IEM, CIEM and DAP Search (and some Hong Kong Audio Show Photos)
Jul 24, 2018 at 2:15 AM Post #16 of 102
Do it! Get what you want first.

assuming that you have ears for high end gears already, if you get a non totl ciem, it will sit in your closet/drawer after a while, or very soon.

Believe me, I want to but the Legend X is about $2500 USD here. I'll have to apply for budgetary approval and then worry about whether the custom thing is my thing and works well in the very hot and humid weather that we get for at least half of the year. I would consider a used universal Legend X if one fell on my lap at a price that I could not pass up but somehow I don't see that happening any time soon.
 
Jul 24, 2018 at 2:16 AM Post #17 of 102
I think some of us like to go out and about with $500 IEMs. At least I do? I always leave my best stuff at home. Plus, I don’t know about all but I have a hard time getting used to 3K-plus for an IEM, though I have heard them and they are sublime!

Cheers!
What is the Kaiser like? I see Nobles on the second hand market every so often here.
 
Jul 24, 2018 at 2:52 AM Post #20 of 102
A Swede in Bangkok. Any chance you partake in the ice hockey leagues in the mall on Rama 9? I go there for the international hockey tournaments whenever the timing lines up with my work schedule. Boy I love going to Bangkok, the food is so good and cheap and variety in shopping is amazing. I can't wait for my next trip there, maybe we can meet up for a drink and check out some shops. Where are they and I wonder how the pricing compares with Hong Kong.

What sound signature are you after? Since you seem to have a problem with fatigue and flare ups, I wonder if we are not after the same signature because I generally do not have a problem with those things. I described the sound signature that I am after in my opening post. How is yours different than mine so I will know whether I should be checking out the ones you mentioned or not.

I thought I had it good here in Hong Kong when it comes to testing out HPs and IEMs but man, you everyone on here REALLY needs to go to check out the e earphone shop in Tokyo. I don't think any other shop can compare to that. I've been very happy with the budget IEMs that I picked up from there and the UE6 Pro surpasses them quite handily that I am quite confident that I will enjoy them and use them when I'm in the mood for CIEM over IEM and portable HP.

I hope your health problems will be gone in a short while so that you can go ahead with your VE8 (or think of it is V-8, the healthy drink. :) )

I also have a hard time getting a good seal on a consistent basis. One ear canal is pretty straight but the other one is not so. So I sort of have to fit each side a little differently from each other. I hope the custom fitting will solve all my fit and itch problems too.

Thanks for your input and good luck with your search too!


Haha no its been a very long time since I got any iceskates on. Probably over 15 years. I used to play outdoor bandy as a kid though. Its a much bigger rink, a ball instead of a puck and not as rough as a sport as hockey Wasnt any good at it though.

Yes food sure is plentiful, good and especially cheap. Havnt made a home cooked meal in months. But thats mostly cause I dont have a proper kitchen ^^.

Generally in headphones I like a warm-natural sound with a bit of enchanced mid and sub bass. No treble spikes or too much focus on clarity. Sort of like a hd600 but with more sub bass. It needs to be smooth for me to enjoy without getting fatigued, especially since I tend to listen to iems for such a big part of the day. Full size headphones are generally less fatiguing for me than iems, and loudspeakers are even less. My stereo system in Sweden is more to a studiomonitor sound but that doesnt seem to cause me any discomfort unless its a sibliant recording.

My ears canals are very small and twisty. Ive been thinking of getting custom tips made for the iems I have now to fix the fit issue untill Im ready to jump the gun on ciems.
 
Jul 24, 2018 at 3:09 AM Post #21 of 102
A Swede in Bangkok. Any chance you partake in the ice hockey leagues in the mall on Rama 9? I go there for the international hockey tournaments whenever the timing lines up with my work schedule. Boy I love going to Bangkok, the food is so good and cheap and variety in shopping is amazing. I can't wait for my next trip there, maybe we can meet up for a drink and check out some shops. Where are they and I wonder how the pricing compares with Hong Kong.

What sound signature are you after? Since you seem to have a problem with fatigue and flare ups, I wonder if we are not after the same signature because I generally do not have a problem with those things. I described the sound signature that I am after in my opening post. How is yours different than mine so I will know whether I should be checking out the ones you mentioned or not.

I thought I had it good here in Hong Kong when it comes to testing out HPs and IEMs but man, you everyone on here REALLY needs to go to check out the e earphone shop in Tokyo. I don't think any other shop can compare to that. I've been very happy with the budget IEMs that I picked up from there and the UE6 Pro surpasses them quite handily that I am quite confident that I will enjoy them and use them when I'm in the mood for CIEM over IEM and portable HP.

I hope your health problems will be gone in a short while so that you can go ahead with your VE8 (or think of it is V-8, the healthy drink. :) )

I also have a hard time getting a good seal on a consistent basis. One ear canal is pretty straight but the other one is not so. So I sort of have to fit each side a little differently from each other. I hope the custom fitting will solve all my fit and itch problems too.

Thanks for your input and good luck with your search too!
Hey, if there's a BKK gathering, let me know! I go there for biz too but it's close and cheap enough to make a weekend run! And the food is awesome!!

But on that note about blowing a ton of cash on a TOTL CIEM as a first entrant... I'm not so sure it's a good idea.

Personally, I think start with cheaper IEMs... Experiment and decide the sound you like and can tolerate hours on end... Then flip and scale up. Until you're certain you know your endgame sound... Then blow for the TOTL CIEM.

It would suck to blow that wad of cash then find that the sound isn't what you're after...

For instance, I still like a bright sound with a slight V profile. Sometimes. When I'm active and on the move.
But other times when it's late at night or on flights... I prefer a darker sound.
And when I can sit down and just lean back, wired to an amp, I go for a bigger soundstage.
 
Jul 24, 2018 at 4:04 AM Post #22 of 102
What is the Kaiser like? I see Nobles on the second hand market every so often here.

I'm actually a bass head, so it's wild my most pricey ($1850) IEM would lack slightly in bass. I just thought I would like the sound after reading reviews, listened to it and purchased it new. It's just super super clear, and has one of the biggest soundstages you can find. Pinky Powers toned his down slightly with a dark cable. I'm not sure I would try to change the tone, as it's good contrast to what I have. But I imagine it could be bright with the wrong source? I listened to the Encore and the Katana side by side and the Encore was more vibrant to my ears.

It's an IEM I would never sell, as I would miss it too much. When you come back to it, it's an OH-Yes...thing. They are made with two CNC aluminum sides which are pressed together with over 300lbs of pressure; maybe my favorite build quality?

Just think of detail, which isn't the most detailed, but up there, then........kind of harmonically warmed in a midcentric way.......then expanded out around you side to side, front and back. But then........super cohesive and natural acoustic sounding. Where some IEMs can sound innately electronic, the Encore is acoustic sounding, even though slightly cold.

It's the only headphone or IEM I EQ. Just add a touch more bass, pull the mids 10% and pull the treble 10%. The bass is totally there, it just does not have all the lower midrange authority. But due to being a BA it's fast and has nice definition, though maybe not top tier definition. I actually like it better from the Sony 1A as opposed to the Sony 1Z; which is strange as you would think it would be hands down better from the 1Z? Somehow it merges with the more reserved midcentric 1A?

Just added an aftermarket 5 Pole 4.4mm cable which has smoothed it out a tad, also making the overall sound a little more 3D.

They fit great with Spinfit tips.

https://spinfiteartip.com/

https://www.64audio.com/
But if you get a chance hear the 64Audio N8.......or any 64Audio for that matter.
Or try the Atlas........we are in the era of basshead IEMs, by golly.
 
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Jul 24, 2018 at 6:50 AM Post #23 of 102
Thanks for the suggestion. Now to see if there are any shops around here that carry that brand.

They are an all custom shop so you will probably have to go directly to them either through their website or via a show. I don't think they have any other retailers. When I did mine they had demo units you could listen to for sound signatures and then they made the mould of your ear and started the process once you decided which you liked.
 
Jul 24, 2018 at 10:32 AM Post #24 of 102
I still need to catch up on the recent posts here but just a quick question and I'll explain later but are any of you familiar with the Shure KSE1500? If so, does it match anything close to the sound that I am after? Thanks.
 
Jul 24, 2018 at 12:42 PM Post #25 of 102
64 N8t. UE6 lacks resolution.
Thanks for making this more complicated. lol

But I think it might be a little out of my budget. I haven't seen it here in Hong Kong yet but from the quick read, it sounds interesting. Can you describe what your experience was with this IEM? And is it a Custom IEM? I am not familiar with 64 other than seeing them around and I've tested them for a short time but at the time, I had a much lower budget set for this.

Ok, I just spent the last hour or so reading up on the Shure KSE1500. It sounds interesting with a lot of positive reviews but I just don't know if the low sub bass is really there. But it's late here now and I told myself that I was going to go to sleep at a reasonable time tonight and it's already past that time.

So I'll get back to the subsequent posts tomorrow. Thanks guys!
 
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Jul 25, 2018 at 11:06 AM Post #26 of 102
I got to try the Vega and the Atlas today on my way to the rink. I'll comment on them later.

About to step on the ice but has anyone here tried either of the two Aroma Witch Girl IEMs?
 
Jul 26, 2018 at 5:58 AM Post #28 of 102
Haha no its been a very long time since I got any iceskates on. Probably over 15 years. I used to play outdoor bandy as a kid though. Its a much bigger rink, a ball instead of a puck and not as rough as a sport as hockey Wasnt any good at it though.

Yes food sure is plentiful, good and especially cheap. Havnt made a home cooked meal in months. But thats mostly cause I dont have a proper kitchen ^^.

Generally in headphones I like a warm-natural sound with a bit of enchanced mid and sub bass. No treble spikes or too much focus on clarity. Sort of like a hd600 but with more sub bass. It needs to be smooth for me to enjoy without getting fatigued, especially since I tend to listen to iems for such a big part of the day. Full size headphones are generally less fatiguing for me than iems, and loudspeakers are even less. My stereo system in Sweden is more to a studiomonitor sound but that doesnt seem to cause me any discomfort unless its a sibliant recording.

My ears canals are very small and twisty. Ive been thinking of getting custom tips made for the iems I have now to fix the fit issue untill Im ready to jump the gun on ciems.
"outdoor bandy" :) . I've never heard of that term before. I think the term I have heard for your game is field hockey. Is that what you played? It can be a pretty rough game too. That ball is solid! And not much equipment to protect you. I play in goal so I am well protected. lol

Seems like your sound signature preference is quite different from mine.

I wonder how customs work out for people with twisty ear canals. I would assume that it is the perfect solution to that situation. I find that with the double flange tips, I need to place the IEM/tip in an upward pointing direction. That is, the back (?) of the IEM shell would be lower than the apex of the tips. The back of the IEM shell could almost rest on the my ear. I am not really sure how I can describe this. Maybe I'll take a picture next time.
 
Jul 26, 2018 at 6:04 AM Post #29 of 102
Hey, if there's a BKK gathering, let me know! I go there for biz too but it's close and cheap enough to make a weekend run! And the food is awesome!!

But on that note about blowing a ton of cash on a TOTL CIEM as a first entrant... I'm not so sure it's a good idea.

Personally, I think start with cheaper IEMs... Experiment and decide the sound you like and can tolerate hours on end... Then flip and scale up. Until you're certain you know your endgame sound... Then blow for the TOTL CIEM.

It would suck to blow that wad of cash then find that the sound isn't what you're after...

For instance, I still like a bright sound with a slight V profile. Sometimes. When I'm active and on the move.
But other times when it's late at night or on flights... I prefer a darker sound.
And when I can sit down and just lean back, wired to an amp, I go for a bigger soundstage.
You're in Singapore, right? A BKK meet is just the excuse I need to get out there. I'm all in if I can get approval but I'm not sure what the chances of that are.. :wink:

Yeah, I think I am going to limit my budget to about 6-7K HKD (700-900 USD). That's already more than I originally started at.

I just keep coming up with new audio things I want to buy... It's a real problem. lol
 
Jul 26, 2018 at 6:11 AM Post #30 of 102
I'm actually a bass head, so it's wild my most pricey ($1850) IEM would lack slightly in bass. ....

.... I actually like it better from the Sony 1A as opposed to the Sony 1Z; which is strange as you would think it would be hands down better from the 1Z? Somehow it merges with the more reserved midcentric 1A?

Just added an aftermarket 5 Pole 4.4mm cable which has smoothed it out a tad, also making the overall sound a little more 3D.

They fit great with Spinfit tips.

https://spinfiteartip.com/

https://www.64audio.com/
But if you get a chance hear the 64Audio N8.......or any 64Audio for that matter.
Or try the Atlas........we are in the era of basshead IEMs, by golly.
I wasn't as much of a bass head a little while ago when I was consistently only listening with the HD800 but since moving on to using other HPs and different music, I've been craving that sub bass a little more now. I don't listen at very loud levels (I don't think) but I just like that rumble every once in a while. I don't want it constantly because to me, that would be fatiguing than too much at the high end.

Speaking of your Sony daps, that is now another venture that I have just started considering and I will get to that on a separate post later because I would like everyone's little thoughts on it.

I checked around for the N8 yesterday but it does not seem to be available here in Hong Kong yet.

Thanks
 

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