[mvvRAZ]

That's easy for me as it's my wallet that stops me owning totl stuff. I operate firmly in the midrange. Better than budget stuff, not as good as the high end stuff. Anything higher and I get a nose bleed. The furthest I've ever thought of going is either the equinox or solstice from CA, and that's mainly because of the artist fit option.

the 1695TI kinda showed showed me how far you can get in the middle-ish segment, there’s some real good stuff there

 

[Wyville]

I operate firmly in the midrange. ...equinox or solstice...

the 1695TI... ...middle-ish segment

 

[Rockwell75]

Equinox and Solstice go for ~$1500, 1695ti for ~$900, so you might say the former are high mids and the latter low mids...but both definitely mids (price wise not SQ wise).

 

[Wyville]

Equinox and Solstice go for ~$1500, 1695ti for ~$900, so you might say the former are high mids and the latter low mids...but both definitely mids (price wise not SQ wise).

I haven't even been on head-fi that long, but when I first came here $900 was TOTL. So perhaps we should adapt the nomenclature. Maybe something like...
TOTL
Summit-Fi
Ludicrous-Fi

 

[491326]

I haven't even been on head-fi that long, but when I first came here $900 was TOTL. So perhaps we should adapt the nomenclature. Maybe something like...
TOTL
Summit-Fi
Ludicrous-Fi

Broke-fi

 

[Wyville]

Broke-fi

Oh, very good one!

 

[Sound Eq]

I can deal with BA bass but I really need the DD midrange. My A18t has pretty satisfactory BA bass, but I'd take the mids of the Z1R or 1695TI over the A18t any day


They're quite different. The 1695TI has a bit less bass, but it's top notch quality in terms of slam and decay - I love it personally.

I'd say the Z1R wins on raw technicalities as well as treble, while the 1695 has a warmer midrange making vocals sound way better. The Z1R feels quite a bit more clinical in comparison...

A bit like a bass boosted clinical and technical IEM

The other thing is, the Acoustune can be driven by most stuff I've tried - it's not as source picky. The Z1R so far I've had success with the Hugo2 and WM1Z but everything else struggles in all honesty

I have the ier z1r and never ever would i describe it as clinical ever. And i drive it using ibasso, calyx and cayin n6, mojo. It is among the safest tuned iems to be recommended to buy blindly. I tried few acoustune in HK and non clicked with me at all or are even close to sounding great. We clearly hear different things, as never ever would I describe ier z1r as clinical. I sold my 64audio tia trio and kept the sony ier z1r which at least to me means the sony sounds way better

How can we hear things so differently, and I owned the hugo2 and used it with my ier z1r and never did i get the perception its clinical sounding. Also the ier z1r trumps the LX in everything. I will not see myself putting for sale my z1r for a very long time. I think an important aspect for others who read some impression of people who use hugo2 as their source, that their milage might be so different than when using daps, as to me hugo2 is not really meant to used on the go as dap, and not many use it like that. As the form factor is not at all pocket friendly. For me I like to use iems cause they are meant to be used on the go with a dap but not with something like hugo2

At home I have hugo tt2 and i would never ever think bout trying iems on my hugo tt2 as its not meant to be used for iems, and i do not wnat my brain get used to how my iems will sound out of a chord tt2, as then I will never like my iems out of daps

As for which is now my favorite it is still the jhaudio Lola, followed by Khan

 

[Jackpot77]

I remember when I first started on here a few years back, the EE Zeus-XR was pretty much out there at $2.7k, with a lot of TOTL gear sailing around $1200-1500. Funny how acclimatisation has everyone getting used to prices in the high 2000s now as the "norm" for a flagship level IEM.

When I first heard the Zeus, it wowed me, and is still one of the favourite IEMs in my collection, but I probably reach for the Solaris or Stealth Sonics C9 a lot more when I want to listen to a flagship, and something like the Itsfit Fusion / Acoustune HS1650 / oBravo Cupid / IMR Rah out of my current rotation when I'm looking to just enjoy some music. So called "mid-fi" has come on one hell of a long way in the time I've been in this hobby - there is still a place for the "pinnacle" IEMs, but you don't NEED them to really enjoy your music collection.

 

[Sound Eq]

I remember when I first started on here a few years back, the EE Zeus-XR was pretty much out there at $2.7k, with a lot of TOTL gear sailing around $1200-1500. Funny how acclimatisation has everyone getting used to prices in the high 2000s now as the "norm" for a flagship level IEM.

When I first heard the Zeus, it wowed me, and is still one of the favourite IEMs in my collection, but I probably reach for the Solaris or Stealth Sonics C9 a lot more when I want to listen to a flagship, and something like the Itsfit Fusion / Acoustune HS1650 / oBravo Cupid / IMR Rah out of my current rotation when I'm looking to just enjoy some music. So called "mid-fi" has come on one hell of a long way in the time I've been in this hobby - there is still a place for the "pinnacle" IEMs, but you don't NEED them to really enjoy your music collection.

man the cupid is a big hype and sounds like just mehhhhh, and its fit is just a bad design, people gushing over it as if it was a great iem, just makes wonder why. I tried it and again fall into its hype, I learned a lesson not to buy into buying mid fi iems as I know I will not like them, so its better to stick to totl ones and be picky and try to nail the signature I like, instead of wasting 200-300 usd on something i will use just once. I stopped believing in the " great for its price " to justify for me overlooking one or few incompetencies in the signature

 

[davidcotton]

of wasting 200-300 usd on something i will use just once

Laudable but the only way for most people is to buy blind at least once to get some sort of starting point on the journey.

 

[Sound Eq]

Laudable but the only way for most people is to buy blind at least once to get some sort of starting point on the journey.

agree but for some of us who own few totl why would we even consider those

I have yet to get an iem that costs sub 1k usd that can make say yeah now I can dump my totl iems finally, this will not happen or did not happen to me. So why waste money on those mid fi

I have been reading bout the imr rah, and there were some who say it sounds better than solaris, and I really would like to try it to see if that claim is legit, but I learned my lesson, but still a voice tells me why not. Does it mean that all totl iems are great of course not, man when I bought the Empire Ears Zeus XR Adel , that was literally the worst iems I ever owned, I was so pissed that I told the company I am returning it and if you like me to stay as a customer offer me something else, so i had to wiat a year until the LX came out and paid on top. But the Zeus XR adel was just awful

 

[twister6]

I have the ier z1r and never ever would i describe it as clinical ever. And i drive it using ibasso, calyx and cayin n6, mojo. It is among the safest tuned iems to be recommended to buy blindly. I tried few acoustune in HK and non clicked with me at all or are even close to sounding great. We clearly hear different things, as never ever would I describe ier z1r as clinical. I sold my 64audio tia trio and kept the sony ier z1r which at least to me means the sony sounds way better

How can we hear things so differently, and I owned the hugo2 and used it with my ier z1r and never did i get the perception its clinical sounding. Also the ier z1r trumps the LX in everything. I will not see myself putting for sale my z1r for a very long time. I think an important aspect for others who read some impression of people who use hugo2 as their source, that their milage might be so different than when using daps, as to me hugo2 is not really meant to used on the go as dap, and not many use it like that. As the form factor is not at all pocket friendly. For me I like to use iems cause they are meant to be used on the go with a dap but not with something like hugo2

At home I have hugo tt2 and i would never ever think bout trying iems on my hugo tt2 as its not meant to be used for iems, and i do not wnat my brain get used to how my iems will sound out of a chord tt2, as then I will never like my iems out of daps

As for which is now my favorite it is still the jhaudio Lola, followed by Khan

We do hear things differently, and that's quite normal because we have different earcanal shape which is like a filter for the sound traveling from a tip of the nozzle and through to your eardrums. I only tried IER Z1R for about 10min at the last year canjam, driven from WM1Z and I was overwhelmed by a piercing treble (and I tried different eartips). Someone told me those need a more powerful source, but to my ears while I absolutely loved the bass, upper mids and lower treble were piercing and harsh.

For the reference, Crin's measurement of it. The energy of 6k sibilant peak was just overwhelming to my ears and there was just too much crunch in upper mids around 3.5k-4k.

But all this means that it wasn't for me, while I know so many other people who enjoy it. And also a good example, you can't base your decision on one person's review because in some cases we could have a polar opposite opinion

and the same with Cupids, our ear anatomy will dictate the comfort of the fit.

For my ears, I found the design to be quite ergonomic, fitting my concha area like a glove, though extra weight could have some effect on the comfort.

 

[Jackpot77]

man the cupid is a big hype and sounds like just mehhhhh, and its fit is just a bad design, people gushing over it as if it was a great iem, just makes wonder why. I tried it and again fall into its hype, I learned a lesson not to buy into buying mid fi iems as I know I will not like them, so its better to stick to totl ones and be picky and try to nail the signature I like, instead of wasting 200-300 usd on something i will use just once

Like you said in a previous post, different strokes for different folks. The Cupid is hands down the most tip-sensitive IEM I've ever tried, and does need a combination of the right tips (Spiral Dots seem to be the common consensus, or Whirlwind tips) and a semi-shallow fit to show its potential.

I am lucky in that the fit works for me, but it's definitely on the heavy side with the brass shells.

I personally think the hype is justified in terms of SQ, if you can get the fit and tips "right". I can also see why some either don't like the sound or would give up on it without jumping through the hoops to make it sound decent. Very polarising IEM.

Regarding sticking to TOTL, if you have the cash to do that then do it - this hobby is about enjoyment most of all, and knowing your preferences and what you need is pretty much 75% of the battle.

 

[Sound Eq]

We do hear things differently, and that's quite normal because we have different earcanal shape which is like a filter for the sound traveling from a tip of the nozzle and through to your eardrums. I only tried IER Z1R for about 10min at the last year canjam, driven from WM1Z and I was overwhelmed by a piercing treble (and I tried different eartips). Someone told me those need a more powerful source, but to my ears while I absolutely loved the bass, upper mids and lower treble were piercing and harsh.

For the reference, Crin's measurement of it. The energy of 6k sibilant peak was just overwhelming to my ears and there was just too much crunch in upper mids around 3.5k-4k.

But all this means that it wasn't for me, while I know so many other people who enjoy it. And also a good example, you can't base your decision on one person's review because in some cases we could have a polar opposite opinion

and the same with Cupids, our ear anatomy will dictate the comfort of the fit.



For my ears, I found the design to be quite ergonomic, fitting my concha area like a glove, though extra weight could have some effect on the comfort.

yes, I agree, but to the point that we tell that something sounds clinical while my experience is totally the other way around. This is getting very confusing. If I was suffering form hearing loss I might have understood, but every year I do a hearing test at a socialized hearing center and my hearing is great according to my doctor. I also do not like to listen at loud volume to maintain my hearing as much as possible and do not listen to music more than 2- 3 hours a day

 

[Sound Eq]

Like you said in a previous post, different strokes for different folks. The Cupid is hands down the most tip-sensitive IEM I've ever tried, and does need a combination of the right tips (Spiral Dots seem to be the common consensus, or Whirlwind tips) and a semi-shallow fit to show its potential.

I am lucky in that the fit works for me, but it's definitely on the heavy side with the brass shells.

I personally think the hype is justified in terms of SQ, if you can get the fit and tips "right". I can also see why some either don't like the sound or would give up on it without jumping through the hoops to make it sound decent. Very polarising IEM.

Regarding sticking to TOTL, if you have the cash to do that then do it - this hobby is about enjoyment most of all, and knowing your preferences and what you need is pretty much 75% of the battle.

i am starting to sense that, as I have a friend who has such tiny ear canals and me and him do not agree on iem. I have big deep canals so our perception is totally different. Maybe from now on I should ask for reviews and an pic of their ear canal to see if the review can be related to me or not