[jwong]

Sounds like my interactions with Ali regarding my failed Linglong. Luckily for me Linglongs aren't $300.. that would be infuriating.

Seller took a couple of days while using the nicest flowery language to offer me $5 back = No.. replacement or refund.

Ali support won't let me open a dispute because it's more than two weeks after receipt and they've release the $$$ to the seller.

Support agent acts super understanding, escalates the issue to level 2 support. Who come back and say that "my video showing the broken driver is invalid", because the product matches the description. "Product does not match description" is the only choice I have when raising an issue with service....

Being a westerner in a country with strong consumer protection laws that allow me to return an item if its unfit for purpose (IE: not functioning) up to something like seven years after purchasing, dealing with this stuff is maddening and usually results in me doing a credit card reversal.

Fun, isn't it? I had an order with 5 different items that went missing after it reached the country. The Chinese service says they handed it over to the USPS; the USPS says they never got it. Ali's "dispute" process just kept telling me to go pick it up at my post office. Fortunately it took my credit card company no time at all to approve a chargeback.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

My agent is small so communication is okay, but the seller have too many iem to make, so it take a long time which is understandable


1 month already drive me crazy, can't imagine what you have to go through that 4 months ...

It was crazy once I got added to the Aur facebook page and I saw all the reviews lol But to be honest, since I was dealing with the death of my mother during most of that time, it wasn't too bad except the past month. Hope yours comes in sooner rather than later?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

1 hour into this Z300, and i've been listening to old school hip hop, and I just switched to classic rock (Van Halen). HBB really did some magic tuning with the budget driver Blon gave him. This is what I expected the 7HZ SALNOTES ZERO to sound like from all the damned hype they got. Or the Cadenza! I paid $30 with the discount code for these things. Gorgeous metal shells. The fit is 1000X better than the Blon 03. They are fairly small and fit quite comfy in the ears. The cable is kinda crappy, but I'm gonna keep it for now, unless I decide to switch it with the Linsoul Crystalline copper cable I have on the Vsonics? So 5 years ago, this kind of shell and fit would cost you $200 minimum. The kind of sound i'm hearing from this driver? $200-$400. The level of bass resolution and speed, along with the spacing and transparency mixed with the resolution of the mids and natural timbre in the highs? Budget has come a long long loooooong way, especially in regards to single DD. What do they sound like? What's the signature it reminds me of? Like what if the KZ Ling long and the Cadenza met on a drunken evening and made a baby, it would be the Z300. Now is this like a Legato basshead IEM? Nope. The bass is mature as heck, fast, punchy, and can go deep, but it's not a rattle your head bass. It's a hear every detail of a bass drum strike no matter how fast the drummer's feet are. It's excellent imaging. If I would say it's the biggest surprise? It would be the imaging as well as the creamy cohesiveness of the sound. Holographic on a budget? Yes! Now is it a detail monster? Not really. It presents most details in a very natural and cohesive way, but if I A/B against the Aure's, then you realize there are details missing, but A/B against the Ling Long or the Cadenza, and well, you realize yours getting a higher level sound than both, with better extension on both ends and mids that are not recessed or lightweight. They have enough weight to be presented with resolution and bite, without being overly weighty or thick like the Cadenza, or lacking weight like the Lings.

Still too early to make a definitive call, but if things keep improving and keep trending in the direction I think they will, the HBB Z300 will become my favorite budget set. HOLY MOLEY!! Van Halen's Spanish Fly is crazy! The resolving power and timbre of these things is nuts! They remind me of the JVC FW01 in timbre.

So far I've tested them on the DX170, Sony A55, and Sony A17. The A306 is charging. Thru the Sony? Budgetly blissful. I'm gonna personally reach out to HBB and congratulate him. Now I'm thinking...do I really need those Kiwi Ears? Hmmm...

 

[Fat Larry]

Fun, isn't it? I had an order with 5 different items that went missing after it reached the country. The Chinese service says they handed it over to the USPS; the USPS says they never got it. Ali's "dispute" process just kept telling me to go pick it up at my post office. Fortunately it took my credit card company no time at all to approve a chargeback.

Hahah do you enjoy being gaslighted while pulling your hair out in frustration?! I've stopped wasting time on them thankfully and if Ali doesn't help i just go straight to the bank. It can be a bit of work though. I found Ali's page last night where they say they're fully committed to the buyer protection laws in each buyers respective country as well... had a good laugh at that.

It's typical for Chinese and SE Asian customer service in my experience. There's something cultural where the onus is on the customer to protect themselves rather than the seller not to screw over the customer. There's also something about not relaying negative information directly so you end up being led down a tranquil garden path before being abandoned in a pool of mud so to speak. Please correct me if i'm wrong here.

Once when I was in KL a few years ago I went to Lowyat and bought a laptop sleeve from one of the big computer shops there that turned out to be the wrong size and I had to argue hard to get it exchanged for one i could use even though I'd bought it back still in packaging and unused etc the next day. This would be a non issue in NZ.

Don't get me started on the bandits that are Air Asia...

 

[Fat Larry]

Like what if the KZ Ling long and the Cadenza met on a drunken evening and made a baby, it would be the Z300.

That would be quite a beautiful baby. Now if they could just repackage them in a shell that's actually reasonably sized i'd be all in.

 

[DynamicEars]

@DynamicEars Asking about how your HOLA is doing? Did you find a good filter to get more out of them?

I've tried so many things with Hola



and with many possibilities, the best sound is using the default grill, take out the nylon filter behind it, then attach tanchjim filter on top of the original grill but before that, punch 1 hole on the tanchjim filter.
The easiest way is with default filter and default grill, take them out, pinch 1 hole and put them back, more or less similar result with tanchjim filter but less clear but differences really subtle. My best recommendation is just pinch 1 hole on default filter (don't do it when grill is attached on nozzle, you have to take them out first)

Here the result :


default is blue line, smooth but sounded overdampened, bass is trapped inside, bad airflow.
green is my mod with tanchjim filter with 1 hole, attached to original grill (with original filter behind the grill taken out)
red is with original grill and original filter but pinch 1 small hole with needle.

*note : the 6khz valley can't be boosted up, so the Hola by nature sounded very relax on lower treble region. While the mod bringing clearer mids, much better bass because of better airflow, but we can't do anything for the treble sparkles. Its sounded more open even graphed lower there, but not enough quantity on 6khz area for me personally. They are a good beater set but that's it

 

[Surf Monkey]

Fun, isn't it? I had an order with 5 different items that went missing after it reached the country. The Chinese service says they handed it over to the USPS; the USPS says they never got it. Ali's "dispute" process just kept telling me to go pick it up at my post office. Fortunately it took my credit card company no time at all to approve a chargeback.

They use some janky line haul that seems to lose shipments on a regular basis.

 

[JEHL]

I've tried so many things with Hola



and with many possibilities, the best sound is using the default grill, take out the nylon filter behind it, then attach tanchjim filter on top of the original grill but before that, punch 1 hole on the tanchjim filter.
The easiest way is with default filter and default grill, take them out, pinch 1 hole and put them back, more or less similar result with tanchjim filter but less clear but differences really subtle. My best recommendation is just pinch 1 hole on default filter (don't do it when grill is attached on nozzle, you have to take them out first)

Here the result :


default is blue line, smooth but sounded overdampened, bass is trapped inside, bad airflow.
green is my mod with tanchjim filter with 1 hole, attached to original grill (with original filter behind the grill taken out)
red is with original grill and original filter but pinch 1 small hole with needle.

*note : the 6khz valley can't be boosted up, so the Hola by nature sounded very relax on lower treble region. While the mod bringing clearer mids, much better bass because of better airflow, but we can't do anything for the treble sparkles. Its sounded more open even graphed lower there, but not enough quantity on 6khz area for me personally. They are a good beater set but that's it

So 4 points I'd personally like to add on this:

1. Can we get a few example photographs of what modding the Hola's nozzle looks like?
2. I still don't understand the exact function of the filter. So I just put a cut piece of dried disinfecting wipe (because I can't think of a more effective material). This is cut in a shape that matches the height of the nozzle in the BLON BL-03 while leaving the middle open. This is purely based on the hypothesis that that what the filter is filtering is the nozzle resonances.

There's no way for me to show this on a photograph, but the filter is as tall as the nozzle itself.
3. The fact that that the FR drops fast after the 2.7kHz gain is why I want the Juzear 41t. Or something with a similar 3kHz and above to the 41t. The perfect IEM for me would combine the 300Hz and under of the XENNS Mangird Top and Juzear 41t's rest. If such IEM exists, I have absolutely no idea what it is.
4. This looks like the kind of thing I'd love to try on a Tangzu Wan'er S.G... If I had one anyway.

On an unrelated note. Apparently, my nephew tested the HE400se before it was sent. He liked it more than anything he ever used for gaming, and he has way more expensive stuff like Bose QC35 and Airpods Pro and Airpods Max. He didn't test music so if you expected any music impression, I must disappoint you.

 

[DynamicEars]

So 4 points I'd personally like to add on this:

1. Can we get a few example photographs of what modding the Hola's nozzle looks like?
2. I still don't understand the exact function of the filter. So I just put a cut piece of dried disinfecting wipe (because I can't think of a more effective material). This is cut in a shape that matches the height of the nozzle in the BLON BL-03 while leaving the middle open. This is purely based on the hypothesis that that what the filter is filtering is the nozzle resonances.

There's no way for me to show this on a photograph, but the filter is as tall as the nozzle itself.
3. The fact that that the FR drops fast after the 2.7kHz gain is why I want the Juzear 41t. Or something with a similar 3kHz and above to the 41t. The perfect IEM for me would combine the 300Hz and under of the XENNS Mangird Top and Juzear 41t's rest. If such IEM exists, I have absolutely no idea what it is.
4. This looks like the kind of thing I'd love to try on a Tangzu Wan'er S.G... If I had one anyway.

On an unrelated note. Apparently, my nephew tested the HE400se before it was sent. He liked it more than anything he ever used for gaming, and he has way more expensive stuff like Bose QC35 and Airpods Pro and Airpods Max. He didn't test music so if you expected any music impression, I must disappoint you.

1. Sorry I should put my pics also, I was uploading from my PC and the photos are in my phone (simply take with my phone camera, hopefully it is clear enough) :


Here how the original filter behind the grill with 1 small hole, just a little small hole using needle or small safety pin (don't yse big needle or big safety pin or you will alter the sound too much)

Another photo.

And these with tanchjim filter (the filter is attached to the default grill :




2. Filter function is for dampening the sound so it will sounded smoother, to tame peaks or certain frequencies.
Actually I made explanation including your alcohol roll damper with measurements too in BLON thread few years back.
From my experiences "blockage" tamed high mids from 2khz until 4khz while absorbing materials such as sponge, cotton tame more on higher frequencies like 6khz above (good to avoid sibilances)
Lot of materials have different dampening effect and affected by the amount.

3. You can see lot of FR on squidlink actually. That 2.7khz or 3khz pinna is just nice but not sure if you want sparkles after that and the high extension. Too drop after pinna gain will lead to dark sound, lack of air and possibly small soundstage perceival.

 

[helloh3adfi]

and with many possibilities, the best sound is using the default grill, take out the nylon filter behind it, then attach tanchjim filter on top of the original grill but before that, punch 1 hole on the tanchjim filter.

That sounds good. I don't want to boost 1-2 kHz too much. Where did you buy the tanchjim filter? Do you know where it is on AliExpress? Do you reattach the filter and grill by using superglue on the edges?

 

[RikudouGoku]

2. Filter function is for dampening the sound so it will sounded smoother, to tame peaks or certain frequencies.
Actually I made explanation including your alcohol roll damper with measurements too in BLON thread few years back.
From my experiences "blockage" tamed high mids from 2khz until 4khz while absorbing materials such as sponge, cotton tame more on higher frequencies like 6khz above (good to avoid sibilances)
Lot of materials have different dampening effect and affected by the amount.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/blo...ressions-thread.916702/page-257#post-15814248

 

[DynamicEars]

That sounds good. I don't want to boost 1-2 kHz too much. Where did you buy the tanchjim filter? Do you know where it is on AliExpress? Do you reattach the filter and grill by using superglue on the edges?

ali should have them or if you have tanchjim hana or tanya, it comes with the filter. I got mine from spare from my Hana 2021, alternatively you can use mesh500 filter, more or less similar damping effect and sound.
you can reattach the grill with the residue left, they are still sticky enough to reattach, don't use super glue, it will break the paint coat on both side.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/blo...ressions-thread.916702/page-257#post-15814248

Thanks for the link, a bit hassle to find it on the go!

 

[Carpet]

KZ X HBB PR2 full review by Ian Fann​

 

[o0genesis0o]

3. You can see lot of FR on squidlink actually. That 2.7khz or 3khz pinna is just nice but not sure if you want sparkles after that and the high extension. Too drop after pinna gain will lead to dark sound, lack of air and possibly small soundstage perceival.

The ear-gain region is an interesting beast. To my ears, 2kHz has the effect of sharpening the "edge" sound, whilst 3kHz "focuses" the midrange sound, especially vocals, and brings it toward your face.

Just enough 3kHz => kind-of-shallow stage, but wide and "open" / "transparent"
Too high 3kHz => in-your-face, shallow stage
Too low 3kHz => narrow but uncannily deep stage (a.k.a., FiiO FA7s, at least to my ears)

Moondrop Blessing 3 and the Simgot EW100P both have Harman-like 3kHz. Both have shallow but very wide and open soundstage.

I've just realised today whilst listening to the SA6II: the illusion of soundstage "depth" is a by-product of recessed midrange. At all time, the SA6II, U12T, and similar U-shaped IEMs, have bass as the foreground, midrange further away, and treble air at the furthest back around around the headstage. Both U12T and SA6II also take advantage of pulling the 3kHz down to "diffuse" the center image a little bit, further improving the illusion of depth.

Meanwhile, Moondrop Blessing 3 and Simgot EW100P place everything on the same plane. So, if the ultimate goal of tuning is "balance between frequencies", then I guess they have achieved it with VSDF and Harman IE target.
A small "hypothesis test": Using EQ to bump the 150Hz and 50Hz and drop 3kHz, the illusion of depth and layering immediately returns to Blessing 3 and EW100P. The separation between layers, however, still depends on that "mythical" technical performance of the driver configurations. EW100P is simply no match against the B3 and SA6II (as it should be).

---

If you ever wonder what's the fuss about with those $$$$$$ DAP, you can have a look at my review of P6 Pro ($3899). I approached the borrowed unit with the expectation of snake oil, and left the review thinking about saving up to buy one for myself.

Howdy folks, my review of L&P P6 Pro is up and online on my website and head-fi. If you are interested in watching and listening to reviews instead of reading, you can find my YouTube review below.



In summary, from the perspective of someone who has never listened to a TOTL player for more than a demo session, the sound quality offered by P6 Pro was eye-opening. The software is unusable for some albums, due to the lack of gapless playback, and the price is prohibitively high, but the sound is so good that I can see myself eyeing a unit one day. I'm looking forward to listening to the upcoming W4 dongle.

Here are some tricks about sources that I learned when trying to get P6 Pro sound without paying $4000:

• It's not about "scaling up". It's more about smaller dongles not being able to drive IEMs to their full capability. And no, I don't think it is about max power output.
• The sense of "dynamic" and "snappiness" of note attacks depends a great deal on your amplifier. Apple dongle sounds way crisper and more dynamic when supported by my Topping G5.
• The DAC has impact in terms of fine-tuning the sound. For example, keeping G5 as the amp, I can hear noticeable change in the forwardness of the soundstage when swapping between different dongles and DAPs acting as the DAC.
• Most of the time, gain is just loudness, not driving power (meaning those "scaling" thing I mentioned does not exist when changing gain). However, some sources change the way the amp works when changing gain, thus might change the driving power. Therefore, you should try high-gain once to see if the driving power of your amp actually changes. For example, Shanling M6 Ultra sounds way more dynamic and crisp at high-gain, but low and mid-gain sounds the same.

Cheapest way to get the sound close to P6 Pro is Apple dongle + Topping G5 (or NX7). I'll explore some even cheaper battery amps in the future and see what works.

 

[baskingshark]

Taobao soldier

So sad that I‘m literally having my $300 bet sitting on a very fragile see-saw that could be swiped away at anytime.

One chat exchange takes 24 hours, and my agent is idiotic as hell.


Agent: “seller said he will need to add your WeChat”

me: ok, complete your sentence of “how” to add…provide ID or something…

me: ”Ok, then. Provide me seller’s wechat ID”

24hr later

Agent ”sorry we couldn’t add you, please add my wechat ID”

What

The communication level is below 3 years old’s intelligence

Agent’s intelligence level is below average.

Bro told you that buying from Taobao is a crapshoot.
If all goes well, it is generally cheaper than Aliexpress, and sometimes they do carry stuff that isn't released internationally yet.

But if you need CS or warranty, it is a mega hassle trying to talk to the taobao reps, unless your Chinese is superb and you have their internal app chat stuff. Anyways, won't advise buying more expensive gear from taobao, as if you need returns, you are screwed. Sometimes returning stuff to China is more expensive than the item itself!