Okay let’s hit the ground running. Bass-wise, the Audeze cans lean toward powerful impact with good speed with variations on this general theme. LCD-2 bass sounds fuller and richer, but isn’t as well controlled as the X/XC. Extension on all three cans is good. However, is clear that Z1R is is able to retrieve much more detail from the lowest frequencies, articulating them with better body as well. Unfortunately, the Z1R is correspondingly slower in comparison. The LCD-X/XC comparison stands out in particular. My personal preference for a general listening can would rest somewhere in between these two types of bass. Separation is excellent too, you can pin point different instruments in the orchestra. The instruments have plenty of air arround them. The headphones don't lose coherence when playing very complex passages like a full chorus with brass section and violins (Claudio monteverdi Selva morale espirituale/Gabriel garrido Enselble elyma). If you could directly attach the files (txt, csv, etc. any human readable format really) that would be great...

As far as I can tell, the MDR-Z1R is engineered for two things: meaty vocals and mids, and, through dead reverb super clear transmission to the ears. I’ve got an interview to publish, which I hope will illuminate some of the headphone’s design parameters, as well as show off the dedication of its designers. With it, I’ve got a few good words to say about the MDR-Z1R, and few words of warning regarding its mids, and warmth. So I broke my own rule of not comparing a new headphone with other headphones until I had listened to it by itself for a few days. I compared with my Sennheiser HD800S, Focal Clear, LCD-3, and Meze 99 Classics, and all four of these sounded a lot better to me than the Z1R. I then went and grabbed my relatively inexpensive M40X and M50X, and they too sounded better to me than the Z1R. What's going on here? It seems to me The Mojo sounds the thinnest(not bad just compared to the others) out of all my combination and provides and excellent change to the theme here, oh and it sounds great too. for normal size ears though, there is no problem at all, the headphone is very enjoyable to use for long periods due to its lightness and excellent clamping force with soft earpads with leather that feels nice to the skin. This full-size flagship was introduced in 2014, two years before the Z1R. Sound-wise the Z7 offers a more focused, more robust and less refined signature than the full-size Z1R. We are gifted with a smaller soundstage though still amazingly expansive. Bass is all in one area as well as a lovely upper treble soundstage presentation. Build quality is through the roof as well as form factor being smaller of the two full-size flagships here. This headphone exudes excitement and fun in an almost wonderful expensive yet trashy but cool way.................. it’s the very definition of a guilty necessity.The bass sounds big and full, extension is superb and despite it being boosted, it almost never intrudes the mids at all, maybe a couple of times it did, but it could be my imagination. The centres provide a fundamentally differentiated image of what is happening. Guitars, whether electric or acoustic, sound exciting. The sounds of other instruments of the spectrum are also very well mapped. Cymbals sometimes sound slightly blurry, vocals cannot unfold completely. All the way to the top, there is an area of ​clear emphasis, which creates airiness​ but makes some signals a bit sharp. This is a summation which encapsulates the total review in a short fast read. The basic concepts have been reduced for folks skimming along short of time or interest.

Still the king, though given that freedom of judgment and criticism kings enjoy. While the IER-Z1R may beat it in technicality the Z1R remains it’s own unique experience by capturing nuances only a big headphone can do. Slightly less intense and upfront, it’s ends with more relaxed charm. Strangely this forwardness is also shared by the Z7. It’s the openness of the full-size Z1R which makes it the odd-man-out. Good pairing, but this is desktop(not quite but intended to function like one) amp we're talking about here, only excellent results will suffice as this is supposed to be your best equipment to drive your headphone. I prefer the term "acoustic resistor" as it's often used to describe aperiodic vents. Aperiodic vents are sometimes used in small speaker enclosures to reduce the "pressure effect" at low frequencies without introducing resonances as simple ports do—hense the term "aperiodic." In the MDR-Z1R this resistor is made of long-fiber Canadian softwood pulp in the traditional Japanese Washi paper style. Compared to Ether C 1.1 and Ether Flow, the Z1R is way darker in it's presentation with plenty of bass yet somehow almost never intrudes the mids. I can say that the bass presention is of a different type from the Ether C, the Ether C was tight and lean with excellent speed and low in quantity and good sub-bass, The Ether Flow has that mid bass hump, speed and is very natural sounding, while The Z1R also has that naturalness on the body, still tight but it has a good amount of emphasis compared to the other two, the speed is not as fast as the Ether C/EF from what I remember, but it is still plenty fast to keep up with the music and it's not a problem at all for most music.

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This definitely more of the flavour that the Z1R already offered, but I don't think it makes the Z1R sounds too warm at all. Modal "break-up," as it is often called, is quite common in plastic film diaphragms and can sometimes be seen as little wiggles in measured impedance. The behaviour can be reduced by making the diaphragm stiffer with metallization as Sony has done, or by making the diaphragm of a different material, which Sony has also done here with the magnesium dome. Other approaches include having a dome/diaphragm so stiff that it needs a surround at the very edge just like a regular speaker, as in Focal's metal domes, or fiber domes like AudioQuest and Denon's old DX000 lines. A very big thank you note to @Purk for the nice deal i got them and for the extras included such as the 3.5mm TRRS and 4.4mm to XLR adaptor

Not all units of the same product are made equal. The EQ is based on the measurements of a single unit. YMMV with regards to the very unit you are trying this EQ on. Extension wise, I have to say that The Z1R extends way better than the Ether C and EF, the extension and decay is much more noticeable due to both better technicalities and also extra emphasis, there details in my music that I never notice in the other 2 cans that I do with the Z1R. Portable Chain 1: CA Andromeda with Gold Plated OCC Silver wires + Gold Plated Silver Gold Alloy OCC Hybrid wires + OCC Silver wires -> AK SP2000 (Minimum Phase Apodizing) The Sony house sound is revolutionary. It contains a set of tones which could come off as garish. It’s different for sure.........almost brutish and unrefined yet holding a level of intimate-detail at the same time. If anything it’s weird and different upon a first listen. It also could be considered an acquired taste like blue-cheese, seemingly wrong but then right after acclimation. Personally I love the sound but also realize that it is the result of whole systems and audiophile synergy which smooths out the imbalances and clarifies the strong points. And even with all the ideas of getting correction....tone is everything. For some the Sony house sound will never be acceptable. For many they fall-out of romance due to other headphones offering a more acceptable rendition of reality. There is no right or wrong here, no one sound signature is either containing good or bad taste! It will probably flatten the Error regression doing so, the tonal balance should be therefore more neutral.Some strangeness here. These have a relaxed presentation but are a little dark and veiled. But it has a large sound stage with big bass and pretty good imaging. Hmm… Excellent pairing considering I'm comparing DAP with desktop set up, but for some reason it does not seem as powerfull as my other setup, the sound is not as impactfull and full in my mind.