[Oregonian]

  I have not tried that route but I have heard great things about First Watts amp driving the HD800/S.

 
Vintage amps drive the HD800 very very well - my Pioneer Spec system from 1978 gave them all the bass it needed and then some.  Fed this way they are far from bass light. 
 
I'm definitely on board for testing out the Z1R - it will be on my speaker amp collection (8 systems in use total) - all vintage - no headphone-specific amps.  My current summit can is the HE-6 (fully modded) driven off the speaker taps - if the Sony can compete with it I may add it to the collection for my closed can (currently handled quite nicely by my Denon LA-7000). 
 
Has anyone yet heard these beauties on a vintage amp? 

 

[Whitigir]

The thread is wonderfully slow today...what changed

 

[purk]

  I was impressed by the Jot when I listened to it at the Schiit Show... IMHO it is a game changer at $500

Yes, a friend of mine also has that.  Very very nice amp especially for the money.  I take it over the Liquid Carbon however I can see many Z1R owners will like prefer a leaner and more solidstate sounding amp.  The Jot was warm and robust sounding. 

 

[TokenGesture]

Good advice and yes I've been guilty of new toy syndrome in the past...




Is it too soon to say these are the best headphones I have ever owned yet

 

[Sonic Defender]

Is it too soon to say these are the best headphones I have ever owned yet

Probably, give yourself a cool down period. Hopefully they are as it is always great to hear about people being completely delighted with their gear. I just purchased a P7 wireless and I want to write a review, but I know I need to slow myself down and wait a little longer so that I can be more objective.

 

[Whitigir]

Good advice and yes I've been guilty of new toy syndrome in the past...




Is it too soon to say these are the best headphones I have ever owned yet

Lol, how does it compare to hd800 for you ? How is tonal timbre ? Is there any ringing

 

[TokenGesture]

Lol, how does it compare to hd800 for you ? How is tonal timbre ? Is there any ringing

I had the HD 800 for a while and loved it for classical but found it too bright for other genres. Too exposing and too pitched up, a harsh spotlight. These bathe the music in a more sympathetic light if you will, while still retaining a wonderful sense of transparency. No ringing that I can discern.

I know, I sound like a fan boy. I'll stop soon. Maybe.

 

[TokenGesture]

Probably, give yourself a cool down period. Hopefully they are as it is always great to hear about people being completely delighted with their gear. I just purchased a P7 wireless and I want to write a review, but I know I need to slow myself down and wait a little longer so that I can be more objective.

Don't worry I'm just having fun with some quick impressions, I won't be doing a full review anytime soon if ever



They are great though

 

[Sonic Defender]

No ringing that I can discern.

I know, I sound like a fan boy. I'll stop soon. Maybe.

Did you hear ringing before with other headphones? No need to stop being a fan, people should love their gear. The 800S is very nice, never heard the 800. I do bump up the low bass just a little and cut a tiny bit at around 8kHz.

 

[beowulf]

I had the HD 800 for a while and loved it for classical but found it too bright for other genres. Too exposing and too pitched up, a harsh spotlight. These bathe the music in a more sympathetic light if you will, while still retaining a wonderful sense of transparency. No ringing that I can discern.

I know, I sound like a fan boy. I'll stop soon. Maybe.

 
Nothing wrong with a big of fan boy`ed excitement. I ordered a set of MDR-1000X because I saw a price drop at amazon (400>326 EUR) so I have to avoid Sony for a while before I get the fanboy stamp. Too many Sony items lately.
Anyway.. I haven't heard the HD800 but having the HD800 S I think I know what you mean. I like it bright, so I've even wondered if I should sell the 800S (had some good offers) and later repurchase the 800 if I miss them.
 
But back to the Z1R... had an epiphany today and... I'M GOING TO KEEP THEM!.
Spent the whole Saturday at home today, which does not only make me sound like a boring person but also gave me plenty of time to listen. And I did listen. Several Chesky Jazz albums (not even a big Jazz fan, but it seems to attract me lately), a lot of Jordi Savall and classical, lots of Pop/Rock and a tiny bit of EDM. The Z1R performed great on everything.
 
Just noticed that I might have had a bit too much reverse confirmation bias indeed. I expected an epic perfect set and the Z1R are merely quite good, with a few flaws. But quite good is still pretty good. I love the build quality and overall sound signature. If they could be a bit brighter, it would be a 10/10 for me. Putting them on after listening with my other headphones is always enjoyable. Love the shape and material of the cups, the comfort of the pads, it's just great.
Plus serial number 26? I like it. So that's it, no return to Amazon.
 
Something that helped was when I was listening to Hans Zimmer's "The Dark Knight Rises" soundtrack. There's this particular one minute segment on the "Why So Serious?" track that blows up headphones (and speakers) easily.. the sub-bass is just totally seismic, you can feel your ears getting fuller and fuller and almost getting that sense of pressure on your chest that you get..well, when there's real pressure listening to music with speakers. The Z1R handled it perfectly, the detail was still there below the bass, no popping (I've had headphones pop drivers on this track), no muddy bloated bass bleeding all over the sound. It's just fine.
 
At the same time I decided to move on from the CD3000. The past 17 years have been wonderful and I doubt I'll ever find a set of headphones giving such awesome value for money, but it makes no sense to keep them. Other fans/collectors will use them a lot more. I'm selling them.
 
So now it's Z1R+800S and probably Utopia (still waiting for a quote). I think I can get rid of one of the three, probably the 800S, but only time will tell.
 
 

Don't worry I'm just having fun with some quick impressions, I won't be doing a full review anytime soon if ever



They are great though

 
Keep going, keep going, can't have too many impressions. I have them and I'm still curious to know more.
I wonder what the pros will write on these. I'm almost sorry for them fearing a bad review. The Z7 got an (exaggerated) bad rep and that might be damaging.
 

  Probably, give yourself a cool down period. Hopefully they are as it is always great to hear about people being completely delighted with their gear. I just purchased a P7 wireless and I want to write a review, but I know I need to slow myself down and wait a little longer so that I can be more objective.

 
The P7 seem very well built. The magnet tricks and all, very nice.
I got the MDR-1000X at about the same price, but mostly because of the active noise cancellation and the touchpad controls. Not really into wireless sets... but I've been missing ANC for travel.
Prefer the look of the P7 tho, much nicer than the 1000X.

 

[Whitigir]

Well, I have seen LCP and Magnesium somewhere within Sony ..... Guess ?.....

The XBA-Z5, LCP dynamic driver and magnesium BA with full range BA..

 

[sneaglebob]

If I love the MDR Z7, would these be a great upgrade?

 

[purk]

  If I love the MDR Z7, would these be a great upgrade?

Gotta be!

 

[Jackson 6]

If you want the full time score for all three, it's £5.902K. A kind of top range all in one system without speakers.

 

[Xymordos]

Just listened to these a few hours ago in Hong Kong in a mall display. The mall was very noisy, but the headphone isolated very well!
 
I used my own Sony ZX1 into the Sony DAC/AMP with the display MDR-Z1R in balanced mode. I made sure to turn off DSEE HX. 
 
My impressions are as follows:- (if you are a believer of burn-in, then these aren't burned in, they're probably run in for a few hours only) 
I compared them to my W3000anv from memory. I listen to the W3k a lot. 

1. You notice the bass first. The bass is nice and thick, but not over powering. In fact, my W3000anv sounds like they have more bass, as the W3K hits harder in the mid-bass, while the Z1R have more sub-bass. The bass is very comfortable and does not bleed into the mid-range. Good quality bass, but slightly loose.
2. IMO, a balanced sound in general. The bass is not over powering compared to the W3000anv, and comes into bass heavy songs when needed. Very welcomed bass. But the sub bass IS a bit slow, and this although gives a nice atmosphere or "air" as Sony describes it, gives it a somewhat congested/muddy impression. This is not "veil"! Clarity is very good.
3. The entire range is actually very clear. No veils. Treble has sparkle, not laid back at all - in fact it is quite sibilant in several of the songs I've tried. Mids are more laid back, but still clear. However, treble and mids sounds thin compared to the bass. 
4. Each spectrum of sound is very detailed and transparent in its own regard. However, when put together, the bass seems to be doing it's own thing compared to the mids and highs - thin high/mids vs thick bass - sounds like the sound is coming from two different sources.
5. Separation is very good, no congestion, but I can't exactly pick out instruments as well. Sound stage is wide, but not very deep. The imaging of the vocals are very small, when compared to the W3k, which puts the singer quite in your face (the ATH tuning). 
6. Tuning sounds like a uber Z7 or Z5 from my memory.
7. Mellow and conservative sound - more mellow than the W3000anv. However, female vocals sounds better on the W3k personally, as they are more intimate. Emotions are portrayed similarly.

 
With the current setup, I wouldn't say they're worth the asking price of HK$15,800. However, I would like to use my own setup at home, as I don't think I prefer the Sony amp at all. Why? The headphone has a lot of good qualities and potentials as the sound quality is very good, but the entire sound package is somewhat like the JH Audio tuning - bass seems to be doing something by itself compared to the rest of the sound.