Head Gear Reviews by Dsnuts

ISN H20 H20 is the newest creation from our friends at ISN. As you all know these guys are not new to making some compelling sounding IEMs and the H20 so happens to be their next release. This one incorporates a large 13mm dynamic handling the bass to the mids with an addition of a specialized treble BA for the highs. I know we get caught up on driver count and what all them drivers do for IEMs but here we have two drivers utilized for what they do best in complete cohesion for the end sound. Before I get into the nitty gritty on what the H20 is...

Lime Ears Maris “Maris, Latin meaning “of the sea” , represents the ultimate expedition into the depths of sound. Its deep blue aesthetic with subtle green accents reflects the oceanic depths where life itself began. Like the vast oceans covering most of our planet, it offers endless possibilities for exploration, allowing seasoned audiophiles to rediscover their entire music collection with unprecedented depth and clarity.” The Lime Ears Maris is the top end of the Power Trio series of hybrids. In this case, is a quadbrid. A darker blue-gray...

Lime Ears Incognita “INCOGNITA Derived from “terra incognita” ( unknown land) takes you further into uncharted territories. A bold black design with volcanic red accents hints at the powerful, transformative listening experience that awaits brave explorers. Here, familiar music reveals new layers,rewarding the adventurous listener with deeper, more profound musical discoveries.” The middle child of the new Power Trio series of hybrids, the new Lime Ears Incognita I would consider the sleeper. Here is what I mean by this. It's not the intro to the...

Penon Totem Ultra. So Penon is flexing their muscles and coming up with some new cables and the recent trend for Penon is that they are doubling up the core count for established cables to bring a more substantial cable in the ASOS+X and the newer Pyramid VI and VIII and now we have the Totem Ultra. First let's dive into the make up of what the cable is about and then I will get into how the materials translate to what has become Penons flagship IEM cable. The Totem Ultra. Totem is made of what is essentially 3 different types of cables in one...

Simgot ET142 AKA Prometheus The newest IEM from Simgot is not without some minor controversy. Initial batches of the new Planar based hybrid from Simgot got some not so warm impressions from the regulars on the tube with some saying its good but the tuning is a bit hot. Some just outright did not like them. I do know on open listen they are not ideal. My own initial take on the ET142 was not all that complimentary of the IEM but this was one where I had a feeling a bit of time tinkering with its tuning nozzles with a bit of burning in would help. I...

NiceHCK NX8 NiceHCKs budget tribrid IEMs started with the first iteration of the NX7 tribrid IEMs back in November of 2019. The NX7s always consisted of dual dynamics for bass + 4BAs for mids and trebles, lastly a Piezoelectric ceramic or PZT driver for upper trebles. I had the opportunity to see the evolution of the NX7 sound as I have reviewed all 4 versions of them. The most discouraging aspect of the NX7 was that it was using a very confined smaller all plastic housing which limited the sound stage of the given sound. The MK2 version which was...

ISN EBC80 ISN is a sister company of Penon audio, not really a secret but the tuning direction of the ISN IEM has seen a slight shift. Actually we are seeing somewhat of an evolution of the Penon branded IEMs and even Tansio Mirai which is also a partner company that has seen a shift of sound direction. Traditionally ISN IEMs were the fun version of the Penon tuning angle meaning ISN IEMs always included some bass at the forefront of its tunings. The H60 and now the EBC80 both have that bass emphasis but now sound more like traditional Penon IEMs. I...

Tansio Mirai Armor. The Armor is the newest tribrid IEM from Tansio Mirai. So these guys are making moves in the industry. No longer are they sticking to a strict all BA diet of IEMs that was their staple, they are clearly moving toward hybrids and tribrids with the incorporation of what has become a staple bass implementation, dual coaxial dynamics for bass. I remember not too long ago if a manufacturer tuned an IEM for bass performance you can pretty much forget about an immersive mids experience and or any type of articulate trebles to go with...

Lime Ears Terra Lime Ears is a Polish In ear company started in 2010 by their founder and designer Emil. Who reached out to me for a review of the Lime Ears Terra. I have to admit I have been so caught up in Chi fi IEMs as most of Headfi is right now, that it was quite the surprise to be able to audition how “others do it”. After researching Lime Ear IEMs, my curiosity got the best of me and I just couldn't say no. Lime Ears products have nothing to do with the mass manufacturing processes of the Chinese made IEMs. Seems they are all handcrafted...

Penon Conductor Everyone knows Penon makes some fantastic IEMs at all price levels but did you know they are gifted and talented at making earbuds? IEM guys are so caught up on the in head details and how the sound brings joy to your everyday and the one sound aspect IEMs have a hard time breaking through, is sound stage. I know some IEMs are much better at sound stage than others but buds on the other hand don’t really have that issue. Case in point the newly developed Conductor. The conductor is the very first IEM to incorporate a full 11.2mm...

Penon Pyramid VIII Ok so I got my wish. I posted on my last review of the Penon Pyramid cables back in June of 2024 that an 8 wire variant does not exist. Well it seems Penon has been taking feedback about their cables and certainly my complaint that an 8 wire version does not exist. Well today I am bringing the very good news about what you guys will be reading about here in my review of the new Penon Pyramid VI and the Pyramid VIII. That is 6 wire and the 8 wire version of the Pyramids. It is well known in the industry that when you add more...

Penon Pyramid VI Ok so I got my wish. I posted on my last review of the Penon Pyramid cables back in June of this year that an 8 wire variant does not exist. For folks that don’t know the original Pyramid cable is a 4 wired variant and quite excellent I might add, you can read my take on them here. Well, it seems Penon has been taking feedback about their cables and certainly my complaint that an 8-wire version does not exist. Well today I am bringing the very good news about what you guys will be reading about here in my review of the new Penon...

Simgot EW300 Simgot folks are hard at work to bring personal audio enthusiasts some very good bang for your money IEMs. Just because an IEM is considered in the budget sector, does that mean it has to sacrifice sound quality to do so? The answer to that is not really. If any of their IEMs are indicators on what Simgot has been doing. You can guess the newer EW300 will also have some formidable chops when it comes to sound quality. The EW300 is a tribrid meaning it is using 3 types of drivers for its sound quality. A nicely resolving 10mm ceramic...

Penon Rival RIVAL “a person or thing competing with another for the same objective or for superiority in the same field of activity.” I know a lot of folks are surprised to see a new TOTL IEM from Penon fairly close to the release of the Voltage. While Voltage was marketed as a flagship product. The actual TOTL or Top Of The Line IEM Penon makes up till now is the new Rival. I am fairly certain they planned its release and every facet of its design the way they have. With the inevitable release of the Rival the jump in performance from prior...

Fidue Thunder. Earbuds fill a very specific niche. Either you're a bud fan or an IEM fan and in some cases a headphone fan that wants to dab in IEMs but like the convenience of using an in earbud vs in ear monitors. Some folks swing at all levels of transducers that throw sound into the ears and are ok with a bud as much as an IEM. In any case, what sounds good and is comfortable to use can easily become a favorite way of listening to our music. The new Fidue Thunder is a bit like a combination of the 3 types of headphone I have mentioned all in...

TSMR-Shock Recent earphones for Tansio Mirai have seen a change of sound direction, both the Tansio Mirai FEAT and the Tansio Mirai X utilize coaxial dynamics which if you have never tried an earphone with coaxial dynamics. The sheer energy that is emitted with two powerful dynamics handling the bass coaxially brings instant attention to its presentation. Now we see the best utilization of that dual coaxial bass presentation in the Tansio Mirai Shock. From all indications, the Shock seems to be using very similar drivers to the Tansio Mirai-X but...

Penon Fan3 I think Penon learned a thing or two when they introduced their Fan2. The shell design was a bit of a hit or miss due to an unconventional shape, with just about every review on the nets mentioning that they had an awkward longer nozzle shape. Which means if you didn't have the correct ear shape or a larger ear canal, then the Fan2 was not going to be comfortable or will they sound correct for you. This caused some issue among enthusiasts that got to hear them. The reviews and impressions of the Fan2 was all over the place and it...

Penon ASOS+X X stands for Xtra cores. Adding 4 more cores to the 8 on the original ASOS+ now makes it a total of 12 cores. That makes up a lot of ASOS+ material. A mix of a silver plated alloy copper and a silver plated OCC copper. Alloy Silver OCC Silver Aka ASOS.The plus being it also uses a palladium plated plug. Going from the 8 core ASOS+ to a 12 core variety adds 4 cores of what is already fairly thick material. More ASOS+ is never a bad thing and I believe it was our buddy @Bosk that suggested to Penon that they make a 12 cored version. In...

Simgot Supermix 4 Simgot needs no introduction. I think most folks in the community know who they are by now and their dedication to great sounding budget friendly IEMs have garnered a well deserved reputation and more importantly a nice following among enthusiasts here on headfi. As an eclectic music listening enthusiast, I am always looking for the next big thing in audio and I suppose IEMs are my main passion. The last IEM I reviewed from Simgot was a refresh of one of their excellent dynamic designs in the EA500LM I did a review for here. It's...

Penon Pyramid. IEM cables are more popular than ever and with an increase of types of IEMs, the sheer numbers of them. Beyond the sources we listen with these IEMs there will always be a need for the ultimate enhancement for these IEMs which comes down to two simple accessories. The best fitting tips and arguably even more important, a well matching cable. The idea of a hybrid IEM or a hybrid cable design is that a specific driver or material in the case of a cable is introduced to enhance certain aspects about a sound utilizing what that material...