[Precogvision]

@Precogvision i wrote down the same comment in tanchjim’s thread with no result. It seems like you can help me (and maybe others)
„Is anyone own both Oxygen and Hana 2021? On some graphs new Hana seems to be more bassy than Oxygen (for example crinacle) which is a good thing for me. Also i wonder If there is any difference in technical performance. If it’s not a problem to pay a bit more for oxygen, are these any better than new hana? I wish there is a black or silver version of hana.. ”

I can say that the Hana 2021 sounds almost exactly the same tonally, at least within the scope of the units I heard. The Oxygen might be slightly more technical, but it's slim enough that I'd need to A/B to confirm (I don't own either, unfortunately).

 

[Precogvision]

I did say I was going to buy my own IE900, so here it is

Gave it a quick A/B with the Sony IER-Z1R again, and I'm pleased to confirm my initial impressions from the Sennheiser storefront. The IE900's bass might not be quite as clean and rigid as the IER-Z1R's, but it's got some incredible bounce and texture that, quite frankly, makes the IER-Z1R's bass sound compressed. I'll say it again: Easily a contender for the best bass in portable audio.

 

[InvisibleInk]

I did say I was going to buy my own IE900, so here it is

Gave it a quick A/B with the Sony IER-Z1R again, and I'm pleased to confirm my initial impressions from the Sennheiser storefront. The IE900's bass might not be quite as clean and rigid as the IER-Z1R's, but it's got some incredible bounce and texture that, quite frankly, makes the IER-Z1R's bass sound compressed. I'll say it again: Easily a contender for the best bass in portable audio.

Congratulations! Endgame?

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I did say I was going to buy my own IE900, so here it is

Gave it a quick A/B with the Sony IER-Z1R again, and I'm pleased to confirm my initial impressions from the Sennheiser storefront. The IE900's bass might not be quite as clean and rigid as the IER-Z1R's, but it's got some incredible bounce and texture that, quite frankly, makes the IER-Z1R's bass sound compressed. I'll say it again: Easily a contender for the best bass in portable audio.

I am going to buy one.

 

[snapandslide]

I am going to buy one.

I just can’t see the point of the 900 in my collection (and yours). You have all bass(es) covered....

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I just can’t see the point of the 900 in my collection (and yours). You have all bass(es) covered....

Because I am an audiophile and I need to know how it sounds. Fortunately I am getting close to a stable collection size meaning if one comes in, one goes out.

 

[Precogvision]

Congratulations! Endgame?

I wish! Maybe my single DD IEM of choice for now. It's far from being perfect, though. The decision to recess the upper-midrange is frankly perplexing, and it does nothing for the IE900's staging chops which are quite average. It's a good thing I don't mind some recession to my upper-midrange, but I might play around with EQ to correct it.

On the other hand, I don't think I gave the treble enough credit last time. I found it somewhat spicy at the store, but I quite enjoy it now! There's definitely a strong mid-treble emphasis at around 7-9kHz, but it's been done in a way such that the rise and slope off is consistent without any egregious peaks or valleys. It's not fatiguing at my normal listening volumes.

I am going to buy one.

I just can’t see the point of the 900 in my collection (and yours). You have all bass(es) covered....

Yeah, I don't think y'all necessarily need one if you have already have IER-Z1R and Odin lol. Not unless you're set on a DD for maximum coherency.

 

[snapandslide]

I wish! Maybe my single DD IEM of choice for now. It's far from being perfect, though. The decision to recess the upper-midrange is frankly perplexing, and it does nothing for the IE900's staging chops which are quite average. It's a good thing I don't mind some recession to my upper-midrange, but I might play around with EQ to correct it.

On the other hand, I don't think I gave the treble enough credit last time. I found it somewhat spicy at the store, but I quite enjoy it now! There's definitely a strong mid-treble emphasis at around 7-9kHz, but it's been done in a way such that the rise and slope off is consistent without any egregious peaks or valleys. It's not fatiguing at my normal listening volumes.




Yeah, I don't think y'all necessarily need one if you have already have IER-Z1R and Odin lol. Not unless you're set on a DD for maximum coherency.

Yea agree with your assessment of how it fits into a collection.

 

[gLer]

I did say I was going to buy my own IE900, so here it is

Gave it a quick A/B with the Sony IER-Z1R again, and I'm pleased to confirm my initial impressions from the Sennheiser storefront. The IE900's bass might not be quite as clean and rigid as the IER-Z1R's, but it's got some incredible bounce and texture that, quite frankly, makes the IER-Z1R's bass sound compressed. I'll say it again: Easily a contender for the best bass in portable audio.

The day has come, we're on the same page!

 

[mashuto]

And here I am, seemingly one of the few who just didn't really care for the IE900. All the talk of excellent bass, which admittedly was good, but I just found it wasnt represented enough in the mix, and the whole thing ended up sounding brighter than I like.

 

[Gromu]

And here I am, seemingly one of the few who just didn't really care for the IE900. All the talk of excellent bass, which admittedly was good, but I just found it wasnt represented enough in the mix, and the whole thing ended up sounding brighter than I like.

I demoed the IE900 alongside the Z1R (I ended up with the Z1R). I have to say that I agree. It wasn't that the IE900 were bad, they just weren't really engaging to me. The fit was great, though.

 

[mashuto]

I demoed the IE900 alongside the Z1R (I ended up with the Z1R). I have to say that I agree. It wasn't that the IE900 were bad, they just weren't really engaging to me. The fit was great, though.

I loved the Z1R when I had them. The fit was terrible though and I sold them. It would be interesting however to hear them again and see if what I look for in an IEM has changed since then... Based on memory though, on sound alone, I would definitely take them over the IE900.

 

[Gromu]

I loved the Z1R when I had them. The fit was terrible though and I sold them. It would be interesting however to hear them again and see if what I look for in an IEM has changed since then... Based on memory though, on sound alone, I would definitely take them over the IE900.

The fit isn't GREAT for sure. But I find that they seem to fit my ear all right. My relatively shallow ear canal keeps the IEM body from violating my ear. I just need to make sure the ear hooks hold up the IEMs and I'm good. But I recognize that the fit is atrocious for most.

 

[Precogvision]

And here I am, seemingly one of the few who just didn't really care for the IE900. All the talk of excellent bass, which admittedly was good, but I just found it wasnt represented enough in the mix, and the whole thing ended up sounding brighter than I like.

I demoed the IE900 alongside the Z1R (I ended up with the Z1R). I have to say that I agree. It wasn't that the IE900 were bad, they just weren't really engaging to me. The fit was great, though.

Bummer! Interesting you should find the bass is not represented in the mix, though. The IE900 should technically have more bass than the IER-Z1R haha. That said, IER-Z1R has better staging and imaging for sure; there's no comparison between the two IEMs for that. Lots of special sauce factor there. I just can't deal with the IER-Z1R's incoherency issues and (duh) the heinous fit.

 

[mashuto]

Bummer! Interesting you should find the bass is not represented in the mix, though. The IE900 should technically have more bass than the IER-Z1R haha. That said, IER-Z1R has better staging and imaging for sure; there's no comparison between the two IEMs for that. Lots of special sauce factor there. I just can't deal with the IER-Z1R's incoherency issues and (duh) the heinous fit.

I was a bit baffled too because what I heard just didn't seem to match up with what others heard. All I could attribute it to is that at the somewhat lower volumes I listen to, the bass just didn't really seem to have the quantity I like. Turning the volume up and the bass absolutely came out, but then either upper mids or treble became too much and the overall volume was just higher than I liked. Not sure if there's a specific frequency range that I associate as bright that the ie900 just happens to hit.

Again, totally from memory, I found the z1r to be bassier, and oddly, in contrast to others, never found them bright or having too much treble energy.

Honestly just not 100% sure where my preferences tend to lie. The ie900 seemed like it would be a winner for me based on everyone's descriptions... But it just wasn't.