[twice tzuyu]

deleted

 

[nevrsumr]

That's pretty much how they are. In my previous post, I mentioned that sizing is a hit or miss with the symbio. If you managed to get the right fit, great albeit some colouration to the sound. The JVC Spiral tips are your best bet, second would be the Final Es. The Final Es are for narrower bores, but they fit... very securely... I find the Spiral tips are the only ones that I like in terms of fit, that does not change the sound of the Andromedas.

I haven' had a lot of time with the Andromeda's yet but I did test the spiral dots from my fw01's on them and I thought the sound got brighter than the marshmallow tips they came with.

 

[KingCharizard]

I haven' had a lot of time with the Andromeda's yet but I did test the spiral dots from my fw01's on them and I thought the sound got brighter than the marshmallow tips they came with.

I've found that foam tips (esp. comply, but also the CA marshmallows) kill some of the Andromeda's air. The Andromeda still sounds very good with them, but I personally prefer the Symbio/Spiral dot sound signatures across all OI I've tried.

If you can, you should also try other sources with different OIs to match your preferences best.

 

[nevrsumr]

I've found that foam tips (esp. comply, but also the CA marshmallows) kill some of the Andromeda's air. The Andromeda still sounds very good with them, but I personally prefer the Symbio/Spiral dot sound signatures across all OI I've tried.

If you can, you should also try other sources with different OIs to match your preferences best.

The comply tips are like high frequency filters. Not sure why they put those screens in there.

 

[syke]

I haven' had a lot of time with the Andromeda's yet but I did test the spiral dots from my fw01's on them and I thought the sound got brighter than the marshmallow tips they came with.

Are you listening from your iPhone X? If yes, I could understand why. The highs are harsh from the iPhone (this coming from someone who loves treble).

 

[syke]

I must have gotten it confused with the Sony Hybrid tips which didn't fit the bore. I remember getting the Spiral Dots but they were too small for me. I'll be looking for a set of mediums soon.

I settled with the MS on the left, M on the right. TBH, It's best to trial all sizes. I know it can be rather expensive especially when you have to order them from eBay in packs of 6. I am rather fortunate, my local store has them in all sizes, and I could try all them before deciding what was right for me.

BTW, mine are the older versions. The newer versions are much softer, very comfy.

 

[nevrsumr]

Are you listening from your iPhone X? If yes, I could understand why. The highs are harsh from the iPhone (this coming from someone who loves treble).

Yep. That's why I think I like the MM tips the best. Slightly dials back the strong peaks I was getting on the gels.

Add an iEMatch to your lightning adapter if you want the 2.5 ohm out (that’s my personal favorite). Embrace the double dongle life!

I don’t hear hiss with the dongle, so you should be fine on that front.

Does the IEMatch change the signature?

 

[KingCharizard]

Yep. That's why I think I like the MM tips the best. Slightly dials back the strong peaks I was getting on the gels.

Yep. That's why I think I like the MM tips the best. Slightly dials back the strong peaks I was getting on the gels.


Does the IEMatch change the signature?

Yep, the sound signature of the Andromeda is sensitive to the output impedance of your source, for which the iEMatch gives you a choice of 1ohm or 2.5ohm. 1 ohm (or below, like the apple lightning dongle) makes the Andro darker; the 2.5ohm out sounds balanced with good bass presence and impact while maintaining the Andromeda’s air up top. YMMV of course, subject to your tastes

Another thing I like about the iEMatch is it makes the Andromeda less responsive to volume changes on my iPhone, giving me finer control over the volume. I’m happy with the combo.

 

[nevrsumr]

Yep, the sound signature of the Andromeda is sensitive to the output impedance of your source, for which the iEMatch gives you a choice of 1ohm or 2.5ohm. 1 ohm (or below, like the apple lightning dongle) makes the Andro darker; the 2.5ohm out sounds balanced with good bass presence and impact while maintaining the Andromeda’s air up top. YMMV of course, subject to your tastes

Another thing I like about the iEMatch is it makes the Andromeda less responsive to volume changes on my iPhone, giving me finer control over the volume. I’m happy with the combo.

Are you running iPhone X + Andro combo?

 

[KingCharizard]

Are you running iPhone X + Andro combo?

I usually use them with my iPhone 6 + iEMatch. Can try them with my iPhone X this weekend and report back.

 

[nevrsumr]

I usually use them with my iPhone 6 + iEMatch. Can try them with my iPhone X this weekend and report back.

Cool, thanks. I think they sound amazing already. Definitely the jack of all trades. Does everything well. The one thing I wonder with all the reviews I have seen where they praise the soundstage on these so high is if these reviewers have listened to the ie800 recently. Since that was my current TOTL before these, I listened to them a lot and they might actually have them beat. The 3d effect/imaging is greater with the CA's but the openness is bigger on the ie800's which is crazy from a small single DD IEM.


I'm probably going to sell the fw01's and N3AP's because I can't see a reason I would go to those anymore now. The Andros destroy them. They beat the IE 800 in mids for sure. Bass not so much. The ie800 has more air to them but it gets to much with a lot of tracks. That will be all you hear sometimes. I find myself skipping songs I already know bother me with them.

The only fault I am finding with the Andros is if a song is light on bass, the Andros don't help it at all but what makes up for it is bass heavy songs aren't slamming you like IEMs that are V shaped. It's an equal trade off. 90% of the time bass is perfect.

 

[deafdoorknob]

if anything, andro's sensitivity to everything is what's so great about it, if you do the research and trust your own taste, you can tune its treble and bass ANY way you prefer it to be, it only becomes problematic when you are so unsure of your own ears that you would trust the taste of others more.

fwiw >
iphone 4/5/SE/6
+ marshmallow >
natural, punchy but not bassy
+ spiral dots >
more open, less upper bass.
+spinfit >
brighter, less subbass
+final type E >
similar to marshmallow but peakier upper mids/lower treble
+ comply >
more midrange, softer sounding, more upper bass
+ symbio >
less natural than marshmallow, similar to spiral dots but punchier

with >1, <2 sources
"warmer" but not that much darker, natural with a warm tinge. Better for spinfit and symbio.

with <1 sources
moar bass, warmer but its treble is still relatively open just thicker notes, prolly opt for spinfit.
+ fitear double flange
retains openess but less punch.

as for fitting narrower bore tips you can (included sony types, with elbow grease) but you do sacrifice openness and gain bass.



^ (using sony hybrid) just because you can, doesn't mean that you should*

 

[deafdoorknob]

i am no fan of iem-match with andros, for 2 main reasons:

1) it affects microdynamics, one of the very special things that andro does well. It's like ordering sushi and having it deep fried.

2) it is not andro that is hissy, it's your source that's noisy. Get the dragonfly red (>1 ohm) or an iphone (>2 ohm)/ipod touch (<1 ohm) instead.

the killing of microdynamics and imho length of dodgy spc cable sonically cancel out the use of an awesomesauce DAP and 8 wire cable anyway.

 

[KingCharizard]

if anything, andro's sensitivity to everything is what's so great about it, if you do the research and trust your own taste, you can tune its treble and bass ANY way you prefer it to be, it only becomes problematic when you are so unsure of your own ears that you would trust the taste of others more.

Nice guide! Completely agree with you - the Andromeda changes its character considerably based on source and tips. Owners should certainly play around with different sources/tips to tweak the Andro to their preferences, if they have the opportunity. I've experimented with quite a few tips over the last couple of years and would have really appreciated a summary like yours! Thanks for posting it.

i am no fan of iem-match with andros, for 2 main reasons:

1) it affects microdynamics, one of the very special things that andro does well. It's like ordering sushi and having it deep fried.

2) it is not andro that is hissy, it's your source that's noisy. Get the dragonfly red (>1 ohm) or an iphone (>2 ohm)/ipod touch (<1 ohm) instead.

the killing of microdynamics and imho length of dodgy spc cable sonically cancel out the use of an awesomesauce DAP and 8 wire cable anyway.

I partially agree with you here; I didn't find the loss of dynamics with the iEMatch to be particularly bad (compared to straight out of an iPhone 6) and the tonal benefits were worth it to me. I mostly listen to my Andros at work though and I definitely pay less attention there, so YMMV.

A major point for me is that experimenting with sources and tips can get expensive quite quickly unless you already have a bunch lying around, which some more experienced users will while others won't. The iEMatch is a relatively cheap way of experimenting with source OI while cleaning up hiss from a noisy source - it may not be perfect, but at the very least it's a reasonable compromise and a good place to start IMO. Beyond that, most DAPs and portable DAC/amps (not just the ones that are a good OI match for the Andromeda) seem to come with their own compromises anyway, whether that be software, stacking/cable bulk, lack of streaming, audible hiss etc. I personally didn't find anything that costs < $500 that was more appealing than using just my phone.

As for the sources you mentioned, as far as I'm aware the DFR has an OI of <1 ohm, iPhones with a headphone jack (6 and below) have an OI of >3 ohm and of course the lightning dongle with the new iPhones is <1 ohm. That leaves the 1-3 ohm band uncovered which is precisely the region where I and others like the Andromeda the best. I recall having a hard time finding a source with an OI in that range a few months ago, when I was looking for a source upgrade. If I'm mistaken, please correct!

I see both sides of it - if you're dropping the $$$ for the Andromeda, you may as well invest in complementary gear to get the best out of them as you suggest. I also understand wanting your $1100 iems to perform well without investing hundreds more (which the Andromeda does). The iEMatch is a compromise that works for me (for now at least). Hopefully portable sources will improve to have fewer compromises at good value.

 

[Fargeg]

i am no fan of iem-match with andros, for 2 main reasons:

1) it affects microdynamics, one of the very special things that andro does well. It's like ordering sushi and having it deep fried.

2) it is not andro that is hissy, it's your source that's noisy. Get the dragonfly red (>1 ohm) or an iphone (>2 ohm)/ipod touch (<1 ohm) instead.

the killing of microdynamics and imho length of dodgy spc cable sonically cancel out the use of an awesomesauce DAP and 8 wire cable anyway.

I've posted this before, but adding a 20-ohm impedance adapter to raise the input impedance of the IEMatch fixes the problem of it making the Andromedas sound thin- and dead-sounding out of sources with low output impedances.

Throw in a 10 cm extension cable to protect the adapter head from bending, and the combination sounds fantastic even out of a cheap FiiO Q1, which is normally a garden hose that spews hiss, with negligible loss of detail or dynamics to my ears. Frankly, I'd almost call it too revealing, as I am now painfully aware of the destructive effects of poor music mastering on audio quality.

I'd be hesistant to rely on finding a clean source to avoid hiss, as all too many of the "noise-free sources with black backgrounds" that Andromeda owners recommend aren't, including the iPhone.