Chinese / Asian Brand IEM Info Thread
Jun 30, 2019 at 7:37 PM Post #24,691 of 33,689
Hi all, I'm looking for a specific sound signature and I was wondering if I could get some recommendations. Starting from low to high, I prefer an immensely powerful, deep rumbling sub bass. Something I can feel in my soul basically. Mid bass needs to have impact but not an overly booming sound, but generally prefer a slower decay. For mids, I'd prefer something warm and silky, for both male and female voices. High's I prefer something that is not very bright and sibilant, and something that would be suitable for very long (4-8 hour) listening sessions.

Ikko OH1 have good kicks and deep subbass but can be intense around upper mids area. Never listened to OH10 but looks like they're good and improvement over OH1
I find the Ikko OH1 very very laid back and would not recommend them for (classic) rock, classical, eg. So keep this in mind when asking for bass-rumbly IEMs: often it comes at the expense of mids and vocal presence. Vocals are 'silky'.. just very back-footed.

The Ikko OH1 are very U (maybe even L..l) making them great 'lullaby IEMs' or for endless hours of YouTube relaxing/studying mixes; they probably work well when increasing volume to compensate for recessed mids (ie. bass-boosted/focused style music). I've used them to fall asleep at night :p However, even for active-listening R&B (eg.) they might be a bit recessed, depending on preference. I'm not sure how well they respond to EQ. (If anyone wants to try the OH1, send a PM/reply to show interest and I'll post in the FS section at good discount from MSRP.)

I find that most treble can be dialed in with various tips (ie. Ultimate Ears OEM or even Type E); so unless it's an IEM known for excessive brightness, I'd not worry so much about that as finding proper mid and bass balance .. especially if given a budget for tip rolling as well. Also, if listening to very different styles of music consider EQ or even two IEMs.
 
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Jun 30, 2019 at 7:47 PM Post #24,692 of 33,689
Hi all, I'm looking for a specific sound signature and I was wondering if I could get some recommendations. Starting from low to high, I prefer an immensely powerful, deep rumbling sub bass. Something I can feel in my soul basically. Mid bass needs to have impact but not an overly booming sound, but generally prefer a slower decay. For mids, I'd prefer something warm and silky, for both male and female voices. High's I prefer something that is not very bright and sibilant, and something that would be suitable for very long (4-8 hour) listening sessions. I have pretty treble sensitive ears, so that's a big deal. For soundstage, I'd prefer something very wide and immersive, but not so much that it sounds distant. My budget is up to $200, but I would prefer to stay closer to $150. The aesthetics of the IEM's do matter a lot for me, and I prefer the looks of IEM's such as the Ikko OH1/OH10, Whizzer Kylin's, Secret Garden No.3 Ti's, Fiio FH5's. I'll be listening to this via smartphone, so something that doesn't need a lot of power is preferable. I'm also open to purchasing additional foam tips to further improve the bass while (debatably) toning down the high's. I would say this classify's as a warmer/darker sound signature, but the most important aspect is how deep the subbass extends and the quantity and quality of its rumble. Thanks!
Hi all, I'm looking for a specific sound signature and I was wondering if I could get some recommendations. Starting from low to high, I prefer an immensely powerful, deep rumbling sub bass. Something I can feel in my soul basically. Mid bass needs to have impact but not an overly booming sound, but generally prefer a slower decay. For mids, I'd prefer something warm and silky, for both male and female voices. High's I prefer something that is not very bright and sibilant, and something that would be suitable for very long (4-8 hour) listening sessions. I have pretty treble sensitive ears, so that's a big deal. For soundstage, I'd prefer something very wide and immersive, but not so much that it sounds distant. My budget is up to $200, but I would prefer to stay closer to $150. The aesthetics of the IEM's do matter a lot for me, and I prefer the looks of IEM's such as the Ikko OH1/OH10, Whizzer Kylin's, Secret Garden No.3 Ti's, Fiio FH5's. I'll be listening to this via smartphone, so something that doesn't need a lot of power is preferable. I'm also open to purchasing additional foam tips to further improve the bass while (debatably) toning down the high's. I would say this classify's as a warmer/darker sound signature, but the most important aspect is how deep the subbass extends and the quantity and quality of its rumble. Thanks!

Any of this

https://audiobudget.com/leaderboard/iem
 
Jun 30, 2019 at 8:10 PM Post #24,694 of 33,689
Hi all, I'm looking for a specific sound signature and I was wondering if I could get some recommendations. Starting from low to high, I prefer an immensely powerful, deep rumbling sub bass. Something I can feel in my soul basically. Mid bass needs to have impact but not an overly booming sound, but generally prefer a slower decay. For mids, I'd prefer something warm and silky, for both male and female voices. High's I prefer something that is not very bright and sibilant, and something that would be suitable for very long (4-8 hour) listening sessions. I have pretty treble sensitive ears, so that's a big deal. For soundstage, I'd prefer something very wide and immersive, but not so much that it sounds distant. My budget is up to $200, but I would prefer to stay closer to $150. The aesthetics of the IEM's do matter a lot for me, and I prefer the looks of IEM's such as the Ikko OH1/OH10, Whizzer Kylin's, Secret Garden No.3 Ti's, Fiio FH5's. I'll be listening to this via smartphone, so something that doesn't need a lot of power is preferable. I'm also open to purchasing additional foam tips to further improve the bass while (debatably) toning down the high's. I would say this classify's as a warmer/darker sound signature, but the most important aspect is how deep the subbass extends and the quantity and quality of its rumble. Thanks!

Im going to rec Semkarch CNT-1. Its everything you just described you were looking for. Its also one of the most comfortable IEMS I have ever worn. Its a single dynamic Carbon Nanotube driver and can be eq'd and amped into infinity or close to it. Also uses DMG and LZ filters to change the tones if that so floats your boat. It doesnt me. I use wide bore JVC spiral dot tip with the stock black filter.
 
Jun 30, 2019 at 9:44 PM Post #24,695 of 33,689
Hi all, I'm looking for a specific sound signature and I was wondering if I could get some recommendations. Starting from low to high, I prefer an immensely powerful, deep rumbling sub bass. Something I can feel in my soul basically. Mid bass needs to have impact but not an overly booming sound, but generally prefer a slower decay. For mids, I'd prefer something warm and silky, for both male and female voices. High's I prefer something that is not very bright and sibilant, and something that would be suitable for very long (4-8 hour) listening sessions. I have pretty treble sensitive ears, so that's a big deal. For soundstage, I'd prefer something very wide and immersive, but not so much that it sounds distant. My budget is up to $200, but I would prefer to stay closer to $150. The aesthetics of the IEM's do matter a lot for me, and I prefer the looks of IEM's such as the Ikko OH1/OH10, Whizzer Kylin's, Secret Garden No.3 Ti's, Fiio FH5's. I'll be listening to this via smartphone, so something that doesn't need a lot of power is preferable. I'm also open to purchasing additional foam tips to further improve the bass while (debatably) toning down the high's. I would say this classify's as a warmer/darker sound signature, but the most important aspect is how deep the subbass extends and the quantity and quality of its rumble. Thanks!
Easy pick! :point_right: KZ ZS7
 
Jul 1, 2019 at 12:23 AM Post #24,696 of 33,689
Hi all, I'm looking for a specific sound signature and I was wondering if I could get some recommendations. Starting from low to high, I prefer an immensely powerful, deep rumbling sub bass. Something I can feel in my soul basically. Mid bass needs to have impact but not an overly booming sound, but generally prefer a slower decay. For mids, I'd prefer something warm and silky, for both male and female voices. High's I prefer something that is not very bright and sibilant, and something that would be suitable for very long (4-8 hour) listening sessions. I have pretty treble sensitive ears, so that's a big deal. For soundstage, I'd prefer something very wide and immersive, but not so much that it sounds distant. My budget is up to $200, but I would prefer to stay closer to $150. The aesthetics of the IEM's do matter a lot for me, and I prefer the looks of IEM's such as the Ikko OH1/OH10, Whizzer Kylin's, Secret Garden No.3 Ti's, Fiio FH5's. I'll be listening to this via smartphone, so something that doesn't need a lot of power is preferable. I'm also open to purchasing additional foam tips to further improve the bass while (debatably) toning down the high's. I would say this classify's as a warmer/darker sound signature, but the most important aspect is how deep the subbass extends and the quantity and quality of its rumble. Thanks!
Oriveti Basic.
 
Jul 1, 2019 at 3:36 AM Post #24,697 of 33,689
Hi all, I'm looking for a specific sound signature and I was wondering if I could get some recommendations. Starting from low to high, I prefer an immensely powerful, deep rumbling sub bass. Something I can feel in my soul basically. Mid bass needs to have impact but not an overly booming sound, but generally prefer a slower decay. For mids, I'd prefer something warm and silky, for both male and female voices. High's I prefer something that is not very bright and sibilant, and something that would be suitable for very long (4-8 hour) listening sessions. I have pretty treble sensitive ears, so that's a big deal. For soundstage, I'd prefer something very wide and immersive, but not so much that it sounds distant. My budget is up to $200, but I would prefer to stay closer to $150. The aesthetics of the IEM's do matter a lot for me, and I prefer the looks of IEM's such as the Ikko OH1/OH10, Whizzer Kylin's, Secret Garden No.3 Ti's, Fiio FH5's. I'll be listening to this via smartphone, so something that doesn't need a lot of power is preferable. I'm also open to purchasing additional foam tips to further improve the bass while (debatably) toning down the high's. I would say this classify's as a warmer/darker sound signature, but the most important aspect is how deep the subbass extends and the quantity and quality of its rumble. Thanks!
May I suggest either the ikko OH10 or HiFi Boy OSV3. Cheers! :)
 
Jul 1, 2019 at 4:26 PM Post #24,700 of 33,689
Jul 2, 2019 at 5:25 PM Post #24,702 of 33,689
So... My Toneking TKS16 arrived yesterday!

They are gorgeous, but the colors are not as strong as the pictures from Alliexpress...

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The cable is very soft and as 8 strand. I believe it's silver plated copper cable.

About the sound...

They definitely need burnin... I let them play pink noise all day and I can hear improvement from yesterday for today.
Yesterday the mids were very recessed and today they are showing up.
After trying some tips, the Spiral Dots are the right choice for this ones.

Sound signature at day 2:

Still very bright whit recessed mids and not very deep bass.

My AT CKR9 are dead so I can't do A/B comparison but right know from memory they are superior to the TKS16 in every way... But this is just day 2

wish me luck!
 
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Jul 2, 2019 at 10:16 PM Post #24,703 of 33,689
So... My Toneking TKS16 arrived yesterday!

They are gorgeous, but the colors are not as strong as the pictures from Alliexpress...















The cable is very soft and as 8 strand. I believe it's silver plated copper cable.

About the sound...

They definitely need burnin... I let them play pink noise all day and I can hear improvement from yesterday for today.
Yesterday the mids were very recessed and today they are showing up.
After trying some tips, the Spiral Dots are the right choice for this ones.

Sound signature at day 2:

Still very bright whit recessed mids and not very deep bass.

My AT CKR9 are dead so I can't do A/B comparison but right know from memory they are superior to the TKS16 in every way... But this is just day 2

wish me luck!
Spiral Dots indeed help recessed mids and I used to recommend SD (+foam). Now I find the SD sound ‘muggy’ compared to the RHA silicon tips which also bring low-mids up front more. I can notice a difference in the in first 60 seconds of “Natural” at multiple places. Then again, there is EQ :p

Colors look good in those photos, and slightly muted may minimize accidental involvement in gang turf wars!

Good luck!
 
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Jul 3, 2019 at 4:36 AM Post #24,705 of 33,689
I know that it is kind of old but still.... ROSE North Forest, again. 25 bucks and full of positive vibrations :)

Review here: LINK
My blog: LINK

Maybe I received a dud over Penon but I heard nothing like that out of my unit and there were many who found them a "big mess".
I had hollow, muddy with weird imaging experience. Gave them to stranger at bus.
 

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