Precog's IEM Reviews & Impressions
- Thread starter Precogvision
- Start date
My guess, Supernova wins. I mean, it's a giant burning star with billion degree temperature...and meteor is, you know, just a rock.
I don't know what a Fourte is.. but I hope they have come up a really good BA driver, at that price. Klipsch Forte IVs are available used in my area for $3200. That's my pick.
What are the chances I would pick any IEMs that are over $3000, over something like the Dan Clark Audio Stealth? Used U6Ts, would be about as far as I would take it. Any time I go from any IEMs to any headphones, at any price, I'm like, wow! These have a soundstage!
I had sold my headphones as soon as I moved into a single family house, but had kept IEMs mainly for travel. I am glad I hadn't spent over $1000 on IEMs.
Good luck with those Dynaudios, I heard they're a mellow listen. I am always looking for a used pair in the US. My Martin Logans though very resolving, have a brash presentation like many US speakers that use aluminum drivers; like when I had Focal Clears, I always feel like musicians are shouting at me.
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I guess that’s down to the “legendary“ Dynaudio silk dome tweeters and the good crossover integration with the mid range driver, I recently had a mate drop by with his new Adam A8H 3 ways and the top end with the AMT tweeters sounded shrill and piercing but perhaps that’d be a matter of correct setup and eq’ing to suit my room, still I thought were rather shouty in reproduction. I guess it could be a case of you get used to what you have. The Dynaudio’s are good enough for the “Duffer Brothers” who scored the ”Stranger Things” soundtracks for all the series so that’s good enough for me.
For single living (and no neighbours) a decent speaker/sub set-up and treated room always wins out, I figure I may think differently and need to rely on headphone/iem’s if I lived wi someone though.
hevelaoak
100+ Head-Fier
I would pick that too. or any excellent condition JBL 43XX series
Personal Favorite IEMs (2022 Update)
Hi everyone! I've updated the list of my favorite IEMs for this year - you can click the link above to see what's changed. The list now mostly contains more expensive IEMs (and I discuss why this is in the update), but if you'd like to see my picks on the cheaper end of the spectrum, I've updated this guide with @FcConstruct as well.
Hi everyone! I've updated the list of my favorite IEMs for this year - you can click the link above to see what's changed. The list now mostly contains more expensive IEMs (and I discuss why this is in the update), but if you'd like to see my picks on the cheaper end of the spectrum, I've updated this guide with @FcConstruct as well.
@Precogvision Did you get your personal set of the Supernova in already?
mark88888
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2010
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Hi, I appreciated the sentiment in your post above, and also the impressive lineup of IEMs in your sig: "IEMs: Empire Ears Legend X, Thieaudio Monarch Mk2, UM 3DT, Etymotic ER4XR, Ikko OH10, Final A4000s, 64 Audio U12T". So I was curious... several months later, how would you compare the U12T to the Mk2? Or the U12T vs. all of them... which do you like best/end up using the most? By the way I'm also a U12T owner, and love them. Also have and really like the ER4XR (and ER2XR, and often use both).Really appreciated this. Recently invested in U12T after a lot of soul searching and reading reviews (yours included) and there comes a point where just listening to the music is the next best step for a while. Chillinalong…
I have seen those Adam Audio speakers at Guitar Center, and am not surprised that they were found to be fatiguing, because the speakers and headphones Guitar Center sells, are meant for mastering people. They're supposed to help highlight flaws in the mix, first and foremost. At least those particular speakers have built in DSP and room EQ; I'm always fussing with self room EQ in REW and JRiver. I can tell you that small changes in the listening position can have dramatic effects in the realized frequency response, so you end up taking more and more readings trying to improve things, to the point of it becoming an obsession.
I have AMTs that are one size bigger in my 60XTs. They just sound natural, to me. Audeze headphones were the darkest and smoothest set I've had thus far, and sounded far more laid back than any Focal or Martin Logan product I've heard. They had also stood back at a distance and hadn't had sharp imaging (nor had the expensive ML ESL11As that are always playing at the local Best Buy). The Focals were more like the Martin Logans in how the images were tight, not spread out over a large area, and projected forward trying to get my attention. Not sure how the Dynaudios sound in comparison.
Steve Guttenberg (probably the most watched audio person on YouTube), says that Dynaudio speakers still offer solid resolution, but present the music in a relaxing, non fatiguing way. Jay had come to a similar conclusion. My set has glare galore, in comparison. Especially after I had started using a Benchmark ESS based DAC in place of a Musical Fidelity that had a Burr Brown chip. The output stage differences are probably more audible than those of the DAC chips themselves.
My Dunu SA6s suck in dynamics but they have little BA timbre which is the main reason I had bought them. The Moondrop Katos have noticeably cleaner and more dynamic bass, but have a forward, undamped timbre that I don't like. Focals are wallflowers, in comparison. Katos have astonishing imaging at their price point (but with a lousy soundstage). Imaging is so good, that it reminds me of the Focal Utopia. It's the stiff DLC material they use to make the drivers. SA6 imaging was nowhere near as sharp, but sounds like a more musical set, to me. I use the latter product, more.
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Yeah there's always the temptation when you have a Umik mic and REW to "tinker" with the sound, thankfully I'm pretty settled with how my set up now sounds for my preferred listening choice of electronic music, not buggered about with room measurements and eq since I bought a couple more range limited monster bass traps a year or so ago to reduce an annoying 80hz peak and moved the sub 18" away from the room centreline which made a very noticeable difference. As for the AMT tweeters I really liked the Head Type 20 mk2 I demoed in my room, the top end sounded so sweet yet defined and very easy to listen to
The 60XT has a resonant peak at 80 Hz that's its biggest flaw. With ported speakers there's always a resonance frequency that the cabinet starts vibrating at. This one, it's particularly bad. I had to spend a lot of time matching the sub level, phase and also plugging the ports. Even after plugging the ports, I can still see a spike at 120 Hz. My sub is sealed, so it's insensitive to placement. My bass traps cannot get rid of any resonance that the speakers are creating they can only absorb part of the signal. That's what I'm struggling with and had ended up plugging the ports with attic insulation and letting the sub do more of the work
AMTs are relatively inexpensive and you can buy them as part of a DIY project from Madisound.
A Detour Back to the Music #3: BTS RM's "Wild Flower" (w/ Youjeen)
If you're not familiar with the name BTS (although I'd be shocked if you haven't at least heard of it), BTS is basically one of the most popular K-Pop groups on the scene. The group is made up of seven members, for which the group's rapper, RM, has released his latest album called "Indigo". Now admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of BTS' music, but I figured it couldn't hurt to give their solo work a listen. Surprise, surprise, I wasn't a fan of any tracks on Indigo either...until I stumbled upon "Wild Flower".
As far as I’m concerned, “Wild Flower” stands head and shoulders above its brethren.
Let’s talk about the production and why this works. RM’s voice is best described as authoritative, rigid, and forward to the point of coming across irate and aggressive. To my ears at least, this does no favors with many other tracks on the album which seem more laidback (e.g.”Yun”) and have more conventional, hip-hop and rap inspired sound designs. “Wild Flower” and its opening switches things up for something more mellow: RM enters from the side channels, at a distance, with faint humming in the backdrop. The sense of ambiance to the opening is a balancing act that gives listeners more time to ease into the track. By the time the drum machines enter and RM moves to center stage with his usual aggressive cadence, listeners are primed and not caught off guard.
Of course, we’ve just touched the surface of why this all works together; we need to talk about the featured singer, Youjeen. Youjeen is not your conventional female K-Pop artist (for which we generally observe an emphasis on brighter, smoother vocal timbre). No, she’s more of the rock persuasion, and there’s a breathy, strained quality to her voice that accentuates the more spacious nature of the track. Is this the best pairing with RM’s voice? That’s more debatable, but there is definitely some desirable juxtaposition between the two singers as they alternate between chorus and verse. I should note that “Wild Flower” is also pretty remarkable in terms of its pacing in the world of K-Pop music (which is hyper-focused on drumming up play counts, meaning shorter tracks): at a total play time of just over four and a half minutes, the track sets itself up as being more than fleeting ear candy.
This partly lies in the complexity of the arrangement. I noted the track’s surprisingly strong ambiance earlier. A lot of this stems from the liberal use of vocals coming directly from the side channels, and the bridge to the final chorus is one of the best examples. Not only do we finally get both RM and Youjeen singing at the same time, but we hear RM’s voice coming from all three sides with a faint echo on the left and right channels. Listen even closer, and a general theme you’ll observe is that there’s some piano, violin, and synth sprinkled in that are used to offset the claustrophobia that the drum machines can create. Perhaps the most powerful effect of this whole arrangement is a sense of tension, that something monumental is happening. Admittedly, I do wish that there was more of a “payoff” to the outro – I honestly would not mind if this track was longer – but perhaps this is part of the track’s charm in that I can’t help but play it again, and again, in the hopes of hearing something more.
I generally don’t talk about lyrics, especially with K-Pop tracks, but they deserve some merit here. I think what I appreciate most on initial listen is that “Wild Flower” clearly isn’t just another track using the topic of love as a crutch. Granted, as with most things rap, there’s a lot of fluff and wasted verses. Still, I think RM does a good job of conveying the idea of someone who’s achieved success and fame, but still feels empty and like they’ve become someone they’re not. In one sense, the lyrics are powerful because he’s describing himself: RM is one of the leading figures on the K-Pop scene and that comes with enormous pressure to be perfect attached. Fame has become his shackles. Fame has taken the place of his dreams; it’s his identity, but it’s stolen his originality too. In another sense, to circle back on my comments on how I wish there was more “payoff” to the outro, but how that’s also the track’s charm, I like to juxtapose the track’s final chorus to the idea of fame that RM is trying to illustrate.
The “no shame, I’m on my grave” lyrics is one of the best in my opinion. The scary thing about fame is that once it comes, it’s hard to let go of it. But when do you reach the point of “an end where I could applaud and smile” when fame is fleeting, it can all come tumbling down in an instant, and you’ll always want more? I think that’s the reason why the final chorus feels lacking and cuts out abruptly. It keeps you wanting more from the track, but it also has to come to an end; you need to let go. Generally, I find some of the lyrics are rough, but they comes across authentic as does most of RM’s rapping. Honestly, there’s something about RM’s performance that really hits home with this track. Maybe it’s the difference in mastering, but I enjoy the more breathy and slightly reserved characteristic to his voice on this track compared to the other ones on the album. The aggression and urgency in his voice also feels like it matches the pace of the track better, and the lyrical content gives him an appropriate outlet.
And sure, maybe that’s me reaching and giving more credit than is due to this track. But even if you’re not a fan of rap or K-Pop, I think there’s a little bit of something for everyone in “Wild Flower”. This is definitely one of my favorite tracks this year, and I can’t think of the last time I’ve had a track on repeat this many times. So...give this a listen, I think you might be surprised - I know I was at least!
If you're not familiar with the name BTS (although I'd be shocked if you haven't at least heard of it), BTS is basically one of the most popular K-Pop groups on the scene. The group is made up of seven members, for which the group's rapper, RM, has released his latest album called "Indigo". Now admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of BTS' music, but I figured it couldn't hurt to give their solo work a listen. Surprise, surprise, I wasn't a fan of any tracks on Indigo either...until I stumbled upon "Wild Flower".
As far as I’m concerned, “Wild Flower” stands head and shoulders above its brethren.
Let’s talk about the production and why this works. RM’s voice is best described as authoritative, rigid, and forward to the point of coming across irate and aggressive. To my ears at least, this does no favors with many other tracks on the album which seem more laidback (e.g.”Yun”) and have more conventional, hip-hop and rap inspired sound designs. “Wild Flower” and its opening switches things up for something more mellow: RM enters from the side channels, at a distance, with faint humming in the backdrop. The sense of ambiance to the opening is a balancing act that gives listeners more time to ease into the track. By the time the drum machines enter and RM moves to center stage with his usual aggressive cadence, listeners are primed and not caught off guard.
Of course, we’ve just touched the surface of why this all works together; we need to talk about the featured singer, Youjeen. Youjeen is not your conventional female K-Pop artist (for which we generally observe an emphasis on brighter, smoother vocal timbre). No, she’s more of the rock persuasion, and there’s a breathy, strained quality to her voice that accentuates the more spacious nature of the track. Is this the best pairing with RM’s voice? That’s more debatable, but there is definitely some desirable juxtaposition between the two singers as they alternate between chorus and verse. I should note that “Wild Flower” is also pretty remarkable in terms of its pacing in the world of K-Pop music (which is hyper-focused on drumming up play counts, meaning shorter tracks): at a total play time of just over four and a half minutes, the track sets itself up as being more than fleeting ear candy.
This partly lies in the complexity of the arrangement. I noted the track’s surprisingly strong ambiance earlier. A lot of this stems from the liberal use of vocals coming directly from the side channels, and the bridge to the final chorus is one of the best examples. Not only do we finally get both RM and Youjeen singing at the same time, but we hear RM’s voice coming from all three sides with a faint echo on the left and right channels. Listen even closer, and a general theme you’ll observe is that there’s some piano, violin, and synth sprinkled in that are used to offset the claustrophobia that the drum machines can create. Perhaps the most powerful effect of this whole arrangement is a sense of tension, that something monumental is happening. Admittedly, I do wish that there was more of a “payoff” to the outro – I honestly would not mind if this track was longer – but perhaps this is part of the track’s charm in that I can’t help but play it again, and again, in the hopes of hearing something more.
I generally don’t talk about lyrics, especially with K-Pop tracks, but they deserve some merit here. I think what I appreciate most on initial listen is that “Wild Flower” clearly isn’t just another track using the topic of love as a crutch. Granted, as with most things rap, there’s a lot of fluff and wasted verses. Still, I think RM does a good job of conveying the idea of someone who’s achieved success and fame, but still feels empty and like they’ve become someone they’re not. In one sense, the lyrics are powerful because he’s describing himself: RM is one of the leading figures on the K-Pop scene and that comes with enormous pressure to be perfect attached. Fame has become his shackles. Fame has taken the place of his dreams; it’s his identity, but it’s stolen his originality too. In another sense, to circle back on my comments on how I wish there was more “payoff” to the outro, but how that’s also the track’s charm, I like to juxtapose the track’s final chorus to the idea of fame that RM is trying to illustrate.
The “no shame, I’m on my grave” lyrics is one of the best in my opinion. The scary thing about fame is that once it comes, it’s hard to let go of it. But when do you reach the point of “an end where I could applaud and smile” when fame is fleeting, it can all come tumbling down in an instant, and you’ll always want more? I think that’s the reason why the final chorus feels lacking and cuts out abruptly. It keeps you wanting more from the track, but it also has to come to an end; you need to let go. Generally, I find some of the lyrics are rough, but they comes across authentic as does most of RM’s rapping. Honestly, there’s something about RM’s performance that really hits home with this track. Maybe it’s the difference in mastering, but I enjoy the more breathy and slightly reserved characteristic to his voice on this track compared to the other ones on the album. The aggression and urgency in his voice also feels like it matches the pace of the track better, and the lyrical content gives him an appropriate outlet.
And sure, maybe that’s me reaching and giving more credit than is due to this track. But even if you’re not a fan of rap or K-Pop, I think there’s a little bit of something for everyone in “Wild Flower”. This is definitely one of my favorite tracks this year, and I can’t think of the last time I’ve had a track on repeat this many times. So...give this a listen, I think you might be surprised - I know I was at least!
Not yet, last I heard they were waiting on the cable then going to do a final QC check before sending it out. I think the IEM itself is done, though. Been about a month since I ordered, which tracks with the ETA they gave me. Not really in a rush for it to be honest, maybe my expectations are just skewed after my Elysian Diva experience lulz.
Performer5 when? 
imackler
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2008
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@Precogvision Hello! Just curious, when you talk about Dunu SA6 from this point forward, are you referring to the Ultra or to the original? Do you prefer one above the other? Also, I was wondering what you grab when you get tired of wearing wires over year. Do you do wireless? Or is there a cable-down that is your favorite? Or maybe you don't have that issue...
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