[Heo00911]

Nah, the KSE1500’s all about sheer detail. It doesn’t have much staging, and the LCDi4’s in another league for that by comparison. But you’re going to get top-tier techs either way, it just depends on what you’re after.

I mean, from what you described, the KS1500 seems as it's league above the top contenders for technicality, which is really hard to further improve once you have such capability.

 

[Heo00911]

Nah, the KSE1500’s all about sheer detail. It doesn’t have much staging, and the LCDi4’s in another league for that by comparison. But you’re going to get top-tier techs either way, it just depends on what you’re after.

Speaking of the LCD-i4, do you plan to have any impression on its brothers the iSine 20/10? I wonder whether they can compete with the top dog in resolution.

 

[bobeau]

I mean, from what you described, the KS1500 seems as it's league above the top contenders for technicality, which is really hard to further improve once you have such capability.

Like most estats It has a very flawed frequency response - too much mid-bass relative to sub-bass, wavy mids, massive treble suckout and upper treble spike. The last issue is what most people latch onto as its most glaring flaw, that it is spicy. The other stuff tends to be overlooked as it's so resolving, but once fixed, it's a revelation.

EQ it to Harman (or whatever your preference is) - because it already has a fair bit of bass and very low distortion, it takes eq like a champ - it is unbeatable.

Of course you have to have a device to provide a 10 band parametric EQ and the amp, so it's not an eminently portable solution. Something like the Qudelix 5k is great in this regard but still audibly a step down from headphone out and Roon on my MBP 16".

You can get a KSE1200 for like $1200-1300 used (much preferable to the 1500 as you get like 50% more battery, more portability, and cheaper)... such a no-brainer if you're fine w/ the semi-portable aspect.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Hey Precog, as a long time silent reader, I really appreciate all the effort that you put to review all these IEMs.

I am very grateful to read a review from someone who is not only critical, but also share a similar taste of garbage... i mean music

On the rating that you deemed "inconsistent", I don't really think it's a big issue, because well... all reviewers (with scoring) are like that to some degrees

It's obvious that for an IEM to score high, not only it needs to has excellent sound quality but it also needs to meet the reviewer taste (i.e. did well on the music genre that the reviewer prefers, weighting of technicality factor, etc)

This apply to most reviewer with scoring, I see it like this, large portion of the score is given by its SQ, then additional points if it meet the reviewer preferences (or even minus point when it's not?)

For example: in precog's case U12t is a 9, because it's capable (which contributes 7 or 8 points), and it fits his taste (which grants additional +1 or +2 points)

Therefore, when i read people review i always try to account for their taste to get their "non-biased" score (comparison to other item really helps here)

And ultimately this is why i am grateful that i found a critical reviewer that share similar taste

I completely agree. When he put up the FR graph, I compared it to his ideal curve and I saw some clear mismatches in the treble and this is where he had a problem. As I mentioned, he rated it an 8 which means it is in the top 7 of the over 100 IEMs he has heard. That's a great IEM and from there, it's taste.

I can say that I do appreciate a more objective review of an over hyped IEM. It grounds us more in objective reality as opposed to us living in our world of delusion which is easy to do in this hobby.

I am much more intrigued by the Annihilator and the new X version coming out soon. Since it is so treble focused, there is a chance that it might be great for Classical music. So, I'd like to give it a spin and I would have never done that had @precog and @crinicle hadn't reviewed it so highly. aaf evo buying it blind really put this on my radar.

 

[aaf evo]

I completely agree. When he put up the FR graph, I compared it to his ideal curve and I saw some clear mismatches in the treble and this is where he had a problem. As I mentioned, he rated it an 8 which means it is in the top 7 of the over 100 IEMs he has heard. That's a great IEM and from there, it's taste.

I can say that I do appreciate a more objective review of an over hyped IEM. It grounds us more in objective reality as opposed to us living in our world of delusion which is easy to do in this hobby.

I am much more intrigued by the Annihilator and the new X version coming out soon. Since it is so treble focused, there is a chance that it might be great for Classical music. So, I'd like to give it a spin and I would have never done that had @precog and @crinicle hadn't reviewed it so highly. @gLer buying it blind really put this on my radar.

I assume you’re confusing @gLer with me here. Based off what I hear with the Annihilator I am going in blind on the X. Unless he bought one too and I just didn’t know.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I assume you’re confusing @gLer with me here. Based off what I hear with the Annihilator I am going in blind on the X. Unless he bought one too and I just didn’t know.

Oops. Sorry. Yes. Let me correct my post.

 

[feverfive]

@gLer 's wallet just had a heart attack.

 

[bigbeans]

Also have an X coming in, should be interesting.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

@gLer 's wallet just had a heart attack.

Not really. He sold everything to upgrade to a Sony WF 1000 XM4. He should have lots of available cash.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Also have an X coming in, should be interesting.

Based on your musical taste, the Mason FS and X might be the ultimate combo for you. Looking forward your impressions.

 

[gLer]

@gLer 's wallet just had a heart attack.

It did yes. I had to use a defibrillator to bring it back.

Not really. He sold everything to upgrade to a Sony WF 1000 XM4. He should have lots of available cash.

Hehe, not quite, though I do love that little XM4, the possibility of a high-end wireless future is so appealing. But no, I only sold the Fourte. Legend X is now officially my top dog (it always has been really) and the IE900 has made me disinterested in most of the super high-end, high-priced stuff to be honest. I'll be having lots of fun writing my review over the next week or so.

 

[Reebonz]

@Precogvision What's the best you've heard for kpop/jpop with a focus on vocal and instrument separation? Is it still the U12t?

 

[Precogvision]

@Precogvision What's the best you've heard for kpop/jpop with a focus on vocal and instrument separation? Is it still the U12t?

This illustrates one of the difficulties of giving IEM recommendations for specific genres. What I’m looking for in an IEM that I think works well for K-Pop/J-pop is not necessarily what you, or others, will want. The U12t is a great example because it’s actually not a vocal-focused monitor. In fact, it’s quite relaxed in the pinna compensation and the upper-midrange is scooped! For my preferences, this makes it excellent for K-Pop/J-Pop as those genres tend to have quite a lot of shout; the U12t effectively acts as a counterbalance. And yes, it has excellent separation/layering capabilities.

But many other listeners want as forward and bright a sound as possible with K-Pop/J-Pop. Something like the Annihilator or Odin would be an apt foil in that regard. The issue you might run into with that is that because of the forwardness, separation can suffer for some listeners. The IER-Z1R also has excellent separation, but I don’t approve of its midrange these days. Sorry, I know that’s probably a more nuanced answer than you were hoping for! All this to say, yes, I think it’s the U12t for me, but I can’t promise the same will hold true for you.

Quick updates for everyone else:

Thieaudio L2 and Tansio Mirai Spark impressions will happen next week. And happy July 4th to everyone who celebrates it

 

[Ace Bee]

Quick updates for everyone else:

Thieaudio L2 and Tansio Mirai Spark impressions will happen next week. And happy July 4th to everyone who celebrates it

Any chance of giving an impression on Tansio Mirai Land?

 

[Precogvision]

Any chance of giving an impression on Tansio Mirai Land?

It's not on the radar currently, but yeah, if it shows up locally or someone wants to loan one, I can drop impressions