[MetalLaserSteel]

Warmth is pretty much a personal experience for IEM, it constitutes: two factors:
1: Overtone reproduction, the harmonics of the original tones, as BA drivers tend to produce less second and third harmonics, it makes sound "cooler", dynamic drivers produces more resonance, but sometimes that could result in a trade-off of tonal distortion.
2: Quantity and the overall tonal balance, if the tonal balance on frequency response is 10dB above the neutral line for 200hz to like 2khz, and the rest of the spectrum stays on or below the neutral line, of which Crinacle's IEF Neutral (gray line) pretty much draws the line, I bet many would claim it warm.

If you have reference point of IKKO OH1 here is the chart,

Aria is a tad smoother of the two, I see OH1 will be the brighter and more toward U-Shaped.

I recently come to realize, many companies are avoiding 3k pinna gain peak(they either offset 3k or shift peak to 2.5-2.8k or 4k), or just boost whole 2.5k-4k all flat) , and a very selected few commit to challenge 3k pinna gain range. Of which many of IEMs are renowned as top-notch among many head-fiers, so you may dig into and look for some single dynamic drivers that hit like the Hiditon Viento-B, or Softears RSV, if the listener's sweet spot is at 3k, it's surely will produce a very life-like and natural sound. It's 3khz pinna gain hitter.

Here are some examples: Hiditon Viento-B and Vision Ears VE8, I will set Viento-B as benchmark


Softwars RSV:


Moondrop Blessing2 Dusk:


See Audio Yume



Thieaudio Legacy 4 (with 02 switch)



SONY MH750



QOA Adonis



Apple AirPods Pro



And lastly Moondrop Aria, Aria's pinna gain is 2.5k though, if it fits your sweetspot, then you may know your likes and dislikes. I see your Dad's favorite IKKO OH1 has 2.7k ish peak, you can compare to se which mid range peak you would prefer and then later decide your own "target tuning"

Thanks again! A lot of good fun food for thought. I'm a layman with the equalizer and chart stuff, it does seem like a cool tool though. I think I saw some of the reviews mention the Ikko OH01 had maybe too prominent high-mids, and on my old Samsung S7 default equalizer I only have 7 settings to adjust, 1K, 3K, and 8K for example. So I tried lowering the 3K by 1db out of 10 and that sounds maybe a little better, but tough to say. Good stuff to look into.

I'll say, the Ikko OH01 does sound impressive, and there is a lot to like, synth riffs like Children of Bodom's Platitudes and Barren Words sounds so beautiful it brings a tear to the eye. Fire Tiger and any 80s synth stuff sounds pretty cool too. Listened to a few hours of music on it today.

Overall though, not quite my preferred sound for daily use though I think. One thing I don't like is cymbals and hi hats seem to dominate, and sometimes guitars are less prominent than the perscussion section in general. A little bit of sibilant sort of sound and I guess just a bit too crisp for me. And I do think I'd prefer something a little more warm sounding, I guess for me by warm I mean a bit like a tube amp sort of thing. Warm and soft a bit I guess.

I'll say overall, with it's shortcomings, I do prefer Soundmagic E10 over the Ikko OH01. So maybe I'll try to find something in the middle between those two. Also, I find the smaller bullet style ones feel more comfortable for me, at least going by the Ikko OH01 which I had some trouble with there. But I'll keep trying stuff.

 

[igor0203]

Comparing my Blon Bl-03 with KZ DQ6, I think I still prefer the sound of the former. Blon Bl03 with KZ foam tips is great and DQ6 with Spinfit 100 also performs terrific, but a little harsh in the highs to my taste. One thing that I have noticed is that with the original cable, the DQ6 has low, constant (white?) noise when I connect to my devices.

Can you recommend me any good replacement cables for the DQ6 (and possible the Blon BL03) WITH A MIC?

Xinhs on ali has them

 

[profusion]

I got some better tips and an 8 core cable from XINHS for my DQ6, and now I can tell I'm impressed, for sure maybe the best in my collection and even half the price of some of them! I have only one complaint of some treble peaks but it is only in a small part of some songs (some female vocals in sh, s) but as I said only in some songs so it is not a general!

PS. will buy again from XINHS as the cable is great and quite a nice free case (actually better than some I bought)

 

[AmericanSpirit]

I got some better tips and an 8 core cable from XINHS for my DQ6, and now I can tell I'm impressed, for sure maybe the best in my collection and even half the price of some of them! I have only one complaint of some treble peaks but it is only in a small part of some songs (some female vocals in sh, s) but as I said only in some songs so it is not a general!

PS. will buy again from XINHS as the cable is great and quite a nice free case (actually better than some I bought)

Have you tried KZ EDX? That thing rocks! I recall it was like $7 or 8, a sub $10 IEM.
Tight yet warm bass, clear vocals, smooth treble, slight U Shape, not a KZ style V shape.

 

[profusion]

Have you tried KZ EDX? That thing rocks! I recall it was like $7 or 8, a sub $10 IEM.
Tight yet warm bass, clear vocals, smooth treble, slight U Shape, not a KZ style V shape.

No, but I don't want to be redundant and buy more IEMs that will stay in the drawer not used as in time I tend to select my fav and do with it and the others will keep dust afraid....Are you telling that EDX are better than DQ6?

I really like DQ6 and maybe I will buy IEMs that have exactly the signature of them without these treble peaks I mention audible only in some songs (don't know what Hz is it)...What about TRN TA1 I heard they have a dip in the treble signature maybe it will work for that reason?

 

[romasport13]

No, but I don't want to be redundant and buy more IEMs that will stay in the drawer not used as in time I tend to select my fav and do with it and the others will keep dust afraid....Are you telling that EDX are better than DQ6?

I really like DQ6 and maybe I will buy IEMs that have exactly the signature of them without these treble peaks I mention audible only in some songs (don't know what Hz is it)...What about TRN TA1 I heard they have a dip in the treble signature maybe it will work for that reason?

Without going much into techinalities (which I don't understand much), that's what I've felt about the Blon BL03. I have bought both at the last Aliexpress sales. I've found the Blon's tone much smoother than DQ6. DQ6 is great but harsher in many tracks. There is some noise when I connect it to my computer too...

 

[Nimweth]

Whizzer HE01 review:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/whizzer-kylin-he01.24944/reviews

 

[Tonymac136]

Without going much into techinalities (which I don't understand much), that's what I've felt about the Blon BL03. I have bought both at the last Aliexpress sales. I've found the Blon's tone much smoother than DQ6. DQ6 is great but harsher in many tracks. There is some noise when I connect it to my computer too...

I find with a decent cable and tips the EDX is at least as good as the DQ6. To me there's a bit of weirdness at certain frequencies, little boosts and dips all over the place. Single DD sets tend to have an advantage in cohesion even if by nature the extension at both ends is a little lacking. The DQ6 is fine, but not, to me, anything outstanding. The KS1 and BL01 are both at least as good in their own ways.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Linsoul Audio provides some of the best IEMs out there, and their Shouer Tape PRO is a new spin from the original Shouer Tape. This time the peak is lower in the frequency, so it won't be quite as fatiguing, and it does end up being more detailed without the same fatigue.

The sound is still quite colored, and since Linsoul is still selling the original Shouer Tape, there are fans of the original out there who prefered the more traditional V-Shaped sound.

At any rate, I did my best to make a full and honest review about the PRO, and while it shows I'm not always perfectly positive about things, the price range of the Tape PRO will be appealing to some, and I did my best to compare them to the most important other IEMS in this price range, to help you decide what would work best for you ~

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2021/04/shouer-tape-pro-iems.html

 

[uppertime]

Guys, my beloved E3000 just broke (no sound coming from the left side). I really, really enjoyed them because to me they were pretty neutral, detailed and with excellent soundstage and imaging. I'm considering to buy them again, but I'm also looking for alternatives. What other IEMs would you suggest?

 

[baskingshark]

Guys, my beloved E3000 just broke (no sound coming from the left side). I really, really enjoyed them because to me they were pretty neutral, detailed and with excellent soundstage and imaging. I'm considering to buy them again, but I'm also looking for alternatives. What other IEMs would you suggest?

I wouldn't consider the E3000 neutral actually, it is almost an L shaped (bass predominant signature that borders on dark).
The E3000 is pretty unique at that price range, so maybe just go for another E3000?

If you want other bassy IEMs, you can read about the BLON BL-03, iBasso IT00, KBEAR KS1.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Guys, my beloved E3000 just broke (no sound coming from the left side). I really, really enjoyed them because to me they were pretty neutral, detailed and with excellent soundstage and imaging. I'm considering to buy them again, but I'm also looking for alternatives. What other IEMs would you suggest?

If you like Final E3000 type U shape(neutral with bass boost), try out Blon-03, it’s fairly close and better technicalities. You can find on amazon around $35

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Just received KBEar KS1, having time with KS1 with BTR5, and will do a quick turn around for sub$30 segments beasts DQ6/Lark/KS1/EDX/CSN.

 

[Twowheeler]

Just received KBEar KS1, having time with KS1 with BTR5, and will do a quick turn around for sub$30 segments beasts DQ6/Lark/KS1/EDX/CSN.

What cable do you have on that DQ6? The silver and grey look very nice

 

[AmericanSpirit]

What cable do you have on that DQ6? The silver and grey look very nice

It is the best cable for DQ6! Tripowin Zonie and it’s amazingly affordable $18
It’s QDC type connector with 2.5mm balanced end, if you have balanced connection. For FiiO BRR5, it has 3.5mm single ended, and 2.5mm balanced out. For 2.5mm it uses dual DAC to run the IEM, just some fancy functionality, like “biturbo” on car engines

Very soft and comfortable.
Btw tripowin is KZ affiliates too. So by it matches with DQ6.