[mejoshua]

Curious how you think it compares to:

Meze 99 Classics Walnut-Gold
Cypher Labs C6IEM
Campfire Audio Lyra
Campfire Audio Jupiter
IBasso IT03
Noble Massdrop X IEM
Periodic Audio Mg IEM

Be vs iBasso IT03 - I think the Be will have weightier, thicker mids. Also there will be a greater bass response in terms of quantity, especially the mid bass vs the IT03. The IT03 has a leaner and faster bass, with an emphasis on subbass rumble. The IT03 should also have a slightly thinner treble. Generally from memory the Be will have an overall 'thicker' sound, whereas the IT03 will be quicker and lighter.

Be vs Mg - You can check out my review on the Be and the Mg - The Be will give you more details, better technicalities e.g. larger staging and greater realism in the reproduction of sound. I find the Be has better more realistic midrange reproduction. Midrange notes are more true to life and 'warmer' than the Mg. Also, Mg presents a smaller stage and a more balanced bass response. Be has a greater quantity of bass, which some might not like.

Hope this helps!

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

@mejoshua

Thank you for your impression/comparison. I'm just interested in how much, if even possible, the Be is a match or maybe even best Final Audio Heaven VI. I know the VI's cost way more but I love mid forward and clarity and they pull it off extremely well with no sibilance or bloating at any frequency. I still have not heard an IEM that comes close except others in the same line up from Final Audio. I just want something that is similar for every day and or on the go. I don't like to take +$500.00 IEM's out and about. Even if the Be sounds like RE-600's with more mid forward and more bass and similar high's I think I would like them but still unsure. I primarily listen to a lot of vocals.

 

[mejoshua]

I used to own a pair of RE600s. They are very smooth sounding and had a mid focus. I prefer the Be for its staging presentation - definitely more height and depth while the RE600 had good width. From memory the Be is also better at portraying realism and detail, with better quality and quantity of bass than the RE600. Treble would also be cleaner on the Be.

The Be needs some run in time. Initially I found the mids a bit boxy and constrained but after about 100 odd hours it opened up considerably and now sounds very good

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

I used to own a pair of RE600s. They are very smooth sounding and had a mid focus. I prefer the Be for its staging presentation - definitely more height and depth while the RE600 had good width. From memory the Be is also better at portraying realism and detail, with better quality and quantity of bass than the RE600. Treble would also be cleaner on the Be.

The Be needs some run in time. Initially I found the mids a bit boxy and constrained but after about 100 odd hours it opened up considerably and now sounds very good

So after the 100 hours do the Be's Mids match or surpass the RE-600's?

 

[datranz]

be is an excellent iem for vocals, its is very intimate as if the artist is serenading to you. it has a very organic and natural sounding character. Although the resolution is incredible and the treble extends well past other iems I've heard, but it lacks a little bite in the lower treble to me. I'm not sure if its a con or not depending on the individual, it is a preference thing not valid for everyone. And yes after 200 hrs. they do open up quite a bit compare to new. right now I'm listening to multiple iems. at the high end level, I feel not anyone is better than the others, just different. Btw, the mids is very clear, has way more resolution than the re600 even new.

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

be is an excellent iem for vocals, its is very intimate as if the artist is serenading to you. it has a very organic and natural sounding character. Although the resolution is incredible and the treble extends well past other iems I've heard, but it lacks a little bite in the lower treble to me. I'm not sure if its a con or not depending on the individual, it is a preference thing not valid for everyone. And yes after 200 hrs. they do open up quite a bit compare to new. right now I'm listening to multiple iems. at the high end level, I feel not anyone is better than the others, just different. Btw, the mids is very clear, has way more resolution than the re600 even new.

Awesome. Thank you.

 

[mejoshua]

be is an excellent iem for vocals, its is very intimate as if the artist is serenading to you. it has a very organic and natural sounding character. Although the resolution is incredible and the treble extends well past other iems I've heard, but it lacks a little bite in the lower treble to me. I'm not sure if its a con or not depending on the individual, it is a preference thing not valid for everyone. And yes after 200 hrs. they do open up quite a bit compare to new. right now I'm listening to multiple iems. at the high end level, I feel not anyone is better than the others, just different. Btw, the mids is very clear, has way more resolution than the re600 even new.

Yep agree with datranz. Mids are v detailed. RE600 might even sound slightly veiled compared to Be

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

Yep agree with datranz. Mids are v detailed. RE600 might even sound slightly veiled compared to Be

Then its obvious the Be are better than RE-600 even the V2 mid wise. So then I guess how much better are they than Final Audio VI? The VI's have very forward mids I just love. Not many have or have heard of this IEM but they have amazing mids. I wonder how the Be compare and if they can surpass the VI then I would order a pair of Be. Would someone know?

 

[Richsvt]

I got my Be yesterday and started to listen to see what the sound was out of the box. It was very nice. I can see that these are very mid-centric, Incredible details, that I was craving. The bass seemed a little weak but the treble was fantastic. These are very sensitive to source. I started out with the X5iii (no eq) then switched to the Plenue D (no eq but using Jet effect-BBE settings) and saw huge increase in bass presence. The level of details that were missing from the Mg were apparent. I only got a couple hours in, though so I expect to tease out a better impression this weekend. I am running them on pink noise right now and will re-evaluate after 24 hours. Once I do that, I will try to give some insight as compared to my other pieces. Some won't be apples to apples as I have some pure BA drivers and some hybrids as well. The closest match for a pure dynamic driver will be my Campfire Lyra v1.

So far, these are really nice. Thanks Dan for a wonderful IEM.

 

[Richsvt]

So, I let the Be burn in for about 48 hours. I am not sure I can hear much of difference from that. Just wanted to try to see if it could help…

I mentioned earlier that the comparison against most of my other IEMs wouldn’t be a great match as they have different driver strategies. I feel that the Campfire Lyra v1 would be the best match (even better as it uses a beryllium driver).

I am using my Cowon Plenue D and Fiio X5iii for listening. The Plenue D has a wonderful BBE/Jet effect to enhance certain pre-set EQ settings. The X5iii is being run w/o eq. I use the x5 at home and the Plenue D while out and about.

The Be is not a bass monster. I knew that going into this and was actually expecting it be more neutral if anything. I am not a bass-head and was really looking to get something that shines with details and is more mids-focused. The Be did this and more. I think there is some decent bass here, just not that slamming sub-bass that some crave. The bass is tight and controlled and very accurate.

The treble is very nice, not aggressive but clear and without any sibilance. I do like the amount of energy here, got to hear small nuances that the Mg was missing.

Now to talk about the Mids. Wow. This is just fantastic. Micro-details all over the place. Listening to Steely Dan and Aerosmith and had to re-listen to some tracks as hearing stuff I had forgotten were there and needed to make sure that I was hearing them. Just excellent.

Instrument separation was superb and accurate. Sound stage is wide and deep but seems to lack a little vertical extension. I hate to use the term but for some tracks, there was some holographic presentation. Speaking of such, these are very sensitive to low-res tracks. Use some quality files, and the Be will sing for you. The Be seems also relatively resistant to tip rolling while the Lyra provides more changes from foam to silicone.

So, you are wondering about the Lyra I mentioned?

When I got these, they were a little dark. Not veiled, but just somewhat suppressed. I used a pure silver cable from Norne Audio and they started to reveal loads of detail and extended the treble. They retained that dark smoothness but can really show some sparkle now.

Even though the driver in the Be is larger than the Lyra (10mm vs 8.5mm), the Lyra seems have better sub-bass extension. There is some darkness in the Lyra while the Be is neutral. Due to differences in the casing (ceramic for the Lyra vs polycarbonate for the Be), the Be feels weightless while the Lyra is heavier. I like the ability to change the cable and it helped in the Lyra. I understand of the engineering reasons Periodic decided against using a removable cable, just would have been nice to change it to manipulate the sound even more (custom cable dis-believers can stay silent). The cable for the Be is non-microphonic but tangles quite easily.

Ok, so I dip into the other IEMs I have and will briefly say something. The BAs I have (Noble X-2 BAs, Cypher Labs C6- 3 BAs and Campfire Jupiter- 4 BAs) are just wonderful. Fantastic details, awesome bass extension and, with the Jupiter, just dreamy soundstage, separation and details. The Be comes very close to these, but seems to lose a little while the others carry better energy translation, i.e. more musical. I know the frequency and waterfall graphs may spell out a different story but, from my seat-of-the-pants experience, the BAs were better. They were also mostly 2-3 times the cost. So, there’s that.

The Hybrids (IBasso IT03 and DQSM D2- both 2 BAs and 1 DD) are magical in ways that are hard to quantify. They deliver wonderful levels of bass and provide some serious details. I am astounded by the IT03 as it hits at levels that some pricier units 2-3 times its costs can deliver.

I am surprised that the Be can match the hybrids really nicely. The Be can provide those wonderful mids details and give nice, tight bass and do it with a single driver. That’s a neat trick of tuning. Just goes to show that Dan knows his craft.

I do have the Periodic Mg as well but everything I said about the Be, minus the mid-centric and micro details emphasis is the same. For the money, the Mg is truly a great piece. I just miss the details, hence me getting the Be. The Mg will be passed along to my younger son. He saw the Mg trouncing the Sennheiser Momentum IEM. He was very fond of the Momentums so switching the Mg was groundbreaking for him.

If I had to choose just one? Yeah right, there’s no way I can do that. The beauty of this hobby is that I don’t have to. I can choose the tool that best serves my mood, and circumstance.

Very happy to say that the Be will fit nicely in my arsenal. When I want vocals and details up front, the Be will be the one I grab. I am heading out of the country to do a wine tour in France this summer and these will be in my bag.

Hope this was helpful for some folks considering the Be. Well Done Dan. I will keep my eye on forthcoming projects from Periodic Audio.

 

[datranz]

Alsome report, thats how I felt. It's a really good iem for vocals, spine chilling realism. But when I say it's missing bite in lower treble, I mean compare to my other multi ba's iems. balance armatures seems have more energy, the be is too balanced. Too balanced!!!lol!!! (Personal preference). however, I found the critical mid bass is straight out perfect.

 

[RollsDownWindowsManually]

Any idea how the BE sounds compared to an Etymotic ER-4 or a Shure E-4? Those are the two other IEM's I have around.

Used to have an Adire Shiva in my car so this intrigues me.

 

[VolumusMaximus]

Burning in the Be now.. these are a detail monster. They really scale up with a good source, and they like power. These sound better the louder they get. Looking forward to what they will be like at 100 hrs.

 

[meringo]

I've had these for some time now and would like to add some thoughts:

Pros:
1. Excellent sound signature... probably my favorite out of all my gear. These have the bass extension and quantity I've been looking for in an audiophile grade IEM.
2. Incredibly lightweight

Cons:
1. Cable grips to everything... I'm a NYC commuter and this isn't ideal. I have to consciously know where the cable lays at all times, to avoid snags or general discomfort -- Something I've never had to do with an IEM
2. Cable length uneven (not related to bullet 1, it's been like this since day 1) Is this by design, or is my set defective? One side always seems to fall out because of it... unequal pull.

 

[Rick T.]

Hello,

New here to the forums...

First off.. Thanks for starting this thread.

I'm interested in the Be. Has anyone tried the AQ Dragonfly Red with the Be? Was it a good match with an iPhone as transport for the DF Red?

I've auditioned the single dynamic driver Sennheiser IE800 with the DF Red + an old iPhone 5s. And I must say it sounds great, it's the type of balance and tonality I'm after. The only problem is the price of the Senns is more than double the Be's..

For those who have compared, do you think the Be approaches 90% or the IE800's performance or even exceed it in some areas?

Oh, I mainly use the Onkyo HF Player app for uncompressed tracks, and some streaming..

Rick

PS - I've listened to a diy Adire sub in a 2 channel audio set up over 12 years ago. It is quite impressive.