[Slater]

The Heart Mirror sounds promising, I have seen it described as neutral. Please wait for more opinions before making a purchase, my preference is for neutral with a little warmth and natural timbre.

I seem to remember someone saying that it had roughly the same tuning as the SSR. I could be wrong though

 

[Nimweth]

I seem to remember someone saying that it had roughly the same tuning as the SSR. I could be wrong though

I have not heard the SSR or in fact, any Moondrop IEMs so am not sure what to compare them with.

 

[harry501501]

I seem to remember someone saying that it had roughly the same tuning as the SSR. I could be wrong though

I got the Heart for £25 so was worth the punt. I liked NymPHONOmaniac's review, especially that the treble was well done and he compared them above a few other good IEMs I like. I'll obviously give my verdict. They also look solid.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hzsound-heart-mirror.24597/

 

[harry501501]

Can anyone share anything on the Rose Mini MK II? I have the opportunity of getting it at a very good price?

 

[harry501501]

I have not heard the SSR or in fact, any Moondrop IEMs so am not sure what to compare them with.

I love the tuning of the Moondrop Crescent but the cable just snapped right off mine... don't even know how? I'd still buy it again tho but only on sale. The shell build meant it was unfixable. The KXXS - which could easily be the Heart Mirrors twin - can sound amazing with the right tip.

 

[baskingshark]

I've had my eye on the Smabat... mainly as it looks so good, but now someone I trust stands by the sound... only one outcome (me being skint).

I actually just got a great deal on a like-new Shozy v33 which I know won't be a world-beater, but I love earphones with good musicality... Only £18. It looks awesome.

I've the HZSOUND Heart Mirror coming on Friday too (hopefully)... which funnily enough sounds like the exact opposite in signature to the v33.

I seem to remember someone saying that it had roughly the same tuning as the SSR. I could be wrong though

Wrote a small review here about the HZSound Heart Mirror: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hzsound-heart-mirror.24597/reviews#item-review-24478

I prefer the HZSound Heart Mirror much more than the Moondrop SSR. The 3 kHz spike and sibilance is a deal breaker for me on the SSR when used at higher volumes (comparisons below).



The HZSound Heart Mirror has a neutralish bright tuning which is very well done. The uppermids/lower treble manages to be forward and is good for vocals, but it balances a fine line between being harsh and having forward vocals. Many CHIFI boost this area too much and it ends up being too shouty, but I didn't find it on the HZSound Heart Mirror frequently, maybe only in poorly recorded material or when the volume is played too loud (Fletcher Munson curve).

It has very good technicalities and has fast transients. I'm a basshead and I think the best compliment I can give this neutralish bright set is that I use it weekly despite the lack of bass.
It needs amping though, sounds pretty meh from a smartphone, and due to the lean and brighter signature, it pairs better with warm sources. Note weight is thin too, would have preferred more meat on the bones. Soundstage also not classleading, but it opens up a bit with amping.


Pros
Beautiful shell. Light and comfortable. Good build.
Fast transients.
Good details, clarity, imaging, instrument separation for a budget single DD.
Neutral bright tuning with very few instances of hot upper mids/lower treble.
Very good timbre for vocals and acoustic instruments. Good for vocal lovers.
Good price to performance ratio.
Generous accessories.


Cons:
Shells are fingerprint magnets, can be scratched too.
Bass lite, lacks midbass punch (good news is that it takes to bass EQ well).
Average soundstage height/depth when not amped.
Will need amping to perform optimally.
Thin note weight.





HZSound Heart mirror vs Moondrop SSR:

The Moondrop SSR is tuned somewhat diffuse-field neutral with an upper mids boost. Both sets have good technical performance for a single DD set, maybe the Moondrop SSR edges it slightly in clarity, details and imaging. Timbre for acoustic instruments is very good in both sets. The Moondrop SSR has quite bad sibilance and a thinner note weight compared to the HZSound Heart Mirror. Isolation is better on the HZSound Heart Mirror.

The Moondrop SSR actually sounds nice at low volumes, but by pumping up the volume a few dB, the 3 kHz area is shouty and is too much for me (Fletcher Munson Curve). The Moondrop SSR has very polarizing reviews, and I think this may be due to the different volumes all of us are using it at, and volume levels are typically not mentioned by reviewers or consumers. Not to mention the different sources, tips, hearing health we all have may affect our perception of upper mids/treble in the Moondrop SSR. After doing A/B testing using the same source, tips (and even cable), I’ll take the HZSound Heart Mirror any day over the Moondrop SSR, as the 3 kHz peak and the sibilance on the SSR is a deal breaker for me.

Different strokes for different folks though, I know a lot of our friends like the Moondrop SSR, especially those that use it at lower volumes. The Moondrop SSR actually has better technical performance than the HZSound Heart Mirror, but unfortunately it isn’t my cup of tea in terms of tonality.

 

[Slater]

Wrote a small review here about the HZSound Heart Mirror: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hzsound-heart-mirror.24597/reviews#item-review-24478

I prefer the HZSound Heart Mirror much more than the Moondrop SSR. The 3 kHz spike and sibilance is a deal breaker for me on the SSR when used at higher volumes (comparisons below).



The HZSound Heart Mirror has a neutralish bright tuning which is very well done. The uppermids/lower treble manages to be forward and is good for vocals, but it balances a fine line between being harsh and having forward vocals. Many CHIFI boost this area too much and it ends up being too shouty, but I didn't find it on the HZSound Heart Mirror frequently, maybe only in poorly recorded material or when the volume is played too loud (Fletcher Munson curve).

It has very good technicalities and has fast transients. I'm a basshead and I think the best compliment I can give this neutralish bright set is that I use it weekly despite the lack of bass.
It needs amping though, sounds pretty meh from a smartphone, and due to the lean and brighter signature, it pairs better with warm sources. Note weight is thin too, would have preferred more meat on the bones. Soundstage also not classleading, but it opens up a bit with amping.


Pros
Beautiful shell. Light and comfortable. Good build.
Fast transients.
Good details, clarity, imaging, instrument separation for a budget single DD.
Neutral bright tuning with very few instances of hot upper mids/lower treble.
Very good timbre for vocals and acoustic instruments. Good for vocal lovers.
Good price to performance ratio.
Generous accessories.


Cons:
Shells are fingerprint magnets, can be scratched too.
Bass lite, lacks midbass punch (good news is that it takes to bass EQ well).
Average soundstage height/depth when not amped.
Will need amping to perform optimally.
Thin note weight.





HZSound Heart mirror vs Moondrop SSR:

The Moondrop SSR is tuned somewhat diffuse-field neutral with an upper mids boost. Both sets have good technical performance for a single DD set, maybe the Moondrop SSR edges it slightly in clarity, details and imaging. Timbre for acoustic instruments is very good in both sets. The Moondrop SSR has quite bad sibilance and a thinner note weight compared to the HZSound Heart Mirror. Isolation is better on the HZSound Heart Mirror.

The Moondrop SSR actually sounds nice at low volumes, but by pumping up the volume a few dB, the 3 kHz area is shouty and is too much for me (Fletcher Munson Curve). The Moondrop SSR has very polarizing reviews, and I think this may be due to the different volumes all of us are using it at, and volume levels are typically not mentioned by reviewers or consumers. Not to mention the different sources, tips, hearing health we all have may affect our perception of upper mids/treble in the Moondrop SSR. After doing A/B testing using the same source, tips (and even cable), I’ll take the HZSound Heart Mirror any day over the Moondrop SSR, as the 3 kHz peak and the sibilance on the SSR is a deal breaker for me.

Different strokes for different folks though, I know a lot of our friends like the Moondrop SSR, especially those that use it at lower volumes. The Moondrop SSR actually has better technical performance than the HZSound Heart Mirror, but unfortunately it isn’t my cup of tea in terms of tonality.

Excellent comparison - thanks a lot for taking the time to do it

 

[goms80]

Is it possible to find a IEM with a very detailed and neutral signature in the range of 100?

 

[baskingshark]

Is it possible to find a IEM with a very detailed and neutral signature in the range of 100?

You can read about the BQEYZ KC2, CVJ CS8, TRI Starsea and HZSound Heart Mirror. They have good technicalities but aren't the usual dime a dozen harman or V shaped tuned CHIFI. TRI Starsea has a few tuning switches, but it has one switch that makes it neutralish bright.

 

[chinmie]

Is it possible to find a IEM with a very detailed and neutral signature in the range of 100?

it really depends on your expectations and experience in picking up details from the source material..because there's people who always demand something that gives more details from what they currently have, while there's others that can basically use anything decent enough and can still pick up more details than the the former group.

 

[JEHL]

I'm not sure if this happens to anyone else, but if you tune an IEM to remain flat from 300Hz and under, chances are it'll sound cold rather than neutral to my ears. A +5dB low shelf from 300Hz seems to be more likely to be perceived by me as neutral than the former.

Does this mean I'm a basshead?

 

[goms80]

I'll take a look, thanks for responding.

 

[goms80]

My idea, really, is to listen to the details of the songs, and the ideal too, would be not to have a hiss in the background of the audio. (I never had the experience in a headset that didn't have such wheezing).

However, I understood what you said, thanks for listening.

 

[JEHL]

To my understanding, if I think it's the same kind of hissing as I'm experiencing. The hiss I experience on my BL-03 is confirmed to be the source's, in this case my laptop, which is quite unfortunate as for such a budget looking laptop from 2012 its amplifier is deceptively powerful, I usually listen at 18/100 volume on it while on most phones I have to slide it to 50/100 to get the same volume.

However, it looks like the DAC part of my laptop has such extreme noise floor that I can sometimes hear it through whatever track I'm playing. And to my understanding the BL-03 isn't exactly what you'd call a sensitive IEM either. So imagine how much worse this hissing would be if it were an extremely sensitive IEM.

Also to be clear I'm not recommending the BL-03, it's warm V-shaped to my ears, not exactly what one would call neutral. It's just what I have experience with and some Sony laptop that I don't remember the name.

 

[chinmie]

My idea, really, is to listen to the details of the songs, and the ideal too, would be not to have a hiss in the background of the audio. (I never had the experience in a headset that didn't have such wheezing).

However, I understood what you said, thanks for listening.

if you don't mind me asking, what do you use as a source device for your earphones? if you have a constant hiss on every headphones/earphones that you tried, i think the problem is the source's amp.. might want to invest on that instead? you might be surprised that your older earphones turned out to be just fine and that you actually like what you already have. if you're using phones or computers, might i suggest some bluetooth dongles like the ES100, BTR5, Qudelix 5k, etc, or going the USB dongle route