[Owludio]

Electret is a charged diaphragm, Electro gets its power externally. It's not night and day, but it is a difference that impacts performance. Same underlying macro-tech.

Completely agree. Though electrete tech has made a lot of progress. Material can hold several hundreds volts. Good luck supplying that much externally. But charge is affected by a lot of factors. Linearity might be in question on high amplitudes. Also I wonder how it will hold over time.

 

[thejoker13]

Well, you know there is a seller on Ali who has a story with head-fi and eventually he and his products are banned from being reviewed or discussed here so I am not going to mention any names but since I am probably the first one who ordered these IEM and that they have 4 EST drivers I decided it would be okay to review them shortly here or in chinese discovery thread. I might get a chance to listen to some IEMs of Paladin series in Moscow retail shop so I might even write a direct comparison.

I am very interested in your thoughts on those iem's! They look VERY interesting for sure!

 

[KPzypher]

Wow..

BLUF: Definitely the worst unboxing experience / initial impression for me, EVER!

First, what kind of $1K IEM doesn't even come in its own case? I was appalled to witness how it shipped in a S10 Genie case/cover/ with S10 description and tech spec. And the packaging is dismal for this price range. It comes w/ 4x pairs of silicone tips and 1x pair of foam tips all shoved into the carrying case along with the earpieces and the cable.
What a crappy product launch. There should be no excuse for the amount of money they're asking for.



At least the carrying case looks decent.


And then the cable.... Not sure where to even begin. This is the worst cable to accompany a $1K IEM. As soon as its plugged in, the left side cuts in and out with crazy static and volume fluctuation with every twist. I know several folks warned about this, but to be honest, I just brushed it off thinking 'It can't be that bad.' Well folks, I hereby confirm......it is that bad.


And the initial sound impression. PLS take it with a pinch of salt, as I've only kept them in my ears for less than 10 min. With that being said, I'm pretty sure I have a defective unit. It just doesn't sound right. And within the first few seconds of auditioning, I noticed the L/channel cutout, and immediately switched the cable with a PW audio cable. Noticed huge improvement, but they still didn't sound right. I could still hear a faint static and crackle sound with every note on the left side, even after switching out the cable. And I noticed a significant L/R channel imbalance. Overall, it sounded very veiled and hollow with lots of echo?? for some reason. With bit of exaggeration, it almost sounded like someone singing on a karaoke machine or listening to music in the bathroom. To be honest, I've had $50 IEMs that sounded better. And then the low frequency sounded very muddy. Maybe I've gotten used to the TE5B, which have superb quality/control in the low frequencies. Overall, can't say it was a pleasant experience for me. I understand there's been a huge hype and lots of praise from respectable reviewers to include BGGAR, whose opinion I highly value, but this set just wasn't for me. For me, this is the end of the road for high end Chi-fi. From here on out, i'm staying far away from boutique companies and chi-fi (unless they're <$100 set), and sticking to big companies, reputable brand, and high-end Japanese brand.

The pros: Fit. Probably the second best fitting IEMs (for me) after the Shure SE846. And the earpiece is gorgeous. Very good finish. That's about all I can say.

To switch gears, I remember someone earlier asked for a size comparison between Roland and TE5B. Well, here it is.
It's not a huge difference in size. Roland is tad thicker. The upside is Roland is far more comfortable than the TE5B for my ears. Good insertion depth with decent isolation.

 

[cr3ativ3]

Wow..

BLUF: Definitely the worst unboxing experience / initial impression for me, EVER!

First, what kind of $1K IEM doesn't even come in its own case? I was appalled to witness how it shipped in a S10 Genie case/cover/ with S10 description and tech spec. And the packaging is dismal for this price range. It comes w/ 4x pairs of silicone tips and 1x pair of foam tips all shoved into the carrying case along with the earpieces and the cable.
What a ****ty product launch. There should be no excuse for the amount of money they're asking for.



At least the carrying case looks decent.


And then the cable.... Not sure where to even begin. This is the worst cable to accompany a $1K IEM. As soon as its plugged in, the left side cuts in and out with crazy static and volume fluctuation with every twist. I know several folks warned about this, but to be honest, I just brushed it off thinking 'It can't be that bad.' Well folks, I hereby confirm......it is that bad.


And the initial sound impression. PLS take it with a pinch of salt, as I've only kept them in my ears for less than 10 min. With that being said, I'm pretty sure I have a defective unit. It just doesn't sound right. And within the first few seconds of auditioning, I noticed the L/channel cutout, and immediately switched the cable with a PW audio cable. Noticed huge improvement, but they still didn't sound right. I could still hear a faint static and crackle sound with every note on the left side, even after switching out the cable. And I noticed a significant L/R channel imbalance. Overall, it sounded very veiled and hollow with lots of echo?? for some reason. With bit of exaggeration, it almost sounded like someone singing on a karaoke machine or listening to music in the bathroom. To be honest, I've had $50 IEMs that sounded better. And then the low frequency sounded very muddy. Maybe I've gotten used to the TE5B, which have superb quality/control in the low frequencies. Overall, can't say it was a pleasant experience for me. I understand there's been a huge hype and lots of praise from respectable reviewers to include BGGAR, whose opinion I highly value, but this set just wasn't for me. For me, this is the end of the road for high end Chi-fi. From here on out, i'm staying far away from boutique companies and chi-fi (unless they're <$100 set), and sticking to big companies, reputable brand, and high-end Japanese brand.

The pros: Fit. Probably the second best fitting IEMs (for me) after the Shure SE846. And the earpiece is gorgeous. Very good finish. That's about all I can say.

To switch gears, I remember someone earlier asked for a size comparison between Roland and TE5B. Well, here it is.
It's not a huge difference in size. Roland is tad thicker. The upside is Roland is far more comfortable than the TE5B for my ears. Good insertion depth with decent isolation.

This is real crap ... really sorry for you

 

[twiceboss]

Wow..

BLUF: Definitely the worst unboxing experience / initial impression for me, EVER!

First, what kind of $1K IEM doesn't even come in its own case? I was appalled to witness how it shipped in a S10 Genie case/cover/ with S10 description and tech spec. And the packaging is dismal for this price range. It comes w/ 4x pairs of silicone tips and 1x pair of foam tips all shoved into the carrying case along with the earpieces and the cable.
What a ****ty product launch. There should be no excuse for the amount of money they're asking for.



At least the carrying case looks decent.


And then the cable.... Not sure where to even begin. This is the worst cable to accompany a $1K IEM. As soon as its plugged in, the left side cuts in and out with crazy static and volume fluctuation with every twist. I know several folks warned about this, but to be honest, I just brushed it off thinking 'It can't be that bad.' Well folks, I hereby confirm......it is that bad.


And the initial sound impression. PLS take it with a pinch of salt, as I've only kept them in my ears for less than 10 min. With that being said, I'm pretty sure I have a defective unit. It just doesn't sound right. And within the first few seconds of auditioning, I noticed the L/channel cutout, and immediately switched the cable with a PW audio cable. Noticed huge improvement, but they still didn't sound right. I could still hear a faint static and crackle sound with every note on the left side, even after switching out the cable. And I noticed a significant L/R channel imbalance. Overall, it sounded very veiled and hollow with lots of echo?? for some reason. With bit of exaggeration, it almost sounded like someone singing on a karaoke machine or listening to music in the bathroom. To be honest, I've had $50 IEMs that sounded better. And then the low frequency sounded very muddy. Maybe I've gotten used to the TE5B, which have superb quality/control in the low frequencies. Overall, can't say it was a pleasant experience for me. I understand there's been a huge hype and lots of praise from respectable reviewers to include BGGAR, whose opinion I highly value, but this set just wasn't for me. For me, this is the end of the road for high end Chi-fi. From here on out, i'm staying far away from boutique companies and chi-fi (unless they're <$100 set), and sticking to big companies, reputable brand, and high-end Japanese brand.

The pros: Fit. Probably the second best fitting IEMs (for me) after the Shure SE846. And the earpiece is gorgeous. Very good finish. That's about all I can say.

To switch gears, I remember someone earlier asked for a size comparison between Roland and TE5B. Well, here it is.
It's not a huge difference in size. Roland is tad thicker. The upside is Roland is far more comfortable than the TE5B for my ears. Good insertion depth with decent isolation.

Feel very sorry for that. This is one of the reasons why i didnt continue taking Roland after a disappointment with La Hire. Well i hope this problem is not wide spread.

 

[Darkestred]

@KPzypher Damn. Sorry to hear/see that. I have been following this thread but may have missed it. Which distributor did you order from? The Rolands had me excited. I am hoping this isnt the norm for the future as a few people seem to have had good experiences.

 

[twiceboss]

@KPzypher Damn. Sorry to hear/see that. I have been following this thread but may have missed it. Which distributor did you order from? The Rolands had me excited. I am hoping this isnt the norm for the future as a few people seem to have had good experiences.

I mean the box etc will be the same. It will come with s10genie box. 4 tips. A case. A crappy cable. Yes, it is $1009 iem. Big brand will easily treat you like a prince unboxing a new totl iem but not with fearless. Chifi? Go QDC instead if you want the experience of big brand.

 

[KPzypher]

I mean the box etc will be the same. It will come with s10genie box. 4 tips. A case. A ****ty cable. Yes, it is $1009 iem. Big brand will easily treat you like a prince unboxing a new totl iem but not with fearless. Chifi? Go QDC instead if you want the experience of big brand.

If they're charging this much money, they shouldn't cut corners like this. It's a damn shame. But if they're cutting corners like this to save a few bucks here and there, I'm more concerned about their QC, as I'm sure they'll be inclined to save a few bucks there too.

 

[twiceboss]

If they're charging this much money, they shouldn't cut corners like this. It's a damn shame. But if they're cutting corners like this to save a few bucks here and there, I'm more concerned about their QC, as I'm sure they'll be inclined to save a few bucks there too.

Tbh, i had a quite few bad experiences with chifi. Dm7 with defect sound, La Hire fake graph, etc.

 

[KPzypher]

@KPzypher Damn. Sorry to hear/see that. I have been following this thread but may have missed it. Which distributor did you order from? The Rolands had me excited. I am hoping this isnt the norm for the future as a few people seem to have had good experiences.

I ordered from Penon. I just asked for a return/refund on basis of a defective unit, and they're trying to attribute it to a bad cable and told me fearless will replace it at a later time?? I told them clearly i have issues with my unit besides the cable, so if they don't honor the refund, I'm really gon be pissed. We'll see how they respond. Heard they're a good solid company so hope I won't have any issues.

 

[warriorpoet]

I ordered from Penon. I just asked for a return/refund on basis of a defective unit, and they're trying to attribute it to a bad cable and told me fearless will replace it at a later time?? I told them clearly i have issues with my unit besides the cable, so if they don't honor the refund, I'm really gon be pissed. We'll see how they respond. Heard they're a good solid company so hope I won't have any issues.

Yeah, you definitely have a problem unit. That's not how my set sounded at all.

Re: box and cable. Yes, your reaction is entirely justified. They should never have released the product before getting those two things sorted. First impressions are EVERYTHING, and Roland's first impression with that box and that cable is dreadful.

Now, as for QC, I can't really speak to that. The Fearless units I've had have been top-notch performers with no problems aside from the terrible cable. I really do hope you get another set; they are worth a listen.

 

[warriorpoet]

Tbh, i had a quite few bad experiences with chifi. Dm7 with defect sound, La Hire fake graph, etc.

I'm still not sure on that graph. Graphing is such an art, and there's no saying how the measurements were taken. It doesn't match up to what BGGAR posted, but then, it probably wasn't taken the same way, either.

Not saying you're wrong to be disappointed, just that "fake" implies they were being disingenuous, where they'd really have no reason to be given the success of the relatively similar S8 series.

 

[MrLocoLuciano]

Sorry for asking, might have been already said, but what are the main differences between S8Pro and Roland ?

 

[twiceboss]

I'm still not sure on that graph. Graphing is such an art, and there's no saying how the measurements were taken. It doesn't match up to what BGGAR posted, but then, it probably wasn't taken the same way, either.

Not saying you're wrong to be disappointed, just that "fake" implies they were being disingenuous, where they'd really have no reason to be given the success of the relatively similar S8 series.

u didnt get me. The graph will not show a DF type with that sound. Yes, never. It's an S8Pro tuning, even with any graphing gears, it should show a bump on bass. While, the given graph from fearless shows a recessed bass. It's even proven with Roland and Lancelot graph that they provide have the similarities with BGGAR's graph but not with La Hire. Well, it's hard for you to admit the wrong of Fearless side if you really like the company. It has flaw and i need to admit that.

 

[expatriot]

twiceboss: OK, the graph was not accurate for whatever reason, but IMHO you need to stop with the accusation that they were faked. If you are a mind reader or have proof that what they did was intentional, lets see the proof. Enough is enough with the "Fake" crap!