[saldsald]

What are those on the right?

zhulinniao tips

 

[cobrabucket]

They're the BB tips from Zhulinniao.

 

[DynamicEars]

When you already at that level. "Better" is really subjective since all good TOTLs already have amazing resolution, technicalities, tuning and everything else that made them pass or legible to hold the TOTL level.
From there, all that matters are more toward personal preferences, whether you are a soundstage guy, or a basshead, or resolution freak or a timbre geek.
Because they already have great level almost on every departments with bonus of their speciality as perfection in 1 or 2 aspects.

 

[poskus]

im use meze silver cables se and 4.4 , would i upgrade to copper cable will get better SQ? what is get then copper mmcx cable is best but not high priced? from Aliex is good?

 

[o0genesis0o]

im use meze silver cables se and 4.4 , would i upgrade to copper cable will get better SQ? what is get then copper mmcx cable is best but not high priced? from Aliex is good?

If you are lucky, there might be an audible change. You must be even luckier for that change to improve rather than degrading the SQ. I wouldn’t go after those expensive cables to improve SQ.

You can wait for a discount season on aliexpress. I think the next one is 11/11.

 

[JeffJ]

Moondrop Solis mk2

2dd+2ba+4est

silver cavity+gold coating

launch on 7.21, price 17,000 rmb (~2,400 usd)

 

[IEMbiker]

Been listening to Sonic Memory SM1 for a few days now.
Great unboxing experience.
Nice tip and accessories. Nozzle tuning kit, bullet back cover kit( Open back, Semi-open(Mesh), and Passive radiator- Diaphram attached to back cover)
Lunch boxes can be used for storage. There is also a reminder on the lunch box: The buckle can also be used as a stand for the mobile phone

Sound:
Bass: Bass tuning back cap can change its bass response. Bass is smooth and has a natural low-frequency performance. Sub bass emphasis, clean mid-bass. It is worth reminding that changing the kit will not make the low-frequency change drastically. However, the change is not in my audible range and I cannot see it in the graph.

Mid: mid-frequency of SM1 is its bright spot. The sound is warm, full body, and to the front although is not super detail but natural type.

High: The high frequency of SM1 is nicely tuned, smooth, and clean. Although the details are not outstanding but nice for the long listening session.

SoundStage is average in width, and better height than depth.

Overall: The tuning of SM1 is based on a mature listening concept, with balanced performance, strong applicability, and excellent for long relaxed listening.

Note: very hard to drive. Need proper amping to perform.

 

[DynamicEars]

To follow up my impressions few days back against recent hype of KZ Krila,
I already did the measurements and figuring out about switches and I did my mods on Krila:


The KZ Krila measurement L and R with all up switches (most boosted bass, but still around +10db sub bass with nice control on 100-200hz area :


Then these are the Krila Switches (@baskingshark already shared the measurement last week, and my graph align with his) :


Well this is KZ guideline for switches :

Apparently, the setting switches for the bass (first 1,2,3 switches) are working as they said, with bass quantity improvement. But the 4th switch, which is supposed to reduce the high / ultra high frequencies, didn't work at all. I measured and I tried to distinguish with my own ears but there is no differences at all on the fourth switch.


Next, I opened the nozzle grill to check if the mesh only there for protection against earwax or dust, and I thought they are using zobel circuit to tune, not damper filter, but I was wrong. The mesh on the nozzle is a damper, and dampening quite much but still having quite good bass maybe due of the front vent also. So I opened the mesh up and measured them.
Here the filterless Krila without filter (of course unlistenable, I just want to check the driver nature and they are quite high resolving DD)




Looking at the filterless graph, the result remind me of some driver nature (filterless) like the Tanchjim Hana 2021 and the Truthear Hola :


So then I made my attempt to mod it, basically using foam, on top of the BA end, to reduce the BA shrill to make the timbre better, and Tanchjim filter but with 1 small hole to ensure good airflow for the bass.
The bass is great, tighter, great impact but high mids are too peaky, even peakier than default, but highs are better. (btw look at the mod1 graph, looked like Tanchjim Hana 2021 graph with better bass response here).
Then as I want to reduce the high mids pinna gain area, I double the filter, so I put another layer of mesh500 filter on top of the Tanchjim filter but I make another small hole at the same position with tanchjim filter's hole so the hole can be an airflow for the bass. Results are very good, I managed to reduce the high mids -2 until -3dbs from original state.
So after 2nd mods, the Krila have more body to the mids, not thin. with better bass of course and slightly better timbre. Not perfect but better for me.


Here the graphs after mods :


I tried the Krila after the mods and yeah I kinda like them. I also tried with my M17, of course they are much better but didn't stretch much from lower grade source like Timeless / planars or Z1R. I won't talk about it further as $1700 DAP is overkill for $16 IEMs, just because I already have it and why not.
The mods need extra patientness as there is only small gap between BA end nozzle to the nozzle end, so I have to put the foam on that tiny space without glue while attaching tanchjim filter and pressed the foam at the same time. Not really recommended for first timer and the default state of Krila is already very good for their class.
Conclusion is still the same, if you on budget and eager to something very good value with great price / performance ratio, or you already have great IEMs but want good beater set, or for diehard KZ fans out there, Krila is really great performance with exceptional technicalities for the price. Maybe the best KZ I ever heard within 5 years (note : i never heard KZ planars PR1 or PR2) and magically they are delivering the Krila with 1 dinner price.

Cheers!

 

[o0genesis0o]

To follow up my impressions few days back against recent hype of KZ Krila,
I already did the measurements and figuring out about switches and I did my mods on Krila:


The KZ Krila measurement L and R with all up switches (most boosted bass, but still around +10db sub bass with nice control on 100-200hz area :


Then these are the Krila Switches (@baskingshark already shared the measurement last week, and my graph align with his) :


Well this is KZ guideline for switches :


Apparently, the setting switches for the bass (first 1,2,3 switches) are working as they said, with bass quantity improvement. But the 4th switch, which is supposed to reduce the high / ultra high frequencies, didn't work at all. I measured and I tried to distinguish with my own ears but there is no differences at all on the fourth switch.


Next, I opened the nozzle grill to check if the mesh only there for protection against earwax or dust, and I thought they are using zobel circuit to tune, not damper filter, but I was wrong. The mesh on the nozzle is a damper, and dampening quite much but still having quite good bass maybe due of the front vent also. So I opened the mesh up and measured them.
Here the filterless Krila without filter (of course unlistenable, I just want to check the driver nature and they are quite high resolving DD)




Looking at the filterless graph, the result remind me of some driver nature (filterless) like the Tanchjim Hana 2021 and the Truthear Hola :


So then I made my attempt to mod it, basically using foam, on top of the BA end, to reduce the BA shrill to make the timbre better, and Tanchjim filter but with 1 small hole to ensure good airflow for the bass.
The bass is great, tighter, great impact but high mids are too peaky, even peakier than default, but highs are better. (btw look at the mod1 graph, looked like Tanchjim Hana 2021 graph with better bass response here).
Then as I want to reduce the high mids pinna gain area, I double the filter, so I put another layer of mesh500 filter on top of the Tanchjim filter but I make another small hole at the same position with tanchjim filter's hole so the hole can be an airflow for the bass. Results are very good, I managed to reduce the high mids -2 until -3dbs from original state.
So after 2nd mods, the Krila have more body to the mids, not thin. with better bass of course and slightly better timbre. Not perfect but better for me.


Here the graphs after mods :


I tried the Krila after the mods and yeah I kinda like them. I also tried with my M17, of course they are much better but didn't stretch much from lower grade source like Timeless / planars or Z1R. I won't talk about it further as $1700 DAP is overkill for $16 IEMs, just because I already have it and why not.
The mods need extra patientness as there is only small gap between BA end nozzle to the nozzle end, so I have to put the foam on that tiny space without glue while attaching tanchjim filter and pressed the foam at the same time. Not really recommended for first timer and the default state of Krila is already very good for their class.
Conclusion is still the same, if you on budget and eager to something very good value with great price / performance ratio, or you already have great IEMs but want good beater set, or for diehard KZ fans out there, Krila is really great performance with exceptional technicalities for the price. Maybe the best KZ I ever heard within 5 years (note : i never heard KZ planars PR1 or PR2) and magically they are delivering the Krila with 1 dinner price.

Cheers!

Great work, mate! You make modding and retuning look fun.

 

[shez.]

Why is no one talking about new Beats headphone releases?

 

[zenki]

Chu 2 is here. Link below.
Who wants some Bamboo Two?

 

[JEHL]

With the whole the best IEM at whatever just being pointless from my PoV. I think it's probably safe to say that I probably just want a rather specific tuning and I can pretty much to keep that.

Unfortunately, I'm starting to believe the tuning I'm looking for doesn't even exist. And if it does, I sure do have to blow stupid amounts of money for it.

Like:

Considering Crinacle has said multiple times that you shouldn't pay for the tuning alone. I may be SoL anyway.

I did mention I wanted to get into designing and potentially opening an audio equipment business? I guess well tuned, but unapologetically basshead gear on a budget could very well be my sole motivator for this. Because I sure don't care about the whole 1DD+7BA+4EST driver configuration (which I may add I have absolutely no clue how HBB knows this is completely undisclosed beyond being a tribrid on Fatfreq's website). It'd probably be more like Truthear Hexa at least driver configuration wise and possibly tuning wise but with a huge bass lift for both fun and as I found out somewhat recently, huge bass lift gets me to turn down the overall volume while still enjoying the music enough to trigger zen mode.

And again, I probably couldn't care less for what the Maestro SE is capable of in the intangibles. It's strictly the tuning I'm after.

Also, I have absolutely no clue what boring means in the context of headgear. This is a word I reserve strictly for what I listen, be it music, tv series, movies etc., rather than what I use to listen.

I also just noticed again. Outdated ranking list aside, just noticed that Crinacle places the Monarch MKII just above the U12t due to the former scoring S+ in tonal grade vs U12t's. Edit: Wonder if anyone has put these 2 head-to-head. I should probably expect to be trading blow after blow in the many areas that can be evaluated and the Monarch MKII coming as the clear winner simply because of going for half the price. But I've never seen a direct comparison here.

https://crinacle.com/2021/06/04/the-tonal-technical-dichotomy-the-ief-evaluation-system/

BUT. I still can't wrap my hear around the 2nd half of this article. And I found it more or less since he uploaded it. Not in a way my ears can interpret it anyway. So for most of my life, I decided to just ignore the technical grade altogether.

And given my preferences I'm probably too weird to care about the tonal grade either.

 

[SynaestheticA]

Why is no one talking about new Beats headphone releases?

I read a review on them and the reviewer made it sound like using a cable to "access full high quality music files from Tidal" was some kind of amazing magic.

 

[o0genesis0o]

I should probably expect to be trading blow after blow in the many areas that can be evaluated and the Monarch MKII coming as the clear winner simply because of going for half the price. But I've never seen a direct comparison here.

I think I have compared them, maybe a few hundred pages back.

Monarch II has a weird cloudy bass that is annoying if you pay attention to that. It rumbles and growls rather than punchy. U12t is noticeably snappier in the bass. That’s a stand out difference.

When listening to simple but detail rich recordings, Monarch II is surprisingly even more detailed than U12t. But when the music gets very dense and busy, the U12t peels apart the music better.

The staging is no comparison. Monarch II feels smaller and flatter, more in-the-head.

But yeah, super solid option for A$1600. Most folks would appreciate the rumbles, details, and clear vocals of Monarch II.

 

[DynamicEars]

With the whole the best IEM at whatever just being pointless from my PoV. I think it's probably safe to say that I probably just want a rather specific tuning and I can pretty much to keep that.

Unfortunately, I'm starting to believe the tuning I'm looking for doesn't even exist. And if it does, I sure do have to blow stupid amounts of money for it.

Like:


Considering Crinacle has said multiple times that you shouldn't pay for the tuning alone. I may be SoL anyway.

I did mention I wanted to get into designing and potentially opening an audio equipment business? I guess well tuned, but unapologetically basshead gear on a budget could very well be my sole motivator for this. Because I sure don't care about the whole 1DD+7BA+4EST driver configuration (which I may add I have absolutely no clue how HBB knows this is completely undisclosed beyond being a tribrid on Fatfreq's website). It'd probably be more like Truthear Hexa at least driver configuration wise and possibly tuning wise but with a huge bass lift for both fun and as I found out somewhat recently, huge bass lift gets me to turn down the overall volume while still enjoying the music enough to trigger zen mode.

And again, I probably couldn't care less for what the Maestro SE is capable of in the intangibles. It's strictly the tuning I'm after.

Also, I have absolutely no clue what boring means in the context of headgear. This is a word I reserve strictly for what I listen, be it music, tv series, movies etc., rather than what I use to listen.

I also just noticed again. Outdated ranking list aside, just noticed that Crinacle places the Monarch MKII just above the U12t due to the former scoring S+ in tonal grade vs U12t's. Edit: Wonder if anyone has put these 2 head-to-head. I should probably expect to be trading blow after blow in the many areas that can be evaluated and the Monarch MKII coming as the clear winner simply because of going for half the price. But I've never seen a direct comparison here.

https://crinacle.com/2021/06/04/the-tonal-technical-dichotomy-the-ief-evaluation-system/

BUT. I still can't wrap my hear around the 2nd half of this article. And I found it more or less since he uploaded it. Not in a way my ears can interpret it anyway. So for most of my life, I decided to just ignore the technical grade altogether.

And given my preferences I'm probably too weird to care about the tonal grade either.

I compared both u12t and my Monarch MkII

I put some writing about TOTL too here if you want to read :
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-discovery-thread.586909/post-17573057

TLDR u12t is better IEM that i out on S class rank than the A+ rank Monarch MkII
For me the bass quality of Monarch MkII isn't justified on TOTL level. They sounded trapped inside because of bad driver / bad implementation. Not the tuning, I love the tuning. Then the soundstage on Monarch is rather "small" compared to other TOTL or have intimate presentation.
If you wonder why crinacle put them on the top maybe because if his preference or I don't want to accuse but linsoul gave him the monarch and linsoul is 1 of the sponsor on his site, well judge yourself.
And yes, I own Monarch MkII not only heard them for a session.