I've had the Z1R alongside my VX to compare to the last couple days. This is gonna sound pretty scathing, but I think that the Z1R just hits some bad notes for me personally.



The highs:



Both IEMs have great extension and detailed treble, but the Z1R can get a little spicy sometimes. I didn't go out of my way to find badly mastered tracks when listening to the, just listened to my pesonal library. For the most part it's not an issue, but sometimes you'll run into a track where "tss" and s's on female vocals are just more sharp than is comfortable. On the VX, bright spots on tracks which are badly recoreded/mastered are presented to you, but not in a piercing manner. It is up front with you, but not rude.



Mids:



The mids on the VX are neutral and produce texture and detail to an incredible level. Female vocals are fantastic, as are male vocals. I sometimes wish that deeper male vocals had more body, but you can't have it all! The z1r, on the other hand, has recessed and slightly thin vocals. Female vocals are fine for the most part, though it's also female vocals that can get sibilant.



When listening to male vocals, the Z1R doesn't quite cut it. They are too distant and thin sounding for me to enjoy. I actually enjoy distanced vocals when paired with good tonality and body. I am a soundstage whore, though. The VX can do this with certain tracks and it's wonderful to experience. I tried to mitigate this issue on the Z1R with EQ. I boosted the lower vocal frequencies. It brought vocals a bit more forward and I excitedly thought that I'd fixed the problem. Upon closer inspection I found that voices were now hazy, or blurred somehow. It was quite strange.



Bass:



To me, the VX is the king of BA bass. It sounds organic, it pounds hard when it is called for, but it does not overstay its welcome. I think that the VX tops even the U12T in bass quantity as well as depth, though some do disagree. The Z1R's bass has great texture and impact, but sometimes does not feel connected to the rest of the music. It's akin to being in a car, and while you have vocals and instruments coming from the front speakers, the bass is coming out of subs from the trunk, not quite fitting in. You really wanted that bass though, so its back there pounding. On the VX, as stated earlier, the bass is organic sounding and fits very well.



Overall, hearing the Z1R made me appreciate my Anole VX immensely. It's ridiculous how well it does EVERYTHING. Every genre, every frequency.