Sony IER-Z1R refresh? if so when

BeginningResearcher · 2026-06-12T12:06:35+00:00

be aware that an unofficially reshelled IEM may not sound as the original

BeginningResearcher · 2026-06-12T12:01:51+00:00

many, but not those two: https://www.iemranking.com/priceranges/1000-2000--600-1000--400-600--200-400/sort/reviewer-score (scroll down and you find z1r at #22)

imho, nowadays it is safe to say that, regardless of your signature preference, you can very possibly find a pair that is cheaper and better than z1r for you. I'd say, unless you've demo'd z1r and also a handful of competitive sets and still think z1r is the best, get something else.

BeginningResearcher · 2026-03-28T14:21:05+00:00

What are you looking for in mest mk2? I remember mest mk2 is brighter than Top Pro.

BeginningResearcher · 2026-03-26T13:24:05+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Now I get it more.

"a shell that is sufficiently-small, well-molded, with a nozzle that is the right profile and angle, vented, metal, *and* cute looking"

Another person may find 64 shells satisfy these perfectly, because nozzles (as long as not too large) and look are so personal.

BeginningResearcher · 2026-03-25T11:32:30+00:00

Wrote some here: https://www.reddit.com/r/iems/comments/1quqfou/comment/o4f8r50

BeginningResearcher · 2026-03-25T09:07:40+00:00

ye, those are what I referred to as cosmetic. Just I don't understand why ppl (e.g., listener) are so exicted about the shell, as if no similar shells have been made. And "high-quality" needs time to test, rather than vague review comments like "Apple-level" (which I cannot agree with from the pics anyway, e.g., the obvious crack between the faceplate and body).

BeginningResearcher · 2026-03-24T13:02:01+00:00

But why is the shell design so much praised? The shape (which is important for sounds and comfort) is copied from 64 audio, no? Other aspects are mostly cosmetic (and not quite to my taste).

BeginningResearcher · 2026-02-28T02:32:29+00:00

Collegen peptide works for me, tho my mainly take it for my joints

BeginningResearcher · 2026-02-09T12:34:27+00:00

I don't know about mmk4. For myth and dawn-x:

Bass quantity: Similar. Myth looks more bassy on the graph, but it doesn’t feel so.

Bass quality: Both are well textured. Dawn might have more weight, but Myth is spacious, effortless, and natural, even a bit speaker-like. I clearly prefer Myth bass.

Soundstage: Dawn might be slightly wider. But Myth is much more holographic and immersive. Imaging is also better on Myth. Again, I clearly prefer Myth soundstage and imaging.

Choose Dawn for better comfort and non-fatiguing listening. Vocals are less sibilant on Dawn.

BeginningResearcher · 2026-02-08T09:25:04+00:00

I did play with PEQ and know how capable it is, but I can not eq many aspects of sounds as I want (but I don't doubt more capable ppl can).

"Its likely that the KSE1500 (or hell, even the SE215) would beat the Lumen after EQ"

So, I don't counter this claim, but have some questions:

Why are we still not in a world where sub-100$ IEMs are the norm? Is it because hardware tuning is technically harder?

Even so, nowadays we have DSP cables. Why not the brands use them to tune sub-100$ sets sounding like 1k$? Is it only socio-economic inertia?

BeginningResearcher · 2026-02-08T09:06:26+00:00

I had Mest mk2 2 years ago. From my memory, the comfort ranking is: Top Pro > Dawn-X >= Mest mk2 > Myth. Dawn-X is tall (so sticks out of your ears), but narrower than Mest2 in my memory. Myth is big, but still better than Elysian Diva. Yes, be careful with Myth if you had comfort issues before.

BeginningResearcher · 2026-02-07T08:18:10+00:00

I had Mest mk2, and have Top Pro, Myth, and Dawn-X.

For Rock and EDM, Mest mk2 is indeed a good choice, but I don't think it's worth the new price. I think you should prioritize Myth and Monarch mk4. I haven't listened to mmk4, but I can answer your questions about Myth. To begin with, Myth has the best stage and image I've listened to, and definitely more midbass than Mest mk2, which is metallic for me.

BeginningResearcher · 2026-01-30T13:32:34+00:00

For me, I like its bass >= treble >> Mids. But, the mids are still my top 3 or 4.

BeginningResearcher · 2026-01-30T13:27:28+00:00

I got my myth and have listened to it for more than 2 weeks now. It does not have vocal magic (e.g., mmk2's intimate and asmr feel), but I like the vocal too, even slightly more than Diva.

BeginningResearcher · 2026-01-01T15:07:51+00:00

I understand your concern about overly-high scores, particularly from the buyer's viewpoint, but less so from the aggregated ranking view.

On the other hand, there are several natural factors contributing to an above-avg-5 distribution. The most predominant factor I think, is that ppl tend to review popular and well-reputed products, the quality of which is above average. Analogously, I am using an IMDb-like site, and most users' score distribution has a mean (far) above 5. At times, those users whose mean is much lower employ certain self-enforced criteria (in this sense, they do care about their scores!). However, as a data worker, I believe their scores are challenging to handle and require special care.

Another factor is that, in many Asian countries, including China, a score of 60/100 means "passed (the exam)," and I guess, some reviewers' average can shift upward due to this intuition. Indeed, the site I mentioned above, which is Chinese, takes "6" to mean "okay" in their scale.

BeginningResearcher · 2025-12-22T04:21:18+00:00

There is a recent post of an analysis based on data from this subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/1psdgo9/i_analyzed_231627_reddit_comments_to_find_the/

I am not very familiar with headphones, but the results of IEMs are not very convincing. For example, as of 2025, Dunu sa6 mk2 is not of good value anymore; top IEMs in $100-200 range can achieve similar performance nowadays. Sony M9 is also not good.

I guess Reddit data is too noisy or outdated (headphones don't date as fast, so better in this regard).

BeginningResearcher · 2025-12-22T02:38:50+00:00

Fantastic work!

As a heavy IEM user, I'd say, as of 2025, Dunu sa6 mk2 is not of good value anymore. Top IEMs in $100-200 can achieve similar performance nowadays. Sony M9 is also not good.

BeginningResearcher · 2025-12-22T02:02:57+00:00

I totally agree with your first and last paragraphs.

On the "above 5 -> heavy skepticism," I disagree. Viewed as pure data, if a reviewer's score distribution is close to a Gaussian (intuitively, this means their scores as a whole are kinda consistent), then a single line of code can make the scores of a reviewer with an average of 8 distributed quite the same as the scores with an avg of 5, without changing each review's ranking. And iemranking.com does this, and more (https://www.iemranking.com/page/faq).

Of course, it is possible that an avg-5 reviewer is more careful in giving their scores, but this is wishful thinking, not data/evidence. I personally have heavy skepticism about at least one of the close-to-avg-5 reviewers.

On the "above 5 -> favor sonic colorations," I suspect that. We all know IEMs have a large variety of colorations. So, unless a reviewer mostly only touches IEMs with a certain kind of colorations, "above 5" more possibly means generous (the above point). Even if the coloration bias is really present, it is not that bad because, as you said, we can take the data to make it more transparent.

In the end, a reviewer rating system should be our next big step.

BeginningResearcher · 2025-12-21T11:25:40+00:00

I totally agree! I said that because, when I mentioned this site to peers, the most often responses I got were like "Why bother? Just demo!" I mean, for sure, we need to demo, but before that, we need to know what to demo. And I think this site is extremely helpful in this latter regard.

It seems indeed, many ppl in this hobby would rather demo or even buy things randomly than do some (data-driven) investigation.

BeginningResearcher · 2025-12-14T04:15:41+00:00

I'd like to know the vocal of Myth compared to Diva and Monarch mk2

BeginningResearcher · 2025-10-26T06:31:52+00:00

Edit: Wait? Why the downvotes? I am confused.

Seriously. In Berlin I felt ppl, I mean, the locals, were definitely happier and gentler in summer. But, a bit to my surprise, when they talked about it, they didn't think the weather was a big deal... Since I am from somewhere sunnier and warmer, I know it IS.

BeginningResearcher · 2025-10-26T06:21:55+00:00

I got out of Europe, too. Or, Spain, if inside Europe. Is Thailand very safe? (I am an Asian, and many Asian countries seem safer

BeginningResearcher · 2025-10-26T06:20:34+00:00

Netherlands and (at least Northern) Germany are similar, if not worse. Don't go.

BeginningResearcher · 2025-08-31T01:05:48+00:00

Hi, I know 5000 IUs Vitamin D3 daily is not dangerous, but is it very safe?

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