[DBaldock9]

I love this IEM, unfortunately it looks like I "broke" something. I lost all the lower frequencies and the only way to get bass back is to tape those small vents. This happened after I cleaned them. Perhaps I accidentally pushed dirt inside those holes and not out? Maybe I damaged something inside. I used the small cleaning tool (brush) that came with ASG 2.5.

EDIT: Just untaped 1 side and yep 0 bass

Others have noticed that the LZ A4 seem to have some sort of a "heat / humidity" sensitivity - which causes the Bass level to drop.
If you can place the earphones in a cool, dry place (maybe with some desiccant), you may find that they work fine after a while.

 

[silverbox]

Thanks. Will try that.

 

[X-Frame]

Question for everyone with these -- if I listen with Red Back / Black Front I have to keep the volume lower than I am used to, likely because of the increased treble. If I do a color swap, and switch to Black Back / Red Front, I notice I can increase the overall volume higher -- quite a bit actually, because I feel like it is loud enough.

Given that with the latter example I have to turn up the volume louder, does that technically mean that my ears are being subject to more volume (decibels) compared to the former example with Red / Black with the higher treble?

 

[Brooko]

With the first (black front filter) there is more upper mid-range presence and slightly more lower treble than with the red front filter. Because the mid-range is where most of the detail is, and we're most attuned to this set of frequencies, you are keeping the overall volume lower because you don't need to turn it up.

With the red - you are the opposite.

Everyone is different in their preferences. If you are using red and turning it up beyond safe levels, then you are better sticking to the black at lower levels. Only way to be sure though is to measure your listening level (pref with a dB meter)

 

[X-Frame]

With the first (black front filter) there is more upper mid-range presence and slightly more lower treble than with the red front filter. Because the mid-range is where most of the detail is, and we're most attuned to this set of frequencies, you are keeping the overall volume lower because you don't need to turn it up.

With the red - you are the opposite.

Everyone is different in their preferences. If you are using red and turning it up beyond safe levels, then you are better sticking to the black at lower levels. Only way to be sure though is to measure your listening level (pref with a dB meter)

Thank you! Makes sense. I went back to the Black Fronts because I like the extra detail and that I also don't need to turn the music up in order to hear everything. Seems like a win win to me. I may test out the Green's though too some more.

 

[PopZeus]

I've noticed that adding a lot of filtering, whether it's the front or back filters, lowers overall volume output and brings the soundstage in to a noticeable degree. Switched back to the black back filters. The sub-bass is really quite excellent on that setting.

 

[idchaw]

You should give spiral dot tips a try. They do refine the sound in maybe helpful ways (tighten up the bass and open up the mids slightly.)

I actually just received mine. I like the sound, but they're a bit big sadly (size M). At least for deep insertion, which is what I prefer with these. I might order them in size S or S/M - it's just that it took them so long to get here. And they're not really cheap either, but they sure are worth it though.

 

[tarhana]

I actually just received mine. I like the sound, but they're a bit big sadly (size M). At least for deep insertion, which is what I prefer with these. I might order them in size S or S/M - it's just that it took them so long to get here. And they're not really cheap either, but they sure are worth it though.

did you ordered it from amazon?

 

[idchaw]

did you ordered it from amazon?

Yes, I did. Are there any better options?

 

[tarhana]

Yes, I did. Are there any better options?

idk im looking for it too

 

[PopZeus]

I actually just received mine. I like the sound, but they're a bit big sadly (size M). At least for deep insertion, which is what I prefer with these. I might order them in size S or S/M - it's just that it took them so long to get here. And they're not really cheap either, but they sure are worth it though.

Yeah, I guess they're oversized compared to most tips. I don't know what it says that my ears need a large just to get a proper seal.

 

[DBaldock9]

Yeah, I guess they're oversized compared to most tips. I don't know what it says that my ears need a large just to get a proper seal.

Same here, and sometimes I wish they made a L+ size (for my left ear).

 

[tienbasse]

Others have noticed that the LZ A4 seem to have some sort of a "heat / humidity" sensitivity - which causes the Bass level to drop.
If you can place the earphones in a cool, dry place (maybe with some desiccant), you may find that they work fine after a while.

To me, it seems like it the same issues as some observe with other "full metal" IEMs like Fidue Sirius or the old Yamaha EPH-100.

Due to the full metal build of these IEMs, if the weather is much colder than body temperature, the heat difference between the outside face of the shell to the nozzle inside your ear canal tend to create some water condensation inside the nozzle when the IEM is worn for long period. This water may damage drivers and also tend to absorb vibrations, espcially the low frequencies (bass disappear first within water).

I suggest people carefully dry the nozzles and filters carefully after use.

In terms of engineering, it makes more sense for IEMs to either use plastic nozzles, or to isolate internal and external parts of the IEM shell by using different materials to break thermal conduction between those parts. IEMs built like that (99% of them) usually exhibit no condensation. And if people persist in using metal for IEMs shells, they should coat the inside with in a non-conductive coating/material to avoid condensation (plastic, elastomer...).

There is actually a nice analogy with car air intakes. They used to be built with aluminium pipes behind the air filter, which caused a lot of water condensation when cars were cooling down. They switched to ABS plastic and boum, condensation within the air pipes was gone!

 

[beemerm635]

i bought my pair at the beginning of april and love them endlessly, sounds incredible and i love the black/black filter combo. However, the outter clear layer of the cable began peeling off all over the cable within 2 months, and last week the left side cable detatched inside from the mmcx plug partly... so no sound. I have sent them back to Penon where i bought them from and theyve been great about it but i am quite unhappy about the quality of the cable for 300AUD pair of IEM's

 

[X-Frame]

I bought Spiral Dot's M and ML and unfortunately neither fit well, with the M fitting better but more uncomfortable since I need to push the IEM in further to get a seal. I am using probably the included M medium-bore all black tips that perfectly fit.

I believe it is because the Spiral Dot bores are huge and the front of the tips are cut short so the fits are different compared to the included, taller tips that extend further into the ear.

Should I try to go down to MS size? Since I already found tips that fit great, the only reason why I'd keep looking for a Spiral Dot fit is because of how it could improve the sound.

I am using Red Back / Black Front's by the way.