[jwbrent]

This graph worries me a bit ...

 

[mochill]

This graph worries me a bit ...

Why friend , looks excellent to me

 

[jant71]

Doesn't look like it would be real though. That plateau from 2 on looks like data manipulation and not the real thing.

 

[mochill]

I have some iem with similar graph , they are sound real

 

[SciOC]

Anyway, back to the i99....

I'm going to come out and say it. I'm at 160+ hours of burn in now...

This is only for bassheads or those who love the build....

It's a tad bright, and the other aspects of the sound are nothing special. Soundstage is average, separation average, detail below average due to the bass bleed. Not much sparkle in the treble, and the uf ybf isso14 has better timbre.

But that's why I'm here, right? The bass.

It is very good, albeit probably on the "slower" side for many at this price.

Poor man's, but better legend X? BGGAR is crazy on this one. That set is magic. This set is just good.

I'm going to continue burning it in to 300+ hours and play with tips/cables/Eq/DSP but thus far, I've gone from impressed by the potential to meh with more time.

The quest is going to continue. It's not a bad set by any means, it's just that there is just as good on the market for $60 just with a tiny bit less bass extension. The returns on this set are very, very diminishing.

If I could just get the bass from this set on the TRI I3 I'd be a happy camper (for a few days at least, this is headfi after all).

Also, this set clearly needs a price reduction. The asking price is way too high when other sets with similar bery DDs but several expensive BAs in addition are going for similar prices. The build isn't worth that much money. I'd say these would best be priced around $250-300, they'd be more compelling to me at that price.

I might keep them in my collection to compare other sets to, but I feel like this might be one of my bigger wild goose chase purchases.... An expensive role player in my collection.

 

[jwbrent]

Anyway, back to the i99....

I'm going to come out and say it. I'm at 160+ hours of burn in now...

This is only for bassheads or those who love the build....

It's a tad bright, and the other aspects of the sound are nothing special. Soundstage is average, separation average, detail below average due to the bass bleed. Not much sparkle in the treble, and the uf ybf isso14 has better timbre.

But that's why I'm here, right? The bass.

It is very good, albeit probably on the "slower" side for many at this price.

Poor man's, but better legend X? BGGAR is crazy on this one. That set is magic. This set is just good.

I'm going to continue burning it in to 300+ hours and play with tips/cables/Eq/DSP but thus far, I've gone from impressed by the potential to meh with more time.

The quest is going to continue. It's not a bad set by any means, it's just that there is just as good on the market for $60 just with a tiny bit less bass extension. The returns on this set are very, very diminishing.

If I could just get the bass from this set on the TRI I3 I'd be a happy camper (for a few days at least, this is headfi after all).

Also, this set clearly needs a price reduction. The asking price is way too high when other sets with similar bery DDs but several expensive BAs in addition are going for similar prices. The build isn't worth that much money. I'd say these would best be priced around $250-300, they'd be more compelling to me at that price.

I might keep them in my collection to compare other sets to, but I feel like this might be one of my bigger wild goose chase purchases.... An expensive role player in my collection.

Understand your position, but get the extra time on them before you decide to sell it. For me, this is a genre specific IEM that nothing in my collection can reproduce, so they are a keeper. Plus, I really like the build although I’ll likely experiment with better cables in the future.

Some of the under $150 Chi-Fi models hitting the market are putting a lot of pressure on the mid tier priced models, for sure.

 

[SciOC]

For me, this is a genre specific IEM that nothing in my collection can reproduce, so they are a keeper.

This is a very good descriptor from my standpoint as well. They articulate bass at some lower frequencies that other sets just cannot physically do. I honestly don't see myself selling them unless something else comes along that is as good at that, but has better staging/presence/sparkle and is a reasonable price. That's basically the quest I'm on, I still believe it CAN be engineered....

By no means a bad set, but definitely one with tradeoffs for the huge bass.

The quest for the perfect basshead set for me will continue... The wallet continues to weep....

 

[jwbrent]

Which model is this? I recall reading something about a predecessor to the i99, so I suppose this is it.

I believe that is the i88, but I could be wrong since different retailers seem to have different color options.

 

[SciOC]

I believe that is the i88, but I could be wrong since different retailers seem to have different color options.

The i88 is a new 10mm PAR driver. Previous models were there i77 and i77 pro which were around $100-$150....

 

[jwbrent]

The i88 is a new 10mm PAR driver. Previous models were there i77 and i77 pro which were around $100-$150....

Are you using the high gain setting on your HiBy? The R5 I have sounds better with it on, and I spent several hours last night listening to my i99.

 

[SciOC]

Are you using the high gain setting on your HiBy? The R5 I have sounds better with it on, and I spent several hours last night listening to my i99.

Yep, high gain. I'm around 250 hours on them now. Bass is the deepest and most musical in my collection. Not selling them anytime soon...

 

[jwbrent]

crickets ...

 

[jwbrent]

I decided to upgrade the cable on my i99 to a final C106 spc type. I definitely feel the highs are better portrayed, so I’m even more happy than before. Great sounding IEM!

 

[SciOC]

I decided to upgrade the cable on my i99 to a final C106 spc type. I definitely feel the highs are better portrayed, so I’m even more happy than before. Great sounding IEM!

I haven't really settled on a cable... Right now I'm using pure copper but I wouldn't say I'm happy with it. I've liked it better than SPC and pure silver cables I've tried in it. I don't have a lot of alloy or mixed cables but this seems like a good candidate for a silver copper mixed cable or an alloy....

 

[jwbrent]

It’s been quiet, so I thought I’d gin it up a bit with a favorite song that is kick a** sounding on the i99 ...

“The Door”