[aminus]

This will be a little containment thread of sorts for myself to function as an outlet for me to talk about some things on a regular basis. Most of my reviews will be centered around portable gear, namely IEMs. DAP and cable reviews might come in the future.

Index:

Spoiler: Older reviews (Largely outdated)

Sony IER-Z1R review Deprecated
64 Audio A12t review Deprecated
Etymotic ER4SR review
Sony IER-M7 & M9 review
Sony WF-1000MX3 review
Meze Rai Penta review
Vision Ears Elysium review
64 audio Fourte Noir review
Campfire Audio Solaris review
JVC HA-FW10000 review
Aminus Rants: Burn In
FiiO FH7 review
Hyla CE-5 review
Hidition Viento review
Audio-technica ATH-CK2000Ti review
Aminus Rants: Driver types, hybrids, and what they mean to you: Part One
Sennheiser IE400 Pro review
Jomo Trinity Brass review
InEar ProPhile 8 review
Sony MH755 review
Aminus Rants: Driver types, hybrids, and what they mean to you: Part Two
Empire Ears Wraith review
Empire Ears Valkyrie review
JVC HA-FD01 review
Astell & Kern AK T8iE MK II review
Aminus Rants: Power
An Update
Canjam Shanghai 2019: Day One
InEar ProMission X review
Canjam Shanghai 2019: Day Two
Vision Ears Erlkonig review
Pears SH3 review
Oriolus Percivali review
Acoustune HS1655CU review
Acoustune HS1695TI review
oBravo Cupid review
Aminus Recommends
Aminus Rants: Sony’s IER-Z1R revisited
Dita Dream XLS review
Fearless Roland review
Tin HiFi T4 review
Sony MDR-AS800AP review
Drop x JVC HA-FDX1 review
Aminus Rants: Terminology, or, how I define technical ability and other things
Tanchjim Oxygen review
BLON BL-03 review
Elysian Acoustic Labs Terminator 2 review
Elysian Acoustic Labs Annihilator review
Audio-technica ATH-IEX1 review
Aminus Rants: Scoring; or, counting from 0 to 10
Noble Kaiser Encore review
64 Audio U12t review
Aminus Rants: 2020, or, Off This Decade
Campfire Audio Solaris SE review
Meze Rai Solo review
qdc Anole VX review
Sony XBA-N3 review
Campfire Audio Andromeda review
Etymotic ER2XR review
64 Audio tia Trio review
Aminus Rants: The Aminus Target Curve
64 Audio tia Fourte review
Hidition NT-6 review
Astell & Kern T9iE review
FAudio Minor review
Aminus Rants: The Source Question
Final Audio A8000 review
Aminus Rants: Engagement factor, or “what do you mean by ‘it’s boring?’”
ikko OH7 review
Fearless x crinacle Dawn review
Moondrop Blessing 2 review
Quarantine Catchup: The Campfire 2020 Roundup
Dunu Luna review
Empire Ears: Reboot Roundup
Acoustune and the number 7: A Lineup Roundup
ThieAudio Monarch review
ThieAudio Clairvoyance review
64 Audio A18s review
64 Audio Nio review
Moondrop SSR (Super Spaceship Reference) review
Moondrop SSP (Super Spaceship Pulse) and Illumination review
Moondrop S8 review
The Campfire Roundup, Deuxième Partie
Metal Magic Research: Lessons in Bad Shell Design
Moondrop x Crinacle Blessing 2: Dusk review
Thieaudio Legacy 4 review
Prisma Azul review
Dunu SA6 review
Symphonio VR1 review

Portable Audio Touchdown Tour Part 1: The NW-WM1AM2 and NW-WM1ZM2
Portable Audio Touchdown Tour Part 2: A whole assortment of IEMs and then some I
Portable Audio Touchdown Tour Part 3: A whole assortment of IEMs and then some II
Canjam NYC 2023 show notes
Canjam SG 2023 show notes — Day one
Miscellaneous Chifi IEMs (Moondrop and Tanchjim)
Miscellaneous IEMs (FAudio, Oriolus, FiR)
Miscellaneous IEMs (Letshuoer, Craft Ears, HUM, MADOO)
Theme and Variations: 64 Audio
Brand Roundup: qdc

Who are you?
I'm a musician and composer who also happens to be into high end audio gear. I've had a good amount of experience trying almost everything under the sun, and I figured it would be an interesting project in my free time to try and distill that into textual format, for benefit of reference for myself as well as for whoever cares to read.

What do you like?
My reference headphone(s) are the venerable Sennheiser HD6X0 series, in particular the HD580, though I own handpicked variants of every member of the family (excluding the outlier that is the HD660S). There is an undeniable correctness throughout these headphones' midrange (and tonal response in general) that I have nothing but the highest appreciation for, and they have a wonderful timbre which never sounds wrong, to say nothing of their ability to scale in dynamics and detail depending on upstream gear. To this end, I seek something similar in IEMs; an ultimate rightness in tonal response coupled with unhindered dynamics and natural timbre.

D I S C L A I M E R (Read this, or don't say I didn't warn you!)
Anything I write here, no matter how objective I may make it sound, is entirely subjective. Unless I cite a specific number (say, a frequency response feature) or make reference to a measurement or a graph, everything I say is entirely my opinion. This includes my fairly negative beliefs on a large majority of audio gear, and the few things I genuinely like a lot. Don't complain when I call your gear trash. You have been warned.

Thanks to:
Crinacle, for all those graphs, for putting up with my obnoxious behavior, and for being a real good guy overall.
Toranku, for being a real inspiration on how to pull off reviews.
MV95, for whooping me into shape.
A certain fried rice for bothering to talk to me.

That's all, happy reading.

 

[aminus]

This review is, to say the least, very out of date. I no longer even own the IEM in question, nor do I still hold the same opinions on it. If you're interested in reading what my early writing was like, I've left it up for archival purposes, but otherwise I consider my U12t review to be much more representative of what I think of this IEM today. Or at least the universal version of it.

Spoiler

64 Audio A12t:
It's somewhat well known amongst those who know (and very likely hate) me that this is one of my favorite CIEMs, and was for a long time the only TOTL IEM that I actually liked enough to purchase. I've had many arguments, back and forths about the merits and failures of it. Several I fondly remember include:
"qdc Anole VX and A12t are basically the same IEM, except the VX is better"
"A12t is capable of producing a bass timbre and response just as good as a decent DD, if not better than some"
"A12t has an unnatural treble response due to the tia driver"
I won't comment on which of those arguments were made by me. You go guess.

Anyways, enough drama ranting. Let's get to brass tacks. The A12t is a pretty strong U shape in the original sense of the word: subbass and upper treble boost. Measuridoodles even show that the A12t has more subbass than the Z1R (Very barely, but still)! I mean, that's pretty goddamn impressive for a BA. The woofer of the A12t is a pair of dual BAs stacked next to each other for a total of 4 drivers, and they do a damn good job at pushing enough subbass to almost sound like a DD (if you listen to music at the deafening volumes that I do). The keyword, however, is almost. There's no way I can deny that the decay of the A12t is nothing like a DD. That's just physics, the diaphragm operating principles of a BA and a DD can never truly mimic one another (although I've heard some DDs sound an awful lot like BAs). There's also definitely some slight limpness to the bass of the A12t. It's capable of pushing that subbass, but is it capable of being as well defined and authoritative as a DD? I'll have to concede to a no. It's still one of the best BA woofers on the market, the only one that's better in my opinion would be the Hidition Violet (which is another story for another time). But there's only so much you can do (unless your name is Sony and you make T shaped BAs, in which case, that's not even fair game anymore).

The next stop with the A12t is the mids. The A12t's mids are slightly more lower mids oriented than upper mids, but they're overall somewhat neutral. Aside from one caveat: that bass boost alongside the mids proportions may not be such a good thing in some scenarios. It's been well noted that the best of the best bass boosts in DDs often come with a recessed lower mid section (See: IER-Z1R, Hyla CE-5, Beyer Xelento) and this is for good reason: bass bleed. The midbass bloat can kill detail in select scenarios. Whether or not you can live with that is really up to the listener.

At last there's the very interesting treble response, characterized by a valley of shadow starting at around 8khz down to what I'm guesstimating is about 12 or 13khz, which then builds to 2 or 3 (depending on what time of the day you've decided to measure) spikes in the upper treble. The A12t has a single, very small driver as its standard tweeter, but 6 individual drivers for the midrange and the aforementioned 2 dual drivers for its bass. This makes sense when you realize just how lacking the A12t is in the lower and mid treble departments. It just isn't there. In certain tracks it's fine, because the cymbal range can operate around, say the 7khz region. But if you take something like Ascension Day by Talk Talk, it's just not enough. And it's a good part of the reason I've moved away from the A12t's signature.

Of course, this wouldn't be a 64 audio product without the hilarious upper treble extension. Most IEMs can't produce frequencies past 10khz (some of the rolloff at 7, like a certain 5BA chifi release that also happens to have 7 in its name) but this guy peaks above 10khz. I've mentioned that criticism about the upper treble in the A12t, it's not entirely inaccurate. You see, the whole balance in the treble is just not tonally accurate. Sure, the peaks are nice, but when you have no lower or mid treble to balance it out, you get a very unusual sound signature which can make cymbals sound somewhat unnatural. It's really not so much a issue of "it has peaks at 16khz and up" as it is "it has a ton of upper treble but nothing to balance it out!"

It's interesting how much I've trashtalked a $2000 CIEM that I own, isn't it? Enough chit chat, let's get the grub going. The signature as a whole is still pretty enjoyable. The bass boost is still cleaner than most, the midrange is definitely listenable, and sure, the treble is not the best, but it's not the end of the world. It is, in my opinion, better than any other IEM I've heard from 64, CIEM or not. And of course it being a CIEM it fits like a glove and isolates incredibly. I do miss that CIEM isolation when I decide to wear my Z1R out. Is the A12t bad? No. Is it perfect? No. Is it alright? More or less.

Now you might be wondering, why are you criticizing a CIEM you bought and paid for? It's pretty simple. There appears to be a massive amount of variation, signature wise, between the universal U12t and the custom A12t. They don't sound anything alike. When I demoed the U12t, I found it lacking in bass, and I most certainly was not as bass tolerant (or craving, depending on your perspective) as I am today. It's evident that a large part of the U12t's bass response is entirely seal dependent, and that's not a good thing. Furthermore, the difference in treble between the two is clear as night and day. The U12t has perfectly serviceable amounts of lower treble, in fact it was one of the things that lured me into throwing my money at the custom. So where did it go? Sure you can argue that "it's a custom, of course it's going to be darker" but god damn, you'd think that if the universal were the demo unit, it'd be at least somewhat accurate to the custom. It's at a point where I find the A6t universal has a more accurate representation of the A12t's tonal balance than the actual U12t. And that's kinda sad.

In summary, I do like the A12t. It has its faults but it's still one of the best IEMs I've heard to date. It's still very nicely detailed, even though it might not be the best of the best, and it still has very serviceable FR. I still enjoy it even though there are better things out there.

For reference basically all of my A12t listening over the last 4 or so months has been with my WM1A, although it's tried many, many more DAPs. Cable is a 8-core Hakugei SPC litz. I'm using custom solid core modules (not the ones from 64A's earplug but from Music Sanctuary) as I find they bring the best in subbass response.

Do I recommend it? I find it hard to on sheer basis that the demo (the universal) doesn't really sound alike the custom. I really wish it did, because then I could still say, sure go out and demo the universal, if you like it, buy it. But I can't. They don't sound similar. And that I feel is the tragedy here, that a real decent CIEM is roadblocked in recommendation by a demo that should but doesn't sound like it.

And just for fun, here's a measurement of my personal unit, done by Crinacle:

Rating: 6/10

 

[OverlordRush]

"qdc Anole VX and A12t are basically the same IEM, except the VX is better"

wise words from a wise man.

they are sooooo different btw

 

[Evoke]

Do you play in a band?

 

[aminus]

wise words from a wise man.

they are sooooo different btw

Come on now, if you’re going to compare measurements, at least compare my unit. It’s on the database for a reason.

Do you play in a band?

Not at the moment, no.

Today I’ll write about the ER4SR when I get home. It’s a pretty renowned classic but I want to explain why I like it as a benchmark.

 

[aminus]

Etymotic ER4SR:
The ER4SR is legendary. It's the flat IEM. When you say "neutral IEM", the first thing that pops up in most peoples' minds is the ER4SR. Modeled after a classic target curve, the ER4SR is renowned as one of the most technical IEMs for its price point. And its somewhat uncomfortable fit. In hindsight, the fit's reputation mostly stems from it being one of the first triple flange IEMs, and the fact that it's many peoples' first introduction to such a deep fit. There are many more difficult to fit or uncomfortable IEMs out there.

All this sounds fine and dandy and all, but here's the deal: the ER4SR doesn't really follow the DF curve to a T. The outer ear compensation hump from 1khz is shaped differently from a traditional DF curve, and it peaks at around 2.5khz, rather than 3khz, and its descent from that peak isn't quite the smooth rolloff that DF is. What this means is that the ER4SR isn't actually a perfect representation of the DF curve, it's a modification of it. So how does that modification fare?

One of the things the ER4SR is pretty infamous for is the bass, or rather, the lack of it. Everyone seems to complain at one point or another about the ER4SR's bass. And to be honest, I recall agreeing even when I was fairly bass sensitive. From about 90hz down there is a minor bass rolloff, but it's pretty inconsequential, about a 2.5dB drop at 20hz. But there are IEMs with far worse bass rolloffs, 2.5dB is almost flat! So why the complaints about the bass? Simple. The ER4SR doesn't have any features or landmarks in its frequency response aside from the outer ear compensation rise. The peak of that rise is about 10dB louder than approximately where the rest of the bass response lies. In other words, when you're adjusting the volume on the ER4SR, you're adjusting it to fit your preferred SPL in that 2.5khz peak. This pretty much means that the overall bass response is perceived as a whole as not so much as flat, but simply lacking. At least, that’s my theory.

The ER4SR’s mids try their hardest to be as neutral as mids can get. Boy do they try. But they kind of fail. There’s definitely a little bit of shrillness and harshness at that peak that I’m sensitive to. It’s why I end up preferring the ER2, that peak is tamed on it. But aside from that, I can’t call them bad. The sheer simplicity of the tuning makes them impossible to call bad. They never sound tonally wonky, or tonally inaccurate, they just are. And I guess that works.

The treble is where the ER4SR really falls short. There’s no treble extension. It’s a problem that appears to be on all Etymotics, and I can’t say I know why. Aside from that, the lower treble can be just a tad intense at times. Maybe it’s related to the insertion depth, or somehow correlated to the slight harshness of the 2.5khz peak’s mids. I couldn’t say. Is it overly bad? Definitely not. And here’s an interesting thing: I haven’t caught the ER4SR being sibilant at all. The A12t definitely has its sibilance. Z1R can be a little too at times, depending on the vocalist’s range. But with the ER4SR, I really can’t think of a single instance of any sort of sibilance. Which may have to do with the lack of treble extension but it’s still something to note.

I’m not so much here to talk about the signature of the ER4SR (there are people who are much better than me at that), so much as why I use it as my passing benchmark. It’s my eternal 5/10, the “you have to beat this to be good” sign. Simply put, the tuning of the ER4SR is a flavor of neutral that’s effectively speaking, bland. It’s not the PP8 type bland where it’s cold and soulless, but it’s definitely tonally bland. And that’s where it excels. Even though it may have no extension, it’s still what I’d benchmark as “tonally accurate” in that I can trust it not to mangle or alter my sound unrecognizably.

But that’s not all. The ER4SR, is surprisingly enough, very technical for a single BA. It is, after all, the single BA. Perhaps it’s due to insertion depth (I find that the closer to your eardrum the transducer is, the better resolution and microdetailing can be. This isn’t universal of course but it’s a general rule of thumb.) or something about the tuning or the driver that Etymotic chose for the job, but it really does work. However, it’s not perfect, nor a giant killer. There’s a level of congestion that occurs with the IEM, and I’d attribute it to that tiny BA doing all that work. This applies to layering too, on denser tracks, it’s not perfect at conveying all the sonic information at hand. Also, due to the insertion depth, the soundstage is incredibly small, it borders on not having one. Height is also very small. The overall space the ER4SR takes up is entirely in your head; in fact, it’s even smaller.

But for $350 USD, or slightly under $500 SGD, I’m hard pressed to name something I think is better. Part of it is the fact that I don’t delve into budget-fi so much, but there’s simply the fact that it does a damn fine job in both the tuning and technicalities departments for its price. And I really can’t trashtalk it for that. The last two earphones I’ve covered have been fairly exorbitant in price, but this one is actually pretty affordable. And that’s why I really cannot say very much negative about it.

For reference, most of my ER4SR listening was done with my iPhone dongle, but some was also done with my WM1A’s 3.5 output. Some desktop listening as well but largely inconsequential.

Do I recommend it? I find it hard not to, as long as you like the prospect of a genuinely dead flat, neutral, and to many (including myself), boring signature. If that appeals to you, this is perfect, especially for the price. And that I think encapsulates the ER4SR, a damned fine package for how much they put on the pricetag.

Rating: 5/10

 

[SilverEars]

Etymotic ER4SR:
The ER4SR is legendary. It's the flat IEM. When you say "neutral IEM", the first thing that pops up in most peoples' minds is the ER4SR. Modeled after a classic target curve, the ER4SR is renowned as one of the most technical IEMs for its price point. And its somewhat uncomfortable fit. In hindsight, the fit's reputation mostly stems from it being one of the first triple flange IEMs, and the fact that it's many peoples' first introduction to such a deep fit. There are many more difficult to fit or uncomfortable IEMs out there.

All this sounds fine and dandy and all, but here's the deal: the ER4SR doesn't really follow the DF curve to a T. The outer ear compensation hump from 1khz is shaped differently from a traditional DF curve, and it peaks at around 2.5khz, rather than 3khz, and its descent from that peak isn't quite the smooth rolloff that DF is. What this means is that the ER4SR isn't actually a perfect representation of the DF curve, it's a modification of it. So how does that modification fare?

One of the things the ER4SR is pretty infamous for is the bass, or rather, the lack of it. Everyone seems to complain at one point or another about the ER4SR's bass. And to be honest, I recall agreeing even when I was fairly bass sensitive. From about 90hz down there is a minor bass rolloff, but it's pretty inconsequential, about a 2.5dB drop at 20hz. But there are IEMs with far worse bass rolloffs, 2.5dB is almost flat! So why the complaints about the bass? Simple. The ER4SR doesn't have any features or landmarks in its frequency response aside from the outer ear compensation rise. The peak of that rise is about 10dB louder than approximately where the rest of the bass response lies. In other words, when you're adjusting the volume on the ER4SR, you're adjusting it to fit your preferred SPL in that 2.5khz peak. This pretty much means that the overall bass response is perceived as a whole as not so much as flat, but simply lacking. At least, that’s my theory.

The ER4SR’s mids try their hardest to be as neutral as mids can get. Boy do they try. But they kind of fail. There’s definitely a little bit of shrillness and harshness at that peak that I’m sensitive to. It’s why I end up preferring the ER2, that peak is tamed on it. But aside from that, I can’t call them bad. The sheer simplicity of the tuning makes them impossible to call bad. They never sound tonally wonky, or tonally inaccurate, they just are. And I guess that works.

The treble is where the ER4SR really falls short. There’s no treble extension. It’s a problem that appears to be on all Etymotics, and I can’t say I know why. Aside from that, the lower treble can be just a tad intense at times. Maybe it’s related to the insertion depth, or somehow correlated to the slight harshness of the 2.5khz peak’s mids. I couldn’t say. Is it overly bad? Definitely not. And here’s an interesting thing: I haven’t caught the ER4SR being sibilant at all. The A12t definitely has its sibilance. Z1R can be a little too at times, depending on the vocalist’s range. But with the ER4SR, I really can’t think of a single instance of any sort of sibilance. Which may have to do with the lack of treble extension but it’s still something to note.

I’m not so much here to talk about the signature of the ER4SR (there are people who are much better than me at that), so much as why I use it as my passing benchmark. It’s my eternal 5/10, the “you have to beat this to be good” sign. Simply put, the tuning of the ER4SR is a flavor of neutral that’s effectively speaking, bland. It’s not the PP8 type bland where it’s cold and soulless, but it’s definitely tonally bland. And that’s where it excels. Even though it may have no extension, it’s still what I’d benchmark as “tonally accurate” in that I can trust it not to mangle or alter my sound unrecognizably.

But that’s not all. The ER4SR, is surprisingly enough, very technical for a single BA. It is, after all, the single BA. Perhaps it’s due to insertion depth (I find that the closer to your eardrum the transducer is, the better resolution and microdetailing can be. This isn’t universal of course but it’s a general rule of thumb.) or something about the tuning or the driver that Etymotic chose for the job, but it really does work. However, it’s not perfect, nor a giant killer. There’s a level of congestion that occurs with the IEM, and I’d attribute it to that tiny BA doing all that work. This applies to layering too, on denser tracks, it’s not perfect at conveying all the sonic information at hand. Also, due to the insertion depth, the soundstage is incredibly small, it borders on not having one. Height is also very small. The overall space the ER4SR takes up is entirely in your head; in fact, it’s even smaller.

But for $350 USD, or slightly under $500 SGD, I’m hard pressed to name something I think is better. Part of it is the fact that I don’t delve into budget-fi so much, but there’s simply the fact that it does a damn fine job in both the tuning and technicalities departments for its price. And I really can’t trashtalk it for that. The last two earphones I’ve covered have been fairly exorbitant in price, but this one is actually pretty affordable. And that’s why I really cannot say very much negative about it.

For reference, most of my ER4SR listening was done with my iPhone dongle, but some was also done with my WM1A’s 3.5 output. Some desktop listening as well but largely inconsequential.

Do I recommend it? I find it hard not to, as long as you like the prospect of a genuinely dead flat, neutral, and to many (including myself), boring signature. If that appeals to you, this is perfect, especially for the price. And that I think encapsulates the ER4SR, a damned fine package for how much they put on the pricetag.

Boring, agreed. If that's what neutral is, please kill me. Not dynamic enough. Needs some pizazz. Personally, I like the dynamics of Z1R, but not enough resolution for a 2k iem.

 

[aminus]

Boring, agreed. If that's what neutral is, please kill me. Not dynamic enough. Needs some pizazz. Personally, I like the dynamics of Z1R, but not enough resolution for a 2k iem.

I would honestly say the Z1R is in the upper echelons of technicality for the $2k range. Maybe it’s just the really good layering but the way it conveys microdetail is superb. I’m hard pressed to name what beats it, KSE I guess?

 

[SilverEars]

I would honestly say the Z1R is in the upper echelons of technicality for the $2k range. Maybe it’s just the really good layering but the way it conveys microdetail is superb. I’m hard pressed to name what beats it, KSE I guess?

I disagree. For that kind of performance, I'd be upset I'd have a Z1R at the price. Luckily I don't.

 

[aminus]

I disagree. For that kind of performance, I'd be upset I'd have a Z1R at the price.

No idea how much it costs where you live, but in SG it’s around 2-2.5k SGD depending on sales and deals. So it’s actually one of the more affordable TOTL models, which makes it really worth it, at least to me. That plus the incredible packaging, plentiful accessories and solid build quality make it a pretty justified price in my view.

As for technicalities, I’m not sure what you’re benchmarking it against, but I’d consider myself to have fairly high standards in the technical department (at least compared to most people I know) and I haven’t found the Z1R lacking. Like I mentioned, it is one of the best resolving IEMs I’ve heard to date.

 

[SilverEars]

No idea how much it costs where you live, but in SG it’s around 2-2.5k SGD depending on sales and deals. So it’s actually one of the more affordable TOTL models, which makes it really worth it, at least to me. That plus the incredible packaging, plentiful accessories and solid build quality make it a pretty justified price in my view.

This is laughable. You are justifying a $2k iem with packaging? I'm done here.

 

[aminus]

This is laughable. You are justifying a $2k iem with packaging? I'm done here.

I’m not justifying, I’m explaining why I like it. You’re free to disagree, or in what you’re currently doing, interpret everything as some sort of war game, but I’m pretty sure there’s nothing wrong with pointing out that high quality workmanship has a higher price. That’s all really. Thanks for playing.

 

[phonomat]

Well, that escalated quickly ...

 

[aminus]

Sony IER-M7 and M9:
Your eternal Sony shill strikes once again. And he’s back to cover not just one but two IEMs! Why aren’t I devoting a single review to each? It’s simple: they’re honestly really similar: Both hit Sony’s target curve pretty nicely, use the same special BA tech, look the same, kinda smell the same, taste the same, yadda yadda you get the point. Sony’s new lineup is really interesting to me because of how much unusual tech it just throws at you. The gigantic 12mm DD in the Z1R, the magnesium housings and proprietary BAs in all 3, it’s pretty unique stuff. I like when companies do this kind of boundary pushing stuff instead of just plopping out off-the-shelf driver by-the-numbers IEMs. Innovation’s what the audio world needs, and there are definitely some companies pushing the envelope more than others. Sony is one.

Enough shilling: what’s the gist of it? The M7 and M9 are stage oriented monitors. They’re meant for professionals to use on stage or on the mixing board. So they should be at least somewhat neutral. Well, they’re Sony’s variant of neutral, to phrase it one way. The target curve they measure along is surprisingly not particularly dissimilar to the IER-Z1R, missing the distinctive bass boost (and with it the lower midrange recession) and instead going with a more gradual slope towards 1khz. Most noticeable though is the upper midrange is not quite as pronounced as the Z1R, and neither is the treble, despite the M9’s claim to fame of a BA supertweeter.

I’ve compared measurements for long enough now, how do they sound in the field? Well, the bass response on these is definitely a step above most BAs, but it definitely characterized by a lack of authority that DDs, especially the big brother Z1R, has. It definitely doesn’t sound plasticky, but it feels lacking in subbass and authority. On Talk Talk’s After the Flood, the bass guitar doesn’t quite resonate with the same tightness and confidence. Public Image Ltd.’s Albatross lacks the massive bass guitar tonality that I hear on the Z1R. Overall, I give passing marks, but barely so. It’s decent, but I fail to say much more. The M7 does feel like it has less bass quantity than the M9, but that’s pretty minor overall.

The mids on the twins are noticeably less thin than their silver elder, however this means the M9 has a flaw that the Z1R doesn’t have: slightly bloated bass. It’s almost unnoticeable unless you’re nitpicking, but it’s definitely there. Whether or not it affects you is the real question. The M7 sticks with a more neutral bass tuning so it doesn’t quite run into this issue. I do feel that the M7 also has a dryer midrange than the M9, which can make it feel very laidback and also somewhat crunchy with electric guitars. Aside from that, it’s a decent midrange tonality, there’s nothing particularly wrong nor noteworthy about it.

The treble is where the two mainly differ, thanks to the supertweeter. The M9 appears to have more treble overall, sparkling with a little more energy. There’s also definitely a bit more of a mid and upper treble focus on the M9 than the M7. The M7’s treble is a tad muted and dull in my opinion, losing out to the M9 in the interest department with King Crimson’s Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part II). This seems to be the general trend with the pair, the M9 is more exciting and engaging than the M7. Which isn’t necessarily a positive nor negative, it depends on what you’re looking for. For example, on Magma’s K.A. I, a fast and energetic zeuhl track, the M9 seems a lot more fun, the exceptional drumming and bass playing is more lively and sticks out more. In comparison, the vocals seem to stick out more the M7’s tuning. On the other hand, with Charles Mingus’ Track A-Solo Dancer, I do feel the M7’s slight darkness and more neutral tonality helps convey a fairly nuanced and dense jazz recording with more class and taste.

But here arrives a problem that both share: they lack intensity. When I put Oxygen by Swans on, there’s a decent amount of punch and attack, but when I switch to my Z1R, there’s just so much more force. And I’m not just talking about bass, it’s in everything. On a song like this I should be feeling like I’m being battered into the ground, and while I get this on the Z1R, the M9 and especially the M7 (the more laidback of the pair) fail to deliver. There’s a kick that the entire spectrum doesn’t deliver on. I first noticed this phenomenon on when comparing my A12t to the M9, but it’s definitely consistent with the Z1R. When switching from the M9 to either, there’s like a gust of force that appears out of nowhere. It’s not just with this track, Obscura by Gorguts has a similar effect. Where is the authority and power? Where is the soul rending intensity that should be conveyed in this song? And I feel like that is the greatest strength and flaw of the M7 and M9, they’re relaxing and laidback, but too relaxing and laidback. It’s something with the presentation that no frequency response graph will really show you.

Speaking of presentation, time to move on to the soundstage and technicalities. Unsurprisingly both of the duo have a far smaller soundstage than the Z1R. It also feels less open, like the sound hits a wall instead of resonating outward freely. An interesting phenomenon however, is the effects on soundstage and tonality on these two with insertion depth. I like shallow inserting them a lot more than I do deep inserting, because the shallow insert gives me a more open and free sound, whereas the deep insert almost feels... congested? There also feels like a slight upper mids tilt when deep inserting, which I can’t say I’m fond of. I’ve noticed this effect with my A12t as well, when using the sealed APEX modules. Shoving them all the way in creates a fairly uncomfortable vacuum that really sounds worse. I’m not sure what the wearing intention from Sony is here, but would default to shallow inserting larger tips for either of them. As for technicalities, they’re decent at detail retrieval (nothing exceptional, not even close), but lack the fantastic layering of the Z1R. Maybe it’s a soundstage or presentation thing but that’s all I can speculate.

That’s really all there is to say about them though. They’re fairly neutral monitors that sound relaxing and fatigue free, but, in my opinion, too much so. And I suppose that’s important for that they’re built to do. Musicians need to wear these for hours at a time, they need to be comfortable, non-fatiguing and likable. And the M7 and M9 tick all those boxes, and for that I give it credit.

For reference all listening has been done with the usual WM1A out of 4.4. Due to a lack of a 4.4 cable for the M9 I was forced to use the M7 cable for both, but I doubt that should make a major enough difference.

Do I recommend them? Well, actually, yes, if the description of them appeals to you. For what they set out to do, they are perfect. I’d say they are better monitors than a lot of more expensive CIEMs on how they set about accomplishing their goals and with how much success. As for consideration in my personal collection though, I feel they lack the raw power that’s required for a lot of music. Maybe that’s your thing, but it’s not quite mine. It’s just how it be sometimes.

Rating:
IER-M7: 7/10
IER-M9: 8/10

 

[aminus]

Sony WF-1000MX3:
I can already hear the cries of heresy. Relax, this is a just quickie I’m doing for fun, and I’m already in the Sony store after listening to the M7 and M9 anyways. I’ve only covered audiophile earphones so far, so covering a more consumer oriented product seems like a good change of pace.

Sony’s latest TWS bud seems very feature packed for the price. It’s considerably cheaper than, say, the Sennheiser Momentum (at $230 SGD against Sennheiser’s $470 SGD) and I’d argue feels pretty well thought out. The noise cancelling is reasonably effective at blocking out Adele’s rather annoying crooning in the background, though it’s hardly perfect. The ambient feature works decently, and is pretty convenient. I even briefly considered buying them and using them at work since tapping on an earpiece is much more simple than pausing my WM1A and removing my Z1R, but shuddered instantly at the thought of being a true wireless plebeian. Hilariously enough it seems to handle DSD as well, so if for whatever reason you feel the need to play your favorite DSD files through them, it works. But audiophiles being audiophiles, we don’t care about that. How’s the sound? Well, not terrible. It’s unsurprisingly bassy, maybe a tiny bit bleedy with the lower mids, but it’s a pretty pleasing and coherent signature. Not as much subbass as it is midbass but it’s still serviceable. It’s overall more downsloping than the other offerings from Sony I’ve covered, while not being excessively dark. There’s definitely enough treble to make the whole thing listenable. Detail retrieval is definitely below average by my standards but I’d call it good compared to some of the other TWS I’ve briefly sampled. There’s a slight veil in front of the mids and treble that’s very likely related to the lower mids, but I don’t think it’s excessively bad for the category it plays in, and definitely better than some of the worse wired IEMs I’ve tried. I like it considerably more than Crin’s Samsung Galaxy Buds which I tried under his endorsement; the Galaxy Buds are simply too bright and treble emphasized for my tastes. This is very fatigue free, which I can see a lot of consumers being attracted to. Overall, it’s worthy of passing marks for upping the bar in the TWS game, and definitely worth recommending to normalfa- I mean non-audiophiles.

For reference purposes I listened to these through my- ah, does it really matter?

Rating: 5/10

Spoiler: bruh look at this dood

I swear I’m not shilling Sony I actually just find it really listenable. I know this thread is supposed to be me hating everything but blame Sony for actually releasing passable products. I’m done covering their current lineup so I’ll take a break from this intense shilling. Tomorrow I’ll cover some flagships that have just dropped into Singapore.