Nope, I sold my Starfield some time ago. The only Moondrop products I ever had were the Starfield and the LAN. I would say the LAN is a very good 1DD for under 100 bucks. I bought the LAN so I would have a good 1DD for mobile use that is light and can be used on all sources (it's 32 Ohm). Cable change is recommended, this can really improve the sound.
Nope, I sold my Starfield some time ago. The only Moondrop products I ever had were the Starfield and the LAN. I would say the LAN is a very good 1DD for under 100 bucks. I bought the LAN so I would have a good 1DD for mobile use that is light and can be used on all sources (it's 32 Ohm). Cable change is recommended, this can really improve the sound.
It is a very thin cable and sounds average. Built quality is ok. I used this cable for burn-in. Now I have it sit in my drawer while I use a NiceHCK LitzPS 4N cable on my LAN.
Buying a batch of 1000 units does not come at the prices indicated, Fiio or any other company seeks profit margins, they are not far in the market to give us the lowest price, if not to obtain the greatest benefit, being competitive in reflection on the competition
If someone breaks the rules... it would be perfectly possible to have a quality multiBA under €100...
Let's be honest, do these IEMs carry more technology, R&D, components than a 55" oled tv????? no, and most of them cost more money. You know they are aimed at a niche market that will pay a lot more money than the price of production, unlike products oriented to the large market....
The tws, if they are aimed at the general public, with a high price if you want the latest model, but you can buy the previous model for a third of the original price...
Well, both of you are right actually. It's all about their GM and they will earn much more on a DD then a BA.
What's interesting is that BA drivers seem more(or slightly more) costly. Taking the situation between Knowles and Bellsing, is it hard to develop BA drivers? Does it require more technology? I don't have very deep knowledge about it.
It just seems to me there's less providers for BA than DD. I can easily count the main three providers and some others which seem develop their own but usually I believe they take from others as well, like claiming to have their own but BA is actually from Bellsing somehow tuned differently. But for DD, ofc they take from each other but I see more producers develop.
I don't know if this is related to the time coming from their invention. Could we say the production of a DD more matured therefore less costly?
However, I also see high technology required for the production of that thin domes. LCP, DLC, CNT, Grephene maybe I'd call titanium but this one is old comparing to the others. Implementation of magnets, the shape, the size...
But strange thing is that we know more about the DD and their components. However, when it comes to a BA, it's in a tiny little box and what's inside not that well observed. So, that's interesting and I'll leave it to you. I haven't seen much of a situation like smb dissecting a BA and checking what's inside what's being used.
'The Emperor walked under his high canopy in the midst of the procession, through the streets of his capital. All the people standing by, and those at the windows, cried out, “Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor’s new clothes! What a magnificent train there is to the mantle; and how gracefully the scarf hangs!” No one would admit these much admired clothes could not be seen because, in doing so, he would have been saying he was either a simpleton or unfit for his job."
...
"The lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to appear holding up a train, although, in reality, there was no train to hold, and the Emperor walked on in his underwear."
Just few words, about words, perceptions, and trains - trains of... thoughts
Well, both of you are right actually. It's all about their GM and they will earn much more on a DD then a BA.
What's interesting is that BA drivers seem more(or slightly more) costly. Taking the situation between Knowles and Bellsing, is it hard to develop BA drivers? Does it require more technology? I don't have very deep knowledge about it.
It just seems to me there's less providers for BA than DD. I can easily count the main three providers and some others which seem develop their own but usually I believe they take from others as well, like claiming to have their own but BA is actually from Bellsing somehow tuned differently. But for DD, ofc they take from each other but I see more producers develop.
I don't know if this is related to the time coming from their invention. Could we say the production of a DD more matured therefore less costly?
However, I also see high technology required for the production of that thin domes. LCP, DLC, CNT, Grephene maybe I'd call titanium but this one is old comparing to the others. Implementation of magnets, the shape, the size...
But strange thing is that we know more about the DD and their components. However, when it comes to a BA, it's in a tiny little box and what's inside not that well observed. So, that's interesting and I'll leave it to you. I haven't seen much of a situation like smb dissecting a BA and checking what's inside what's being used.
One thing about multi-BA IEM, IMHO, is how easy it is to go spectacularly wrong. AFAIK, at least from my little experience DIYing earbuds, DD naturally have an “ear gain” and a midbass hump. So you can squish here, boost there, and get something at least kind-of natural sounding. And DD is cheap too.
Meanwhile, looking at materials on designing crossover for multi-BA IEM makes me dizzy. It seems even reaching a natural curve is hard. Reaching there with good technical performance is harder. And assembling them seems to require more skilled workers and time. Consistency is questionable as well. All for the sake of a bit extra resolution, at the cost of bass (generally) and “BA timbre”. That’s why I think for budget IEM, good DD is a better choice. For ultra highend, maybe multi BA or hybrid/tribrid/quadbrid is the way to go due to the flexibility, allowing master tuners to dial in just right. You are going to pay dearly for that refinement (which might not even be there with some pricy IEMs)
Edit: I had high hope for the planar hype train. Imagine DD bass but with BA resolution, and just one driver, easily tuned by foams, front and back vents. It seems the hype is dying.
I have come to the conclusion over the last few days that KB Ear has lost the plot. It has been growing for a while with their scatter gun hit and miss approach to new releases - not to say there hasn't been some good stuff. But now on Facebook they are promoting a new cable.
It is apparently made from some new wire from Furukawa: C2200. I looked it up on the Furukawa website and translated the doc through google. (Basically, I am very interested in different types of wire.) https://www.furukawa.co.jp/copper/product/wire/brass.html
The problem with this type of wire is that it is essentially brass - which KB Ear do ackowledge. It could be a good wire for some things, but it isn't a very good idea for audio, or other types of electrical signal transmission. Too much resistance. The C2200 is rated at an IACS conductivity of 44%. It's better than standard brass at 28%, but that's way behind bog standard oxygen free copper at 100 - 102% and, of course pure silver, which can get as high as 106%.
I have come to the conclusion over the last few days that KB Ear has lost the plot. It has been growing for a while with their scatter gun hit and miss approach to new releases - not to say there hasn't been some good stuff. But now on Facebook they are promoting a new cable.
It is apparently made from some new wire from Furukawa: C2200. I looked it up on the Furukawa website and translated the doc through google. (Basically, I am very interested in different types of wire.) https://www.furukawa.co.jp/copper/product/wire/brass.html
The problem with this type of wire is that it is essentially brass - which KB Ear do ackowledge. It could be a good wire for some things, but it isn't a very good idea for audio, or other types of electrical signal transmission. Too much resistance. The C2200 is rated at an IACS conductivity of 44%. It's better than standard brass at 28%, but that's way behind bog standard oxygen free copper at 100 - 102% and, of course pure silver, which can get as high as 106%.
People raved about brass cables before, cables with lanthanides - after all, is not it all about perception, impressions, hypes, trains - personal experiences - that is "the hobby" after all!
(If one dares to talk about resistance, it is a function of materials property (resistivity) and wire thickness. The thickness is squared, so it can compensate. As fas as my limited opinion goes - the main problem with brass would be corrosion. P. S. and with those tritium glowers next to your brain, the X-rays produced when electrons (beta radiation) are slowed down, similar to X-ray sources. P. P. S. Resistance and resistivity are added above.)
I have come to the conclusion over the last few days that KB Ear has lost the plot. It has been growing for a while with their scatter gun hit and miss approach to new releases - not to say there hasn't been some good stuff. But now on Facebook they are promoting a new cable.
It is apparently made from some new wire from Furukawa: C2200. I looked it up on the Furukawa website and translated the doc through google. (Basically, I am very interested in different types of wire.) https://www.furukawa.co.jp/copper/product/wire/brass.html
The problem with this type of wire is that it is essentially brass - which KB Ear do ackowledge. It could be a good wire for some things, but it isn't a very good idea for audio, or other types of electrical signal transmission. Too much resistance. The C2200 is rated at an IACS conductivity of 44%. It's better than standard brass at 28%, but that's way behind bog standard oxygen free copper at 100 - 102% and, of course pure silver, which can get as high as 106%.
Yep agreed. Not only with their cables though. KBEAR IEMs are on a downhill trend the past few months, with most of their releases garnering attention for a week or 2 before being forgotten to the annals of history.
There are two schools of thought about EQ. I tend to skew towards yours. EQ generally degrades sound fidelity in my opinion. But it can be useful in non-critical listening situations.
Funny. We just get done derailing into cables and now we’re on about EQ.
Ha ha, sorry I went off topic, just want to say that the loss of sound quality when using EQ is not insignificant. It seems to suck the life out of the music.
Ha ha, sorry I went off topic, just want to say that the loss of sound quality when using EQ is not insignificant. It seems to suck the life out of the music.
To my exp this can be different if EQ is used to fix the flaws in an IEM, headphone or to make an amp sound better. It is however true that the sound quality suffers if the EQ is not of top-notch quality. Equalizer APO for Windows is a good example for high quality EQ that improves the sound while the EQ in Chifi DAPs makes the music sound worse.
I believe people are stilling sleeping on AuR Audio so I'll post my sushi platter.
They provide TOTL tuning for a fraction of what the bigger brands charge. I think @AmericanSpirit valued Neon Pro (Black) around $2,500 USD in terms of sound while it cost only $650 USD. If anyone has the chance they should get a true handcrafted IEM, built by a mastercraftman. Very few brands can hold the moniker of "Handcrafted" from start to finish.
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