[mndless]

Yes this is what I'm waiting for! Where did you find the video with ST4 first Impression?

 

[mndless]

Speakers are a weird comparison honestly. You shouldn't compare iem graphs to other types of audio devices in the first place. There's a reason why the harmon target for full size headphones look different from the harmon target for iems. Iems and speakers need to be tuned differently because they play in completely different environments, therefore the sound played back is diffused completely differently. Iems are tuned the way they are instead of just a flat line cause they have to diffuse the sound in our ear cavities. It's also a major reason why tip rolling is a thing, and why iems will sound different person to person, we all have differently shaped ear canals. So I apologize if I just misunderstood, but I don't get why you keep comparing your iems to your speakers, they shouldn't have been tuned the same and you definitely don't want them to be tuned the same, unless you're just talking about how they sound similar to each other? I may have misunderstood but it's sounded like you've been saying they're tuned similarly. Unusually tuned is a bit of an understatement, all the flat tuned iems I've ever tried have sounded terrible, and that's just to do with how sound diffuses in our ears, having a flat line is not actually "neutral" or "balanced" reproduction of audio, at least where iems are concerned. This is why we have big companies like etymotics, Harman, moondrop, etc putting so much time/money into research for finding target curves that reproduce audio more faithfully to their intended sound or just sound more pleasing to the human ear.

Its very true that most people have very different experiences with the sound of loudspeakers versus IEMs and headphones due to room gain, pinna gain, audio occlusion and reverb. In terms of the actual graph comparisons, the GD7B has slightly more bass gain by default and more sub-bass, while rolling off more and earlier. In terms of real world sound differences to me, the KEF iQ90 are brighter, because of pinna gain, but not by as much as I would have expected after reading Harman's reports. I guess my ears just don't do pinna gain as strongly as others. I also don't get as much room gain in my current configuration, so that isn't as big of a contributing factor either, so the graphs being similar is actually fairly close to my real world experience with the two wildly different speaker systems. This is, however, why in one of my previous comments I recommended the GD5 as a better approximation to the performance of those KEF towers, because it has some pinna and bass gain, so it better represents what the average person should be hearing off my towers. For me, the GD7B is closer. The only thing it really lacks is treble extension, which I'm fine with in most situations, since I'm very sensitive and they're my easy listening set.

 

[Lamim Rashid]

Its very true that most people have very different experiences with the sound of loudspeakers versus IEMs and headphones due to room gain, pinna gain, audio occlusion and reverb. In terms of the actual graph comparisons, the GD7B has slightly more bass gain by default and more sub-bass, while rolling off more and earlier. In terms of real world sound differences to me, the KEF iQ90 are brighter, because of pinna gain, but not by as much as I would have expected after reading Harman's reports. I guess my ears just don't do pinna gain as strongly as others. I also don't get as much room gain in my current configuration, so that isn't as big of a contributing factor either, so the graphs being similar is actually fairly close to my real world experience with the two wildly different speaker systems. This is, however, why in one of my previous comments I recommended the GD5 as a better approximation to the performance of those KEF towers, because it has some pinna and bass gain, so it better represents what the average person should be hearing off my towers. For me, the GD7B is closer. The only thing it really lacks is treble extension, which I'm fine with in most situations, since I'm very sensitive and they're my easy listening set.

I thought I heard akros say they are a bit harsh sometimes so I'm surprised you find the gd7b more relaxing. Would you say they are a more relaxed set than the gd5?

EDIT: here's where he said he found them a bit sibilant 7:14

 

[mndless]

I thought I heard akros say they are a bit harsh sometimes so I'm surprised you find the gd7b more relaxing. Would you say they are a more relaxed set than the gd5?

EDIT: here's where he said he found them a bit sibilant 7:14

For me, personally, yes. It does depend on your source and music preferences, though. Some types of rock with lots of lower treble can get a bit strident and harsh, but I've found them to have a very comfortable sound in general. The GD5 shares many of the same pain points due to how the treble is handled, but it's a lot more in line with typical tuning, so it tends to sound more generally appropriate with a broader number of genres. With how the anti-fatigue tuning is handled on the GD3A, it aligns best with my harmonic peaks and is the least fatiguing overall, but lacks a certain richness in the mids since it has no BAs handling mid-bass gain duty. Hopefully the GD3C will remedy that.

 

[Lamim Rashid]

@tgx78 I just noticed you have the gt12 and dt600 both graphed. I have both on my wish list, which did you like more and which did you find had less ba timbre?

 

[tgx78]

@tgx78 I just noticed you have the gt12 and dt600 both graphed. I have both on my wish list, which did you like more and which did you find had less ba timbre?

I liked the GT12 more for its natural sound. DT600 is cleaner (or sterile or clinical) sounding with slightly higher resolution, but the BA timbre is more pronounced and can be bright depending on your output impedance.

At this stage, I would just wait for the GT12x to see if it’s going to get some bumps in resolving ability. Manufacturer’s graph looked promising.

 

[RikudouGoku]

I liked the GT12 for more natural sound. DT600 is cleaner (or sterile or clinical) sounding with slightly higher resolution, but the BA timbre is more pronounced and can be bright depending on your output impedance.

(You need impedance adapters and tanchjim filters on the DT600 though.)

At this stage, I would just wait for the GT12x to see if it’s going to get some bumps in resolving ability. Manufacturer’s graph looked promising.

Definitely wait for it, that one seriously looks like my target lol.

 

[Firov]

Hi to all!
Dear fans of high-quality sound, please tell me which headphones are worth paying attention to the budget is up to $ 350? (I listen mainly to electronic music and rock classics. I plan to connect to my smartphone via Jade Audio FiiO KA3)
I honestly read all 69 pages of the topic, but I could not decide ... (according to the charts available for some models, my favorites are GD5 and GT12, but it would be very interesting to see the SD5, SD7 and GD9 graphics, and of course I am very much waiting for information from the manufacturer about GD3c and GT12x)
In addition to GS products in the audio list of applicants:
7Hz - Timeless
MoonDrop - Blessing 2 Dusk
Fearless Audio - Shangri-la
Penon-Globe
VEEDIX - SILVER STRING
Sound Rhyme - SR5

 

[Lamim Rashid]

Hi to all!
Dear fans of high-quality sound, please tell me which headphones are worth paying attention to the budget is up to $ 350? (I listen mainly to electronic music and rock classics. I plan to connect to my smartphone via Jade Audio FiiO KA3)
I honestly read all 69 pages of the topic, but I could not decide ... (according to the charts available for some models, my favorites are GD5 and GT12, but it would be very interesting to see the SD5, SD7 and GD9 graphics, and of course I am very much waiting for information from the manufacturer about GD3c and GT12x)
In addition to GS products in the audio list of applicants:
7Hz - Timeless
MoonDrop - Blessing 2 Dusk
Fearless Audio - Shangri-la
Penon-Globe
VEEDIX - SILVER STRING

Depends what you define as "high quality" sound. For DD iems you have great choices like the Kato and oxygen. For hybrids you have the blessing 2 dusk (which I didn't like cause of ba timbre), but there are so many other good ones the difference come down to mainly being their sound signatures so it comes down to what kind of sound you prefer. The timeless 7hz has been getting a lot of praise recently, the tuning looks very good at least but I haven't tried it yet. Gs audio has a lot of different tuned iems, some are very flat tuned like the gd9, gd7b and gd11, some are a bit warmer and tuned more closer to neutral like the gt12, st8b, some are pretty v shaped like the gd3a, gd5 etc. Knowing what kind of tuning you like matters most, that's how ppl (like rikudougoku for example) end up liking stuff like the much cheaper gd3a more than the higher driver count gd11. It's because they're tuned very different, and tuning matters most, especially once you start going above the $100 price point imo. If you think the gd5 and gt12 graphs are your favorite definitely look into those. The mangird tea graphs very similarly to the gt12 and gets a ton of praise, it's already a very tried and true set in the market so it's a less risky choice than any of the gs audio iems. If you buy an iem without a lot of reviews know that you're taking a big risk. I've done this a lot of times before, buying into hype and most times I've been disappointed so make sure you know what you're getting into. It helps having a reviewer you trust and understand (by owning some of the iems they've reviewed) so you can kinda parse their opinions to see how those iems would fit your taste. Just based on the graphs you said you liked, here are a few iems I suggest researching a bit so you can make an informed purchasing decision:

- Timeless 7hz, looks good on graphs, haven't tried these. Seems there are a few qc issues recently too. Reviewers are raving about these. Most ppl describe the sound stage to be wide but lacking depth. I theorize it's because you have a big driver trying to force sound through a small nozzle, because this is a common issue with large planar driver iems for this exact reason. Don't take my word for it though cause I haven't tried these yet, I suggest reading reviews from actual owners.

- Moondrop KATO, basically what people consider as the kxxs/starfield perfected. The starfields are my favorite iems ftr, they fit my taste and preference perfectly, but a lot of people complained about the treble being too tame and about there being too much mid bass. So they smoothed and flattened out the bass shelf a bit and added a bit of treble. On top of using a better driver and tech. Personally I didn't like how this made the kato sound a bit sharper and thinner than the starfields but these are clearly a much more resolving set so I can see why a ton of people love these.

- Tanchjim oxygen. Everyone I talk to considers these the gold standard of DD iems. So I suggest you look into these too.

- Tanchjim new Hana 2021. Similar sound to above, thought a bit less resolving according to most and a bit less treble on graphs. Where the kato is described as more intimate and controlled, the Hana is described to have a larger soundstage but I haven't tried these myself so don't take my word for it, look into reviews.

- mangird tea. Graphs really closely to the gt12. Haven't tried these yet but it's been really well recieved by a lot of ppl. Probably a much safer pick than the gt12 for that reason if you want something with a graph like that.


Honarable mentions
- fiio fd5 another well recieved DD set, looks more vshaped than the other DD sets I listed. A friend recced it to me. Haven't tried it myself, just wanted to throw it out there in case you wanted something v shaped.

- na2+ one more dd set, this one is more bright neutral than the other but is very well recieved by the large collection owners I know. Haven't tried it but I'm throwing it in Incase it fits your sound signature preference more.

- smabat proto 1.0, haven't tried these yet, but they're cheap and by far the most tunable iem I've seen. If you haven't figured out what kind of sound signature you prefer yet you can consider getting these first, so after you know what you like, you can spend the remaining $200 of your budget on a good iem set that fits your taste (or stick with these if you like them enough). I will probably pick up my own set soon.

- blessing 2 dusk. I owned it and sold it. Good overall but I didn't like them much because it had a bad metallic timbre I didn't like. You might still like them a lot. I feel like a lot of reviewers have tried so many different iems they've gone kind of nose blind to this kind of timbre.

-isn h40, I really like these a lot. Good hybrid iem without any noticable ba timbre. V shaped/warm, decent for the price but you can probably get better now for $190. There's a bit too much bass for my taste in these and the treble while tame has a bit of a sharp peak. I still recc these if you can find them on sale or used for cheap and if you like a bassy v shaped iem. It's not a bass head iem but it borderlines it. Liked it more than my dusks at least.

-er2xr. By far my favorite iems for under $100. They sound so good for just $60. Blows other more expensive iems out of the water, and other similarly priced iems like the mele. There's a good amount of treble but it's the smoothest treble ive ever heard, no harsh peaks anywhere. It's very impressive, one of the best tuned iems out there.

-kbear aurora. Really nice graph. I liked the kbear believes but thought they were tuned poorly. The aurora graph looks like the believe tuning but perfected. Unfortunately they took a step back using a titanium driver instead of beryllium like the original believe. Either way I'd still take these over the believe cause tuning matters more. On the other hand, even the smabat proto comes with a titanium driver, and is also very tunable, this one isn't.

 

[Firov]

Thank you for a very detailed explanation!

Over the past 8 years, I have used only three pairs of headphones: Westone Um pro 50, Dunu dk-4001, Sennheiser momentum true wireless 2, so it is very difficult to describe my preferences.
Now I want to try hybrids or even tribrids.
But I don't want hype earphones.
I hope that soon there will be reviews about SD5

 

[Lamim Rashid]

Thank you for a very detailed explanation!

Over the past 8 years, I have used only three pairs of headphones: Westone Um pro 50, Dunu dk-4001, Sennheiser momentum true wireless 2, so it is very difficult to describe my preferences.
Now I want to try hybrids or even tribrids.
But I don't want hype earphones.
I hope that soon there will be reviews about SD5

SD5 has a lot of treble in its graphs imo, it wont fit everyone's taste. I would try out some cheaper iems first and figure out what you like first.

 

[mndless]

Hi to all!
Dear fans of high-quality sound, please tell me which headphones are worth paying attention to the budget is up to $ 350? (I listen mainly to electronic music and rock classics. I plan to connect to my smartphone via Jade Audio FiiO KA3)
I honestly read all 69 pages of the topic, but I could not decide ... (according to the charts available for some models, my favorites are GD5 and GT12, but it would be very interesting to see the SD5, SD7 and GD9 graphics, and of course I am very much waiting for information from the manufacturer about GD3c and GT12x)
In addition to GS products in the audio list of applicants:
7Hz - Timeless
MoonDrop - Blessing 2 Dusk
Fearless Audio - Shangri-la
Penon-Globe
VEEDIX - SILVER STRING
Sound Rhyme - SR5

I'd highly suggest waiting for the GD3C and GT12X to launch. I believe Vortex on YouTube is planning to get the GT12X, and I'm certain Rikudougoku will probably pick up the GD3C. Based solely on the graphs, I'd say the Veedix Silver String is definitely a strong contender. From what I've heard about them, they have a very pleasant sound signature suitable for loads of music genres. Of the GD series GS Audio sets I have, the GD3A or GD5 would be my recommendation based on current offerings, but the graphs for the GT12X look pretty fantastic.

 

[mndless]

Depends what you define as "high quality" sound. For DD iems you have great choices like the Kato and oxygen. For hybrids you have the blessing 2 dusk (which I didn't like cause of ba timbre), but there are so many other good ones the difference come down to mainly being their sound signatures so it comes down to what kind of sound you prefer. The timeless 7hz has been getting a lot of praise recently, the tuning looks very good at least but I haven't tried it yet. Gs audio has a lot of different tuned iems, some are very flat tuned like the gd9, gd7b and gd11, some are a bit warmer and tuned more closer to neutral like the gt12, st8b, some are pretty v shaped like the gd3a, gd5 etc. Knowing what kind of tuning you like matters most, that's how ppl (like rikudougoku for example) end up liking stuff like the much cheaper gd3a more than the higher driver count gd11. It's because they're tuned very different, and tuning matters most, especially once you start going above the $100 price point imo. If you think the gd5 and gt12 graphs are your favorite definitely look into those. The mangird tea graphs very similarly to the gt12 and gets a ton of praise, it's already a very tried and true set in the market so it's a less risky choice than any of the gs audio iems. If you buy an iem without a lot of reviews know that you're taking a big risk. I've done this a lot of times before, buying into hype and most times I've been disappointed so make sure you know what you're getting into. It helps having a reviewer you trust and understand (by owning some of the iems they've reviewed) so you can kinda parse their opinions to see how those iems would fit your taste. Just based on the graphs you said you liked, here are a few iems I suggest researching a bit so you can make an informed purchasing decision:

- Timeless 7hz, looks good on graphs, haven't tried these. Seems there are a few qc issues recently too. Reviewers are raving about these. Most ppl describe the sound stage to be wide but lacking depth. I theorize it's because you have a big driver trying to force sound through a small nozzle, because this is a common issue with large planar driver iems for this exact reason. Don't take my word for it though cause I haven't tried these yet, I suggest reading reviews from actual owners.

- Moondrop KATO, basically what people consider as the kxxs/starfield perfected. The starfields are my favorite iems ftr, they fit my taste and preference perfectly, but a lot of people complained about the treble being too tame and about there being too much mid bass. So they smoothed and flattened out the bass shelf a bit and added a bit of treble. On top of using a better driver and tech. Personally I didn't like how this made the kato sound a bit sharper and thinner than the starfields but these are clearly a much more resolving set so I can see why a ton of people love these.

- Tanchjim oxygen. Everyone I talk to considers these the gold standard of DD iems. So I suggest you look into these too.

- Tanchjim new Hana 2021. Similar sound to above, thought a bit less resolving according to most and a bit less treble on graphs. Where the kato is described as more intimate and controlled, the Hana is described to have a larger soundstage but I haven't tried these myself so don't take my word for it, look into reviews.

- mangird tea. Graphs really closely to the gt12. Haven't tried these yet but it's been really well recieved by a lot of ppl. Probably a much safer pick than the gt12 for that reason if you want something with a graph like that.


Honarable mentions
- fiio fd5 another well recieved DD set, looks more vshaped than the other DD sets I listed. A friend recced it to me. Haven't tried it myself, just wanted to throw it out there in case you wanted something v shaped.

- na2+ one more dd set, this one is more bright neutral than the other but is very well recieved by the large collection owners I know. Haven't tried it but I'm throwing it in Incase it fits your sound signature preference more.

- smabat proto 1.0, haven't tried these yet, but they're cheap and by far the most tunable iem I've seen. If you haven't figured out what kind of sound signature you prefer yet you can consider getting these first, so after you know what you like, you can spend the remaining $200 of your budget on a good iem set that fits your taste (or stick with these if you like them enough). I will probably pick up my own set soon.

- blessing 2 dusk. I owned it and sold it. Good overall but I didn't like them much because it had a bad metallic timbre I didn't like. You might still like them a lot. I feel like a lot of reviewers have tried so many different iems they've gone kind of nose blind to this kind of timbre.

-isn h40, I really like these a lot. Good hybrid iem without any noticable ba timbre. V shaped/warm, decent for the price but you can probably get better now for $190. There's a bit too much bass for my taste in these and the treble while tame has a bit of a sharp peak. I still recc these if you can find them on sale or used for cheap and if you like a bassy v shaped iem. It's not a bass head iem but it borderlines it. Liked it more than my dusks at least.

-er2xr. By far my favorite iems for under $100. They sound so good for just $60. Blows other more expensive iems out of the water, and other similarly priced iems like the mele. There's a good amount of treble but it's the smoothest treble ive ever heard, no harsh peaks anywhere. It's very impressive, one of the best tuned iems out there.

-kbear aurora. Really nice graph. I liked the kbear believes but thought they were tuned poorly. The aurora graph looks like the believe tuning but perfected. Unfortunately they took a step back using a titanium driver instead of beryllium like the original believe. Either way I'd still take these over the believe cause tuning matters more. On the other hand, even the smabat proto comes with a titanium driver, and is also very tunable, this one isn't.

Something to note: ISN has launched the update to the H40: the H50. By all accounts, it is the H40's basic tuning but made more resolving. I don't own the set, though, so you'd be best to consult some of the users here who do.

 

[Lamim Rashid]

Something to note: ISN has launched the update to the H40: the H50. By all accounts, it is the H40's basic tuning but made more resolving. I don't own the set, though, so you'd be best to consult some of the users here who do.

It also looks a lot more expensive. Their provided graph however, looks much better tuned:

Looks like they improved the treble tuning, but there's a lot of bass, I think some ppl will find this set a little bloated in the mid bass, lower mid area much like the isn h40 unless they did something to improve the dynamic driver. Looks like a good set for anyone who likes bassy iems though, but I would wait for reviews and impressions first. Not sure if it'll be worth it at almost $300, there is some very very stiff competition in the price range. I wonder if they use better drivers now, cause personally I don't care if they added a driver, I think it would be more interesting if they used better drivers, but they dont even specify if its sonion, knowles, bellsing, etc. My guess is that it's going to be received as a well tuned iem that's just priced too high for what it is. Let's see what reviewers and early adopters say.

 

[Tonytex]

Hi to all!
Dear fans of high-quality sound, please tell me which headphones are worth paying attention to the budget is up to $ 350? (I listen mainly to electronic music and rock classics. I plan to connect to my smartphone via Jade Audio FiiO KA3)
I honestly read all 69 pages of the topic, but I could not decide ... (according to the charts available for some models, my favorites are GD5 and GT12, but it would be very interesting to see the SD5, SD7 and GD9 graphics, and of course I am very much waiting for information from the manufacturer about GD3c and GT12x)
In addition to GS products in the audio list of applicants:
7Hz - Timeless
MoonDrop - Blessing 2 Dusk
Fearless Audio - Shangri-la
Penon-Globe
VEEDIX - SILVER STRING
Sound Rhyme - SR5

Hi
I own a few GS models and I will say that the GD3A the GD5 the GD7B and ST1 are top of my list
SD3 and SD5 are excellent but too bright as compared to the GD equivalent
GT12x I have on the way and ST4 will finish review soon