CHIFI LOVE Thread-A never ending IEM-Heaphones-DAP-Dongles Sound Value Quest
Jul 26, 2020 at 1:14 PM Post #25,261 of 31,809
Trying all sorts of audio gear is what makes this hobby fun (and expensive). That's why many people hang around KZ threads and threads like this one.

It may not be as good as your best pair of iems but it's still fun to try something new :)
That's why I'm here 😁

When I started to be interested in audio equipments (and I still remember it started in the moment when I tried my friend's Sony mp3 player with an entry level Sony headphones and heard the details in the song I was listening with my Samsung D900i with the headphones came out of its box ) so it was more than 11 years ago... I joined the forums and started to read about reviews, terminologies, articles etc. I was looking at those expensive IEMs with an admiration and I guess they were around 500$ or more which was way above my budget at that time from very well-known brands like Shure, Sony etc. And I was thinking what an expensive hobby is that! I would accept that you need to pay a lot get a decent sounding IEM at that time. So, I was collecting money to pay such a big amount for a entry level decent sounding IEM and I was still loving it.

I remember that I was kind of a bass-head at the beginning and my daily IEM was Audio Technica Cks1000 limited edition(it was a freaking looking very punchy bassy IEM with a sibilance penetrating through my ears 😁) . I was loving it until my friend from the University asked me to order Xiaomi Piston for him from Ali. If I'm not wrong, I purchased Cks1000 for about 199$ and Piston2 was only 17$ at that time. The day it came I was underestimating this IEM as there weren't any good sounding IEM at this price level but out of curiosity, I asked my friend if I could try them after he opened the box. I was literally shocked that it was sounding just like Cks1000 without even sibilance. He was asking if sth wrong but I didn't want him to know that Piston sounds better than my expensive headphones... So, from that day I started to think if they were charging people more than they should.

A year or two later Xiaomi came up with an Hybrid headphones and I remember that hybrid IEMs were pretty expensive also and Xiaomi Hybrid was just about 25$. I purchased it and I wasn't disappointed and I liked it more than Sennheiser IE8.


So, I'm glad Chi-Fi evolved and got better and better for the money you pay for those IEMs. It's good that there's a competition on the market and we as the customers are winning from that competition by getting better sounding IEMs for such cheap prices...
 
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Jul 26, 2020 at 1:19 PM Post #25,262 of 31,809
That's why I'm here 😁

When I started to be interested in audio equipments (and I still remember it started in the moment when I tried my friend's Sony mp3 player with an entry level Sony headphones and heard the details in the song I was listening with my Samsung D900i with the headphones came out of its box ) so it was more than 11 years ago... I joined the forums and started to read about reviews, terminologies etc. I was looking at those expensive with an admire and I guess they were around 500$ or more which was way above my budget at that time from very well-known brands like Shure, Sony etc. And I was thinking what an expensive hobby is that! I would accept that you need to pay a lot get a decent sounding IEM. So, I was collecting money to pay such a big amount for a entry level decent sounding IEM and I was still loving it.

I remember that I was kind of a bass-head at the beginning and my daily IEM was Audio Technica Cks1000 limited edition(it was a freaking looking very punchy bassy IEM with a sibilance penetrating through my ears 😁) . I was loving it until my friend from the University asked me to order Xiaomi Piston for him from Ali. If I'm not wrong, I purchased Cks1000 for about 199 and Piston was only 17$ at that time. The day it came I was underestimating this IEM as there weren't any good sounding IEM at this price level but out of curiosity, I asked my friend if I could try them after he opened the box. I was literally shocked that it was sounding just like Cks1000 without even sibilance. He was asking if sth wrong but I didn't want him to know that Piston sounds way better than my expensive headphones... So, from that day I started to think if they were charging people more than they should.

A year or two later Xiaomi came up with an Hybrid headphones and I remember that hybrid IEMs were pretty expensive also and Xiaomi Hybrid was just about 25$. I purchased it and I wasn't disappointed and I liked it more than Sennheiser IE8.


So, I'm glad Chi-Fi evolved and got better and better for the money you pay for those IEMs. It's good that there's a competition on the market and we as the customers are winning from that competition by getting better sounding IEMs for such cheap prices...
Oh you got the CKS1000, I got the CKR9 back in those years.

I also had the piston 2 and piston 3s but chi-fi wasn't quite there yet. The CKR9 still sounded a lot better imo. Granted the CKR9 was considered a great value iem for its time.
 
Jul 26, 2020 at 1:19 PM Post #25,263 of 31,809
That's why I'm here 😁

When I started to be interested in audio equipments (and I still remember it started in the moment when I tried my friend's Sony mp3 player with an entry level Sony headphones and heard the details in the song I was listening with my Samsung D900i with the headphones came out of its box ) so it was more than 11 years ago... I joined the forums and started to read about reviews, terminologies etc. I was looking at those expensive with an admire and I guess they were around 500$ or more which was way above my budget at that time from very well-known brands like Shure, Sony etc. And I was thinking what an expensive hobby is that! I would accept that you need to pay a lot get a decent sounding IEM. So, I was collecting money to pay such a big amount for a entry level decent sounding IEM and I was still loving it.

I remember that I was kind of a bass-head at the beginning and my daily IEM was Audio Technica Cks1000 limited edition(it was a freaking looking very punchy bassy IEM with a sibilance penetrating through my ears 😁) . I was loving it until my friend from the University asked me to order Xiaomi Piston for him from Ali. If I'm not wrong, I purchased Cks1000 for about 199 and Piston was only 17$ at that time. The day it came I was underestimating this IEM as there weren't any good sounding IEM at this price level but out of curiosity, I asked my friend if I could try them after he opened the box. I was literally shocked that it was sounding just like Cks1000 without even sibilance. He was asking if sth wrong but I didn't want him to know that Piston sounds way better than my expensive headphones... So, from that day I started to think if they were charging people more than they should.

A year or two later Xiaomi came up with an Hybrid headphones and I remember that hybrid IEMs were pretty expensive also and Xiaomi Hybrid was just about 25$. I purchased it and I wasn't disappointed and I liked it more than Sennheiser IE8.


So, I'm glad Chi-Fi evolved and got better and better for the money you pay for those IEMs. It's good that there's a competition on the market and we as the customers are winning from that competition by getting better sounding IEMs for such cheap prices...
Your experience with the xiaomi piston/hybrid are similar to mine. (except I believe I had the Klipsch S4i before the Piston 2). I would guess that those xiaomi iems are the ones that introduced most people to chi-fi (or maybe KZ).
 
Jul 26, 2020 at 1:26 PM Post #25,264 of 31,809
Your experience with the xiaomi piston/hybrid are similar to mine. (except I believe I had the Klipsch S4i before the Piston 2). I would guess that those xiaomi iems are the ones that introduced most people to chi-fi (or maybe KZ).
They certainly were. KZ started around that time as well if I remember correctly and released the legendary ED9.

Also every klipsch iem I've ever tried has always sounded bad. The only appeal I can see is their small size.
 
Jul 26, 2020 at 1:30 PM Post #25,265 of 31,809
Oh you got the CKS1000, I got the CKR9 back in those years.

I also had the piston 2 and piston 3s but chi-fi wasn't quite there yet. The CKR9 still sounded a lot better imo. Granted the CKR9 was considered a great value iem for its time.
Oh I think the one I tried at that time was Piston 2 with a gold looking metalic chamber. 😁

My friend got Ckr9 and I remember it was a good sounding IEMs for genres like Pop because it was playing very close to your ear if I don't remember wrong.
 
Jul 26, 2020 at 4:45 PM Post #25,266 of 31,809
Your experience with the xiaomi piston/hybrid are similar to mine. (except I believe I had the Klipsch S4i before the Piston 2). I would guess that those xiaomi iems are the ones that introduced most people to chi-fi (or maybe KZ).

This is probably the default scenario. Budget KZs are entry point for most into Chi-Fi. I ventured into Chi-Fi after losing my ED9 and bought ZSN. KZ might create bazillion iems with same tuning but they surely get one hooked to their tuning especially to folks who are new to the hobby.
 
Jul 26, 2020 at 5:25 PM Post #25,267 of 31,809
This is probably the default scenario. Budget KZs are entry point for most into Chi-Fi. I ventured into Chi-Fi after losing my ED9 and bought ZSN. KZ might create bazillion iems with same tuning but they surely get one hooked to their tuning especially to folks who are new to the hobby.

While I started with 1 More and Fiio, it is exactly KZ that got me hooked into ChiFi with AS10 - loved the journey ever since :) :)
 
Jul 26, 2020 at 5:27 PM Post #25,268 of 31,809
Jul 26, 2020 at 6:17 PM Post #25,270 of 31,809
That is true, like how regular people don't notice that big of a difference between regular and high end iems/headphones.

But for me more detailed/clear (for lack of a better term) iems sound more effortless and don't have that congested feeling I despise. Of course, ear piercing/sibilant iems not apply. It's not really about the details but rather the crispness or something to that effect.

I absolutely detest congestedness and when the earphone/IEM becomes overwhelmed with extremely busy tracks (e.g. on the Unreal Tournament 3 soundtrack)

until diving into the rabbit hole of audiophile equipment I wasn't even aware that it could be played back without that muddiness, intermingling of notes, instruments and bass :sweat:

on that note - the BGVP Zero are a very nice sub-100$ budget earphone ^^

in direct comparison when listening to Anime episodes they sound quite similar to the TRI I3 with pure silver cable (no critical listening)
 
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Jul 26, 2020 at 6:17 PM Post #25,271 of 31,809

I have the Pioneer SE-CH5BL (the 2nd one in your list). It sounds near identical to the flagship Pioneer SE-CH9T, which is significantly more expensive. The main difference if the CH9T has a metal shell and mmcx. Other than that, it’s the same as the “5” models.

Note that the SE-CH5BL has a fixed cable, and that it is 2.5mm balanced. You will of course need a balanced source to take advantage of it. It also has a very wide nozzle, which may not fit everyone especially if they have small ear canals.

It sounds especially good with the thin black fabric layer peeled off.
 
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Jul 26, 2020 at 7:43 PM Post #25,272 of 31,809
I absolutely detest congestedness and when the earphone/IEM becomes overwhelmed with extremely busy tracks (e.g. on the Unreal Tournament 3 soundtrack)

until diving into the rabbit hole of audiophile equipment I wasn't even aware that it could be played back without that muddiness, intermingling of notes, instruments and bass :sweat:

on that note - the BGVP Zero are a very nice sub-100$ budget earphone ^^

in direct comparison when listening to Anime episodes they sound quite similar to the TRI I3 with pure silver cable (no critical listening)
Well I hope no one takes this as an offense. If anything this is more of a jab at myself, makes me question if I'm an audiophile or not.

5 years ago, I overclocked my laptop's monitor to 90Hz, and sure enough, contrary to popular opinion, the difference was noticeable almost immediately and yet... I never felt disgust at going back to 60Hz again. That being said however I ended up ordering a Sceptre C275-144RN about half a year ago and my sister hasn't shiped it yet so I can't comment on it yet, but supposedly supports up to 144Hz (and I heard some people getting 240Hz stable overclocks on it, I'm not sure if worth trying though) and uses a VA panel and was $180 at the time of ordering it but it's now either unavailable or about $270 because... China BOW I assume so I wonder if this monitor can curse me into getting disgusted at 60Hz.

I imagine with audio however is much more difficult because of how little we actually understand of it, I saw a 2014 or so video about what should a headphone sound like, and I believe it was the one working for AKG who mentioned their current understanding of how a headphone should sound like is about as good as their understanding of how room speakers should sound like in 1970.

In the case of the BLON BL-03, as long as I can DIY the mesh filter properly, it gets VERY close to what my personal target curve is, missing by slightly overshooting the entire bass range and slightly overshooting the upper mids/lower treble. At this point I feel like these are mere nitpicks rather than major complains as neither is severe.

So I REALLY question if it's worth either sacrificing this tonality or having to pay even more than the C275-144RN mentioned above for superior micro detailing without sacrificing the tonality.
 
Jul 27, 2020 at 12:22 AM Post #25,273 of 31,809
Your experience with the xiaomi piston/hybrid are similar to mine. (except I believe I had the Klipsch S4i before the Piston 2). I would guess that those xiaomi iems are the ones that introduced most people to chi-fi (or maybe KZ).
Kanen KM-92 were my first ChiFi IEMs. Much before KZ and Xiaomi.

See : https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kanen-km-92-review-budget-woody-iem.438289/

I still have a unused pair.

kanen_earphones_130.jpg
 
Jul 27, 2020 at 12:52 AM Post #25,274 of 31,809
5 years ago, I overclocked my laptop's monitor to 90Hz, and sure enough, contrary to popular opinion, the difference was noticeable almost immediately and yet... I never felt disgust at going back to 60Hz again. That being said however I ended up ordering a Sceptre C275-144RN about half a year ago and my sister hasn't shiped it yet so I can't comment on it yet, but supposedly supports up to 144Hz (and I heard some people getting 240Hz stable overclocks on it, I'm not sure if worth trying though) and uses a VA panel and was $180 at the time of ordering it but it's now either unavailable or about $270 because... China BOW I assume so I wonder if this monitor can curse me into getting disgusted at 60Hz.
I switched to 144hz last year and 60hz feels so off to me now. Makes me wonder how I used to play at 25-30fps.

90hz is the minimum for me now when gaming. Anything lower feels juddery.

60hz to 90hz is a noticeable improvement. 60hz to 144hz is night and day. Going a step further to 240hz is like going from 60 to 75hz, it's an appreciable difference but only if you look for it.
 
Jul 27, 2020 at 12:58 AM Post #25,275 of 31,809
I absolutely detest congestedness and when the earphone/IEM becomes overwhelmed with extremely busy tracks (e.g. on the Unreal Tournament 3 soundtrack)

until diving into the rabbit hole of audiophile equipment I wasn't even aware that it could be played back without that muddiness, intermingling of notes, instruments and bass :sweat:

on that note - the BGVP Zero are a very nice sub-100$ budget earphone ^^

in direct comparison when listening to Anime episodes they sound quite similar to the TRI I3 with pure silver cable (no critical listening)
Find a tuning you like first and go from there. V shaped iems do quite well when it comes to reducing the sense of congestedness as long as the bass is not muddy. Muddy bass is the worst offender that causes an iem to sound congested. The 125hz band in particular is where muddy sounding bass lies.
 

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