[maricius]

M7s are neutral-warm while H40s are warm. They both having inoffensive treble, with M7s got more resolutions. Better drivers, I guess. Mid on M7 is for forwarded, so vocal feel more presented. If I put 0 for neutral note's weight, M7 vocal is about 2 and H40 about 0.5. H40's mid isn't recessed by any means. The vocal stays a bit further in the background, but note's weight is still pretty solid though. Again, H40's mid not as detailed as M7. Sony did good on the bass department of the M7. They got the attack and decay of a dynamic driver, though, bass still doesn't go as deep and impactful as a dynamic driver. On the other hand, H40's bass is hella good. All you can ask for from a dynamic drivers. You can just feel the physical impact from them. Bass's quality and quantity are better on the H40s. H40s got a wider soundstage, but not as deep the M7s. M7s's soundfield is kinda like a sphere, very holographic. Having better quality driver, M7s got better separation. Anyway, both the H40s and M7s are very balanced sounding IEMs, with M7s sound clearer than the H40s. However, instruments placement of H40s is pretty distant. Combining with the solid notes weight they have, Everything just sounds so big, not loud though, but big, grand sounding.


Also a quick comparison was done last night between the H40, M7, CE-5. T88k, A8, Angie 1, Shozy star 2 and ibasso IT03.
Please excuse my bad writing. I suck at it.

treble: ce-5 got a lot of sparkles in high, but everything is so controlled that it never sounds harsh, just pure exciting. A8 is quite airy with good resolution and separation as the cost of note's weight(note's is a bit thin for my liking). H40s hit the middle spot between being harsh or muffled. great for long listening session. not the most exciting treble though.
midrange: ier-m7, star ii and angie i have forward vocal; solid note weight, good timbre with some resolutions. A8 and ce-5 got really transparent midrange. although they're too thin for my taste. Also timbre on the ce-5 is quite unnatural. H40's vocal sits a bit behind in the background, it doesn't feel too in-your-face like the m7. having some weights on it. H40's vocal doesn't get drowned in the music. good timbre with decent resolution, it sounds natural.
bass: ce-5 got the best bass; bass goes deep with great textures and never out of controlled. H40 and IT03 got quite similar bass. impactful and punchy like how a dynamic driver should be. H40 got more bass quantity than IT03, same quality. they don't go as deep as the ce-5. m7 and t88k having such nice bass for BA. move more air than your typical, with decay of a DD. still, not as deep and punchy like a DD. A8 and star ii got bloated bass; they have some quantity but not thumpy like a DD.
soundstage: ce-5, H40, t88k, angie I and have wide soundstage, with ce-5, A8 and m7 having better depth. H40s don't fall too behind. It's just H40's notes are very solid, so you actually feel like surrounded by music. poops sound big(not loud), listening to epic soundtrack is very enjoyable. the same with T88k. They got speaker-like presentation.

Biggest weakness of the H40s probably is its resolution. But heck, I'm comparing them with IEMs at least triple the cost. I'm not gonna lie, but I enjoy using the H40s to listen thru the Youtube app on my G8/R5 more than I should. I'm shameless.

Biggest achievement? ISN was actually able to pull off such a mature tuning that is almost nonexistent in the sub $500 chifi market. V-shaped full BA, V-shaped single DD, everything is V-shaped. H40s sound very balanced while still remain being fun as s̶e̶x̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶c̶o̶u̶r̶s̶e̶ hell. Tansio Mirai also did very good with their TSMR-3 Pro/4-Pro, though they're more studio corrected sounding.

I'm desperately trying to get something under the $1000 price tag with CE-5 bass, treble, soundstage with M7's mid. Show me some mercy, the IEM God. Maybe someday I'll lay me hands on the Z1R though.

edit: updated to make it's more virgin-friendly

Have you by any chance listened to the Oriolus Reborn or Oriolus Mk II? It along the A&K T9iE have mids that I find better than the M7 with the former being better all around as well

 

[Janjohnnn]

Btw, I'm just going to update u guys about the bad I found with my H40.
2 things I found bad with my H40.
first, the cable did end up defective. Sound cutting off even with a slight turn of my head. (Got a new cable and now it's fixed)
Another thing is this weird air pressure or suction feeling of the left iem- also noticed slight sound imbalance (the bass to be specific). Although, I found a way to fix it, I don't have to put the left iem all the way in my ear canal and block all the air, I leave a slight space to get the air out. Right side, don't have that suction or air pressure feel.

For H50, I hope they take their time on it, no need to rush. I suggest taking time with driver placement, vent effectiveness, and quality control. Also hoping they won't raise the price too much lol.

 

[audio123]

Just got these in. First listen out of the box with DX220. Wow! I mean really WOW!

Ok so I let them burn in for about 20 hours and listened to them for 5 hours. First of all, I need to thank you guys for bringing these to my attention. I did not know the company and would've never found them otherwise. Crazy that they aren't more popular.

To give my impressions, I wanted to do some comparisons, go into the details of the sound signature, was ready to take notes etc. BUT I failed. I've chosen my favorite tracks and switched back and forth between the H40 and some headphones.
With the H40 though, I found myself constantly being carried away, simply enjoying the tracks instead of analysing the sound. I realized that my approach didn't make sense for me. These IEMs are more than the sum of it's parts. They are tuned just perfectly, giving a spacious, well defined, detailed but not in your face, warm sound. It's so pleasant to listen to them, so enjoyable. The people responsible for their sound tuning need a raise, seriously. Other manufacturers should take a look at the H40.

Also, the cable is great. I'm not that big of a fan of the design of the IEMs, but that's not important to me.

All in all, for that price especially, they are incredible.

Oh man, this H40.


I didn't know these songs could be so orgasmic lol. The bass impact, vocals, basically everything just sounds euphoric

Glad to see most enjoying the H40. When I first listened to the H40, I instantly knew this will be a crowd favourite

 

[audio123]

Btw, I'm just going to update u guys about the bad I found with my H40.
2 things I found bad with my H40.
first, the cable did end up defective. Sound cutting off even with a slight turn of my head. (Got a new cable and now it's fixed)
Another thing is this weird air pressure or suction feeling of the left iem- also noticed slight sound imbalance (the bass to be specific). Although, I found a way to fix it, I don't have to put the left iem all the way in my ear canal and block all the air, I leave a slight space to get the air out. Right side, don't have that suction or air pressure feel.

For H50, I hope they take their time on it, no need to rush. I suggest taking time with driver placement, vent effectiveness, and quality control. Also hoping they won't raise the price too much lol.

This might be due to you having different left and right ear shapes which is perfectly normal. I know some audiophiles use different tip sizes for L & R.

 

[Janjohnnn]

This might be due to you having different left and right ear shapes which is perfectly normal. I know some audiophiles use different tip sizes for L & R.

I have the retired H40 and that one has even worse air pressure feel but on the right side instead of the left side like the new H40.

Though, it isn't a problem for me now. It was annoying at first but now I got a hang of it and there's no more sound imbalance.

 

[audio123]

I have the retired H40 and that one has even worse air pressure feel but on the right side instead of the left side like the new H40.

Though, it isn't a problem for me now. It was annoying at first but now I got a hang of it and there's no more sound imbalance.

I can totally relate to you as for my case, it is my Beyerdynamic Xelento. Enjoy your H40. Cheers!

 

[ShinAyasaki]

Have you by any chance listened to the Oriolus Reborn or Oriolus Mk II? It along the A&K T9iE have mids that I find better than the M7 with the former being better all around as well

sorry I have not. Was thinking about getting a pair (reborn is just a repackaged mk2 anyway), but from what I've read, they have a very similar sound signature to my AAW W900s, so there are no reasons for me to try them out.

Regards.

 

[maricius]

sorry I have not. Was thinking about getting a pair (reborn is just a repackaged mk2 anyway), but from what I've read, they have a very similar sound signature to my AAW W900s, so there are no reasons for me to try them out.

Regards.

Interesting, I read the W900 is slightly on the brighter side with slightly recessed mids! My experience with the Reborn are a very warm sound with forward mids and stronger bass than the M7!

 

[ShinAyasaki]

Interesting, I read the W900 is slightly on the brighter side with slightly recessed mids! My experience with the Reborn are a very warm sound with forward mids and stronger bass than the M7!

There was a ton of problem with the w900s unit variation. Mine was retuned and channel matched by aaw in 2019. basically deep clean bass, full bodies mid. Treble is smooth and warm quite still having enough resolutions for highend IEMs. Actually I kinda wish the treble can be brighter, faster with even more sparkle. Overall, they sound slightly warm. I love the he-500, t1 gen2, m7 because of their warm musicality sound with great mid. Sold the moondrop A8 and about to sell my CE-5 because their mid is kinda thin for my taste. I absolutely adore the W900s, so you can probably tell that their mid isn't recessed at all.

 

[ShinAyasaki]

Funny enough, I bought my W900s from a guy, that later I convinced him to buy the ISN H40. And we both agreed that the H40 sound like a mini W900.

 

[ChefNimmo]

So thankyou everyone for the amazing description of these phones. I’m pretty certain that the H40 will be my next iem’s but just have to ask if anyone has driven these with the BT20s? I’ve asked about the i3 and Bluetooth in the Tri thread, but it looks like the planer needs too much juice and really needs wires to drive it’s sound. Hoping the H40 still sound good wireless, as I’ve explained in other threads, I use my iem essentially as ear plugs while using power tools, chainsawing, etc... unless I go back to a desk Job again it’s too dangerous to have those wires dangling around.

 

[PTDennis]

So thankyou everyone for the amazing description of these phones. I’m pretty certain that the H40 will be my next iem’s but just have to ask if anyone has driven these with the BT20s? I’ve asked about the i3 and Bluetooth in the Tri thread, but it looks like the planer needs too much juice and really needs wires to drive it’s sound. Hoping the H40 still sound good wireless, as I’ve explained in other threads, I use my iem essentially as ear plugs while using power tools, chainsawing, etc... unless I go back to a desk Job again it’s too dangerous to have those wires dangling around.

I am using the H40 with the Fiio BTR5 over BT and it works flawless.

 

[archy121]

With so much love going around for H40 looks like no chance of picking up a used discounted one too soon

 

[signosM]

Bliss.. any records of different genre i throw on h40's sounds just great. best all rounder

i can't wait for for E1DA 9038s to arrive to be paired with this

 

[audio123]

Bliss.. any records of different genre i throw on h40's sounds just great. best all rounder

i can't wait for for E1DA 9038s to arrive to be paired with this

It scales tremendously even with high end cables and DAPs. The H40 is just a special IEM.