[TwinACStacks]

  I'm sure this iem is great, but it seems a bit ridiculous to me that it needs 350 hours of burn in to sound its best. I don't understand that.

Fat, I don't know why.  I know of at least 4 That require AT LEAST 300 Hrs. to achieve their best sound. Senn. IE8, AKG K701, AKG K3003, and the Senn. HD650. The RECOMMENDED TIME now stated BY THE ASIAN MANUFACTURERS is 200 Hrs. If you got a few weeks you can find the HUGE threads devoted to these and read them.
 
I routinely burn EVERY earphone I receive across the Board 200 hrs. minimum. The BA take MUCH longer than Dynamic drivers to hear any change, if any. Burn-In doesn't always change an earphone.
 
This prevents people saying "Well this phone isn't all that, or this earphone sucks" then coming back later and saying "I've been listening more and XXX earphone is GREAT"
 
I've seen this play out RIGHT HERE ON HEAD-FI time and time again.
 
My advice: Burn them in, even if you think it's Hokum, then give them a fair shake. If they SUCK they won't change, no matter HOW long you break them in. (Earmax ER610) It had to die.

 
BTW: Fat, we didn't arbitrarily come up with 350 Hrs. These Earphones have been available in Asia for quite some time, There are MANY reviewers on TaoBao stating this opinion.
 
JMHO
 

TWIN

 

[Lohb]

http://www.jlabaudio.com/pages/audio-burn-in-download

 

[TwinACStacks]

Thanx Lohb. I just added that to the playlists of all my players. Now I have my Fiio X1 that I am burning in the Shockwaves with on that track and set to repeat. Think I'll leave it there for 20 hours or so. Cant
 
 
Of Course: BURN - IN DOESN'T EXIST IT'S ALL IN OUR MINDS.... it's just Audio Memory.

 
It exists just as surely as JESUS walked the Earth.
 
IMHFO   and no one will ever change my mind about it. Here is yet ANOTHER manufacturer that accepts it as a FACT.
 

TWIN

 

[Lohb]

 

Thanx Lohb. I just added that to the playlists of all my players. Now I have my Fiio X1 that I am burning in the Shockwaves with on that track and set to repeat. Think I'll leave it there for 20 hours or so. Cant
 
 
Of Course: BURN - IN DOESN'T EXIST IT'S ALL IN OUR MINDS.... it's just Audio Memory.

 
It exists just as surely as JESUS walked the Earth.
 
IMHFO   and no one will ever change my mind about it. Here is yet ANOTHER manufacturer that accepts it as a FACT.
 

TWIN

I read Audio-gd DAC/Amp company and now Audeze burn-in prior to shipping their stuff. Also a good way to ensure no DOA equipment.

 

[TwinACStacks]

 
I read Audio-gd DAC/Amp company and now Audeze burn-in prior to shipping their stuff. Also a good way to ensure no DOA equipment.

Good Point.
 

TWIN

 

[FatTeemo]

 
I read Audio-gd DAC/Amp company and now Audeze burn-in prior to shipping their stuff. Also a good way to ensure no DOA equipment.

 
I just think that all manufacturers should do that especially if it takes 350 freaking hours for max performance.

 

[Euphonik]

Just received my Shockwave IIIs. Initial impressions: Details in everything. Bass texture/decay is damn-near perfect and reaches LOW. Midbass is well controlled and never steps out; however if the recording calls for elevated levels of bass it will definitely get your attention. Mids have an even presence (neither recessed nor forward)- not much to say other than they are cohesive, detailed and fill in very nicely. However, they aren't really the star of the show- that would be the treble. 4 BAs immediately impress with their extension, instrument spacing and even more details to create an out-of-your head sound that never gets boring. IMO this earphone gives you practically everything...I don't know what else I could ask for- maybe a little extra thickness/warmth?
 
It's going to be hard to top this earphone for $250.

 

[slowpickr]

  Just received my Shockwave IIIs. Initial impressions: Details in everything. Bass texture/decay is damn-near perfect and reaches LOW. Midbass is well controlled and never steps out; however if the recording calls for elevated levels of bass it will definitely get your attention. Mids have an even presence (neither recessed nor forward)- not much to say other than they are cohesive, detailed and fill in very nicely. However, they aren't really the star of the show- that would be the treble. 4 BAs immediately impress with their extension, instrument spacing and even more details to create an out-of-your head sound that never gets boring. IMO this earphone gives you practically everything...I don't know what else I could ask for- maybe a little extra thickness/warmth?
 
It's going to be hard to top this earphone for $250.

 
Great, now I'm really getting interested in these.  Any idea how they would perform straight out of a rooted phone with V4A?

 

[Skullophile]

They sound awful from a phone. They need a powerful dap or headphone amp.

 

[Skullophile]

Soon we'll have impressions from my Shockwave that I lent RedJohn456 as well.

 

[Euphonik]

   
Great, now I'm really getting interested in these.  Any idea how they would perform straight out of a rooted phone with V4A?

 
I'm listening through a Galaxy S4 with Neutron Player at home and through a Laptop at work- I'm sure the synergy isn't ideal but SQ is good for me in either configuration. If your phone doesn't have a low-quality DAC it should be fine.

 

[slowpickr]

   
I'm listening through a Galaxy S4 with Neutron Player at home and through a Laptop at work- I'm sure the synergy isn't ideal but SQ is good for me in either configuration. If your phone doesn't have a low-quality DAC it should be fine.

 
It's a Galaxy S4 as well (Non-Wolfson version).  Skull has me worried.  Would a TK 12 => Shock Wave if running both out of a phone?  If so, I'd save the money and just go with a TK 12.

 

[Euphonik]

   
It's a Galaxy S4 as well (Non-Wolfson version).  Skull has me worried.  Would a TK 12 => Shock Wave if running both out of a phone?  If so, I'd save the money and just go with a TK 12.

 
Both the TK12 and the SIII sound good out of the my Galaxy S4- it's the SCH-i545 version...not sure if it's a Wolfson DAC. I've never had issues with SQ from any of my IEMs. Of course the SIII > TK12 but we're talking a 10% difference (which is a lot when the TK12 is already THAT good).

 

[Skullophile]

The shockwave out of my J3 sounds terrible, sibilant and lacking body. The Tk12 is the portable version of the Shockwave and goes fine from ultra portable gear.
To my ears the Tk12 is 90% of what the Shockwave properly driven's sound quality (twin says 80%). Both phones are a similar size. And the Shockwave III has a detachable cable option. Probably would ship without a cable.

 

[anticute]

The shockwave out of my J3 sounds terrible, sibilant and lacking body. The Tk12 is the portable version of the Shockwave and goes fine from ultra portable gear.
To my ears the Tk12 is 90% of what the Shockwave properly driven's sound quality (twin says 80%). Both phones are a similar size. And the Shockwave III has a detachable cable option. Probably would ship without a cable.

I wonder how the LZ-A3 would compare to S3 (and TK12) from a phone. Well, I'm actually curious on how they compare, period, but this too
 
According to @Hisoundfi's review on the A2: "These earphones are incredibly easy to drive. I couldn’t turn the A2 up to half volume on my smartphone before they became too loud to listen to. There is no need for amplifiers or high power sources with the A2, nor did I find any benefit from using them.". If the A3 is similar, that might be the one I go for, since I would want something that can be driven both directly from my phone and from a portable DAP/amp combo..