Great review. Thanks for the very detailed comparisons to some other earphones out there on the market. Gives you a good perspective of the P1 landscape. 

Excellent review!

Hi Chris, what would be better purchase, the Pinnale P1 or Pai Audio MR3? I'm having trouble deciding which one to buy.

@zkanda
 
Their tonality is quite different, so it would be best to know what kind of tuning you prefer. The MR3 sounds basically like a slightly bassier UERM with a somewhat less even treble whereas the Pinnacle P1 sounds pretty much like a warmer, less splashy Sennheiser IE 800.

Lear AE1d or AE1b?

@foreverzer0
 
I don't know the AE1b, only the AE1d. 

@HiFiChris Have you tried the IE80 with the tape mod? how would you compare them with the pinnacles in that regard? also, if you had to pick one or the other, IE80 or Pinnacles for a similar price point, what would you pick?

@Patronus

Haven't done the tape mod (not doing any modding when comparing headphones anyway).

Out of the two, I'd personally probably pick the P1 as the better allrounder for commuting and because of the superior build and comfort and the IE 80 if I was only listening to acoustic recordings.

Is it suitable for classical music?

@Cmahesh
 
This comes totally down to personal preference, however considering that you're coming from the CX 5.00, I'd say yes, it is.

Can iPhone 6S plus drive it good enough directly? If an amp is necessory, is Fiio A3 (E11K) good enough?

@Cmahesh
 
While the P1 doesn't have the best sensitivity, you should definitely get sufficient volume with some headroom out of your iPhone.

Chris, bass close of IE80 will shrink the soundstage also. What do you think IE80 and P1 for orchestra work? Thanks

@yangian
 
While the IE 80 has got the more spacious soundstage out of the two to my ears, I the P1 has got the more precise spatial presentation, so out of the two, I would rather choose the MEE for Orchestral music.

I can understand, imaging ability of IE80 is not very good compared to comtemporary products. I saw your review on ADV M4. Feel like even M4 has a little bit better imaging than IE80.

@yangian
 
Yeah, the IE 80 has got a large soundstage that can however become foggy and blurry really soon with more complex and dense tracks. 

Chris, did you sense the soundstage height? Though 80 can be easily bested by many cheaper products at this age, few can have its huge soundstage and very natural sound, at least at its price range. MOREOVER, 80 has a great soundstage height, which almost none of budgeted/mid fi products can do it well, except M4 (though I didn't experience many).
Could you please compare soundstage height of 80 and P1? You can use Holst's planet symphony, at the beginning of the first movement, when the treble goes up, you can easily test the soundstage height.
Thanks!

Chris, did you sense the soundstage height? Though 80 can be easily bested by many cheaper products at this age, few can have its huge soundstage and very natural sound, at least at its price range. MOREOVER, 80 has a great soundstage height, which almost none of budgeted\/mid fi products can do it well, except M4 (though I didn't experience many).
Could you please compare soundstage height of 80 and P1? You can use Holst's planet symphony, at the beginning of the first movement, when the treble goes up, you can easily test the soundstage height.
 
 

@yangian
I often find soundstage height to be rather difficult to perceive on its own unless it is particularly outstanding (Fidue A91 for example, an in-ear that gives me a really good sense of height straight from putting it into my ears without even having to compare it to average spatial performers).
Anyway, listening to the Sennheiser and MEE, if the P1's height was about 5 feet (not literally, just assumingly and as an example), the IE 80's would be ca. 6.5 feet. The P1's spatial presentation is somewhat cleaner and better separated though in comparison.

Yeah, I agree, while the IE 80's technical performance probably doesn't justify its price point (imo), its soundstage is spacious and delivers an easy-going character that you can relax to. Its soundstage's size is also why don't completely feel like I particularly wasted money when I bought it (for totally casual, relaxed listening, films, very seldom gaming and slow acoustic recordings, it still gets some play time as its flaws don't really matter then), especially as I knew what I was buying back then and just got the Sennheiser for the collection as a dynamic driver in-ear with a (really) large soundstage (it definitely was one of the few dynamic driver in-ears I had back then as I have always been more of a Balanced Armature guy).

Anyway, for my tonal tastes at least, both the P1 and IE 80 are too coloured for Classical/Orchestral music. Personally, I like the IE 80 best for Acoustic stuff with few instruments and the P1 for Pop. But that's just me.

Thanks. That's very good of P1. I'm a dynamic guy. I cannot appreciate the sound of BAs, pure BAs seems ok, hybrids sound strange to my ears (though I had only listened to LZ A2 and **** 4in1). Anyway, which IEMs do you think to be best for orchestra works?