[pacman46]

I saw the EM10 described as having low dynamics with a dead and lifeless sound but ranked in the B tier, which should be very good.
Is there a mistake?

Yes!! Each their own!!

 

[Max Choiral]

crinacle, I believe Fitear 335DW or 335SR would suit your preferences too among others. Looks like you haven't heard it yet.

 

[FangJoker]

From what I'm hearing from my friends, it doesn't seem as great as what the Head-Fi hype men are claiming it to be.

For everyone else, I'll be returning to Singapore next month. So yeah, more stuff then.

Any feedback on the Sony M9 from your friends? Some are calling it an Andromeda killer. I do believe that it should be good, but I will wait til more people review it before believing that it's better than the Andros. But like everything here, a lot depends on preference of sound signature.

 

[BananaOoyoo]

Any feedback on the Sony M9 from your friends? Some are calling it an Andromeda killer. I do believe that it should be good, but I will wait til more people review it before believing that it's better than the Andros. But like everything here, a lot depends on preference of sound signature.

Not crinacle, but I definitely don’t think it’s an Andromeda killer. The fit is much better though

 

[cocolinho]

If M9 are at the same level than Andro with a better fit, that will be my next IEMs for sure!

 

[seanwee]

@crinacle I'm demoing the Jomo Flamenco now and I'd like to ask, which bass and treble setting did you use?

Were they both on or off?

 

[crinacle]

I saw the EM10 described as having low dynamics with a dead and lifeless sound but ranked in the B tier, which should be very good.
Is there a mistake?

No.

Any feedback on the Sony M9 from your friends? Some are calling it an Andromeda killer. I do believe that it should be good, but I will wait til more people review it before believing that it's better than the Andros. But like everything here, a lot depends on preference of sound signature.

Mixed impressions. There's one who absolutely loves it to death while there are others who think it's just meh.

@crinacle I'm demoing the Jomo Flamenco now and I'd like to ask, which bass and treble setting did you use?

Were they both on or off?

I preferred it with the treble setting down. Bass setting, it depends on my mood. However, you'd get the highest resolution (so called) from having both switches activated.

 

[Piotr Michalak]

@crinacle where are all of the Final Audio IEMs on your ranking, even if they were measured in your other thread? Why haven't they been ranked?

 

[popof94]

CE-5 are S+ to some of us

Hi Collin, I got them. Not listened enough but S probably for me too

 

[crinacle]

@crinacle where are all of the Final Audio IEMs on your ranking, even if they were measured in your other thread? Why haven't they been ranked?

May I refer you to point #6 on my "Notes and Disclaimers" section:

• A (non-complete) list of IEMs that I've tried can be found on my measurements database.
  • If you can tell, a lot of IEMs on the database (that I've tried) are not in this list. This is could be due to lack of interest or lack of enough ear time to make a proper decision on tier placement.

 

[crinacle]

Just got back from the Australian Hi-Fi & AV Show. Not a lot of head-fi being exhibited but at least there were two of my targets on the showfloor: the Sony IER-M9 and IER-Z1R. Unfortunately, there were some issues that prevented me from judging the IEMs my usual capacity, namely:

• All IEMs were terminated to a 4.4mm balanced connection. As I didn't have an adaptor, I could not use my own sources or my own playlists.
• I was not allowed to swap the stock cable to the 3.5mm one that I brought along.
• I was thankfully provided a ZX300 for testing, however I did not bring my SD card, thus was limited to only four songs that I was familiar with: Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", "Thriller" and "Beat It". (Would have vastly preferred Earth, Wind and Fire's "September" but it wasn't in the library for some reason.)
• The ZX300 was still stuck in firmware 1.00 so I couldn't make use of the Bluetooth receiver function introduced in firmware 2.00.
  • There was a DMP-Z1 with the Bluetooth receiver function enabled and ready, however for some reason I was also not allowed to use it to connect to my own sources.

Basically, I'll need to make a trip back to Addicted to Audio next week to test out (and measure) the Z1R for real. Unfortunately, the IER-M9 will not be at the store for whatever reason.

Further disclaimers: I only took 15 minutes per IEM so this is more a "initial impressions" post than anything. No ranks, no detailed review, just me streaming my consciousness.

Sony IER-M9: Somewhat similar to the Andromeda in that it has a warm-ish tilt as well as an upper treble emphasis. Didn't really feel much for its low end despite many calling it the best BA bass or whatever. There's still significant problems with the articulation of rumble down in the sub-80Hz of bass. The coherency is outstanding and there's good flow from one frequency range to the next; the tonality is rather neutral and there isn't a lot of that typical sharply-rolling-off decay in most BA IEMs I know. Similar to the UE18+ in that there's a mild colouration overall but also nothing that really excites you on first listen, but also similar to the PP8 in that it's rather boring and was leading me to the impression of "deadness" at times. Treble has good snap and speed but straying very close to my personal sibilance region. Potential Andromeda competitor maybe?

Sony IER-Z1R: I don't usually comment on the build of an IEM but man, the Z1R is large and heavy. The first thing that strikes me is the size of the soundstage; it is wide, almost Fourte-esque in sheer dimensions. The bass is certainly emphasised and well-balanced between the sub and mid regions, and each hit is a lot more physical and real than the M9. The decay is spot on, similar to the N8 based off aural memory (read: don't trust this statement). Tonality takes a more lower frequency tilt and is warmer and richer than the M9. Still a decent amount of treble, perhaps V-shaped overall? And yet it's definitely less intense in the top end than the M9 though I wouldn't really classify the M9 as harsh in the first place.

Personal preference wise, my wallet points to the Z1R every time. Will need more ear time to properly review and rank the two.

 

[Bosk]

Just got back from the Australian Hi-Fi & AV Show.

Nice! I went along to it today too crinacle. What were your impressions of the show as a whole out of curiosity? To me it felt a bit like a rat warren with rooms of 2CH gear all over the place. Some awfully nice gear though!

My impressions of the M9 & Z1Rs are fairly similar to yours, and considering how close they are in price (relatively speaking) I thought the Z1Rs absolutely spanked the M9s and is EASILY the one to go for out of that pair. Although they are very heavy and unwieldy, not sure I would buy a pair purely for that reason but others will feel differently. I guess worst case scenario if someone was to buy them blind and not get along with the ergonomics they'd sell very quickly in the classifieds for minimal loss.

 

[crinacle]

Nice! I went along to it today too crinacle. What were your impressions of the show as a whole out of curiosity? To me it felt a bit like a rat warren with rooms of 2CH gear all over the place. Some awfully nice gear though!

My impressions of the M9 & Z1Rs are fairly similar to yours, and considering how close they are in price (relatively speaking) I thought the Z1Rs absolutely spanked the M9s and is EASILY the one to go for out of that pair. Although they are very heavy and unwieldy, not sure I would buy a pair purely for that reason but others will feel differently. I guess worst case scenario if someone was to buy them blind and not get along with the ergonomics they'd sell very quickly in the classifieds for minimal loss.

Yeah, I probably wouldn't get one out due to the long term comfort issues that I can see from a mile away.

Not really a fan of this show to be honest. Some of the rooms have abysmal acoustics; there was one room with a giant pillar blocking a third of a speaker. A lot of ringing and resonances too, hard to judge any of the 2ch gear as easily as head-fi gear.

 

[Bosk]

Yeah, I probably wouldn't get one out due to the long term comfort issues that I can see from a mile away.

Not really a fan of this show to be honest. Some of the rooms have abysmal acoustics; there was one room with a giant pillar blocking a third of a speaker. A lot of ringing and resonances too, hard to judge any of the 2ch gear as easily as head-fi gear.

The Z1Rs are a pretty unusual shape which I think will polarize people. A bit like the Andromedas all over again although these are even heavier.

I fully agree about the rooms. Even the largest ones felt too small and so many systems had awful boomy bass as a result, and reflections coming from everywhere.

 

[listen4joy]

Still waiting for
Oriolus Finschi
Fioo FH 5
Sennheiser IE 800 S
rankings