[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

May be you told him that subconsciously you realised penon voltage will be far superior and worth every penny of its cost and you didn't want that sinking feeling after purchasing Volare?!!

Peace and out, and all that..!

LOL That is exactly what it was! Get out of my head! LOL

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Not sure why the option isn't on similar price range, they can be good on their own class, but I would put Pilgrim OG in between them. The price is between those two, but the tuning for me is better than those two.

The Davinci trapped in 6khz too deep valley, as lot of "anti sibilance" cut like HBB collabs. The anti sibilance cut is needed but should be on 7khz and not affecting 6khz too much. The 6 khz should be around +4db until +6db to to have nice balance between "not too dull" or "not to bright", just nice amount with lower treble sparkles with little fun bite. The treble extension also ok but not great (someone mentioned it as Hype 4 without treble extension and I think I can agree with this)
Davinci also have mid bass bleed seeing from +8db on 100hz, mid bass will take lead on overall presentation.

The Pilgrim Noir is darker tuning, with big bass, but more forward upper mids but fall in treble region, the extension of the treble is like lot of budget / previous years midfi tuning, rolled off. Unless you personally prefer this tuning (little bit niche, darker, bass tilted tuning with minimum sparkles) I wouldn't bet on such a price. The Pilgrim Noir will go head to head with Symphonium Meteor with similar niche tuning.

the Pilgrim OG on other hand have balance and great tuning. I really like it as they are very close to my personal target tuning but I have 1 concern with little shouty bright that I perceived at the first listening and turned out that is the 5khz peak, not to be worried about actually, more just a nitpick feedback from me and definitely not a deal breaker. The Pilgrim OG tuning is nice




+1 for yincrow X6, nice budget earbud set along with their bigger brother yincrow RW-9 for $20ish





Sony house DAP is warm smooth with details that please lot of people and fans. It is musical tuned DAP with effort towards analog style from the team with very good technicalities too but technicalities aren't their first strength point. Compared to other neutral and technical DAPs like Fiio or ibasso, detail retrieval, soundstage and imaging is slightly behind them (depend on the dap class also) But even the WM1A / WM1Z also behind M17 for technicalities. I couldn't get similar wide and deep soundstage as from M17 when I'm using my Mr Walkman WM1Z tuned modded WM1A. Don't get me wrong the Sony still have very good width and depth though. And power also not on the strongest category, just sufficient enough for most IEMs, even planars or Z1R.
I would say its kinda "unique" style instead only "warm" tuning. Not like hiby's warmness also. Not the smooth as A&K Ultima series DAPs where trebles and extensions are like filtered from sharp attack to crispy but smooth (in good way, just imagine like BA treble extension become EST smoothness in A&K magic), but Sony house tune is like "uniquely thick with details" that made vocals are rich and thick.

As for FR of the DAP, they are kinda flat, but their processing is yes its more like tuned with EQ, like their vynil processor is turned out actually using this kind of EQ preset :
Sony WM1A measurement without any processing :

it is quite flat will little rolled off on both end to end extensions (watch on 20hz-16khz human hearing capability)

and then, here the vynil processing on WM1A (its not that extreme, the graph is stretched on Y axis to show clearly the differences, but actually the tuning plays are less than 1db EQ :



And DC phase linearizer / bass processing (direct means no post processing applied), there are little differences from 200hz below :



*note : shout out to our new member @Alex-D for all his hard work capturing these measurements.

and I believe other enhancements also made using similar way.
but the richness and house tuning I believe its more complex tuning with those capacitors , their s-masters chipset etc that beyond my knowledge so far.

I enjoy Sony house so much but at some point when I'm not at home, I kinda miss the soundstage and imaging presentation from my M17, I wish the WM1A or WM1Z have that or close to at least.












To tell you all, actually the Conch driver is really really good

here the RAW driver measurement I did few months back :


Only Few and Conch driver have this kind of treble extension that doesn't roll off among hundreds of DD on budget and midfi class, even Simgot's (I also have the measurements actually) that's why the Conch driver is special. See the treble extension until 15khz.

The drawback of course the original Conch always sounded tizzy no matter what filter are used, because the nylon filter on 3 filters taming high mids region only but don't affecting treble extension at all, that is too much, and here the magic with your wife face cotton :

cotton materials absorb trebles and extension so much, so this cotton only can be use with peaky treble extension depends on the amount of the cotton.
just ditch the original nylon filter (I suggest using the transparency filter since you won't use it anyway) and replace it with metal grill for earwax protection and better looks :



then use this cotton damper :
Cut small rectangle cotton roughly 7mm x 10mm and tape it on back side so it won't wooly and then roll it with small stick like watch tools or tiny screwdrivers or even toothpick will work


Push in slowly with help of tweezer, make sure the center part still have hole that go through (this is important for clean non smeared, tactile bass)
It will be looked like this :

You can open up the centre hole with tweezer also

And thats it voila!

Best if you have measurement rig for mod to ensure your damper amount and balance channel.

Here the result, the green one is the modded one, extension looked tamed, but actually very detail and extended because this is dampened from that peaky raw extension.


And measurement of the final mods L and R unit, with my target tuning reference, not the best but close and I can say this is one of the best single DD I've ever heard and made something like Kato, Hana, EA500 etc obsolete practically.



great impact bass while very tactile, minimum bleed mid bass (can't help it) thick yet detailed mids, nice sparkles, great treble extension and superb technicalities with sharp imaging. All for $30 + 1 layer of your wife face cotton. Oh yeah, not an advertisement as always as I bought them with full price and I don't have any relation with TRN.

Thank you for all that amazing analysis. Said it way better than I did, and drives the point home.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Cross share here also, been not that active sharing about AüR Audio Aehta.

Still super impressed, it's quite a technical sounding AüR. With tight deep bass and clean mids and highs, suprisingly clean BAs making Mega5est sounds a little veiled and smooth in comparison.

Delayed my review so I get more time with it, and I have some other promised reviews now.

Been playing more with the switches, for my taste I preffer using 103. Get good amount of bass (12dB) but also some good treble to back it up, a good second is actually all switches off 000 for a more neutral and easy listen.

Third favorite is going full bass mode with 100, gets more L shaped when both mids and treble is more relaxed. Actually think its the same bass amount as 103 but since the treble is not so forward it sounds more bassy. Quite fun on electronica or hip hop.

Switch 1 is directed at the bass, 2 for the upper mids and last 3 for the treble. Works with enough change so it's noticable, but still sound similar as being Aehta underneath.

I would still not call this basshead set, but more of a audiophile bassy IEM. If that make any sense, since quantity is not taking over all the sound. It's also quite fast and punchy, not slow and don't muddy up the mids for me.

But I know some other owners are not a bass lover as me, and they prefer to use it in 023 to get the least amount of warmth. And that is a strength of Aehta giving you the choice of how warm or bright you want the tuning.

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo beautiful!! As a proud owner of an Aur IEM, if only I had the disposable income....MINE!!!

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

A well rounded budget combo > KZ ZS10 Pro 2 (AZLA Xelastec tips) with Tripowin Noire cable:

I have the tips and the IEM is OUT FOR DELIVERY, so by 3-4PM my time, they should be in my ears. I don't have that specific cable, but i'll have an Altea on them. Looking forward to it.

 

[droid23]

Did I mention my Himalaya's yet? ...oh, sorry, maybe too often already , but aren't they gorgeous?

 

[droid23]

We were talkin' about Tripowin cables earlier and I wanted to share the "Amber" on my Simgot EM6L's.. like the combination, the color, and its delicate appearance. It's not the best Tripowin cable, but its so soft and at least a slight upgrade to the original cable.
btw, the tips are the DUNU S&S.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Out of nowhere, a banger dropped. Intuaura Splendor II

Impression:

• Single 10mm DD, no further info available
• This is the first time I see an IEM with a dongle in the box. And the dongle actually sounds decent.
• The sound signature can be described as L shaped. Its bassline is masculine and powerful.
• Soundstage, particularly the depth and height are surprisingly good. The presentation reminds me of Noble Audio Spartacus with dense, thick midrange at the phantom center of the stage, and background elements sitting further at the back and wrapping around.

My conclusion so far

You had me so intrigued out the gate, and then I thank you for how you ended it, because NOPE, not for me. I was eye balling them on Ali, but I already have enough single DD's with too much bass. They get very little play.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

ST7 arrived, burning in. Quick impression: Very clean, well balanced, extended treble. Bass is fast, almost BA-like, mids do not bleed. Detail retrieval is very good as well. Very promising.

I WOULDN'T STEER YOU WRONG!! Just don't judge me on the lack of sub bass extension LOL

 

[1aimi1]

J

 

[droid23]

I have the tips and the IEM is OUT FOR DELIVERY, so by 3-4PM my time, they should be in my ears. I don't have that specific cable, but i'll have an Altea on them. Looking forward to it.

For too many KZ's you better have a decent cable around... the original is even for the cheap KZ's under their class and are the only item which actually fit their price. The IEM's themselves are, on the other hand, mostly performing well over their price point (as we all know... gotta catch them all!

In the meantime I went back with the switches set to UUUU (the original shipping setup). It gives you the most bass...and I know you're not a basshead, but full bass setting is what they need to sound most balanced. All switches up also gives a slightly reduced upper FQ range, also that was needed IMHO. But then, combined with a mid-to-wide bore tip to grasp all what's coming out, they are a real keeper for that price, you'll see... surprisingly detailed and not shouty at all with these settings. Keep us posted please

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

While I'm enjoying my day off, and awaiting the KZ ZS10 Pro 2 to drop in my mailbox, my daily rotation today is three :

I pulled out my old af SFR MT300 (1 MST/EST-1BA-1DD) and i'm giving it a few spins.
CCA Polaris
CCA Trio

Three completely different sound signatures, to jumble my brain burn before the ZS10 Pro 2 LOL

 

[cobrabucket]

While I'm enjoying my day off, and awaiting the KZ ZS10 Pro 2 to drop in my mailbox, my daily rotation today is three :

I pulled out my old af SFR MT300 (1 MST/EST-1BA-1DD) and i'm giving it a few spins.
CCA Polaris
CCA Trio

Three completely different sound signatures, to jumble my brain burn before the ZS10 Pro 2 LOL

I have the MT300 and think it's pretty decent, especially considering how long ago it came out.
Certainly unique.

 

[nikbr]

Your VE buds are much cheaper and thin sounding than your new rw2000, the models more similar in sounding full is something in the line of Zen 3.0 or Asura 3.0 FE. Or the new SMG that goes past the two mentioned on the technical side, tuning still depend as all are a little different.

Plenty of good earbuds, your rw-2000 is one of them. Only downside being it's a little dark sounding, but again show how good mid bass the best earbuds can deliver.

A good entry for people who want to try a warm earbud is Yincrow X6, only around $15.

I never realized before the RW2000 just how technically capable earbuds can be too! All the detail I could ever ask for while swimming in what seems like a never-ending soundstage with no barriers either way. They like power, though. Not the most enjoyable out of my BTR7, whereas VE Stack clears them up and expands the image further.

Two things everyone on this thread should know: 1. Hydro is maybe the best value to performance product of the year for me. 2. Douse your iems w/ ests in bleach and it automatically adjusts the freq. curve to Harmon.

Oh come on, we all know number 1 is a lie! Number 2, though, that's a little industry secret sssshh.

Whilst I genuinely enjoy the Turbo, the EPZ 530 gets a fair amount more listening time.
That set is SPECIAL!
For Jazz, Soul and Blues it is nearly unrivaled, IMO.

530 ... had it at the tip of my index finger just a press away from 'Buy Now!' more than once. I'm pretty sure it's a bit of me.

That SMG looks lovely. Never tried a proper quality earbud. Chalo, will await your review.

Try at your own risk, it often comes with an irreversible lust for more.

I would guess it's a placeholder. HiFiGo often has $999 as a placeholder. Last I looked, that's how it is on the AFUL Explorer.

I see this all the time, but what the heck is that, why is it necessary, and what would happen if I paid this price for it?

Now I'm feeling tempted to buy a Pilgrim, a can of black spray paint and a gold sharpie!

You might receive a less than amicable call from Elysian because you just revealed their recipe.

7hz is really sleeping on the Timeless II. They better make it exceptionally good. Competition is heating up in the planar space again:

TINHIFI P1 MAX II

14.2mm Planar Driver

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOGmanY

I had the Timeless AE. It was very close to being one of my favourites, but instead fell short after a few longer listens. I cannot put my finger on what it did 'wrong' for me not to be more ecstatic about it.

TINHiFi is my new affordable company discovery in the form of their T5S, so P1 MAX II is very high up my interests.

I’ve been meaning to buy another from Tripowin - I have ‘Granvia’ for my Denon headphones and find it a beautiful cable of really high quality, I think it was about €50.

Gorgeous stuff. I need something similar for my 109 Pro. I'll ask in that thread what people suggest. Spending ~270€ on an original Meze 4.4 copper cable is a bit much.

This man (Lachlan, of course) got all my interest in these.
US--->$320
EU--->480€ (Aliexpress)

How to swallow that difference?

Cheers!

Where have you been, my southern friend?? 480€ is definitely too much, so I suggest no swallowing.

 

[FastGecko5]

I had the Timeless AE. It was very close to being one of my favourites, but instead fell short after a few longer listens. I cannot put my finger on what it did 'wrong' for me not to be more ecstatic about it.

TINHiFi is my new affordable company discovery in the form of their T5S, so P1 MAX II is very high up my interests.

The original P1 Max was criminally underrated. It was a great IEM and I wish I hadn't sold mine.

If this V2 captures the same magic of the original it should be a banger.

 

[droid23]

Just read today that the V2 is a bit of a let down in general... but also compared to the V1.