IMR Audio : Sonic Adventures & Impressions

Future of IMR threads

  • Single thread for all models.

    Votes: 8 47.1%
  • Multiple threads for each model.

    Votes: 9 52.9%

  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .
Dec 16, 2020 at 6:17 AM Post #1,036 of 19,614
So, I got the Opus Mia, and tried several filters...but honestly, nothing satisfied me. Purple nozzle with Purple/Blue/Gold/Green filters - too much bass, too smooth mids and highs. Silver/Gold combination with closed back filter tamed down the bass much but still retained the punch somewhat, but the smoothness of the midrange was too much. Polished off to flat almost. Same with the highs - notes were ok, not unnatural, but too smooth again - almost getting lost sometimes.

Orb was my first relatively smoother sounding iem, and even that sounded crispier compared to Opus Mia. Mia also had an upper bass emphasis (gathered the term from theheadphonelist review) that created a veil over the sound, Orb sounded much more cleaner compared to it. Yeah Mia had a marginally better soundstage compared to Orb, but the other compromises were too much.

In Mia's defense, it only had about 70 hours of burn in, and truly everything was sounding quite muddy, as @ChrisPBacon pointed out. I would have given it time, had it not have the loose connectors issue. I tried 3 different cables: the stock cable, Penon orb spc cable, TRN 2 pin cable (0.78mm)...but each time the left earpiece got loose from the cable connectors after about 2-3 songs. Can't risk this. Had to send back. The seller was understanding, will get something else from him, probably Shozy Pola, let's see.
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 6:50 AM Post #1,037 of 19,614
Any recommendations for upper filter with the lowest treble for Semper? Currently I'm using lower purple and upper black. The treble seems to be abit too hot on the Sss and Zzz.. tried the red and green but doesn't seems to be able to get rid of them. Could this be the characteristics of the piezo drivers?
The gold will tame down that early-day piezo as @NellieG said. I am on the Red upper right now and they kill the sibilance without taking away the outstanding clarity of the mid-range.
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 8:25 AM Post #1,038 of 19,614
....... Mia also had an upper bass emphasis (gathered the term from theheadphonelist review) that created a veil over the sound, Orb sounded much more cleaner compared to it. ....

Interesting different perception.
For me the Opus Mia is definitely a bass amphazized iem, but without "a veil over the sound", because the emphasis is more on the deeper end rather than in the upper bass region*. That is for me the beauty of the Opus Mia, they sound very "big" but still very clear and totally not muddy.
But be aware, I do not have the comparison to the Orb or any other high end iem. I will be able to compare to the PB2 in the near future.

*emphasis of upper bass is for me the typical emphasis in bass of small loudspeakers which try to mimic a bass which they cannot reproduce, such speakers sound muddy or dull ("veil over the sound"?) to me.
 
Last edited:
Dec 16, 2020 at 8:30 AM Post #1,039 of 19,614
Dec 16, 2020 at 8:33 AM Post #1,040 of 19,614
Interesting different perception.
For me the Opus Mia is definitely a bass amphazized iem, but without "a veil over the sound", because the emphasis is more on the deeper end rather than in the upper bass region*. That is for me the beauty of the Opus Mia, they sound very "big" but still very clear and totally not muddy.
But be aware, I do not have the comparison to the Orb or any other high end iem. I will be able to compare to the PB2 in the near future.

*emphasis of upper bass is for me the typical emphasis in bass of small loudspeakers which try to mimic a bass which they cannot reproduce, such speakers sound muddy or dull ("veil over the sound"?) to me.
DOn't now, for me it sounded totally muddy, may be because of the burn in issue...but anyway the connector issue was the deal breaker.
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 8:34 AM Post #1,041 of 19,614
Dec 16, 2020 at 8:50 AM Post #1,042 of 19,614
using the nicehck darkjade which was less than US$100 during the 12/12 sales period

@Ace Bee Why don't you try this one?

nicehck darkjade_02.jpg
nicehck darkjade_02.jpg
 

Attachments

  • nicehck darkjade.jpg
    nicehck darkjade.jpg
    32.1 KB · Views: 0
Dec 16, 2020 at 8:52 AM Post #1,043 of 19,614
@Ace Bee Why don't you try this one?

I bought y/i-n/y-u pure copper cable, en route. But I don't trust the Opus Mia any more, tried 3 cables and every one of them got loose from left earpiece within minutes, once the left earpiece literally fell from my left ear, luckily I was sitting and it fell on my lap. It's a dud.
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 9:04 AM Post #1,044 of 19,614
Hello, I got my Semper 3 days ago and I want to share with you what I think about these earphones. I already burned them for about 30 hours, at first I thought it is less bass if compared to R2 Aten, but it was only the first 10 hours. Soundstage, it is much wider than in R2 Aten, I noticed it most at the transition back from Aten to Semper. I like bass much better in Semper, it is more fundamental and deep, but at the same time it is softer, not as sharp as in Aten, so you can hear D&B and such music at a high sound level without hurting your teeth. Semper is experienced as much more adult than Aten, there is less "IMR tuning" in this model than other models, but it is an advantage in my opinion. Disadvantages are that you can not enjoy poor quality music with it. Semper also requires top level DAC or DAP, there is an incredible difference between budget and top level DAC in combination with Semper. To give Semper the opportunity to show off, it requires high gain and quite high sound level, where it opens up in front of the owner, on cheap DAC / DAP you get background noise that will hinder your experience, anyway, Semper is absolutely fantastic IEM. when you get used to it, you will not be disappointed. Congratulations to everyone who had the opportunity to order these.
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 9:10 AM Post #1,045 of 19,614
I bought y/i-n/y-u pure copper cable, en route. But I don't trust the Opus Mia any more, tried 3 cables and every one of them got loose from left earpiece within minutes, once the left earpiece literally fell from my left ear, luckily I was sitting and it fell on my lap. It's a dud.

I use penon OSG and OM sounds like night and day instead stock cable
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 9:14 AM Post #1,046 of 19,614
I use penon OSG and OM sounds like night and day instead stock cable
You're not getting the point. There's a connector issue on the left capsule, the cable does not stay connected for long. That's the prime reason why I returned it. And anyway, for me a iem should not be so cable dependent that it changes night and day between right and wrong cable. I'm a bit choosy in this regard. I was lucky to get my first kilobuck iem that surely does not suffer from this cable dependability.
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 9:28 AM Post #1,047 of 19,614
(Pss
I use penon OSG and OM sounds like night and day instead stock cable
I will not say anything to this, I will not say anything to this, I will not say anything to this......
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 9:35 AM Post #1,048 of 19,614
(Pss

I will not say anything to this, I will not say anything to this, I will not say anything to this......
Please say it already...
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 10:40 AM Post #1,049 of 19,614
My Semper arrived today. Wow these iems are light weight to hold.

Starting default black on black. Amazing bass, but very simbilant in the treble. Like the 8kHz treble resonance simbilance expected of having a single driver dynamic iem.

I had to use Comply foam tips for a deeper fit to reduce the simbilance. Very unforgiving if you get a bad fit.
 
Last edited:
Dec 16, 2020 at 10:47 AM Post #1,050 of 19,614
Semper report: I went straight for pink-pink before I even put tips on, it is indeed Bob’s own recommendation, hidden away in the middle of the Semper shop page. I’m glad I did this, I want to thank you @NellieG and pass that hint forward. This way the first impression was good, and truer to the Semper’s nature I think.

By now IMR should move away from installing the black set by default, it was fine to make a strong impression on the R1 which were perfectly tuned for it, at this point though it’s an extreme, niche set-up and it doesn’t play to the new gear’s strengths. I still have the black filters on my R1, and the black lower on my first-gen Aten, so you know I don’t mind bass presence! But that overbearing load on the Halcyon was too rich for me; their capability to present a natural, accentuated midrange nonetheless is a testament to the quality of IMR’s drivers and tuning.

I was glad to see a few suggestions for filter and nozzle combinations in the manual, many more would make for a great and useful read. I actually settled on the so-called “reference” pink lower/red upper for now. I am not a reference person though. I’ll probably go for a bit stronger bass later on.

I completely forget I am testing, and end up playing each song to the end :yum:
Detail is crazy, I am hearing the volume of passing storms and the owls singing in my ear like I never did in 25 years on Type O Negative’s Black No.1 :owl::owl:
We’re in kilobuck territory indeed. And my source is not a detail monster, it’s Cayin’s new $500 tube DAP (out of the tube output, naturally). And foam tips. And I left the open ports on, which diffuse detail a little bit.

@Xinlisupreme you know I’d fix an unboxing for you with pleasure, but I don’t think you’ll gain anything by it, it’s the same great case as in recent IMR iems. I did enjoy the cutout for the new shape of earpieces, which lets you dislodge them much more easily. My wife remarked how neatly organized it looks, and she’s basically a French Marie Kondo.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

  • Back
    Top