[tjkohli]

I'm parting ways with my beloved IER-M9 (with brand new, unused + extra OEM accessories) after a couple years, for some 64 Audio IEMa arriving soon.
If anyone is interested, it's available here!

I think the IER-M9 were one of the best-balanced and comfortable earphones of all time.

 

[AgentXXL]

I have TZ-200 as @Vamp898 recommended. TZ-400 has the nozzle slightly bigger and my understanding that it might come off [much] easier.

About tech defender, dunno. I only used the ones with but I'm satisfied.

I picked up a pair of the Comply oval tips - model TOZ-200 with Techdefender. I went with a sample pack (3 sizes) but should have gone with just the large. I decided to try the oval as I really like the fit of the Comply oval tips for my 2nd gen Airpod Pros. The tips for the the Airpods that fit me were also the large size.

As others have mentioned, they do work very well with the M9. Now that I've confirmed which size I need, I'll order some of the large for the eventual routine replacements. The Comply tips I've used in the past have typically required replacement between 3 and 4 months of use. At least the Techdefender will help protect the M9. Thanks for the recommendation @Vamp898 and @iskender299!

As for Sony, I still haven't heard anything from the manager that my case was passed to. Microland shared the list of parts that they can order from Sony and as mentioned by @Vamp898, the foam filters for the IEM stem are not listed. They did state that they agree these should be available as all foam products break down over time. I also haven't heard back from United Radio in the US, but I suspect their answer will be the same.

I've also gathered up all the different foam products I have on hand and will do the same as @MudEnjoyer - test them to see if any are acceptable replacements. I'm just waiting for a friend to finish milling some boring tubes that have a very sharp edge and will be easy to use to bore the filters out of the foam. Essentially just a small hollow metal tube with the ends milled to a very fine, sharp edge, with the inner diameter of the boring tool matching the outer diameter of the foam filters. I'll update my progress on this after I've done some testing.

 

[brazy001]

I took the foam out for the first time after having these for a number of years, gave them a clean and put them back in. I didn't notice any change so I can only assume they weren't blocked with earwax.

I suggest only doing If you think they are clogged.

 

[AgentXXL]

I took the foam out for the first time after having these for a number of years, gave them a clean and put them back in. I didn't notice any change so I can only assume they weren't blocked with earwax.

I suggest only doing If you think they are clogged.

Agreed. I have always had issues with sweat and earwax, long before I owned my M9. And it's pretty evident when I notice changes in L-R balance and a reduction in the perceived soundstage. I know there are others out there in the same boat (lousy body chemistry), but I'm sure the majority don't face the issue anywhere near as severely as I do.

Still no boring tools from my buddy and no response from the Sony manager or United Radio yet. At least the Comply tips with Techdefender will help with keeping the filters cleaner until Sony comes through or I manage to 'roll my own' that don't change the sound quality and soundstage.

 

[jp11801]

Recently rescued these from my bed side table drawer. These may be the ultimate used value in IEMS. The midst are just beautiful. Could you use a tad more bass but nt bass light by any measure.
The m9 with a laptop and quality dongle amp/dac IMO gets you 90% of the way to ultimate sonics.

I know but here going back and forth with an lcd5 and the crimson and they are all trading blows.

 

[Pschulniknof]

Does anyone know what's the best portable source to use with the IER-M9?

A friend of mine wants to buy my M9, but he currently doesn't own any portable source that synergises well with it.
He's potentionally contemplating on the Fiio M17.

Preferably, he wants something that reinforces the bass response.
I was also thinking something like the M17 or maybe a DAP from Astel&kern.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

 

[AgentXXL]

Does anyone know what's the best portable source to use with the IER-M9?

A friend of mine wants to buy my M9, but he currently doesn't own any portable source that synergises well with it.
He's potentionally contemplating on the Fiio M17.

Preferably, he wants something that reinforces the bass response.
I was also thinking something like the M17 or maybe a DAP from Astel&kern.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

The M17 is a gorgeous beast, but the price is quite high unless you go to the used market. If your friend has a newer phone and isn't adverse to carrying 2 devices, the Fiio Q7 DAC/Amp might be an option to consider. If they went with the M17, they would likely be carrying 2 devices anyhow as most of us will take our phone with us when we leave the house.

At 40% of the cost of the M17 it's also a solid performer, having the capability of 3 x the output power - around 500mW for the M17, 1500mW for the Q7 on a balanced output with a 300Ω load. When used in desktop mode with the power supply plugged in, it can deliver up to 3000mW. Power certainly isn't the only factor and should really only be considered when using the unit with hard to drive headphones. With the nominal 20Ω impedance of the M9, either will have more than ample power to drive them to satisfaction.

A friend has a Q7 and it certainly performs very nicely with my M9, and drives my Sennheiser HD800 very well off the 4.4mm balanced output. I have the predecessor, the Q5s TC. It too performs very nicely with my M9 and HD800. Both are controllable via the Fiio Music (built-in on the M17) or Control app, with lots of filter and equalization options. The other difference is the DAC. They both use the ESS 9038 Pro but the M17 has 2 for running L + R channels separately whereas the Q7 uses a single one.

Both the M17 and the Q7 share similar accessories. It will come down to whether your friend would prefer a pure standalone player or if they want to use their phone as the player paired with the external DAC/amp. Personally I could not hear the difference between the Q7 and my Q5s TC, so the dual DAC configuration may be a moot point. I have only heard the A&K media players at a store and haven't spent enough time with any of them to formulate an opinion.

Oh, and I'm still waiting on a response from Sony and United Radio re: the protective foam inserts. I still haven't received the tools from my buddy to cut the foam inserts, but he said he'll get them to me this week. Had another paint chip appear on the right earbud of my M9 over the weekend. That's one negative of the M9 for me - it's certainly showing the signs of heavy use a lot more than most of my gear. If anyone else finds a paint that will adhere well to the magnesium alloy casing of the M9, I'd be curious to know which brand you used.

 

[baskingshark]

Does anyone know what's the best portable source to use with the IER-M9?

A friend of mine wants to buy my M9, but he currently doesn't own any portable source that synergises well with it.
He's potentionally contemplating on the Fiio M17.

Preferably, he wants something that reinforces the bass response.
I was also thinking something like the M17 or maybe a DAP from Astel&kern.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

I use the Chord Mojo 2 with the M9. The Mojo 2 in stock form is warm neutral, but there is EQ available on the device to spruce up whatever tonality you wish for. Quite nice soundstaging and imaging on this Mojo 2 + M9 combination, plus it has low output impedance.

 

[jp11801]

Does anyone know what's the best portable source to use with the IER-M9?

A friend of mine wants to buy my M9, but he currently doesn't own any portable source that synergises well with it.
He's potentionally contemplating on the Fiio M17.

Preferably, he wants something that reinforces the bass response.
I was also thinking something like the M17 or maybe a DAP from Astel&kern.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

personally I love the shanling m6ultra - really nice bass response

 

[DynamicEars]

Does anyone know what's the best portable source to use with the IER-M9?

A friend of mine wants to buy my M9, but he currently doesn't own any portable source that synergises well with it.
He's potentionally contemplating on the Fiio M17.

Preferably, he wants something that reinforces the bass response.
I was also thinking something like the M17 or maybe a DAP from Astel&kern.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

I have Fiio M17 too, and I agree it is a giant brick to bring around thats why I leave it at home most all the time. Recently i bought WM1A with main purpose for upgrading my bluetooth LDAC device from fiio BTR7, and turned out I use it more than my M17 recently.
With mr walkman firmware WM1Z tuning and region J3 setting plus V2 mode it has quite punchy lower end. If that isn't enough, the Sony EQ system is one of the best, and you can use DC linearizer too.
Quite different tuning where M17 is more towards neutral and very detailed trebles, while WM1A with mr walkman WM1Z tuning is u shaped with great details. Its close to the M17 in terms of sound quality while different in presentation, and power wise the M17 is more powerful of course but you won't need that extra power for the M9

Here the comparison between WM1A and Fiio M17 :

And what you can't see is the weight differences between them. One is just heavier than our phone, and the other one is dumbell

 

[Mrxyzl]

So after switching around with alot of tips, what really feel best (sealed and no air pressure build up) in ear with m9 is dunu s&s size S for me

 

[Pschulniknof]

I use the Chord Mojo 2 with the M9. The Mojo 2 in stock form is warm neutral, but there is EQ available on the device to spruce up whatever tonality you wish for. Quite nice soundstaging and imaging on this Mojo 2 + M9 combination, plus it has low output impedance.

Funny, because I actually own the Mojo 2 myself and thought it was a great pairing with the M9.
I liked it even better than with my wm1zm2.

My friend however, has used my Mojo 2 a few times before and wasn't so impressed by the sound..
He's also not a big fan of the way EQ alters the sound (I actually agree with him on that).

I can't really recall anymore if he's actually tried the M9+Mojo2 combo before, so I'll definitely have him try it out before looking further.

 

[Pschulniknof]

The M17 is a gorgeous beast, but the price is quite high unless you go to the used market. If your friend has a newer phone and isn't adverse to carrying 2 devices, the Fiio Q7 DAC/Amp might be an option to consider. If they went with the M17, they would likely be carrying 2 devices anyhow as most of us will take our phone with us when we leave the house.

At 40% of the cost of the M17 it's also a solid performer, having the capability of 3 x the output power - around 500mW for the M17, 1500mW for the Q7 on a balanced output with a 300Ω load. When used in desktop mode with the power supply plugged in, it can deliver up to 3000mW. Power certainly isn't the only factor and should really only be considered when using the unit with hard to drive headphones. With the nominal 20Ω impedance of the M9, either will have more than ample power to drive them to satisfaction.

A friend has a Q7 and it certainly performs very nicely with my M9, and drives my Sennheiser HD800 very well off the 4.4mm balanced output. I have the predecessor, the Q5s TC. It too performs very nicely with my M9 and HD800. Both are controllable via the Fiio Music (built-in on the M17) or Control app, with lots of filter and equalization options. The other difference is the DAC. They both use the ESS 9038 Pro but the M17 has 2 for running L + R channels separately whereas the Q7 uses a single one.

Both the M17 and the Q7 share similar accessories. It will come down to whether your friend would prefer a pure standalone player or if they want to use their phone as the player paired with the external DAC/amp. Personally I could not hear the difference between the Q7 and my Q5s TC, so the dual DAC configuration may be a moot point. I have only heard the A&K media players at a store and haven't spent enough time with any of them to formulate an opinion.

Oh, and I'm still waiting on a response from Sony and United Radio re: the protective foam inserts. I still haven't received the tools from my buddy to cut the foam inserts, but he said he'll get them to me this week. Had another paint chip appear on the right earbud of my M9 over the weekend. That's one negative of the M9 for me - it's certainly showing the signs of heavy use a lot more than most of my gear. If anyone else finds a paint that will adhere well to the magnesium alloy casing of the M9, I'd be curious to know which brand you used.

I'll share your thoughts with my friend, thanks for the response.

 

[Roman Syd]

Hello guys,
I have A&K SE300Ti and was looking for upgrade my old iBasso IT07…just got a week ago mine M9 and was impressed about their sound. After M9 I can’t listen IT07 anymore, IT07 is with treble boost and its painful to my ears… but what I found pair SE300 and M9 is very warm to me, looks like not enough air and brightness in music. Vocal is far back and not clear, I like wide and deep scene with vocal in front of me and not inside my head and M9s tonality is the best for me I have heard so far. So I would like to bring this question again if 64Audio U12t can improve it with close to M9 tonality? Or better to have a look on Z1R?
Thank you in advance and apologies for my English.

 

[DynamicEars]

Hello guys,
I have A&K SE300Ti and was looking for upgrade my old iBasso IT07…just got a week ago mine M9 and was impressed about their sound. After M9 I can’t listen IT07 anymore, IT07 is with treble boost and its painful to my ears… but what I found pair SE300 and M9 is very warm to me, looks like not enough air and brightness in music. Vocal is far back and not clear, I like wide and deep scene with vocal in front of me and not inside my head and M9s tonality is the best for me I have heard so far. So I would like to bring this question again if 64Audio U12t can improve it with close to M9 tonality? Or better to have a look on Z1R?
Thank you in advance and apologies for my English.

If you're looking for the sharp imaging you're enjoying, the M9 is one on top, the u12t have similar level of imaging but more side grade, except the bass tuning, i prefer the u12t than m9 but m9 is considered a complete, accurate, with sharp pin point imaging with layering. Just they are on warm side.
While compared to Z1R, Z1R have bigger soundstage, more fun signature with great bass impact and quality but if you're looking for sharp imaging, honestly I feel M9 imaging is hairline better than Z1R as layering and imaging transducer.
If you really like the imaging aspect, you may want to look for UM Mests series but they are on bright side compared to M9 with lot of trebles details but may not for treble sensitive person with slight unnatural timbre. The layering and imaging on UM Mests series are slightly better than M9, but timbre is better on M9.