This rounded nature of upper-frequency notes help in avoiding listening fatigue but can take away the rawness of crash cymbals. If you’re someone who is looking to listen to music without worrying too much about the technicalities, then these are the perfect fit for you. I was unsure getting into the IEM space, thinking that size does matter and always preferred to dip my toes in the headphone or speaker space. Coming from exclusively open back over ear listening as of late I wanted an option that had great bass and excellent isolation. Sony designed the drivers in the IER-Z1R headphones from the ground up, to work in total harmony together.

The consistent sound signature carried out across each driver works as if they were a perfect single driver. For me personally, I tried really hard to demo U12t and U18t and I can't find they are attractive to me.Once you find its sweet spot, the IER offers good support, but it is not a feeling that will disappear the longer you listen to it. The shape of the housing mirrors the shape of the inner acoustic cavity (more on this later) and thus have a unique design rarely seen elsewhere.

I tried so many different tips from all sorts of manufacturers, even going as far as trying to make custom tips to make it less painful to use. Male vocals with a deeper tone like Rick Astley have enough weight to carry authority, but definitely i can see how certain preferences would find it a touch too thin. In terms of sound, the Sony wins this by a considerable margin for artists/genres like Daft Punk, K-Pop - anything that involves lots of bass.It goes without saying that how now 5-years-old Z1R’s lower driver count can keep up with others is quite an accomplishment. For this section, I’ll mostly be drawing comparisons to my only flagship IEM, the 64audio U12t because it serves as a good reference point. But in this world, the tech is growing fast, quality is increasing, there are new IEMs every other week that come out. I also stand by my original sentiment about the IER-Z1R’s male vocal performance: Not bad, but by no means exceptional; this wouldn’t be my first choice with the likes of country music.

The imaging displays its sound elements with a large definition, making each track appear full and lifelike. This is most apparent within the context of the IER-Z1R’s bass and treble contrasted to the midrange. The combination of Chord Mojo2 and Sony Z1R is a winner in my honest opinion, when it comes to clarity and detail balanced with soundstage and feeling of spaciousness. Even when trying different ear tip sizes, the IER just feels like a bulky piece of metal that takes a while to adjust to.I remember in some country tracks, i found myself more invested in the delays and hearing them bounce around their artificial environment than the actual guitar. Z1R is slightly more detailed but more than that, it renders these details effortlessly and naturally.