It was on aliexpress at $35 USD a few weeks ago, but it is now completely sold out at that price. Seems there are still a few sellers there offering it at > 100 USD.
There were some sets on taobao at $28ish USD and ebay at $43 last week, not sure if they are still around at that price (I got mine at 43 bucks from one of the ebay sellers).
I have been listening to the ZSX, C12 and BLON BL-03 a lot recently and appreciate the great strides made in quality in these recent designs. However, I got out my Tin T3 yesterday and was astonished by the natural sound they produce, and especially the reproduction of harmonics. The high violin notes towards the end of Finzi's "Introit" played by Lesley Hatfield were a good example. All the other three IEMs suffer from some exaggeration in some part of their presentation. The BLON has elevated bass and rolled off treble, the C12 has a more aggressive upper mid/lower treble similar to the ZS10 Pro and the ZSX has a "larger than life" effect which although entertaining, is not wholly natural.
I have come to realise that with the general improvement in accuracy from the newer offerings, the influence of source equipment and music content has a more powerful effect in how we evaluate our IEMs and personal preference and choice of music genre plays a major part in our opinions.
ChiFi stuff is amazing for the money and the newer offerings can really stick it to my significantly more expensive over ears and my main Hifi system on the right track.
What I've not found yet is a ChiFi IEM that sounds consistently great with it all. But that's ok. I've got plenty to choose from and one of my IEMs will always sound better than my hifi.
What I've not found yet is a ChiFi IEM that sounds consistently great with it all. But that's ok. I've got plenty to choose from and one of my IEMs will always sound better than my hifi.
I thought I found it - the T800. It has that elevated bass for sure - but that's why I got them. The treble sounds great and I have yet to find a song on which T800 doesn't sound natural. If you guys know of any, please let me know.
ChiFi stuff is amazing for the money and the newer offerings can really stick it to my significantly more expensive over ears and my main Hifi system on the right track.
What I've not found yet is a ChiFi IEM that sounds consistently great with it all. But that's ok. I've got plenty to choose from and one of my IEMs will always sound better than my hifi.
I agree, you would be hard pressed to find one solution for every genre; that being said, for me the ToneKing NineTails does an overall good job. But that takes into account my preferred sound signature: U shaped, warmish tones, resolving low end = brown/silver back filter + red earpiece filter.
When I'm on the computer:
I'm running the 9Tails through Spotify Premium (desktop) --> Peace EQ app --> Monolith THX 788 --> mDrop balanced adapter (XLR to 2.5 mm) --> Linsoul TRIPOWIN C8 8-Core
But I wouldn't make an absolute statement about any IEM sounding better than every Hifi rig and I'm not referring to some $50K setup. The biggest thing that separates audio speakers from headphones/IEMs is the perceived cross feed and to a lesser extent, a good subwoofer. Recordings are not mastered for complete isolation of the 2 channels; they're worked over with studio monitors. There is no comparison of sound stage, because of the balance of: speaker placement (vertical & horizontal) and the cross feed aspect.
When I'm kicking back in my favorite chair, with a good, brown liquor, with a couple of rocks:
Spotify Premium into my multi channel setup; where my Dahlquist DQ-10s are the center piece.
I thought I found it - the T800. It has that elevated bass for sure - but that's why I got them. The treble sounds great and I have yet to find a song on which T800 doesn't sound natural. If you guys know of any, please let me know.
Yeah the Audiosense T800 is capable for most genres and I haven't heard any music that sounds bad on it unless it is highly compressed MP3s/youtube videos or poorly recorded stuff (cause the T800 show all the details up). Having said that, I do feel it may lose out to a dedicated DD IEM (like the toneking ninetails) in the area of timbre and tonality. Though T800 has very good timbre for a pure BA setup compared to the other usual CHIFI BAs/hybrids. I know some folks ain't particular about timbre, so that's just nitpicking on my side.
Paradoxically, I sometimes have to put away the T800 cause it has too much details. Like when I just wanna chill back and relax and listen to some jazz, I go to a DD IEM instead.
I agree, you would be hard pressed to find one solution for every genre; that being said, for me the ToneKing NineTails does an overall good job. But that takes into account my preferred sound signature: U shaped, warmish tones, resolving low end = brown/silver back filter + red earpiece filter.
When I'm on the computer:
I'm running the 9Tails through Spotify Premium (desktop) --> Peace EQ app --> Monolith THX 788 --> mDrop balanced adapter (XLR to 2.5 mm) --> Linsoul TRIPOWIN C8 8-Core
When I'm kicking back in my favorite chair, with a good, brown liquor, with a couple of rocks:
Spotify Premium into my multi channel setup; where my Dahlquist DQ-10s are the center piece.
ChiFi stuff is amazing for the money and the newer offerings can really stick it to my significantly more expensive over ears and my main Hifi system on the right track.
What I've not found yet is a ChiFi IEM that sounds consistently great with it all. But that's ok. I've got plenty to choose from and one of my IEMs will always sound better than my hifi.
I find it a bit funny that no one talked about the CNT1 when it was priced $95 but now when it's $3x it rivals $100 offering lol. No disrespect to anyone for this, I just find it amusing.
I bought my pair for $70 as a part of a bigger order when it was first released and it went in the "not quite good enough" drawer pretty fast. I prefer them with A5 filters that brings out some more air and energy in them. Maybe I need to take the time to try them out with all the A6 filters as well and see if I can find something that makes them more to my preferences.
I find it a bit funny that no one talked about the CNT1 when it was priced $95 but now when it's $3x it rivals $100 offering lol. No disrespect to anyone for this, I just find it amusing.
I bought my pair for $70 as a part of a bigger order when it was first released and it went in the "not quite good enough" drawer pretty fast. I prefer them with A5 filters that brings out some more air and energy in them. Maybe I need to take the time to try them out with all the A6 filters as well and see if I can find something that makes them more to my preferences.
Only like 3 of you guys got some to review. Semkarch is a silly name. $95 is a price point where people are not going to just take a risk on an unknown product when the IT01 was dominating the CHifi $100 price bracket. Had LZ just named it an LZ there would have been a bit more buzz and a lot more sales. Maybe build quality and materials wasn't up to snuff? but then weird that LZ released those lackluster $40-$50 iems a short time later, which are already reduced to $20-$30 in some places.
I got mine at $65 and instantly recognized they had strengths that even my $250 IEMs didn't have. I still have not found a worthy replacement at under $200(my Limit). I believe that says something but im a bass head that loves Mids.
Anyway if you dig those out again here are a few songs/genres that (to me) sound better on CNT then anything else I have listened too.
The depth on this bass!
Only like 3 of you guys got some to review. Semkarch is a silly name. $95 is a oprice point where people are not going to just take a risk on an unknown product when the IT01 was dominating the CHifi $100 price bracket. Had LZ just named it an LZ there would have been a bit more buzz and a lot more sales. Maybe build quality and materials wasn't up to snuff? but then weird that LZ released those lackluster $40-$50 iems a short time later, which are already reduced to $20-$30 in some places.
I got mine at $65 and instantly recognized they had strengths that even my $250 IEMs didn't have. I still have not found a worthy replacement at under $200(my Limit). I believe that says something but im a bass head that loves Mids.
Anyway if you dig those out again here are a few songs/genres that (to me) sound better on CNT then anything else I have listened too.
The depth on this bass!
Fwiw the LZ Z05A outperform the CNT1 by quite some margin imo, I'd imagine that's one of those "lackluster" IEM's you're talking about. In what way do you feel that the CNT1 outperform them?
I have been listening to the ZSX, C12 and BLON BL-03 a lot recently and appreciate the great strides made in quality in these recent designs. However, I got out my Tin T3 yesterday and was astonished by the natural sound they produce, and especially the reproduction of harmonics. The high violin notes towards the end of Finzi's "Introit" played by Lesley Hatfield were a good example. All the other three IEMs suffer from some exaggeration in some part of their presentation. The BLON has elevated bass and rolled off treble, the C12 has a more aggressive upper mid/lower treble similar to the ZS10 Pro and the ZSX has a "larger than life" effect which although entertaining, is not wholly natural.
I have come to realise that with the general improvement in accuracy from the newer offerings, the influence of source equipment and music content has a more powerful effect in how we evaluate our IEMs and personal preference and choice of music genre plays a major part in our opinions.
Are you suggesting that the T3 doesn't have exaggerated treble? I agree the T3 is good (it has been on my top IEMs list since the day I reviewed it), but the high frequencies don't sound natural to me. Although the timbre is good the tonal balance isn't accurate.
Fwiw the LZ Z05A outperform the CNT1 by quite some margin imo, I'd imagine that's one of those "lackluster" IEM's you're talking about. In what way do you feel that the CNT1 outperform them?
Well for starters Z04and05 released and didn't even make a generation before being clearanced out. Also only like a couple people reviewed them and there was no buzz about them globally at all. At least none that I hear and I am on both US and Japanese sites. That would be lackluster no?
Anyway, I have never listened to either of them so I cannot talk about what I don't personally know. My friend who has them both and the CNT said that CNT is the better IEM as he feels the 05 bass is too light and vocals esp male vocals are too recessed. He also didn't like the isolation for his train rides. Everything else was sidegrad-esque. That's enough, coupled with the fact that there was zero buzz on them is enough to keep me away even at $30. I would not be surprised that some people(like you) would like one IEM over another as there is a huge glut of IEMS that are all sidegrady at these price points.
Are you suggesting that the T3 doesn't have exaggerated treble? I agree the T3 is good (it has been on my top IEMs list since the day I reviewed it), but the high frequencies don't sound natural to me. Although the timbre is good the tonal balance isn't accurate.
Yes, the treble on the T3 is brighter than neutral but possesses a clarity and resolution some other recent Chi-fi models can only dream of. It shows the advantage of using quality drivers. I prefer this to a rolled-off upper register and luckily I am not particularly treble-sensitive.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
