71 IEM Brief Review thread (incl. Rhine Monitors, Cleartune, CustomArt)

The good and the bad thing about the K10 is that because Noble makes them so darn sexy, one is tempted to go for all the options and that blows the price out into the stratosphere. I mean who buys a K10 and opts for mono color with no Wizardry?

zzmadzz said:

 
Yes the V8 is really underpriced in my opinion as it to me sounds so much better then many of the more expensive IEMs. Furthermore, if you backed it on kickstarter you will only be paying 578 for it. Im not into the Adel technology but its something nice to have if it proves to be useful in the future. The Legend is priced really competitively for its sound quality. 
 
I do not feel that the K10 is expensive as well since it has 2 extra drivers and compared to the original pricing of the Legend which is 1299 with 8 drivers, the additional 2 drivers per ear should in normal sense equate to an additional of 300 dollars.
 
Have yet to try the vision ears but have heard great things on the sound quality… Afraid to try them though… Scared that i will like the sound signature...

Click to expand...

Given what I've read about your preferences, the VisionEars Stage 6 would be an excellent match for your incoming U8. You'll probably start at the X1 and then switch in the X2 from time to time. That versatility is nice to have.

zzmadzz said:

I will go for another listen too. One of the MS guy has this super cool looking honey combed designed prestige... Looks so awesome.

Click to expand...

 
Ahh, you mean Zhen Hong's really awesome Prestige K10? Yeah, I was totally drooling over those. They look so.. mesmerizing.
 

 
 

georgelai57 said:

The good and the bad thing about the K10 is that because Noble makes them so darn sexy, one is tempted to go for all the options and that blows the price out into the stratosphere. I mean who buys a K10 and opts for mono color with no Wizardry?

Click to expand...

 
True. John (when at Heir) and now at Noble has shown the world that people want more than just drab looking designs in their CIEMs. I'm sure he wasn't the first to introduce the art of custom styles, but he has taken it to a level that the others have yet to reach, let alone emulate.
 
Anyway, even without the Prestige, Wizard Design and Wizard Reprint options, there are abundant design choices openly available to standard K10 buyers. It sure makes buying a CIEM a more involved activity - you're choosing a highly personalized design in a customized shell with a preferred sound signature.

malevolent said:

 

Click to expand...

 
That does look very nice. I was quite underwhelmed by the other prestige pair I saw. It's nice, but had no 'wow' factor.

malevolent said:

   
Ahh, you mean Zhen Hong's really awesome Prestige K10? Yeah, I was totally drooling over those. They look so.. mesmerizing.
 

 
 
True. John (when at Heir) and now at Noble has shown the world that people want more than just drab looking designs in their CIEMs. I'm sure he wasn't the first to introduce the art of custom styles, but he has taken it to a level that the others have yet to reach, let alone emulate.
 
Anyway, even without the Prestige, Wizard Design and Wizard Reprint options, there are abundant design choices openly available to standard K10 buyers. It sure makes buying a CIEM a more involved activity - you're choosing a highly personalized design in a customized shell with a preferred sound signature.

Click to expand...

Yes It looks like this one!! Very very cool!! In fact it looks even better in real life haha. And it weighs a ton too. Sorta feels and weigh like ivory!!

zzmadzz said:

  Ok, so here's my impression for the Legend R.
 
The first time i placed the Legend in my ears and started a song, i was very and pleasantly surprised by how neutral sounding it was.
The bass is impactful and accurate, though if compared with both the V6S and the V8 it may be considered to be "weaker". It is never overpowering and feels just in place when needed. Although i honestly would have preferred the bass of the V8 as i think it's one of the best sounding bass i have heard.
 
The soundstage is absolutely fabulous and i think it is one of the highlight of the Legend. The soundstage to me is very spacious and the instrumental seperation is really top notch. The 3D depth that the soundstage presented really allows me to feel fully imensed within the song. This is how i feel a good soundstage imaging should be like. The soundstage of the Legend does not at any time seems to be forcing you to imagine that the instruments are forced to be seperated in a 3D type of way in which some IEMs that i have listened to try to do so by making the soundstage airier then usual.
 
The mids and highs of the legend is really sweet. Based on this song http://youtu.be/YVLIn6xMSh0 which is too sibilant for me on the K10 for reasons unknown, i can say that the vocals of the Legend is just right and it never in anyway tries to make it sound forced or harsh. The vocals of the Legend is unlike that of the Shure's which tends to exaggerate on the vocals by bringing the vocals more forward then the song actually is, thus some may feel that the Legend may sound boring and not as fun as compared to the Shure's 846 or 535. But i actually appreciate the neutral and flat sound signature that the Legend was able to portray and i would say this is the go to if you want to fully appreciate how the artists wanted their songs to be presented without any coloration from the IEMs.
 
Legend compared to V8.
Ok as some of you have already known i really love the V8's sound signature and as the Legend is also 8 driver, i keep comparing between these 2 IEMS.
 
For the V8, the first thing when you listen to it is obviously Bass!! The Bass is very very strong and its a real joy to listen! Though some may say that the bass is too overbearing i never felt this way at all. Mids and highs did not sound recessed to me in any ways even with the bass pounding in the background.
 
The soundstage presentation is vastly different as compared to the Legend. Due to the nature of the bass, the soundstage of the V8 sounded very intimate with vocals imaging sounding very close to you. Being intimate however, does not mean that the soundstage is muddy or dark. The instrumental separation of the V8 is similar and as good as the Legend. The only difference is that they sounded closer to you, but it never did gave me the feeling of the soundstage being too congested or tight.
 
So based on this session of listen at MS, i would say the V8 is a very fun sounding and bass-full type of IEM while the Legend is a very neutral sounding and super accurate IEM. That said, i already ordered the V8 so now i will probably be ordering the Legend too lols. I really love how both of them sounds. 
 
So poisonous ….

Click to expand...

 
Nice impressions there 
 
For the Legend R, there's plenty of Bass really and the impact gets tighter after sufficient burn in. 
 
And they make a fine complement to the 1964 V8. 

jelt2359 said:

 
That does look very nice. I was quite underwhelmed by the other prestige pair I saw. It's nice, but had no 'wow' factor.

Click to expand...

 

zzmadzz said:

Yes It looks like this one!! Very very cool!! In fact it looks even better in real life haha. And it weighs a ton too. Sorta feels and weigh like ivory!!

Click to expand...

 
Yeah. It has this weighty feel, and a very 3-dimensional, multi-layered design. Certainly feels like what a 'Prestige' IEM should look like.  

[quote name=

who buys a K10 and opts for mono color with no Wizardry?[/quote]




It happens from time to time

Round 3: Today I pitted four 'bang for the buck' IEMs against each other: Fidue A83, Dunu DN-2000, ATH CKR09, and ATH CKR10. The winner of the bunch may surprise you.
 
Fidue A83 ($279)
The first thing I thought about the Fidue A83 was how it struck a good balance between laid back and aggressive. This was also helped by a big, airy soundstage. The problem was that the sound lacked a bit of focus- as if it could do with a bit more damping. The overall signature was a bit warm, but had good clarity- probably because it had an energetic treble that was just a bit edgy. On the other end of the spectrum, I found the bass a bit of a mixed bag- it was smooth, and had good extension and impact, but I would have preferred it to be just a bit tighter. The mids, on the other hand, were a tad recessed- but very airy. A trade-off that was well done, in my opinion- if that's your cup of tea. Perhaps my biggest caveat about this IEM, however, was that it was not fast enough, and sometimes sounded a tad congested.
 
Score: 9.1
 
Dunu DN-2000 ($300)
The DN-2000 has a smooth, non-fatiguing sound that was very agreeable. This extends throughout its frequency range. It had bass that was a bit light and lacking in punch, but extremely fast and clean. The mids are of the airy variety, but spot on in terms of being neither forward nor recessed. Finally, on top, the treble is very polite. This was an IEM that wasn't very aggressive all around. It had a big soundstage, but smaller than that of the A83. Unfortunately, like the A83, this soundstage was achieved at the cost of a slight lack of focus, and the sound had the tendency to be a bit diffused.
 
Score: 9.1
 
ATH CKR10 ($270)
The CKR10 was warmmmmm. Its bass was fatter with good body, but could be faster. The mids were lush- a bit too lush, actually, and I felt they could do with a bit more air. The CKR10's mids, interestingly, also achieved this lushness without being forward. When it came to the high notes, the treble energy was unfortunately a little lacking. All in all, the sound actually felt very refined, but a little bit too laid-back for my tastes. The soundstage was also the smallest among the four IEMs I tried today- although it was certainly still acceptable. I would not go so far as to call it 'intimate'. Finally, one thing that I rarely say about universals. The fit, for me, was horrible, and I had a really hard time getting a seal. And this is coming from a guy who prefers universal demos to customs. I literally never have issues with fit. So go figure...
 
Score: 8.8
 
ATH CKR09 ($215)
The CKR09 was the brightest IEM of the four. It had great energy in the upper mids, but a bit less in the absolute high registers, which helped it maintain an energetic sound without straying into sibilance. I really enjoyed the bass- it was extremely punchy. The mids portray a good balance between lush and airy at the same time, but are a tad forward. Overall, the CKR09 had an aggressive sound that was a bit fatiguing and just a wee-bit thin. On the positive end, it had a good, spacious soundstage that nonetheless still sounded very focused. Clarity on these phones were awesome. PS, fit is just as bad as with the CKR10- they basically look exactly the same.
 
Score: 9.1-9.2
 
Summary
I asked around what others generally thought of the CKR10 vs CKR09, and what I heard was that most preferred the CKR09. I certainly do. I actually tried all four IEMs without knowing their price, and to my pleasant surprise, I ended up liking the cheapest IEM the most. It was actually quite close between the CKR09; the D-2000 and the A83, but in the end the superior soundstage and clarity of the CKR09 won it for me. 

Hey bro, interesting comparison. Are these scores relative to the rest of the IEMs you've auditioned before?

malevolent said:

Hey bro, interesting comparison. Are these scores relative to the rest of the IEMs you've auditioned before?

Click to expand...

 

Thanks! Yes, all the scores are still on the same scale. So the scores can be compared across all the review pages.

jelt2359 said:

 

malevolent said:

  Hey bro, interesting comparison. Are these scores relative to the rest of the IEMs you've auditioned before?

Click to expand...

 
Thanks! Yes, all the scores are still on the same scale. So the scores can be compared across all the review pages.

Click to expand...

 
 
Woah. Some of these IEMs (in your latest review batch) actually score higher than some established names, including the Noble 4 and 8. They must be pretty darn good, bro. I was actually very impressed with the Noble 4.
 
Anyway, any ideas on your next batch of IEMs?

malevolent said:

   
 
Woah. Some of these IEMs (in your latest review batch) actually score higher than some established names, including the Noble 4 and 8. They must be pretty darn good, bro. I was actually very impressed with the Noble 4.
 
Anyway, any ideas on your next batch of IEMs?

Click to expand...

I too was very very impressed by the noble 4!! I prefer it over noble 6 actually! Its sound is very similar as compared to shures 535 reds, but its sound stage is somewhat similar to the Legend. Wide and airier and not sounding forced or fake! Very nice IEM too! Have all the positive points of the 535 and with its own improvements!

Thank you for this large task.

Do you have a chance to add jvc fx1000 and sony z5?

fattycheesebeef said:

  Going to MS needs appointment?

Click to expand...

Due to the holiday season, there are some changes to our operating hours.