[aaf evo]

Yeah if you already have an N6ii and the r2r sound appeals to you, it’s a no brainer for me.

 

[KuroKitsu]

Tuning > technicalities for me, even more so now that I've heard the IE900, but it goes back to my preferring the BLON BL-03 to the Andromeda, for example. That doesn't make the BLON technically better, just more enjoyable, and that trumps technicalities. But combine perfect** tuning with TOTL technicalities, and IEMs like the Bird (and IE900 to a lesser degree) are really in a different class to anything else that sounds odd or 'off', regardless of how technically proficient.

Super true, we denizens of this thread should know by now that critical listening absolutely ruins ones enjoyment of a sufficiently enjoyable iem. It would be much safer on our wallets if many of us came in with a clear idea of that.

I still have a caveat myself: based on what I consider a benchmark for that price range and it's proximity to said benchmark, tuning may or may not trump technicality.

IE. For me so far

$1K: Andromeda
$2K: U/A12t
$3K: Odin/Wraith
$4k: Lets not go there
$6K: I have an unnatural fear of birds now

So relative to that, I should clarify my Jolene comments and my impressions from TigerJam21:

Jolene: It's a good studio reference with good bass that reaches deeeeeeep. I just wish there was more quantity to go with the quality. Lola had a slight edge in quantity. No matter what I do the upper mids recession sticks out like a sore thumb despite the excellent 7K peak, again relative to Lola. Imaging and resolution are excellent though.

Techicality > Tuning in this case. Relative to the 12t, I give it a thumbs up. While it had it's faults for me in the tuning, the techicalities do carry the show for me and being cheaper than the 12t by a little bit helps.

U18t: It's a mid focus tuning, but without being overly forward that the bass and treble become what feels like hastily bolted on last minute additions. Tia treble again shining. It's a very refined western tuning and I can see why a number of artists I listen to use it as a stage monitor.

Tuning > Technicality. It feels like Wraith (aka Zeus with more bass). The 18t doesnt really showcase it's technical chops at all and I expect a bit of that given the Wraith and Odin in the area. Still a thumbs up because its an excellently done signature with excellent technicality behind it.

IE900: It eerily invokes thoughts of a Jolene Jr. Similarly deep bass but with more quantity and a non recessed upper mids. Impressive for a Senny offering, good technicality for a single DD.

Tuning > Technicality. This time it's a tuning that resonates with me. While the reintroduction of single DD flagships has come back roaring, the pricing of the IE900 has it competing with some very technically competent iems. Maybe at a couple hundred dollars cheaper or even at the Andro level I would consider. As it is, I'll take the 12t

Shichiku Kangen: It definitely has the looks to go with the price tag. Aesthetics and piggy tail masquerading as a cable aside. Focus on musicality over technicality to an extent. Bass slams hard, goes deep and plenty of mid bass when needed. Upper mids are perfectly fine. Treble is dialed back a bit in the presentation so that it complements the rest of the sound, but in a way that it still sparkles. On the other hand, imaging is eh. (Still need to hear A8K to contrast)

Tuning >>> musicality. SK is driven mostly by its musicality. The technicality is excellent. But the imaging for the price is unacceptable. There's a weird interaction with the upper mids where busy tracks so make me go NO. There are iems in the same bracket that have much better imaging.

Fourte: I use to think Tiger Ears was odd, but I completely understand why he loves the Fourte so much. I've never heard so much air in iem, yet presents such a natural musical sound. That's before getting to the DD and Apex ofc. The air and wide soundstage work to give the most enjoyable listen I can remember in this hobby. Mids are never too forward and the treble sparkle is never too much due to the sheet room it has to work.

Tuning = Technicality: Despite being a bit polarizing, to me the Fourte is a fusion of an excellent technical foundation that allows the tuning to shine equally well. The price tag is up there, but it plays with the best.

 

[mashuto]

IE900: It eerily invokes thoughts of a Jolene Jr. Similarly deep bass but with more quantity and a non recessed upper mids. Impressive for a Senny offering, good technicality for a single DD.

All these IE900 comments... I really feel like I am missing something that others are hearing with it. I do agree that subbass extension on the IE900 is pretty good. But from what I hear on my IE900 and my Jolene, the IE900 doesn't even come close to the quantity the Jolene has (obviously bass pod at 100%) and I still likely wouldn't call the Jolene "bassy". I think I have a decent fit with the IE900, but maybe not, and maybe its also the uni vs custom thing with the Jolene, though I tried the uni and I wouldnt have purchased the custom if I thought it was bass light in any way.

Now the CA Honeydew I just got... thats a BASSY iem.

 

[CL14715]

Super true, we denizens of this thread should know by now that critical listening absolutely ruins ones enjoyment of a sufficiently enjoyable iem. It would be much safer on our wallets if many of us came in with a clear idea of that.

I still have a caveat myself: based on what I consider a benchmark for that price range and it's proximity to said benchmark, tuning may or may not trump technicality.

IE. For me so far

$1K: Andromeda
$2K: U/A12t
$3K: Odin/Wraith
$4k: Lets not go there
$6K: I have an unnatural fear of birds now

So relative to that, I should clarify my Jolene comments and my impressions from TigerJam21:

Jolene: It's a good studio reference with good bass that reaches deeeeeeep. I just wish there was more quantity to go with the quality. Lola had a slight edge in quantity. No matter what I do the upper mids recession sticks out like a sore thumb despite the excellent 7K peak, again relative to Lola. Imaging and resolution are excellent though.

Techicality > Tuning in this case. Relative to the 12t, I give it a thumbs up. While it had it's faults for me in the tuning, the techicalities do carry the show for me and being cheaper than the 12t by a little bit helps.

U18t: It's a mid focus tuning, but without being overly forward that the bass and treble become what feels like hastily bolted on last minute additions. Tia treble again shining. It's a very refined western tuning and I can see why a number of artists I listen to use it as a stage monitor.

Tuning > Technicality. It feels like Wraith (aka Zeus with more bass). The 18t doesnt really showcase it's technical chops at all and I expect a bit of that given the Wraith and Odin in the area. Still a thumbs up because its an excellently done signature with excellent technicality behind it.

IE900: It eerily invokes thoughts of a Jolene Jr. Similarly deep bass but with more quantity and a non recessed upper mids. Impressive for a Senny offering, good technicality for a single DD.

Tuning > Technicality. This time it's a tuning that resonates with me. While the reintroduction of single DD flagships has come back roaring, the pricing of the IE900 has it competing with some very technically competent iems. Maybe at a couple hundred dollars cheaper or even at the Andro level I would consider. As it is, I'll take the 12t

Shichiku Kangen: It definitely has the looks to go with the price tag. Aesthetics and piggy tail masquerading as a cable aside. Focus on musicality over technicality to an extent. Bass slams hard, goes deep and plenty of mid bass when needed. Upper mids are perfectly fine. Treble is dialed back a bit in the presentation so that it complements the rest of the sound, but in a way that it still sparkles. On the other hand, imaging is eh. (Still need to hear A8K to contrast)

Tuning >>> musicality. SK is driven mostly by its musicality. The technicality is excellent. But the imaging for the price is unacceptable. There's a weird interaction with the upper mids where busy tracks so make me go NO. There are iems in the same bracket that have much better imaging.

Fourte: I use to think Tiger Ears was odd, but I completely understand why he loves the Fourte so much. I've never heard so much air in iem, yet presents such a natural musical sound. That's before getting to the DD and Apex ofc. The air and wide soundstage work to give the most enjoyable listen I can remember in this hobby. Mids are never too forward and the treble sparkle is never too much due to the sheet room it has to work.

Tuning = Technicality: Despite being a bit polarizing, to me the Fourte is a fusion of an excellent technical foundation that allows the tuning to shine equally well. The price tag is up there, but it plays with the best.

This is fun, keep it going… mine would end up like this

Super budget: BL-03
Under $1000: Isabelle
$1000-$1500: Andromeda 2020
$1500-$2000: Nio
$2000-$2500: Legend X
$2500-$3000: U18s
$3000-$3500: Odin
$3500-$4000: Fourte Noir
$4000-$5000: Erlkonig
Over $5000: Traillii

 

[gLer]

Tuning = Technicality: Despite being a bit polarizing, to me the Fourte is a fusion of an excellent technical foundation that allows the tuning to shine equally well. The price tag is up there, but it plays with the best.

Probably the most astute summary I've ever read on the Fourte. You 'got it' and very quickly too. Don't AB Fourte with a more 'mainstream' tuning and you really do have one of the modern marvels of the IEM world.

All these IE900 comments... I really feel like I am missing something that others are hearing with it. I do agree that subbass extension on the IE900 is pretty good. But from what I hear on my IE900 and my Jolene, the IE900 doesn't even come close to the quantity the Jolene has (obviously bass pod at 100%) and I still likely wouldn't call the Jolene "bassy". I think I have a decent fit with the IE900, but maybe not, and maybe its also the uni vs custom thing with the Jolene, though I tried the uni and I wouldnt have purchased the custom if I thought it was bass light in any way.

Now the CA Honeydew I just got... thats a BASSY iem.

I honestly feel you're not getting a great seal. Even the slightest loss if seal for me with the IE900 and bass dissapears. You should be hearing some of the best bass on any IEM south of Legend X. I'm yet to hear a track I use to test for bass and think 'i fan use more bass here'. And I own the Legend X (and love Nio M15 too). It has significantly more (and better) bass than NIO with any module other than M15/20 to my ears.

 

[ayang02]

IE900 users, have you all tried the included foam tips? I have seen people say they have a difficult time getting the silicone tips to work but the foam tips saved the day.

 

[Levanter]

Did you get the Annihilator with ‘The World’?

I believe its supposed to be similar to the PW1950 (or 1960, not sure which but its the grey one)

The World cable hasn't and isn't being offered for sale for a long time since it was very troublesome to make and apparently degraded over time. It was only used as a prototype for the Fostex competition, and i think maybe only a few early buyers from Japan actually got it

I believe his new flagship “X” is coming with a higher end cable but don’t quote me on that. Really hoping I have it before the end of the week so I have the weekend to listen.

You are right, the X will be using a higher end cable which costs around $1k-1.5k.

 

[gLer]

@Damz87 had a chance to try the M8 with the LX? That said it looks like the Cayin Ti/R01 is about to take the FOTM mantle!

@aaf evo how are those IE900/Bird graphs coming along?

Dang, just realised I probably sound like a high school teacher. Sorry.

 

[Damz87]

@Damz87 had a chance to try the M8 with the LX? That said it looks like the Cayin Ti/R01 is about to take the FOTM mantle!

@aaf evo how are those IE900/Bird graphs coming along?

Dang, just realised I probably sound like a high school teacher. Sorry.

Yes, briefly it’s a good pair up. Lots of mid bass (as expected) and forward upper mids with an overall warm-ish tone. Technicalities sound very good too, but I did feel that the stage was a little narrower compared to some other pair ups with LXSE. But overall I think its a nice combo.

Currently listening to IER-Z1R & M8 and all I can say is WOW

 

[mvvRAZ]

I like this let's go

Under 1000$: Barely tried anything here
1000-1500$: Andromeda 2020
1500-2000$: U/A12t
2000-2500$: Softears RS10
2500-3000$: U/A18S
3000-3500$: Noble Sultan LE
3500-4000$: Fourte Noir
4000-4500$: MMR Thummim
4500$+: UM Mason FuSang

That being said, I'd rate the A18S, FuSang and Thummim above all else regardless of price points

A surprising amount of options all around though, took me a while to make the list

 

[Damz87]

Mine are pretty obvious choices for me as I’ve ended up keeping my fav IEM in each of these price categories

Ultra budget: BLON BL-05s (unpopular opinion but I think it’s better than BL-03 ) or KZ ZAX
Under 1000$: IER-M9
1000-1500$: MEST mk2
1500-2000$: U12t or Z1R
2000-2500$: LX SE
2500-3000$: Elysium
3000-3500$: Odin
3500-4000$: Fourte Noir
4000-4500$: Erlkonig
4500$+: Traillii

 

[gLer]

May as well (based only on what I've personally heard):

Budget: BL-03
Under $1000: FH5
$1000-$1500: IE900
$1500-$2000: Nio
$2000-$3000: Legend X
$3000-$4000: Fourte
Over $4000: Traillii

Out of this list I'd pick the IE900, LX and Traillii as standouts at any price. I'd also like to find a better casual listen than the BL-03 for <$300, but that's proving harder than I thought.

 

[mvvRAZ]

May as well (based only on what I've personally heard):

Budget: BL-03
Under $1000: FH5
$1000-$1500: IE900
$1500-$2000: Nio
$2000-$3000: Legend X
$3000-$4000: Fourte
Over $4000: Traillii

Out of this list I'd pick the IE900, LX and Traillii as standouts at any price. I'd also like to find a better casual listen than the BL-03 for <$300, but that's proving harder than I thought.

That's a lot of DDs :O

 

[gLer]

That's a lot of DDs :O

Other than Birdie, BA bass doesn't stand a chance on my lists! Though special mention goes to the U12t as an almost perfect example of an all-BA IEM, but it's bested by the LX in the price category and by the Bird for BA bass.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Other than Birdie, BA bass doesn't stand a chance on my lists! Though special mention goes to the U12t as an almost perfect example of an all-BA IEM, but it's bested by the LX in the price category and by the Bird for BA bass.

I love me some plastic BA bass I don't even know what it is about it that I enjoy so much, but I click with it all too well