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Chinese / Asian Brand IEM Info Thread
Oct 17, 2017 at 6:49 PM Post #12,361 of 33,689
MoshiMoshi said:
Is the ch9t the best iem right now for ~$100? I posted before what music I like and didn't get replies.
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There is no best, everybody has different hearings and likes different things. A top contender in the $200 and lower tier, hell yes
 
Oct 17, 2017 at 8:51 PM Post #12,363 of 33,689
My review of the BGVP BKYT MRY6 (that name!) Decent but not a game changer.
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/review/19326/

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Oct 17, 2017 at 9:22 PM Post #12,364 of 33,689
Oct 17, 2017 at 11:00 PM Post #12,368 of 33,689
Slater said:
At some point you are going to have to pull the trigger and actually get something. Don't get caught up in what's known as 'analysis paralysis'. Trust me, it's very easy to do, because I often suffer from the same behavior (from my career to investing to buying cars). And I mean that in the most honest, nicest possible way.

All of the IEMs you listed are pretty much regarded as the cream of the crop for their respective price points, and are very very close to one another in terms of sound, features, design, etc - CH9T, K3 Pro/HD, F9, etc. Of the ones on your list, it's literally down to splitting minute hairs.

There is no 'perfect' IEM. One might have better sound but may not be as comfortable for your ears. Another may sound 99% as good, but has better fit and a better cable. And since we all hear things a little different, even if someone else A/Bs them it doesn't mean you'll hear them the exact same way. You can't just go solely on manufacturer's FR graphs and a few people's impressions.

There will be subtleties between them all that may never have been pointed out in other people's impressions. Maybe their ears aren't the same size as yours. Maybe they are a different age than you so their frequency hearing is different. Maybe their ear canal is shaped different so there are reflected resonant frequencies present or absent that you wouldn't have in your ear canals. And that's not even considering what tips, what cables, what source, and/or amp they are using (as well as how well those sources are impedance matched, which appears to be the cause of the majority of the polar opposite impressions people give to the ZS5).

Just get 1, 2, or all 3, evaluate them all, pick which one YOU like, and send the rest back (or sell them, give as christmas gifts, or whatever).

You've been on the fence for months and months. I understand that you want to do your homework and you don't want to make a bad decision - no one does. But trust me, you can spend the next 24 months analyzing the same handful of IEMs and never be 100% sure about any of them if you can't listen to them for yourself in your own ears, on your own gear, with your own music. Wouldn't you rather spend the same 24 months enjoying music?

A lot of people dislike the ZS5 (including you). I happen to love mine to pieces. Is there a singular reason or explanation why? No, it could be due to a dozen of different reasons, from tips to source to hearing to quality control. Does that make 1 or us right and 1 of us wrong? Absolutely not. But just as you discovered with the ZS5, the only way to REALLY know if a headphone is right for you is to try it for yourself.
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Okay man got it. The sad part is I can't afford to buy all of them and try them out. I could afford to try out the zs5 since it was so cheap but anything above 50 bucks isn't something that I can impulsively buy.
It's not just one particular thing that I dont like about the zs5 although I am not a fan of the treble. My expectations of the zs5 was a bit too high (definitely my fault) and was expecting them to be huge upgrade from the xiaomi pro hds which was my daily driver. The zs5 sounded really good with some songs but lacked 'naturalness' in others. The female vocals sounded a bit nasal. I believe eq might be able to improve it to some extent but I constantly switch devices, so it can be quite a hassle. So that is why I am jumping in the 100 dollar price category and I am expecting this purchase to be a great upgrade from both the pro hd and zs5 and hence I am filtering out iems that most people think colours the sound too much or have peaky treble or overly forward or recessed mids. I am basing my purchase on what most people think and I am not saying I will hear how 'most people' will hear things but it does somewhat improve the chances right?

So far the general believe is that the fiios have peaky treble and boosted upper mids. I believe the magaosi k3 hd do not have any part of the spectrum that stands out to most people with the silver filter. Both have great sound stage, imaging, resolution etc. Correct me if I am wrong.
 
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Oct 18, 2017 at 12:42 AM Post #12,370 of 33,689
Fahim Foysal said:
Okay man got it. The sad part is I can't afford to buy all of them and try them out. I could afford to try out the zs5 since it was so cheap but anything above 50 bucks isn't something that I can impulsively buy.
It's not just one particular thing that I dont like about the zs5 although I am not a fan of the treble. My expectations of the zs5 was a bit too high (definitely my fault) and was expecting them to be huge upgrade from the xiaomi pro hds which was my daily driver. The zs5 sounded really good with some songs but lacked 'naturalness' in others. The female vocals sounded a bit nasal. I believe eq might be able to improve it to some extent but I constantly switch devices, so it can be quite a hassle. So that is why I am jumping in the 100 dollar price category and I am expecting this purchase to be a great upgrade from both the pro hd and zs5 and hence I am filtering out iems that most people think colours the sound too much or have peaky treble or overly forward or recessed mids. I am basing my purchase on what most people think and I am not saying I will hear how 'most people' will hear things but it does somewhat improve the chances right?

So far the general believe is that the fiios have peaky treble and boosted upper mids. I believe the magaosi k3 hd do not have any part of the spectrum that stands out to most people with the silver filter. Both have great sound stage, imaging, resolution etc. Correct me if I am wrong.
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Magaosi K3s sound best with an amp, so keep that in mind. Also, the K3 HD is brighter than the K3 Pro, so you may want to go with the Pro over the HD (or forgo the K3 altogether if you don’t plan on using an external amplifier).
 
Oct 18, 2017 at 5:46 AM Post #12,371 of 33,689
Fahim Foysal said:
Okay man got it. The sad part is I can't afford to buy all of them and try them out. I could afford to try out the zs5 since it was so cheap but anything above 50 bucks isn't something that I can impulsively buy.
It's not just one particular thing that I dont like about the zs5 although I am not a fan of the treble. My expectations of the zs5 was a bit too high (definitely my fault) and was expecting them to be huge upgrade from the xiaomi pro hds which was my daily driver. The zs5 sounded really good with some songs but lacked 'naturalness' in others. The female vocals sounded a bit nasal. I believe eq might be able to improve it to some extent but I constantly switch devices, so it can be quite a hassle. So that is why I am jumping in the 100 dollar price category and I am expecting this purchase to be a great upgrade from both the pro hd and zs5 and hence I am filtering out iems that most people think colours the sound too much or have peaky treble or overly forward or recessed mids. I am basing my purchase on what most people think and I am not saying I will hear how 'most people' will hear things but it does somewhat improve the chances right?

So far the general believe is that the fiios have peaky treble and boosted upper mids. I believe the magaosi k3 hd do not have any part of the spectrum that stands out to most people with the silver filter. Both have great sound stage, imaging, resolution etc. Correct me if I am wrong.
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Good advice from Slater. It is all very subjective, isn't it? e.g. I found the zs5 a big upgrade over the Xiaomi pro hd. You have to take a gamble. However, I can't afford to gamble with $100 phones, so I don't.
 
Oct 18, 2017 at 7:41 AM Post #12,372 of 33,689
Where can I find AZLA's reviews in Head-Fi? Any news about Dynamic Motion Line-up? Do they plan to release new earphone with 2-pin detachable cable likes AZLA be?
 
Oct 18, 2017 at 7:49 AM Post #12,373 of 33,689
Slater said:
Exactly.

So 10 people can rave about x or y. Then you get it and hate it or have a different experience. Were they all wrong? What did I miss? Should I have done more research? Maybe my pair is defective? Is it my music? Is it my phone? Will a different cable make a difference?

It could be as simple as needing an amp, or a different phone, or a different genre of music, or higher/lower quality files, or a tip swap, or even a higher or lower volume.

90% of people don't specify any of those things in reviews and impressions, And you certainly can't tell any of that from looking at a manufacturer's FR graph (much of which are uncorrected, smoothed, not smoothed, tested on unknown/non-standard/uncalibrated equipment).

Your head can explode if you think about this stuff too hard. At some point the only thing to do is put something on your ears and it will all become clear. That's the difference between knowledge (researching, reading, etc) and experience (doing, listening, etc).
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Excellent ,
 
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