Review on SONY MDR-Z1R WW2 Signature: Superior Sound Quality in Black (International Version) by Amar ᠌

After 10 years of using the Sennheiser HD 650 and various earbuds up to IE8, through the usual mini-jack in phones / computers, as well as good speakers with a receiver, I decided to take another step down the inclined plane of audiophile, since finances finally allowed. I wanted a portable music system of the highest quality for still reasonable money (vague criteria, I agree). I went to one well-known headphone store in narrow circles (a branch in St. Petersburg) and chose for a long time, since the sellers there are understanding and patient. Actually, I was determined to buy top-end Sennheiser HD820 and something like Astell & Kern to pair with them. Although I read these about Sony and became interested. Surprisingly, the HD820 dropped almost immediately. Firstly, it turned out to be terribly uncomfortable for my head, the bowls are very large, so the headphones do not sit on the ears, but press on the top of the head with an iron arc. Secondly, the wire is very long and very uncomfortable. Thirdly, the resistance of 300Ω is given to the players quite hard. The sound is very good, which, however, is expected from Sennheisers for 160,000. But not better than Sony. Sony works better with bass, and the treble is more comfortable to listen to. They also listened to the Denon 9200 (not bad, but the biting drums caused a strange resonance in one of the bowls), Focal Stellia (they look like a sawn Faberge egg :), they play great from the middle and up, the bass is more smeared than Sony's, the wire is hard, uncomfortable, well, the price .), Fostex 900 (good ears, but more expensive than Sony, I didn’t notice any advantages in sound, red lacquered bowls - well, an amateur design). As a result, most of the time I listened to my music library on a pair of Z1R + WM1Z (connection via a balanced cable). hi-res music sounds simply incomparable to my untrained ear. For example, Adele "Lovesong" (the emotional state of Adele is transmitted), Deep Purple "Holyman" (the smallest details of the arrangement and the rhythm, the fluidity of the whole composition), Queen's live concert (Freddie sings, 100,000 sing along to him, and you can hear them all). Gone with this couple.