[PolkManiac]

Apologies if I've missed it here, but does anyone know if a smaller size of the ear hooks are available?  I have really small ears and the supplied hooks just slide right off and the earlock things don't fit either.

 

[waifu]

So I got my isine10's yesterday. Upon my first listen, I was surprised by the sound. It wasn't really the dark/warm sound I had been used to, from the LCD-2/3. Expecting the same sound from IEMs, is obviously silly. I didn't expect that. But I was surprised by the sound. I was really loving it tho, as it was prob the closest I've had an IEM come, to sounding like a an over the head headphone. The soundstage, the detail. The bass also had good weight/detail (even though it's not as impactful as my Sony ex800ST).

But after about 30 min, I started to notice a little irritation in my right ear. And then slowly I had a burning/itchy sensation in both ears. Then I started to get aches in my both ears as well. So I had to put them down after about 50 min of use. I didn't use them for the rest of the day. As the rest of the day went on, my ear aches got worse. Felt like I had a bubble in each ear, so clearly I was expericing deep fatigue/irritation (something I've experienced before from headphones like Grado).

This really bummed me out. Apart of me wanted to use them again today, and try again. But my ears still feel itchy and aches. So that kind of tells me, I should stop and just recognize these aren't for me. I know it has to be the sound sig, because I can blast my Sony's, and those have bass that rocks your skull. And I wasn't even listening full blast with the Audeze. Just something about the sound sig, is irritating my ears.

I still have my 20's on order (waiting list). I'm wondering to anyone that has tried both, should I just cancel these? Do you think the 20 is that different from the 10? Is supposed to be more rounded/smooth then the 10? Or do they both have a similar sound sig.

I've decided to just give my 10's to my family member and not try them again. But apart of me thinks I should just also cancel my 20 order, because of the kind of ear aches I got with the 10. And this was with the 3.5mm standard 10 version. No idea if the Cipher Cable which comes with the 20, will make a big enough of a difference, that the sound sig would be more accommodating to my ears. I have the LCD-2 + 3, and have never had these issues before with Audeze. But yeah agian, IEMs are obviously different.

 

[makne]

So I got my isine10's yesterday. Upon my first listen, I was surprised by the sound. It wasn't really the dark/warm sound I had been used to, from the LCD-2/3. Expecting the same sound from IEMs, is obviously silly. I didn't expect that. But I was surprised by the sound. I was really loving it tho, as it was prob the closest I've had an IEM come, to sounding like a an over the head headphone. The soundstage, the detail. The bass also had good weight/detail (even though it's not as impactful as my Sony ex800ST).

But after about 30 min, I started to notice a little irritation in my right ear. And then slowly I had a burning/itchy sensation in both ears. Then I started to get aches in my both ears as well. So I had to put them down after about 50 min of use. I didn't use them for the rest of the day. As the rest of the day went on, my ear aches got worse. Felt like I had a bubble in each ear, so clearly I was expericing deep fatigue/irritation (something I've experienced before from headphones like Grado).

This really bummed me out. Apart of me wanted to use them again today, and try again. But my ears still feel itchy and aches. So that kind of tells me, I should stop and just recognize these aren't for me. I know it has to be the sound sig, because I can blast my Sony's, and those have bass that rocks your skull. And I wasn't even listening full blast with the Audeze. Just something about the sound sig, is irritating my ears.

I still have my 20's on order (waiting list). I'm wondering to anyone that has tried both, should I just cancel these? Do you think the 20 is that different from the 10? Is supposed to be more rounded/smooth then the 10? Or do they both have a similar sound sig.

I've decided to just give my 10's to my family member and not try them again. But apart of me thinks I should just also cancel my 20 order, because of the kind of ear aches I got with the 10. And this was with the 3.5mm standard 10 version. No idea if the Cipher Cable which comes with the 20, will make a big enough of a difference, that the sound sig would be more accommodating to my ears. I have the LCD-2 + 3, and have never had these issues before with Audeze. But yeah agian, IEMs are obviously different.

To me, it almost sounds like you had an allergic reaction to the eartips or something, I don't know... Did you try to eq them? 
People say that the 20's have more refined treble than the 10's, but I don't know if that's enough for you.

 

[Mishal]

So I got my isine10's yesterday. Upon my first listen, I was surprised by the sound. It wasn't really the dark/warm sound I had been used to, from the LCD-2/3. Expecting the same sound from IEMs, is obviously silly. I didn't expect that. But I was surprised by the sound. I was really loving it tho, as it was prob the closest I've had an IEM come, to sounding like a an over the head headphone. The soundstage, the detail. The bass also had good weight/detail (even though it's not as impactful as my Sony ex800ST).

But after about 30 min, I started to notice a little irritation in my right ear. And then slowly I had a burning/itchy sensation in both ears. Then I started to get aches in my both ears as well. So I had to put them down after about 50 min of use. I didn't use them for the rest of the day. As the rest of the day went on, my ear aches got worse. Felt like I had a bubble in each ear, so clearly I was expericing deep fatigue/irritation (something I've experienced before from headphones like Grado).

This really bummed me out. Apart of me wanted to use them again today, and try again. But my ears still feel itchy and aches. So that kind of tells me, I should stop and just recognize these aren't for me. I know it has to be the sound sig, because I can blast my Sony's, and those have bass that rocks your skull. And I wasn't even listening full blast with the Audeze. Just something about the sound sig, is irritating my ears.

I still have my 20's on order (waiting list). I'm wondering to anyone that has tried both, should I just cancel these? Do you think the 20 is that different from the 10? Is supposed to be more rounded/smooth then the 10? Or do they both have a similar sound sig.

I've decided to just give my 10's to my family member and not try them again. But apart of me thinks I should just also cancel my 20 order, because of the kind of ear aches I got with the 10. And this was with the 3.5mm standard 10 version. No idea if the Cipher Cable which comes with the 20, will make a big enough of a difference, that the sound sig would be more accommodating to my ears. I have the LCD-2 + 3, and have never had these issues before with Audeze. But yeah agian, IEMs are obviously different.

Interesting experience. While these are called IEMs, I never push them inside my ear canal like my Shure SE215. I just gently place them on the ear opening. I like to wear them that way since they feel comfortable and enjoyable during long listening sessions. With the Shure SE215, deep placement in the ear canal gives me a weird sensation that I don't like when I listen to them for 30 minutes or so.

 

[waifu]

Hmmm. Now I'm wondering if it's an allergic reaction to the tips or fatigue. I've def had fatigue before in the past with over the head cans. And it feels similar.

I have no idea why this sound sig would bother me so much. Hmm.

I'll give it a a couple days then. And then maybe I'll try again. As far as EQ, I planned on using these directly into my iPhone. Since I went with the 3.5mm standard, I don't think Audeze EQ app works right?

 

[clerkpalmer]

Just got mine. First impression is positive. Anyone using Android with no dac or amp that can suggest an eq setting that makes these a bit warmer. The Android eq sucks.

 

[Shiikamaru]

is lack of bass decay inherent to all planar magnetic earphones/headphones? sounds unnatural to me. 

 

[clerkpalmer]

Also, a bit off track, but I prefer the base response with a little EQ.  Is there an app that I can use with Tidal?  Seems like I can't find one.

 

[Slim1970]

I have a pair of the iSine 20's on order. I'm very interested in seeing how the sound compares to the Shure SE-846's and the Sennheiser IE-800's I have.

 

[Skyfall]

I went to CanJam California just last weekend and got a change to audition both 10 and 20 (also LCD PRO) for the first time and I did this after I listened to the whole new series of Noble's newest IEM lines. I am not IEM guy and I like open back Senn and Audeze. All IEMs I have tried never sound natural and open enough for longer listening. But when I tried Isine 10 my jaw dropped and I knew this was the one for me then I proceeded to Isine20 and I didn't have the same reaction- it sounded flat.
 
So far I have been with my new boo the Isine10 for a couple days only and I am loving it! It has very black background and very low distortion when driven hardly with amps. The 10 sounds a little mid/bass centric compare to 20 which is more linear in freq response. 
 
This ear-ortho reacts very well to who's driving it and I don't think ppl should judge it's capabilities on I-device only or smartphones in general these are not audiophile oriented SQ. It's a freakin' cellphone.  Out of the latest Galaxy S it sounds warmer, thicker, heavily textured and bassy but the highs is harsh and distorted the soundstage is smaller. Not really audiophile SQ...but it's not the earphone's fault.
 
When I pair it with my trusty DAP aune M2S I hear beautifully balance, textured and layered sounds, very dark background creating a sharp contrast when the note on and off. The bass is detailed, centered and meaty. Transparency is really good here and there's no hiss or hum. To push things further I added  portable amp such as Duet or MK3B+ and the sound just bloomed even more making imaging and separation even wider and deeper. With the same portable set-up HD 650 sounds muffled, congested, way less airy and less enjoyable in general.
 
Isine10 is an amazing piece and it scales further with better source and amp. Very good buy!

 

[waifu]

Shoot. So I guess the Audeze app only works when the cipher cable. Just tried and it doesn't work with my standard. So EQ for me isn't really viable, as I wanted to use these with my iPhone only.

Guess the sound sig just isn't for me. So weird that it would give me fatigue

I wish I understood this stuff more on a technical level. So I could understand what specifically, fatigues my ears. I generally haven't had this issue in years, as I've stuck to warm/dark sound sigs. Which is why I liked the Audeze sound. And I can listen to bass that shakes your skull and have no issues (so it def has to do with treble/ and certain peaks).

Yet with these, I get fatigue. I do feel that my isine10s are not as warm as the other Audeze's I've had (granted this is an iem compared to LCD-2 and LCD-3 I own). I suppose apart of the problem might also be that I'm just using these directly to my phone without EQ or another outside source.

I'm still going to keep my isine 20 order that is on a waiting list, as that has the cipher cable. And maybe with EQ on the Audeze app, I can get it so I don't have fatigue. Not going to lie, I feel bummed right now. My ears still ache even 20 hours later. I def feel it's not an allergic reaction to the tips, as I've had this fatigue before with over the ear headphones (feels almost like a bubble is in both ears, they are hot and irritated and ache). Also the ache is more deeper in the canal and not the outside (so I feel it's sound related fatigue).

But I dunno. Like I said, wish I understood these things better. I can say these iems are amazing. The sound is like a full over ear headphone. I think they are sexy looking. They are shockingly light. I've heard some people have issues with fit because the housing is so big, but I have small tiny ears (I'm a tiny girl), and I didn't feel these were heavy or annoying, or didn't fit well. They actually were surprisingly light, and kind of fit pretty easily (if anything, i almost felt it was too loose, the way it sits. Altho it actually wasn't loose. Just felt like it since it slid right in).

So I have nothing but praise for these. If it wasn't for the ear aches (which I'm not entirely sure what is going on), I would say these are some of the best I've ever heard/ held.

 

[makne]

 
Also, a bit off track, but I prefer the base response with a little EQ.  Is there an app that I can use with Tidal?  Seems like I can't find one.

I think amarra has an eq? 

 

[clerkpalmer]

Looks like that is for PC only.  Any other suggestions to bump the base a bit using Tidal? 

 

[kukkurovaca]

Hilariously, a few minutes after my previous post, one of the earlocks started to fail.

There are four dimples on the back of the earlock, I assume from the  molding process? One of these dimples developed a partial tear, I guess, and now it acts like a hinge, allowing the ring to flex and preventing the earlock from staying on the iSine.

I guess I'll contact Audeze and ask about replacements; as far as I know the model used with the iSine is not like the ones Surefire sells for earbuds, etc. 

For now I'll be stuck using the hooks, which are not nearly as comfortable for me.


 

I got my replacement earlocks today. Thanks, Audeze!

The new set is very slightly different from the old set. I have no idea whether the minor differences mean anything in terms of durability, however.

The new earlock is on the left, the old one is on the right. The four holes on the new one are straight in, while on the old one they're stepped down. Maybe this means this means there is more solid material around the holes on the new one and they would be a less likely point of failure? Or maybe it's purely cosmetic. : )

 

[clerkpalmer]

In about 2 weeks time I've gone from dunu t5 to rha t20 to isine10. I feel like I'm addicted to drugs. These headphones are impressive. Does it ever end?