Kallbo
500+ Head-Fier
What cable is the standard for the Zenith ll? The black one? The copper one?
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IMR Audio : Sonic Adventures & Impressions
- Thread starter NellieG
- Start date
I haven’t tried cema cables with imr. But I’ll get 22awg copper cable ($80) next week.
As for Xinhs, I like their mix cable, blue one for about $50. It is a bit more v-shaped than stock imr, but overall fine without any weird accents.
Also, thick SPC white 4 core cable is not bad. It’s a bit thin on lower base, with smooth, slightly laid back mids and slight accent on treble.
DrewVz
1000+ Head-Fier
Wow, lookie what showed up in the mail today! Was not expecting it so soon.
Yeah, I know, I'm weak and spineless. Time for me to scurry downstairs and plug these babies in!
Zeppmeister
500+ Head-Fier
DrewVz
1000+ Head-Fier
OOTB, not sure how I feel. Hmm, to say these are bassy would be an understatement. Very V-shaped signature with black/black filters. Blue/blue - same, but slightly less. Upper mids are quite recessed. Had to drop down to the purple lower and upper filters to tame the bass relative to the other frequencies and take the crispness of the treble down a notch. Treble is quite nice and crisp but not harsh. Drums have a nice snap to them. The piezo driver is certainly doing its job very well. It is absolutely the star of this show. Not sure I hear much effect from opening/closing the vents, maybe a slight reduction in bass, but I'm going to need to do some A/B after more burn-in.
All indications suggest that these need more hours for their signature to adjust, but there's nothing on the website for burn-in. I'm not stunned OOTB like I was with the ACE. The ACE was just at whole other level entirely. We'll see how the ZII develops over time.
All indications suggest that these need more hours for their signature to adjust, but there's nothing on the website for burn-in. I'm not stunned OOTB like I was with the ACE. The ACE was just at whole other level entirely. We'll see how the ZII develops over time.
PeacockObscura
Headphoneus Supremus
Well damn the Ace is so much fun. My musical taste may slightly differ from many on this group but the New Whisky Myers album "Tornillo" in no way an audiophile recording is just full force nail you to the wall guitars, horns and sweat. Fun with the Ace. The Zenith11 is patiently waiting in the wings.
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Lol, there are too much blue cables. I meant the blue 4 cores:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_u90UJR
also this one is really spectacular cable with a bit more upper registers than stock imr copper. But it’s extremely heavy and just pull our iems from my ears:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_vlvGxP
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PeacockObscura
Headphoneus Supremus
This sounds superb on the Ace the Album is brilliant live music captured perfectly
MARC COHN & THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA: WORK TO DO
DrewVz
1000+ Head-Fier
Lol, what DOESN'T sound superb on the Ace?
holsen
Headphoneus Supremus
I suspect you'll find they shift significantly in the first 50 hours, they could go horrible around the 75 hour mark and climb to greatness 100 to 300. That been the story historically with the larger IMR DDs. The bass should settle down, mids come forward..... I wish you luck and patience!
DrewVz
1000+ Head-Fier
No rush here. I'm prepared to give these all the opportunity in the world, just based on the performance of the Ace. I figure Bob must have some magic hidden in the ZII somewhere just waiting to reveal itself.
Still playing with filters, bumped up to the red/red for now just to give it a shot. I'm sure I won't end up with this combination when all is said and don. Sounds good for now, very heavily dependent on the music. Listening to Ajja - Guitar Therapy Sessions (Stream Six). Sooooo relaxing and full sounding. This may be the type of music where the ZII shines. Lots of sustain, huge soundstage, simple rhythms. It sounds very captivating already after only a few hours on these. This set might be a good complement to the Ace. Totally different, but possibly equally good. Only time will tell.
I can tell these are less analytical and more smooth than the Ace. Like I said, it might be a good pairing for different types of music.
Still playing with filters, bumped up to the red/red for now just to give it a shot. I'm sure I won't end up with this combination when all is said and don. Sounds good for now, very heavily dependent on the music. Listening to Ajja - Guitar Therapy Sessions (Stream Six). Sooooo relaxing and full sounding. This may be the type of music where the ZII shines. Lots of sustain, huge soundstage, simple rhythms. It sounds very captivating already after only a few hours on these. This set might be a good complement to the Ace. Totally different, but possibly equally good. Only time will tell.
I can tell these are less analytical and more smooth than the Ace. Like I said, it might be a good pairing for different types of music.
DrewVz
1000+ Head-Fier
Hmm, the red/red seems pretty good. Tried going down to the purple and they were horrible. Huuuge step down in bass, almost incorrectly so. The grey and blue are slightly higher, but the purple is almost nonexistent. Red is as low as I can go without the bass totally disappearing. Very odd.
Anyway, the ZII seems to present a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" vibe. More musical and less analytical. You don't get to hear the saliva on the singer's lips but you get to feel the emotion in her voice. There is more atmosphere and emotion in the ZII than there is perfect frequency response and accurate decay. It's a decent tradeoff if you want something to complement a more analytical earphone like the Ace.
They're growing on me. Will wait for further burn-in before making a full judgment.
Anyway, the ZII seems to present a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" vibe. More musical and less analytical. You don't get to hear the saliva on the singer's lips but you get to feel the emotion in her voice. There is more atmosphere and emotion in the ZII than there is perfect frequency response and accurate decay. It's a decent tradeoff if you want something to complement a more analytical earphone like the Ace.
They're growing on me. Will wait for further burn-in before making a full judgment.
dharmasteve
Headphoneus Supremus
The dharmasteve Awards
The Ace has won the IEM newcomer award for 2O22. The best value IEM award. Bob has won the best tuning award for the hybrid Ace
the ACE
The Ace has won the IEM newcomer award for 2O22. The best value IEM award. Bob has won the best tuning award for the hybrid Ace the ACEUsers who are viewing this thread
