Sony designed the drivers in the IER-Z1R headphones from the ground up, to work in total harmony together. Through extensive listening tests, a dedicated film capacitor is integrated into the network to refine and significantly reduce distortion. But one of the best part of listening to this IEM is that it taught me about almost everything IEM related, mainly the depictions. There is some uncanny valley here, perhaps edginess , and it is particularly noticeable coming off the likes of the 64 Audio U12t and the Campfire Andro 2020 which are more smooth going through these regions. 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.On the other hand, go for the IER-Z1R if you’re looking for a more exciting, aggressive presentation that sacrifices some midrange balance. The attention to detail extends to the supplied cable, which optimises the performance of the IER-Z1R, providing superior sound quality, a comfortable wearing experience, and reduced touch noise, allowing you to immerse yourself in music wherever you go. Of course, like most of the Sony stuff, the IER-Z1R’s build inspires a sense of robustness and quality you don’t get with a lot of other IEMs.

In tandem with the oh-so-natural bass and treble decay, there is a sense of realism to the IER-Z1R’s imaging that cannot quite be captured in words; it excels at engagement factor and establishing the listener in the mix. This review is for the people who already watched every Z1R Review on YouTube, read every Review here on Head-Fi and just wants an additional opinion from an long-time owner about if he should really pull the trigger or not. This is not the IEM to purchase if you want something reference or neutral-tuned; however, if you like Sony’s unique, house sound then you won’t be disappointed.

I wonder if you fall into the same sort of listening preferences as I do because I also felt like that annihilator was truly impressive though I still preferred the tuning of the Z1R for electronic music which is most of my library but I think if I tested the same songs you did then I 100% would agree with you on the annihilator. And if you really want more bass, adding +6db to the bass for certain songs can turn these from fun, to just dummy thick bass.

Nothing about the IER-Z1R’s build remotely conforms to the human ear’s natural shape, and to this effect, every time I stuffed the IER-Z1R into my ear I felt like I was smack-dab between heaven (sound) and hell (fit) – hence my review’s title. My thoughts on the IER-Z1R’s bass probably aren’t too surprising; nonetheless, allow me to hammer home the notion: The IER-Z1R is my zenith of bass in portable fidelity. The 5mm super tweeter in the IER-Z1R was developed to deliver ultra-high frequency extension with a new aluminium-coated LCP diaphragm and external magnetic circuit. These offer the ultimate convenience, but we believe that if you care about an immersive listening experience and audio quality, these are not for you! Midrange is where the Sony pulls back a bit whereas the Andro 2020 (in contrast to the Andro 2019) gains some presence.

I’m not sure if the size of the shells or the amount of treble was more fatiguing for me so it wasn’t too much of a problem however I felt its excessiveness especially when I raised the volume with vocal heavy tracks. The Ts-200 enabled me to use them for hours without comfort issues and are the tips that seem to make them sound most unmodified (if that makes sense). Additionally, the magnesium-alloy construction eliminates vibrations and undesired resonances, resulting in impeccable clarity and vibrant sound reproduction across various musical genres. Soundstage / imaging - honestly I didn’t hear anything that sounded much better than the Z1R here but I wasn’t really looking for it. Its ultra-fast response faithfully follows the fast dynamic transience of music, which provides you with live concert hall atmosphere.