ISN Earphones impression thread. New ISN NEO 3!
Jun 22, 2021 at 11:05 AM Post #2,446 of 5,003
I am so glad I waited and didn´t go for the Penon Globe as a solid upgrade to the H40!!!
Just by the initial impressions, looks like the EST50 is the way to go!!! And honestly, I am loving my H40 even more so than the UM 3DT.
@Dsnuts, are you using the stock tips with the EST50?
thank you for your initial impressions, awesome!!!
 
Jun 22, 2021 at 11:19 AM Post #2,447 of 5,003
They come with them green tips that was posted. Sounds great using them tips.

1624375033609.png


I will do a more closer comparison to the Globes after some burn in but ya the EST50 is the official upgrade on the H40.

And I was wrong about the shells being exact. I will post a pic later but the shell shape is the same but less bulkier than the H40.
 
Jun 22, 2021 at 12:23 PM Post #2,448 of 5,003
Just stick with wide bores. It will give you bigger soundstage.
Spiral dots, whirlwinds/tornadoes, azla earfit lights. All wide bores with different flavours.
E-pro Horn shapes are one of my faves for soundstage and shiny top end. But you will loose some warmth.

While im no fan of MMCX, i think in this case its more of a QC issue. I am actually forced to use a cable from my wife's £50 set and it solves cutting out issue. I have also owned CA Atlas long ago for few weeks, and i did not have cutting out issue. Whereas ISN was doing it since week one.
And its not just that, the cable is a letdown in general. All the terminations are falling apart And i only use H40 1h per week. So the cable has barely over 100hrs of wear since i own it.
Though i am quite happy with iems themselves and have no QC issues with them.
Got a custom 8-core single crystal copper cable in black TPE from Xinhs on Aliexpress and couldn't be happier, fixed the cutting out completely!
Can highly recommend the Azla SednaEarFit Regular/Light, Acoustune AET07, and SpinFit CP145. All three provide excellent clarity. The SpinFit will tame the bass the most. The Azla's will shift the focus to the bass and treble, and push the mids back somewhat. AET07's have the best mids, and are my choice for mesh modded sets. Generally speaking, Final E tips will boost the bass and darken the overall sound, and Spiral Dots will reduce both mid-bass and treble presence.

Also, due thanks to @Dsnuts for bringing attention to the H40, and @DynamicEars for the mesh mod tip. I've probably gone through over a dozen IEMs in the past year - the Sony IER-M9, Fearless S8F, AK T8iE MKII, and ThieAudio Clairvoyance amongst them - and the H40 have the best tuning by far, and excellent technicalities with the mesh mod.

They were pretty boomy out of the box even with the mod, but settled in very quickly over a couple of days.

The H40 don't get enough attention, IMO.
Earfit Lights just arrived in the mail and I'm a fan, AET07 and Final E are still on the way along with some replacement filters for the mesh mod - thank you both :thumbsup:
 
Jun 22, 2021 at 12:47 PM Post #2,449 of 5,003
They come with them green tips that was posted. Sounds great using them tips.

1624375033609.png

I will do a more closer comparison to the Globes after some burn in but ya the EST50 is the official upgrade on the H40.

And I was wrong about the shells being exact. I will post a pic later but the shell shape is the same but less bulkier than the H40.
Looking forward to hear your impressions on the EST50 vs Globe!
 
Jun 22, 2021 at 3:43 PM Post #2,451 of 5,003
Model: EST50

Driver: liquid silicone diaphragm dynamic

Sonion 2356 balanced armature

Knowles 30095 balanced armature

2 Sonion Electrostatic driver

So I knew about the BA drivers and the EST drivers being used on the EST50 but I had no idea ISN was gonna use a brand new style of dynamic driver. I do believe this is the firsts time I have ever heard a liquid silicone diaphragm dynamic. Which is a mouth full.

I am gonna say for perspective buyers. You have to be a fan of bass presence on the EST50 much like how bass is present on the H40. Bass tonality is different on the EST50, I don't know if the idea of the EST50 driver implimentation was more to mimic speakers but the bass end of the EST50 reminds me more of floor speakers in now they perform. Bass end being basically rubber in material has a much slower decay so sub bass notes linger much like how a vented sub woofer does. Bass has a differnt level of texture than just about any other earphone I have heard. I can see some cause of contention here for the bass end on these but I for one am happy ISN is trying out a new driver. Something entirely new. This type of bass has to be heard to understand but I am just trying to wrap my heap around it and there is no other way to describe what I am hearing. The sound presenation is decidedly speaker like.

If you have an affinity for some bold bass these have it but it also has very good balancing to go along with that bold bass. Bass end sounds bit beefy and one note out of the box. My sample has been burning in since last night and bass is starting to take shape. Rumble of these woofers are addictive but I highly recommend some run in before any serious listening.
 
Jun 22, 2021 at 3:57 PM Post #2,452 of 5,003
It’s a great land/variations competitor but looks quite different from Land that I really love.
Moondrop variations would be similar to land or something in the middle with EST50/Land?
 
Jun 22, 2021 at 3:58 PM Post #2,453 of 5,003
So I knew about the BA drivers and the EST drivers being used on the EST50 but I had no idea ISN was gonna use a brand new style of dynamic driver. I do believe this is the firsts time I have ever heard a liquid silicone diaphragm dynamic. Which is a mouth full.
So actually the SeeAudio Yume uses the same type of dynamic.
 
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Jun 22, 2021 at 5:31 PM Post #2,454 of 5,003
Jun 22, 2021 at 6:07 PM Post #2,455 of 5,003
Jun 22, 2021 at 6:16 PM Post #2,456 of 5,003
Jun 22, 2021 at 11:07 PM Post #2,457 of 5,003
I forgot to set the plug options for ISN EST50. I will send an email to the customer who purchased it to confirm. I am very sorry for the inconvenience.
:)
 
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Jun 22, 2021 at 11:31 PM Post #2,458 of 5,003
I am gonna burn in the EST50 to get the best out of em and then I will be able to do some comparisons

I forgot to set the plug options for ISN EST50. I will send an email to the customer who purchased it to confirm. I am very sorry for the inconvenience.
:)
Hi @Penon
I sent out an email. Could you please check it out?
Thanks
 
Jun 22, 2021 at 11:32 PM Post #2,459 of 5,003
DSC08224.JPG
From left to right. Orbs, Globes,EST50, H40
I call this the musical crew!

As you can see the shells of the EST50 has a similar shape to the H40 but is not as bulky.

2nd day of run in and listening. The included cable is the ISN staple the ISN S8 which is a standard silver plated copper cable. Is most definitely better than most throw in cables but would have been nice if they came with something like this.
DSC08226.JPG

ISN AG8 balanced out to my Ibasso PB3 amp. Sounds fantabulous. Now we are talking. Full potential of the EST50s are realized with this particular cable. ISN AG8 is one of the thickest pure silver cables in existence. Due to the warmer tuning of the EST50s I am all about pure silver on the EST50.

Inclusion of the AG8 gives a wider sense of stage with enhancement to technicalities in general, imaging, sound separation and details just pop. Treble has better articulation. Gives a cleaner sound with an immersion factor which is cranked up several notices with this cable. Bass sound amazing with this cable as it tightens the bass end yet the core tuning and sound balancing remains. I have always loved this cable and this is a case where ISN made this cable over a year ago just to wait for the EST50s to arrive. The synergy with this cable and the EST50 is a perfect match.
 
Jun 22, 2021 at 11:51 PM Post #2,460 of 5,003
DSC08224.JPG
From left to right. Orbs, Globes,EST50, H40
I call this the musical crew!

As you can see the shells of the EST50 has a similar shape to the H40 but is not as bulky.

2nd day of run in and listening. The included cable is the ISN staple the ISN S8 which is a standard silver plated copper cable. Is most definitely better than most throw in cables but would have been nice if they came with something like this.
DSC08226.JPG

ISN AG8 balanced out to my Ibasso PB3 amp. Sounds fantabulous. Now we are talking. Full potential of the EST50s are realized with this particular cable. ISN AG8 is one of the thickest pure silver cables in existence. Due to the warmer tuning of the EST50s I am all about pure silver on the EST50.

Inclusion of the AG8 gives a wider sense of stage with enhancement to technicalities in general, imaging, sound separation and details just pop. Treble has better articulation. Gives a cleaner sound with an immersion factor which is cranked up several notices with this cable. Bass sound amazing with this cable as it tightens the bass end yet the core tuning and sound balancing remains. I have always loved this cable and this is a case where ISN made this cable over a year ago just to wait for the EST50s to arrive. The synergy with this cable and the EST50 is a perfect match.
Even the color matches! I can imagine the synergy with this combo!
 

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