[dw1narso]

My personal 'suspect' about 'boringness' of Aria.... is not due the tuning which is actually very subjective. In the past two/three years, the Harman IEM target response have been evolving to become the "holy grail" of IEM development pattern. Many companies try to stick to this target since it seems a recipe for easier adoption and thus successful business. Moondrop is one company that did/do that in rather extreme. Their budget line IEM almost exclusively use this pattern (Kanas, Kanas Pro, KXXS, Starfield, Aria, and lately Kato). And there's also Tanchjim that actually pioneer this trend (Oxygen, Hana, Tanya, Hana 2021). Basically, this makes IEMs that followed this pattern is considered to have 'safe' tuning.

This development pattern of following Harman and each other is not wrong, but I'm worry if this keep going would make world of IEM become boring if companies afraid to deviate from this pattern. Innovation might be stalled. New stuffs are just variation (more precisely recycle) of the same theme.

(If you live in Indonesia, you know how boring to see Toyota Avanza / Daihatsu Xenia that have been around and recycled for the last 18 years . Surprisingly 'safe' buyer keep buying them.)

I'm not against Harman target response, in fact I'm waiting for one IEM that is based on this response as well, cause I'm curious too (not Aria though...). But I plan that I would only have one (two at max) of this kind of sound.

I love the 2nd part of the famous Mark Twain quote above...

My two cents...

 

[Lobarkaine]

The below thoughts are offered in context that these terms are borrowed from the recording industry. Consumer use of these terms often get bent around to fit marketing objectives. Well, when using the term to describe headphones, I think that "colored" should be used in a more general sense to refer to broad differences in bass, mids, or treble compared to a "flat" headphone (like sony V6) and not so much to point at specific peaks. If treble is considered "bright" on a phone, for example, I'd agree that a pair are colored on the top end. If that's your preference, either way, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Flat headphones are boring af to listen to without EQ.

To pick on Beyerdynamic a second (which is all excellent stuff IMO), it's commonly thought that DT770 has colored bass, and DT990 has colored treble. DT770 are a dream for bassists in a recording in a studio. If they are drowning out anybody else in the rhythm section they know for sure they're going to be too hot next to the vocals. Likewise, open back DT990 let the band filter in to the vocalist but have enough sparkle and extended treble there that allows the singer to hear themselves over the mix. Most of the time on live shows, everybody gets the same craptastic studio phone and they get to deal with it. Mixing and mastering are done using monitors. Laptop producers who are exclusively using DAWs are the only ones using headphones as their primary reference (it's not a dig, some of the best music being made today is from solo musicians producing their own work).

Also I think that the overall tuning shape takes precedence first - vee, flat, neutral, harman etc. There is great debate among audio engineers themselves for what the differences actually are between flat and neutral. In the context of crinacle's site, they came up with their own definition for what neutral is which they call IEF Neutral. Just because a phone is elevated here or there against that definition doesn't really mean that it's colored in my book. All the data they've amassed and made available (along with Riku and the others) is great for us to have something to compare, but the more granular we get on these graphs the less conclusive it really is IMO. It's still only half the story. The people doing mixing and recording are not half as interested in the frequency response of headphones as audiophile and headphone enthusiasts are. They work more off reference tones and tracks in the studio and adjust the chain to fit what they want and go from there. It's a lot more art than it is science.

I agree with you.

As poor musician can't explain better the concept.

As audiophile I know that is impossible to have a totally flat response by any reproduction sistem, every parts of the chain ad coloration/distortion.
And if It could be possibile have a flat response the result couden't be plesant.

In live performance the sound it's affected by many factors.

A bass line could be tight o booming if the bassist use a 4 10" speaker or 15" single cone amplifier.
Timpanoes in an orchestra are alwais booming. (Here booming have to be intended as not tight in the audiophile sense).

In my modest opinion a reproduction sistem is good when respect the real tonality and reveal the details.
Only a good sistem may show entirely a bass line.

Any way there are alwais colorations, pleasant if in the third armonic, unpleasant if in the second or fourt armonics.

Personally I like a more smoth but revealing headphone/earphone, that respect the real instruments timbre, better if it is 'energetic' too (fun) , but undestand that I have to accept the better tecnical/economic compromise.

 

[raymanh]

I haven't hear these iem so you need to input from seniors who have tried them all.
But since i'm currently hunting something similar, these are the all the available info i'm able to get.

If you like Blon 03, A bassy warm IEM, get Trip M*le.
It was meant to be 1:1 upgrade from blon. apparently its targeted to hear classic rock and hip hop.
great tighter bass, good male vocal and mid instruments, but slighlty rolled off treble for less fatigue and more forgiving to older records at cost of details.
If you have extra budget, Yuan Li will have similar sound sig target but it will outperform mele in every segment. it also have more than twice the price.

Aria is more balanced iem, it loses bass depth to m*le but better at female vocals and treble details. So its more chameleon for all sorts of music but some consider it a but boring for reason i do not know.
---

All that being said, unless you phone is LG V-series or Asus ROG which have independent DAC/AMP, if you start to wander to $100 territory, you need to prep to buy some DAC/AMP or these IEM wont sing to its fullest so to speak.

If you want something compact, get things like Qudelix 5k, BTR5, or Shanling UP5.

Yeah that's the thing. I don't consider myself a serious audiophile. I'd much rather have less equipment at the sacrifice of audio quality, just using my phone (not an LG or ROG BTW) and Macbook 3.5mm jack.

So in my case, is it worth going for something over $100? If something is described as easy to drive, does that mean I can experience, using a 3.5mm jack, something like 90% of what it's capable of with a proper amp/dac? It seems like what I've read about IEMs that are easy to drive, like the Aria, that they don't really improve with an amp/dac.

 

[Nimweth]

Again, from my point of view, it’s different strokes for different folks. You would choose energetic sets, whereas I don’t mind trading some splash and brilliance for a warmer, richer and ultimately less fatiguing (to me) sound.

Now, I wouldn’t call the Aria veiled or dark either, I can very clearly make out cymbal strikes and decay when listening to them. However, it is clearly not going to provide the same energy as a hybrid or BA set. And that’s okay, because it doesn’t have to be all things to all people.

On a somewhat related note, the 1000XM4s have also been criticised for lacking treble. I see where such statements are coming from but at the same time I really like the clean, non-recessed mids and the visceral bass (it feels like the drivers are actually moving air in your ear cavity). Moreover, when commuting, I find that I much prefer a warm, inviting sound signature as neutral-bright sets often just end up sounding harsh at higher volumes.

I have just been listening to the new Vangelis album, Juno to Jupiter on the Aria and I was disappointed by the lack of projection in the sound. I switched to the Heart Mirror and the change was astonishing, far more life and atmosphere. I definitely prefer the Heart Mirror to the Aria, at least on this kind of music.

 

[unifutomaki]

I have just been listening to the new Vangelis album, Juno to Jupiter on the Aria and I was disappointed by the lack of projection in the sound. I switched to the Heart Mirror and the change was astonishing, far more life and atmosphere. I definitely prefer the Heart Mirror to the Aria, at least on this kind of music.

That makes sense actually. The genres I listen to almost exclusively these days are J-pop and Vocaloid music, which may explain why my tuning preferences have shifted towards warmth.

 

[JEHL]

That makes sense actually. The genres I listen to almost exclusively these days are J-pop and Vocaloid music, which may explain why my tuning preferences have shifted towards warmth.

To my understanding, my choice of signature is far more dependant on my listening volume, rather than the music I listen to. Since there is no such thing as "The way the artist intended it".

So the moondrop SSR's signature to me for example only makes sense when your listening volume is over 120dB.

Edit: or at least that's what I concluded into anyway.

 

[Nimweth]

Xduoo X20 > KBEAR Limpid Pro > Heart Mirror and this piece, truly magical!

 

[Lobarkaine]

Hi all.
Now the Tripowin Mele are in pre-order on AliExpress for e. 20,88.

I've got one.

 

[4ceratops]

Hi all.
Now the Tripowin Mele are in pre-order on AliExpress for e. 20,88.

I've got one.

Sorry, but this store, it must be a scam.

 

[Themilkman46290]

Hello thread, could you guys suggest to me a few iems under 100 that use bullet style or etymotic style casing?
Wich would be your guys pick in this body style?
Don't really want a dark sound sig, preferably a bit neutral.
I hear alot about final audio and of course etymotic, heard some good things about kbear
Own the space ship and re400
Looking for a step up, specially in Soundstage.
Once again, thanks alot in advance

 

[SpaceOperaVillain]

Xduoo X20 > KBEAR Limpid Pro > Heart Mirror and this piece, truly magical!

No HM yet (yet!), but this sounds pretty great also on the GK10. All of those buzzy synths that Vangelis is known for sound amazing on the Geek

 

[Lobarkaine]

Sorry, but this store, it must be a scam.

Uhmmm....I hope no....but It Is possibile you are right....

 

[Nimweth]

No HM yet (yet!), but this sounds pretty great also on the GK10. All of those buzzy synths that Vangelis is known for sound amazing on the Geek

I will try that! Thanks.

 

[raymanh]

Can someone with the Heart Mirror try it straight out of their phone (that doesn't have a decent DAC, so not LG or ASUS ROG) and let me know how it is. Would it still be better than the Aria (I found the Aria too warm/muddy bass) using my phone's jack)?

Thanks

 

[baskingshark]

Can someone with the Heart Mirror try it straight out of their phone (that doesn't have a decent DAC, so not LG or ASUS ROG) and let me know how it is. Would it still be better than the Aria (I found the Aria too warm/muddy bass) using my phone's jack)?

Thanks

Heart Mirror sounds meh from a low powered smartphone (non LG). Seriously it needs amping to scale better, in terms of bass extension, dynamics, soundstage and microdetails. You are like getting only 50 - 60% of the technical performance of the Heart Mirror when using it from a weak source.

If you don't have an amp, I would recommend to look elsewhere, as you aren't doing the Heart Mirror justice in the sound arena.