[jsmiller58]

Burn in is very real, and we finish the QC process with it. Some companies (eg, Campfire Audio) burn in during their QC, so they sound better ootb.

In my experience, every iem with DDs has improved with real burn in...continuous play hooked up to a dap or desktop for 50-100 hours. I recently had a new Loki and it needed this. I realize brain burn in is also real, but some of these drivers need a lot of current to get settled.

Why did they all... improve? Isn't that a bit odd?

 

[o0genesis0o]

if buying higher priced IEMs becomes a trap that lifts up the benchmarks on what we think is good and what we think is bad instead of just sticking to one or a few IEMs that we truly enjoy

You can never unhear the higher level sound quality. Maybe it’s better to be ignorant I believe in the concept of “trained listener.” At first, all IEMs sound the same, and we don’t even know what to test when someone hand us a pair. Then we hear tonal differences. Then we hear staging and imaging. Then we hear resolution. Then we hear attack, decay, texture.

Then we reach a point where every IEM is kinda wrong one way or another. That’s where real trouble starts.

 

[cobrabucket]

You can never unhear the higher level sound quality. Maybe it’s better to be ignorant I believe in the concept of “trained listener.” At first, all IEMs sound the same, and we don’t even know what to test when someone hand us a pair. Then we hear tonal differences. Then we hear staging and imaging. Then we hear resolution. Then we hear attack, decay, texture.

Then we reach a point where every IEM is kinda wrong one way or another. That’s where real trouble starts.

This is so true. Luckily I am not quite up to the progression "where every IEM is kinda wrong..." Yet.
But yeah, once your hear something on the next level, you can never un-hear that.
It's very similar to going from Standard Def [480i] to HD [1080P]. And then to 2k, And the 4k. etc. Once your brain perceives it, it's all over!
When I first listened to my Focal Clear OG, I wanted so badly to say it was too similar with my other headphones at the time [mainly the 6XX].
Boy, was I wrong.
I literally sat down and within about 90 seconds, I am like ... "Oh $#!+... I am definitely going to have to buy these."
ALL. OVER!!!
For me, the Penon 10th AE and more recently the Sound Rhyme DTE900 has been the closest moment to that with IEMs that I've experienced.

 

[DrewVz]

You can never unhear the higher level sound quality. Maybe it’s better to be ignorant I believe in the concept of “trained listener.” At first, all IEMs sound the same, and we don’t even know what to test when someone hand us a pair. Then we hear tonal differences. Then we hear staging and imaging. Then we hear resolution. Then we hear attack, decay, texture.

Then we reach a point where every IEM is kinda wrong one way or another. That’s where real trouble starts.

Lol, that's the problem for sure. Most people have no clue about the sound quality that awaits them with a different IEM/headphone/cable/speaker. In their own world, they think that they have a good idea of what "high end" sound means. But once they hear the next level, their entire world is shattered and they are forced to reckon with the disconnect between their beliefs and reality. As with many others here, I've dealt with this several times myself already... and I'm sure I'll deal with it many times in the future.

Hubris and ego prevent people from facing the reality that their beliefs may not be supported by their own experiences. People need to be flexible and humble enough to realize that there is more out there to be experienced than what they may believe is possible.

 

[BlankName]

Must've just hit the magic burn in time because my Quattro's aggressiveness/sibilance is gone and sounds airy and open now.

 

[shiningtofu]

Bought this cable out of curiosity from you two discussing it. Cable is really flexible for simply being a twist rather than a braid; I like the feel alot.



Wow this cable has such a large effect it is not subtle.

That said it was not my expectations. I was expecting a cable that was going to give reverb emphasis to higher treble involving stuff.

But this cable seems to make notes have a more rounded feeling. Heck it's almost "dark" sounding compared to my expectations.

This is really interesting. I should check it's impedance later to see if that is anything significant or is negligible.

Spacing and imaging reminds me of being closer to a pure copper-cable rather than a silver-plated copper. But ultimately between those; and not the expectations of a thin gauge pure silver cable. It is a nice intermediate because you don't get that "glitch noise" reverb to treble stuff that plated-copper has.


Overall, this cable is the opposite of "aggressive" of which I was expecting. But this is still a nice discovery. It is still nice for the Penon Quattro, though still not at the level of aggressiveness my Nightjar Mira does.

Mind sharing if it emphasises any parts of the bass, mids, treble on the Quattro? Also curious if it improves technical performance in anyway. Strongly considering this for my quattro as I want to use my asos with another iem

 

[szore]

Because the brain is an amazing organ that works very hard to adapt to the sensory inputs.

One way I experience this is to listen to iems or headphones and then apply EQ. Upon listening with EQ they sound off. But if after a while I disable EQ they sound... off. Brain became accustomed to the sound in both cases.

(P.S. I admit I do at least some burn in on audio gear because... well, like Pascal's Wager, just in case )

See...I have the opposite experience; to me EQ ruins the sound, when I switch it off, instant improvement.

 

[theintention]

@Dsnuts which of the modular Penon/ISN cables under 200 would you recommend for a dd + planar + BA tribrid (szalayi)? I have such decision paralysis about this for some reason i need the experts advice

others welcome too ofc

edit - also is the H8Plus a decent budget option for a planar?

 

[cobrabucket]

@Dsnuts which of the modular Penon/ISN cables under 200 would you recommend for a dd + planar + BA tribrid (szalayi)? I have such decision paralysis about this for some reason i need the experts advice

others welcome too ofc

I recently got the ASOS and IMO, that is a BOSS cable!
Obviously, I don't have a SZA, but would imagine it would pair well with most IEMs.
I currently have it on my MEST OG, so it definitely can synergize well with tribrids [in this case, the more traditional DD, BA, EST form].

 

[Dsnuts]

@Dsnuts which of the modular Penon/ISN cables under 200 would you recommend for a dd + planar + BA tribrid (szalayi)? I have such decision paralysis about this for some reason i need the experts advice

others welcome too ofc

edit - also is the H8Plus a decent budget option for a planar?

What would you like better on the sound. More bass? Warmth? Detail? Stage? If you could make a part of the sound better what would it be?

 

[theintention]

What would you like better on the sound. More bass? Warmth? Detail? Stage? If you could make a part of the sound better what would it be?

Probably the details a bit. everything else is top tier on this IEM imo.

 

[theintention]

I recently got the ASOS and IMO, that is a BOSS cable!
Obviously, I don't have a SZA, but would imagine it would pair well with most IEMs.
I currently have it on my MEST OG, so it definitely can synergize well with tribrids [in this case, the more traditional DD, BA, EST form].

my only hang up with this one is aesthetic haha i need to get it over it probably, just doesnt match the colors super well

 

[DrewVz]

Probably the details a bit. everything else is top tier on this IEM imo.

I'm sorry... but you want MORE details from Szalayi? Good luck.

I will cable roll some options on Szalayi this weekend just for fun and I'll let you know. But I'm not sure I have anything in my stock that will draw MORE details from Szalayi. It's already the most detailed IEM that I own.

 

[theintention]

I'm sorry... but you want MORE details from Szalayi? Good luck.

I will cable roll some options on Szalayi this weekend just for fun and I'll let you know. But I'm not sure I have anything in my stock that will draw MORE details from Szalayi. It's already the most detailed IEM that I own.

hahahaha, ya tbh sound quality from a cable isn't my biggest concern. and you aren't wrong, these things are already monster details but i could use an extra spark on the treble now and then. I am more concerned with swapping out the OG cable to something nicer and modular. if you find the time to do that i would appreciate it!

 

[Dsnuts]

ASOS is a great allrouder meaning it will be very versatile. For more details you want some silver as a part of the cable make up.

New version of the Penon Mix is modular. You want extra sparkle this should do it but then half of its cores are a very solid crystal copper. My gut feeling is this is what your looking for. And it is one of the softest most pliable cable Penon makes. Great cable. https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/penon-mix.25122/review/25789/ My old 2021 review on them