[Banbeucmas]

Finished my BLON BL-01 review. https://banbeu.com/blon-bl-01-review-you-get-what-you-paid-for/
Quite a decent IEM but I feel like there are a lot of better IEM if you try to spend a little more.

Managed to take a decent pic out of my new camera also

 

[bhima]

Finished my BLON BL-01 review. https://banbeu.com/blon-bl-01-review-you-get-what-you-paid-for/
Quite a decent IEM but I feel like there are a lot of better IEM if you try to spend a little more.

Managed to take a decent pic out of my new camera also

Great review. I have a similar take, though I lean towards liking them do to how they place the overall soundwall--it feels pretty wide which I enjoy for the price. But yeah, the midbass hump is a thing--it cools off a hair with burn in but not enough. At this point, I wish all headphones would just follow the bass curve of the B2 Dusk: elevated subbass with a linear drop-off starting at around 60, to -3-4dB by 100Hz. This allows for impact/slam with faster decay so the sound doesn't bleed into the rest of the frequencies. Then the manufacturers can play around with their mids and highs frequency graphs.

 

[Banbeucmas]

elevated subbass with a linear drop-off starting at around 60, to -3-4dB by 100Hz.

I would prefer a 200Hz raise personally. Though some IEM has managed to do bass well without doing this.

 

[Nimweth]

I've been giving the M300 some time recently. My source has been the HiBy R5 or my Samsung S9 plus hooked up to an iFi hip-dac. I found a Schiit Modi 3 DAC laying around, that I'd replaced with an iFi Zen Blue to play LDAC to my home HiFi set up. So stuck the Modi 3 into my laptop USB and on the other end of the Modi put my Fiio Alpen 2 amp, (aux line out, so not to initiate the Alpen DAC), with the M300's in the 3.5mm. The M300 improves vastly with the Schiit Modi 3. I previously found sub-bass to be good on the M300 but the mid-bass slightly lacked impact, but with the Modi and Alpen 2, mid-bass increases considerably, and enjoyably, with a good seal from the Spiral Dot L's. The M300 definitely scales well to the Schiit Modi 3. The M300 is a very good IEM.

I am still burning my MT300 in, but today I tried them with my Fiio A5 via line out from my Xduoo X20. Very detailed and sub bass very textured. Mid bass more or less at the same level (which is how I like it). Mids have natural timbre and treble is highly detailed and transparent, with excellent extension. With a great fit and secure connection from the screw fit MMCX, I'm finding it hard to think of any negatives! A total bargain at just over £60 from Ali Express!

 

[dharmasteve]

I am still burning my MT300 in, but today I tried them with my Fiio A5 via line out from my Xduoo X20. Very detailed and sub bass very textured. Mid bass more or less at the same level (which is how I like it). Mids have natural timbre and treble is highly detailed and transparent, with excellent extension. With a great fit and secure connection from the screw fit MMCX, I'm finding it hard to think of any negatives! A total bargain at just over £60 from Ali Express!

I think the price makes it a bargain priced IEM. At just over £60, with that James Bond case, lovely shell and cable and a DD, BA and an Electret/Electrostatic driver, this is insane value, and the three drivers are integrated seamlessly. The Knowles 33518 BA has better timbre than many BA's for sure.

 

[bhima]

I would prefer a 200Hz raise personally. Though some IEM has managed to do bass well without doing this.

I find this is difficult in execution as it leads to rounded upper bass lower midrange that sounds unnatural to me most of the time.

 

[dissociativity]

I find the moondrop ssr stage feels very different to the Starfield's, or even the smabat NCO's, everything has a distinct place in the ssr, every detail is clean and clear, where the starfields and to a lesser extent the NCO has the bass fill the stage more, I feel like I'm in more of a cacophony, the detail isn't lost, but the vocals and instruments have less distinct place in the stage, the stage as a whole blurs together more, it's still very much 3d, but it's more like surround loudspeakers in a live concert than hearing the music live in a private viewing without anything blasting it out but the instruments and vocalists themselves if that makes sense?

Unless subbass rolls off on an iem I find that the subbass takes out a lot of the focus on a scene?
Am I weird here? Am I bound to buy the nm2+ because of this and sell both the starfields and the NCO?

The new smabat with the mid centric tuning also sounds enticing.

 

[iFi audio]

an iFi Zen Blue to play LDAC to my home HiFi set up.

If I may ask, how does it work for you?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

UNDERATED IEM OF 2020 : NiceHCK NX7 mk III. Plugged into my Hiby R5, they are balanced, detailed, spacious, comfortable, with excellent instrument separation and imaging, not to mention that dual CNT bass is bootylicious!! Criminally underrated, and i suspect it's because of the rep of the previous iterations of the NX7? I loved the original NX7 and still own them, but they are a completely different dinosaur. The mk III has much more prominent mids that have a thicker note presentation, along with less shrill highs that are more focused.

 

[dharmasteve]

If I may ask, how does it work for you?

It's connected to a Cambridge Audio T-Amp and Wharfedale Diamond 9 speakers. It sounds great. I upgraded the aerial with a £5.00 Amazon UK one and it plays 990kbps LDAC without dropping a beat. I am a fan of the Burr Brown sound I must admit. For the price it is a great bit of kit and it's impossible to tell the high bitrate LDAC from the Zen even compared to the lossless Arcam WiFi that I used to use.

 

[jant71]

Interesting. At first the Final A4000 was met with a luke warm impressions but now seems to be coming on like gangbusters. Crinnacle certainly part of the luke warm start and then the NM2+ is "underwhelming" as well. Seems, perhaps, talk of their impending demise into the 'meh' realm is premature.

 

[IEMusic]

Interesting. At first the Final A4000 was met with a luke warm impressions but now seems to be coming on like gangbusters. Crinnacle certainly part of the luke warm start and then the NM2+ is "underwhelming" as well. Seems, perhaps, talk of their impending demise into the 'meh' realm is premature.

NM2+ may be surpassed in its price range, but it will never be “meh”. At least IMHO. I’m still amazed every time I listen to it.

 

[baskingshark]

I find the moondrop ssr stage feels very different to the Starfield's, or even the smabat NCO's, everything has a distinct place in the ssr, every detail is clean and clear, where the starfields and to a lesser extent the NCO has the bass fill the stage more, I feel like I'm in more of a cacophony, the detail isn't lost, but the vocals and instruments have less distinct place in the stage, the stage as a whole blurs together more, it's still very much 3d, but it's more like surround loudspeakers in a live concert than hearing the music live in a private viewing without anything blasting it out but the instruments and vocalists themselves if that makes sense?

Unless subbass rolls off on an iem I find that the subbass takes out a lot of the focus on a scene?
Am I weird here? Am I bound to buy the nm2+ because of this and sell both the starfields and the NCO?

The new smabat with the mid centric tuning also sounds enticing.

I think what you discussed above could be down to poor imaging. An IEM or headphone can have a huge soundstage, but if the imaging is inexact, then you get the "blurred" instrumentation as you said. Some IEMs/headphones can have a smaller soundstage, but very good and precise imaging, and I actually do prefer better imaging than a big soundstage with poor imaging.

The new SMABAT X1's imaging is probably above average for a single DD, but I think multi BA/hybrids at that price bracket will still win in the imaging department (in general).

 

[courierdriver]

UNDERATED IEM OF 2020 : NiceHCK NX7 mk III. Plugged into my Hiby R5, they are balanced, detailed, spacious, comfortable, with excellent instrument separation and imaging, not to mention that dual CNT bass is bootylicious!! Criminally underrated, and i suspect it's because of the rep of the previous iterations of the NX7? I loved the original NX7 and still own them, but they are a completely different dinosaur. The mk III has much more prominent mids that have a thicker note presentation, along with less shrill highs that are more focused.

I also own the original NX7 and still love it to this day. I consider it my fleshed out detail beast, for when I really want to hear my vocals...especially all the lyrics, that I can't always pick up from other iems. Your comments on the Mk.3 make me want to consider buying it. I think I'd welcome a warmer (thicker) note presentation in the mids, along with a bit smoother highs; as long as the details are still there. I'd also like a bit wider soundstage compared to the original. Still...my original NX7 still gets lots of love. I'd also like to mention that they are one of the most comfortable sets in my collection for my ears. The light weight combined with the the small size, makes my original NX7 easy to wear for many hours.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

I also own the original NX7 and still love it to this day. I consider it my fleshed out detail beast, for when I really want to hear my vocals...especially all the lyrics, that I can't always pick up from other iems. Your comments on the Mk.3 make me want to consider buying it. I think I'd welcome a warmer (thicker) note presentation in the mids, along with a bit smoother highs; as long as the details are still there. I'd also like a bit wider soundstage compared to the original. Still...my original NX7 still gets lots of love. I'd also like to mention that they are one of the most comfortable sets in my collection for my ears. The light weight combined with the the small size, makes my original NX7 easy to wear for many hours.

Then it's for you, because you get thicker mids and smoother highs with the mk III with the stock filter, and yes, the stage is more enveloping that the original. Details are not lost. It's still a detail monster, just thicker. you get less transparency, but better mids and more rounded and enveloping stage. it's left/right, but not so stark left/right. it's got more layering and height.