[peter123]

So you think HD598 is compatible with HD600, 

FWIW they're not even close imo....

 

[TwinACStacks]

Peter they are roughly half the cost, but they aren't THAT far behind. If you change the earpads it supposedly brings them very close from my understanding. Apparently the 600 pads will fit. As I stated they are another viable option. I still LOVE my 600's.

TWIN

 

[twister6]

It has been awhile since I posted in this thread, but figured this might fit here.
 
Even so I moved on to premium IEM cables, sometimes you come across a budget gem that puts a smile on your face

 Penon sent me to check out one of their budget $24.90 Silver Plated 4-core cables: with a nice L-shaped gold plated 3.5mm connector, neatly braided soft conductors, transparent silicone y-splitter and chin slider, universal mmcx connector with a transparent housing, and a pre-shaped flexible earhook.  It has a typical SPC performance, adding a sparkle to the sound and improving IEM efficiency due to lower impedance.  Very comfortable fit, no microphonics, no memory effect, and quality mmcx connector which I tested to work with IT03, VEGA, Exelento, and various Westone iems.  Is it going to beat $500 EA cables or $1k-$2k PWA cables?  Of course, not!  But for $24.90 it will make a nice replacement or a spare cable that feels great, looks great, and will improve sound over any stock OFC cable.  And btw, Penon also has these cool compressive aluminum earphone cases - great protection when traveling, tight seal, and soft internal lining (case wasn't included with the cable).
 
 
 

 

[Slater]

  And btw, Penon also has these cool compressive aluminum earphone cases - great protection when traveling, tight seal, and soft internal lining (case wasn't included with the cable).
 
 

 
I like that case a lot! I have a very similar case that I repurposed from a Republic of Tea container & added a felt lining.
 
That case is much nicer though!

 

[1clearhead]

  @1clearhead Have you ordered these Joyroom E500? I managed to snag a listen on these when I was overseas in taiwan. Apparently from what I recall it has lots of sub bass, mid bass and lower mids. The treble is just super recessed and soft. In my case of listening preference, I didn't like it at all

 

Yea, I ordered them really cheap here in China just to get a hold of the pack of silicone tips that came with them. ....Really, nothing special about the E500.

 

[1clearhead]

  It has been awhile since I posted in this thread, but figured this might fit here.
 
Even so I moved on to premium IEM cables, sometimes you come across a budget gem that puts a smile on your face

 Penon sent me to check out one of their budget $24.90 Silver Plated 4-core cables: with a nice L-shaped gold plated 3.5mm connector, neatly braided soft conductors, transparent silicone y-splitter and chin slider, universal mmcx connector with a transparent housing, and a pre-shaped flexible earhook.  It has a typical SPC performance, adding a sparkle to the sound and improving IEM efficiency due to lower impedance.  Very comfortable fit, no microphonics, no memory effect, and quality mmcx connector which I tested to work with IT03, VEGA, Exelento, and various Westone iems.  Is it going to beat $500 EA cables or $1k-$2k PWA cables?  Of course, not!  But for $24.90 it will make a nice replacement or a spare cable that feels great, looks great, and will improve sound over any stock OFC cable.  And btw, Penon also has these cool compressive aluminum earphone cases - great protection when traveling, tight seal, and soft internal lining (case wasn't included with the cable).
 
 
 

 
Like the silver cables! 

 ....Thanks for sharing.

 

[Pastapipo]

A while back I promised to compare the Vivo XE800, Urbanfuns, MEMT X5 and the Zero Audio Tenores. Unfortunately I can't find the time anywhere soon for an extended review, so here a short conclusion (all of which are my personal opinion):
 
XE800: Talked about these earlier in my review: Clear, neutral, detailed, beautifull mids, but not enough punch in the bass department. Need a warm source, so not really suited for direct smartphone use imho. For around $15 an excellent choice, but not for everyone.
 
Urbanfuns: Very detailed, great soundstage, extremely clear even straight out of a smartphone. Very well balanced, maybe slightly V-shaped. Bass is well controlled, deep and in just the right quantity. The upper highs are a tiny bit coloured in my opinion. Maybe it's the balanced armatures which create a 'metallic' sound in the upper highs, but not something that spoils the party.
Excellent choice for people who appreciate a clear and detailed sound. Very suitable for smartphone/laptop use.
 
MEMT X5: Burned the stock tips and send the ashes to Satan. After some tip rolling I found the Vivo XE800 tips offered the best sound quality and comfort. L-shape sound signature; more than neutral bass with an overall flat response. With the Vivo tips, the bass is more tight and controlled compared to the stock tips. Not the clearest IEMs i've heard, but still quite detailed with an nice soundstage.
Perfect allrounder for the average consumer. Just wished MEMT invested less in packaging and more in accessories.
 
ZA Tenores: Twice as expensive as the options mentioned above, but they still have a special place in my heart. With the JVC spiral dots they offer the perfectly sound signature for my personal preference; balanced with a touch of subbass. Only gripe I have with them is that the highs are too smooth. The bass is deep, controlled and offers the perfect mix of subbass and midbass. The mids are very natural and have a 'wooden' sound over them, resembling the likes of a premium bookshelf speaker. The highs are perfectly balanced in the mix, but like mentioned earlier, a bit too smooth. They greatly benefit from a DAC (a dragonfly black in my case), so smartphone users might not get the full experience. Still a great product, but I wouldn't directly recommend them to people on a budget since they need some investment to reach their true potential.
 
 

 

[TwinACStacks]

  It has been awhile since I posted in this thread, but figured this might fit here.
 
Even so I moved on to premium IEM cables, sometimes you come across a budget gem that puts a smile on your face

 Penon sent me to check out one of their budget $24.90 Silver Plated 4-core cables: with a nice L-shaped gold plated 3.5mm connector, neatly braided soft conductors, transparent silicone y-splitter and chin slider, universal mmcx connector with a transparent housing, and a pre-shaped flexible earhook.  It has a typical SPC performance, adding a sparkle to the sound and improving IEM efficiency due to lower impedance.  Very comfortable fit, no microphonics, no memory effect, and quality mmcx connector which I tested to work with IT03, VEGA, Exelento, and various Westone iems.  Is it going to beat $500 EA cables or $1k-$2k PWA cables?  Of course, not!  But for $24.90 it will make a nice replacement or a spare cable that feels great, looks great, and will improve sound over any stock OFC cable.  And btw, Penon also has these cool compressive aluminum earphone cases - great protection when traveling, tight seal, and soft internal lining (case wasn't included with the cable).
 
 
 

I don't know if I missed it Twister but did you happen to measure the Resistance?
 

TWIN

 

[twister6]

 

  It has been awhile since I posted in this thread, but figured this might fit here.
 
Even so I moved on to premium IEM cables, sometimes you come across a budget gem that puts a smile on your face

 Penon sent me to check out one of their budget $24.90 Silver Plated 4-core cables: with a nice L-shaped gold plated 3.5mm connector, neatly braided soft conductors, transparent silicone y-splitter and chin slider, universal mmcx connector with a transparent housing, and a pre-shaped flexible earhook.  It has a typical SPC performance, adding a sparkle to the sound and improving IEM efficiency due to lower impedance.  Very comfortable fit, no microphonics, no memory effect, and quality mmcx connector which I tested to work with IT03, VEGA, Exelento, and various Westone iems.  Is it going to beat $500 EA cables or $1k-$2k PWA cables?  Of course, not!  But for $24.90 it will make a nice replacement or a spare cable that feels great, looks great, and will improve sound over any stock OFC cable.  And btw, Penon also has these cool compressive aluminum earphone cases - great protection when traveling, tight seal, and soft internal lining (case wasn't included with the cable).
 
 
 

I don't know if I missed it Twister but did you happen to measure the Resistance?
 

TWIN

 
The higher purity materials have lower resistivity and higher conductivity (physical property of metals), and as a result when you compare the same IEM from the same source and the same volume level with different wires, like cheap oxygen free copper (OFC) vs silver-plated copper (SFC), the sound will be louder, thus making IEM more efficient.  Could be a subtle or a more noticeable change, depending in the wire material and your hearing sensitivity.  Btw, it's easier to measure impedance of 2pin connectors vs mmcx, since the "hot" wire of mmcx is buried inside of the connector and multi-meter probe can damage it when you press on it.  So, I don't recommend it, speaking from a personal experience

 

[TwinACStacks]

I just measure the ground side. Theoretically it should have roughly the same resistance as the hot.

TWIN

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

  A while back I promised to compare the Vivo XE800, Urbanfuns, MEMT X5 and the Zero Audio Tenores. Unfortunately I can't find the time anywhere soon for an extended review, so here a short conclusion (all of which are my personal opinion):

I wonder if you listed them in way of which are your favourites?

 

[Pastapipo]

  I wonder if you listed them in way of which are your favourites?

 
I find it hard to list them in order because of their different uses.
 
Straight out of my Galaxy S7, the Urbanfuns win. So they are in my ears when commuting or when I can't carry a DAC.
During long studying sessions, I'm combining the Vivo's or Tenores with the Dragonfly black. I like the precision of the Vivo's, but the Tenores are the least fatiguing, so I alternate between them .
The MEMT X5 are lying on my desk for quick and dirty listening sessions, during cooking or cleaning for example. They are the least clear and detailed of the pack, but the L-shaped sound signature and capable soundstage is fun and enjoyable. Excellent for pop/electronic music.

 

[nolife1123]

  A while back I promised to compare the Vivo XE800, Urbanfuns, MEMT X5 and the Zero Audio Tenores. Unfortunately I can't find the time anywhere soon for an extended review, so here a short conclusion (all of which are my personal opinion):
 
XE800: Talked about these earlier in my review: Clear, neutral, detailed, beautifull mids, but not enough punch in the bass department. Need a warm source, so not really suited for direct smartphone use imho. For around $15 an excellent choice, but not for everyone.
 
Urbanfuns: Very detailed, great soundstage, extremely clear even straight out of a smartphone. Very well balanced, maybe slightly V-shaped. Bass is well controlled, deep and in just the right quantity. The upper highs are a tiny bit coloured in my opinion. Maybe it's the balanced armatures which create a 'metallic' sound in the upper highs, but not something that spoils the party.
Excellent choice for people who appreciate a clear and detailed sound. Very suitable for smartphone/laptop use.
 
MEMT X5: Burned the stock tips and send the ashes to Satan. After some tip rolling I found the Vivo XE800 tips offered the best sound quality and comfort. L-shape sound signature; more than neutral bass with an overall flat response. With the Vivo tips, the bass is more tight and controlled compared to the stock tips. Not the clearest IEMs i've heard, but still quite detailed with an nice soundstage.
Perfect allrounder for the average consumer. Just wished MEMT invested less in packaging and more in accessories.
 
ZA Tenores: Twice as expensive as the options mentioned above, but they still have a special place in my heart. With the JVC spiral dots they offer the perfectly sound signature for my personal preference; balanced with a touch of subbass. Only gripe I have with them is that the highs are too smooth. The bass is deep, controlled and offers the perfect mix of subbass and midbass. The mids are very natural and have a 'wooden' sound over them, resembling the likes of a premium bookshelf speaker. The highs are perfectly balanced in the mix, but like mentioned earlier, a bit too smooth. They greatly benefit from a DAC (a dragonfly black in my case), so smartphone users might not get the full experience. Still a great product, but I wouldn't directly recommend them to people on a budget since they need some investment to reach their true potential.
 
 

I got my Vivo XE800's the other day, burned them in for 60 hours with pink noise and I can't really say for sure, but I believe I got a bad pair, the sound you describe just isn't there for me.
I found them very hard on the ears, unbalanced, unnatural sound with ear piercing hissy S's in any song.
 
I've rolled tips, from the included tips, KZ Whirlwinds, double flanges, Spinfits, random tips I got with various earphones, I ended up using a random pair of smooth silicone bullet-shaped tips, which still don't fix the sound up enough. Those reduced the S hissing, but the detail just isn't there, the bass is splashy, and mostly absent, there's barely any subbass, vocals are likely the only thing that sound almost good on my pair, but they're very forward.
 
I've tried rock, acoustic music, metal, metalcore, power metal, dnb, house and nothing sounds right on them, lots of sound qualities are missing or too thin (even with good fit).
 
There's also the odd sound scaling, on my Tennmak pro, I'd run over at 8/30 sound levels on my Ruizu X08 and that was enough for a comfortable listening level without missing on any sound qualities, with the XE800 I've gotta turn it up over 15, hell, even 17-18 to get to decent volume, which is where hissing becomes unbearable, and vocals are extremely forward, to the point where it's annoying even, bass and subbass still miss any quality, and even instrumentals lack in extension (with the exception of pianos, which have at least some extension), they drop off almost instantly. Hell, they even need way more power than my ATH-M30x's .
 
Only things I can say sound good are Above & Beyond Acoustic, Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (Hissy S's still present).
 
On the other side, Mechina sounds extremely harsh to the ears, the Hissy vocals are unbearable, even though they're very much in the back in this song as it is.
I've tried it with my PC setup (EDIT: had a relisten through the PC, there's way less hissing through it, and it sounds fuller), my phone (Sammy Note 4), Marantz full sized amp thru a 6.3mm adapter and Ruizu X08 and they still sound mostly wrong, so I doubt it's my source's fault.
 
@Pastapipo @bhazard Do you hear the same type of S hissing on that Mechina song (especially when you turn it up), in other songs in general?

 

[CoiL]

 
Urbanfuns: Very detailed, great soundstage, extremely clear even straight out of a smartphone. Very well balanced, maybe slightly V-shaped. Bass is well controlled, deep and in just the right quantity. The upper highs are a tiny bit coloured in my opinion. Maybe it's the balanced armatures which create a 'metallic' sound in the upper highs, but not something that spoils the party.
Excellent choice for people who appreciate a clear and detailed sound. Very suitable for smartphone/laptop use.

Do You happen to have KZ ZST or/and **** 4in1? Can You please compare them and where from did You buy Urbanfun`s (there seems to be different color and same looking but not same SQ)? 

 

[Pastapipo]

   
@Pastapipo @bhazard Do you hear the same type of S hissing on that Mechina song (especially when you turn it up), in other songs in general?

 
That's very unfortunate. I cannot hear anything you're describing. I've got 2 pairs and both sound the same and are very easy to drive. Where did you buy your pair? How did you pay? Did it come with a retail package? (the fake ones did). Only when I put the volume near max in the Mechina song, I can hear some hissing, but that volume level is not tolerable for more than 2 seconds. 
 
 

  Do You happen to have KZ ZST or/and **** 4in1? Can You please compare them and where from did You buy Urbanfun`s (there seems to be different color and same looking but not same SQ)? 

 
Unfortunately I do not own the ZST or the 4in1. I bought them from the place we cannot talk about. What's the difference between the colours?