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January 2025
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Nightjar Acoustics Duality Impressions
31/01/2025
Listening to Duality for >30 mins gives me intense bass fatigue and a splitting headache, so I guess this is a PSA to the other anon who's eyeing the Duality. Hopefully you're not as bass-sensitive as I am.as among the few anons who have heard a variety of bassy singapore pos (singularity, duality, symphonium meteor, titan, etc.), i am very satisfied that i chose scarlet mini out of them all. besides scarlet, singularity and meteor appealed to me, the others not so. duality with the bassier switch was mud city, and switch off did not offer any significant improvement over singularity. titan was mud city and sounded slow as hell (too much unnatural decay), with less top-end clarity than scarlet. ofc opinions and comparisons are all over the place, but that's how i heard them.
>titan was mud city
agreed
>duality with the bassier switch was mud city
interesting take. for me the duality sounds cleaner than the singularityand yeah in general i'd say mega-bass signatures are definitely "once in a while," kind of pos. they're not really meant to daily, same as any other exaggerated tunings
yeah im probably setting aside my duality for the time being. but i get tempted to sell idle sets that i dont frequently use.
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Snowsky Retro Mini & Moondrop Echo-A Impressions
31/01/2025
Echo Mini arrived. Pretty good for the price. Super basic UI and built quality, but it just wors and plays everything perfectly.
Also new moondropped dongleHow's the battery? Is it removable? I hope so
nta but pretty sure the echo mini doesn't have an easy to replace battery, only the retro nano has that feature
I will just leave it running for today and report later, it has a fake battery lid at the back, but only the nano has an actual replacable battery.god it's adorable, would get if I didn't just buy the Hiby R1.
>Also new moondropped dongle
how is it compared to jm20?My JM20 hasn't arrived yet, but compared to the JA21, GraveAudio DA06 and Apple Dongle the built quality is definitely better and it gets really loud. In terms of sound it's basicly like most other popular dongles in that price range, but maybe it's placebo but it's sound a bit "boomy" or bass heavy.
I have one too (same colour - good choice)
It's great as a shuffle machine, but takes ages to actually choose tracks if you have a lot on there
I've found the battery is good; played it for about 4 hours and lost 1 out of 4 bar, from the 4.4 jack on high gain (playing mp3)
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FAAEAL Unbounded, Mini Slender Waist, and Astrotec GX70 Plus Impressions
29/01/2025
>Faaeal Unbounded IEM
Solid build. Resin quality similar to Celest Wyvern (not super dense, but light and smooth) + aluminum faceplate, color-matched nozzle with lip. Wearing ergonomics are fine, maybe the cable earhooks pull in a non-ideal way (common QDC cable complaint), but I can find good seal as is. Stock tips are flimsy trash. Average sensitivity.
Tuning is decent, driver techs compete well against any other sub-$50. Moderate V-shape: good sub dive, skews thicker with mid bass but avoids bloat, typical pinna gain + slight elevation 5-8kHz, treble extends well. An unassuming recipe with pleasant results. I redeemed for ~$12.
>Faaeal "Mini Slender Waist" Cable
The stock cable it comes with, 3.5mm QDC. Faaeal sells it a la carte ~$10. The machined hardware bits (plug, splitter, etc.) are fancy but unreasonably fat.
Thankfully they are aluminum, so relatively light. The actual wire strikes the right balance of durability and pliability. Does not hold memory or kinks, feels good, minimal microphonics.
>Astrotec GX70 Plus (not pictured)
Utter pos. Even at $10 is inferior to KZ slop in every way.
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Too Many IEM Impressions
04-28/01/2025
Make it stop...
Mass pos impressions blogpost (STORM edition):
>Ziigaat X Jay's Audio Estrella
Nice U-shape, tight detailed bass with lots of crisp treble reminiscent of summit-fi sets. It’s like a mini-Symphonium Crimson. Slightly better treble extension than the Tea Pro. Equally resolving male and female vocals. Tonality is okay but flute instruments like the Chinese Dizi sound overly energetic. Others irl found the treble too hot, but I had no issues (I used Pentaconn AL tips). Impressive set, I think the Estrella competes very well against similar U-shape pos like the Mangird Tea Pro and Hype 4. 10/10.
>Linsoul x HBB Jupiter
Bass is full, warm and enveloping, very similar to the Nightjar Singularity. The low-end of the Jupiter is executed well and agreeable. But the rest of the FR are completely borked. Very dull treble which causes piano, wind and string instruments to sound off. Timbre is so wrong that snare drums sound like fucking maracas. Are the EST drivers broken or was this tuning intentional? 1/10.
>7hz Timeless II
Comes with 4 tuning nozzles, it was a bitch to change em so I only auditioned the golden ones. The wide-bore nozzle is incredibly sibilant and shouty, with tons of planar zing. Not listenable.
The small-bore nozzle makes the pos sound warmer and a thicker noteweight, basically identical to the S12 2024. This nozzle also nearly eliminated all issues of planar timbre. Given that the S12 2024 exists the Timeless II is technically overpriced, but the Timeless II is also the least metallic sounding planar yet. 7/10.
>Ice Labs Spectrumica
Warm neutral with peaky treble. Sub-bass is lacking but mid-bass is highly resolving, leagues better than the Singularity. Honestly the Spectrumica has the best mid-bass I’ve ever heard, and it is quite the male vocals specialist too. But treble is slightly hot and needs refinement. The thick lower-mids also makes bass guitar sound sickening sweet. It is tasteful coloration though. 8.5/10.
>Subtonic STORM
Reference neutral, with a slight brightness due to the lack of physicality in the sub-bass. The entire frequency response is equally resolving, with TOTL separation and imaging. There’s even some semblance of soundstage, with distinct areas of spaciousness (must be some driver fuckery from using 7 BAs). By all accounts this is a very technical set, but it is academically neutral, boring even, like listening to studio monitors. TOTL everything but plagued by anemic sub-bass and treble that lacks sparkle/extension. 9/10.
>Symphonium X Elise Audio Europa
Basically the Crimson with a tad smoother treble. Just refer to Crimson impressions. Europa is a better generalist. 9/10.
>Symphonium Titan
Bassy V, with some shoutiness. Bass has good depth and decay, but only at high volumes. A less resolving Crimson with heavier noteweight, it’s a downgrade but I guess the Titan is also cheaper. 7/10.
>Soranik MEMS-3S 2025
Bright neutral. At high volume there’s a slight metallic zinginess akin to planar timbre. I don’t get the point of this meme driver which requires you to lug around a separate amplifier. The Timeless II which I heard earlier in the day is just as resolving and “technically capable” as this $2500 pos. Sound itself is 7/10 like Timeless, but this entire setup is gimmicky and HBB shilling it leaves a sour taste in my mouth so 1/10.
Moar storm pics, launch edition on the left, relaunch edition on the right. The launch edition is handpainted so the faceplate is more glossy.
Storm paired with sonnet morpheus and ahb2 benchmark, quite the experience
A lot of good pos today.
>Myer Sliivo SL-41 MK2
Warm neutral set. Full-sounding lower-mids with good noteweight. Sub-bass rumbles with decent physicality. Quite a decent basshead set, but bass is not as tight sounding as the Tea Pros.
Decent resolution, but could do with a tad more mid-treble and air. Lower-register instruments also tend to overpower the upper-register during busy tracks.
Good alternative for listeners who dislike shouty Harman pos like the SM4. 8/10.
>Topping ArpegEar Hane
The tuning switch for the demo was lost so I only listened to the Up/Up/Down/Down config.
Harman with midbass. But still retains a good amount of pinna and air for resolution. Less shouty than SM4 too. The Sliivo SL-41’s midbass graphs similarly to the Hane, but the Sliivo sounds a lot warmer than the Hane.
Apparently the Hane is just 1-DD, but it is WAY more resolving than the Truthear Zero & Zero Reds. To me the Hane is blind rec hall-of-fame territory. 10/10.
>FATfreq x HBB Deuce
Good subbass slam, but tranny tuck causes Deuce to sound slightly lean. Great air and sparkle, but treble is a little sharp. Cymbal and hi-hats sound too energetic.
In a vacuum the Deuce isn’t bad, it’s “hi-res” enough but the Hane mogs this pos for cheaper and without resorting to tranny tuck. 8/10.
>Rossi&Wing First Light
If you’ve used Lizer Lab Jijujet tips, this pos sounds exactly like that.
“Immersive concert hall” tuning. SUPER NICHE sound signature. Boomy low-end and thick midrange. Lack of pinna gain kills vocal clarity.
Also very tip dependent – wide bores are a must, narrow bores causes lower mids to sound incredibly muddy.
One trick pony at classical and orchestral. Strings have perfect extension and decay, superb noteweight. TOTL timbre, separation and imaging for concert hall tracks. Don’t even bother with pop/rock, you can’t hear the vocals here.
10/10 for classical. 1/10 for everything else.
Part 2 of impressions.
>Forté Ears Macbeth
Straightforward pos, reminds me of the Hype 4. U-shape tuning with the added benefit of BCD for added bass texture. Hype 4 has better treble and air but Macbeth has better bass. Severely overpriced when you can just buy the Hype 4 (or Tea Pro) but good sound is good sound. 9/10.
>Unique Melody Multiverse Mentor
Bassy warm with some sparkle. Poor subbass and gets too warm on certain tracks. Pillowy mid-bass causes bass guitar plucks to lack articulation with an unnaturally long decay. But male vocals sound really lush, so at least this overpriced pos is good for something. 5/10.
Also, I brought my Annihilator to A/B test with the Storm. Some notes:
>Anni is warmer sounding, Storm is leaner which lets it “cheat out” more resolution in the bass and midrange
>Anni has more treble extension, which causes breathier female vocals
>Songs with heavy techno/industrial instrumentals sound “muddy” on the Anni, the Storm sounds cleaner (a game-changer for a few tracks)
>Storm is generally more resolving across the frequency response range
>Storm has better separation
>Only real advantage the Anni has is its treble. The boosted lower-mids is more subjective and has its pros and cons
Could be a grass-is-greener scenario or brain burn-in, but I’m liking the Storm more. Although I'm still on the fence and I'm skeptical over whether this honeymoon is gonna last.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Mass pos impressions (meteor edition):
>Moondrop Meteor
Sound signature is bass-lite, airy, bright neutral, kinda like the Cadenza 4/Truthear Zero (blue). Unfortunately, treble is mildly harsh, female vocals end with a sharp ‘SH’ in its articulation, but easily remedied with tip-rolling. Good for EDM/electronic, though it’s bass-lite tuning does handicap note-weight and the timbre of instruments.
Stupid marketing gimmick, but sound is okay. Side-grade to Cadenza 4. 7/10.
>Truthear Hexa
Even weaker low-end than the Meteor. Absolutely terrible for classical – initial attack lacks bite due to shit bass, while decay is unnatural due to poor treble extension. But resolution and male vocals are decent I guess. 5/10.
>64audio Solo
Solo is just a bassy S12. With the same planar zing, and the same sibilance. At least the low-end is enjoyable. Male vocals sound overly husky for some reason. Side-grade to all planars on the market. 6.5/10.
>Symphonium x Nightjar Meteor
The BETTER Meteor. Bassy V tuning, reminiscent of the Elysian Annihilator 2023. Enjoyable low-end and tons of sparkle without being harsh. Very fun to listen to. Only con is that it suffers from BA bass and could use a bit more slam.
95% of the Annihilator for one-fifth of the price. Even better if you can find a used set. 9.5/10.
I wonder why Hexa was shilled everywhere as the standard sub-100 benchmark, were they all class-3 listeners?
newfags (who don't know any better) shilling to even newerfags
you about echo my opinion of the Hexa, just means that I can trust your reviews. Meteor looks very interesting but it's sadly a purely BA set.
Mass pos blogpost:>Thieaudio Oracle MK3
Has that JM-1 timbre. Sounds like a Mega5EST with more upper-mids/treble energy. Better female vocals than M5E. But also slightly peaky and harsh. >Has great mids but bass could use more slam. Less sibilant than Dusk at least. 7/10.
>Softears Volume S
Low impedance – Warm neutral, like Zero Reds. Low impedance mode sounded muddy, midbass was boosted but it wasn’t clean. Also uppermids/female vocals had this veiling/masking effect, like someone placed a high density mesh filter over it.
High impedance – Bright neutral, like Cadenza 4. Had nice treble and sparkle. The muddiness clears up in high impedance.
I don’t get the hype. Both modes are decently good. But nothing ground-breaking. The Sliivo SL41 and Cadenza 4 are cheaper too, though I suppose you could make a case that the Volume S is a 2-in-1. 6.5/10.
>Truthear Gate
Bright neutral. I can hear the backwave resonating in the enclosure so that’s a red flag. I’d choose the OG Salnotes Zero instead. 2/10.
>Spiral Ears SE5 Nebula
Bright neutral, with that “concert-hall” soundstage tuning (like Rossi&Wing First Light). Like a mix of Hexa and P5+2.
Super crisp treble (not in a good way). Definitely niche tuning, but sounds super immersive and highly resolving. 5/10.
>Astell&Kern x Empire Ears NOVUS
U-shape with a bass-focus. Like a summit-fi Mangird Tea Pro. Mids and treble are average, and string instruments lack authority, but the bass is clean, tight and controlled. Separation on the drums is sublime. TOTL BCD bass. 9.5/10.
summit fi tea pro sounds good, too bad the pos is uglier than your average new delhi h1b street shitter
are you not tired of this shit?
what's wrong with effortposting?
>Addendum on Volume S:
I thought I was being a schizo when I heard the "veiled" female vocals on the Volume S because it wasn't mentioned by any of the reviewers, so I got my pals to demo it as well - they also noticed it. I don't think it's a result of tuning but rather an acoustic engineering issue - guessing some backwave in the nozzle? Alternatively it could be a QC problem isolated to my demo unit.
Though saying that, my brain burnt-in to the Volume S quickly enough and I didn't noticed the veiling effect after 5~10 mins. So it's probably not that big of a deal.
Sir, have you tried the Prestige LTDs yet?
>10/10 right?
>paying 1200$ for a pos
i shigyy diggy
Volume S sounds like it graphs. Hyped by the people brainwashed into thinking hd600 is neutral.
Yea im convinced volume s is just another fotmslop, the build quality is trash and the switch tool breaks easily, honestly avoid
What do you mean by “backwave”?
sound reflecting off behind the driver
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Actually putrid wtf is wrong with all of you
26/01/2025
I have never looked inside my iems, today I was shocked to find out how oxidised it is from the copper ig, also earwax... This is my first and only iem, can I clean it with sanitizer on a cotton swab a tissue paper... Or should I really use isopropyl?
What the actual fuck man.gross...
This is why headphones are better
he just can't into iems
Indeed.Come on, this is just Australia. I wonder what kind of creatures live in Australian IEMs.
moon...DROPPED!
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KBear KB02 Impressions
24/01/2025
After being in PostNL limbo for a month, KB02 has arrived.
Really good build and beautiful resin shell, especially for the $23 I paid.
Sounds just like your typical 1DD, the bass is good, I don't really feel the bone conduction but if you hit the shell with your finger, you can hear a "boing" sound from the bone conductor vibrating.
Perhaps it adds more weight to the 100-200hz, bass around that range sound fuller, I was expecting some kind of haptic feedback, but no, you can't even feel the shake with your fingers.as basically "Cadenza Pro," at the same price, i guess it's a welcome budget pos. i can't muster any concrete cons besides imagining it adds another point of failure, but if it's maybe-noticeable it's moot
KB01/KB02 or Cadenza would be just a matter of preference, I specifically picked 02 on sale for the BCD, even tho it's barely noticeable, the DD is solid.
It also comes with 9 pairs of tips (SML, black/gray/white) and standard black 2 core cables.
All in all, very satisfying purchase, one level above those cheapest plastic pos like gate and wankers.One last thing about kb02, they have much lower sensitivity than average single DDs thanks to the BCD. Potential benefits would be lower hiss on noisy sources.
Some closeup.
The nozzle has a metal grill, so I don't know what kind of tuning filter they used. At least that means earwax won't easily get in there if you remove them regularly.
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Tanchjim Mino (Asano Tanch Edition) Measurement
20/01/2025
Mino measurements which will probably be included in the final review.
Orange is with no DSP applied (ie all filters with no gain), purple is what Tanchjim calls Harman2016, and blue is that preset with a 3 dB cut at 3 khz. Solid stuff, 10 band PEQ.
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FiiO HS20 Impressions
19/01/2025
Bought FiiO HS20 for the collection.
Sonically it's similar to the Nicehck07 and BGVP "A07" tips, aka nothing special. Also the liquid silcone material is ultra flimsy compared to the coriers/rdm zone clear.
And yea I know ear anatomy is subjective, but the HS20 requires a really aggressive upward tilt on the IEM nozzle for me to get a proper seal. Meaning the Supermix 4 & Duality didn't work, only the Salnotes Zero (the small shell helps too).
Wouldn't recommend.I don't like the really thin walled liquid silicones. Softears UC and Coreir are still my goats.
based same. the lack of tactile feedback in-ear cause the material is so thin makes it difficult to tell how well it fits
>coreir
I thought the metal core was just a meme. An anon said it btwIt is a meme but when it does fit it's one of the most secure tips.
the metal core artificially extends the nozzle length of iems which definitely affects treble in a non-negligible way.
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BGVP DMA Impressions
17/01/2025
BGVPOS DMA has arrived. No unboxing because there's not much to show. My impressions so far (I suck at reviewing):
*Although the soundstage isn't very spacious, it has a perceivable atmosphere. There's decent imaging to the point your inner eye can almost see how an instrument is played.
*The instrument separation is great; you can single out one as easily as a thread in fabric and follow it as the song goes on.
*The detail retrieval is pretty nice; I've discovered new sounds in relatively familiar tracks (e.g., that background jingle in We Drift Like Worried Fire at around 4:50).
*The bass is textured and full-bodied but very lively and dynamic, also punchy when it needs to be. It extends beyond the soundstage, adding a lot to the atmosphere, and is definitely the highlight of this IEM.
*The vocals feel intimate and natural (note to myself: try listening to some ASMR), and the mids are pretty clean overall.
*The treble is crisp but can be very shouty (esp. in games) to the point I'll have to use EQ. What the fuck were they thinking?
*The channel imbalance is there. That pestering thought that you might be going deaf won't leave your mind once you've noticed it, even if you know about the imbalance.
The build and comfort are where my biggest disappointment comes from. The build is standard, but no attempt was made to make it slightly more ergonomic. The nozzles are huge, almost as huge as the pain in the ass you experience looking for the right eartips. At least the nozzles have lips. The cable is thick and seems durable, but it's fairly heavy and pulls on your ears, making this IEM rather uncomfortable and even painful to wear for prolonged periods of time. Also, at one point, I started to feel tingling at what seemed to be the exact points BC holes made contact with my skin. Well, I suppose it proves that bone conduction works.
Is it worth it? Maybe if you have money to spare and are interested in relatively obscure IEMs.>tl;dr pos
while i salute your sacrifice for the impressions, it was mostly in vain. on to the next pos eh
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New Noteworthy Releases (Jan. 2025)
14/01/2025
New noteworthy release post. Haven't done this in ages, so I'll keep this only to very fresh releases to ease in to it.
Will post another one if there are any HK Canjam anons. If I missed any unreleased pos, let me know.
Price in ($USD with sales*), [driver configuration]
IEMs:
>Letshuoer Mystic 8 ($?) [8BA]
Interesting shell faceplate with a "phantom cat" on it>Moondrop Psyche (~$1350) [2DD + 4BA + 4PL]
Driver configuration per side and chinese price. Faceplate is made out of carved gold and silver plates>Tanchjim Force ($?) [?]
Same shape and faceplate design philosophy as the Kara and Prism.>SeeAudio YUME IV ($200) [2BA]
Yet another addition to the YUME line. Doesn't graph well if I'm being honest.>Moondrop Meteor ($500) [1DD + 2BA + 4 PL]
What a unit.>Softears Volume S ($320) [2DD + 2BA]
New Volume model, this time adhereing more to JM-1. Positive reviews so far.>SeeAudio Strawberry π ($1400) [6BA]
POS.>TinHifi C3 MKII ($550) [1DD]
For those interested.>Tangzu Wu Neng ($?) [1DD + 4BA + 1EST + 1PZT*BC?]
Will be at Canjam HK. Tangzu will also have a "budget IEM prototype" and the "Monkey King">"Obscure" brands (INTUAURA, CKLVX, XINHS, QoA, Tiandirenhe, LUN SHENG, FLOAUDIO, etc)
I can't do it for all of them, sorry :(>TRN, KZ, CCA, CVJ, ND, HiBy, etc
You know the drill, not posting any of these. As always, beware of KZ/CCA stealth revisions.DAC/Amps/Accessories
>Nothing
Not much happening on this front, seems like the CS43131/43198 craze has died down.News and events:
Release of PEQdB, seems like opinions on it are mixed. Nothing else apart from that.good job, anon
>Tanchjim Force ($?) [?]
this a 2DD pos and it's a collab with effect audio
iirc someone mentioned in the $200 ballpark
>$1400
>6BA
>no mention of driver brand
>right after draining all the testosterone away from Yume series
wtf is sneedaudio smoking latelythey really went
>neko wasn't retardedly overpriced enough? say less senpaiWorse part is the release window coinciding with Moonderp Psyche, similarly priced with driver techs on top of a gold/silver waifu engraving by hand, instead of a pink abomination.
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FiiO BTR11 Issue
13/01/2025
I think I (or one of my neighbor) just got f**d.
Using BTR11, fine for the most part, even longer range/better connection than your average TRN crap, but moments ago it started to disconnect and connect randomly, I heard some music playing that was definitely not mine.
Did Fiio use same fucking frequencies or device IDs or something? How the fuck I could connect to a neighbor and there's totally the possibility of my neighbor's connecting to me.we tried to warn you bro...
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Sony/Tanchjim Anon finishes his collection
12/01/2025
Sony/Tanchjim anon here, or at this point formerly known as Sony anon. I traded my ier-z1r. I got the unique melody mest mk2 during black friday and with my other IEMs the ier-z1r just wasn't going to get used. The IER-z1r is great sounding IEM but that other anon was right. The scooped mids and finnicky treble just made me not reach for it. Especially when I find the monarch mk3 has comparable bass with SIGNIFICANTLY better mid-range.
I traded it for a pair of the MDR-z1r. I was only open to this trade as I was turned off from headphones after finding the 6xx woefully boring. So, if these didn't wow me, then I'll just know headphones truly aren't for me (spoiler these were amazing, but I sold them). My biggest issues were
- With the entire rest of my collection being IEMs I would need to go out of my way to use them.
- I realized fundamentally I like the reproduction of music from IEMs SIGNIFICANTLY more than headphones. headphones feel like a half step to just >using my home theater.
- IEMs I can take when im commuting, traveling, in bed etc. The MDR-z1r is very comfortable but confined to my desk.
At this point I think my collection is finished. The only thing is maybe getting a bluetooth dac with 4.4mm balanced.Current IEMs:
Sony-M9, Unique Melody Mest mk2, Thieaudio monarch mk3, Tanchjim Origin.Current Gear:
Hiby w3, Ibasso dx-180>monarch mk3 has comparable bass with SIGNIFICANTLY better mid-range
Well that's interesting, have you tried the monarch mk2? I find the midrange of the mk3 to sound thinner than its predecessor.different anon, that should not be the case, but chalk it up to thighaudio's slipping standards. the units i heard, and according to graphs, mk3 should sound slightly thicker in the mid bass. to me, mk2 was significantly brighter, less refined, and colder
Looking at crin's 5128 paints a different picture, Mk3 has that stereotypical harman leanness with a boosted V, while Mk2's timbre was more reminiscent of the mega5est.again, it's just unit variance and poor consistency from thieaudio. i cba to check, but even their "tuning philosophy," statement was that it was supposed to be tilted warmer or w/e wording they used
I did try the mk2 but didn't like it as much as the mk3. The mk2 does have better mid range than the mk3, but the staging is worse and the bass is very subbass focused. The monarch mk3 is my "bassy" iem of my collection as I want each of my iems to do something bit different. the mk2 was against my m9 as an all arounder. But the m9 is more comfortable, plays better with more genres and the timbre on it is just divine. It might be some rose tinted glasses as it was the first expensive IEM I heard, but its still one of my favorites.
Building on this, the z1r has a really wonky midrange that is super scooped. It truthfully doesn't sound bad, but it lacks weight and I personally wasn't a fan. Timbre and imaging are some of the most important factors for me with IEMs (as I daily drove the tanchjim oxygen/darling stuff for years). The z1r has a great soundstage, but the scooped mids were a turn off. It also fit me decently but because of how heavy and awkward they can be it often wasn't picked for business trips.
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/iemg/'s List of Sins
11/01/2025
Been looking for this for a while now.
/iemg/'s threadly sins. Confessional booth is always open.
>being a retard
>making any list other than this one
>believing in driver type and source memes, reviews/reviewers, ranking lists, etc.
>not understanding science
>asking imprecise, general, idiotic questions
>making unnecessary changes to the OP
>frogposting and/or replying to bait/shilling/schizoposts
>commenting on objective sound quality without owning/experiencing a calibrated 2.1 speaker setup in a properly treated room
>not being a Harman trained listener
>using AutoEQ and/or not using EQ by ear
>doing flawed listening tests
>confusing music creation with reproduction
>arguing over two completely different audio experiences
>thinking that anything other than fit/comfort, distortion, and FR matters in terms of sound quality
>believing more expensive = better, or that there is a correlation between price and sound quality
>thinking a headpos can be anywhere as good as a properly EQed pos
>debating for the sake of debating
>consuming without purpose
>buying badly engineered, expensive sets for sound quality
>talking about highly subjective topics (some aspects of comfort, sound localization, etc)
>making bad analogies
>using vague terms to describe quantifiable phenomena
>idolizing schizos
>using improper, "general" surround sound virtualization
>not knowing how to use the Internet in 2025
>talking about IEMs you have never used/owned (exception for broad statements about sound quality with graphs for reference)
>listening to formats above 44.1/16 CD
>not enjoying your music
>misspelling words (Harmon, timber, etc)
>watching sound demos (can't believe I actually have to include this one)
>not reading the OP and guides
>posting pics without cleaning the pos/tips (are you retards this fucking stupid?)
>not owning an Etymotic model*
>giving thoughts/impressions on an IEM without pictures showcasing its dimensions and possible size comparisons*
>calling everyone a schizoNewly Added:
>talking about car audio (seriously?)
>recommending massive pos to people
>debating about waifus
>being mean to the IEMGazette editor
>being the IEMGazette editor
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Xenns Mangird Tea Pro Impressions
09/01/2025
Tea Pro has arrived.
Impressions:Coherent with clean, rumbling bass, the extra subbbass can be felt. Treble is more sparkly than Tea 2 but not fatiguing. Perhaps due to the slightly more emphasis to subbass and upper mid/treble, the mids sound drier. Easy to drive.
Bass: Tea Pro
Mids: Tea 2
Treble: depending on tasteVerdict: great set overall, side grade/different tuning to Tea 2.
Resin/metal build, feels solid, but the metal will mess up the resin faceplate when put together in your pocket that's for certain, plus the fact that in cold weather there might be condensation issues.
Good unboxing, plenty of accessories, cable has swappable connectors (3.5/4.4). There's a case but also a soft pouch so if you don't want bulk, you can use the pouch. Tips are not dogshit like Tea 2's stock but still just your average tips.
Tea 2s are now relegated to workout/jogging set, still love them plenty.
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Tanchjim Mino Asano Tanch Edition Review
08/01/2025
Tanchjim Mino anime version + goodiesI ordered from aliexpress/hifigo store and it came with a pin, postcard, acrylic stand and a pack of stickers inside the box.
As for the pos itself it sounds alright, about 5dB too bright in the upper mids and treble. It's also got that low fi bluetooth crunch in the upper treble, but that's with my desktop's built in bluetooth and god knows what codec. Build feels light and plasticky but comfort is good.
Graphs, Tanchjim with the godly channel matching as usual. Not sure what's happening below 30hz, gonna just chalk it up to BT weirdness. The app also comes with a 5 band PEQ. I use the following:
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain 5 dB Q 0.3
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 4000 Hz Gain -3 dB Q 0.6
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 5500 Hz Gain -4 dB Q 2
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 8500 Hz Gain 3 dB Q 1
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 10200 Hz Gain -4 dB Q 5
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KZ EDC Pro Stealth Revision
06/01/2025
Here are the promised pics for the two EDC Pro samples I have. Top row is the old version (purchased early November), the bottom the new version (mid December).
I won't go into the details, but the main differences are: the filter is different as shown by the striation/grain and the driver basket/housing is different as shown by the different wiring and color/size of the magnet containment.
As for measurements, these were taken fresh out of the box, so no filter clogging or other issues should be present. Either the driver is different, which would explain the shift in resonant frequency between the two samples, or the filters are different enough to warrant this change.
Does this matter? Not really, the difference is relatively high-Q and small enough as to where I doubt most people will notice it. This silent revision is arguably quite harmless, and I still hold these very highly as per my previous review of them.
If there's demand, I am willing to remove the filters and measure them, but I will not open them up to check the diaphragm and voice coil unless I plan on getting more samples (which I probably will do).
Yet again, I forgot the pic.
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TRN MT5 Measurements (n=3)
06/01/2025
Got around to measuring my third sample of the TRN MT5 (top portion).
Biggest letdown of the three, noticeable channel imbalance in the bass. The difference above 3 khz is also noticeable but only for the wideband change; the high-Q difference at 5 khz not so much, at least not consistently so. Hard to say if it's placebo or not.
Quite disappointed with this, I retract any recommendations I have made previously. While the imbalance isn't horrible in the grand scheme of things, the standard for channel matching has moved on and these do not meet it.The bottom graph shows my attempt at fixing one of the sides (purple). The front vent is blocked with a piece of tape, after which a small incision was made to tame the sub bass without losing on the gained mid bass. For the 3-8 khz range, a 300 mesh filter brings the right side close enough to where I would deem the channel matching as acceptable.
Here's the squig version for those that are more used to that format
Also please ignore the 90 hz, I don't give a fuck!
I'll start doing the EDC Pro revision posts, having a hard time getting a clear pic of the filter grain.
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HiBy Yves Impressions
06/01/2025
I bought a Hiby R1 and it came with these Yves IEMs, they sound like complete shit and very tinny.
These cheap Sony "Comfortable Fit" headphones(MDR-EX15LP) sound better than the Yves.
I'm wonder out of the two other IEMs which have better sound. I don't really understand how these charts work.
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Nici HiFI-20 cable (Red Moon Frost Plume) Impressions
05/01/2025
Nici HiFI-20 cable (Red Moon Frost Plume) is pretty good, thick but still supple and flexible. Slowly starting to realize that 2 core cables are starting to become my favorite cable configuration, tied with 8 core ones.
100% sure that Nici is just another ivipQ/Zisin/ XINHS store.Aful Explorer has the same thing but in silver color and straight plug. The thickness makes them tangle free.
They're very good, the I3 MK3 also uses the same style but in white, also relatively cheap to buy it separately
>not purple
This has to be deliberate for selling purple cables'looks good. Glad people are on the 2 core I've kinda known it as my favorite for years
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7Hz x Crinacle Salnotes Zero:2 Review
05/01/2025
My mini review of the zero 2. I dont know what I expected but for $30 theyre pretty much that. I dont really like the bass tuning on them. Also the left one seems to come out of my ear easily. idk if thats because my ears weirdly shaped or something but yeah. i think i would choose something else as my first iem if i were to choose again
>idk if thats because my ears weirdly shaped or something but yeah. i think i would choose something else as my first iem if i were to choose again
The included eartips suck. Funnily enough, Zero was my very first IEM. Still remember the flashy red tips blue shell McDonald toy. What a joyful experience...
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FATfreq x HBB Deuce Impressions
05/01/2025
Speaking of pos, Fatfreq Deuce is actually decent. Probably the best NGGAR collab yet.
Despite NGGAR seething at themI don't like them that much, I feel like the bass is wooly somehow. Using EQ to boost bass in other IEMs sounds cleaner to me. Somehow they're my most comfortable pos so I wish I liked them more, they fit like a glove in my ears.
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iBasso DX340 File Support
03/01/2025
Addendum for my dx340 debacle:
Mango Player/MangoOS can't read .ogg or .opus files. Took me an entire afternoon to figure out why UAPP was scanning more songs than the stock player.
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BGVP Pentaconn Clone Tips Impressions
02/01/2025
>BGVP Pentaconn clone tips
What's difficult is that the case is too difficult to open.
It's like a drawer, but the lid slides! (I thought it would slide, but it didn't, so it took me a while)
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KZ Zenith Impressions
01/01/2025
Ok I actually like the new direction KZ is going, these new metal pos are really good. I don't think I can call myself a KZ hater anymore unless they start spamming the market again with trash edc pro/edx shell driver swaps. There are still stealth revision concerns but if they continue like this they will regain trust.>generic 1dd
kz set the bar so low that reaching the average is now praise worthy, what a thing of beauty
Gotta give credit where is due, it's rare to see KZ doing something new (other than the shell), and the driver is anything but generic.
I'd retract my statement when KZ inevitably revise it with a EDC lite driver lmao.
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Kefine Klean Channel Imbalance (Clogging & Condensation)
01/01/2025
Got the Kleans and on their second week he Right Earpiece began losing volume. Put it back in the case with silica gel per recommendations but the loss starts again after several minutes of use. I'm going to return them unless any vets have insight on preventing this spontaneous supposed 'Condensation' issue
Many replies later...
Kefine Klean Kleans
Of anybody is prowling the archive for guidance in the future take heed. The oft recommended Kefine Klean Metal construction attracts condensation like how a lens fogs up and will dampen the sound in one earpiece. I don't believe this design flaw is common knowledge so Buyer Beware.