SONY MDR-Z1R WW2 Signature, Hi-Res Headphone, Black (International Version)

Leyendo muchos comentarios sobre estos auriculares me hacían estar poco seguro sobre si cuadrarían con mi gusto. Especialmente por dos razones: tratarse de unos auriculares cerrados (no había escuchado ningún cerrado que me diese ni de lejos la apertura de sonido que me gusta) y varios comentarios sobre que tienen un sonido excesivamente cálido. Pues bien, solo puedo decir que es el auricular que más me gusta de todos los que tengo y he probado. Me parece una absoluta delicia en cuanto a su equilibrio general, naturalidad en la presentación del sonido, increíble apertura y definición espacial (máxime cuando son unos auriculares cerrados) y una calidad de construcción y presentación absolutamente acorde con un producto de élite. Cada vez que los escucho refuerzan más y más la sensación de encontrarme ante un producto muy madurado, muy afinado/refinado y en el que se han empleado muchos recursos y cuidado en su desarrollo. Para mi es un absoluto clásico y una demostración magistral de lo que se puede lograr cuando se aunan el saber hacer y los recursos casi ilimitados que pone una gran compañía cuando quiere crear un producto bandera. Extraordinario. P.D.: Tal y como se comenta son unos auriculares que, si bien son fáciles de mover incluso con un móvil o un reproductor portátil, agradecen y se muestran en todo su esplendor con amplificadores dedicados de enjundia. Por cierto, no hacerse una idea total de su sonido recién estrenados...Efectivamente, son auriculares que necesitan de unas buenas 200 de horas de uso para empezar a "abrir" su sonido. Y no, esto no es placebo o acostumbrarse a ellos.

Qualità del suono ECCELLENTE! Consigliate sopratutto a chi davvero è appassionato di alta fedeltà ed ha un hi fi a componenti di fascia alta. Devo dire che hanno superato le mie aspettative che erano già alte. Oltre all’eccellente qualità del suono sono anche molto confortevoli da indossare. Non so nella storia di Sony se, a parte le MDR-R10 KING risalenti a fine anni Ottanta inizio anni novanta, siano state prodotte altre cuffie di questo livello. Grazie ad Amazon per avere reso facilissimo l’import!

Exquisite, a thing of beauty it is Gorgeous and is packed like a precious jewellery with every part of this headphone being premium and MADE IN JAPAN very nice and powerful sound on the warm side and clear and crisp non fatiguing treble very fun enjoyable experience if your budget allows get one and experience this pure bliss

(Update Jan 2017: After almost 3 months ownership, the initial opinion remains. To my ears these are the best closed cans you can get. Emphasis to -closed-. There are limitations by design, but otherwise, the Z1R are indeed the new R10) Build quality is absolutely fantastic... you can tell they were assembled by a human with great care, and I'm even including the case. The no-nonsense minimalist design of the Z1R - where nothing is added beyond what is necessary for the sound signature and comfort is a 10/10. Still, this might be as closest as Sony got to the R10/CD3000 in recent years... Are they very good sonically? Yes. Are they good enough to surpass the old classic or even justify the current MSRP cost? I'm not sure yet... I'll tell you in a few days. But whoa... have I mentioned how outstanding they are in materials/assembly? PROS: -Outstanding build quality. Top notch materials and machining/assembly. Super simple design, nothing added beyond what is necessary for sound. No decoration, no useless plastic, nothing. Function over form. Even the case is very well built, wood frame, about 5kg. -Excellent soundstage/imaging/positioning for closed cans. This is the closed cousin of the the HD800[S] in sense of space. -Great sound isolation (Truly closed, not semi, which can be a plus in some scenarios). Despite that, they still sound airy and resonance is very low. -Nice thin, light cable, not microphonic, nice ridges and great grip. No need for 2kg cables (cof-cof-Utopia-cof) -Sweet,sweet mid-range.Not laid back but not in-your-face. Diana Krall on DSD sounds natural and captivating. -Higher mids and treble are on the warm side but still excellent resolution. All the detail is there without being sibilant or harsh. -Tight, punchy bass with great extension. Not a silly bloated Z7. Combined with the previous darkish-tonality and soundstaging you get a signature that does give a sense of live speakers. Massive Attack's Blue Lines? Check. Hotel California? Check. Chemical Brothers? Check. Telarc's classical and opera? All Chesky binaural recordings? Check. and so on and on... -Very easy to drive. Impedance/sensitivity help. No need to spend 30-100% of the headphones cost in amping. -Comfort is excellent, they fit and feel lighter. Despite a sense of warm up normal with leather pads, they're flawless. LESS GOOD: -Despite high quality, bass can be fatiguing in some tracks. They're very rare but I hit a few, "few" as in single digit amount. They're great on jazz, classical, pop, rock and pretty much anything without an insanely bloated bass mastering. Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" Live is a negative exception, it's like a punch in the face when the bass guitar enters at around 1:30s. But I didn't experience that bass fatigue with many tracks, the deep sub-bass extension on Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy"? No problem! It sounds tight and precise, just right. The murderous sub-bass on "Why So Serious"of the Dark Knight OST, that makes many headphones pop and die...Just perfect, a visceral thump that is a close to full-size speaker sound as you're going to get with headphones. -Soundstage is airy and holographic but still not as good as on the HD800/HD800S. But good luck finding closed headphones that match those... -Just realized I don't have enough complaints, so I'll complain about the price and say that these should be landing in the 1.6-1.7K bracket for perfection. What else.. hmmm, you might want a slightly brighter sound if that's your style, but I usually prefer very bright signatures and still enjoy the Z1R a lot. Put Chesky's Macy Gray's "Stripped" or Melissa Menago's "Little Crimes" albums playing in these and you will see how amazing they are. The level of detail in both is fantastic, bass, mids, treble just right. The airy sense of the recordings, the great positioning and layering. All there. In fact, I recommend these two Chesky albums to any audiophile who wants to test gear. OVERALL: -95/100. I'm taking the other 5% because I do prefer a bright sound in general and these are bright, but could be a tiny bit brighter to please my old ears. They are good, very very good. MDR-CD3000/MDR-R10 level of good? I think so, if you get past the aura of untouchable godliness of the R10, these are a totally modernized superior new tool (this has been admitted by the designer of the R10, now mentoring one of the Z1R designers). The only question is if they're worth the full MSRP price. Maybe. -I'd recommend these for any type of music that isn't very bass-heavy naturally, and from that I mean ridiculously poorly mastered super bassy. [Disclaimer] All photos are of my set and I didn't get anything for this review except spending my own money. Ah. That's how reviews sound better.

Tried loads of headphones, more expensive and less expensive! Feed the MDR Z1R the right calibre signal and nothing comes close to the enjoyment these are able to give you! Grand sounding, detailed, delicate delicious bass, and very high end and refined. For musical enjoyment nothing touches these babies. Plus they are made as piece of precision fine art, subdued beautiful design and excellent attention to detail everywhere you look. Very comfortable for good measure. I am very happy I got these. Well done Sony!