[mucklechumps]

The Kiwi Ears Cadenza is, to me, as good as my Sennheiser IE600's. My vote would be for these two sets.

 

[DaveStarWalker]

The Kiwi Ears Cadenza is, to me, as good as my Sennheiser IE600's. My vote would be for these two sets.

I know (listened to) neither of them.

I quote

 

[mucklechumps]

I know (listened to) neither of them.

I quote

What does $30 buy you in Paris? Take a pass on the vino and baguette tomorrow and pick up a set of Kiwi Cadenza :-D
Well, maybe not the baguette.

 

[DaveStarWalker]

What does $30 buy you in Paris? Take a pass on the vino and baguette tomorrow and pick up a set of Kiwi Cadenza :-D
Well, maybe not the baguette.

All my life in a few words

 

[o0genesis0o]

Not sure if it is the “best”, but I like FiiO FD7 and Dunu Zen Pro. Patiently waiting for the day these models are discontinued so I can get a good discount.

 

[gikigill]

Not sure if it is the “best”, but I like FiiO FD7 and Dunu Zen Pro. Patiently waiting for the day these models are discontinued so I can get a good discount.

I could sell you a FD7, even do home delivery

 

[o0genesis0o]

I could sell you a FD7, even do home delivery

I might take that deal one day after saving some monies, and nothing good comes up. I'm still thinking M9 and your Z1R. It was magical.

Let's catch up some day. I'll put it on calendar to send you an invitation

 

[WarHead75]

Im stuck between the Dunu Luna, Softears Turii Ti, and Dita Perpetua. None of which I can find a demo anywhere. Hopefully I can find them at NY’s CanJam 2024 in March.

I’m leaning more towards a DD that sounds full body, no crazy recessed midrange, no piercing treble like the Final Audio A8000, more punch in the mid bass and with a pleasing natural sounding timbre, can still keep up with the A8000 in terms of technicalities too.

Dunu Luna may fit the bill with rolled off treble and punchy character but does it sound like the ZMF Verite? My favorite sounding headphones but I much prefer IEMs. Dita Perpetua has been praised for its timbre but at $3000 its technicalities have been described as being behind Luna and much less A8000. Seems overpriced

 

[dlelikov]

My vote is for JVC FW10000. There is something magical about their sound. And these iems themselves are a work of art.

 

[gikigill]

I might take that deal one day after saving some monies, and nothing good comes up. I'm still thinking M9 and your Z1R. It was magical.

Let's catch up some day. I'll put it on calendar to send you an invitation

Whenever you're ready. I've added a few more more TOTL IEMs.

 

[NghiHuynh97]

.

 

[Bosk]

I was once a staunch advocate for single-DDs & refused to listen with anything else, back when multi-driver IEM coherence & fit often left a lot to be desired.

At the budget end of the spectrum single-DD IEMs will always make a lot of sense because they're cost-effective to produce relative to hybrids, though of course that's a generalisation as it's very expensive for brands to design & manufacture their own dynamic drivers. Nearly all brands use off-the-shelf DDs though.

At higher price points, single-DD IEMs don't make much sense to me anymore. Modern hybrid IEMs are extremely coherent and though they can be quite large manufacturers have learned how to sculpt them to fit the ear geometry of most people very comfortably.

Hybrids can cover the entire frequency spectrum in a way no single-DD can. It isn't possible for a single driver to do it all, every single-DD IEM I've heard lacks the sense of fullness across all frequencies only multi-driver IEMs are capable of. It's true that single-DDs can deliver amazing tonality & coherence, so if those are things you prioritise above all else perhaps single-DDs do make sense, though I find hybrids are incredibly close in both departments now.

The problem is single-DD technical performance is always limited compared to multi-driver IEMs. The A8000s I owned remain the most technically capable single-DDs IEMs I've heard, but are absolutely smoked by expensive hybrids which have better tonality to boot. The same applies to Singularity, Turri Ti & IE900, which to my ears offer mid-fi technicalities at best - in fact you can probably spend just a few hundred on multi-driver IEMs with higher resolution, larger soundstages and so on.

Having said that there's a lingering charm to small, easily pocketable single-DD IEMs that I definitely acknowledge & understand.

Many of us hoped planar IEMs would become the next generation of single-driver IEMs capable of mixing it with hybrids from a technicalities standpoint, after we discovered how impressive Campfire's Supermoon was. In fact I suspect CFA's planar Supermoon 2023 is now the most technically capable single-driver IEM out there, though I haven't A/Bed them with the A8000s or Singularity to verify it. Unfortunately like every other planar I've heard Supermoon's tonality can feel a little metallic, and tonality is a big reason I'd opt for a single-driver IEM in the first place. Perhaps hope lies with the next generation of planar drivers to narrow the gap to hybrid performance.

 

[zlayde]

I was once a staunch advocate for single-DDs & refused to listen with anything else, back when multi-driver IEM coherence & fit often left a lot to be desired.

At the budget end of the spectrum single-DD IEMs will always make a lot of sense because they're cost-effective to produce relative to hybrids, though of course that's a generalisation as it's very expensive for brands to design & manufacture their own dynamic drivers. Nearly all brands use off-the-shelf DDs though.

At higher price points, single-DD IEMs don't make much sense to me anymore. Modern hybrid IEMs are extremely coherent and though they can be quite large manufacturers have learned how to sculpt them to fit the ear geometry of most people very comfortably.

Hybrids can cover the entire frequency spectrum in a way no single-DD can. It isn't possible for a single driver to do it all, every single-DD IEM I've heard lacks the sense of fullness across all frequencies only multi-driver IEMs are capable of. It's true that single-DDs can deliver amazing tonality & coherence, so if those are things you prioritise above all else perhaps single-DDs do make sense, though I find hybrids are incredibly close in both departments now.

The problem is single-DD technical performance is always limited compared to multi-driver IEMs. The A8000s I owned remain the most technically capable single-DDs IEMs I've heard, but are absolutely smoked by expensive hybrids which have better tonality to boot. The same applies to Singularity, Turri Ti & IE900, which to my ears offer mid-fi technicalities at best - in fact you can probably spend just a few hundred on multi-driver IEMs with higher resolution, larger soundstages and so on.

Having said that there's a lingering charm to small, easily pocketable single-DD IEMs that I definitely acknowledge & understand.

Many of us hoped planar IEMs would become the next generation of single-driver IEMs capable of mixing it with hybrids from a technicalities standpoint, after we discovered how impressive Campfire's Supermoon was. In fact I suspect CFA's planar Supermoon 2023 is now the most technically capable single-driver IEM out there, though I haven't A/Bed them with the A8000s or Singularity to verify it. Unfortunately like every other planar I've heard Supermoon's tonality can feel a little metallic, and tonality is a big reason I'd opt for a single-driver IEM in the first place. Perhaps hope lies with the next generation of planar drivers to narrow the gap to hybrid performance.

Great points here and it's exactly why I want a good capable one. In essence: so I can listen on the go more conveniently. It does not match the good hybrids I've heard. Note: some hybrids are just not that good. The real bar to go after is a well-tuned hybrid.

 

[redrol]

[edit]​

 

[samtvt]

I love IMR Elan (1DD+1BC).
Actually multi- DD iems like Penon serial, UM 3DT sound great too.
Any thoughts on isabelle? Is it grainy in treble?