[katatonicone1]

In my case, LZ A6 does well with Fiio Q5(AM2) and Xduoo X3-II. As long as both are staffed by AK4490EN+OPAs I expected Fiio M11 or M11 Pro is a good way of upgrading.

What was wrong with M11 and what could it be with M11 Pro?



Do you use it single-ended or Pentacon?

AFAIK R5 is the most neutral sounding Hiby DAP. Where is the critical point?

Well, for me M11 was too analytical. I was never satisfied how it paired with A6 because it was much too bright with not enough bass impact and changing filters was not helping much. With R5 I can use black filter and treble sounds gorgeous, the bass amount has also increased. M11 was always thin on bass for me no matter which IEMs I used, so here's that. I did some A/B listening with my other IEMs: Dunu DK-2001, ThieAudio L3, BLON BL-03, and A6 is a clear winner to the point I'm selling Dunu and Legacy 3, and looking forward to LZ A7.
So yeah, R5 may be most neutral Hiby dap, but M11 was so cold sounding for me that it makes night and day difference for me when paired with A6. I'm using it single ended for now, will switch to 4.4 for comparison in couple of days.

 

[peter123]

Personally I wish LZ would go back to the resin housing from the Big Dipper. It's by far the most comfortable LZ IEM's in my collection, they also feel very durable compared to their other offerings.

 

[Theri0n]

I'm using it single ended for now

This is what I want to know. So I will look for Hiby R5 after Xduoo X3-II retirement.

My Q5 is modded. OPA1612 was replaced by MUSES8893 and it sounds not that analytical as original. In case of Xduoo X3-II less detailed output saved from every detail through LZ A6.

 

[Theri0n]

Good aftermarket cable is the must. Ag-Cu hybrid is the best.

 

[katatonicone1]

Good aftermarket cable is the must. Ag-Cu hybrid is the best.

It is. Although I'm using copper only wire now, the mix with silver is not a bad combo too. Comes down to how much you want to tame the treble brightness.

 

[Theri0n]

how much you want to tame the treble brightness.

This is actually the best part I love with LZ A6. Changing stock cable to Ambient Acoustic 8-core got me cleaner sound and mids came closer, bass became a bit more textured.

 

[Luis1316]

I have been AB-ing today again with the filters, especially between the pink and the black with the foam mod inside.
Overall, the black (with the mod) has the mids and high-mids clearly more foward than the pink. The black is noticeably way more clean than the pink one, and that also helps with instrument separation. The black one's soundstage was so wide that made me feel like being in the same room with the performers, but the pink one sounded kinda obstructed in comparison because the clarity didn't deliver. I also noticed that the timbre and texture of the instruments and voices sounded thicker and more detailed on the black.

I honestly think that people are missing out LZ A6's full potential without trying this simple mod on the black filter, it just makes it so smooth mantaining the whole clarity over all ranges, taming the sibilance. The difference in cleanliness and coherence through all the spectrum is so big between A6 and T800 that makes my think that T800 was a big waste of money.

I fervently recommend this little mod to @RikudouGoku since it's an easy and a totally removable "mod" on the black filter and I think this maybe is going to change your thoughts again on LZ A6. Also because we share music tastes since I also listen to a lot of ACG stuff and J-Pop (my end-of-degree project happened to be a Hiroyuki Sawano's film music analysis). If you don't have foam, just use some cotton, they work the same, its just that with foam is easier to measure quantity for both sides. They foam or the cotton won't fall into the IEM and It is a totally reversible mod.

Paired with: Azla Sedna tips, CEMA 175 balanced cable 4.4mm, Ibasso DX160.

 

[RikudouGoku]

I have been AB-ing today again with the filters, especially between the pink and the black with the foam mod inside.
Overall, the black (with the mod) has the mids and high-mids clearly more foward than the pink. The black is noticeably way more clean than the pink one, and that also helps with instrument separation. The black one's soundstage was so wide that made me feel like being in the same room with the performers, but the pink one sounded kinda obstructed in comparison because the clarity didn't deliver. I also noticed that the timbre and texture of the instruments and voices sounded thicker and more detailed on the black.

I honestly think that people are missing out LZ A6's full potential without trying this simple mod on the black filter, it just makes it so smooth mantaining the whole clarity over all ranges, taming the sibilance. The difference in cleanliness and coherence through all the spectrum is so big between A6 and T800 that makes my think that T800 was a big waste of money.

I fervently recommend this little mod to @RikudouGoku since it's an easy and a totally removable "mod" on the black filter and I think this maybe is going to change your thoughts again on LZ A6. Also because we share music tastes since I also listen to a lot of ACG stuff and J-Pop (my end-of-degree project happened to be a Hiroyuki Sawano's film music analysis). If you don't have foam, just use some cotton, they work the same, its just that with foam is easier to measure quantity for both sides. They foam or the cotton won't fall into the IEM and It is a totally reversible mod.

Paired with: Azla Sedna tips, CEMA 175 balanced cable 4.4mm, Ibasso DX160.

I dont have any foams I could put in (cotton just makes me scared of them falling into the drivers). But all they do is reduce the treble right? I feel that the extra bass I get from the pink filter makes it much more fun for me. (which is its strong point, the fun and energetic signature without much fatigue).

If I want the vocals and the highs I have the Blessing 2 for that. (because the timbre in the A6 isnt that very natural due to the extreme air and unique sound from the piezo driver)

 

[RikudouGoku]

Well this is one of the reasons as to why the a6 is so good. It can tailor the sound to your liking on quite a big scale.

 

[Theri0n]

the timbre in the A6 isn't that very natural due to the extreme air

Extreme air is effectively removable by aftermarket cable. Mids come closer with the same details.

 

[RikudouGoku]

Extreme air is effectively removable by aftermarket cable. Mids come closer with the same details.

I do use an aftermarket cable (cable 175). The timbre in the A6 is probably around third grade, with something like the Moondrop Blessing 2 at second grade and at first grade the Blon 03, Urbanfun ISS014 and Final audio E5000.

 

[Luis1316]

That airiness that the piezo driver made was too much, making the IEM sibilant and unbearable. I went from pink to red, to black precisely because I felt that it sounded kinda muddy and it didn't really impress me compared to the T800 until the time that I tried this simple mod proposed by some guys on this thread. The purpose of the mod was to tackle down that peak, I tried to solve that unnatural "breathy shh" sound that the piezo was making. Now it sounds really really smooth and open.
I'm also pairing it with my 175 cema cable, with comply foam tips for a good seal without loosing bass, and with a neutral-warm DAP Ibasso DX160.
Without the mod i could only crank the volume to 32-35 on the DAP and it was still very fatiguing, the highs of the piezo had too much protagonism in the set, but after putting some cotton-foam, it solved that extra airiness and treble spikes, and i can now crank the volume between 38-42 depending on the record.

 

[RikudouGoku]

That airiness that the piezo driver made was too much, making the IEM sibilant and unbearable. I went from pink to red, to black precisely because I felt that it sounded kinda muddy and it didn't really impress me compared to the T800 until the time that I tried this simple mod proposed by some guys on this thread. The purpose of the mod was to tackle down that peak, I tried to solve that unnatural "breathy shh" sound that the piezo was making. Now it sounds really really smooth and open.
I'm also pairing it with my 175 cema cable, with comply foam tips for a good seal without loosing bass, and with a neutral-warm DAP Ibasso DX160.
Without the mod i could only crank the volume to 32-35 on the DAP and it was still very fatiguing, the highs of the piezo had too much protagonism in the set, but after putting some cotton-foam, it solved that extra airiness and treble spikes, and i can now crank the volume between 38-42 depending on the record.

I have the reverse experience in that the T800 is the one that is too sibilant for me lol

 

[Luis1316]

I have the reverse experience in that the T800 is the one that is too sibilant for me lol

Not gonna lie, look at what I did to my T800. I'm applying it on every bright IEM lol . It works really well tho.

 

[Poganin]

I had a long listening session with the A6 today. Pink filter, foam tips.
Do you know that feeling when you have a large playlist on shuffle and you suddenly hit upon a track that makes your headphones or IEMs sing?
I had this. Twice. I was covered with goosebumps and had to stop what I was doing and allow myself to get fully immersed in music.