[blueangel2323]

15db!? :O What are you comparing to?

 

[AmberOzL]

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15db!? :O What are you comparing to?

GMP 8.35D possibly, or his iems, TDK BA200 if I am not mistaking. He is like me, neutral fanatic

 

[Marleybob217]

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GMP 8.35D possibly, or his iems, TDK BA200 if I am not mistaking. He is like me, neutral fanatic

Nah, the GMP 8.35D vs the BA4f has about 20 db less bass
 
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15db!? :O What are you comparing to?

My peeps, I'm comparing them to my mackie studio monitors. The epitome of neutral (well, pretty much). The mackies are even slightly warm sounding, but nowhere near compared to the BA4Fs. If I'm done doing chores (helping my mom moving), I'll set up some eq settings when I think it sounds neutral. 

 

[blueangel2323]

You should be comparing IEMs to IEMs though. I know for instance that IEMs sound way bassier to my ears than headphones or speakers. Not saying that your ears are necessarily the same way, but something to keep in mind.

 

[project86]

Interesting - I don't hear my BA4F is anywhere near that bassy. It's boosted to some degree, but not that much. I'd say maybe in the 5dB to 7dB range. 15dB boost sounds like a JH16 or something. 
 
But I agree with the advise given - wear them for a while, get used to the feel and the sound, and keep Phil in the loop about it. Not sure how difficult it would be for him to switch you to the lighter version... I'm guessing it's a small crossover difference, but once the entire CIEM is built it might be hard to go back and redo. Or maybe not, I don't know.
 
Wouldn't it be cool if there was a way to switch on the fly between one style and the other? 

 

[Marleybob217]

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Interesting - I don't hear my BA4F is anywhere near that bassy. It's boosted to some degree, but not that much. I'd say maybe in the 5dB to 7dB range. 15dB boost sounds like a JH16 or something. 
 
But I agree with the advise given - wear them for a while, get used to the feel and the sound, and keep Phil in the loop about it. Not sure how difficult it would be for him to switch you to the lighter version... I'm guessing it's a small crossover difference, but once the entire CIEM is built it might be hard to go back and redo. Or maybe not, I don't know.
 
Wouldn't it be cool if there was a way to switch on the fly between one style and the other? 

Oh man, definitely. Don't give Phil any ideas though, he is busy enough!
 
But yeah, they have a significant bass boost. The tdk BA200 is fairly bassy IEM, along the lines of 5-7 db bass boost. But they are way less congested and bloated sounding. I will try to use the as much as possible, but since the cable connector is literally pushing aside my ear I'm afraid they will be send back. I'm not going to bother Phil just yet, I'll wait atleast till sunday.
There was a thought in my mind, a very defiant thought as a matter of fact. I was thinking, wouldn't it be cool, if I could just send back the BA4Fs, and exchange them for the BA6, and pay for the additional costs and wait untill they are released? Although I'm not so sure if 6 drivers would fit in my ear.
 
There is one thing I do have to say about the BA4s: They look amazing. They are perfectly flat, nothing is sticking out, and the ice blue is so stunning. 
 
Edit: it seems you are right project. After trying to get the sound more neutral, it indeed seems to have a bass boost of about 7 db. It still all sounds slightly congested, maybe my brain needs burn in, maybe my source isn't good enough (they do have low output impedance), maybe this sound just isn't for me...
My audinst hud-mx1 is the best thing I have at the moment. But it sounds as if the SQ Wants to open up more. 

 

[AmberOzL]

Quote:

Interesting - I don't hear my BA4F is anywhere near that bassy. It's boosted to some degree, but not that much. I'd say maybe in the 5dB to 7dB range. 15dB boost sounds like a JH16 or something. 
 
But I agree with the advise given - wear them for a while, get used to the feel and the sound, and keep Phil in the loop about it. Not sure how difficult it would be for him to switch you to the lighter version... I'm guessing it's a small crossover difference, but once the entire CIEM is built it might be hard to go back and redo. Or maybe not, I don't know.
 
Wouldn't it be cool if there was a way to switch on the fly between one style and the other? 

I think there is one company do something like that, LimeEars I think, I am not sure though, I have to search for it.

 

[Marleybob217]

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You should be comparing IEMs to IEMs though. I know for instance that IEMs sound way bassier to my ears than headphones or speakers. Not saying that your ears are necessarily the same way, but something to keep in mind.

That is definitely something I should keep in mind. I think I just need to listen more to these cIEMs before I make more judgements.

 

[AmberOzL]

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That is definitely something I should keep in mind. I think I just need to listen more to these cIEMs before I make more judgements.

Yep, give it some time. About your cable socket problem, I would suggest you to not to do something alone, ask Phil then decide what to do about it.

 

[blueangel2323]

I thought the BA200 had pretty flat bass? To other people's ears anyways, i.e. not mine. So your BA4F has similar or slightly more bass than those?  
Lots of dynamic IEMs, custom or universal, have adjustable bass. It's probably quite difficult to do for balanced armature drivers though.

 

[fabian005]

What I am missing in my CIEM collection so far is a hybrid.  HY5 where (when) are you?

I've talked somewhat to a length with Phil on this and according to him he has so far no expected release date for the HY5 since it requires different and morr advanced drivers and they are not at the capacity to be able to incorporate that in yet. I also found myself inquiring the same question you had to him because dependant on how much I like the HY3's that was going to be my next logical step forward with ciems

 

[Marleybob217]

Quote:

I thought the BA200 had pretty flat bass? To other people's ears anyways, i.e. not mine. So your BA4F has similar or slightly more bass than those?  
Lots of dynamic IEMs, custom or universal, have adjustable bass. It's probably quite difficult to do for balanced armature drivers though.

Well with the foam tips it's indeed fairly flat. But it sure is a warm sounding iem. I'm using them with silicone tips, and they have more treble and more bass. 

 

[davidcotton]

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Well the isolation couldn't be better. But there is some pain, the socket for the cable is actually partially blocked by my ear
So the cable connector pushes my ear down a bit, so yeah, this gets pretty sore. I have two options, either I cut off a significant piece of the protecting plastic of the connector, or I send the monitors back to Phil and have the socket placed slightly away from my ear.
I'm currently using the custom eq of the sansa player, and the bass is at about 25% while the mids and highs are at 50%. I'd say the bass is boosted by a good 15db, it's excessive imo. This is not something I can or want to get used to I think. Equalization works fine however, but I'd rather not Have to use the eq.

Try wearing the ciems without the cables for a bit just to make sure that is the issue.  This was the area phil was concerned about with mine and why they were not so flush as they could have been. I also remember some people running into this issue with the shure connectors as well.  One thing to bear in mind is that if you do trim the memory wire section the last bit is not braided so will be a little loose.  Not a deal breaker but just something to bear in mind.

 

[Marleybob217]

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Try wearing the ciems without the cables for a bit just to make sure that is the issue.  This was the area phil was concerned about with mine and why they were not so flush as they could have been. I also remember some people running into this issue with the shure connectors as well.  One thing to bear in mind is that if you do trim the memory wire section the last bit is not braided so will be a little loose.  Not a deal breaker but just something to bear in mind.

I've worn them a couple of times without the cables. I did this when it hurt the most, and without the cables the pain is gone. My BA4s are actually very flush, which is why the cable connector pushes into my ear, and into my head. I'll take some photographs tomorrow when I have time. The sound is growing on me though, stuff like Devin Townsend, Massive attack really sounds amazing. The real fast stuff like death metal sounds slightly flat sometimes, but that's probably the fault of the song not the cIEMs.

 

[Q Mass]

I've talked somewhat to a length with Phil on this and according to him he has so far no expected release date for the HY5 since it requires different and morr advanced drivers and they are not at the capacity to be able to incorporate that in yet. I also found myself inquiring the same question you had to him because dependant on how much I like the HY3's that was going to be my next logical step forward with ciems

Phil has said to me that the HY5 won't be completed this year.
He's waiting for a specific dynamic driver to become available.
I got the impression that he has one in mind that has the properties he needs for the HY5, but production models of it aren't available in any numbers yet.
(I'm not directly quoting Phil here, just reading between the lines a little)

Despite this, I'm going to wait for it, as I liked the HY3, and I'm really loving the HY-TF10 that Phil made me.
The more I listen to it the more I appreciate the TF10's sound signature, which I always had slightly mixed feelings about before.
This will definately keep me happy until the HY5 is ready.
In fact, if I had the HY-TF10 before committing to another of Phil's own designs, I'd probably have just stopped here ( Ah, who am I kidding...the lure of a properly designed model with better mid's would have sucked me in anyway ).

I hope your issues with fit and sound sig' resolve OK Marleybob,.
I'd echo the advice to stick with them for a while to see if you grow to like the bass levels ( they sound like they'D suit me down to the ground! What do you think of the mid's? )
You never know, if you don't come round to loving them, maybe Phil could change the filters without having to completely re-do the shell?, it sounds as though you may have to return them to have the connector tweaked anyway?
The bass of my HY3's became tighter and clearer after some use, and I suspect ( from what others have reported ) that the dynamic driver would have continued to tighten up with more use if they hadn't been destroyed.
I know your model is balanced armatures rather than dynamic, but I've read that some have experienced similar effects with B/A's.

BTW, the dynamic drivers must be pretty robust, as Phil rescued them from the totally smashed remains of my HY3 to make my Pure's, and they're still going strong after about 3 months of heavy use.
Unsurprisingly, they don't come anywhere near the HY-TF's for sound quality though.