[MacAttack7]

Yea, that's basically a wrap up of AST vs Variations,

AST: 12BA
Resolution: A
Layering: A+
Sound Stage: B+
Tuning: B
Positioning: C+
Focusing: B
Fun: A+
Drivability: D
Price to Value: S
Overall: A-
Note: proper gain/impedance output required, with a general source such as PC / iPad, it has overwhelming bass and undefined imaging.

Variations: 2EST+2BA+1DD
Resolution: S
Layering: A-
Sound Stage: B+
Tuning: S+
Positioning: A+
Focusing: S-
Fun: S
Drivability: A
Price to Value: A
Overall: S-

Anole VX: 10BA
Resolution: S+
Layering: S+
Sound Stage: A
Tuning: S+
Positioning: S
Focusing: S+
Fun: S
Drivability: A+
Price to Value: F
Overall: S+

Why do you say AST is hard to drive?
I use mine with an iPod Touch using almost the lowest volume setting.
Wouldn't that mean it's easy to drive?

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Why do you say AST is hard to drive?
I use mine with an iPod Touch using almost the lowest volume setting.
Wouldn't that mean it's easy to drive?

with iPad, the detail retrieving of post-burn in AST is very limited. The drivability here means the scalability of sound quality depending on the playing source. Some IEM sounds exactly the same from any source, of which AST has different expressions depending on the playing source.

 

[MacAttack7]

with iPad, the detail retrieving of post-burn in AST is very limited. The drivability here means the scalability of sound quality depending on the playing source. Some IEM sounds exactly the same from any source, of which AST has different expressions depending on the playing source.

I guess I'll never know, since all I have is an iPod Touch.
Maybe someday I'll buy some more advanced equipment.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

I guess I'll never know, since all I have is an iPod Touch.
Maybe someday I'll buy some more advanced equipment.

It's always good to have a new playing ground

FiiO BTR5 / Qudelix 5K (It's around $100USD) may be an option as a Bluetooth amp. Qudelix 5K has a very nice app with detailed EQ options, meanwhile, FiiO BTR5 has a very powerful balanced output which it can even run most full-size headphones.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Oh, don't get me wrong. Certainly I listen to music on youtube a lot, too. The streams at higher resolutions (1080p or 4k) tend to be just fine for casual listening. Especially for live music, we're getting quality hits on the recording setup more than we are from the stream at that point. But with youtube, there are a lot of other factors to consider with how the video was transferred / encoded, if there were any conversions or filtering put on it etc. the stream itself is the last link in a long chain of production. Without going down the rabbit hole of code container formats and the wild number of choices that are watered down to "bad / prolly alright" in uploader software, there's a lot that can go wrong before we get a chance to play it.

My point was that if you want to compare two sets of headphones at your disposal, use the highest quality non-youtube source you can with a quality recording of acoustic instruments, avoid pop or heavily computer-produced music. The differences in timbre, tone, detail etc.. are all a bit easier to pick out from natural instruments than something that's been heavily engineered for sony / panasonic / apple earbuds.

cheers

Good point of pop music engineering! Yes, nowadays not only studio mixing and mastering engineers but even musicians started to pay attention to the outputs of their songs. Artists paying extra attention to how their music would sound from vast majorities apple/sony / bose outlets and composing the pop songs based on that final outlet sound.

I'd like to add one more, from someone with 15yrs+ reviewing headphones/earphones experience:
-Try various formats (youtube, FLAC, DSD)
-Try various genres: Pops, Rock/Metal, various electronica(Dub, bass-heavy EDM, synthesizer-focused trance, wide-spectrum D&B), Jazz, Various Classical (from simple piano trio to full orchestral, full choras) old recording to the new recording. )
-Try various playing sources (daily use PC, iPod, walkman, android phones, Bluetooth amp, and DAPs)
-Try compare with various benchmarks, absolute judgement is very hard unless someone is gifted, compare with various other headphones. earphones.
-Have your reference equipment to "zero-in", so that you will notice the sound is either "warm/cold", "sharp/soft", "colored/neutral".
For FR balance my IEM reference of the absolute flat is Final Audio E500, and uncolored tuning is Softears RSV (except bass elevation)

 

[boredbuyingstuff]

Yea, that's basically a wrap up of AST vs Variations,

AST: 12BA
Resolution: A
Layering: A+
Sound Stage: B+
Tuning: B
Positioning: C+
Focusing: B
Fun: A+
Drivability: D
Price to Value: S
Overall: A-
Note: proper gain/impedance output required, with a general source such as PC / iPad, it has overwhelming bass and undefined imaging.

Variations: 2EST+2BA+1DD
Resolution: S
Layering: A-
Sound Stage: B+
Tuning: S+
Positioning: A+
Focusing: S-
Fun: S
Drivability: A
Price to Value: A
Overall: S-

Anole VX: 10BA
Resolution: S+
Layering: S+
Sound Stage: A
Tuning: S+
Positioning: S
Focusing: S+
Fun: S
Drivability: A+
Price to Value: F
Overall: S+

What would you say about AST vs Tea and AST vs Aria?

 

[AmericanSpirit]

What would you say about AST vs Tea and AST vs Aria?

If using same format:

Mangird Tea: 6BA+1DD
Resolution: A+
Layering: A+ (S+ for mid-range layering, best of all)
Sound Stage: C+
Tuning: A+
Positioning: B-
Focusing: A-
Fun: A+
Drivability: B
Price to Value: A-
Overall: A
Note: proper gain/impedance output required, has very intense mid-range layering and resolution, vocal harmonics will shine. Recabling highly recommended (stock cable narrows down sound stage to D-, resolution to C)


Aria 2021: 1DD
Resolution: B+
Layering: C+
Sound Stage: A
Tuning: A+
Positioning: B
Focusing: A
Fun: S
Drivability: A+
Price to Value: S
Overall: A-
Note: removing stock iron hex dumper filter is highly recommended, recabling recommended too.

 

[boredbuyingstuff]

If using same format:

Mangird Tea: 6BA+1DD
Resolution: A+
Layering: A+ (S+ for mid-range layering, best of all)
Sound Stage: C+
Tuning: A+
Positioning: B-
Focusing: A-
Fun: A+
Drivability: B
Price to Value: A-
Overall: A
Note: proper gain/impedance output required, has very intense mid-range layering and resolution, vocal harmonics will shine. Recabling highly recommended (stock cable narrows down sound stage to D-, resolution to C)


Aria 2021: 1DD
Resolution: B+
Layering: C+
Sound Stage: A
Tuning: A+
Positioning: B
Focusing: A
Fun: S
Drivability: A+
Price to Value: S
Overall: A-
Note: removing stock iron hex dumper filter is highly recommended, recabling recommended too.

In your opinion, is the Moondrop Dusk a worth upgrade to someone that has an AST or only a jump to the Variations makes sense?

 

[AmericanSpirit]

In your opinion, is the Moondrop Dusk a worth upgrade to someone that has an AST or only a jump to the Variations makes sense?

There will be a marginal upgrades on technicalities and tuning, if you put weight on layering it Dusk is 4BA+1DD after all. It’s compact and well-balanced IEM. You will experience true-upgrade feeling with Variations.

 

[IEMbiker]

Some fast bass and cymbal to check your gear. Positioning of each cymbal and bass speed.

 

[boredbuyingstuff]

There will be a marginal upgrades on technicalities and tuning, if you put weight on layering it Dusk is 4BA+1DD after all. It’s compact and well-balanced IEM. You will experience true-upgrade feeling with Variations.

AST is my second IEM and it's the perfect size for my ears. It is as if it was custom made and has a perfect fit. I don't want to collect multiple IEMs and I plan to either stay a while enjoying the AST or make an upgrade that is "a huge leap", definitely not a marginal improvement.

So, I have a list of desired IEMs that I consider for an upgrade including the Variations, Thieaudio Voyager V14 or one of its other tribrids. As you can see, something up to 1k.

 

[voicemaster]

AST is my second IEM and it's the perfect size for my ears. It is as if it was custom made and has a perfect fit. I don't want to collect multiple IEMs and I plan to either stay a while enjoying the AST or make an upgrade that is "a huge leap", definitely not a marginal improvement.

So, I have a list of desired IEMs that I consider for an upgrade including the Variations, Thieaudio Voyager V14 or one of its other tribrids. As you can see, something up to 1k.

I took a gamble with the Variations when it is just being released so not too many reviews yet. Luckily, the improvement is quite a huge leap imho. Also, more drivers don't necessarily better sounding, I've learnt my lesson from JH Audio Roxanne V.1. That thing cost me $1500 and lets just say I hate it. I like 64Audio back then because they make universal IEM with 4+ drivers for less than $1000, but now they are like luxury brand.

 

[boredbuyingstuff]

I took a gamble with the Variations when it is just being released so not too many reviews yet. Luckily, the improvement is quite a huge leap imho. Also, more drivers don't necessarily better sounding, I've learnt my lesson from JH Audio Roxanne V.1. That thing cost me $1500 and lets just say I hate it. I like 64Audio back then because they make universal IEM with 4+ drivers for less than $1000, but now they are like luxury brand.

What you suggest me to put on my list considering I would like a huge leap from the KZ AST but really enjoy its sound signature?

 

[voicemaster]

What you suggest me to put on my list considering I would like a huge leap from the KZ AST but really enjoy its sound signature?

The only one I know is the Variations. Moondrop also tuning their IEMs to harman target which KZ also trying to do, so they will be pretty similar frequency curve. I have the Aria and it can stand against CCA CKX even with just a single DD.

 

[ephrank]

Should I jump on the AST hype train? Already have AS12.