[cobrabucket]

Logically? Considering the sets you already have and have on the way, of course it makes no sense.

Does logic matter? Absolutely not, if you don’t want it to lol

But I REALLY want one!
J/k. Well, kinda.
I mean, I do want one but am torn bc I could either save for the next step up [unknown what exactly that would be atm],
or potentially find "the one I've been waiting for."
Who knows?
I am so tempted to take advantage of one last AE BF sale item.
I should probably just stand pat and be grateful for what I already own.
That BASS, tho...

EDIT: The wife says that I am "chasing the unicorn," but I'm certain it's a gorgeous steed!

 

[jghjkhfd]

ARTTI R2 (10mm Beryllium, $49) on sale Dec. 5

 

[thaslaya]

ARTTI R2 (10mm Beryllium, $49) on sale Dec. 5

I'll need some comparisons before I buy either one but the R1 is definitely intriguing with its triple DD.

 

[gooberbm]

And there went my interest. That’ll be super competent but will it do anything special? Doubtful

 

[domq422]

RikuBuds Berserker

I am extremely late to the discussion but the Berserker is a slamming bud literally and figuratively. The sound stage depth is truly something to behold and the bass response is impressive for a bud. Plus, @RikudouGoku is just a cool ass dude who does fantastic work.

 

[thaslaya]

And there went my interest. That’ll be super competent but will it do anything special? Doubtful

On further inspection the graph provided for the R2 is very close to the Kiwi Ears Cadenza and the Kbear kb01. Seems redundant if you already own one of those budget tier iems.

 

[gooberbm]

On further inspection the graph provided for the R2 is very close to the Kiwi Ears Cadenza and the Kbear kb01. Seems redundant if you already own one of those budget tier iems.

And we’ve already been to this party

 

[WAON303]

NiceHCK released a pro version of their F1 planar IEM:

https://aliexpress.com/item/1005006228604236.html

Seems like this iteration doesn't come with tuning filters, wonder what NiceHCK means by pro?

 

[baskingshark]

I would like to get some earbuds, but they always drop from my ear.

Any recommendation?

Maybe try another shell shape - there are > 3 types of earbud shell shapes after all.

You can also increase the girth of the earbuds by putting silicone rings or double foams, so as to fit better in the external ears.

Anyone here own the Softears Studio 4? IF so, please give me your impressions. I know it is for mastering and mixing, but I have heard the clarity is excellent. Impressions appreciated.

I briefly auditioned it.

The Studio 4 is very clear, balanced and technical IEM. Yep, it is more suited for studio and musician work, can be a bit boring for casual music appreciation. I didn't like the BA timbre though. A bit overpriced too.

I am looking at a save-up iem that meets the unique category under $1000. Would appreciate recommendations. I don't need an iems that sound like too many others.

The Sony M9 is a warm neutral IEM, very smooth and superb layering and imaging. No BA timbre too despite being a 5BA IEM (Sony damps the nozzles with some special foam to achieve this).

Another one of my annoying questions. Prior to all this wave of audio goodness when things were a little toned down in the iem world, what were your go-to iems? (e.g., Kato, Blessing 1 and 2, Oxygen, etc. al.)

I first started using IEMs a decade back for stage monitoring. The usual suspects then were the Shure and Westone stuff, which were understandably overpriced, as they were the duopoly back then without CHIFI around. Had to really sell a kidney to get a taste of audiophile nirvana.

Amazingly, the Shure SE215, which retailed back then for close to $100 USD, is still being sold today! Back then it was quite muddy, and today it is extremely LowFI/muddy when compared to the competition, and is easily thrashed by CHIFI that cost 5x cheaper.

Subsequently, I was thankful to buy some KZs, as they were cheap compared to Westones/Shures. In those bygone days, KZ wasn't a pokemon spamming sidegrade company, and they only released gear once every few months. Granted, their tuning back then was super V-shaped and banshee shout fests, but that was my first gateway to CHIFI and I realized, wow these stuff are actually priced quite affordably. Later, I dived into the BLON BL-03 etc and never looked back.

I still remember when starting out in this hobby, I had to skimp and save to get some multi driver westones as their single driver ones were meh. If you bought the wrong set, you are screwed and needed to save for another few years for a new one. We are so spoiled nowadays with getting good sound for cheap, even $20 now can give very decent sonics. Very good time to join the hobby now, the barrier to entry is no longer present.

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

And we’ve already been to this party

The R1 sounds like it has enough Highs where the Cadenza I thought was missing just a bit up top. Also the bass with the Bery driver has more punch and speed. The two don't really sound too much alike for me.

 

[Vonbuddy]

Still curious about the new Tangzu.

 

[SynaestheticA]

Bro as I said, BGGAR's graphs are not aligned at the 8 kHz coupler peak - ie insertion depth is not consistent - so that may skew the graph of the green OG Salnotes Zero on his photo.

Whatever the case, graphs are not meant to be compared across different users using different rigs. They are more useful for internal comparisons of the same rig.

If 2 different measuring rigs use different couplers, sound cards, eartip, insertion depth, volume etc, the graphs WILL be different.

And importantly, we must consider unit variation of the IEM, which is extremely common in budget CHIFI models.

To be fair.

These points all add to the reason not to trust graphs.

 

[gooberbm]

The R1 sounds like it has enough Highs where the Cadenza I thought was missing just a bit up top. Also the bass with the Bery driver has more punch and speed. The two don't really sound too much alike for me.

Understood on the sonics. Was more pointing out how the R2 graph was compared to Cadenza as Harman-ish, because that’s what ARTTI is aiming for.

 

[baskingshark]

To be fair.

These points all add to the reason not to trust graphs.

Yep graphs don't tell the full story for sure, but they are a useful gatekeeper for tonality.

So you can roughly look at the graph and tell this will be bassy or bright, and it may be a gatekeeper for whether someone should buy it or avoid it.

But nothing beats putting the actual IEM in the ears and listening.

 

[r31ya]

Yep graphs don't tell the full story for sure, but they are a useful gatekeeper for tonality.

So you can roughly look at the graph and tell this will be bassy or bright, and it may be a gatekeeper for whether someone should buy it or avoid it.

But nothing beats putting the actual IEM in the ears and listening.

Seeing the graph is half the battle,
There still things like how the driver types react to the graph tuning. While it may graph the same, the drivers like DD, BA, Planar, Est, Peizo each have their own characteristic on how they convey the target FR.
There is still Soundstage, timbre and stuff.

but its still useful to give you the rough idea on where this IEM trying to go.