[Nostoi]

He’s awesome! Who is he and who makes it?

Who's the cable guy or the rock monster? The cable guy is @Matez from Forza. I no longer have this cable, though should have kept it. Really solid cable! Will likely order again for IE600/IE900.

The stone monster is this fella Also recommended!

 

[Tybot]

@Matez does good work. I’m actually planning on selling a few of his cables so others can get more use then I currently am.

I literally meant the rock monster! Ordering now

 

[Premetec]

Just arrived: Forza Claire Hybrid IEM cable terminating in Furutech 4.4mm Not listed on Forza's site, but no doubt you can drop 'em a line. First impressions: beautiful. Ergonomically spot on. Cable is thick, but very malleable, and fits around the ear with ease (big improvement on my previous Brise cable in this respect which required the slider to sit under the chin). Initial sound impression: everything you love about the IE900 but more refined, more transparent, and smoother. Had been on the fence about ordering a couple of cables to compare, but perfectly happy with this one. Recommended.

How many for this cable?

 

[Danieru Senpai]

So another day of enjoying music and comparing the 900 to the 600 and I came across Akatsuki to Hana by IRyS on Apple Music and it’s one of the songs I usually don’t find particularly impressive.

What a different experience on the IE 900; the vocals don’t sound like they’re coming from the ceiling as they’re much better mixed in with the instruments.

The drums actually sound like drums and have proper percussion and snap, and the bass lines have texture instead of being all muddy and undefined.

Still trying to find a reason not to sell the IE 600 besides keeping it as a spare, it’s not doing too well for me.

 

[sp33ls]

Still trying to find a reason not to sell the IE 600 besides keeping it as a spare, it’s not doing too well for me.

But... what about all the reviews who stated it's better than the IE 900 due to Harman, etc., etc.....

 

[Peti]

It shows you how much most of these so-called reviewers' word mean in reality...

Like this one who got busted a few years back: https://www.head-case.org/forums/topic/12925-as-if-we-didnt-know-head-fi-was-the-home-of-the-shills/

I don't agree with head title b/c there's a bunch of useful members/info around here but be super careful what reviewer's word you listen to.

 

[cfc7]

But... what about all the reviews who stated it's better than the IE 900 due to Harman, etc., etc.....

Better due to Harman...maybe...for those who like the Harman, I'm not a fan.

I've tested both extensively and ended up liking the IE900 a lot more just because I'm sensitive to the upper mids and treble area and IE600 was too shouty for me.

They also were lacking the bass quality of the IE900.

Found the IE900 sounding best for metal and EDM but what was very interesting...I didn't find the vocals to be veiled/recessed like I could think just looking at the frquency graph.

In the end, it depends on your own preferences.

 

[Danieru Senpai]

IE600 was too shouty for me

As it is for me. It very rarely sounds balanced in the vocal region; they’re too forward for my liking and vocals often sound like they’re coming from above my head (what I call ceiling) instead of between my ears or in front of me.

Even though they’re forward they’re not well detailed nor separated, for example I struggle to distinguish the overlapping “dry” and “wet” voices in The Weekend’s Take My Breath but I have no trouble discerning them on the IE 900 or the HD 800S (very interestingly mixed track, BTW).

Also don’t like how vocals are 100% dead center and extremely narrow on the IE 600; they have no width and it sounds unnatural compared to real life or speakers.

Just my two cents.

 

[Tybot]

Just arrived: Forza Claire Hybrid IEM cable terminating in Furutech 4.4mm Not listed on Forza's site, but no doubt you can drop 'em a line. First impressions: beautiful. Ergonomically spot on. Cable is thick, but very malleable, and fits around the ear with ease (big improvement on my previous Brise cable in this respect which required the slider to sit under the chin). Initial sound impression: everything you love about the IE900 but more refined, more transparent, and smoother. Had been on the fence about ordering a couple of cables to compare, but perfectly happy with this one. Recommended.

Not my IE900, but thank you to @Nostoi for adding green dude to my family.

 

[Premetec]

Melhor por causa do Harman...talvez...para quem gosta do Harman, não sou fã.

Eu testei ambos extensivamente e acabei gostando muito mais do IE900 só porque sou sensível à área de médios e agudos superiores e o IE600 era muito barulhento para mim.

Eles também não tinham a qualidade de graves do IE900.

Achei o IE900 soando melhor para metal e EDM, mas o que foi muito interessante... Não achei os vocais velados/recuados como eu poderia pensar apenas olhando o gráfico de frequência.

No final, depende das suas preferências.

Ie900 are god for Metal

 

[s4tch]

Hey guys, a buddy just lent me these. Almost brand new, bought from an official retailer, it has the full package which is excellent btw. And it sounds... how to put it... bad? Muffled, rolled off top end yet sibilant with some songs, bass heavy, slow, lacking definition in most areas. Mids and upper mids are recessed with most recordings. Female vocals and saxophone may sound nice, almost everything else is a letdown, even without considering the price. I have an old Tinhifi P1 with me, these are much more open, detailed, layered, with much better separation, just on an other level. I tried both iem's with an E1DA Powerdac v2 and a Lotoo PAW S1. With the Powerdac the IE900 was way too bass heavy no matter how many tips I tried, with the S1 it's more balanced, still too dark. I also tried different set of tips, both silicone and foam, I won't touch the factory ones though since it's a loaner unit. I'll try to drive it with some other sources and amps, but as far as portable gear goes, that's all I have. (edit: just realized I had an AK XB10 too which might be a better pairing than those two mentioned.) And again, the P1 sounds excellent with either sources. I also tried different types of music, from vocal jazz to electronic to metal.

Anyway, any advice on how to make them sound better? Do these love tubes or solid state? Brighter or leaner amping? Should I try one of the factory tips and clean them before I sent these back? Also do these require extensive burn-in, and if so, how long should it be? It's been a frustrating few hours so far, so any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Danieru Senpai]

Hey guys, a buddy just lent me these. Almost brand new, bought from an official retailer, it has the full package which is excellent btw. And it sounds... how to put it... bad? Muffled, rolled off top end yet sibilant with some songs, bass heavy, slow, lacking definition in most areas. Female vocals and saxophone sound nice, almost everything else is a letdown, even without considering the price. I have an old Tinhifi P1 with me, these are much more open, detailed, layered, with much better separation, just on an other level. I tried both iem's with an E1DA Powerdac v2 and a Lotoo PAW S1. With the Powerdac the IE900 was way too bass heavy no matter how many tips I tried, with the S1 it's more balanced, still too dark. I also tried different set of tips, both silicone and foam, I won't touch the factory ones though since it's a loaner unit. I'll try to drive it with some other sources and amps, but as far as portable gear goes, that's all I have. And again, the P1 sounds excellent with either sources. I also tried different types of music, from vocal jazz to electronic to metal.

Anyway, any advice on how to make them sound better? Do these love tubes or solid state? Brighter or leaner amping? Should I try one of the factory tips and clean them before I sent these back? Also do these require extensive burn-in, and if so, how long should it be? It's been a frustrating few hours so far, so any advice would be appreciated.

Definitely try them with the stock tips, as other tips will definitely impact the sound signature.

Zero burn in required, it’s a tiny dynamic driver just use it as is.

They sound anything but muffled and overly bassy; in fact it’s a lean and agile but well textured low end representation and treble is forward but never sibilant nor harsh, it’s actually super detailed and smooth at least to my ears and when comparing it to other gear.

 

[Infoseeker]

Hey guys, a buddy just lent me these. Almost brand new, bought from an official retailer, it has the full package which is excellent btw. And it sounds... how to put it... bad? Muffled, rolled off top end yet sibilant with some songs, bass heavy, slow, lacking definition in most areas. Female vocals and saxophone sound nice, almost everything else is a letdown, even without considering the price. I have an old Tinhifi P1 with me, these are much more open, detailed, layered, with much better separation, just on an other level. I tried both iem's with an E1DA Powerdac v2 and a Lotoo PAW S1. With the Powerdac the IE900 was way too bass heavy no matter how many tips I tried, with the S1 it's more balanced, still too dark. I also tried different set of tips, both silicone and foam, I won't touch the factory ones though since it's a loaner unit. I'll try to drive it with some other sources and amps, but as far as portable gear goes, that's all I have. And again, the P1 sounds excellent with either sources. I also tried different types of music, from vocal jazz to electronic to metal.

Anyway, any advice on how to make them sound better? Do these love tubes or solid state? Brighter or leaner amping? Should I try one of the factory tips and clean them before I sent these back? Also do these require extensive burn-in, and if so, how long should it be? It's been a frustrating few hours so far, so any advice would be appreciated.

Sounds about right. Seems you are used to a different sound signature.

You could always EQ up the lower-treble dip of the ie900 with your E1DA PowerDac. This will bring back the "edge" to instrument notes other than the Saxophone. The bite of a violin tone will return.


Also, I consider the E1DA PowerDac as a very warm source. It is kind of euphonic sounding too. Like if I had a Sennheiser HD800S, the E1DA would compensate for its brighter tilt.

The ie900 has good mids and good bass, and does not need the help of a warm source.

Do you have something like an Apple dongle to test the ie900 off of? Might be a better match for it.

 

[s4tch]

Do you have something like an Apple dongle to test the ie900 off of? Might be a better match for it.

Thanks for both quick replies. I started to dig in the drawers and found an AK XB10 (edited my previous post) and also a Benjie S5 which is quite bright, plus a VE Abigail. I'll try those plus a stock tip. Fingers crossed, I had very high hopes for these...

 

[Infoseeker]

Thanks for both quick replies. I started to dig in the drawers and found an AK XB10 (edited my previous post) and also a Benjie S5 which is quite bright, plus a VE Abigail. I'll try those plus a stock tip. Fingers crossed, I had very high hopes for these...

Yeah, another source will definitely be better for the ie900. You'll want more digital sounding sources.

That said, I don't think you are wrong in how you are describing the ie900.

Tin HiFi P1 will have more seperation to notes, while ie900 will sound more diffused relative to it.

For Jazz music, alot of instruments are missing a edge or bite to them off the ie900 compared to other sound signatures. And this can be addressed with an EQ of the treble dip of the 3kHz to 4kHz region.


So your evaluation of the iem is correct. And if you don't like that, then that's okay.