[jody2k]

The Ear Studio ES100 and iSine works well together as a semi-wireless solution! It's a very solid Bluetooth adapter I just received and the best part is that it has on-memory eq which you can control via the app for android/iOS. It also works as a usb-audio device on my android, so this essentially is a Cipher cable alternative for Android and other devices.






...And just for fun... pew pew!

Interesting ! how powerful is the equalizer? do you lose volume / quality when you move way up the sliders in the bass range for example? or would you consider it same quality / lossless like viper4android or poweramp?

 

[antdroid]

Interesting ! how powerful is the equalizer? do you lose volume / quality when you move up the sliders? or is same quality / lossless like viper4android or poweramp?

There's a lot of info regarding the specs of the device on the ES100 thread on headfi from the head engineer for it. But there's a surprising amount of power on this device and the eq works very well. I haven't seen any degradation of sound when moving the eq around. You can also lower the EQ preamp volume down to normalize it, which is what I've done. The device also has some digital filters to reduce noise and jitter control. They don't seem to interfere with the sound to me. I'm running it with AptX HD and it does not sound any different than wired. The device can also be used a a wired USB audio amp/dac as well but I don't really see a need to for listening to FLAC and Spotify extreme files.

I'm running the iSines through the balanced port on the ES100. It provides plenty of power this way, but even the SE out has a surprising amount of power.

 

[jody2k]

Alright guys some headsup from different silicone tips i tried from china (aliexpress)
I think i bought about all types you can buy there haha

These one were the best for me: https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/Whit...32806430522.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.WijGJU
Yea i know they look cheap (and are cheap haha), but they are the only one's who sounded better than the standard silicon tips from audeze
They are pretty comfortable also, they don't go much into the ear like the standard tips from audeze do and they isolate better also

Sound:
Soundstage with these chinese tips are bit less deep soundstage but more wide soundstage (vocals and instruments sounding closer to you, you are more on the stage itself with the artist instead of 5 meters from it. They are more wide around you left and right compared to stock tips)

Soundstage with standard silicon tips from audeze going deeper, but less wide (overall soundstage is sound bit further from you)

- More bass/body with silicone chinese tips (pretty amazing) and adding a nice extra sounding smooth timbre (the tips are very tin, more thin than the stock tips maybe thats why)

Also tried for example comply comfort 600 which i found degraded the soundQ overall (you can look into me other review for that)

Warning: These tips are really pain in the ass to put it on, they fit but they need to be pulled/stretched over the isine hose, once you understand how it works it's pretty easy but take your time with it

 

[antdroid]

Alright guys some headsup from different silicone tips i tried from china (aliexpress)
I think i bought about all types you can buy there haha

These one were the best for me: https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/Whit...32806430522.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.WijGJU
Yea i know they look cheap (and are cheap haha), but they are the only one's who sounded better than the standard silicon tips from audeze
They are pretty comfortable also, they don't go much into the ear like the standard tips from audeze do and they isolate better also

Sound:
Soundstage with these chinese tips are bit less deep soundstage but more wide soundstage (vocals and instruments sounding closer to you, you are more on the stage itself with the artist instead of 5 meters from it. They are more wide around you left and right compared to stock tips)

Soundstage with standard silicon tips from audeze going deeper, but less wide (overall soundstage is sound bit further from you)

- More bass/body with silicone chinese tips (pretty amazing) and adding a nice extra sounding smooth timbre (the tips are very tin, more thin than the stock tips maybe thats why)

Also tried for example comply comfort 600 which i found degraded the soundQ overall (you can look into me other review for that)

50 tips for $0.74. That''s expensive!!

Thanks for the "tip" - I can make an order at that price.

I really like SpinFits and these tips I found: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XWG9R9H/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (the silicone size small ones)

I also like Symbio-W but they are annoying to put on for these particular IEMs.

 

[m8o]

I've been loving my iSine 20. But...I've been curious about the LCDi4. How much better can the Audeze in-ear headphone sound get for $2495?

Here is my opinion on the matter.

My first experience with the two was at a quiet desk in the back at the store Audio46. The owner set me up with an iSine20 and i4 to compare, and i used my own dap feeding music to my Mojo.

I sat there for an hour comparing & picking apart about a dozen of my favorite, most listened to, songs. I'll jump right to the conclusion. The i4 reminded me very much of my totl level HE-1000; the iSine20, a super high quality IEM.

The i4 over the 20 showed itself most in its transparency approaching that of the HE1K, and the frequency extremes. Bass lowness and cymbal presence & sizzle was more evident. But don't get me wrong, these were small differences. The 20 meanwhile carried more weight to its presentation, with a more focused soundstage.

I definitely left with my rational brain wanting the iSine20 for near 1/5 the cost of the i4; and my emotional brain lusting after the i4 to have something nearing my HE-1000 in a small convenient package. A few months later, I bought the iSine20. ... and continued to lust after the i4.

Fast forward a few months. I got a upgraded balanced cable that definitely helped the high sizzle and overall clarity. I've tried every tip under the sun; I need to writeup my journey there too, tips used as intended, or forced down the shaft so that the nozzle opening is at max. I found the Reveal plugin in Foobar. I started using Roon with built-in dsps for the Audezes. And in my DAP without support for any of that, I found EQ curves that makes it sometimes sound even better.

My second experience with the i4 was, one of the first things i did at CanJam NYC was to again compare the i4 to my 20. And the differences were far less. Show conditions couldn't have helped. That he-1000 likeness wasn't really there. But the better reproduction at the frequency extremes was still noticible.

The net was, the near 5x difference (4.54x w/o cipher) in price is even harder for me to justify. My lust for the i4 was mostly gone. ... But if the price was $1k less, I could see myself picking it up.

 

[golfinggino]

well i listened to lcd-x , hifiman edition x2, lcd-2 from powered amps and still prefer the isine 10 out of my mobile ! LOL isine come very close to the L700 image and separation with better bass response, L700 is better in every other area though.

What phone are you using ? I have the isine 10 and hifiman edition x v2 I play them both on high impedance from my lg v30 and they are not really close at all the hifiman sounds much better to me

 

[BB 808]

Here is my opinion on the matter.

My first experience with the two was at a quiet desk in the back at the store Audio46. The owner set me up with an iSine20 and i4 to compare, and i used my own dap feeding music to my Mojo.

I sat there for an hour comparing & picking apart about a dozen of my favorite, most listened to, songs. I'll jump right to the conclusion. The i4 reminded me very much of my totl level HE-1000; the iSine20, a super high quality IEM.

The i4 over the 20 showed itself most in its transparency approaching that of the HE1K, and the frequency extremes. Bass lowness and cymbal presence & sizzle was more evident. But don't get me wrong, these were small differences. The 20 meanwhile carried more weight to its presentation, with a more focused soundstage.

I definitely left with my rational brain wanting the iSine20 for near 1/5 the cost of the i4; and my emotional brain lusting after the i4 to have something nearing my HE-1000 in a small convenient package. A few months later, I bought the iSine20. ... and continued to lust after the i4.

Fast forward a few months. I got a upgraded balanced cable that definitely helped the high sizzle and overall clarity. I've tried every tip under the sun; I need to writeup my journey there too, tips used as intended, or forced down the shaft so that the nozzle opening is at max. I found the Reveal plugin in Foobar. I started using Roon with built-in dsps for the Audezes. And in my DAP without support for any of that, I found EQ curves that makes it sometimes sound even better.

My second experience with the i4 was, one of the first things i did at CanJam NYC was to again compare the i4 to my 20. And the differences were far less. Show conditions couldn't have helped. That he-1000 likeness wasn't really there. But the better reproduction at the frequency extremes was still noticible.

The net was, the near 5x difference (4.54x w/o cipher) in price is even harder for me to justify. My lust for the i4 was mostly gone. ... But if the price was $1k less, I could see myself picking it up.

Thank you very much for the detailed comparison. I am torn because I’ve been lusting for the LCDi4 before I settled on the iSine 20. Trying to rationalize spending 4.16X for the TOTL.

 

[howdy]

To those who have both V1 and V2 cable are you still thinking the V2 is far superior to V1? For 60 bucks I think its a good deal as a back up in case something happens.

 

[JLoud]

I have V1 and V2 cables with my isine10. I feel it is better but not night and day. Perhaps more noticeable on the isine 20's. But I feel it was worth the $60. The round cable alone is worth the $60. I did not like the flat cable.

 

[tgx78]

I actually still think v1 is better suited for my musical taste. It is more neutral and treble peak around the 3-4k brings out more perceived clarity in classical music I mostly listen. V2 is thicker and weightier sounding with slightly heavier hitting bass and veiled treble. With little bit of eq to raise 2 and 4khz I like it with other genres of music

 

[Br777]

Hi audeze, kind of a broader than audeze question that I'd still love your perspective on:

Why is it that my many years old rockboxed clip+ or clip zip ( a teeny little $40 player that I have used for over a decade to power both my customs and 20's unamped with incredible sound quality) is capable of what I consider a perfect parametric equalizer capable of incremental frequency, gain, and q/bandwidth adjustments that delivers amazing results with a super flexible multi approach UI, yet no one seems to be able to deliver this in an app or on the cypher cable or really anywhere beyond something like a dsp plugin on foobar on a PC like easyQ which is still inferior to rockbbox? On modern devices like the iphone or modern portable players it's always too complex, or too demanding and just plain overlooked? Seriously what did rockbox in it's bare bones yet perfect interface have that no one ever has been able to replicate? I get that there are some parametric apps for iphone that eh, after a lot of work still don't rival the simplicity and quality of my clip zip, so what gives?

 

[ahmedie]

What phone are you using ? I have the isine 10 and hifiman edition x v2 I play them both on high impedance from my lg v30 and they are not really close at all the hifiman sounds much better to me

I was using galaxy s7 for isine... the hifiman x v2 was playing through a dedicated amp & phone, of course technicality hifiman x v2 is ahead of the isine, but the hex v2 is very polite and no bass impact made me feel they are lacking...btw L700 image in similar way to the hex v2 but much more thick and much more holographic, L700 is good for orchestra as well as rock etc or any acoustic music (anything recorded with a microphone) hex is just too polite and thin sounding in comparison... someone compared them herer https://www.head-fi.org/threads/focal-elear-impressions-thread.811961/page-248#post-13650249

 

[golfinggino]

interesting I have never heard any of the stax. In my opinion the isines do not sound great off any Samsung phones they need an external dac/amp which is why I don't listen off my S8 plus I only listen with my V30.

 

[ahmedie]

interesting I have never heard any of the stax. In my opinion the isines do not sound great off any Samsung phones they need an external dac/amp which is why I don't listen off my S8 plus I only listen with my V30.

I agree they only sounded great at lower volume using S8!

 

[nanosword]

I want to purchase iSINE 20 but I see Z review and he said Audiofly AF180 best imagine can anyone give me his thought between these two .

also I want to use my Iem for gaming and music .