The IER-Z1R has been the long-time flagship in-ear monitor from Sony. It was released in 2018 and has not had a successor as of the time of writing this. I had personally tried it back then, and due to the incredibly large size and interesting ear nozzle angle, the fit was less than desirable. Back then, I didn't nearly have the collection of IEM tips as I do today, and it was a real struggle to get it to work and work without pain.
In 2020, Audio Discourse did a podcast around Sony's collection of IEMs and at that time, I discussed my experience of not getting a good fit, and having the treble be extremely bright. That is because if you can not get the intended deep insertion of this product in your ear canal, then the low and mid-treble increases, instead of falling cleaning and smoothed out through the upper-treble range. This is a phenomenon for every IEM, but it was particularly annoying for this top of the line product that has had rave reviews.
Fast-forward to today, 2024. I've been on sort of a Sony retrospective as of late, collecting Sony Walkmans and truly enjoying their sound and functionality despite all their limitations. While scouring the classifieds, I was able to snatch up a great deal on the IER-Z1R and have been attempting to use it again with my larger tip collection and tricks I've learned through the years.
The initial trials were quite miserable. I was able to get great fit with Spinfit CP360 tips, but the rear corner of the Z1R was really hurting my ear. It is kind of sharp back there, and kind of a weird design choice. On top of that, if I didn't have a good perfect alignment, the pain would come after 30 minutes of use.
So I tried to band-aid the problem, in the most literal sense. I took some medical bandage tape that was cushy and put it on the rear corner where it rests against the back of concha, and it worked! I was able to get better fit and none of the pain!
This was an interesting solution, but I wanted something more permanent. I've seen the silicone cover wraps for the IER-Z1R and Campfire IEMs for years now, and always wanted to try it out. These can be found on eBay and Ali Express fairly easily, and within a week of order, I had one in my hands.
After putting them on, the fit and seal was fantastic, and the pain was totally gone. This was the combination for me: Silicone Wrap + SpinFit CP360 small tips. This along with a lighter cable was key. I paired it with my mmcx version of the PlusSound EXO silver-plated copper cable. Now I was set to do proper listening impressions.
Sound Impressions
The Sony IER-Z1R has a very balanced sound with a warm and elevated bass range, even mid-range and a slightly bright and airy treble. The upper-midrange is fairly tame, and more of the focus is in the low and mid-treble, and this gives the Z1R a U-Shape sound.
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There's three areas that I think the IER-Z1R does incredibly well. Bass impact, dynamics, and soundstage.
First off, the bass is really good. Sony chose a 3-driver configuration with a dynamic driver for the low end and treble and a balanced armature for the midrange. It's a very peculiar design that is different than most, if not all, IEMs on the market, even 6 years later. Despite the blended configuration, there's no signs of incoherency. The bass, while strong, is well textured, layered, and has sublime impact and slam. It sounds quite natural, and really goes well with the rest of the sound signature. Its one of the best bass on any headphone product I've tried.
The dynamics are also very well done here. This helps with the overall imaging, and quiet moments sound quiet and loud moments sound loud. It reduces the amount of blaring in your face sound, and goes hand in hand with the large soundstage that I really enjoyed the most of Z1R's feature set.
This IEM has a wonderfully big soundstage for an IEM. Orchestral and rock music, alike, both have wide, deep, and tall soundstages, thanks in part to the good dynamics and imaging that I found with the Z1R and likely has a lot to do with the upper-midrange and treble tuning, which has some carefully placed dips and peaks that bring a sort of live realism to music I listened to.
With this comes some potential negatives, of course, because no IEM is perfect (except the Subtonic Storm). The treble can be occasionally unforgiving, especially in poor recorded tracks or certain pop music that accentuates the treble range too much. Sibilance is possible, although, this does depend on your insertion and seal quality too.
Final Thoughts
I am very happy I gave this IEM another chance. I finally have come to understand the hype that came with this Sony IEM at its release. It's really a well put together product, except its shell design and fit. Sony doesn't need to do a lot of tuning changes to it, but rather, update its shell design to fit the masses.
This product has great sound, great tuning and technicalities, but its deal killing design is its greatest flaw for some. That's unfortunate because many won't be able to hear the way this thing was supposed to sound.
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