current V5 mod keep the 3.5 output intact

I can’t remember if one of the early ones don’t remove those things. All the later ones do as they are based on the 1A/1Z fw that doesn’t have those features. I can send you a link to a zip file that contains all of them and then you can try yourself (I no longer have an A55)

I had the blue Dignis case but sold it to @gerelmx1986 but I don’t know if he uses it or would be willing to sell it

This is the screen protector I have used for 7 years since first getting my 1Z. The gel case I had is no longer available but at any rate I haven’t used it fir a long time, I use the FatBear black case on both my daps as I did on the A55 I had. https://amzn.eu/d/8paHXeF

Yes the 1A is surprisingly light. However I don’t use my 1Z on the go, only in hotels and so on, so the weight does not bother me. I recently had a chance to compare the 1A V5 mod against my 1Z V2.5 mod and my ears where not able to hear any significant differences. That does not mean that...

If I was to buy one today I would buy a 1A and then send it to nayparm for modding rather than buying a 1Z

Yes. Use the balanced out if the amp has balanced in

Over the years there have been several versions of this idea from several manufacturers. I have the NPAudio mod on both my players which has added the ground connection directly to the 4.4mm socket so don’t need it. I also have a 4.4 to 3.5 single ended adaptor that I can use now that ground has...

I did try them and the R10 about 15-20 years ago and at that time they did not wow me compared to the Audio-Technica ATH-L3000 I owned at that time but I would love to try them all today against the Z1R and see what my feelings would be now

To me it is perfectly fine. I will probably just use it with the stock cable from the single ended output of the TA, they will likely only be used a few times per month so I’m not going crazy this time, just wanted to have a decent full size for those few time I don’t want to or can’t use in...

Yep that’s how mine sit though possibly slightly deeper as I have huge ear holes and I could use them all day with no discomfort at all like that

After having sold my MDR-Z1R to my son as I hardly ever used them any longer (use the IER-Z1R 99% of the time) I have bought a set of MDR-MV1 just to have a full size set for those few time I need that and I totally agree that the MV1 is kind of a baby Z1R and they will fully satisfy me the few...

After having sold my MDR-Z1R to my son as I hardly ever used them any longer (use the IER-Z1R 99% of the time) I have bought a set of MDR-MV1 just to have a full size set for those few time I need that and I totally agree that the MV1 is kind of a baby Z1R and they will fully satisfy me the few...

Too late anyway, has already been sold

They were released in 2009 so you must be close to 15 years. I bought mine February 2010 so they are now over 14 years old. I’m actually surprised that mine still fit great as I have lost over 40kg since I bought them, close to 1/3 of my body weight then

That’s the way it is

After changing sig in the settings file and rebooting you then need to install the matching signature as far as I remember (have not done it for several years)

And another 6 years and a bit have gone by so mine are now over 14 years old, by far the longest any of my gear has lasted, and they are still going strong. 5 years ago I had to send them back to have the 2 pin sockets and the sound tubes replaced at a cost of $100 including return shipping so...

You sholud only write the numbers/letters, not the square brackets []

Nobody knows except perhaps somebody inside Sony

What specifically do you want to know ? No matter what verdion of the mod it will be something along the lines of the list I gave you but with slightly different components depending on the mod version. My own one is version 2.5 and I have @gerelmx1986 brand newly modded version 5 on burn in and...

To me they certainly shared the general Sony sound sig. I’ve had and used and loved both since each came out but in the end it was the IER that got all the use and I have now sold the MDR to my youngest son who love them for gaming and movies (he hardly ever listens to music).

Depends on when the mod was done as there have been at least 5 versions of the mod over the years. You can read about what the latest version of the mod involves on the NPAudio web site: NPAudio WM1A/Z EXPMv5 (Extreme Performance Mod v5) Double thickness shielding / grounding over the...