[mxroadie]

No worries, Collin. It's the little things that drives me crazy too.

I didn't A/B the polarity although I do find the "wrong" polarity to sound better; both ways sound fine though. Who knows.

 

[SeeSax]

No worries, Collin. It's the little things that drives me crazy too.

I didn't A/B the polarity although I do find the "wrong" polarity to sound better; both ways sound fine though. Who knows.

 
Interesting, I will have to re-test 

 
I can tell you this: I bought a cable (which will rename unnamed until I figure out if the person who made it will fix this issue for me) that has the wrong polarity on ONE side only. This was IMMEDIATELY noticeable. I couldn't figure out all of a sudden things just sounded weird. Sure enough, reverse only one side and it sounded fine again. I then confirmed my findings with a multimeter. I guess you could say I've been having some cable drama lately. 
 
On the topic of the S-EM9, I just ordered a pure silver cable from Lavri Cables (in Latvia I think) and can't wait to see how the pairing is. 
 
-Collin-

 

[twister6]

 

As long as you keep the connection consistent between L/R sides (typically connectors have a dot indicator, so keep them facing the same way), it doesn't matter.

Hi Alex, thanks for the quick response. Could you elaborate on why it doesn't matter? I'm asking because I just found out today that Earsonics traditionally have their connectors on reverse polarity. I know wrong polarity would cause the iem to sound "weird" but the s-em9 has been sounding great the whole time. I switched them around today and it sounds great too. In fact, I find them sounding slightly better with great depth in soundstage and better dynamics.

 
Regarding polarity, you have two signals, + and -.  As long as their orientation is the same on both sides, you are not going to have any phasing, etc. effects.  It all has to do with a driving circuit in your source.  In a typical 3.5mm TRS single ended connection, your will have a "-" ground reference and "+" signal.  As long as you consistently referencing signal to the ground between L/R sides (or even the other way around since the driver connection is bi-directional), you will be OK.  But if one side has signal referenced to the ground and the other side has ground referenced to a signal (mismatched flipped polarity between L/R sides), you will get that "weird" phasing effect.

 

[Raketen]

simplest way I can think to put it: sound is reproduced with an AC signal not DC, so polarity doesn't matter so long as it is matched, but reversing one side and not the other will flip the wave form on that side causing the phase mismatch.

 

[mxroadie]

   
Interesting, I will have to re-test 

 
I can tell you this: I bought a cable (which will rename unnamed until I figure out if the person who made it will fix this issue for me) that has the wrong polarity on ONE side only. This was IMMEDIATELY noticeable. I couldn't figure out all of a sudden things just sounded weird. Sure enough, reverse only one side and it sounded fine again. I then confirmed my findings with a multimeter. I guess you could say I've been having some cable drama lately. 
 
On the topic of the S-EM9, I just ordered a pure silver cable from Lavri Cables (in Latvia I think) and can't wait to see how the pairing is. 
 
-Collin-

 
I recently moved from plussound trimetal to a 8-braid SPC litz and I think S-EM9 do synergize better with cables with a brighter signature; that present details more obviously. I think you will enjoy the silver cable pairing.

 

[mxroadie]

   
Regarding polarity, you have two signals, + and -.  As long as their orientation is the same on both sides, you are not going to have any phasing, etc. effects.  It all has to do with a driving circuit in your source.  In a typical 3.5mm TRS single ended connection, your will have a "-" ground reference and "+" signal.  As long as you consistently referencing signal to the ground between L/R sides (or even the other way around since the driver connection is bi-directional), you will be OK.  But if one side has signal referenced to the ground and the other side has ground referenced to a signal (mismatched flipped polarity between L/R sides), you will get that "weird" phasing effect.

 
 

simplest way I can think to put it: sound is reproduced with an AC signal not DC, so polarity doesn't matter so long as it is matched, but reversing one side and not the other will flip the wave form on that side causing the phase mismatch.

Thanks, both. I'm not good with technicalities but I think understand what you are saying about polarity

 

[Gosod]

  Hi Friends, just snagged the S-EM9 from the classifieds here and am excited to join in on the fun. I'm a current owner of the S-EM6, Velvet and SM64, so it will be fun to compare. Can't wait to receive them! Also have a few upgrade cables handy to immediately install and see how they do. Just wanted to say hello. 
 
-Collin-

what kind of cable is better to pick for sm 9?

 

[seenoevil]

SeeSax, what can you say about sem6 vs sem9 as owner of both? especially for bass and  highs.

 

[SeeSax]

SeeSax, what can you say about sem6 vs sem9 as owner of both? especially for bass and  highs.

I haven't received the EM9 yet, but will happily let you know when I do!

-Collin-

 

[Gosod]

I haven't received the EM9 yet, but will happily let you know when I do!

-Collin-

I would also like to read a review a comparison.

 

[SeeSax]

  SeeSax, what can you say about sem6 vs sem9 as owner of both? especially for bass and  highs.

 
Just to follow-up now that I've had some time, the two are actually quite different sounding IEMs. The S-EM6 is known for its warm, lush mids and smooth treble. The S-EM9 sounds brighter and more detailed to me, but not straying too far from the awesomely warm mids that Earsonics are known for. Basically, I think the S-EM9 keeps most of the warm mids of the S-EM6 and then clears up the treble and bass regions to be a bit more clean, detailed and articulate. I love both independently and cannot declare a "winner" per se. Female vocals to me still really shine through the S-EM6, where the S-EM9 is a much better "all rounder" with many genres. 
 
Also, I am not a fan of that silver Lavri cable I bought. It sounds incredible, but, it is the size of a fire hose and as rigid as plywood. I should have done more research before buying it. I wish I could get the same sound in something much smaller. If anyone is interested in it, I posted it in the classifieds with a healthy discount and it is reverse polarity for Earsonics. But be forewarned that ergonomics are quite beastly
 
-Collin-

 

[seenoevil]

Thx a lot for comparison. does  it mean sem9 have sharp earbleeding  sound, or it like  sem6 many hours of listening without headache ?

 

[SeeSax]

Thx a lot for comparison. does  it mean sem9 have sharp earbleeding  sound, or it like  sem6 many hours of listening without headache ?

Definitely no ear bleeding and I could listen to these all day where as I might be able to listen to the S-EM6 for 1.25 days

-Collin-

 

[seenoevil]

could anyone compare sem9 and kaiser ?

 

[Gosod]

who sells the filters from the company Earsonics?