[SenyorC]

Anybody has tried the CCZ EMERALD??

I much prefer them to Lark, my review is a couple of pages back.

 

[jant71]

Anybody has tried the CCZ EMERALD??

Any graph available??

I don't expect that much...but they need to beat Lark.

And what about those BGGA Tripowin MELE? The hype train is quite intense about them (no wonder since its Linsoul but still...dust doesnt seem to settle!)

The green Emerald is very retro and cool. Think the blue is kinda boring looking actually. Very KZ-ish in the build quality in a good way. Decent cable and good tips that you don't need to swap out. You can swap out the cable for even better sound but it isn't as bad as some. A pretty smooth and very open sounding earphone. one for those who like stage. Pretty cohesive for a cheap hybrid. The armature adds extension and some detail and information and some of the air in the high registers. Still smoother up top esp. compared to some of the cheap hybrids that shove some armature in the tube. these have the armature back right under the DD and it is not half bad. Not peaky or bright or sibilant nor any metallic sounding. Read someone said CCZ are known for their armature implementation on the cheap. Not sure about that when I bought them but they did do a good job here. My last cheapie was the KZ DQ6 and the Emerald is my favorite of the two and I liked the DQ6. Again, the high points are smooth coherent well behaved tuning/blending of the drivers, good extension, and one of the bigger soundstages I've heard in a while.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

The green Emerald is very retro and cool. Think the blue is kinda boring looking actually. Very KZ-ish in the build quality in a good way. Decent cable and good tips that you don't need to swap out. You can swap out the cable for even better sound but it isn't as bad as some. A pretty smooth and very open sounding earphone. one for those who like stage. Pretty cohesive for a cheap hybrid. The armature adds extension and some detail and information and some of the air in the high registers. Still smoother up top esp. compared to some of the cheap hybrids that shove some armature in the tube. these have the armature back right under the DD and it is not half bad. Not peaky or bright or sibilant nor any metallic sounding. Read someone said CCZ are known for their armature implementation on the cheap. Not sure about that when I bought them but they did do a good job here. My last cheapie was the KZ DQ6 and the Emerald is my favorite of the two and I liked the DQ6. Again, the high points are smooth and well behaved, good extension, and one of the bigger soundstages I've heard in a while.

I much prefer them to Lark, my review is a couple of pages back.

Man.....you pump me up guys!
Better than Lark and DQ6...seem like a legit ultra-budget offering!
And the BA not being in front nozzle is a BIG plus too...at least, in acoustic design ''research''.

I choose the green color too

will sure share first impression here.

Hum, i got the BLON MAX too...but i'm less pumped up about those!

 

[earmonger]

Anyone know of a good IEM for music production? I have spent a while searching but can't find an answer. I have the KZ ZSN Pro but I don't think they will be suitable for making music at home. KZ market their ATE for studio use, but they are cheaper than expected. Somone else recommended their AS10 but the sales page doesn't mention "studio".

Anyone know if these or something else would be better? I would rather keep the price under $50, especially as I will be using headphones most of the time. I know I should use monitor speakers but that's not possible at this time (travel).

I will send KZ a message now too and update here.

Thanks

Etymotic are famously neutral, aimed at studio use. Clarity. You can look around Head-Fi for impressions; Etymotic are among the very first IEM makers.

Just barely above your budget, if you are in the USA, you can get the ER3SE (Studio edition, determinedly flat frequency response) or ER3XR (slightly boosted bass, my preference) for $69 at Adorama with these not-so-secret links.

https://www.adorama.com/etyer3se.html?emailprice=t

https://www.adorama.com/etyer3xr.html?emailprice=t

I haven't tried the 2SE but they are $49 and also get good reviews.

https://www.adorama.com/etyer2se.html?emailprice=t

https://crinacle.com/2019/12/03/cliffnotes-etymotic-er2-market-disruptor/

The 3XR are very clear, even with the bass boost, and, surprisingly for affordable balanced-armature IEMs, they have natural timbre.

Possible cons: They do NOT have a huge 3D soundstage--more like you are right up against the control-room glass.

Also, they go deep in your ears and some people hate the fit. I find the foam tips way more comfortable and better sealing than the triple-flange silicones pictured on the box.

You'd just have to see how they work with your particular ears. But Adorama has a 30-day return policy for the cost of shipping them back, about $11. Be careful opening the shrink-fit shipping envelope so you don't rip the Ety package. I did--but for me the ER3XR were keepers anyway.

 

[jant71]

@NymPHONOmaniac
I took a quick snap...

You might be able to see the solid resin that half the armature and some of the dynamic are embedded in. Plenty of room in back as a nice open cavity which I figure helps with the large stage. Simple and effective design. Front vents but otherwise sealed in front with the sound channeled through and roomy open space in the back.

 

[gersomhy]

Anybody has tried the CCZ EMERALD??

Any graph available??

I don't expect that much...but they need to beat Lark.

And what about those BGGA Tripowin MELE? The hype train is quite intense about them (no wonder since its Linsoul but still...dust doesnt seem to settle!)

comparison beetwen 3 CCZ budgets coffe beans, melody, and emerald along with graph

 

[Nimweth]

Anybody has tried the CCZ EMERALD??

Any graph available??

I don't expect that much...but they need to beat Lark.

And what about those BGGA Tripowin MELE? The hype train is quite intense about them (no wonder since its Linsoul but still...dust doesnt seem to settle!)

You may like to read my recent review:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-sonic-escapades-of-ccz-plume-subsequent-models.958531/page-6

 

[amanieux]

Is it true that they are bright, like many reviews suggest?

yes, they are a bit too bright and could have a little more bass (for my taste) if you are on android there is a free and easy turn around 3 clicks away : install free "wavelet" app on android play store, click on equalizer select "dark" equalizer preset and voila ! ( setting is automatically restored after a reboot)- it does exactly what is needed (tame down trebble and elevate bass). ps: if you can spend 5 minutes instead, the bass vent mod provides a more organic bass boost than correction through equalization , the strange thing is that when bass is raised our brain corrects and we notice less trebble being too bright or maybe it is just that we raised volume to hear more bass making trebble too hot which is no longer needed when bass is accuentuated by the mod.

 

[amanieux]

HeartMirror is close to Statfield in a bright neutral form, technically they are on par as a single DD IMO.
Aria, the stock tuning on my scale is 72/100 vs Starfield (&HeartMirror) 75/100, but when Aria is tuned to same bright-neutral sig with recabling, and enhancing better impulse response by removing the stock hex shaped iron damper filter, it hits 81/100 (A-)


GK10 with CP360 is also bright-neutral, and it hit highest 85/100 (A) and due to its unique staging capability I actually prefer $46 GK10 over $500+ sub$1k new benchmarking Moondrop Variations (91/100 S-) for classical selections. highly recommended to try GK10 if bright neutral is your pursuit.

i don't think HM needs recabling, default cable is really nice. (tried replacing with my beefier bqeyz spring1 cable but heard zero difference)

 

[amanieux]

Currently using Tanya+BTR5, its pretty damn good for music.
Tanya might not have the clarity or technically of more expensive IEMs but the musicality and its full vocal is damn satisfying.

While its great for music, for gaming, I wish it have a bit bigger soundstage tough. Tanya have great layering and decent imaging but the smaller soundstage is something definitely felt during gaming.

it seems there is a consensus about the driver being the weakest link in the audio pipeline, so with a given buget most of it (80% ?) should go to the driver. for example at a $300 budget : $240 for the iem $50 for the dac, $10 for tips.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

You may like to read my recent review:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-sonic-escapades-of-ccz-plume-subsequent-models.958531/page-6

Great review mate! And you seem to have great music taste too! Refreshing to read somebody that listen to variety of classical music, my main music style being jazz, classical and experimental (mix of both).

So it seem the soundstage is HUGE and the implementation of BA is well done. im just afraid the resolution could be poor due to warm nature...did bass and mids are well separated or kinda mixed up??

 

[Nimweth]

Great review mate! And you seem to have great music taste too! Refreshing to read somebody that listen to variety of classical music, my main music style being jazz, classical and experimental (mix of both).

So it seem the soundstage is HUGE and the implementation of BA is well done. im just afraid the resolution could be poor due to warm nature...did bass and mids are well separated or kinda mixed up??

As you will have read in my review, there is little evidence of bass bleed and the mids are open, airy and well separated. Thank you for the kind comments on my music choices, I always try to include a variety of genres in my reviews.

 

[bryaudioreviews]

KB Ear Aurora / TKZK Wave / BGVP DH5 - Unboxing & First Look​

​

Hey guys, just received a few new IEMs not long ago. Here are my first impressions:


KB Ear Aurora - $169usd, 1DD. Warm Harman, amazing bass quantity and quality, smooth. Reminds me of the BLON BL-03, but much better in terms of technicalities. If you are looking for a huge BL03 upgrade, maybe this might be it?

Aurora review done! Review link here - https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kbear-aurora.25392/review/27119/

TKZK Wave - $39usd, 1DD+1BA. neutral to neutral bright tuning, pretty lean bass and mids, treble can be a bit bright. Reminds me of the HM, but with metallic BA timbre and the usual BA/hybrid characteristics.

TKZK Wave review done! Review link here - https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/tkzk-wave.25480/review/27146/

BGVP DH5 - $85usd, 1DD+4BA. A pretty analogue U-shaped sounding IEM, albeit haunted with its 5kHz treble peak... which might be an issue to some. To my ears, I do not find it much of an issue as I find it to add a bit of excitement to an otherwise smooth sounding treble.

BGVP DH5 review done! Review link here - https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/bgvp-dh5.25524/review/27175/

Frequency Response graphs for all 3 IEMs are shown below. If you have any questions regarding any of these IEMs, feel free to let me know and I'll get back to you asap.

Full reviews for all 3 IEMs will be out soon. Stay tuned.

​

 

[NeonHD]

Welp..... I'm a bit sad today because the left earpiece of my Mangird Tea suddenly lost its lower frequencies. In other words, there's no bass in the left ear. Clearly the dynamic driver has stopped working.

And that's not just it, I have recently noticed that my Mangird Tea was a bit quiet in the left ear. I didn't think much of it as I've been too busy lately to care, but I low-key had a fear that this would turn into something much worse, and it did. Damn it...

Does anyone know if either Mangird or its Aliexpress vendor (D&D Audio) has an official account here? I've contacted the vendor to see if I can get it replaced, but I have no high hopes. I feel like speaking with an official rep would probably fare out better, but I'll just wait and see.

BTW, I never reviewed the Teas but they are currently my favorite IEMs. I absolutely love them to death. I use them every day and not having the Tea anymore feels like going through painful alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

 

[BnGMurphy]

Etymotic are famously neutral, aimed at studio use. Clarity. You can look around Head-Fi for impressions; Etymotic are among the very first IEM makers.

Just barely above your budget, if you are in the USA, you can get the ER3SE (Studio edition, determinedly flat frequency response) or ER3XR (slightly boosted bass, my preference) for $69 at Adorama with these not-so-secret links.

https://www.adorama.com/etyer3se.html?emailprice=t

https://www.adorama.com/etyer3xr.html?emailprice=t

I haven't tried the 2SE but they are $49 and also get good reviews.

https://www.adorama.com/etyer2se.html?emailprice=t

https://crinacle.com/2019/12/03/cliffnotes-etymotic-er2-market-disruptor/

The 3XR are very clear, even with the bass boost, and, surprisingly for affordable balanced-armature IEMs, they have natural timbre.

.....

Thanks, but not avilable here in Vietnam and I am not ordering from abroad after my experience ordering the iBasso DC03. Those long ones look scary