Headphone Reviews

Raw frequency response plots show the Z1R is very insensitive to movement on the head—possibly due to the nicely fitting pads.

Bass response is elevated about 6dB above baseline. While it starts to come down at about 150Hz, it doesn't fully return to level until about 500Hz; in listening the bass did bleed into the mids. While the peak at 3kHz is at about the right level it is extremely sharp; I've not ever seen anything quite like it. The run up to the peak is a little slow to rise; in listening I did hear this as a slightly withdrawn presence region giving the impression of some veiling around vocals.

The fall from the 3kHz peak is extremely fast and falls too far. This tends to take the body out of cymbals. The subsequent peak at 10kHz is significant and strong. I heard this as a sizzly treble that I found fatiguing.

30Hz square wave shows a bit of wobble in the waveform top, but it remains above zero throughout showing good extension into the sub-bass. The front shoulder is slow to com on indicating a lack of treble energy. In listening it doesn't sound quite like that due to the severe 10kHz peak, but when you ignore the peak you can hear the treble is lackluster.

300Hz square wave is a mess. The leading edge excites the 10kHz peak, which can be seen in the high frequency wiggle for the first fer cycles of the lower frequency ring. I think the ringing throughout is due to the sharp peak at 3kHz.

The impulse response is likewise a ringing mess. Shall I go on.

Distortion is fairly low, but bass distortion looks problematic. I suspect this may be excursion limiting due to the small magnet? Who knows.

Impedance respons is surprisingly flat at a nominal 62 Ohms.

The isolation plot shows decent attenuation of outside noise, but would be 5-10dB lower if it were a completely sealed design.

Needing 106mVrms to achieve 90dBspl at the ear these will play a solid levels from portable players.