[FidelityCastro]

Sorry then I'm being an idiot. How would connect it? I used Apple CCK with the iPhone and I think optical with AK120. Don't think I have either of those options with the DX-P1...

Just a matter of being used to a system, you need a micro usb to micro usb cable (be careful to get one with OTG), that's actually much smaller footprint than CCK connector

I decided to get a quality one (http://forzaaudioworks.com/en/product.php?id_product=55) but you can get cheaper options. The best are right angled ones but hard to come by... in high end I know this one : http://www.moon-audio.com/black-dragon-form-fit-usb-cable-by-moon-audio.html

That's awesome, thank you David.

 

[TokenGesture]

Just a matter of being used to a system, you need a micro usb to micro usb cable (be careful to get one with OTG), that's actually much smaller footprint than CCK connector

I decided to get a quality one (http://forzaaudioworks.com/en/product.php?id_product=55) but you can get cheaper options. The best are right angled ones but hard to come by... in high end I know this one : http://www.moon-audio.com/black-dragon-form-fit-usb-cable-by-moon-audio.html

I'll be picking one of these up for sure

 

[obsidyen]

  After reading so many reviews of the Velvets I think I should've heard about the horrible sibilance by now

Disappointing to read about. Have any of you reporting sibilance with the Velvet and SM9 heard the SM1 by chance? Have had no such issues with those. in spite of being rather cold/flat sig to my ears. Perhaps it is a fit depth and tip issue as with so many other earphones? Got them used so I've only ever used Westone replacement tips with them.

Velvet has no sibilance whatsoever.

 

[obsidyen]

  Someone here mentioned that ie800 has more sibilance than Velvet and I feel that I should comment on that. From my experience ie800 are not as bright and sibilant as Velvet. Can't comment on S-EM9 though.

Sorry mate but what? IE800 is sibilant but Velvet has no sibilance whatsoever. Are you sure you know what sibilance is? A clue: It doesn't mean brightness.

 

[LMka]

Hey obsidyen, you know what feeling I got when I first received Velvet? "Sorry obsidyen but what?". You were the one who was promoting Velvet since the very beginning in Velvet thread saying how soft and fluid they sound. I use them for the first time and i have that "Sorry obsidyen but what?". I know exactly what I mean and I know a lot of people who get the same feeling from these IEM. They are unlistenable on average volumes in every mode except warm. They are unlistenable in warm mode because there are just too much bass for any music.They can be either listened very quiet in 2 other modes or more or less average on warm but they are overly unbalanced in any of these modes. 
 
 
IE800 sibilance levels are on pair with Velvet (except unlistenable warm mode when you get bass instead of music).
 
No offense mate but I am telling the truth. I've had a lot of different earphones and I know that JVC HA-FX750/850 sound more or less soft, Audio-Technica IM04/50/70 sound pretty soft, Earsonics SM3/SM64 sound pretty soft, Sony Z5 sound soft and so on and so on. I am too lazy to  count each and every one. 
 
Of course source make a big difference but I have tried Velvet on Fiio x5/Shanling M3/Hum pervasion/Hifiman 60x/Hifiman 802/Sony A15/ibasso dx90 and maybe I have even missed something and not a single of these devices can make them listenable on average to loud volumes in balanced or tight mode. Warm mode is listenable on some of these devices but again the bass quantity is simply ridiculous. In warm mode there is actually not a big difference between Velvet and Beats.
 
Sorry for derailing this conversation one more time but I felt that I have to let people know. Maybe this comment will save some guy's money and that guy will audition Velvet before buying them.

 

[Raketen]

From what I have read, the difficulty with sibilance is that it has as much to do with the individual fit and earshape and sensitivity as it has to do with the headphone and the recordings being used - a lot of the IEMs I have tried produced sibilance that was often solved merely by changing tips/insertion depth (dunu 2000J is rather notorious for this), where other people have experienced no sibilance at all... so it's entirely possible for someone to experience it, often even with headphones that are free of it with 99% of users, or purposefully designed to tame it, afaik.

(Just to be clear I understand sibilance to be when a particular frequency, usually between 5k and 6khz, resonates within an ear cavity producing a disproportionately loud or piercing sound to the rest of the music.)
 
Earsonics seem to have a pretty good reputation for designs that minimize its occurance... I haven't had any trouble with even a fairly cold pair like the sm1.

 

[LMka]

  From what I have read, the difficulty with sibilance is that it has as much to do with the individual fit and earshape and sensitivity as it has to do with the headphone and the recordings being used - a lot of the IEMs I have tried produced sibilance that was often solved merely by changing tips/insertion depth (dunu 2000J is rather notorious for this), where other people have experienced no sibilance at all... so it's entirely possible for someone to experience it, often even with headphones that are free of it with 99% of users, or purposefully designed to tame it, afaik.

That's a good point btw as I probably should mention that Velvet have not had any sibilance with small black tips when I insert them very deeply but these tips affect not only sibilance/brightness but overall soundstage and air&presence etc. so I've had to skip them. I agree that I may not have found a correct tips for Velvet but I should point that I have even used these Etymotic tips to make sure that I have full fit: http://the-gadgeteer.com/assets/etymotic2.jpg and still no luck in getting the desired result.

 

[obsidyen]

  Hey obsidyen, you know what feeling I got when I first received Velvet? "Sorry obsidyen but what?". You were the one who was promoting Velvet since the very beginning in Velvet thread saying how soft and fluid they sound. I use them for the first time and i have that "Sorry obsidyen but what?". I know exactly what I mean and I know a lot of people who get the same feeling from these IEM. They are unlistenable on average volumes in every mode except warm. They are unlistenable in warm mode because there are just too much bass for any music.They can be either listened very quiet in 2 other modes or more or less average on warm but they are overly unbalanced in any of these modes. 
 
 
IE800 sibilance levels are on pair with Velvet (except unlistenable warm mode when you get bass instead of music).
 
No offense mate but I am telling the truth. I've had a lot of different earphones and I know that JVC HA-FX750/850 sound more or less soft, Audio-Technica IM04/50/70 sound pretty soft, Earsonics SM3/SM64 sound pretty soft, Sony Z5 sound soft and so on and so on. I am too lazy to  count each and every one. 
 
Of course source make a big difference but I have tried Velvet on Fiio x5/Shanling M3/Hum pervasion/Hifiman 60x/Hifiman 802/Sony A15/ibasso dx90 and maybe I have even missed something and not a single of these devices can make them listenable on average to loud volumes in balanced or tight mode. Warm mode is listenable on some of these devices but again the bass quantity is simply ridiculous. In warm mode there is actually not a big difference between Velvet and Beats.
 
Sorry for derailing this conversation one more time but I felt that I have to let people know. Maybe this comment will save some guy's money and that guy will audition Velvet before buying them.

I'm sorry about your experience but you're the only person I've seen who says Velvet has sibilance. I prefer Velvet on balanced mode myself, and I like bass. Warm mode bass can get quite overpowering. I find balanced mode to be perfect sonically. I should add I mostly listen to EDM and modern music.

 

[davidmolliere]

  Sorry for derailing this conversation one more time but I felt that I have to let people know. Maybe this comment will save some guy's money and that guy will audition Velvet before buying them.

Except it's the S-EM9 thread, not sure Velvet potential acquirer would read this one...
 
Anyway, everybody has different taste, ears, tips etc... The Velvet doesn't work for you and it might not work for other people, but I wouldn't just say they're "unlistenable" now that's maybe crossing a line. I don't know, but there are quite a number of people who not only like but love them

 

[TokenGesture]

I was always worried about reports of pronounced treble on velvet but never got to try them. As I said earlier the treble on the sem9 is perfect for me in an iem.

Just wish they were customs

 

[flinkenick]

Sibilance is a very personal issue. Some people are very sensitive to it, like LMKa is, and myself to a lesser degree. Most people don't hear it. Someone posted something about it possibly being due to shape of ears which I find very interesting, but it is also for a great deal psychological. I never heard it for the 20 years I was listening to iems before Head-Fi, but once you become aware of it you hear it more and more and it's a curse that can't be unheard. I've had phases where I couldn't listen to music anymore because I was so focused on it, but they passed (with the same iems). So, for me this proves the psychological factor.
 
With every one of my last 15 iems I've always heard sibilance, except in the beginning maybe when I was still unaware of it. But overall it's on a very tolerable level that doesn't bother me anymore, except for the occasional exemption that really cross a certain border. But if I listen to enough songs with an iem I'll always come across it now and then, and this includes every TOTL iem I have and have owned. So if you're sensitive to it, 80-90% of the iems will have sibilance unless they are really dark like the SM64 and Z5. To get to the point; the S-EM9 really isn't more sibilant than any other iem, and while the Velvet is definitely on the brighter side, I don't think it is either. In my opinion of course..

 

[davidmolliere]

  Sibilance is a very personal issue. Some people are very sensitive to it, like LMKa is, and myself to a lesser degree. Most people don't hear it. Someone posted something about it possibly being due to shape of ears which I find very interesting, but it is also for a great deal psychological. I never heard it for the 20 years I was listening to iems before Head-Fi, but once you become aware of it you hear it more and more and it's a curse that can't be unheard. I've had phases where I couldn't listen to music anymore because I was so focused on it, but they passed (with the same iems). So, for me this proves the psychological factor.
 
With every one of my last 15 iems I've always heard sibilance, except in the beginning maybe when I was still unaware of it. But overall it's on a very tolerable level that doesn't bother me anymore, except for the occasional exemption that really cross a certain border. But if I listen to enough songs with an iem I'll always come across it now and then, and this includes every TOTL iem I have and have owned. So if you're sensitive to it, 80-90% of the iems will have sibilance unless they are really dark like the SM64 and Z5. To get to the point; the S-EM9 really isn't more sibilant than any other iem, and while the Velvet is definitely on the brighter side, I don't think it is either. In my opinion of course..

 
Great post, really insightful!
 
I am not hyper sensitive to sibilance but I do hear it and to various degree depending on IEMs, in fact I encountered the first track exhibiting sibilance with the S-EM9 (Comatose by Timmy Curan), maybe mastering who knows (I read it does come into play, too). I ran the same track with the Z7 and as you said darker phones are good in that respect. 

 

[obsidyen]

  Sibilance is a very personal issue. Some people are very sensitive to it, like LMKa is, and myself to a lesser degree. Most people don't hear it. Someone posted something about it possibly being due to shape of ears which I find very interesting, but it is also for a great deal psychological. I never heard it for the 20 years I was listening to iems before Head-Fi, but once you become aware of it you hear it more and more and it's a curse that can't be unheard. I've had phases where I couldn't listen to music anymore because I was so focused on it, but they passed (with the same iems). So, for me this proves the psychological factor.
 
With every one of my last 15 iems I've always heard sibilance, except in the beginning maybe when I was still unaware of it. But overall it's on a very tolerable level that doesn't bother me anymore, except for the occasional exemption that really cross a certain border. But if I listen to enough songs with an iem I'll always come across it now and then, and this includes every TOTL iem I have and have owned. So if you're sensitive to it, 80-90% of the iems will have sibilance unless they are really dark like the SM64 and Z5. To get to the point; the S-EM9 really isn't more sibilant than any other iem, and while the Velvet is definitely on the brighter side, I don't think it is either. In my opinion of course..

I could clearly hear sibilance on IE800 and some Audio Technica IEMs. It's impossible to hear sibilance on SM64 because upper midrange dip is huge. Velvet, while having energetic treble, has no sibilance to my ears, it has very smooth and buttery highs. Not relaxed mind you, but very smooth.

 

[sathyam]

I got my S-EM9 yesterday. I have been listening to it during a road trip with AK380 + Amp. DAMN! This is one of the most addictive IEMs I have ever heard. The treble is the best I have heard in IEMs without being harsh.

I was listening to DSOTM. That album is hard to put down. The treble and mids are stunning. The bass is also good. I had initially thought that having only 1 bass driver, the bass would be thin. Boy, was I wrong. I put on The Nutcracker by LSO in all its 24-bit glory. This album was given new life, with the best details, Soundstage and air between the instruments, I have heard. I literally had a sound orgasm!

I have had Layla, Roxanne, SE846, and AKG3003i. This IEM is the best I have heard in that list. This is a very detail oriented IEM. My AKG3003i seemed muffled and lame. I also like this IEM over my universal Layla, as this IEM is smaller, gets a better fit and the sound signature is much more engrossing. For me the Layla sounds thin because I keep losing fit. Even when the fit is good, I don't like the dry sound signature.

This IEM is highly recommended.

 

[davidmolliere]

I got my S-EM9 yesterday. I have been listening to it during a road trip with AK380 + Amp. DAMN! This is one of the most addictive IEMs I have ever heard. The treble is the best I have heard in IEMs without being harsh.

 
Nice combo
The more I read feedback, the more I think the S-EM9 need a good source to really rise up to their potential but then again it's no suprise TOTL IEMs would scale well. I have read some not so positive feedback from people who auditioned it on french forums (especially treble extension), but not necessarily with the right tips or right source.
 
I imagine you're running them balanced?

 

Originally Posted by sathyam /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I have had Layla, Roxanne, SE846, and AKG3003i. This IEM is the best I have heard in that list. This is a very detail oriented IEM. My AKG3003i seemed muffled and lame. I also like this IEM over my universal Layla, as this IEM is smaller, gets a better fit and the sound signature is much more engrossing. For me the Layla sounds thin because I keep losing fit. Even when the fit is good, I don't like the dry sound signature.

This IEM is highly recommended.
 

 
I had my eyes on the Angie back when I purchased the Velvet, and then the upgrade path led me to the S-EM9. I wondered how they compared to Angie, wouldn't have dared to compare to the Laylas! Quite a strong statement
 
But I had the SE846 for a year and a half, no contest there the S-EM9 is a much more refined beast
 
Quote:

The bass is also good. I had initially thought that having only 1 bass driver, the bass would be thin. Boy, was I wrong. I put on The Nutcracker by LSO in all its 24-bit glory. 

 
Well, there is only one driver but it's much bigger and it's custom spec'ed by Earsonics and similar to the Velvet's