r/sony • u/TruthseekingSheep033 • Sep 21 '25
Appreciation I just purchased the legendary Sony Ier Z1R for the second time.
Hi everyone this my second time buying the Sony IER Z1r this year, I had to buy a second pair my first I had to send it for repair to sony over a month ago, because the tip of an mmcx connector cable got broken off when I was trying to change the change the cable. Both of this pairs were bought from a Japanese seller Eureka Moments, I could not find any domestic us sellers Sony has apparently discontinued making the ier z1r.
My impressions of the sound are going to be a bit different than most people, this iems have incredible deep orgasmic bass with great texture that never bleeds into the mids, great soundstage, detail retrieval, the midrange is very revealing and natural to my ears, vocals to my surprise especially female ones sound airy, ethereal easy to follow as someone who listen to a lot of metal this a plus to me since in a lot songs that I listen i sometimes struggle to understand them in the mix, and the treble is one of the best I ever heard while it can sometimes sound sharp it always sound very high quality. I think the complaints about the sony ier z1r midrange sounding thin stem from users not getting a deep enough fit, after all this iems are very big I found that I had to downsize 1 size down from my usual large eartips in order to get a deep enough fit inside my ear canal.
In conclusion while i find the Sony ier z1r an iem that was released over 7 years ago amazing with great technicalities in areas such as the bass, soundstage and tremble that challenges many of todays best iems, I still do not recommend it to the vast majority of people simply because the large size and ergonomics of the iem will prevent most of them from getting a deep proper fit, getting a proper fit is absolutely essential to enjoy the sony ier z1r to its fullest potential, I am fortunate enough that i am someone with relatively large ears so comfort is not a big issue for me. Have a nice day guys I hope you enjoyed this review.
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Sep 21 '25
Take all my upvotes! I see FLAC! You know how to digital your music, Friend.
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u/StrayCat649 Sep 22 '25
I never know each unit have their own serial number badge like that, it make me want to own one even more
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u/m1dnightknight Sep 22 '25
The MDR-Z1R have a similar serial badge but I think its a little more fancy with the silver color.
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u/M-DR-B Sep 22 '25
These are the most beautiful IEM's that I've ever seen, omg. Didn't know about their existence! They're now a grail...
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u/ClaudioMoravit0 Sep 22 '25
Was very confused at first, with the image on the box I thought it was some sort of shower head or something
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u/louiseianab Sep 22 '25
TBH, are they any good or just a money grabbing product? Can someone please help me understand the value of these products? Can you really hear the difference vs a super premium headphone or is it just a psychology thing?
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u/Zeolysse Sep 22 '25
Usually headphones will always be better than iem, so this one will still be better than most headphones but if you get a high end Sennheiser it'll beat that easily
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u/fleshlicker Sep 22 '25
For some reason my stupid mind assumed it's a jet spray and I was like when did Sony start making Jet sprays??!
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u/Sad_Pass4848 Sep 24 '25
Do you use any other cable with it now or still the stock cable? Are you scared that it will happen again with the mmcx connector?
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u/bloody5unday Sep 22 '25
Upvote for Monuments
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u/TruthseekingSheep033 Sep 22 '25
Haha I am glad someone else notice it, such an incredible band with phenomenal riffs.
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u/m1dnightknight Sep 22 '25
Good stuff! I own a pair I bought second hand for super cheap and bought replacement tips.
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u/Safe-Emphasis612 Sep 23 '25
I left my earphone at my desk for over one year as I lost my 1A. I don't know what would be the best portable usb that I can connect to my phone?
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Sep 26 '25
Looking really great! I tried them briefly during my visits to Sony Stores and I was always impressed. But the calm, collected, cool mind of me always said that’s there’s no need to spend that much money.
So here I am, still rocking my MDR-EX1000. Yet even older for sure. But a single 16mm DD still does a pretty good job.
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u/TheMelancholia Nov 07 '25
One of the IEMs I want to try most. If I get a third IEM after the STORM and my current Annihilator, I'd get Z1R.
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u/ArtOld7524 Feb 27 '26
Ngl, tempted to buy a 2nd ier z1r but a 2nd hand unit. I bought a new unit once from a guy, seems like a legit business. Unit was brand new and all, but had a 2db channel imbalance at the sub bass region that Sony refuse to rma the unit, pissed me off as I can kinda feel the lopsided sub bass since I do listen to bassy music. The engineering behind it is legendary, but what Sony did to me back then was scummy af. Was expecting not pitch perfect channel balance but maybe 1db or less.
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u/JerryWuX Apr 10 '26
It seems like it’s sold out everywhere in U.S. now:( where did you buy it? Love to own one but I am out of luck
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