Precog's IEM Reviews & Impressions

[Precogvision]

^Speaking of Resolve... have you heard his illumination yet? Wanted to hear more impressions of the illu, but there isn’t much out there.

I haven't. Resolve has all the good stuff right now, it's kind of a running joke at this point haha.

About the Illumination, it seems interesting, but from what I can tell it's essentially a more "refined" KXXS - and probably not for the better for my preferences. From what I've heard, the technical ability is comparable too which is a bit unfortunate given how much more it costs. I'll reserve final judgment until I actually hear it though, of course.

 

[Precogvision]

Thieaudio Legacy 4 Impressions

Spoiler: FR Graph

Wheeeee finished finals, so a couple weeks of peace. And this, the L4, showed up today. The L4 is the latest IEM from Linsoul's sub-brand, Thieaudio. I believe the tuning is based on something sent in by the tuner of the Monarch/Clairvoyance IEMs; expectedly, the overall tonal balance is quite good and sounds like a mild V-shape to my ears.

Let's start from the bottom and work our way up as usual. I like the bass on the L4 for the most part. The 8mm subwoofer exhibits good amounts of texture and slam. However, it does seem to be a bit messier than the graph might imply. This presents itself with a moderate smearing of macro-detail in the bass, and what sounds like dryness, or a general lack of density, on heavier drops in the likes of Fareoh's "Run Away" and Fairlane's "Nature". The L4's ear compensation is also somewhat aggressive for my tastes. It sustains a bit more than I'd like in the 2-3kHz region, only to subsequently dip in the upper-midrange, lending itself to some unevenness. Still, nothing too egregious, and when I first started listening, I was thinking "Hey, this is actually pretty good" to myself. I proceeded to play a few more songs.

...and then the treble set in. On paper, the treble is fine - almost laidback - but practice (subjective listening) disagrees. I hear strong amounts of lower-to-mid treble, perhaps in the 5-8kHz region; you can see the 5kHz peak on the graph. It's just too fatiguing for the stuff I normally listen to. Even the normally subdued rattling/chirping in the backdrop of Taeyeon’s “I Found You” is really noticeable, much more so than on my U12T. The L4 is a brighter IEM, almost excessively so to my ears, and I think this is the weakest part of the tuning.

Nonetheless, the L4 is a competent technical performer, certainly a good cut above the L3 which had some timbre issues. Resolution, in particular, is surprisingly good, likely a product of that 2-3kHz sustain and the brighter treble. Imaging is average with the 3-5kHz dip sounding...well, mostly dipped, and requiring me to “squint” to discern the image, even on tracks like Sawano’s “Cry”. It does sound like it has a tendency to image stuff quite close-up. Perhaps most disconcerting, though, is the juxtaposition between the L4's macrodynamics and the treble. It scales dynamic transitions somewhere in the middle to downwards-compressed, but on treble-intensive tracks, the L4 sounds upwards-compressed, fatiguingly so. It's just not a very consistent IEM to my ears in this respect, shining on some tracks, and sounding downright gun-to-the-head on others.

In general, though? A fairly competent tuning with a plethora small issues. The L4 is a solid, competitive IEM for $200 that I don’t dislike, and that will likely appeal to many, but that I also can't help but feel isn't much else. As usual, these are first impressions which are subject to change and all that stuff, yada, yada.

Score: 4/10

As for upcoming stuff, I have an HD800S on the way courtesy of the job, which I can’t wait to check out! I’ve heard it before at the Sennheiser store, but it was noisy and they're open backs - not exactly the most ideal environment. I’ll post impressions when it arrives.

 

[gLer]

Would love for you to get hold of a Fourte @Precogvision. Doesn't Andrew have one for you to nab?

PS. Enjoyed your belated U12t video. Look forward to the comparison video between the three 64s.

 

[IEMusic]

I hope you can review or give impressions on the Mangird Tea at some point.

 

[Precogvision]

Would love for you to get hold of a Fourte @Precogvision. Doesn't Andrew have one for you to nab?

PS. Enjoyed your belated U12t video. Look forward to the comparison video between the three 64s.

Haha thanks man. I should upload more often. About the Fourte, I think they’re out of stock (it’s a special order), but I'd like to hear it eventually!

I hope you can review or give impressions on the Mangird Tea at some point.

I'll see! I put in the request for the iBasso IEM and the Tanchjim Oxygen a few days ago too.

 

[gLer]

About the Fourte, I think they’re out of stock (it’s a special order), but I'd like to hear it eventually!

I didn't realise they were special order. I thought you could order them the same way you can any of 64's other universal IEMs. I'm on day one with mine - bought used but mint, of course

 

[eloelo]

Finally got my U12T =). Nothing sounds wrong with it so far, not sure if I should bother with checking for channel imbalances lol.

Using U12T/M15 module with DX160(lurkers mod/UAPP) with Thieaudio EST cable 4.4.mm. Some impressions:
Slight favouritism towards male vocals than what im used to (8sl has slight tilt to female vocals, Monarch has a bigger tilt towards female vocals)
With that dip lower treble energy, things sound calm rather than energetic. No fatigue at all. 8SL in comparison is a more exciting sounding iem.
No grain or harshness in the mids. Everything is soft and buttery smooth, to the point it's ASMR-ish. Mids sound dense too with slight warmth, which is a bonus for adding emotions to vocals. Vocals are natural sounding for the most part, except for higher female vocals where there feels like a cap on upper harmonics.
Mids are more forward than on 8SL. Stage is wider on U12T. BA timbre is less obvious on U12T vs Monarch/8SL.
Great sense of space on U12T. You can hear the air in cymbals, but not so much for vocals, whether in the breath of the singer or the falsetto of the singer (which 8SL has tons of). It also means no sibilance on U12T. I would say 8SL has slightly more resolution overall, at the expense of a less natural tone.
8SL tends to ring on more than it needs to or decays too fast sometimes. U12T has a natural decay which feels very consistent across the frequency range.
Less isolation than I thought with M15 module, especially on the train. Because of how close the tips sit near the shell, I need bigger tips to seal (large final E or medium CP145 or large QDC dual flange. Im waiting for an ML azla sedna earfit since the M sized one failed to seal well). Probably wont be using this in noisy crowded places.
Even though i get the MX module with U12T, not sure if I want to sacrifice any more isolation lol.

 

[Precogvision]

Sennheiser HD800S Impressions

Hey all, these are just some quick impressions of the Sennheiser HD800S; I think it's good to get out of my comfort zone every once in a while. Listening was primarily done off of an Audio GD-11.28 through my MacBook Air w/ Audirvana and lossless FLAC files. I know that's probably not the most ideal paring, but the amp was kindly given to me by a local friend, and it's the best I have right now given most of my listening is done with IEMs.

To start with, the tonality of the HD800S is a bit questionable to say the least. It's a neutral-bright, more analytical tuning, with a strong emphasis on the treble frequencies. I believe the HD800S makes use of a dampener to absorb some of the resonance at around 6kHz that plagued the original HD800. But it's still not enough. The HD800S is a spiky mo-fo, bordering on dreaded "metallic" territory. Cymbals have excessive crash and there's something of a tizzy-ness to the way a lot of treble instruments decay, leading me to posit that this isn't the only peak at hand. I loathe to imagine what hearing the treble of the HD800 would be like, at least to my ears. And the kicker? The quality of said treble is actually pretty darn good, exhibiting good texture and incredible detail.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the bass of the HD800S from either a technical or a tonal standpoint. It has no redeeming qualities, sounding - and I dislike using this word, I really do - blunted. Macro-details are frequently obscured and, on the basis of tonality, the HD800S simply lacks adequate sub-bass presence. EDM does't fly too nicely on this headphone for obvious reasons. Thankfully, we get cut something of a break moving into the midrange. It's thin, yeah, but sounds mostly tonally correct. There are moments where it sounds strangely sibilant - such as on Sawano Hiroyuki's "Cry" at 0:57 when the vocalist Mizuki's voice juts momentarily and on David Nail's "Let It Rain" at 1:07, whenever he drags out certain notes (eg. "meee"). Strangely enough, I can't re-produce these issues on my usual test tracks for sibilance. Perhaps harsh would be a more apt description, then, and I'm inclined to say this is simply overzealous microdynamic ability. Perhaps you could say this is a product of the HD800S being too revealing for its own good! Never would I have said the same for any IEM I've heard, despite the myriad claims I've read of some IEMs being "unforgiving" of poorly mastered source material.

Likewise, I've oft-held that poor tonality is no excuse for good technicalities. But man, the HD800S is keen on making me eat those words. It is a stellar technical performer. Layering and resolution are simply on another plane relative to any IEM I've heard (except maybe the LCDi4, but we all know that's a fake IEM ). I've stated in the past that, admittedly, detail retrieval is not something I can force test. Yet, I’ve not heard another headphone that exhibits such a grandiose sense of “innate” detail, and here-in lies the aforementioned microdynamic ability. Take one of my favorite tracks, Sawano Hiroyuki's "Cage". The HD800S easily captures the nuance in the snare drum hit at 0:35 that rings throughout the stage slightly more than its counterparts, and on top of that, displays a slight echo/kickback to the vocalist, Tielle, at 4:24 that I never even knew was on the track. This stuff just pops at you like the 64 Audio U12t's macrodynamics pop. Speaking of which, while I don't think the HD800S' macrodynamic ability is quite to the level of the Focal Elex I hear a-ways back, particularly in terms of sheer dynamic contrast, it's no slouch.

And of course, who could deny the HD800S’s phenomenal staging and imaging capabilities? Here's the airy, sonic wall-less imaging I miss so much on IEMs; it’s not hard to see why the HD800S is oft-dubbed the king of soundstage. However, I think the HD800S would benefit from more center image diffusal. It characteristically images vocals more in-the-head positionally, and my 64 Audio U12t bests the HD800S here thanks to its 2-5kHz dip. Don't get me wrong: I can "feel" the depth, I'm just inclined to say there's a lack of image incision in this regard. Still, suffice it to say that in just the couple days I've listened to the HD800S so far, it's made quite the impression on me. It's sometimes bothered me when I see such a heavy emphasis placed on the technical performance of a headphone, but...with a little EQ (still figuring out which program to use), I could see myself making an exception for the HD800S. It's no doubt a terrific headphone, albeit one that I think is more geared toward "analyzing" music than it is "enjoying" it.

 

[gLer]

Sennheiser HD800S Impressions

Hey all, these are just some quick impressions of the Sennheiser HD800S; I think it's good to get out of my comfort zone every once in a while. Listening was primarily done off of an Audio GD-11.28 through my MacBook Air w/ Audirvana and lossless FLAC files. I know that's probably not the most ideal paring, but the amp was kindly given to me by a local friend, and it's the best I have right now given most of my listening is done with IEMs.



To start with, the tonality of the HD800S is a bit questionable to say the least. It's a neutral-bright, more analytical tuning, with a strong emphasis on the treble frequencies. I believe the HD800S makes use of a dampener to absorb some of the resonance at around 6kHz that plagued the original HD800. But it's still not enough. The HD800S is a spiky mo-fo, bordering on dreaded "metallic" territory. Cymbals have excessive crash and there's something of a tizzy-ness to the way a lot of treble instruments decay, leading me to posit that this isn't the only peak at hand. I loathe to imagine what hearing the treble of the HD800 would be like, at least to my ears. And the kicker? The quality of said treble is actually pretty darn good, exhibiting good texture and incredible detail.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the bass of the HD800S from either a technical or a tonal standpoint. It has no redeeming qualities, sounding - and I dislike using this word, I really do - blunted. Macro-details are frequently obscured and, on the basis of tonality, the HD800S simply lacks adequate sub-bass presence. EDM does't fly too nicely on this headphone for obvious reasons. Thankfully, we get cut something of a break moving into the midrange. It's thin, yeah, but sounds mostly tonally correct. There are moments where it sounds strangely sibilant - such as on Sawano Hiroyuki's "Cry" at 0:57 when the vocalist Mizuki's voice juts momentarily and on David Nail's "Let It Rain" at 1:07, whenever he drags out certain notes (eg. "meee"). Strangely enough, I can't re-produce these issues on my usual test tracks for sibilance. Perhaps harsh would be a more apt description, then, and I'm inclined to say this is simply overzealous microdynamic ability. Perhaps you could say this is a product of the HD800S being too revealing for its own good! Never would I have said the same for any IEM I've heard, despite the myriad claims I've read of some IEMs being "unforgiving" of poorly mastered source material.

Likewise, I've oft-held that poor tonality is no excuse for good technicalities. But man, the HD800S is keen on making me eat those words. It is a stellar technical performer. Layering and resolution are simply on another plane relative to any IEM I've heard (except maybe the LCDi4, but we all know that's a fake IEM ). I've stated in the past that, admittedly, detail retrieval is not something I can force test. Yet, I’ve not heard another headphone that exhibits such a grandiose sense of “innate” detail, and here-in lies the aforementioned microdynamic ability. Take one of my favorite tracks, Sawano Hiroyuki's "Cage". The HD800S easily captures the nuance in the snare drum hit at 0:35 that rings throughout the stage slightly more than its counterparts, and on top of that, displays a slight echo/kickback to the vocalist, Tielle, at 4:24 that I never even knew was on the track. This stuff just pops at you like the 64 Audio U12t's macrodynamics pop. Speaking of which, while I don't think the HD800S' macrodynamic ability is quite to the level of the Focal Elex I hear a-ways back, particularly in terms of sheer dynamic contrast, it's no slouch.

And of course, who could deny the HD800S’s phenomenal staging and imaging capabilities? Here's the airy, sonic wall-less imaging I miss so much on IEMs; it’s not hard to see why the HD800S is oft-dubbed the king of soundstage. However, I think the HD800S would benefit from more center image diffusal. It characteristically images vocals more in-the-head positionally, and my 64 Audio U12t bests the HD800S here thanks to its 2-5kHz dip. Don't get me wrong: I can "feel" the depth, I'm just inclined to say there's a lack of image incision in this regard. Still, suffice it to say that in just the couple days I've listened to the HD800S so far, it's made quite the impression on me. It's sometimes bothered me when I see such a heavy emphasis placed on the technical performance of a headphone, but...with a little EQ (still figuring out which program to use), I could see myself making an exception for the HD800S. It's no doubt a terrific headphone, albeit one that I think is more geared toward "analyzing" music than it is "enjoying" it.

Great impressions as always. You should really track down a Tia Fourte. It's the first IEM I've heard that beats the HD800 hands-down in all categories (except maybe absolute physical stage size). Details, separation, imaging...all Fourte. And while it's a brighter tuning, the treble is nowhere near as spiky as the HD800 either. You really want a warm, smooth amp to tone down the HD800. 11.28 doesn't cut it I'm afraid.

 

[aaf evo]

Great impressions as always. You should really track down a Tia Fourte. It's the first IEM I've heard that beats the HD800 hands-down in all categories (except maybe absolute physical stage size). Details, separation, imaging...all Fourte. And while it's a brighter tuning, the treble is nowhere near as spiky as the HD800 either. You really want a warm, smooth amp to tone down the HD800. 11.28 doesn't cut it I'm afraid.

I really want to hear an OG Fourte again, I owned one for like one and a half years, and from my distant memory I firmly believe I prefer the Trio over it, but I would love to A/B them.

 

[gLer]

I really want to hear an OG Fourte again, I owned one for like one and a half years, and from my distant memory I firmly believe I prefer the Trio over it, but I would love to A/B them.

Funny you should say that. I've started my listening sessions with Fourte/Trio/Nio.

While the Fourte is 'winning' most of the early rounds, it's mostly a matter of preference. Technically the Fourte is faultless, but the Trio is fuller, with slightly smoother/warmer mids as a result of the greater bass emphasis, at the expense of the last few % in technicalities, resolutions, separation and space. Nio is warmer and smoother still, at least with the M15 module, and more linear yet still smoother than both with MX, at the expense of absolute detail (which, I can tell you, is not a bad thing with some modern pop!). Listening to Imagine Dragons 'Thunder' on Fourte is an exercise in wincing! Better on Trio. Best on Nio. With other tracks, it's reversed. Trio falls flat, for me, with some female vocals, which depending on the recording, can sound glassy and slightly harsh. But Trio bass is delicious, dare I say the best of the bunch in many cases.

This is going to be a slow and meticulous process, and ultimately I think anyone would be well and truly privileged to own any of these IEMs, let alone more than one.

PS. If you give me a track or two with some notes on what to listen for I'd be happy to A/B them for you, with the proviso that we probably hear things differently of course.

 

[aaf evo]

Funny you should say that. I've started my listening sessions with Fourte/Trio/Nio.

While the Fourte is 'winning' most of the early rounds, it's mostly a matter of preference. Technically the Fourte is faultless, but the Trio is fuller, with slightly smoother/warmer mids as a result of the greater bass emphasis, at the expense of the last few % in technicalities, resolutions, separation and space. Nio is warmer and smoother still, at least with the M15 module, and more linear yet still smoother than both with MX, at the expense of absolute detail (which, I can tell you, is not a bad thing with some modern pop!). Listening to Imagine Dragons 'Thunder' on Fourte is an exercise in wincing! Better on Trio. Best on Nio. With other tracks, it's reversed. Trio falls flat, for me, with some female vocals, which depending on the recording, can sound glassy and slightly harsh. But Trio bass is delicious, dare I say the best of the bunch in many cases.

This is going to be a slow and meticulous process, and ultimately I think anyone would be well and truly privileged to own any of these IEMs, let alone more than one.

PS. If you give me a track or two with some notes on what to listen for I'd be happy to A/B them for you, with the proviso that we probably hear things differently of course.

I listen to a lot of EDM so it may not be up your alley, but here’s some tracks I cycle through regularly.









Based off of those, you can probably see why I love the Trio so much. Ha.

 

[Precogvision]

I listen to a lot of EDM so it may not be up your alley, but here’s some tracks I cycle through regularly.

I really liked Island. I know it got some flack because the drops are disjoint (as in it doesn't really feel like much of a collab), but man, Wooli's drops are nasty in a good way. I think the juxtaposition to SL/Trivecta's drops makes the track stand out more than it would otherwise.

Nightlight was alright. To me, it felt like it could've been pulled right off of Illenium's Awake album. Solid sound design, vocals, and all that stuff, but the cadence of the song is pretty repetitive relative to his other work. The stuff that resonates the most with me is still mostly his older, melodic-dubstep stuff, particularly the Ashes album. Sleepwalker, Afterlife, and Reverie remain some of my favorites to this day. I liked that he tried experimenting with the more recent Ascend album; however, I'm also not sure if I'm a fan of the direction he's taken. 'Course, that's the struggle of being an artist - you want to stay creative, fresh, but there's a precarious balance between appealing to your old fan base and to newer listeners.

 

[aaf evo]

I really liked Island. I know it got some flack because the drops are disjoint (as in it doesn't really feel like much of a collab), but man, Wooli's drops are nasty in a good way. I think the juxtaposition to SL/Trivecta's drops makes the track stand out more than it would otherwise.

Nightlight was alright. To me, it felt like it could've been pulled right off of Illenium's Awake album. Solid sound design, vocals, and all that stuff, but the cadence of the song is pretty repetitive relative to his other work. The stuff that resonates the most with me is still mostly his older, melodic-dubstep stuff, particularly the Ashes album. Sleepwalker, Afterlife, and Reverie remain some of my favorites to this day. I liked that he tried experimenting with the more recent Ascend album; however, I'm also not sure if I'm a fan of the direction he's taken. 'Course, that's the struggle of being an artist - you want to stay creative, fresh, but there's a precarious balance between appealing to your old fan base and to newer listeners.

I’m a hardcore illenium fanboy haha. I do agree that the sound of Ashes and Awake is better than Ascend and the singles he has put out this year, but I just about love all of his stuff.

Ilan Bluestone is another one of my favorite artists. Lots of vocal trance, he has some really stunning stuff.

 

[gLer]

I listen to a lot of EDM so it may not be up your alley, but here’s some tracks I cycle through regularly.









Based off of those, you can probably see why I love the Trio so much. Ha.

Ah yes, that makes sense. Trio is probably the EDM king. I'll have listen on all three IEMs and check back in with some impressions.