Knowledge Zenith (KZ) impressions thread
May 28, 2015 at 6:18 AM Post #4,097 of 63,671
It was meant as an example! Lol
I meant that you can mod every iem and then compare but that's not how you could compare headphones.
A is crap but if you do this and that it has better bass than B but B has better highs until you mod and...and...

Endless mod story.
 
May 28, 2015 at 6:32 AM Post #4,098 of 63,671
It was meant as an example! Lol
I meant that you can mod every iem and then compare but that's not how you could compare headphones.
A is crap but if you do this and that it has better bass than B but B has better highs until you mod and...and...

Endless mod story.

I know what you mean but there's no harm to that story as long as the modder make it clear that he's comparing modded phones. I honestly can't understand your annoyance lol.
 
May 28, 2015 at 6:33 AM Post #4,099 of 63,671
That's where the fun is tho! And it's also easier on the wallet haha.. Well , relatively speaking anw. Really intrigued by the open ATE mod. :-D
 
May 28, 2015 at 6:59 AM Post #4,101 of 63,671
'Passive' modding (stuffing of materials, filters, etc) is always 'subtractive' method of sound modification. Basically it works in a way where you pull down specific freq bars on equalizer. This is a very good method for toning down certain frequencies which are being represented above ideal values. (correcting peaks, smoothing highs, etc). It's be not correct to say it 'enhances' the sound. This method is just taming some frequencies and shaping freq response of an IEM.
 
Some parameters are totally dependent on the diaphragm and other factors such as cavities and more. 
 
May 28, 2015 at 7:14 AM Post #4,102 of 63,671
What Eisen said :wink:
I don't find it annoying, just compare apples to apples
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If a modded ate is better than unmodded ed8, do mod ed8 then too.
But that's my vision.


If You think that ED8 would be modded definitely better than ate modded, then You don`t understand IEM characteristics like enclosure materials, shape, reflections, diaphragm and frequency response differences etc. 
When modded A is better than unmodded B (unmodded A is worse than unmodded B), doesn`t mean that just activity called modding (and there are different ways to mod) will make modded B definitely better sounding than modded A. There are so many different factors to be taken into account.
 
Btw, forgot to add before - with open-back/hole-mod ATE, highs seem more present/pronounced and overall clearer SQ. Bass seem also to be affected by those better highs in good way.
 
Not sure yet, been switching modded ED9 and ATE after every little listening but main difference between them seems to be soundstage and microdetail retrieval. While ED9 seems to be littlebit better in latter, then ATE seems to have littlebit more pushed foward soundstage (I mean whole soundstage and imaging) which sound more natural with some music. This is just fast observation and might change.
 
May 28, 2015 at 8:48 AM Post #4,104 of 63,671
  Probably Yes. Heh, lol, I will try it right away because drilling bench is 2m from me. Will report back soon :wink:
 
Edit: Mod news!
 
Drilled 7mm hole right above driver... it works! Go for it! You can even glue somekind of grill-fabric inside. Will do it also right away.
Reporting back with pics soon :wink:
 
Dammit! I left those golden cup-grills home. Should have measured diameter and put those "into" holes with little glue from inside!
That would also look awesome! I would call it GG (golden grill) mod or just grill-mod. But name it whatever You want guys... just recommending to do this hole-mod
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Coil, What is the diameter of the Driver? I would think the hole would need to be same size diameter maybe slightly larger. What do you think?
 
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TWIN
 
May 28, 2015 at 9:01 AM Post #4,105 of 63,671
8.5 - 8.75mm ...hard to tell exact measure, there is blue glue/epoxy around edge.
I Don`t think it needs to be exactly same or larger than driver, just enough to let driver "breathe".
Luckily I drilled 7mm, so I can still install those gold-grills behind driver to the housing :wink:
One thing I haven`t tried yet is closing the breathing hole near nozzle. I suspect it might result in tighter bass/kick.
 
May 28, 2015 at 9:09 AM Post #4,106 of 63,671
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Let me go into more depth on my impression of the ED9. Now that I have 20 Hrs. burn in, Placebo effect or not withstanding here is what I have found. While my Walkman I use for Burn in is recharging I have had an opportunity to roll tips and play around with the Nozzles. My First OOTB impression was A. I can Find better tips, B. I like the Gold Nozzle as it is quite a Bit more Lively and More Bass presentation. The Brass tip is very Good but rather Flat sounding. Well after some tip rolling I have found that A: I like Medium sized tips on these for insertion. The Larges sound Great but I have a feeling after a couple hours they will become uncomfortable. So I tried, Sony Hybrids, Sennheiser Tips, JVC Tips, MEELEC tips, Auvio Tips, and of course the Stock tips. Overall  #1 Auvio, #2 Sony, #3 stock red tips. Surprisingly to me, Figuring that VERY Wide bore tips, (Senn, JVC), would enhance the Brass nozzles, I found exactly the opposite. Using Audiophile Vernacular: It made them sound like S*IT.
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As Far as Gold Vs. Brass Nozzles after 20 Hours The Gold has Changed from a V Shape to a Type of a reverse L shape with the emphasis on the Treble end. Mids have moved slightly forward Bass has slightly receded and evened out. The Brass presentation almost sounds linear and More detailed. I would pick this one for Audiophile listening BUT overall I still prefer the More lively Gold as I run My player Line out / Flat EQ.  I count on my Earphones to add the additional Body/ Sparkle.
 
And there you have it at 20 Hours. Like all 'Phones I will give them +200 Hours with 50 Hour listening intervals to let my brain adjust to the Placebo effects.
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OH I forgot... My ATEs, just Like Jesus, have just left Chicago and are bound for Motor City. Should have them Sat. or latest Mon.
 
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TWIN
 
May 28, 2015 at 9:29 AM Post #4,108 of 63,671
Hi twin
How's ed9 with brass compared to your havis?

Comparable Linearity but the Havi's are FAR more detailed.  Similar soundstage widths, maybe giving the edge to the Havis. The ED9s will kill the Havi's Volume/ efficiency wise.
 
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TWIN
 
May 28, 2015 at 9:40 AM Post #4,110 of 63,671
Comparable Linearity but the Havi's are FAR more detailed.

Not so sure about that. I don`t have my HPro1 anymore but from the memory they are quite "same" when brass filters are being used. 
But yes, ED9 has much better vol/efficiency ratio.
 
Quote:
One thing I haven`t tried yet is closing the breathing hole near nozzle. I suspect it might result in tighter bass/kick.

Tried easy tape-test over breathing holes and seems to be like I predicted. Despite bass is thumpy, I`m not sure I like it more. Seems to raise bass quantity maybe too much.
 
And testing will go on...
 

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