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Anyone else find the Starfield is pretty power hungry for a 122dB/Vrms? Sounds about as loud as my Kanas...
Moondrop in-ear monitors Impressions Thread
- Thread starter FastAndClean
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Yeah, I definitely need to turn my volume 10-15 more than when I was playing with my TFZ No.3/TFZ T2
CoiL
Member of the Trade: Wood Audio Accessories & Modifications
If you don`t have warranty anymore, open them up. I`m actually quite sure its connection(soldering) issue. While you dropped it, was it attached to cables and are you sure cable didn`t get damaged?
Why I`m asking this is because I changed my Lyre cable 2-pin ends and beginning got it soldered not so good and when about half of the strands got disconnected from soldering point - one side got quieter!
Did re-soldering and everything fine for long time now
Don`t agree with that. BL-03 is quite a bit slower in every area than KPE. I have both and KPE is noticeably faster. Maybe if KPE is underpowered (low mA reserve from source) it can be "slower".
Yeah, KPE needs little higher volume to shine but also feeding enough power (right kind of power) is important.
Sidenote - amping non-belivers PLEASE don`t start arguing and offtopic again - this is my subjective experience with KPE and my subjective recommendation.
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DynamicEars
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Well for the bass speed i agree with @Makahl though, blon is faster in decay, and I love my KPE the way they are but their bass isnt on fast category. They more into rumble deep down there.
For me blon and tfz no 3 have faster bass decay. My new Dunu DM-480 also faster than KPE even i wont call their bass fast.
Thats why for jazz, vocals, KPE suit very well.
For me blon and tfz no 3 have faster bass decay. My new Dunu DM-480 also faster than KPE even i wont call their bass fast.
Thats why for jazz, vocals, KPE suit very well.
CoiL
Member of the Trade: Wood Audio Accessories & Modifications
Interesting. I don`t hear things so with my KPE vs. BL-03. Well, maybe mods affect it somehow too but KPE even in stock sounds faster to me in bass/percussion than stock BL-03... same sources, same cable.
Heck, I can even notice BL-03 being slower right away coming from KPE. Weird. And I don`t think I got dud BL-03 cuz it measures well and sounds like it. Btw, I`m not first one saying BL-03 is quite slow and also tad "sloppy" in bass area.
Weird though. Maybe I should get another pair as I gave mine to wife to replace KZ ZSN.
Heck, I can even notice BL-03 being slower right away coming from KPE. Weird. And I don`t think I got dud BL-03 cuz it measures well and sounds like it. Btw, I`m not first one saying BL-03 is quite slow and also tad "sloppy" in bass area.
Weird though. Maybe I should get another pair as I gave mine to wife to replace KZ ZSN.
RikudouGoku
Member of the Trade: RikuBuds
I agree that the 03 is slower when compared to my other DD iems including the KXXS ( do not have nor listened to the KPE so do not know about that)
It's been a long time since I sold my KPE so I'm going from memories. I do remember what I mean by "slow" wasn't that slow or thin with some songs but with specific ones that I was really used to it lacked energy/punch at drums compared to an Etymotic ER4B to me. In this post, I illustrate it better by posting some songs, since you're into prog-metal too probably you know some of them.
At that time I had a Sabaj DA2, Shangling M0, iPod classic, and a Meier Corda amp, sure, they aren't a power brick but they never let me down with all my IEMs and I never noticed a major difference when feeding them with the Meier. I'd like to test it with a better source nowadays to double-check but too late
.Blon's variance apparently is a thing, crinacle has 3 samples measured on his site and the bass on his graph varies a lot. So who knows... in Blon's thread, it seems kinda love–hate relationship, you will find it's a bass-bloated mess for some and some prefer it over KPE. I gave away my Blon but with the songs above it never sounded thin/slow, very engaging with the right tips, although like I said on this quote the blon sub-bass extension is short compared to KPE and not that musical for some songs (I'd rather have the KPE btw)... and again "IMO".
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Now that I love my Starfield, I'm thinking to get either the Kanas Pro or Kxxs. Will that be okay or a bit redundant?
DynamicEars
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I suggest to wait for more review from someone that have both since they are similar in FR but pricier. I think better saving up for something else or better
Because someone said the KXXS is still shaper in details than Starfield. In terms of KPE, they are similar
Detail wise they are actually very similar as I don’t hear a big difference in the decay. The cavity (shell) probably has more effect here (Brass vs Zn/Al) than the diaphragm used in shifting the resonances treble peaks.
KXXS and Kanas Pro is more punchy and mids sound strong compared to the Starfield. The Starfield meanwhile is more natural sounding especially for vocals, and is much closer to the Tanchjim Oxygen.
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Yeah, they are very natural to me. Better than my other iems definitely. But isn't both KXXS & Starfield use the same housing material? Zinc/alDetail wise they are actually very similar as I don’t hear a big difference in the decay. The cavity (shell) probably has more effect here (Brass vs Zn/Al) than the diaphragm used in affecting the resonances.
KXXS and Kanas Pro is more punchy and mids sound strong compared to the Starfield. The Starfield meanwhile is more natural sounding especially for vocals, and is much closer to the Tanchjim Oxygen.
ScottPilgrim
100+ Head-Fier
I equalized my KPE according to my preferred sig. They need extreme levels of eq to change the sound profile a little bit. With -5.5 preamp i need to turn the volume up to 87% for the kpe to sing. i use an LG G7 one, using the es9218p dac from LG smartphones in aux mode. In aux mode, the amp pushes out 1.2vrms of power. So yes, essentially you’re looking at around .9-1vrms of power to drive the kpe to optimum sound.
As far as I know the drivers of the kpe, kxxs and starfield are quite similar. So not surprised they’re power hungry. But when they are fed the power they’re magical.
DynamicEars
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Detail wise they are actually very similar as I don’t hear a big difference in the decay. The cavity (shell) probably has more effect here (Brass vs Zn/Al) than the diaphragm used in affecting the resonances.
KXXS and Kanas Pro is more punchy and mids sound strong compared to the Starfield. The Starfield meanwhile is more natural sounding especially for vocals, and is much closer to the Tanchjim Oxygen.
Closer to oxygen is a praise
SBranson
Headphoneus Supremus
A few thoughts after a week with the S8. I didn't get to listen as much as normal as this was a strange week at work with many interruptions and choas. The work set up is iphone/btr5.
At first, what I presume from the graph, I was taken aback by the seeming dominance of the mids. The rise from 1-3 khz and the slow roll off from there along with the fact that it is generally boosted was not something I was used to. I was getting a bit of a hollow sound to vocals and the upper edges of the tonality of female voices seemed to be prominent, kind of making everyone sound like throat voice instead of chest voice if you know what I mean. Violins were sharp and the grit of the strings was more lively and present and the kind of leaner lower mids or upper bass seemed to give cellos more bite as well... It was the kind of iem that I tended to change the volume a lot more that other iems. That usually happens with a sense of the balance being a little off.. But, I stuck with them and after a while I started playing with EQ... Well on Friday I was having trouble with the balance of the EQ and couldn't quite get it right so I turned it off and wow... I think things snapped in to place.
Suddenly I can get a sense of the balancing act here and discovered that having a series of V shaped signatures had convinced me that that was right. My brain has adjusted and now the S8's strengths are apparent. Ultimately I think I prefer a warmer iem but these are very capable. There is a lot of clarity and the bass is really quite admirable and I wouldn't even include the caveat of "for a BA bass". I recently got to hear the Solaris SE and it has a similar midrange elevation and that further drove home that my reluctance at first was simply what I was used to.
I am still awaiting my EA Maestro cable and figure some guy will emerge out the ocean some day having swum from Singapore with the thing, and I'll wait to hear that with the BTR5 as the Noble cable I'm using with them is generally a lean and "biting" sounding cable.
With the home rig of the WM1A and the Eros II cable the resolution is quite astounding. Soundstage is quite good and imaging is spot on. Tonally they are a little on the lean side especially in an A/B with the Solaris SE. Higher volume listening can get a bit fatiguing but these are clean and clear enough that lower volume listening is very good. Part of that volume thing is related to the earlier comment. I've often found that extremely clear and resolving gear is really difficult to get the proper volume right away.. It's a little hard to judge how loud the volume is. Is this something to do with low distortion?? I don't know but sometimes I start out too loud and then lower the volume and the clarity never seems to suffer.
Fit is good. I have big ears and found the A8 perfect. These are a little bit smaller so don't feel quite as secure but I think that just because I can't feel them pressing as much but they've never come loose.
Overall it's an impressive iem. It kind of reminds me of the Fearless S8F but without having them side by side it's hard to compare. From my memory though the similarity is in the dynamic nature and the intensity of the listen. The S8 though is more refined. It's not that there's more "micro-detail" but they seem to be more coherent and, well, refined... which seems to be the only word I can think of at the moment.
I
At first, what I presume from the graph, I was taken aback by the seeming dominance of the mids. The rise from 1-3 khz and the slow roll off from there along with the fact that it is generally boosted was not something I was used to. I was getting a bit of a hollow sound to vocals and the upper edges of the tonality of female voices seemed to be prominent, kind of making everyone sound like throat voice instead of chest voice if you know what I mean. Violins were sharp and the grit of the strings was more lively and present and the kind of leaner lower mids or upper bass seemed to give cellos more bite as well... It was the kind of iem that I tended to change the volume a lot more that other iems. That usually happens with a sense of the balance being a little off.. But, I stuck with them and after a while I started playing with EQ... Well on Friday I was having trouble with the balance of the EQ and couldn't quite get it right so I turned it off and wow... I think things snapped in to place.
Suddenly I can get a sense of the balancing act here and discovered that having a series of V shaped signatures had convinced me that that was right. My brain has adjusted and now the S8's strengths are apparent. Ultimately I think I prefer a warmer iem but these are very capable. There is a lot of clarity and the bass is really quite admirable and I wouldn't even include the caveat of "for a BA bass". I recently got to hear the Solaris SE and it has a similar midrange elevation and that further drove home that my reluctance at first was simply what I was used to.
I am still awaiting my EA Maestro cable and figure some guy will emerge out the ocean some day having swum from Singapore with the thing, and I'll wait to hear that with the BTR5 as the Noble cable I'm using with them is generally a lean and "biting" sounding cable.
With the home rig of the WM1A and the Eros II cable the resolution is quite astounding. Soundstage is quite good and imaging is spot on. Tonally they are a little on the lean side especially in an A/B with the Solaris SE. Higher volume listening can get a bit fatiguing but these are clean and clear enough that lower volume listening is very good. Part of that volume thing is related to the earlier comment. I've often found that extremely clear and resolving gear is really difficult to get the proper volume right away.. It's a little hard to judge how loud the volume is. Is this something to do with low distortion?? I don't know but sometimes I start out too loud and then lower the volume and the clarity never seems to suffer.
Fit is good. I have big ears and found the A8 perfect. These are a little bit smaller so don't feel quite as secure but I think that just because I can't feel them pressing as much but they've never come loose.
Overall it's an impressive iem. It kind of reminds me of the Fearless S8F but without having them side by side it's hard to compare. From my memory though the similarity is in the dynamic nature and the intensity of the listen. The S8 though is more refined. It's not that there's more "micro-detail" but they seem to be more coherent and, well, refined... which seems to be the only word I can think of at the moment.
I
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