[H T T]

If anything the lack of a DD (there I go again) in all-BA IEMs is even more incoherent when it comes to how I hear the music. Maybe it's because I grew up listening to recorded music on dynamic drivers (we all do, especially if our listening has mainly been in speakers), but the lack of a real (physical) kick drum or an unnatural decay of the bass strings is far more obvious to me than the clarity of BA driver vocals or HF instruments combined with that natural drum or bass. I'm not sure I'd even call myself a basshead, because thick, wooly, overbearing bass is not my thing at all. Nor do I want bass everywhere in the track. So maybe bass purist is more apt. If the bass doesn't sound (and feel) right, even the most spectacularly expensive IEMs will be like a multimillion dollar house on a cracked foundation, to my ears.

In addition, Actual electric music is probably all done with DD. I know of no guitar/bass amp that has a BA unit for its transducer. Can you imagine a Marshall amp with a Knowles cabinet? Also, how many recording studios use BA units for monitoring during recording, mixdown, and mastering?

BA IEMs have their place. I like them. But DD is love and hometown.

 

[eloelo]

Looking good precog!

 

[IEMusic]

If anything the lack of a DD (there I go again) in all-BA IEMs is even more incoherent when it comes to how I hear the music. Maybe it's because I grew up listening to recorded music on dynamic drivers (we all do, especially if our listening has mainly been in speakers), but the lack of a real (physical) kick drum or an unnatural decay of the bass strings is far more obvious to me than the clarity of BA driver vocals or HF instruments combined with that natural drum or bass. I'm not sure I'd even call myself a basshead, because thick, wooly, overbearing bass is not my thing at all. Nor do I want bass everywhere in the track. So maybe bass purist is more apt. If the bass doesn't sound (and feel) right, even the most spectacularly expensive IEMs will be like a multimillion dollar house on a cracked foundation, to my ears.

Have u tried the DUNU LUNA and Final Audio A8000? They are single DD full beryllium sets, but I think the latter especially (when adequately amped) has resolution that can rival multi driver IEMs.

But yeah, in general, the single DD types do lose to multi driver types in terms of technical performance like imaging, details, instrument separation. Though in general too, the single DD types tend to have better instrumental timbre than BA types, so different strokes for different folks, pros and cons are present in the different transducer types. I find BA bass in general sounds a bit unnatural in the bass like in terms of decay and movement of air, compared to DD bass. Though lately, the rage has been to use vented BA bass (eg in Audiosense T800), these types can come close to sounding like a DD bass, but still won't beat a well tuned DD bass.

Or just get multi-DD IEMs. The have the benefits of DDs and multi-driver IEMs. Somehow, they seem to be able to extract insane amounts of micro detail. I really like the UM 3DT. I haven’t heard the Dmagic though.

 

[Precogvision]

DUNU Zen Impressions

Hey all, I've been listening to the Zen on-and-off for the past week, so here are the first impressions. I've been following the progress of this IEM for some time now, and I was quite excited to get my hands on it. Many thanks to DUNU for providing me with a unit for review.

Spoiler: FR Graph

Theoretically, this should be a fairly balanced tuning, and yet, I just don't hear it that way. The Zen's bass is likable enough with good amounts of mid-bass; I really don't have much to note otherwise. The midrange of the Zen sports an aggressive ear compensation that transitions into a strongly emphasized upper-midrange. It's thin and anemic, generally not too pleasant to listen to for my preferences. Honestly, it reminds me a lot of the Viento-B; that is, if the Viento-B was pumping steroids in all the wrong places. For male vocals, sure, it's passable, almost preferable if you enjoy that slightly thicker weight. But anything that remotely tokens the upper-midrange is overly forward and edgy. The treble presentation on the Zen also needs work. It's quite dark with virtually zero air, but there's a strong peak at around 8-9kHz which lends to an uncanny clanky-ness to the way hi-hats are hit. Cymbal crash, likewise, is just painfully emphasized. Juxtapose the two and you have a recipe for fatiguing, yet perplexingly dark treble; the Zen triggers the "stuck in-a-pit" effect hard.

For intangible performance, the Zen's presentation is a more intimate one like most of Dunu's other IEMs. Resolution is passable. Macrodynamic contrast seems decent not unlike the Luna, but as many would know, a lack of treble air often lends to the perception of an overly dampened sound, leaving me to speculate some. The timbre is also just "off" on the Zen whether by virtue of the tuning or the driver itself. I suppose it does remind me of the Luna's metallic tinge in this regard. Ultimately, looking past all this, even if the Zen is technically competent, it's not really $700 material, you know? It's competing with the likes of the S8 and Monarch at that price point.

The more I listen to the Zen, the more I think, "Hey, this really isn't all that bad." But that's why it's not exactly good either. A good IEM is an IEM that commands my attention from the start, that makes me say it's good. Here, I'm left more perplexed, pondering what went wrong. The Zen's not as technical as its predecessor, the Luna, not as well-rounded as the excellent SA6, and not competitive with the likes of the Starfield or ER2XR on the basis of tonality. It exists. Believe me, I really wanted the Zen to be more - it was stacking up to be the single-DD endgame - but at the end of the day I'm in the business of speaking true to what I hear. There's a lot of people with whom I generally agree with that think the Zen is pretty sweet, so who knows, maybe I'm the crazy one.

Score: 4/10

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I would seriously look into the iBasso IT07. Per @tgx78, it is his favorite IEM currently for bass quality, with good quantity. Classical music is his favorite music genre, and it has been one of his favorite IEMs for classical music. I personally think the MEST has really good quality bass, and the overall tuning does suit classical music, with well extended treble, but the timbral accuracy is not the best for classical music.

I just saw this post again after having the UM Mest for a week. You nailed your description of the Mest. It does have great bass quality and there is airiness in the treble and a good sound stage. But, the timbre is slightly off for classical music and it is prominent. Instruments don't quite sound right. The overall sound is great, but it doesn't match the HD800S for sounding realistic.

I'll have to take a look at the iBasso IT07 now.

 

[IEMusic]

I just saw this post again after having the UM Mest for a week. You nailed your description of the Mest. It does have great bass quality and there is airiness in the treble and a good sound stage. But, the timbre is slightly off for classical music and it is prominent. Instruments don't quite sound right. The overall sound is great, but it doesn't match the HD800S for sounding realistic.

I'll have to take a look at the iBasso IT07 now.

The other one I would look into is the UM 3DT. It is currently my favorite IEM for classical, jazz, acoustic music, and especially does well with symphonic music. It may be my overall favorite IEM. Then again, I’m really a sucker for the DD timbral accuracy, along with the strengths of a multi-driver IEM.

 

[xanlamin]

IT07 is worse than MEST. It has less clarity and worse tonality. I would pick the cheaper IT00 over IT07 any day even though the sound of the IT00 is somewhat coloured. But at least, it is coloured in a way that is enjoyable.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

The other one I would look into is the UM 3DT. It is currently my favorite IEM for classical, jazz, acoustic music, and especially does well with symphonic music. It may be my overall favorite IEM. Then again, I’m really a sucker for the DD timbral accuracy, along with the strengths of a multi-driver IEM.

I went to the UM 3DT thread last night and read a lot of it. That is an impressive IEM. I love that it is a 3DD unit. Finally an IEM that won't have BA timbre. It's cheap too. If I didn't already have a z1r and a Monarch coming, I'd buy one. I'll wait until the next sale.

Have you been able to compare it to the Blessing 2 Dusk? That is another IEM in the $300-400 price bracket that I love. The tonality is just to my liking. But, it is missing treble extention so it's not great for classical music.

 

[IEMusic]

I went to the UM 3DT thread last night and read a lot of it. That is an impressive IEM. I love that it is a 3DD unit. Finally an IEM that won't have BA timbre. It's cheap too. If I didn't already have a z1r and a Monarch coming, I'd buy one. I'll wait until the next sale.

Have you been able to compare it to the Blessing 2 Dusk? That is another IEM in the $300-400 price bracket that I love. The tonality is just to my liking. But, it is missing treble extention so it's not great for classical music.

I haven’t heard the Blessing 2 or the Dusk thus far. I’m sure the Dusk has an amazing tonality. The Dawn/Dusk pretty much have my ideal FR curve. Purely based on the graph, the 3DT is definitely not my ideal tuning, but in reality, it sounds much better. Still, I would prefer the upper midrange/lower treble spikes tamed, and that is why I have a partial Moondrop filter on mine.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I haven’t heard the Blessing 2 or the Dusk thus far. I’m sure the Dusk has an amazing tonality. The Dawn/Dusk pretty much have my ideal FR curve. Purely based on the graph, the 3DT is definitely not my ideal tuning, but in reality, it sounds much better. Still, I would prefer the upper midrange/lower treble spikes tamed, and that is why I have a partial Moondrop filter on mine.

The Dusk shocked me because the tuning was so good that it made me rethink what was important in an IEM. Frequency Response curve really matters a lot and can really overcome technical deficiencies. That experience helped me put a pause on my Monarch purchase as I was thinking that the Clairvoyance might be a better purchase since it clearly has superior tuning. But, decided to go for the Monarch because I wanted to try out the impedance adapters to see what that would do to sound. I did get a 20 ohm impedance adapter and tried it with the Mest. It sounded absolutely horrible.

If Crinacle decides to work with a company on an all DD IEM and tunes it like he did the Blessing 2 Dusk, I'm buying that on pre-order.

 

[Precogvision]

Fiio FD5 Impressions

Here's an IEM that's been garnering something of a hype train these days. I've had it sitting around anyways, courtesy of Super*, so here are some brief impressions.

Spoiler: FR Graph

The FD5 is tuned to a V-shape. Bass on the FD5 sports good amounts of bass; expectedly, transient attack is somewhat muddy. Texture, slam, and density are present in appropriate quantities. Unfortunately, things go south from here. The midrange of the FD5 has a distinctive metallic grate to the way notes are articulated, not dissimilar to the venerable Sennheiser HD800S. I'm inclined to say this is largely a product of the driver being used, as the FD5 actually exhibits an upper-midrange dip from 3-4kHz; either way, I can't say I'm a fan. Of course, this perception probably isn't helped by the treble. There appears to be a strong lower-treble peak which lends to a fatiguing clanky-ness. Extension is average; not the worst I've heard for a single DD - that is, at least not triggering the "trapped in a pit" effect - but by no means exceptional.

Staging is largely constrained to the width plane; center image distinction is heavily lacking to my ears with vocals generally compressed downwards on the stage. I do, perhaps, hear above average soundstage height in the left-right channels; I'd wager this disconnect is more jarring than anything. Resolution is decent thanks to the lower-treble tilt, but here, I can't knock the feeling that the FD5 struggles to articulate anything more nuanced than surface-level detail. So while I can see why some might attribute the forwardness to the FD5's treble as positional incisiveness, or resolving ability, I'm largely inclined to disagree. I think the FD5 is surprisingly dynamic, though, when it comes to the weight with which it articulates swings. Certainly not bad on this front.

That's an apt segue; generally, the FD5 is not bad: Perhaps uninspired would be more apt, then, and not really for the better in this reviewer's opinion. There are many single-DD IEMs that I think are more tonally balanced - that is, less fatiguing - and with comparable technical performance. I just can't see myself listening to the FD5 in my spare time. Yes, I tried the various tips included. Yes, they make minor differences. No, they aren't going to salvage this IEM for me, unfortunately. Don't even get me started on burn-in.

Score: 4/10

 

[Precogvision]

Ikko OH10 Impressions

Spoiler: FR Graph

Thanks to MRS for the loaner as usual. Been trying to go through the IEMs that come up frequently in comparisons. The OH10 is a 1DD/1BA hybrid which appears to be out of stock most everywhere I've checked - which is a bummer, because this is actually a pretty decent IEM.

The OH10’s tuning is reminiscent of Tanchjim’s house tuning, sporting a heavy bass shelf and strong upper-midrange lift. Bass digs into the deepest of octaves with good amounts of texture and slam; you can certainly “feel” that DD making its presence known. Generally, I think this is one of the better DDs that I’ve heard, at least for the price point. Transient attack is pushing it, however, lagging a good deal behind the midrange BAs and generally sounding a whole lot more smeared.

Stuff that tokens the OH10’s lower-midrange generally doesn’t sound very good. The upper-midrange is, as I alluded to earlier, unabashedly in-your-face for max clarity and you have all the usual hallmarks of BA timbre. I’ll admit that this somewhat works, not unlike the Tanchjim Darling, thanks to the sheer bass quantity balancing it out, but it’s pushing it. Treble, like most IEMs I’ve heard in this price-bracket, is not the OH10's strong suit. It’s heavily mid-treble emphasized - so pretty much all crash and zing - and there appears to be a bump at around 15kHz not unlike the 64 Audio stuff. I would say the OH10 is a darker IEM to my ears on the whole.

But perhaps this is to account for the OH10’s imaging which is above average, surprisingly so. Center image distinction is present and somewhat out-of-head. And more importantly, the OH10 has what I can only describe as a “grand,” larger-than-life presentation, perhaps not unlike what the venerable IER-Z1R has. I don't know how much of this is thanks to the gigantic bass notes, but...it's there. It’s rare to hear engagement factor like what the OH10 displays, not to mention in this price bracket. Now to be clear, the OH10’s no baby IER-Z1R, but that’s something I can definitely get behind. Even I have to admit I'm getting bored of all the squeaky-clean, well-tuned stuff that's just...limp, for lack of better word, intangibly. Outside of this, the OH10's technicalities are expectedly average.

Competition is stiff in this price bracket. I neither think the OH10 is better than any of the usual, $200 heavy-hitters on paper, nor would it be my first choice. But engagement factor goes a long way, and I can see why one might enjoy this type of presentation. So at the very least, I do think the OH10 has a place amongst these IEMs. I generally refrain from giving genre-specific recommendations, but if you listen to a lot of K-Pop or J-Pop, then you might want to give this one a listen.

Score: 5/10

 

[Love Music]

Hi Precogvision. I was just wondering if you could compare the moondrop s8 with the sony m9? As i think I'm about to sell some gear so i can purchase a near totl iem.

In terms of signature i like something that has bass slightly north of neutral (strongish slam but fast and doesnt affect clarity), airy and slightly forward/lush vocals, good soundstage, imaging, details and clarity. Treble um...i guess not dark, slightly brightish but not overly done with good extension.

Which would you think will be the most suitable for me in terms of my preference?

Thanks

 

[Precogvision]

Hi Precogvision. I was just wondering if you could compare the moondrop s8 with the sony m9? As i think I'm about to sell some gear so i can purchase a near totl iem.

In terms of signature i like something that has bass slightly north of neutral (strongish slam but fast and doesnt affect clarity), airy and slightly forward/lush vocals, good soundstage, imaging, details and clarity. Treble um...i guess not dark, slightly brightish but not overly done with good extension.

Which would you think will be the most suitable for me in terms of my preference?

Thanks

It’s been a while since I’ve heard the IER-M9, but sure. In general, you can expect the M9 to be a good deal warmer in the bass and thicker throughout the midrange.

Bass on the M9 has a lot more mid-bass which lends to an ever-so-slight bloat. On a technical level, the timbre is much better than your average BA IEM, and the M9 has some decent slam and decay which the S8 lacks.

Vocals are more lush, thick on the M9. S8 has a Harman-oriented midrange, contrasting lean lower-mids with more elevated upper-mids - so it’ll sound more forward. In the treble, the M9 has something of a lower-treble suckout, but more energy in the mid-treble (so sparkle). S8 has more energy all-round here with more treble air; they extend about equally (so excellent) with the M9 having a slight edge.

Technicality-wise, M9 has better timbre and more holographic imaging. Its dynamic range sounds somewhat dampened though, and its transient attack also has a certain dullness to it from memory (although it’s quite resolving). That’s where the S8’ll beat it if you’re looking for a more aggressive presentation.

It’s difficult to give a recommendation because some of the requisites you’ve cited are more mutually exclusive. For example, a BA IEM like the S8 is not going to slam hard, but it’ll be fast; IER-M9 vice versa. Generally when vocals are lush and thick, they’re not airy or forward. But I hope this helps break down some of their differences!

 

[goodvibes]

I like my S8 but need to be careful with associations etc to get the best from them. I ordered some plastic 330 ohm Knowles acoustic BA filters that I'll try in the mid nozzle if I can get them in. Should take a couple/few db out of the upper mids.