Alpha & Delta AD01
Jul 23, 2015 at 2:52 AM Post #31 of 332
Tested AD01 yesterday, wow it sounds really good! 
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It is not V shape to my ears, bass enhanced, but not V shape. The mids and treble are in pretty good balance, and bass is emphasized in a nice way, powerful and authoritative but doesn't ruin the midrange. I love the bass, the enhancement is just nice, bass is deep and punchy with good sub bass rumble. Clearly for bass lover, but bass is still in good proportion, not overblown. So still a pretty good all-rounder in my opinion. Bass power is actually tuneable to some degree by eartips. I will write more later after using it for a few weeks.
 
Jul 23, 2015 at 11:23 AM Post #32 of 332
Tested AD01 yesterday, wow it sounds really good! :ksc75smile:

It is not V shape to my ears, bass enhanced, but not V shape. The mids and treble are in pretty good balance, and bass is emphasized in a nice way, powerful and authoritative but doesn't ruin the midrange. I love the bass, the enhancement is just nice, bass is deep and punchy with good sub bass rumble. Clearly for bass lover, but bass is still in good proportion, not overblown. So still a pretty good all-rounder in my opinion. Bass power is actually tuneable to some degree by eartips. I will write more later after using it for a few weeks.


Agreed. These are more like a reverse check mark sound sig. Bass is deep and copious. Mids are neutral. Upper end has just enough sparkle to keep you interested without becoming fatiguing. As opposed to some who've heard the AD01, I don't find them warm. The mids are too dry for that to my ears.

With most DAPs having EQ, it's really easy to flatten these out with bass reduction if you're after a more neutral sound and then flatten the EQ back out when you're ready to party!

Isolation is pretty good. I went on a walk in my neighborhood with them yesterday. There was a bit of road noise when larger vehicles drove past, but it was tamed pretty well.

I might've said this before, but I also disagree with these being best for "modern music / recordings". Modern music / recordings are typically mixed bass heavy and have all hope of dynamic range beaten out of them. Sure the AD01 sounds just fine with them, but throw on some Classic Rock that was recorded lean before the days of super heavy compression and the AD01 really shine. They fill the lower end out very nicely without sounding overblown. For instance, I took some old Black Sabbath and Rush for a spin with the AD01, and they sounded great :L3000:

In fact, the AD01 sounds good with a lot of metal, although you might need to EQ down the upper end with low production value black metal which is usually pretty screechy to begin with.

Because AD01 reach deep, it's easy to enjoy them with electronic music, too. If your electronic has gobs of bass, you might even want to pull out a bit of bass reduction EQ :eek:

I need to engage in some tip rolling with these, write my review, and then I'll ship them off to the next tour member...

:beerchug:
 
Jul 23, 2015 at 12:51 PM Post #34 of 332
Agreed. These are more like a reverse check mark sound sig. Bass is deep and copious. Mids are neutral. Upper end has just enough sparkle to keep you interested without becoming fatiguing. As opposed to some who've heard the AD01, I don't find them warm. The mids are too dry for that to my ears.
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Yes, the mids is actually quite detailed, and can be perceived as a little dry. Though the full bodied signature helps the mids to mimic like a warm sounding mids, but it is actually more towards detailed mids rather than warm smooth mids that smoothen some detail. I find the level of dryness is depending on the amp or player. With Fiio X3ii, I do find the mids sounds detailed and rather dry / grainy on vocal. But with DX90 and DragonFly DAC, the mids sounds smoother, therefore doesn't sound as dry as with the Fiio X3ii, in fact it sounds pretty good on recordings that need detailed mids, like binaural recordings and classical.
 
I will try more with different players and DACs later.
 
I think I'm in love with the bass, it is so addictive 
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The level of bass dynamic is superb! Quite rare to find such a lively dynamic at this price category.
 
This is a good example of an IEM that the sound quality punches through its price tag!  I said that because, yesterday beside testing AD01, I also tested other dynamic IEMs such as Future Sonics G10. Tested with both double flange silicone eartips and foam eartips. Honestly, I prefer the sound signature of AD01 than FS G10.  G10 is even more bassy than AD01, the mids and treble are darker. G10 signature is too bassy and too dark for me. Foam tips help to balance the tonality, but the result is not as good as AD10.
 
Jul 23, 2015 at 1:51 PM Post #35 of 332
I just compared the black stock cable with the copper color upgrade cable, quite audible differences.
 
The black cables is more bassy and less detailed. With the black cable the mids is smoother, less dry, slightly less detailed. With the stock black cable, vocal is a little 'warmer' or smoother.
The copper color upgrade cable has better clarity, mids and treble clarity improved. Bass sounds tighter with better texture.
 
Depending on personal preference, both cable are actually pretty good. I personally prefer the upgrade cable. But for some bright recordings, the stock black cable might help to smooth out imperfection. But with good recordings, I prefer the upgrade cable.
 
Jul 23, 2015 at 2:24 PM Post #36 of 332
My headphones just came in, I want to give a big shoutout to @TEOSJ for handeling it so well. I am out of town for a couple of days but I'll write a nice review as soon as I get back.
 
Jul 23, 2015 at 3:06 PM Post #37 of 332
earfonia: I've done most of my AD01 listening out of the Fiio X3 and Shanling M3. I found the mids to sound dry out of both. That didn't surprise me with the M3, as its quite neutral. It did surprise me with the X3, which sounds much warmer vs. M3.

As far as bass goes, TEOSJ got a good tuning by not focusing on mid-bass, which too many bass-friendly IEM do. That means they can punch you in the eardrums as called for but don't sound overly warm and sweet. That's good for me, as I prefer this type of sound signature over dark / warm / lush.

I haven't A/B-ed the cables yet, but if nothing else at least the upgrade cable isn't so darn springy!

I'd really like to see what an SPC cable will do with these :wink_face:
 
Jul 23, 2015 at 10:22 PM Post #38 of 332
Just bought this a few days back. Very well constructed but a bit big and heavy. Sonically its bassy but have a pleasing sound. I didn't buy the upgrade cable cos I'm not sure about it. The supplied cable is very microphonic.

 
Jul 23, 2015 at 10:57 PM Post #39 of 332
Just bought this a few days back. Very well constructed but a bit big and heavy. Sonically its bassy but have a pleasing sound. I didn't buy the upgrade cable cos I'm not sure about it. The supplied cable is very microphonic.


Try wearing it around-the-ear. I guess that's why I don't notice any microphonics.
Alternatively, if you have an MEE M6 Pro, use the cable on it. 
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  I just compared the black stock cable with the copper color upgrade cable, quite audible differences.
 
The black cables is more bassy and less detailed. With the black cable the mids is smoother, less dry, slightly less detailed. With the stock black cable, vocal is a little 'warmer' or smoother.
The copper color upgrade cable has better clarity, mids and treble clarity improved. Bass sounds tighter with better texture.
 
Depending on personal preference, both cable are actually pretty good. I personally prefer the upgrade cable. But for some bright recordings, the stock black cable might help to smooth out imperfection. But with good recordings, I prefer the upgrade cable.
 

Huh. Interesting. I've tested the stock, upgrade, and M6 Pro cables on the AD01 extensively and can say there is little difference if at all between the upgrade and stock. The M6 Pro cable seems to sound like what the upgrade cable should he doing -- that is, tighter bass + better clarity. From stock to upgrade cable and back I hear no difference. Although then again, I'm an adamant non-believer of cable sound differences, so that may or may not contribute to my impressions. 
 
Jul 23, 2015 at 11:19 PM Post #40 of 332
Yup, wear over ear or just cinch up the chin slider a bit if you want to wear them down. Either strategy keeps microphonics at bay for me.

Is the M6 Pro cable more supple than the AD01 upgrade cable thatBeatsguy? And is it an SPC cable?

Glad to see more manufacturers using the small DC connectors! I really like them :L3000:
 
Jul 24, 2015 at 3:46 AM Post #41 of 332
 
Huh. Interesting. I've tested the stock, upgrade, and M6 Pro cables on the AD01 extensively and can say there is little difference if at all between the upgrade and stock. The M6 Pro cable seems to sound like what the upgrade cable should he doing -- that is, tighter bass + better clarity. From stock to upgrade cable and back I hear no difference. Although then again, I'm an adamant non-believer of cable sound differences, so that may or may not contribute to my impressions. 

 
Sonic differences between cables is not huge, and with some recordings it is almost impossible to detect it. But in quite environment, and with some type of recordings, the difference is audible. Not huge, but audible. Last night I use Jennifer Warnes song, The Nightingale from her album The Well, playing using DragonFly v1.0c DAC from my computer.
 
Not all cables have audible sonic differences, but I do hear some audible differences between AD01 black stock cable and the upgrade cable with some recordings. And generally I prefer the clarity of the upgrade cable. It is also as @nmatheis said, less springy. Though I prefer it to be in black or silver, not copper color 
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Jul 24, 2015 at 3:53 AM Post #42 of 332
I prefer black, too. And what's with all these springy cables these days? AD01, E50 & E80, Altone lineup...

Regarding the MEE M6 Pro cable, I just took a look on their website. That cable's DC connectors look longer than the AD01's. thatBeatsguy, can you please share a photo of how it looks when connected to the AD01? Thx!
 
Jul 24, 2015 at 9:30 AM Post #43 of 332
 
Sonic differences between cables is not huge, and with some recordings it is almost impossible to detect it. But in quite environment, and with some type of recordings, the difference is audible. Not huge, but audible. Last night I use Jennifer Warnes song, The Nightingale from her album The Well, playing using DragonFly v1.0c DAC from my computer.
 
Not all cables have audible sonic differences, but I do hear some audible differences between AD01 black stock cable and the upgrade cable with some recordings. And generally I prefer the clarity of the upgrade cable. It is also as @nmatheis said, less springy. Though I prefer it to be in black or silver, not copper color 
bigsmile_face.gif

Alright, let's agree to disagree. 
 
I prefer black, too. And what's with all these springy cables these days? AD01, E50 & E80, Altone lineup...

Regarding the MEE M6 Pro cable, I just took a look on their website. That cable's DC connectors look longer than the AD01's. @thatBeatsguy, can you please share a photo of how it looks when connected to the AD01? Thx!

Well, since you asked nicely... 
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(Exhibit A, B, and C, respectively.)
 
The M6 PRO's connector is actually the same length as your regular 2mm DC connectors (Exhibit A). I'm pretty sure you're seeing it as "longer" because of a tiny nub (Exhibit C) that also enters the M6 PRO's housings and serves as a locking mechanism (not twist-to-lock, but it works nonetheless). Exhibit B shows how the cable connects to the housing.
 

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