Despite your interest with MDR Z1R you never did go with the IER Z1R huh? Is there a particular reason for it? Or have you tried it before and wasn't interested?Joined the club today! Bass is unbelievable on this IEM.
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final x DITA Shichiku.Kangen Discussion & Impressions
- Thread starter jwbrent
- Start date
No particular reason at all. An opportunity presented itself to get the Shichiku.Kangen’s and I jumped on it. The top end clarity on Shichiku.Kangen’s is superb, the bass is amazing and the midrange is very cohesive and clear bringing the sound home for me. These IEM’s sound big and I’m a fan.
If I get a chance to hear the IER-Z1R’s I’m definitely taking it. If for no other reason to see how they compare to my Shichiku.Kangen’s.
Understandable, it’s just the Z1R should be much easier to source and also fulfil your craving for good bass so just wondering
riverground
Headphoneus Supremus
When I compared the two when I still had both, I actually would give the SK the upper hand in terms of bass and lower-mids. The bass has a similar texture and detail as the Z1R but it’s quite quicker. The Z1R still has that fun rendering and overall power but with faster bass response, it’s hard to beat that Be DD. The lower mids were extremely engaging too. One of the best lower-mid presentations I’ve heard in an IEM. When it came to upper-mids and treble though, I would still give the slight edge to the Z1R. Female vocals have a touch more body and bite to them. The SK sounded a bit more hollow (in a good way though, as it gives quite a bit of an ethereal voicing to higher-pitched female vocals) but I just prefer the fuller toned vocal presentation of the Z1R. The Z1R’s treble just sounds airier and energetic without reaching sibilance. While I like the sense of sparkle the SK gives off, there's just something about the Z1R's overall treble that I liked more. But then again, it always depends on my mood which to listen to lol
I really can't wait to have enough funds again to grab a Z1R. I miss it quite a bit.
Cool, it sounds like something I really need to hear. You aren’t the first to suggest the IER-Z1R’s to me.
The way you describe them, sounds like they would really fit my listening preferences. I’ll add them to my list for sure.
I haven’t been listening to my S.K as much lately, gravitating to my more recent acquisitions. I also recommend changing out the stock stiff cable for the final C106, brings the S.K closer to the exceptional transparency of the A8000.
Hi, i see that you have and Indigo also, may i know how the SK sound vs the Indigo?
Let me get back to you after I do a comparison since I’m not fond of relying on my aural memory.
I spent 30 minutes going back and forth between the S.K and Indigo, and here are my impressions. First, I’m using the final C106 SPC cable ($250) with my S.K because the included Oslo S.K cable designed by DITA is unnaturally stiff, and I also found it added too much warmth to the trebles compared to the final A8000 which was the IEM that led me to move away from full size headphones to flagship iems. In order to make the comparison with the Indigo fair, I used a 64 Audio SPC cable ($300) terminated with a 3.5mm, the same as the final cable. The song used was “Orange Sky” with no eq.
Bass: I began my listening with the S.K which has good sub-bass without being overblown at all. The mid-bass has been elevated by ~2dB compared to the A8000 which I think was a good design choice; the A8000 sounded a little light in this area. This elevation in the mid-bass retains a neutral character and does not bleed into the lower mids. In comparison, the Indigo has more sub/mid-bass presence and does bleed into the lower mids, and this characteristic is likely accented by the bone conductor driver. The S.K is clearly the winner here in terms of neutrality whereas those that like an accentuated bass will prefer the Indigo.
Mids: Due to the neutral bass performance of the S.K, the midrange retains a clear sounding characteristic which I like a lot. The Indigo, however, has a bit of a muddy quality, not overly so, but certainly a huskier presence. Both set’s mids come across as neither recessed or forward to my ears. Moving to the upper-mids, I find the S.K is a touch more silkier. The Indigo is more granular in comparison. Let me point out this could easily be due to the different cables used.
Trebles: The A8000 is well known for its highly transparent trebles although some found them to be a bit much, fatiguing even, but I never experienced this when I had the A8000. The S.K was tuned to lessen the perceived brightness a bit, and the Oslo S.K cable did this even further, but in my view, this took away from some of the magic that made the A8000 such a special design. Besides the unwieldiness of the Oslo S.K cable, I ended up selling the Oslo S.K and replaced it with the C106 which helped to bring back some of that transparency I had missed. The Indigo is quite good with its treble performance, even a bit better especially in resolving micro-detail, but again, this could be due to the cable used given its SPC design.
Let me end by saying there is one issue with the S.K that I don’t like, its black lacquer finish. Initially, I was enchanted with this aspect of the aesthetic design, but due to the horrible case that is supplied which doesn’t protect the shells from knocking into each other thereby potentially causing scratches/chips on the black gloss lacquer, one has to be very careful when handling the S.K; I have a needlepoint chip on one of my shells which to most people wouldn’t be a concern, but I treasure my gear and keep everything in pristine condition, and that tiny chip bugs me a lot. I should add there is a felt-like cover for the shells that is included in the package, but due to its size, I found the smallish case was cumbersome to use when packing the shells and cable and felt cover into it. I use the metal/silicon case that comes with the A8000 instead which does a beautiful job in protecting those shells. Also, I know I didn’t write about technicalities, but this post is long enough and not one of my more thorough reviews. I hope this helps with your decision making.
Hi, i see that you have and Indigo also, may i know how the SK sound vs the Indigo
Wow! Thank you very much for the comparison, greatly appreciated and will definitely help a lot! You covered most of my questions with regards to bass and treble.
I spent 30 minutes going back and forth between the S.K and Indigo, and here are my impressions. First, I’m using the final C106 SPC cable ($250) with my S.K because the included Oslo S.K cable designed by DITA is unnaturally stiff, and I also found it added too much warmth to the trebles compared to the final A8000 which was the IEM that led me to move away from full size headphones to flagship iems. In order to make the comparison with the Indigo fair, I used a 64 Audio SPC cable ($300) terminated with a 3.5mm, the same as the final cable. The song used was “Orange Sky” with no eq.
Bass: I began my listening with the S.K which has good sub-bass without being overblown at all. The mid-bass has been elevated by ~2dB compared to the A8000 which I think was a good design choice; the A8000 sounded a little light in this area. This elevation in the mid-bass retains a neutral character and does not bleed into the lower mids. In comparison, the Indigo has more sub/mid-bass presence and does bleed into the lower mids, and this characteristic is likely accented by the bone conductor driver. The S.K is clearly the winner here in terms of neutrality whereas those that like an accentuated bass will prefer the Indigo.
Mids: Due to the neutral bass performance of the S.K, the midrange retains a clear sounding characteristic which I like a lot. The Indigo, however, has a bit of a muddy quality, not overly so, but certainly a huskier presence. Both set’s mids come across as neither recessed or forward to my ears. Moving to the upper-mids, I find the S.K is a touch more silkier. The Indigo is more granular in comparison. Let me point out this could easily be due to the different cables used.
Trebles: The A8000 is well known for its highly transparent trebles although some found them to be a bit much, fatiguing even, but I never experienced this when I had the A8000. The S.K was tuned to lessen the perceived brightness a bit, and the Oslo S.K cable did this even further, but in my view, this took away from some of the magic that made the A8000 such a special design. Besides the unwieldiness of the Oslo S.K cable, I ended up selling the Oslo S.K and replaced it with the C106 which helped to bring back some of that transparency I had missed. The Indigo is quite good with its treble performance, even a bit better especially in resolving micro-detail, but again, this could be due to the cable used given its SPC design.
Let me end by saying there is one issue with the S.K that I don’t like, its black lacquer finish. Initially, I was enchanted with this aspect of the aesthetic design, but due to the horrible case that is supplied which doesn’t protect the shells from knocking into each other thereby potentially causing scratches/chips on the black gloss lacquer, one has to be very careful when handling the S.K; I have a needlepoint chip on one of my shells which to most people wouldn’t be a concern, but I treasure my gear and keep everything in pristine condition, and that tiny chip bugs me a lot. I should add there is a felt-like cover for the shells that is included in the package, but due to its size, I found the smallish case was cumbersome to use when packing the shells and cable and felt cover into it. I use the metal/silicon case that comes with the A8000 instead which does a beautiful job in protecting those shells. Also, I know I didn’t write about technicalities, but this post is long enough and not one of my more thorough reviews. I hope this helps with your decision making.
After much thought, I decided to give my S.K to my son who at 20 years of age is a budding audiophile. In all honesty, I actually prefer the tuning of the A8000 with its exceptional transparency, a quality not matched by the S.K. My belief was final tried to address the treble criticism in the A8000 by “warming it up” a bit, and the magic was gone imho.
For those who liked the A8000 except for the trebles, I’d highly recommend picking up a used set of S.Ks, I think you’ll find it better tuned for your ears.
For those who liked the A8000 except for the trebles, I’d highly recommend picking up a used set of S.Ks, I think you’ll find it better tuned for your ears.
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Kiats
Headphoneus Supremus
Found some time to dust off the SK/Eletech Socrates. And take it out for a spin with the SP2000Cu running as a Roon endpoint. Gorgeous combination. 
Hello all,
As an owner of the a8000s, I've really enjoyed all these comparisons with the s.k.s. Although I'm no longer considering upgrading to the s.k.s, I am wondering if any of you have managed to obtain replacement filters for either iem. I've posted in the a8000 thread, but received no response from final. I thought this group might have some input. Any advice would be great!
As an owner of the a8000s, I've really enjoyed all these comparisons with the s.k.s. Although I'm no longer considering upgrading to the s.k.s, I am wondering if any of you have managed to obtain replacement filters for either iem. I've posted in the a8000 thread, but received no response from final. I thought this group might have some input. Any advice would be great!
You can use generic filters from another iem, thats what im doing.
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