after my beyerdynamic dtx 350p broken..search for new headphones ...any recommendation?
Chinese / Asian Brand IEM Info Thread
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Another dtx 350 perhaps or are you prepared to spend more?
another..need more audiophile onear or overear until 400$
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I am assuming you want to stay closed back since the 350s are and are designed for travel so I am limiting my suggestions to things I think would be appropriate as a travel companion.
A step up in the on-ear like the 350 would be the Senn HD-25 at about $150 or the B&W P5 or P7 at $200-400 depending on model.
with a budget of up to $400, I'd be taking a hard look at the Meze 99 Classic and the AudioQuest NightOwl Carbon in an over ear.
A step up in the on-ear like the 350 would be the Senn HD-25 at about $150 or the B&W P5 or P7 at $200-400 depending on model.
with a budget of up to $400, I'd be taking a hard look at the Meze 99 Classic and the AudioQuest NightOwl Carbon in an over ear.
i also was the hifiman 400i...i stick with overear
Otto Motor
Headphoneus Supremus
The Hifi Walker A1 - A Single-Dynamic Driver Killer Earphone?
I was recently made aware of this <$50 earphone as being easily "moddable" to live up to the >$350 JVC FD01, considered by some to be the best single DD earphone on the market. This comes on the back of the famous Blitzwolf BW-ES1 mod. Google it!
The A1 looks very much like the Tinaudio T515, but the latter contains two drivers. It has a strongly V-shaped sound and the idea of the modding is to bring both ends of the V back to(wards) flat.
I have had these on my ears OOTB for two hours plus and what strikes me is that they are very clear in the midrange with good layering and separation, and quite a wide soundstage. Very lively! The treble is not too exaggerated for my perception but the bass could be a bit leaner and more focussed for people leaning towards an audiophile tuning. First measurements exist in the drawer.
Considering that our "holygrailing" for the low-priced killer earphone that sounds like a high-priced reference has recently mainly focused on the number of drivers but has not yet led to the ultimate goal, why not going back to the basics and try our luck with a good old single dynamic driver? Sennheiser has recently upgraded their legendary ie800 to the ie800S, which retails for a proud $999, and a single driver should exclude issues with "balance".
In the near future a friend and I will analyze the Hifi Walker A1 and document our ongoing mod. We will then see whether the A1 will live up to expectations. Stay tuned!
P.S. They are already pretty darn good without the mod. Oh, and they arrived within 2 days!
I was recently made aware of this <$50 earphone as being easily "moddable" to live up to the >$350 JVC FD01, considered by some to be the best single DD earphone on the market. This comes on the back of the famous Blitzwolf BW-ES1 mod. Google it!
The A1 looks very much like the Tinaudio T515, but the latter contains two drivers. It has a strongly V-shaped sound and the idea of the modding is to bring both ends of the V back to(wards) flat.
I have had these on my ears OOTB for two hours plus and what strikes me is that they are very clear in the midrange with good layering and separation, and quite a wide soundstage. Very lively! The treble is not too exaggerated for my perception but the bass could be a bit leaner and more focussed for people leaning towards an audiophile tuning. First measurements exist in the drawer.
Considering that our "holygrailing" for the low-priced killer earphone that sounds like a high-priced reference has recently mainly focused on the number of drivers but has not yet led to the ultimate goal, why not going back to the basics and try our luck with a good old single dynamic driver? Sennheiser has recently upgraded their legendary ie800 to the ie800S, which retails for a proud $999, and a single driver should exclude issues with "balance".
In the near future a friend and I will analyze the Hifi Walker A1 and document our ongoing mod. We will then see whether the A1 will live up to expectations. Stay tuned!
P.S. They are already pretty darn good without the mod. Oh, and they arrived within 2 days!
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Slater
Headphoneus Supremus
The Hifi Walker A1 - A Single-Dynamic Driver Killer Earphone?
I was recently made aware of this <$50 earphone as being easily "moddable" to live up to the >$350 JVC FD01, considered by some to be the best single DD earphone on the market. This comes on the back of the famous Blitzwolf BW-ES1 mod. Google it!
The A1 looks very much like the Tinaudio T515, but the latter contains two drivers. It has a strongly V-shaped sound and the idea of the modding is to bring both ends of the V back to(wards) flat.
I have had these on my ears OOTB for an hour plus and what strikes me is that they are very clear in the midrange with good layering and separation, and quite a large soundstage in all dimensions. Very lively! The treble is not too exaggerated for my perception but the bass could be a bit leaner and more focussed for people leaning towards an audiophile tuning. First measurements exist in the drawer.
Considering that our "holygrailing" for the low-priced killer earphone that sounds like a high-priced reference has recently mainly focused on the number of drivers but has not yet led to the ultimate goal, why not going back to the basics and try our luck with a good old single dynamic driver? Sennheiser has recently upgraded their legendary ie800 to the ie800S, which retails for a proud $999, and a single driver should exclude issues with "balance".
In the near future a friend and I will analyze the Hifi Walker A1 and document our ongoing mod. We will then see whether the A1 will live up to expectations. Stay tuned!
P.S. They are already pretty darn good without the mod. Oh, and they arrived within 2 days!
Have you measured the nozzle diameter by chance? It looks quite large.
Otto Motor
Headphoneus Supremus
Haven't measured the nozzles but the stock tips are 4 mm and needed some stretching. Should be fine with the standard 4.5 mm tips.
UPDATE: 5 mm, I measured.
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Slater
Headphoneus Supremus
Ok. Sounds like it is maybe 5mm, the same size as ZS5/ZS6?
thejoker13
500+ Head-Fier
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My brother owns these and I've been able to listen to them at length. They do sound surprisingly good, but definitely not an audiophile tuning. They are a fairly strong L shape, with very prominent bass. The surprise for me, was how good the mids and highs were, considering the bass is so strong. I'm anxious to read your thoughts and findings with your mods Otto. Good luck!The Hifi Walker A1 - A Single-Dynamic Driver Killer Earphone?
I was recently made aware of this <$50 earphone as being easily "moddable" to live up to the >$350 JVC FD01, considered by some to be the best single DD earphone on the market. This comes on the back of the famous Blitzwolf BW-ES1 mod. Google it!
The A1 looks very much like the Tinaudio T515, but the latter contains two drivers. It has a strongly V-shaped sound and the idea of the modding is to bring both ends of the V back to(wards) flat.
I have had these on my ears OOTB for two hours plus and what strikes me is that they are very clear in the midrange with good layering and separation, and quite a wide soundstage. Very lively! The treble is not too exaggerated for my perception but the bass could be a bit leaner and more focussed for people leaning towards an audiophile tuning. First measurements exist in the drawer.
Considering that our "holygrailing" for the low-priced killer earphone that sounds like a high-priced reference has recently mainly focused on the number of drivers but has not yet led to the ultimate goal, why not going back to the basics and try our luck with a good old single dynamic driver? Sennheiser has recently upgraded their legendary ie800 to the ie800S, which retails for a proud $999, and a single driver should exclude issues with "balance".
In the near future a friend and I will analyze the Hifi Walker A1 and document our ongoing mod. We will then see whether the A1 will live up to expectations. Stay tuned!
P.S. They are already pretty darn good without the mod. Oh, and they arrived within 2 days!
Nabillion_786
500+ Head-Fier
Would you put them in the same league as your ninetails from your experiences? Cos I'm starting to doubt my order now lol.
Nabillion_786
500+ Head-Fier
These seems really interesting with the 3m micropore tape mod
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Otto Motor
Headphoneus Supremus
PSEUDO-SONIC FORWARD MODELLING: VIRTUALLY REMOVING THE V-SHAPE OF THE HIFI WALKER A1 WITHOUT MODDING
After a few hours with the A1 I found they can be characterized by a very wide and not so deep soundstage and, as it looks, a very good detailing, separation, and layering. And a very natural timbre. As said, the bass is in the way for audiophiles whereas the treble is not really out of the ordinary when you listen to Chifi. The idea of that famous mod (google it!) is to open up the V towards a flat frequency curve. The related Blitzwolf BW-ES1 mod (google it!) was going towards an Etymotic tuning which some people may find to be too neutral and sterile.
The A1 mod goes principally like this: two 2 mm strips of micropore tape stuck cross wise onto the nozzle tames the treble and poking a hole through the mesh in the bass vents tightens the bass. Both have been documented with measurements - and we, my friend and I, will reproduce this on Head-Fi in the coming days.
It has been claimed that after the mod, the A1 comes close to the $350 JVC FD01 in terms of "bass dynamics, detail resolution, and treble extension". Before we put this to test by physically and irreversibly altering the A1 ("poking holes"), we do a virtual mod to get a flavour whether the fantastic detail resolution as claimed could be true. We assume that the actual driver quality does not change/improve during the mod - why should it. All we have to do is play music that does not feature strong bass and treble which excludes a cover up of the mids and the details. This should bring out the true detail resolution of the music while making the V-shape irrelevant.
For this, I selected a very complex piece: my high school buddy Albrecht Mayer on the oboe with the male vocal ensemble the King's Singers doing a song from the opera "Hänsel und Gretel".
And voila, yes, the resolution of the vocals and the oboe is truly amazing. I will have to try that on some other earphones.
This result has to be confirmed by the modding.
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japancakes
New Head-Fier
I've been looking everywhere for some impressions or feedback on Skald IEM's on Taobao. Having single-driver all the way up to 12-driver models, they've got to have something that sounds good.
I still want to dive into Chi-Fi a bit more and it strikes me weird that there is virtually zero info on Skald. I love my old Westone ES3X. They were reshelled by Unique Melody and upgraded to 1+2+2 and still sound brilliant today, but part of the left ear mold chipped and tech has come such a long way since 2010-2015. Price has also plummeted with access to China. I know comparing $800 IEM's to KZ isn't necessarily fair, but I found the ZS6 practically unlistenable with the shrill highs and booming, muddy low-mids. The rave reviews really threw me off once I actually listened to them.
What other Chi-Fi models have a relatively flat response, semi-wide soundstage (not huge), tons of clarity, and no shrill highs? Again, not a fan of ZS6.
I still want to dive into Chi-Fi a bit more and it strikes me weird that there is virtually zero info on Skald. I love my old Westone ES3X. They were reshelled by Unique Melody and upgraded to 1+2+2 and still sound brilliant today, but part of the left ear mold chipped and tech has come such a long way since 2010-2015. Price has also plummeted with access to China. I know comparing $800 IEM's to KZ isn't necessarily fair, but I found the ZS6 practically unlistenable with the shrill highs and booming, muddy low-mids. The rave reviews really threw me off once I actually listened to them.
What other Chi-Fi models have a relatively flat response, semi-wide soundstage (not huge), tons of clarity, and no shrill highs? Again, not a fan of ZS6.
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