[Lamim Rashid]

Can anyone pitch in on the kxxs vs believe? Looking to upgrade from my pennon orb, starfields and isn h40. Between the three I like my starfields and h40 most. Orb is too warm for my taste. Starfields are tuned better to my taste. The h40 are superior to the starfields in most other areas so I like the h40 just slightly more. Makes me think the kxxs is my most logical upgrade choice but been hearing a lot of good thing about the believe.

@Dsnuts @ChrisOc

Edit: did some tip rolling on the penon orb, I like them a lot more now. Never bothered the try foams on these the first time cause I thought they were too warm.. decided to revisit them but with foams and they sound much better to me now. My only issue is that vocals sound a bit recessed on some songs compared to the isn h40.

Orbs are the best all around but I don't like the tuning that much. I want to like these a lot but the vocals sound recessed at normal listening volumes on some songs and turning it up to a point where it sounds good hurts my ears. Easily the most comfortable of the iems I own, they're very light too. Having a good dac and source helps a lot. I don't think anything beats this for instrumentals and bass. For some reason it feels like something in the upper range is missing, and turning it up does help but then it gets too sibilant and sharp for me. I think this could have been fixed with better tuning.

Isn h40 is a good all-rounder. Orbs are warmer and a little more flat sounding. The h40 have a more dynamic sound and a better sound stage. Comfortable shape but a little large and heavy. These sound good at normal listening volume, turning it up past that hurts my ears as well. Does a lot good and not too much bad but I don't think it's super exceptional in any particular way. My only con would be that it does have a little BA timbre but it's not as bad as most other multi ba iems I've tried.

The starfields imo have the best tuning of everything I've tried. The bass isn't anywhere near as good as the penon orb, and they aren't as dynamic sounding as the h40 but the tuning on these are great. I can comfortably turn these up a little without hurting my ears too.

Personal preference: isn h40 > starfield > penon orbs

 

[Pascal3366]

I don't know if you're still here, or own these already, but I'd totally rec the H40's! They are a very substantial upgrade over the Tapes. I valued the Tapes for their Lysol clean, fast and detailed bass, they were also very good with micro detailing. Which were a godsend from my old cheap iems which were boomy and muddy. The two problems were that the treble was a bit fatiguing, but I got use to it in time, and the build quality. Whilst sturdy on the outside, its somehow brittle on the inside which lead to some issues. I inevitably had to replace them.

The H40's have a simular, if not better Bass which is well controlled and will go beserk when the track demands it. It carries more details and resolution for classical and jazz tracks. Subbass is amazingly deep for edm and its many subgenres

Mid-bass is it's own entity and does not bleed into the midrange, it will also bring out hidden instruments or parts in songs since it is its own thing which I found eye opening on tracks i've revisited.

The H40's have a balanced sound signature with slightly raised lows and highs almost dynamic-like, a slight U shape if you must, surprisingly unlike the dynamic signature in the Tapes that prioritized lows and highs over mids, like almost every other dd iem

The H40's sport a swole, meaty and full midrange which was pretty much a skeleton frame with the Tapes. This brought out a more life-like airiness in the midrange with male/female voices having better detailing, and instruments with better imaging, and a side of just right timbre. They beat congested tracks to their knees and own them in detailing and make sure nothing is left behind or lost. You can really feel the artist's emotions with the H40's which is more immersive compared to the Tapes.

The mid-highs sound pristine and airy, also very good for rock genres to dig out the aggressiveness in guitars and vocals.

With that immersiveness comes the soundstage which is really wide and deep, almost holographic compared to the Tapes which had an "oval-like" stage, even had to take these off to make sure nothing was behind me.

The highs of the H40's are less fatiguing than the Tapes, somehow more detailed and less sibilant, with barely any hisses on raps. Very responsive to violins and orchestral tracks. Like the mid-range, this is its own thing and the highs are not afraid to separate to give you a better, bigger picture.

The isolation is really cool too! Even with the filter holes for the bass I barely heard my sister speaking to me, or the vacuum cleaner, I'd get scared real good too.

The accessories are very nice too, though I would not trust the carry case, it seems flimsy on the inside. If you have the Tapes carry shell, it'll work wonders! There are a wide variety of tips that minutely alter the signature, and some nice comply tips! The resin shell of the H40's don't have L/R symbols, though certainly not a downfall since the shells feel more secure and well-made, they are not hollow on the inside that's for sure! The cable is high end in my opinion, ISN fitted the H40's with a very good cable to support and enhance its sound quality, but don't let that deter you from getting other cables really!

All in all these are a go at this price range. I have no regrets switching from my L Tape (the R one died) if your still fixed on the Tapes i rec that you should wait for their rumored 2.0's if they come to light. But for a quick fix you should direct your eyes to these. Good luck!

What tips did you use for the H40?

Your impressions line up with a lot of reviews I read.

For me the H40 sound muffled with a strong V shape signature. Bass is heavy and full but the midrange is completely lost. Resolution and detail retrieval could really be better.

They don't sound airy for me neither do they seem to have a good sound stage.

I tested them on the Ifi Zen dac with the green and red tips as well as the foam ones. The foams sounded best after all.

Am I missing something ?

Do I need a different dac or other tips ?

 

[iron2k]

Has anyone compared H40 to 7HZ i99 or TRI Starlight 4 ???

 

[Ferrosa]

What tips did you use for the H40?

Your impressions line up with a lot of reviews I read.

For me the H40 sound muffled with a strong V shape signature. Bass is heavy and full but the midrange is completely lost. Resolution and detail retrieval could really be better.

They don't sound airy for me neither do they seem to have a good sound stage.

I tested them on the Ifi Zen dac with the green and red tips as well as the foam ones. The foams sounded best after all.

Am I missing something ?

Do I need a different dac or other tips ?

Zen dac is too warm for H40. Try another dac.

 

[Pascal3366]

Zen dac is too warm for H40. Try another dac.

I need a portable dac for them anyway.

I am searching for a usb c dongle dac with mqa support and 4.4mm balanced output that would be a good choice to pair with the H40.

 

[ChrisOc]

Has anyone compared H40 to 7HZ i99 or TRI Starlight 4 ???

I have both the H40 and TRI Starlights original, I am not sure how they differ from version 4, but I adore my set.

As has been mentioned many times, the ISN H40 are very good IEMs and in fact they are well above most IEMs in the price range BUT they are very different from the Starlights.

Quite frankly, it is an unfair comparison to make because, much though I like the H40, there is no point at which the H40 exceed the Starlights in performance, except the H40 has better fit.

It is not a question of the Starlights being more expensive, I do not believe more expensive IEMs are necessarily better than every lower priced set of IEMs, that is just a mindset.

The Sonion electrostatic drivers on the Starlights are exceptional in their rendition of treble and so the other drivers....but it does not end there, as the tuning is fantastic. I do not think the H40 is helped by the bias in favour of the mid-bass at the expense of the sub-bass but that may be a personal preference.

Sorry, I like the H40 but comparison with the Starlights is a bridge too far.

 

[H T T]

Can anyone pitch in on the kxxs vs believe? Looking to upgrade from my pennon orb, starfields and isn h40. Between the three I like my starfields and h40 most. Orb is too warm for my taste. Starfields are tuned better to my taste. The h40 are superior to the starfields in most other areas so I like the h40 just slightly more. Makes me think the kxxs is my most logical upgrade choice but been hearing a lot of good thing about the believe.

@Dsnuts @ChrisOc

Edit: did some tip rolling on the penon orb, I like them a lot more now. Never bothered the try foams on these the first time cause I thought they were too warm.. decided to revisit them but with foams and they sound much better to me now. My only issue is that vocals sound a bit recessed on some songs compared to the isn h40.

Orbs are the best all around but I don't like the tuning that much. I want to like these a lot but the vocals sound recessed at normal listening volumes on some songs and turning it up to a point where it sounds good hurts my ears. Easily the most comfortable of the iems I own, they're very light too. Having a good dac and source helps a lot. I don't think anything beats this for instrumentals and bass. For some reason it feels like something in the upper range is missing, and turning it up does help but then it gets too sibilant and sharp for me. I think this could have been fixed with better tuning.

Isn h40 is a good all-rounder. Orbs are warmer and a little more flat sounding. The h40 have a more dynamic sound and a better sound stage. Comfortable shape but a little large and heavy. These sound good at normal listening volume, turning it up past that hurts my ears as well. Does a lot good and not too much bad but I don't think it's super exceptional in any particular way. My only con would be that it does have a little BA timbre but it's not as bad as most other multi ba iems I've tried.

The starfields imo have the best tuning of everything I've tried. The bass isn't anywhere near as good as the penon orb, and they aren't as dynamic sounding as the h40 but the tuning on these are great. I can comfortably turn these up a little without hurting my ears too.

Personal preference: isn h40 > starfield > penon orbs

Not directly answering your query but I have a Penon Globe in transit. I can give a comparison vs. the Starfield after the Globe has, if needed/possible, burned in and I am past “new toy syndrome” with the Globe. The Globe is reputed to be superior to the Orb.

 

[luizffgarcia]

What tips did you use for the H40?

Your impressions line up with a lot of reviews I read.

For me the H40 sound muffled with a strong V shape signature. Bass is heavy and full but the midrange is completely lost. Resolution and detail retrieval could really be better.

They don't sound airy for me neither do they seem to have a good sound stage.

I tested them on the Ifi Zen dac with the green and red tips as well as the foam ones. The foams sounded best after all.

Am I missing something ?

Do I need a different dac or other tips ?

Have you tried the "grill mod"? It is reversible and it may help you.

 

[Pascal3366]

Have you tried the "grill mod"? It is reversible and it may help you.

No I have not yet heard of that particular mod

 

[Pascal3366]

I need a portable dac for them anyway.

I am searching for a usb c dongle dac with mqa support and 4.4mm balanced output that would be a good choice to pair with the H40.

Has someone a dac suggestion for me that would fit my needs?

I only know the lotoo paw s1. That one has mqa support and is a nice dongle dac with 4.4mm balanced output. But it's most probably also too warm.

 

[luizffgarcia]

So after spending a few hours listening to the H40 my conclusion is that it is not what i am looking for, unfortunately...

Maybe you guys can help me figure out which IEM should i try next, what i am looking for is an equivalent to the Ikko OH10, that is why i got the H40 but no luck.
The Ikko soundstage is MUCH deeper than the H40 and the bass on the Ikko is a lot faster and tighter (more controlled), while at the same time being able to puch as hard as the H40 (with some EQ).

I currently have a Fiio FH3 as my daily driver, i kept it and returned the Ikko just because i just could not wear the Ikko for over 1 hour, it really hurts my ears. It is a shame because it has the exact sound i want. It seems i can make any IEM comfortable in my ears but the Ikko

So, do you guys have any suggestions for an IEM under $300 that would replace the Ikko OH10? It would be something like a H40 with deeper soundstage and more controlled bass.
I have my eye on the Penon Orb but i am not sure if it is exactly what i am looking for.

One important detail is that i always EQ my IEMs and headphones so even if the bass quantity is less than the FH3 or the OH10 i can still get the bass i want with a bit of EQ, as long as the IEM is capable of texture, speed and control.

Cheers

 

[rustyvinyl]

Has someone a dac suggestion for me that would fit my needs?

I only know the lotoo paw s1. That one has mqa support and is a nice dongle dac with 4.4mm balanced output. But it's most probably also too warm.

Hilidac beam 2s

 

[Pascal3366]

Hilidac beam 2s

I'll look it up


Thanks.

Edit: i just looked it up. That tiny dac seems to good to be be true and that for 80€ wow.

 

[Pascal3366]

Ok I'm listening to the H40 on my Zen dac again right now.

Something changed ... I think i inserted the tips deeper into my ears this time.

It sounds a lot sharper now.

Sadly I can also hear sibilants now which is a bit bothering to me.

 

[Lamim Rashid]

Not directly answering your query but I have a Penon Globe in transit. I can give a comparison vs. the Starfield after the Globe has, if needed/possible, burned in and I am past “new toy syndrome” with the Globe. The Globe is reputed to be superior to the Orb.

Let me know how they sound, the starfields are some of my favorites. I like them almost as much as my isn H40 and penon orb.

I have the kbear believe on the way from amazon, they arrive in a week. Im going to finally have iems to make a comparison shoot out at this rate.

I was comparing my isn40 to my more expensive hyperx orbit/audeze mobius in hifi mode, my hifiman he-35x and my sennheiser pcx-550 ii earlier today and I thought it was gonna be an unfair comparison cause my preference goes speakers > full size headphones > iems, but the isn h40 blows the three out of the water, and isnt even close. I would even take the starfields over those three any day even though its way cheaper. It's crazy to me how far chi-fi iems have come. Speakers are still my favorite though, I love my monitoraudio radius 45, which sound amazing paired with any decent sub.