Precog's IEM Reviews & Impressions

[Precogvision]

Meet-Up Notes 5/28/22

Apple AirPods Gen 3: Call me an Apple fanboy...but not bad at all. The tonality on these is really quite decent. You wouldn't expect these to have as much bass boost as they do, and they don't seem to roll-off super dramatically either: I can clearly feel the 30Hz rumbling on Lightsum's "You, Jam" in the left channel. Maybe under this point they do have some roll-off as I don't hear the pounding on "Why So Serious", but this is decent bass for an earbud. Outside of this sub-bass focus, the AirPods Gen 3's frequency response seems to track the AirPods Pro quite closely otherwise with a more gentle rise to the pinna compensation and some slight dipping in the mid-treble regions which kills sparkle. Sounds like they might have slightly more presence around 5-6kHz, so a little more V-shaped.

Focal Celestee: The tuning on this is honestly difficult to listen to. There's some oddness at around 4-6kHz where it seems like it slopes off, but then it peaks shortly after in the lower-treble which lends to sibilance with female vocals on certain tracks. I rather dislike the treble on this headphone too. It's metallic and peaks somewhere slightly over 10kHz in addition to the lower-treble peakiness. On the positive side, the Celestee's bass is more sub-bass focused than some of Focal's other headphones which is a nice change of pace despite the constant of a slight roll-off. The Celestee is also highly detailed with sharp transients and that slight trailing texture that I don't think is true-to-life but that makes it sound very resolving. Dynamics are strong on this one with both a good sense of "slam" in the bass and contrast to gradations of volume. Basically, this is a headphone that has good technicalities but is being bottlenecked - strongly - by its tuning.

GS Audio GD3C: Sounds like most Chi-Fi sets from a couple years ago. Bass boosted, but not particularly controlled moving into the mid-bass. Pulled back pinna and upper-mids. Peak at 5-6kHz, some sustain, and then a quick drop off of 10kHz. Generic tuning and poor technicalities, I don't think anything else needs to be said.

OpenAudio Mercury: Basically like a poor man's Legend X without some of the technicalities. Lots of sub-bass boost (probably like 12-13dB) that comes down around 300-400Hz. Hard to deny that the boost is nice, but the texture just doesn't seem there. Treble is not bad in terms of frequency response (mostly smooth, decent extension), but there's that characteristic compression to gradations in volume. The biggest distinction relative to the Legend X would probably be staging. The Mercury just doesn't sound as open and expansive like the Legend X does from memory even if there are hints of above-average width. I do wonder if that pinna recession, not unlike the IER-Z1R, helps some here. I don't dislike the Mercury, but it's not quite there for $600.

Shuoer EJ07M Kinda Lava: To me, it sounds like they just adjusted the bass response on the EJ07M, and most of the other differences between the two are psychoacoustic. The Kinda Lava, surprisingly, is not really a warmer listen given HBB's preferences. It actually sounds like it has noticeably less sub-bass than the EJ07M. The upper-midrange and lower-treble are more forward due to the more controlled bass shelf. That sort of helps the EJ07M's treble response (which could sound oddly dipped), but the recession in the mid-treble seems to pervade. Don't really think the Kinda Lava is better or worse overall, but it stands that it's pretty solid. Mark also gave me a 3.5mm splitter which is pretty sweet for A/B-ing.

ThieAudio Elixir vs. Zen Pro: Similar levels of detail retrieval, but the Zen Pro noticeably pulls ahead in the dynamics department. The Zen Pro sounds more explosive, hits harder even though it graphs with similar levels of bass and less extension on paper. I prefer the timbre on the Elixir slightly more - the Zen Pro sounds a tad dry to me. In terms of tonality, I think the Elixir can definitely play ball, but I do find the Zen Pro to be subjectively better in the technical department overall. It's a bit more difficult to tell with the Elixir vs. the FDX1. The FDX1's pinna compensation pushes vocals very far forward into the head for me, so it sounds quite detailed, whereas vocals on the Elixir are further away. I just don't vibe with the FDX1.

Tin P1 Max: Ehhh...this sounds like the weak link of the planar resurgence. It's noticeably more pulled back in the pinna compensation than its planar peers, probably most closely falling along the lines of the Raptgo Hook X in the midrange. The treble response on the P1 Max is decently smooth and well-extended. Honestly, it sounds like every single one of these new planar IEMs is using the same driver with some minor tuning adjustments. That doesn't really help the P1 Max's case when it's already on the more boring side.

Scores​

Apple AirPods Gen 3	4/10
Focal Celestee	4/10
GS Audio GD3C	3/10
OpenAudio Mercury	5/10
Shuoer EJ07M Kinda Lava	6/10
Tin P1 Max	5/10

 

[WAON303]

Tin Hifi is struggling to stay relevant, 4 planar sets and all of them are outclassed.

Elixir having similar detail retrieval to the Zen Pro is interesting, I expected the Pro to have better detail retrieval given it's almost x5 the price.

I think a IE600 comparison would have rounded up the Elixir comparison, I guess the IE600 sits on the same boat as the Zen Pro.

 

[hi-fi amateur]

Curious to know how the Elixir compares to the Dunu Vernus (Differently tuned Falcon Pro)? I was going to buy that but it sold out it right away, so I got the Elixir instead. I'm beginning to think it was fate intervening and getting me the better set lol

 

[WAON303]

Curious to know how the Elixir compares to the Dunu Vernus (Differently tuned Falcon Pro)? I was going to buy that but it sold out it right away, so I got the Elixir instead. I'm beginning to think it was fate intervening and getting me the better set lol

Vernus owner here, it's not a particularly technical set IMO and probably loses to the Elixir on sheer tonal balance.

Around the same resolution as the Olina which is around half the price aka good but loses to the FDX1. Instrument separation, layering and soundstage are more or less average.

Mid bass punch is the only thing really worth noting about the Vernus, you can sense the bass weight on some tracks which is something you don't really see at this price point, I'm guessing the Eclipse technology might have to do with this.

Overall, the Vernus has the technical performance of your typical $200 IEM.

It's a pretty good IEM IMO, but not a set that clearly punches it's weight (Haha, puns.)

 

[Precogvision]

Sennheiser IE600

Price: $700
Configuration: 1DD
Unit kindly loaned for review courtesy of @MRSallee

Generally, it’s a bit hard to characterize the tuning of the IE600, but I would say it’s mostly along the lines of “fun” as it’s emphasized in both the bottom and top ends of the spectrum. However, it’s also not been colored abashedly - specifically in the midrange - to the point of which it sacrifices tonal balance.

Sennheiser’s IEMs have never been slouches for bass despite the reputation that their headphones might have garnered. The IE600’s bass response is pretty vanilla in a good way: it sounds like a good DD bass response from its decay pattern to its texture, and to its slam. However, it should be noted that, to my ears, the IE600 has closer to just under ~10dB of bass boost rather than the bombastic ~13dB it graphs with. This might be attributed to listener music choice (as most songs simply do not have 20-30Hz content); however, I found this impression to be consistent even with deeply extended tracks like Hans Zimmer’s “Why So Serious?”. In essence, this is a bass heavy IEM by most standards, but it might not satisfy more ardent bass heads like its frequency response would suggest.

Now, the midrange is where Sennheiser has taken a 180 with their usual tuning philosophy. But that might not necessarily be a bad decision given that I’ve lambasted said tuning strongly in the past: “Gushing over the IE900's terrific bass response aside, the midrange is where the IE900 stumbles: It has no pinna compensation. Well, that's not quite accurate. It has inadequate pinna compensation and then opts to recess all of the upper midrange. This results in a decidedly U-shaped presentation, wherein higher-pitched, stringed instruments like violins tend to fall into the backdrop more than they should and electric guitars lack appropriate bite. Female vocals also generally sound veiled.” This is no longer an issue with the IE600. It’s not as upper-midrange heavy as some “analytically” tuned IEMs like the Moondrop Blessing 2; however, it strikes an appropriate midrange balance that doesn’t trigger any alarm bells. I personally find the aforementioned Blessing 2 to be a hair shouty anyways. Credit where credit is due, Sennheiser has taken community feedback into consideration and aptly applied it to the IE600.

Relative to antecedent comments on the IE600’s bass and midrange, the IE600’s treble response is interesting. It’s predominantly focused around 8-9kHz in the “sparkle” - or spice depending on your tolerances - regions. Indeed, it edges more toward the spicy side of things to my ears, lacking the refinement that its older sibling, the IE900, approached this derivative of sound with. I suspect that the IE600’s treble response peaks more narrowly relative to the broader, smoother boost I heard on the IE900. The IE900 had an almost effortless coloration to its treble transients that I find the IE600 lacks. In fact, I find the IE600’s treble transients almost sound…dry, which is an odd thing to say given, again, the regions that the treble is being emphasized in. And this is with the stock tips which I find are basically the best pairing possible.

Technicalities...in many ways, the IE600 is indicative of the stereotypical strengths and weaknesses that I’ve come to associate with the single-DD topology. So the bad part: its imaging is average. Center imaging is firmly relegated to the narrow confines of the head and instrument pans, such as the drums on IU’s “Blueming” at 2:55, seem to go left-center-right with little regard for the front corners. Buyer beware…you are not buying the IE600 for its imaging performance.

Outside of this notable limitation, the IE600 is a respectable technical performer. Transients are relatively sharp in attack, and it has a textured bass and midrange presentation. I would comfortably place it in the ~$600 range for its detail and sense of clarity, trading blows against an established frontrunner like the Moondrop Variations in A/B. To go back to driver stereotypes, the IE600 is also a solid performer for its sense of dynamics. Seventeen’s “Shadow” sounds adequately explosive (such as at 1:04) and there is a good sense of excursion to bass notes.

Of course, you'll want comparisons. But the only “high-end” single-DD that I have right now for direct A/B comparison is DUNU’s Zen Pro. Comparatively, the Zen Pro has a more upper-midrange heavy signature and a more conventional, downwards-sloping treble response. The IE600 has better extension on both ends of the spectrum. Interestingly, the Zen Pro sounds noticeably less congested for staging than the IE600; however, I do not find its sense of detail retrieval to be better (on the contrary, I think the IE600 might out-resolve the Zen Pro). I find both IEMs to have a similar level of slam and dynamic contrast, although gun to my head, I would be inclined to give the edge to the Zen Pro simply because of its more forward sound and snappier bass transients. The IE600 sounds more “impactful”, like more air is being pushed in the bass, due to an abundance of sub-bass. At least for my preferences, I find the IE600 to work better for bass-y, exciting, pop-heavy music while the Zen Pro shines more with vocal-focused or instrumental-heavy music.

What's the bottom line here? “Insert single-DD IEM is the best single-DD even though insert possible deal breaker that’s inevitably there for single-DD IEM” are apt words from someone on a certain Discord server I frequent. Unfortunately, the IE600 doesn’t buck this trend as a consequence of its awful stock tips and average imaging. But it is one step closer to the fabled, single-DD endgame. Sennheiser can definitely tune their single-DDs which is impressive given that what they’re doing - especially with the IE600’s treble, despite my nitpicks - sounds like it’s on another level relative to most other single-DDs hitting the market. I’d say the IE600’s worth giving a listen if the cons I’ve outlined aren’t things you index for as heavily.

Score: 6.5/10

 

[WAON303]

Pretty torned on either the IE600 or the Variations as my next IEM.

I'm, guessing the IE600 has better bass than the Variations, similar detail and dynamics but the Variations has better staging.

Comfort is probably night and day between the two which is a good reason why I'm more interested on the IE600 despite the higher premium.

Great review as always btw! Is the IE600 treble spice akin to the Olina's spicy upper mids?

 

[sunnygsm]

So far I've been enjoying the IE600, the tonality is working for my library. The timbre and bass I was missing from the Andro 2020s is there. The imaging and soundstage were undoubtedly better on the Andro. That said, I haven't been wowed by the soundstage/imaging of any IEM. I also didn't feel my library benefited that much from improved imaging (may just be my untrained ear though).

 

[o0genesis0o]

Score: 6.5/10

Is there any IEM that even passes 8.0 in your ranking? Most of the time I read, it’s like “good, quite decent”, 5/10. Kinda remind me of my literature teacher in high school )

 

[WAON303]

Is there any IEM that even passes 8.0 in your ranking? Most of the time I read, it’s like “good, quite decent”, 5/10. Kinda remind me of my literature teacher in high school )

He currently has 6 IEMs with a 8/10 at worst, all of these IEMs are true TOTL sets.

This is why I like Precog as an IEM reviewer, he is arguably more critical than even Crinacle IMO, It's a breath of fresh air from the many reviewers who shill everything, I can't take any reviewer seriously when their entire review portfolio is all flowery reviews with 5/5's and 4/5's out the wazoo.

Precog's rating system is kind of odd given that 5/10 usually means dead average but it's around a B or a weak 4/5 if you were to convert his own rate system into a more conventional one.

6.5/10 is around an A- in general which is not to shabby.

 

[Ace Bee]

Sennheiser IE600

Price: $700
Configuration: 1DD
Unit kindly loaned for review courtesy of @MRSallee




Generally, it’s a bit hard to characterize the tuning of the IE600, but I would say it’s mostly along the lines of “fun” as it’s emphasized in both the bottom and top ends of the spectrum. However, it’s also not been colored abashedly - specifically in the midrange - to the point of which it sacrifices tonal balance.

Sennheiser’s IEMs have never been slouches for bass despite the reputation that their headphones might have garnered. The IE600’s bass response is pretty vanilla in a good way: it sounds like a good DD bass response from its decay pattern to its texture, and to its slam. However, it should be noted that, to my ears, the IE600 has closer to just under ~10dB of bass boost rather than the bombastic ~13dB it graphs with. This might be attributed to listener music choice (as most songs simply do not have 20-30Hz content); however, I found this impression to be consistent even with deeply extended tracks like Hans Zimmer’s “Why So Serious?”. In essence, this is a bass heavy IEM by most standards, but it might not satisfy more ardent bass heads like its frequency response would suggest.

Now, the midrange is where Sennheiser has taken a 180 with their usual tuning philosophy. But that might not necessarily be a bad decision given that I’ve lambasted said tuning strongly in the past: “Gushing over the IE900's terrific bass response aside, the midrange is where the IE900 stumbles: It has no pinna compensation. Well, that's not quite accurate. It has inadequate pinna compensation and then opts to recess all of the upper midrange. This results in a decidedly U-shaped presentation, wherein higher-pitched, stringed instruments like violins tend to fall into the backdrop more than they should and electric guitars lack appropriate bite. Female vocals also generally sound veiled.” This is no longer an issue with the IE600. It’s not as upper-midrange heavy as some “analytically” tuned IEMs like the Moondrop Blessing 2; however, it strikes an appropriate midrange balance that doesn’t trigger any alarm bells. I personally find the aforementioned Blessing 2 to be a hair shouty anyways. Credit where credit is due, Sennheiser has taken community feedback into consideration and aptly applied it to the IE600.

Relative to antecedent comments on the IE600’s bass and midrange, the IE600’s treble response is interesting. It’s predominantly focused around 8-9kHz in the “sparkle” - or spice depending on your tolerances - regions. Indeed, it edges more toward the spicy side of things to my ears, lacking the refinement that its older sibling, the IE900, approached this derivative of sound with. I suspect that the IE600’s treble response peaks more narrowly relative to the broader, smoother boost I heard on the IE900. The IE900 had an almost effortless coloration to its treble transients that I find the IE600 lacks. In fact, I find the IE600’s treble transients almost sound…dry, which is an odd thing to say given, again, the regions that the treble is being emphasized in. And this is with the stock tips which I find are basically the best pairing possible.

Technicalities...in many ways, the IE600 is indicative of the stereotypical strengths and weaknesses that I’ve come to associate with the single-DD topology. So the bad part: its imaging is average. Center imaging is firmly relegated to the narrow confines of the head and instrument pans, such as the drums on IU’s “Blueming” at 2:55, seem to go left-center-right with little regard for the front corners. Buyer beware…you are not buying the IE600 for its imaging performance.

Outside of this notable limitation, the IE600 is a respectable technical performer. Transients are relatively sharp in attack, and it has a textured bass and midrange presentation. I would comfortably place it in the ~$600 range for its detail and sense of clarity, trading blows against an established frontrunner like the Moondrop Variations in A/B. To go back to driver stereotypes, the IE600 is also a solid performer for its sense of dynamics. Seventeen’s “Shadow” sounds adequately explosive (such as at 1:04) and there is a good sense of excursion to bass notes.

Of course, you'll want comparisons. But the only “high-end” single-DD that I have right now for direct A/B comparison is DUNU’s Zen Pro. Comparatively, the Zen Pro has a more upper-midrange heavy signature and a more conventional, downwards-sloping treble response. The IE600 has better extension on both ends of the spectrum. Interestingly, the Zen Pro sounds noticeably less congested for staging than the IE600; however, I do not find its sense of detail retrieval to be better (on the contrary, I think the IE600 might out-resolve the Zen Pro). I find both IEMs to have a similar level of slam and dynamic contrast, although gun to my head, I would be inclined to give the edge to the Zen Pro simply because of its more forward sound and snappier bass transients. The IE600 sounds more “impactful”, like more air is being pushed in the bass, due to an abundance of sub-bass. At least for my preferences, I find the IE600 to work better for bass-y, exciting, pop-heavy music while the Zen Pro shines more with vocal-focused or instrumental-heavy music.

What's the bottom line here? “Insert single-DD IEM is the best single-DD even though insert possible deal breaker that’s inevitably there for single-DD IEM” are apt words from someone on a certain Discord server I frequent. Unfortunately, the IE600 doesn’t buck this trend as a consequence of its awful stock tips and average imaging. But it is one step closer to the fabled, single-DD endgame. Sennheiser can definitely tune their single-DDs which is impressive given that what they’re doing - especially with the IE600’s treble, despite my nitpicks - sounds like it’s on another level relative to most other single-DDs hitting the market. I’d say the IE600’s worth giving a listen if the cons I’ve outlined aren’t things you index for as heavily.

Score: 6.5/10

Did you feel the spiciness in the treble is similar to IE300?

 

[firesign]

Did you feel the spiciness in the treble is similar to IE300?

The IE600 is smoother in the treble than the IE300, thank goodness.

 

[frix]

I have both IE300. IE600 is still very spicy. Not to the degree of the IE300. But imho it's still too hot for many music productions. Not a good allrounder.

 

[Feischmaker]

So the bad part: its imaging is average. Center imaging is firmly relegated to the narrow confines of the head and instrument pans, such as the drums on IU’s “Blueming” at 2:55, seem to go left-center-right with little regard for the front corners. Buyer beware…you are not buying the IE600 for its imaging performance.

If i remember correctly, in the IE900 review, you mentioned that its imaging is also average

How was IE600 imaging in comparison? Is it slightly worse, or about the same?

Personally I only have heard the IE900 (and I like it aside from its midrange), if IE600 imaging is as good as IE900, then i think it's "acceptable" for a single DD (and could be my wishlist)

P.S: You should try Acoustune TOTL lineup (HS2000 or the old 1695 if you can get it), it's very good technically, even though tonally it might not be your cup of tea

 

[Precogvision]

It’s a mail call kind of day…

Source memes courtesy of Headphones.com and the Maestro Mini courtesy of FatFreq.

Pretty torned on either the IE600 or the Variations as my next IEM.

I'm, guessing the IE600 has better bass than the Variations, similar detail and dynamics but the Variations has better staging.

Comfort is probably night and day between the two which is a good reason why I'm more interested on the IE600 despite the higher premium.

Great review as always btw! Is the IE600 treble spice akin to the Olina's spicy upper mids?

Did you feel the spiciness in the treble is similar to IE300?

If i remember correctly, in the IE900 review, you mentioned that its imaging is also average

How was IE600 imaging in comparison? Is it slightly worse, or about the same?

Personally I only have heard the IE900 (and I like it aside from its midrange), if IE600 imaging is as good as IE900, then i think it's "acceptable" for a single DD (and could be my wishlist)

P.S: You should try Acoustune TOTL lineup (HS2000 or the old 1695 if you can get it), it's very good technically, even though tonally it might not be your cup of tea

The IE600's treble is more controlled than the IE300's thankfully. Not sure how I'd correlate that relative to the Olina's upper-midrange, though. Between the IE600 and IE900, I think they have similar levels of imaging, but I'm inclined to give the edge to the IE900 based on memory. I would like to hear the Acoutune stuff, it totally slipped my mind while I was in Singapore

Is there any IEM that even passes 8.0 in your ranking? Most of the time I read, it’s like “good, quite decent”, 5/10. Kinda remind me of my literature teacher in high school )

There are a few of them, at least for the bias scores!

I had a literature teacher like that in senior year of high school too. Prior to that, I'd coasted through all the honor classes easily. But he graded everything at the college level; in fact, his class was so stringent that it made every writing or humanities class that I took in college seem like a cakewalk! It was a good exposure to what the real deal is like, and I don't regret taking that class at all because it opened my eyes to thinking critically and improving my writing which had stagnated. Sometimes, I think that's the kick that people (or within the context of audio, manufacturers) need.

 

[baskingshark]

I would like to hear the Acoutune stuff, it totally slipped my mind while I was in Singapore

I tried most of the Acoustune models so far, and they are mostly V shaped, steampunk metal build (fit may be iffy for some). They have generally good technicalities for a single DD. Though I find them somewhat overpriced when say compared to CHIFI single DDs in the midFI bracket, but well diminishing returns are a real thing in this hobby.