[andrewwardell]

Thanks for offering to do some request listens, but all I really want to know is if it was audibly different between straight out of the v20 vis a vis your iematch at ultra? I thought you mentioned IEMatch earlier in the thread. Or a low impedance source. I could be wrong.

Quite right, I’m AB-ing at the moment and my immediate impression is that on ‘Ultra’ it pulls the midrange back a bit, most notably with vocals. The difference is subtle, but perceptible. I don’t think it makes any negative impact on the rest of the signal, but it drops the noise floor significantly! Without the IEMatch in the signal path I can hear lots of noise floor at the end of songs or in quiet passages of music regardless of which app I’m using to play back music. With the IEMatch in the path, even if it’s set to ‘high’ that noise floor drops way down. Running it in ‘high’ leaves the mids where they were, but pushes the noise floor down.

Without the IEMatch in the signal path I can only really run the V20 at 20-25/75 (~33%) with it set to ‘high’ that goes up to 35/75 (~50%) and in ‘ultra’ I need to wind it up to 50/75 (~66%) but there’s still plenty of headroom there.

Hope that’s useful, did I leave anything out?

Edit: The track I tested with was a FLAC of ‘Degrees’ by Aaron Spectre from his Bandcamp page.
Edit2: The IEMatch is a snug, but totally doable fit in the included “pelican” case along with the IEMs

 

[MissChristie]

Exactly what I needed to know, thank you! Now I think I can see an IEMatch in my future, at the very minimum to at least ensure I have a good signal wherever I plug the plus into.

 

[andrewwardell]

Exactly what I needed to know, thank you! Now I think I can see an IEMatch in my future, at the very minimum to at least ensure I have a good signal wherever I plug the plus into.

I recommend it! I also use it with my work phone (Galaxy S5) the mini mixer at my desk and my iPad for the same reason. Weirdly, I’ve found the combination of Spotify + iPad + IEMatch on Ultra + MD+ to be a bit of a mixed bag ranging from ‘ok’ to ‘bleugh!’. I’ll post my test notes later on if anyone wants to read ‘em.

Edit1: the key word in that equation is ‘Spotify’ (and yes, I run it at max quality all the time)
Edit2: one thing I forgot to mention, with most of the IEMs I plug straight into the V20 there’s that audible click when you push them the last fraction of a millimeter into the headphone jack and they hold tight in there. The IEMatch doesn’t click. I’ve never had it fall out, but it’s a lot easier to unplug when I go to unplug it. it clicks and locks on all my other gear.

 

[Colors]

Having owned the MD+ (sold it to fund an Andromeda purchase), I'd actually say they're about 50% of the Andromeda haha. Very safe and inoffensive tuning. The Andromeda's soundstage is like 2x bigger though and the treble is much more present and extended (without sibilance). Bit more body throughout all the frequencies. However, MD+ still has better isolation and fit (the fit is amazing!).

In other words, great value! Looking back at IEMs I would purchase again in the <$400 range, it'd probably be the ER4SR first (never selling these), and MD+.

 

[cardeli22]

I’ve been looking for one in a 2.5mm variety, no luck either.

Null Audio's Brevity S 5n cable has a 2.5mm balanced option.

 

[tskeng]

Sorry folks, here to rant a little.

I couldn't find a good fitting ear tip that fits the MDP and I went to get foams. Although they fit well, the MDP sounded really.... flat and boring. I mean its a reference piece and I should've expected that more or less.

Then today I tried the MDP with CP155s since I was getting them for another pair of IEMs. Oh my, the sound opened up, especially the bass (for the lack of technical description). (Or perhaps it was burned-in?)

Oh, how I've wronged the MDP.

 

[Colors]

Sorry folks, here to rant a little.

I couldn't find a good fitting ear tip that fits the MDP and I went to get foams. Although they fit well, the MDP sounded really.... flat and boring. I mean its a reference piece and I should've expected that more or less.

Then today I tried the MDP with CP155s since I was getting them for another pair of IEMs. Oh my, the sound opened up, especially the bass (for the lack of technical description). (Or perhaps it was burned-in?)

Oh, how I've wronged the MDP.

It’s supposed to sound mega flat. That’s why people (including me) like it

Try a different cable. That will change the sound even more. Ex: pure copper will make it less reference and more bassy and warm.

 

[tskeng]

It’s supposed to sound mega flat. That’s why people (including me) like it

Try a different cable. That will change the sound even more. Ex: pure copper will make it less reference and more bassy and warm.

Well, it was kind of "buried six feet under stone cold flat", till I changed to cp155s.

Now it's "you know I have the ability to deliver something different but now I'm staying neutral for you to take me as a benchmark!"

 

[MissChristie]

Well, it was kind of "buried six feet under stone cold flat", till I changed to cp155s.

Now it's "you know I have the ability to deliver something different but now I'm staying neutral for you to take me as a benchmark!"

It's kind of an open secret that the seal you achieve, and by extension the eartips that best help you get that seal, can make a major difference in how IEMs sound due to the fact the bass doesn't leak out as much, so to speak.

It's why I take most IEM reviews with a grain of salt, as rarely if ever do the reviewers bother to mention whether they took steps to ensure they had a proper seal.

 

[andrewwardell]

Sorry folks, here to rant a little.

I couldn't find a good fitting ear tip that fits the MDP and I went to get foams. Although they fit well, the MDP sounded really.... flat and boring. I mean its a reference piece and I should've expected that more or less.

Then today I tried the MDP with CP155s since I was getting them for another pair of IEMs. Oh my, the sound opened up, especially the bass (for the lack of technical description). (Or perhaps it was burned-in?)

Oh, how I've wronged the MDP.

I am starting to think that some other tips might be a good idea. I ordered Symbio Ws before realising they would *not* work with a deep-insertion pair of IEMs like the Plus, the included tips weren’t what you’d call comfortable, so I went back to the Foams. Pretty sure the only Spinfits I have are the CP100. The 155 have a wider bore, right?

 

[tskeng]

I am starting to think that some other tips might be a good idea. I ordered Symbio Ws before realising they would *not* work with a deep-insertion pair of IEMs like the Plus, the included tips weren’t what you’d call comfortable, so I went back to the Foams. Pretty sure the only Spinfits I have are the CP100. The 155 have a wider bore, right?

Yes, CP155 has a wider bore than CP100.

 

[andrewwardell]

Yes, CP155 has a wider bore than CP100.

I’ll definitely have to give them a shot then, might have to wait a while though as I’ve well and truly exhausted my budget for the next couple of weeks. It looks like my smallest CP100 tips seal really well and can go deep, but the tips that came with my Monk IEs (Lee to the rescue again!) are currently delivering the kind of results you were mentioning with the SpinFits. Open sound, more bass definition. That wide bore makes all the difference!
Was listening to ‘Shining’ by Peace Orchestra before and the kettle drums were spectacular! Now moved onto ‘Seven Minutes of Iggy Pop Complaining About How He Can’t Smoke on Planes Anymore’ (‘Bells & Circles’ by Underworld) and the fact that no part of the frequency range sticks out above the others is a) a transcendent experience and b) makes one want to turn the volume up further.

 

[tskeng]

I’ll definitely have to give them a shot then, might have to wait a while though as I’ve well and truly exhausted my budget for the next couple of weeks. It looks like my smallest CP100 tips seal really well and can go deep, but the tips that came with my Monk IEs (Lee to the rescue again!) are currently delivering the kind of results you were mentioning with the SpinFits. Open sound, more bass definition. That wide bore makes all the difference!
Was listening to ‘Shining’ by Peace Orchestra before and the kettle drums were spectacular! Now moved onto ‘Seven Minutes of Iggy Pop Complaining About How He Can’t Smoke on Planes Anymore’ (‘Bells & Circles’ by Underworld) and the fact that no part of the frequency range sticks out above the others is a) a transcendent experience and b) makes one want to turn the volume up further.

Wait. Sorry, I wasn't too sure if I answered you correctly. To clarify, when you said "bore", do they refer to the below images?

CP100: 3.8mm

CP155: 5.5mm

 

[andrewwardell]

Wait. Sorry, I wasn't too sure if I answered you correctly. To clarify, when you said "bore", do they refer to the below images?

CP100: 3.8mm

CP155: 5.5mm

Yes, the very same .

 

[tskeng]

Yes, the very same .

That's good. I didn't misunderstand your question afterall.

Hopefully I've helped!