WOW! A fellow Dunu Alpha 1 owner. For me the Dunu are a better all-rounder because they are like a lite version of the Maria II, but without that ear splitting upper-mid/lower treble. In fairness, I don't have anything (source-wise) that is warm to use them on. Though that could be changing very soon. iBasso is releasing (at some point) a new amp card that will be a tube amp. I am hoping that it will be much warmer because the Maria II is, otherwise, superior in every other way.
It's a good idea to try your Maria with a warm source. You could also try to EQ and raise low mids to add warmth on one of your existing sources if possible.
In regards to Alpha 1, glad you enjoy them- that's what counts. I was very excited to get them myself. I think they do have stand-out almost IEM-like strong mid-bass, which is rare for earbuds.
I've tried using these thin foamies, shared earlier in the thread, and they have helped to improve clarity through the mids on Alpha 1. (These are actually currently my favorite foamies, preferred over Hiegi, on most earbuds in the rotation. Their material is much less dense than regular foamies. I highly recommend everybody to try them out if you haven't already!)
It's a good idea to try your Maria with a warm source. You could also try to EQ and raise low mids to add warmth on one of your existing sources if possible.
In regards to Alpha 1, glad you enjoy them- that's what counts. I was very excited to get them myself. I think they do have stand-out almost IEM-like strong mid-bass, which is rare for earbuds.
I've tried using these thin foamies, shared earlier in the thread, and they have helped to improve clarity through the mids on Alpha 1. (These are actually currently my favorite foamies, preferred over Hiegi, on most earbuds in the rotation. Their material is much less dense than regular foamies. I highly recommend everybody to try them out if you haven't already!)
Regarding those low density foams, how are they comfort wise? I got the trig rain super low density foams and they are horrible in comfort...could use them as a body scrubber lol.
Regarding those low density foams, how are they comfort wise? I got the trig rain super low density foams and they are horrible in comfort...could use them as a body scrubber lol.
It's a good idea to try your Maria with a warm source. You could also try to EQ and raise low mids to add warmth on one of your existing sources if possible.
In regards to Alpha 1, glad you enjoy them- that's what counts. I was very excited to get them myself. I think they do have stand-out almost IEM-like strong mid-bass, which is rare for earbuds.
I've tried using these thin foamies, shared earlier in the thread, and they have helped to improve clarity through the mids on Alpha 1. (These are actually currently my favorite foamies, preferred over Hiegi, on most earbuds in the rotation. Their material is much less dense than regular foamies. I highly recommend everybody to try them out if you haven't already!)
I have tried doing some EQ, but I can't find a good compromise where I don't lose something very important for the sound. In most cases EQing them loses a lot of that wonderfully huge soundstage, and imaging. The good news is that they aren't going anywhere, and I will have a tube amp of some sort one day, and I think they may become the star of the show at that point.
That was my love for them. They have a sound like IEM, but the soundstage/imaging of an earbud. I wouldn't be so in awe of them at their original $200 price probably, but I was able to procure the last 2 pair from a seller on Amazon for $39. In that price range, I lost nothing whether I liked them or not really. Turns out I really do like them.
I love my Maria (1). What impresses me most is how coherent she sounds with two drivers. Rose Technics (and its university student founders) did a heck of a tuning job. I like to listen to Maria with a warm source, like Sony, that lifts low mids and thickens the sound. Other dual driver earbuds I have, 1More E1008, Xiaomi BRE01JY, Dunu Alpha 1, are pretty awful in comparison.
I agree, amaizingly coherent tuning! Works indeed well with warmer source. I sometimes like to listen my Maria with a bit of crossfeed as it creates more sense of depth thus making midrange little less forward. Fit is still a little gripe though as sometimes they just don't want to stay in correct position.
Good news, I went to audio46 today to buy a balanced cable, and told them what Moondrop had emailed to me (actually read it to them). They told me after an internal conversation that it was fine for me to bring my defective Chaconne. Going to return tomorrow with it, and expect to hopefully have a new pair soon.
Good news, I went to audio46 today to buy a balanced cable, and told them what Moondrop had emailed to me (actually read it to them). They told me after an internal conversation that it was fine for me to bring my defective Chaconne. Going to return tomorrow with it, and expect to hopefully have a new pair soon.
I agree, amaizingly coherent tuning! Works indeed well with warmer source. I sometimes like to listen my Maria with a bit of crossfeed as it creates more sense of depth thus making midrange little less forward. Fit is still a little gripe though as sometimes they just don't want to stay in correct position.
I recently got the M2s pro too. Upon first listen I was surprised at how well it performed relative to my m1 pro. The stock tuning of the titanium driver is balanced enough by itself without side-grading to the other driver modules. That being said, curiosity got the best of me and I ordered the 15.4mm 'Superpoint' fiber drivers for it. I was hoping that they would end up having a tonality similar to my ZMF Auteur but in earbud form. Sure enough that's what I'm experiencing with the exceptions of stronger bass impact and a small amount of midbass bloat.
A small circular damper screen embedded into the back wall can be swapped out to adjust the bass response but I haven't tried it yet. My guess is that the stock damper is the 'type 1' but I'll have to wait until the seller is back from holiday to confirm. One of the reviews on Ali mentions a resonance peak in the lower treble caused by the shell so I stuck a small piece of foam in there to compensate. Another thing to note is that the Superpoint driver seems to be very inefficient and at only 100Ω it ends up being roughly as hard to drive as my 365Ω PT2021.
got a pair of Venture Electronics ZOEs for sale in signature due to almost certainly being laid off in March. ****ing gutted I have to sell these but I'm sure someone here would like them
Good news, I went to audio46 today to buy a balanced cable, and told them what Moondrop had emailed to me (actually read it to them). They told me after an internal conversation that it was fine for me to bring my defective Chaconne. Going to return tomorrow with it, and expect to hopefully have a new pair soon.
K here are some short impressions of the NiceHCK EB2S I bought from Aliexpress.
Fit is good, very light, ergonomic and comfortable. Build seems sturdy enough.
The cable has minimal microphonics but it is a bit stiff and tends to unwind very easily.
Accessories wise:
- a small carry pouch
- 3 sets of full foams - surprisingly no donut foams were provided
- anime waifu postcard - the most important accessory, more important than the earbud itself!
Tested with a Khadas Tone Board -> Schiit Asgard 3. This set is easy to drive.
In terms of sound, the EB2S are a warm and smooth set. Well balanced, good coherency is present. The sound lies towards more analoguish than analytical.
Timbre is excellent. Technicalities wise, soundstage is very good, very open sounding set. Micro-details, imaging, instrument separation and clarity are very decent at this price point but perhaps not class leading.
Bass is just a tinge north of neutral and mid-bass focused, with a slight sub-bass tickle, like most run-of-the-mill earbuds. Bass isn't too textured, bass speed is moderate, with no mid-bass bleed. Lower mids are quite lush, with a slight boost in the upper mids. They are not too shouty unless played at high volumes (fletcher munson curve), or on poorly recorded material. Treble is quite well rendered, with minimal sibilance. Note edges are a tinge blunted and smoothened, this aids in giving a mellow sound signature.
Quick comparisons versus HZSound Bell Rhyme and FAAEAL Datura Pro: The NiceHCK EB2S are the undisputed king over the other 2 cause of the anime packaging, enuff said. K jokes aside, compared to the FAAEAL Datura Pro (I think one member was asking about these buds), without EQ/mods to the Datura Pro, the EB2S beats the Datura Pro in almost every department - timbre, soundstage, imaging, instrument separation, clarity, micro-details. The EB2S also have more bass extension and quantity than the Datura Pro. No contest between the 2, I'd take the EB2S any day, assuming you are not gonna EQ the Datura Pro.
Now compared to the recently released HZSound Bell Rhyme, the competition is tougher. I would consider these 2 to be sidegrades. The Bell Rhyme have a smaller soundstage but slightly better imaging, micro-details, clarity and instrument separation. The EB2S and HZSound Bell Rhyme both have good tonality and timbre are asking which is better is kind of splitting hairs. I think you can't go wrong with selecting either set.
In a nutshell, the EB2S are quite a nice budget pair of earbuds. Probably those seasoned earbud fanatics in this unending rabbithole have a more expensive or technical set in their arsenal, but I would give the EB2S a recommendation for those new to the hobby who are looking for an all-rounder set with a well balanced tonality. Price-to-performance ratio is high, and they are a comfortable, lush, smooth and warm set suited for longer listening sessions. Oh ya, and one gets an anime packaging and anime waifu post card with the EB2S, so that in itself is worth the purchase price.
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Personally I have had zero issues with them comfort-wise, no itching or anything of that sort.
