[FrostyP]

I am absolutely in love with my iSine 20s but I'm finding that they make vocals sibilant. Currently fiddling with EQ setting and am about to play around with different tips to see what changes I can get

 

[Zarium]

@Zarium - we are aware of this issue. The cable and the firmware are working. The app itself seems to have some incompatibility and we are working for a fix.

Phew, that's good to hear. I was about to bring it back to the shop. Anyway, the app not working isn't too much of a problem -- I can always just get the EQ settings I want by using another iPhone and the app. Only problem is, on my iPhone (the one with the iOS 11 beta installed), the cable doesn't seem to be detected at all now. Any idea what I can for a quick fix? Downgrading isn't possible as I was using the closed beta version before this (which worked perfectly alright...).

 

[Zarium]

Nevermind, I think I need to bring it back to the shop after all. Plugged it in an iPhone 7 running iOS 10.3.2 and the Audeze app is acting the same way as on my iPhone 6S running iOS 11 beta. The controls on the Cipher cable seem to work just fine, but it won't transmit sound to the drivers. Odd.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

I am absolutely in love with my iSine 20s but I'm finding that they make vocals sibilant. Currently fiddling with EQ setting and am about to play around with different tips to see what changes I can get

Get back to us. I have been listening to our demos on and off for the last 2 weeks. I didn't hear vocals like that (but I also have different ears then you) you find it to be that way with both male and female vocals? I could listen to something specific to hear for it

 

[RifdiBRos]

For those saying vocals sound unnatural with the Cipher cable, or that it is fatiguing, I found this is the case because the preset Cipher EQ (the one that makes the cable sound different from the stock cable) has too much of a peak in the presence region.

Some more EQ options
Since I see a number of Head-fiers using the EQ I posted and also saw some feedback on the EQ, I am happy to post two more variations that go easy near 4k. I would be happy to hear feed-back form you and we can even push the EQ to Cipher at a later point.

Here are two variants (V1, V2) and finally the original I had published earlier.

As you can see from KMann's post above, the Cipher EQ (furthest right) has a gradual slope down from 2.5kHz to 8kHz, compared to the V1 and V2 EQ settings he quoted that have a dip at 3.5~4kHz. This dip tames the presence fatigue and brightness for me, and I personally have been using my own tweak of the V2 EQ graph for my iSine 20 through a Chord Mojo and iPhone 7. I use the SigmaTunes ST-1 music app for its 10-band parametric EQ. Of course, the downside of using the Mojo instead of the Cipher cable is that I only get the EQ when listening to songs through the ST-1 app and not when I watch videos on YouTube/view content on other apps.

On a Mac, you can use AU Lab and Soundflower to set a global parametric EQ, and on Windows PC, you can use Equaliser APO.

I guess if you must use the Cipher cable, you can try lowering the 4kHz slider quite liberally until the vocals sound more to your taste.

I must say that the iSine 20 has opened my eyes to the wonders of EQ, and made me let go of a more purist tendency of 'shying' away from EQ altogether. The iSine earphones readily respond to whatever EQ you throw at it like no other headphone I've tried EQing since I've gotten the iSine 20. This responsiveness is most apparent in the bass region. With a simple low shelf filter, I can go from ear-rattling bass to a soothing ear massage.

 

[Spadge]

I must say that the iSine 20 has opened my eyes to the wonders of EQ, and made me let go of a more purist tendency of 'shying' away from EQ altogether. The iSine earphones readily respond to whatever EQ you throw at it like no other headphone I've tried EQing since I've gotten the iSine 20. This responsiveness is most apparent in the bass region. With a simple low shelf filter, I can go from ear-rattling bass to a soothing ear massage.

Exactly this!

I have also been in the 'no EQ' camp - I think because the headphones I've tried it on previously haven't responded well to it. The iSine 20's have changed that!

 

[r2ur_go]

@Audeze I bought the iSine 20 last May during my vacation there in the US, I am from the Philippines by the way. Yesterday, I was still using the headphones in the morning & it was still working. At night, I wanted to use the headphones but the left earpiece wasn't working anymore. I tried to troubleshoot myself by switching the cables (L & R), the left earpiece didn't work. I also tried my PS cables, the left earpiece still didn't work. Is this covered by the warranty? How do I go about it? I'm from the Philippines & there is no Audeze authorized dealer here. I already sent an email to the tech support team. I hope I can get a reply soon because I really love this headphones, by far the best that I have ever owned! It's really unfortunate that my unit malfunctioned, I know that (after reading through the forums) your company adopts high quality standards.

Please advice.

Thank you very much!

Email support@audeze.com and we will figure out a way and take care of it.

Awesome support by @Audeze!

By far the BEST customer service experience I have ever received from a company that I bought products from. I will definitely be a loyal customer, hands down highly recommended. Reported my iSine 20s to them for a possible warranty claim, then someone contacted me within a few days & told me to return the product to them & they'll replace me the unit without questions asked. I have nothing to complain, I'm from the Philippines & my location alone can already deter some from addressing warranty claims, this is based on actual experiences.

Thank you very much, @Audeze, very much appreciated!

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Listening to iSine 20s hooked into the Questyle 600i right now. Kind of surprised there isn't any background grain... Has anyone tried other amps with these? I'm curious about the sensitivity

 

[willsw]

I haven't looked through the entire thread and can't figure out how to search the thread, but does anyone know which pin on the IEM connector is signal and which is ground/return? I thoughtlessly cut off the connector of a cable I'm re-terminating before determining this. If the notch is facing you, which pin is which?

 

[sunneebear]

I haven't looked through the entire thread and can't figure out how to search the thread, but does anyone know which pin on the IEM connector is signal and which is ground/return? I thoughtlessly cut off the connector of a cable I'm re-terminating before determining this. If the notch is facing you, which pin is which?

With the notch facing you and the pins pointing up. The positive conductor is on left for the left ear and right for the right ear.

 

[HuoYuanJia]

Hi all,

I'm new to the party. Just wondering if anybody has measured these with the Cypher cable yet. It sounds to me as if the Cypher cable equalizes near-field according to ISO 11904-2. Would be great if somebody could confirm that. I think for a more natural presentation one could improve on that, but it's a good start.

Without the cable... well, umm. I guess the sound designers just gave up.

 

[youngarthur]

APP has suddenly stopped working on iPhone.I am getting no response from app. Anyone else had this problem?.

 

[davehutch]

Hi all,

I'm new to the party. Just wondering if anybody has measured these with the Cypher cable yet. It sounds to me as if the Cypher cable equalizes near-field according to ISO 11904-2. Would be great if somebody could confirm that. I think for a more natural presentation one could improve on that, but it's a good start.

Without the cable... well, umm. I guess the sound designers just gave up.

Tyll at Innerfidelity measured both cables I believe

 

[HuoYuanJia]

Tyll at Innerfidelity measured both cables I believe

Thanks! I thought I was crazy because I couldn't find it in the data sheets, but it turns out it's only in the article that I didn't read.

It does look like the target I mentioned, only that they only used 10 bands to equalize and thus not doing well in between the bands. They did add some sub-bass but they probably would have done better by using a better target. They had a good idea but did not think it through, in my opinion. Weird that a company with so much experience uses such an odd choice for an equalizer.

 

[headdict]

Thanks! I thought I was crazy because I couldn't find it in the data sheets, but it turns out it's only in the article that I didn't read.

It does look like the target I mentioned, only that they only used 10 bands to equalize and thus not doing well in between the bands. They did add some sub-bass but they probably would have done better by using a better target. They had a good idea but did not think it through, in my opinion. Weird that a company with so much experience uses such an odd choice for an equalizer.

What exactly do you mean by "using a better target"?
Is your criticism based on listening tests or are you relying on Tyll's measurements? In the latter case, why would you trust Tyll's test equipment more than Audeze's expertise? I'm asking because what I see in Tyll's measurements is not what I get when listening to sine sweeps.