[raypin]

Mm...@troqdor, great review. I bought the iSine 10 the other day and should ship soon. I think (expect) it would be a perfect iem for fun and casual listening. I am not overly concerned about the isolation factor (understanding that it is open/semi-open). It should certainly isolate far better than my Final Audio Piano Forte IX in-ear (no eartips, no isolation but still uniquely enjoyable for certain musical genres or instruments). Why some folks are making such a fuss about the isolation puzzles me. It is semi-open! Take it or leave it. If you want total isolation, look elsewhere and get a damn CIEM.

 

[sandalaudio]

so that can be dangerous too because you're competing with outside noise. I'd most likely turn up the volume. this is what happened to me with my earpods as they don't fully isolate ...Think its one of the reasons I developed tinnitus.

 
I think you should only think about using the iSINEs in an environment where you would be happy to use an open LCD or EL-8.
 
One weakness I noticed with my iSINE20 is that if you crank up the volume too loud (e.g. to overwhelm the street noise) then the high frequency really starts to scream and become edgy.
 
It sounds really amazing when you are in a quiet environment and the listening volume is fair, but it seems to fall over as soon as the volume is too high. When someone says iSNE20 sounds harsh or edgy then I somewhat suspect that the person is listening at much louder volume levels than I do.
 
I know each person has a different comfortable listening levels, but I certainly don't recommend iSINE as a pair of commuting earphones for out on the street. I treat it almost like a more comfortable version of LCD-2 that doesn't hurt my neck over long hours of listening at home.

 

[cocolinho]

so which one is closer to LCD2 tonality? i10 or i20?
Am I correct to assume , I10 = LCD2 & i20 = LCD3 from a tonality stand point? (not technical level obv)
I'll be in US next week and I might want to come back with one or the other

 

[coolcat]

  so which one is closer to LCD2 tonality? i10 or i20?
Am I correct to assume , I10 = LCD2 & i20 = LCD3 from a tonality stand point? (not technical level obv)
I'll be in US next week and I might want to come back with one or the other

I think I hear things differently from many people here in this thread. It may due to the fact that we listen with different gears and our ears are a lot different
To my ear, they both do not sound closer to the LCD2 or LCD3. The sound of isines10 and 20 is thinner than both 2 and 3. And the bass is not as impact full and has as much body like the bass of the LCD2 and LCD3. 
I read a lot of comments here and some people said how good the bass of the iSines is, but "To my ear" I can listen to Bass heavy music with my LCDX all day long (and the LCD2 rev1 and rev2,which I used to own), but I cant stand my Isine20 after a song. I have to switch to something like Nick Drake or Ray Lamontagne after that to enjoy my iSine20 again.  My LCDX kick my stomach with their bass, but the bass of isines 20 just has the impact at my ears. If you used to listen to something like the K10 or Tralucent ref 1 or campfire Vega, you'll see what I mean about  the Bass. People may like the bass of the Isines a lot, but to me, compared to the mentioned before iems and my LCDX, I would say my iSine20 bass is just decent but not spectacular,when talking about the impact and weight. You can eq the bass of Isines or use some amps to help (I use the quickstep and it helps adding weight and impact to the isines bass) , and you may think that bass is more than enough for your taste, but for some crazy bass heavy headfier like me, I dont consider the isines bass heavy cans 
 
I dont want to spoil the party, but "To me" it is misleading for the people to start to think that the Isine sound similar to the LCD. Yes, they are smooth phones, but they sound  different in some aspects.
I would like to ask the people who listen to the Isine10 here, how airy they are compared to something like LCD2,which has a  dense sound (especially the original one).  How is the bass compared to the LCD2 bass. And do you really think that their sounds are similar to each other. And how are the similarities of the Isines to the HD800 ? In my book, I put the iSines in the same group with the HD800, even though the iSines are warm and the HD800 is bright and the tone is quite different, but the soundstage, instrument separations,the airiness of sound, the Mid, the PRaT, light weight Sound and Bass (to my taste), Precision, detail and tightness of the Isines  somehow remind me of the HD800 not those LCDs. 

 

[miko64]

Question re how isine 10 compares to LCD2 or LCD-X
 
Disclaimer - no DSP cable - listing via Chord Mojo
 
- Overall tonality - if you listen to classical music, they are pretty similar. Isine is less "dark" than LCD2 more towards LCD-X. Hence there are actually very good for an in ear to listen to Opera for example
 
- Resolution - their resolution is clearly less than LCD-X or Stax for arguments sake, but given the price very good
 
- Bass - This depends on music. For natural instruments it is mostly ok, but not as great as the big LCD's. If you listen for example to sub-bass (such a acoustically generated thunder by putting metal sheets in vibration with frequency components well in the 20-30's Hz) you clearly see that this is missing with iSine (as you would reasonably expect given a semi-open design). 
 
-Mids/Highs: Here you have a very similar characteristics as with LCD2 (I think rather than LCD-X). Hence it is a pleasure to listen, possibly not as dark as LCD2, but certainly not the same resolution as LCD-X
 
Hope this summarises it well.  

 

[Trogdor]

They don't isolate at all.  The only isolation you get is from the volume of the music overpowering low background noises.   I work from home in a mostly quiet environment and most of the noise i may hear is very intermittent, and is important for me to hear, like my dog barking or the phone ringing.  If I've got them on and go  jump in the car for example, the noise of the car, or being on the road is too much to make for a quality listening environment.    I have a very quiet air purifier running on high all day in my office, and a mini fridge making it's little ocean wave cooling sound right next to me all day.   Maybe it's because I'm used to them but that level of noise, though not much, doesn't bother me when I'm listening.. I basically don't hear it.  Beyond something like that I'd say its going to start effecting your listening experience. 

Maybe eventually I or someone will download a decibil meter app like the one from ultimate ears and do some noise level or sound leakage tests.  It would be easy, I just haven't gotten around to it.

It really sounds like you didn't have good seal TBH.

 

[Trogdor]

Mm...@troqdor, great review. I bought the iSine 10 the other day and should ship soon. I think (expect) it would be a perfect iem for fun and casual listening. I am not overly concerned about the isolation factor (understanding that it is open/semi-open). It should certainly isolate far better than my Final Audio Piano Forte IX in-ear (no eartips, no isolation but still uniquely enjoyable for certain musical genres or instruments). Why some folks are making such a fuss about the isolation puzzles me. It is semi-open! Take it or leave it. If you want total isolation, look elsewhere and get a damn CIEM.

Spot on. That's why in my review I stress you must not settle for a tip that just fits but find the EXACT one that gives you the best seal. Seal is everything, especially if you want to get good bass response (btw, this is true of ALL IEMs not just the iSINE).

 

[Trogdor]

.
I dont want to spoil the party, but "To me" it is misleading for the people to start to think that the Isine sound similar to the LCD. Yes, they are smooth phones, but they sound  different in some aspects.
I would like to ask the people who listen to the Isine10 here, how airy they are compared to something like LCD2,which has a  dense sound (especially the original one).  How is the bass compared to the LCD2 bass. And do you really think that their sounds are similar to each other. And how are the similarities of the Isines to the HD800 ? In my book, I put the iSines in the same group with the HD800, even though the iSines are warm and the HD800 is bright and the tone is quite different, but the soundstage, instrument separations,the airiness of sound, the Mid, the PRaT, light weight Sound and Bass (to my taste), Precision, detail and tightness of the Isines  somehow remind me of the HD800 not those LCDs. 

I've owned the LCD-2, 3, and 4. I've also heard the very first LCD-X.

To my ears, the 20 sounds very akin to the LCD-2 in terms of tonality, coherence, and headstage. I agree that the bass isn't as booming as the LCD line, but it is very impactful for an IEM nevertheless (and better than my CIEM Roxanne's by a wide margin).

But here's the thing I want folks to take stock of who are reading this:

We are discussing the 20 in the context of the LCD line and HD800 and other top tier full-size cans which cost double or even triple the price. The 20 right now is $549. Holy cow!

 

[coolcat]

I've owned the LCD-2, 3, and 4. I've also heard the very first LCD-X.

To my ears, the 20 sounds very akin to the LCD-2 in terms of tonality, coherence, and headstage. I agree that the bass isn't as booming as the LCD line, but it is very impactful for an IEM nevertheless (and better than my CIEM Roxanne's by a wide margin).

But here's the thing I want folks to take stock of who are reading this:

We are discussing the 20 in the context of the LCD line and HD800 and other top tier full-size cans which cost double or even triple the price. The 20 right now is $549. Holy cow!

Hahaha, To me, my Isine20 is here to stay. And I would say if I want to listen to something relaxing, I always grab the Isine20. The price is ridiculously cheap compared to other TOTLs iems out there. You know why I complain a lot about the Isine20 bass, It is because I want them to be my perfect iems, that's all. In all other areas, I am very satisfied with the Isine20. If I am not a basshead, the Isine20 could easily be my one above all iems (sound and price combined)

 

[Trogdor]

Hahaha, To me, my Isine20 is here to stay. And I would say if I want to listen to something relaxing, I always grab the Isine20. The price is ridiculously cheap compared to other TOTLs iems out there. You know why I complain a lot about the Isine20 bass, It is because I want them to be my perfect iems, that's all. In all other areas, I am very satisfied with the Isine20. If I am not a basshead, the Isine20 could easily be my one above all iems (sound and price combined)

Totally agree! You know what's funny is though I didn't mention this in my review, but a REALLY great companion for the 20 is also iFi's micro iDSD or more ridiculously, the Pro iCAN too! (hint: they both have bass boost).

 

[coolcat]

Totally agree! You know what's funny is though I didn't mention this in my review, but a REALLY great companion for the 20 is also iFi's micro iDSD or more ridiculously, the Pro iCAN too! (hint: they both have bass boost).

This gonna help a lot of people, who feel they need more bass from the Isines . I think you should edit your review a little bit for us those bass crazy people :

 

[Lohb]

Anyone had some head time indoors/quiet environment with iS10 and a multibit DAC such as MIMBY etc ?

 

[coolcat]

 
Question re how isine 10 compares to LCD2 or LCD-X
 
Disclaimer - no DSP cable - listing via Chord Mojo
 
- Overall tonality - if you listen to classical music, they are pretty similar. Isine is less "dark" than LCD2 more towards LCD-X. Hence there are actually very good for an in ear to listen to Opera for example
 
- Resolution - their resolution is clearly less than LCD-X or Stax for arguments sake, but given the price very good
 
- Bass - This depends on music. For natural instruments it is mostly ok, but not as great as the big LCD's. If you listen for example to sub-bass (such a acoustically generated thunder by putting metal sheets in vibration with frequency components well in the 20-30's Hz) you clearly see that this is missing with iSine (as you would reasonably expect given a semi-open design). 
 
-Mids/Highs: Here you have a very similar characteristics as with LCD2 (I think rather than LCD-X). Hence it is a pleasure to listen, possibly not as dark as LCD2, but certainly not the same resolution as LCD-X
 
Hope this summarises it well.  

Thank you Miko for your comparison, It's great to get the opinion from the people who listen to classical music (that is one of the genres, i almost totally ignore nowaday, even though i always think about my time in Munic with classical music on the radio.)  

 

[boberang]

After three hours straight listening to the i20's......
 
They have already won a place in my heart. I am not qualified to do an audio review because I lack the ability to express myself using the correct terminology. If I had to pick one word to describe these it would be "clear". I'm hearing more of songs than I have before on various headphones. As a reference, the higher quality headphones I've used are the Sennheiser 650, Alessandro MS-1, Sennheiser IE 80, a couple of Bose, and some Shures that I never got to work for me and sold. 
 
Something I didn't expect is the comfort level of the iSine 20s. Using the Surefire internal ear clips are wonderful when you have glasses. I haven't even tried the over the ear clip since the surefire ones work so well. I've always had trouble with headphones and really can't wear the 650s for very long because of the intense head clamp (I have a fitted ball cap size of 8.5...which very few manufacturers go over 7 7/8), so I've been more in the market for IEMs. The iSine's almost seem to disappear. Other than the Cipher cable clipped to my shirt and obviously the cable hanging down, I think I'd forget I am wearing them. They are so lightweight you can't really even tell they are there. 
 
Nothing is perfect, and if I could change a couple of things I would make the Y part of the Cipher cable longer. The overall cable length is acceptable, but I'd still like to have 4-5 inches added to the R and L sections of the Y to lower the controls on my shirt. I know, picky. (and I'm probably in the minority on that)
 
The other would be I miss a bit of bass I think. I suppose adding bass cuts out some of the clarity I am noticing. Maybe I will try  Br777's cipher EQ settings he posted awhile back...if I recall correctly it looked like it bumped up the lower end. 

 

[ANDEROAN]

well here's my take on them, a little colored,
 
I'm in love! WOW WOWIE WOW WOW WOZER! the most musical IEM I've ever heard! huge but FULL soundstage! I mean huge, and the brump ump umpity ump ump bass! I'm ZZOOO in love!
 
I was worried about the treble initially, seemed a little hot, and vocals were a little recessed, not like I like them, well at least on my CV5, but sounded a bit better with my arrow4,  I was sad, I thought it was going to be a deal breaker,
 
so I've been burning it in off and on for the last few days, but today after letting it play since I left for work and now, WOW! I have it hooked up to the CV5, and the the whole sound has blossomed into a full and very very well balanced sound, and the seperation! 3DDD! I've got goose bumps and am tickled pink! the ZOv1 is doing its job tremendously! the 20's are gobbling all of it up into what I've always imagined it to be! I've again found the sound I've been chasing, ever since ? seriously this is sick music out of an IEM? what the...
 
I'm mindstruck, huge huge huge soundstage! and oh ssooo FFULLL! Iv'e heard huge soundstages out of IEM's but with soo much seperation, the bass mids and treble loose there connection, and stand alone disconjolted, but with these i20's now, good grief CB, I have some full sized headphones, and even owned the LCD's, but these being IEM's brings the music into another arena, a fine job they've done Audeze! congratulations!
 
the i20 sare a similar sound to my ASG-2's, but wwwayyyy more mature! these resonate sound like nnoobodies business,
 
and so after burning them in some, 40 hours or so, the treble is right where it should be, well blended into and along with the mids, and now the mids have married with the bass, so now it's giving the vocals a much more needed presence! now I can't tell where the bass mids and treble begin or end? this is my elusive W sound signature that I've been hunting for many years now, so they ALL have and share an equal presence by blending with each other, but also breaking away when needed, but with such a HUGE soundstage, I guess there is plenty of room for each to do it's own thing, while still being connected one to the other, which only leads to even more blending, and even more rom, which leads which leads... so now I'm getting even more lost in what's is floating between my ears, and way outside my head, and in every little room in between, lol,
 
but holy ****zu's batman, the music, the music, just how I've ever imagined it could be, Don Q finally got his windmill!
 
Peace I'm outta here, lol, yea right, cuz more always lies around the next corner! but for now these are a keeper!