[vladstef]

Are we seriously talking about +20dB of software based boost? Pair that with a bunch of 64kbps tripple recompressed files from youtube and you've got yourself a delightful evening of pure satisafaction and musical bliss.

On a serious note, please stop abusing equalizers. When properly done, they might help a tiny bit in some particular cases or tune something slightly towards your prefered tonality and that's about it.

 

[chinmie]

Funny, i played like, five tracks on them and find it very good. Musical and resolving, really.

my rule of thumb: if listening to something at moderate volume still gives me fatigue or ringing in my ears, then there is something wrong with the tuning and i won't use them anymore. my wife tried to use it as her going to sleep iems, i took it away and gave her my Einsear T2 instead

a good tuned earphones should not give ringing ears when set to conversation level volume.

 

[paulindss]

my rule of thumb: if listening to something at moderate volume still gives me fatigue or ringing in my ears, then there is something wrong with the tuning and i won't use them anymore. my wife tried to use it as her going to sleep iems, i took it away and gave her my Einsear T2 instead

a good tuned earphones should not give ringing ears when set to conversation level volume.

Hm... I can see that they have a hint of brightness. Not at all in the levels of emi ci-880 tought. I can see what you mean by fatiguing. But it appeared to me so far only in "Soldier boys and jesus freaks - noel gallagher high flying birds" that abuses on cymbals and metals. I am still finding them a interesting iem.

 

[GrassFed]

Uiisii CM5 wins this thread for now folks A little tricky for me to get good seal with it, but finally learned to insert soft silicone tips properly. Clarity and sound stage are fantastic. Bass is probably the best among my IEMs. Crazy value for your money here. Doesn't isolate as well as the cylinder shaped ones though, but still provides enough noise reduction for me to use on BART train, which is ridiculously noisy.
I'm trying Uiisii E6 next. All these chi-fi gems gave me the impression it's not possible to find bad IEMs any more

 

[dhruvmeena96]

Well I just wanted to protect your gems(iem I mean), your eardrum and your headphone amp(dap or phone).

You can do whatever you want to do....

Why do i even care.....


But if you really wanna do a boost on 20dB.

Download radsone music player and boost 20dB there, it will dynamically set volume, amplification and DAC load accordingly.

 

[Slater]

So, I finally got these. Never before did a pair of IEM of mine need so much tip rolling. Now trying them with the foam of the T2.

Edit: The grey wide bore tips of the Yersen FEN2000 seem to liven the CM5 up. Bass is detailed, mids are brought forward in a good way.

Edit 2: The bass can get a little boomy. A true brother for the UiiSii HM7 it seems!

Seems like they have a fun sound! Will share impressions later!

They are one of (if not the most) tip-sensitive IEMs I own.

When you find the magic pairing, though, they are well worth the effort.

 

[Slater]

that "AKG" ia not very good. i have it and never want to use it

I wouldn't even give the AKG away to anyone, I would have to give them something better

Granted, they aren't TOTL killers by any stretch, but keep in mind they are a heavily counterfeited IEM. I've tried to order it a few times now, including from sellers that swear they are "100% genuine", and they turned out to be fake (the cheap sound is a dead giveaway).

I gave up after trying a number of times. It seemed like the only way to be guaranteed genuines, is to get them with a factory sealed S8.

 

[chinmie]

Granted, they aren't TOTL killers by any stretch, but keep in mind they are a heavily counterfeited IEM. I've tried to order it a few times now, including from sellers that swear they are "100% genuine", and they turned out to be fake (the cheap sound is a dead giveaway).

I gave up after trying a number of times. It seemed like the only way to be guaranteed genuines, is to get them with a factory sealed S8.

I got them from my wife's Note 8, bought in Samsung store, opened fresh from the sealed box, so it should be the original..but the sound is thin and treble-y, much like what people describe the counterfeit ones

So even the original seems to have different sound signatures

 

[dhruvmeena96]

Those were not made by akg, tuning of prototype was done by them

Samsung manufacture those iem.....


This is what the store manager told me

 

[audionab]

Those were not made by akg, tuning of prototype was done by them

Samsung manufacture those iem.....


This is what the store manager told me

If one reads the description well on the box or website it says:
Samsung earphones tuned by AKG
or maybe AKG tuned samsung headphones

 

[SilverLodestar]

So I received my Rose North Forest almost a week ago from Penon and I’ve been testing songs on them for maybe a couple hours or so.

Overall, I think they’re...meh. Just meh. Something is definitely off with its tonality and I’m not too fond of it.

I think they’re fairly bassy, at least according to what I’ve been listening to lately. They definitely have *lots* of mid-bass, which I really don’t like (sub-bass emphasis> mid-bass emphasis). I feel like the mid-bass bleeds into the toned-down lower mids. Sub-bass isn’t really all that great and doesn’t have that nice rumble that I sometimes enjoy. Overall, I don’t care for the bass much and it’s not my cup of tea. Now for the midrange...

The midrange is okay with songs that aren’t too demanding of it. While listening to something soft and demanding of a good lower-midrange, such as Somebody’s Baby by Jon Foreman, vocals felt subdued and very muffled, like the lower mids were smothered in a pillow. The upper midrange though, I’d argue is quite strident and prone to harshness at mid-to-high volumes. Vocals on Good Riddance by Green Day sounded thin and bordering harsh on multiple occasions. In terms of instrument presentation, they just aren’t good, not for something so recently hyped. Electric guitars, such as in Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters feel absolutely abrasive at slightly higher volumes. Any lower of a volume, and everything feels distant and pathetic. The midrange on these is horrid. I can only listen to a few songs without wincing or turning the volume all the way down.

As for the treble, it’s really nothing special at all. In fact, it’s splashy and abrasive as well. The Rose North Forest has a problem with an over-emphasized upper-midrange and lower-treble. I hate these kinds of spikes, since I’m moderately sensitive to anything around 5-8k Hz. These are certainly not for the treble sensitive. Upper-treble seems decent though. It extends decently and feels somewhat natural. That’s all I have to say about it though. I’ve heard much better at this price range.

Soundstage and layering are kinda bad... it feels compressed and small, with not much in terms of depth. It does have good width though, for what it’s worth. I don’t see how these could ever sound “holographic” to anyone.

Also, if anyone asks for my source(s), I’ve tried these on my iPhone X > AAW Accessport DAC, my MacBook Pro, my iPod Nano 3G, and my old iPhone 6s with very little in terms of quality. I’ve also done quite a bit of tip rolling (i.e. Starline, foams, wide and narrow bore eartips, etc, etc.). I can’t seem to make these sound decent.

Sorry for the long and harsh review. I feel like IEMs should be criticized honestly without any sugar coating, especially the ones that get hyped early on. My poor wallet cries still, but there are so many more Chi-if IEMs to explore! Onward!

 

[Bartig]

They are one of (if not the most) tip-sensitive IEMs I own.

When you find the magic pairing, though, they are well worth the effort.

The FEN2000 tips are the best so far, but make the bass boomy. So I’ll be trying some more. Any tips (hehe) are welcome.

So I received my Rose North Forest almost a week ago from Penon and I’ve been testing songs on them for maybe a couple hours or so.

Overall, I think they’re...meh. Just meh. Something is definitely off with its tonality and I’m not too fond of it.

I think they’re fairly bassy, at least according to what I’ve been listening to lately. They definitely have *lots* of mid-bass, which I really don’t like (sub-bass emphasis> mid-bass emphasis). I feel like the mid-bass bleeds into the toned-down lower mids. Sub-bass isn’t really all that great and doesn’t have that nice rumble that I sometimes enjoy. Overall, I don’t care for the bass much and it’s not my cup of tea. Now for the midrange...

The midrange is okay with songs that aren’t too demanding of it. While listening to something soft and demanding of a good lower-midrange, such as Somebody’s Baby by Jon Foreman, vocals felt subdued and very muffled, like the lower mids were smothered in a pillow. The upper midrange though, I’d argue is quite strident and prone to harshness at mid-to-high volumes. Vocals on Good Riddance by Green Day sounded thin and bordering harsh on multiple occasions. In terms of instrument presentation, they just aren’t good, not for something so recently hyped. Electric guitars, such as in Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters feel absolutely abrasive at slightly higher volumes. Any lower of a volume, and everything feels distant and pathetic. The midrange on these is horrid. I can only listen to a few songs without wincing or turning the volume all the way down.

As for the treble, it’s really nothing special at all. In fact, it’s splashy and abrasive as well. The Rose North Forest has a problem with an over-emphasized upper-midrange and lower-treble. I hate these kinds of spikes, since I’m moderately sensitive to anything around 5-8k Hz. These are certainly not for the treble sensitive. Upper-treble seems decent though. It extends decently and feels somewhat natural. That’s all I have to say about it though. I’ve heard much better at this price range.

Soundstage and layering are kinda bad... it feels compressed and small, with not much in terms of depth. It does have good width though, for what it’s worth. I don’t see how these could ever sound “holographic” to anyone.

Also, if anyone asks for my source(s), I’ve tried these on my iPhone X > AAW Accessport DAC, my MacBook Pro, my iPod Nano 3G, and my old iPhone 6s with very little in terms of quality. I’ve also done quite a bit of tip rolling (i.e. Starline, foams, wide and narrow bore eartips, etc, etc.). I can’t seem to make these sound decent.

Sorry for the long and harsh review. I feel like IEMs should be criticized honestly without any sugar coating, especially the ones that get hyped early on. My poor wallet cries still, but there are so many more Chi-if IEMs to explore! Onward!

Wow, impressions on these went from they’re fantastic to mediocre to... yours. I’ll be getting mine soon...

 

[SilverLodestar]

Wow, impressions on these went from they’re fantastic to mediocre to... yours. I’ll be getting mine soon...

Yep, I definitely feel like the Debbie downer here haha.

Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that the Rose NF have some pretty bad driver flex for me, so that’s something to be cautious of.

 

[chinmie]

So I received my Rose North Forest almost a week ago from Penon and I’ve been testing songs on them for maybe a couple hours or so.

Overall, I think they’re...meh. Just meh. Something is definitely off with its tonality and I’m not too fond of it.

I think they’re fairly bassy, at least according to what I’ve been listening to lately. They definitely have *lots* of mid-bass, which I really don’t like (sub-bass emphasis> mid-bass emphasis). I feel like the mid-bass bleeds into the toned-down lower mids. Sub-bass isn’t really all that great and doesn’t have that nice rumble that I sometimes enjoy. Overall, I don’t care for the bass much and it’s not my cup of tea. Now for the midrange...

The midrange is okay with songs that aren’t too demanding of it. While listening to something soft and demanding of a good lower-midrange, such as Somebody’s Baby by Jon Foreman, vocals felt subdued and very muffled, like the lower mids were smothered in a pillow. The upper midrange though, I’d argue is quite strident and prone to harshness at mid-to-high volumes. Vocals on Good Riddance by Green Day sounded thin and bordering harsh on multiple occasions. In terms of instrument presentation, they just aren’t good, not for something so recently hyped. Electric guitars, such as in Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters feel absolutely abrasive at slightly higher volumes. Any lower of a volume, and everything feels distant and pathetic. The midrange on these is horrid. I can only listen to a few songs without wincing or turning the volume all the way down.

As for the treble, it’s really nothing special at all. In fact, it’s splashy and abrasive as well. The Rose North Forest has a problem with an over-emphasized upper-midrange and lower-treble. I hate these kinds of spikes, since I’m moderately sensitive to anything around 5-8k Hz. These are certainly not for the treble sensitive. Upper-treble seems decent though. It extends decently and feels somewhat natural. That’s all I have to say about it though. I’ve heard much better at this price range.

Soundstage and layering are kinda bad... it feels compressed and small, with not much in terms of depth. It does have good width though, for what it’s worth. I don’t see how these could ever sound “holographic” to anyone.

Also, if anyone asks for my source(s), I’ve tried these on my iPhone X > AAW Accessport DAC, my MacBook Pro, my iPod Nano 3G, and my old iPhone 6s with very little in terms of quality. I’ve also done quite a bit of tip rolling (i.e. Starline, foams, wide and narrow bore eartips, etc, etc.). I can’t seem to make these sound decent.

Sorry for the long and harsh review. I feel like IEMs should be criticized honestly without any sugar coating, especially the ones that get hyped early on. My poor wallet cries still, but there are so many more Chi-if IEMs to explore! Onward!

on behalf of my wallet, i want to say thank you

 

[CYoung234]

I use medium Starlines on my Uiisii CM5

I am using Tennmak Whirlwinds on mine, and they sound great. Only problem for me is that the CM5 is a very tight fit in my ears. I have to make sure they are adjusted correctly, and I have more trouble with the right earpiece than the left. But, once I get a good seal...