After 9 years of blind buying and remorse I am finally able to rest with the Focal Clear and Sony IER-Z1R.

Submitted by WarHead75 t3_10o1fol in headphones

2015: 17 yr old me dipped his foot into the audiophile journey with the RHA-T20. The immediate emphasis on the treble gave it a fun factor for sparkle/ detail up top vs skullcandy earbuds from early high school years.

2016: I decided to get the Shure SE846 as it was the most praised IEM at the time. A huge price step up from the RHA but a darker sound. Detail was a little more subtle to hear but it was more detailed as I downloaded more and more FLAC files to my phone. I mainly listened to EDM. Amazing bass for mainly balanced armatures.

2017: I was regretting getting the SE846 after reading how it was getting bested by the new Campfire Audio Andromeda. Got a STAX L300 Limited as my first headphone with the D10 lol. Z reviews had me sold on their “magic”. The detail was addicting but the bass wasn’t enjoyable for electronic for long. Sounded too clean.

2018: I stumbled onto Crinacle’s IEM ranking list which helped me a lot in deciding what to get which lead me to getting the qdc Gemini. They were very detailed and natural but I don’t know why the bass left me wanting more despite it being fuller than the STAX.

2019: Stupid 21 yr old me realized that the most detailed gear didn’t leave me satisfied now having had the chord mojo and lg v40 as my higher end power sources.

2021: After the pandemic, I had saved up money to do it correct this time. I went to canjam in NY and tried everything. Learned most of the driver type of headphones and IEMs and have lead to a conclusion that I did not like BAs or planar magnetic type of headphones as they did not do my most favorite electronic tracks justice with mainly sub bass. I needed the rumble that was only out of the box on dynamic drivers.

2022: Already tried the ZMF Verite, Focal Utopia, Susvara, SR-009S/X-9000/Orpheus HE-1 to get it out of my system as well as the electret praised Empire Ears Odin/MEST/Monarch, beryllium DD Final Audio A8000, and IER-Z1R.

The ZMFs were too dark in treble, mellow in bass punch, timbre was nice but for music with real instruments which I listened almost none. I loved the Focal Clear, had the punch for DnB music and detail without piercing it like the Utopia. The planars didn’t have the right weight for bass and a lot of my tracks were not well mastered as a whole so I had to sacrifice the detail to avoid the fatigue of electronic.

The electrets sounded dark as hell to what I was accustomed to with BAs. Every DD IEM sounded more alive than these things still. The A8000 I think gave me small migraine with the treble with meh bass performance for beryllium. The IER-Z1R was the sweet spot; extended and clear non fatiguing treble and the best bass performance to date for EDM holy fuuu…

2023: Focal Clear, Sony IER-Z1R, Hugo 1, PEE51 dongle and AirPods Pro 2 for wireless are now my endgame. Bass was a huge factor from the beginning and I learned that detail had their sacrifices to rumble, timbre, fatigue. I still needed a forward treble unlike those awful electrets that had unsatisfactory extension but not done like that A8000.

My music was mostly not very well mastered being even mostly drum and bass FLACs. The artists did indeed have warm tuned headphones which is why they did so bad with the electrets and unbearable with unforgiving detail monsters. A little colored tune and top notch bass punch was my sweet spot and still haven’t found anything better than what I have now. Even fostex couldn’t replace the Clears.

TL DR: TRY EVERYTHING. Reviews can only do so much. Everyone loved the UE MEST but along with the rest of EST train, they were too smooth on the treble. I needed a DD that had airy treble. IER-Z1R did my tracks justice with rumble, lush full sound with physicality while still displaying the details but not too much to only show the severity of the badly mastered EDM music. Mids were still good for someone who likes vocals placed a little back anyway. The Clears were perfect only being bested on the bass extension by the IEMs. I did not need beryllium dynamic drivers in the end as they approached being too fast, too bright to be as enjoyable as the aluminium/magnesium ones.

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Comments

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The_D0lph1n t1_j6c5f45 wrote

Wow, what a journey! I should go to CanJam at some point, as it provides so much exposure to different headphones. I'm glad you found your style!

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mainguy t1_j6ctz66 wrote

Focal Clear are just such a good headphone at any price. With hugo theyre divine

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miles971 t1_j6dedua wrote

I like you didn’t mention “burn-in” bs.

You disliked some one of the best options out there bc you simply didn’t enjoy it.

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PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j6cuy10 wrote

Oh my, well, 2k IEMs better be absolutely mindblowing!

Glad I am super happy with my 6XX, but one day I will try a pair of ZMF cans on tubes, that's my goal.

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xGuacamolly t1_j6dozy9 wrote

Depending on your needs, the bass on a 2k IEM will destroy the 2k headphones. The openness on the 2k HP will destroy the 2k IEM. Nothing's perfect it's just what you need that matters. ( I own the hd600 so i can testify with knowledge, had the 64 audio Tia fourté in 2017 then um mest Indigo in 2022 )

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xGuacamolly t1_j6dkbj4 wrote

2016 : shure se846

2017 : 64 audio tia fourté

2022 : um mest indigo

2023 : um mest mkii

Rest assured we all went into the deepest black hole.

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satoshigeki94 t1_j6g2ifn wrote

yours look similar to me. My Shure line of 420-535 only got Oriolus in between and then Mest MKII

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xGuacamolly t1_j6g4c30 wrote

It's good enough, i don't need more from the IEM universe

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satoshigeki94 t1_j6g4iyo wrote

I’m still tempted for Oriolus Trailli or some endgame one, but my money isn’t ready yet. Budget saving for life 🥲

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xGuacamolly t1_j6g67wr wrote

I've tried the multiverse mentor and it was FANTASTIC. Never tried the trailli

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Alone_Ad_1410 t1_j6dkffi wrote

IER-Z1R has the best sound I've experienced so far, but its fitment issues.......😅

If SONY made it to put Z1R's sound into M9's body, that would be a perfect IEM

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lexicalsatire t1_j6hpjvv wrote

I think it very much depends on ear size. Admittedly, the IER Z1R shape is kinda weird, but it fit me fine. I've had fitment issues with other popular IEMs, back of the U12t was digging into the my ears, MEST 2 fit too small (never could get a good deal).

Most recently, Vision Ears EXT, I couldn't fit in my ear, it was huge.

Long story short, people should try audition gear rather than discount it because of what other people say.

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blorg t1_j6e0aw7 wrote

Strange you don't feel planars have rumble and sub-bass, they usually have better sub-bass extension than dynamics. The Clear is punchier than most though. And I do get what you are saying with "weight", they tend to have less of that, with maybe an exception in Audeze.

I would still pick a planar over the Clear for sub-bass in electronic music, for pure bass with no other consideration- LCD-X. It not only has the rumble, it has punch that rivals the Clear. Upper mids are much too dark and also wonky, but can be fixed up fine with EQ while keeping what is the best bass of anything I have heard.

Clear also has a clipping issue in very low sub-bass, although I don't listen loud enough for it to be an issue. It's just the last headphone I'd think of for sub-bass specifically, if anything it's a weak point. It's more mid-bass slam.

For still great sub-bass but otherwise tuned correctly through the mids (i.e. more like the Clear)- Arya Stealth, HE6SEV2, Edition XS.

Not trying to dissuade you, the Clear is a great headphone, and I think it's a better all rounder than the LCD-X, I'd take it over that. I pick it up more for rock than electronic music though. Just a different view on it.

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The_D0lph1n t1_j6e4ls5 wrote

Depending on the kind of electronic music, the tracks might not have that much content in the true sub-bass (e.g. <50 Hz). Most electronic drum hits, and even many rumbles, in my music collection are somewhere between 50 and 150 Hz in terms of fundamental (I run a real-time spectrum analyzer in my music player). So a lack of sub-bass extension might not affect bass perception that much, as a hump in the 70-150 Hz region boosts the parts of bass that matter most. And that's before psychoacoustic effects like missing fundamental can boost the perception of the sub-bass, even if the sub-bass tones aren't actually being reproduced.

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krucacing t1_j6g119z wrote

did you try biodynamics like denons or fostex th900, those are king in the headphone world when it comes to sub bass punch

In IEM world agree, Z1R is one of the best.

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omarccx t1_j6dooor wrote

I also found out not to follow the herd by buying overhyped stuff. Luckily I only got burnt on the $100 FiiO FH3.

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softmetalhead t1_j6ee1ky wrote

Wow... I have never seen anyone dislike these...

What exactly don't you like about them?

Just asking, not trying to provoke anything...

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omarccx t1_j6eojgq wrote

I also dislike the 6XX and the Starlight lol. After 3 years with the 6XX I never felt inclined to use them, even when they were my only headphones.

On the fiio, the bass was overpowering, the mids were tonally wrong (similar to how HE400 OG just sounds wrong) and EQ could fix some, but not all the issues I heard. But my main issue with it was the fit. I couldn't wear them longer than 20 minutes, and I have big ears.

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softmetalhead t1_j6eq9nn wrote

I also find them kinda uncomfortable... But i think the biggest problem is the cable... Which is too stiff and heavy... (i have relatively small/medium ears)...

But honestly I like the sound... I just don't like that the distortion in mids i clearly audible when you do a frequency sweep... Otherwise it's not really that audible with music...

But I can see how for some the bass can be overpowering... Although I gave them to my dad to try them out and he just turned to me and asked me "Where's the bass?"

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omarccx t1_j6er6so wrote

I broke the cable on mine the very first day it just got stuck to the mmcx adapter. Mind you at the same time I got the Tin P1 for $70, and after EQ those demolish anything the FH3 had to provide. But I did prefer them to the Starlight

He mustve not gotten a good seal! It's not good bass, but it's a lot of bass.

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lexicalsatire t1_j6hqavs wrote

>I also found out not to follow the herd by buying overhyped stuff.

My strategy was buying hyped products that I was interested in, because I thought they would be super popular and "retain value". Learnt the hard way with my Verite Closed and LCD-5, could almost buy a brand new HD800S.

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AtLastLight t1_j6dv2hx wrote

Do you have a recommendation for a cheaper IEM for electronic music? I love my Mest Mk2 but I agree that it struggles with dnb and other similar genres (especially with poor mastering). I'd love to own the Z1R but I just don't have the budget for 2 kilobucks at the moment!

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rileycw4 t1_j6eq4no wrote

No mention of the hd800s? The bass could be better and 6k is a bit hot but it is a better headphone than the clear imo because of its openness and crazy good imaging.

I also think you should check out the radiance. It’s slightly darker than the clear but has better bass for edm.

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WarHead75 OP t1_j6khkzi wrote

Ironically, tried not to write too much. I did try the hd800s 3 weeks ago at audio46. The soundstage was so wide to where real instruments sounded too far away for me. Sounds pretty good for EDM until the bass oriented tracks start playing and the feeling is missing. Z1R does it to where things have cathedral like space but are forward enough to sound right there. Maybe the hd800s were too wide for me.

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rileycw4 t1_j6klhsm wrote

I think you will like the radiance, stellia, and the noire. The noire is amazing for $900 and is on par with the radiance. I like the noire bass more.

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jumboshrimp93 t1_j6eramc wrote

Great journey, we’ve found ourselves in similar spots too. I have Focal Clear, end game IEM (in my case U12t) and AirPods. That’s all I really need, though I also got some EMU Ebony closed backs.

You preferred the Clear to the Utopia? I’ve been hoping to stumble on a Utopia for a good price, but it does seem like some folks prefer the Clear for being a little warmer. And, the IER-Z1R is simply gorgeous. Sony makes a great product, even the M9 seems like a wonderful IEM.

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WarHead75 OP t1_j6ki0ep wrote

I’m glad I found the Utopia fatiguing. No need to spend 4 grand lol. But yea in the FR, there is a spike somewhere in the treble thats very sharp for tracks that have too much treble emphasis.

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Cyberspace1559 t1_j6k3zyi wrote

Me at 16 I bought a focal celestee :p

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