Spiral dots are my tip of choice generally and I find that their wide bore works really well with the VX.
QDC - Discussion and Impressions Thread
- Thread starter mtoc
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Spiral dots are my tip of choice generally and I find that their wide bore works really well with the VX.
First time writing a post here since I realised there's not much coverage on Chi-fi. KZ has done it's part to initiate the Chi-fi movement (probably after the VE Monks..)
Backstory:
I have dabbled in Chi-fi since the first KZ ZS5 and price to performance ratio has always been my preference. Somehow there is always that "something", lacking in all the earpieces I have tried. Not too sure if manufacturers purposefully does this, if it's lazy tuning or that it is just not possible to hit that perfect overall sound in an IEM. In the 10 years that I have tried earpieces, the only thing that came close to perfection in my ears are the now discontinued UE Triple-Fi 10, but I lost that earpiece in a cab.. *sigh*
Fast-forwarding to a month ago, I was contemplating between the BGVP DM7s vs the Fearless s8 Freedom. As there weren't any BGVP demo sets I had to get an idea through reviews and as most audiophiles understand, as much as there's postive reviews, there are mixed ones as well. There were equal preferences between the flagship BGVP DM6 and the lesser known DM7 so I decided to head down to MS to try the Fearless s8 Freedom. While it was nice, it still lacked that "something" and was aggressive sounding. Judging by reviews the DM7 and Fearless s8 Freedom would be closely similar.
So my journey for the perfect IEM continued. Tried the new Fiio FH7 as well and, my goodness, they were surprisingly good and it would have been an ideal combo with my Fiio M11. However, ]it too if I remember correctly was slightly harsh on the highs. I am a V-shaped sound signature person but I was looking for one that came with good details, seperation, a wide soundstage, and a generally clear (non-sibilant), warm mid-range.
QDC Anole VX:
Went down to Jaben and was introduced to the QDC Anole VX. Now, up till this point I have never possesed anything past S$1000, so while I was awed by the sound, I was equally awed by the price tag (S$2600 - S$2800) depending on whether you wanted the universals or CIEM version. After careful consideration, I concurred that I have bought and tried so many earpieces because all I have done up to this point was to search for that "sound" that I wanted and have been doing so through reviews of others online. It was a leap of faith that has generally cost me quite a bit over the years, thinking back.
So I decided to take a gamble instead and believe that the Anole VX would probably be my last earpiece. I can hear you laughing, audiophiles. But I am resisting for now.
I don't think I need to cover much on the Anole VX and its sound because there are many other professional reviews on that. To summarize, previous users have indicated it is the best 10 BA driver ever made and critics have tried to find something to criticize about it but weren't able to. Neither have I, and this says a lot because I have always found something lacking in ALL the earpieces and headphones I have tried. Decided to go for the custom version and got my ear fitting done by Gabriel at Jaben.
Custom Cable:
Because I posses the Fiio M11 that is capable of a 4.4/2.5 balanced output, I had to get a balanced cable to get the best out of my lossless music. You cannot request for this complimentary from QDC for your order apparently, because it will be chargeable for a balanced cable and it ain't cheap. The stock cable is totally "meh" in my opinion. Knowing this, I went to my trusty china marketplace (Ta*b*o.com) and found an awesome seller who custom makes QDC and various other cables at very affordable prices. You can choose your termination point and cable splitter, plus points here. QDC has its own special 2-pin head and it's a 0.78mm 2-pin, not a 0.75 as I saw others claiming on here.
The seller provided an immediate reply to my queries and the cable came in 7 days, with a free resin cover of your choice. How awesome is that?! And no, I am not getting commission for this. (Though I should.)
Cable can be bought here:
小朱电声科技
My 1-day thoughts:
I have only had the earpieces for 24 hours with all 3 switches down for the best sound. It took 19 days for the customs to arrive. While it is the clearest and deepest ('balanced driver' styled impact-deep) earpiece I have tried, it will take some breaking-in to for my ears because it does get a bit fatiguing after a long listening leading me to turn down the volume after awhile.
The highs and bass never overlaps and as such you get the best out of both ends in all its wonderful detail. Do not be confused with harshness or sibilance because it is neither. The fatigue is most likely due to all the details being packed all the way deeply into my ear canal because of the custom built.
Taking a listen to a dark song with a deep synthasized bass might help "refresh" your ears after a long listen. Kind of like sniffing some coffee beans after doing sniff tests on various colognes. Currently having Pray For Me - Kendrick Lamar on play for that purpose. (Yes, it's that Black Panther tuned song with the Weeknd).
Sidenote: Anyone else feels that the Master tracks on Tidal are tuned to be less harsh with a deep bass? So anything on Tidal Master is a good refreshing track for your ears IMO. I realised it could just be my Poweramp player songs output having too much highs that was fatiguing my ear. These earpieces produces exactly what it is being given to them so do choose your source music, player and EQ well.
Matt
Pre-owned Collections
Headphones:
Philips Fidelio x1
Grado SR80e
AKG Y50BT
HyperX Cloud Alpha Pro
IEM
UE Triple-Fi 10
Yamaha EPH-100
KZ ZS5, ZS6, ZS10, ZS10 Pro, AS10
Revonext QT2
Tin Audio T3
TFZ King Pro
Moondrop Kanas Pro
QDC Anole VX
TWS
Sabbat E12 TWS
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I don’t see those colours available on the global qdc website, are they regional exclusives? Very nice btw.
When you custom them as with most QDC customs, you may choose the base, face plate colours, gold glitter/flakes (I know.. but it's pretty...) and you can customise a logo and have an engraving on the sides.
I chose the following:
Right side : Red (002) + Medium gold foil + Silver VX logo + QDC word + Engraving
Left Side: Beige (021) + Medium gold foil + Silver VX logo + QDC word + Engraving
QDC Page
QDC Colour Guide
The lighting may make the product look different on differnet photos but generally, QDC uses the same color template for all their models.
Do you have to specify the wngeaving etc and the end of the order? I wish it was clearer but I might end up just visiting qdc myself whenever I eat the chance to go to Shenzhen, which is once every two years unfortunately.
They were all free of charge add-ons that I requested for at the price I was paying. By default you don't have to add any logos or engraving on your customs. But I chose to add the Anole VX logo (can be gold/silver) and the QDC brand logo. For engraving, they will engrave it in gold lettering as seen in my video. I chose to put my name 'MATT' on it. They didn't specify the character limit there.
Malevolint
500+ Head-Fier
Nice! I'm curious if you've posted any vx vs z1r comparisons?
No not yet-- if I can find the time I might eventually post a more detailed 3-way comparison between the Z1R, VX, and Solaris than what is to follow. Unfortunately I never had the VX and Z1R in my possession at the same time however the VX and Solaris are much more similar to each other than either of them are to the Z1R so much of what I said about the Solaris relative to Z1R will apply with the VX. In terms of fit it's a no-brainer- the Z1R was a nightmare for me ergonomically. I found it difficult to get a good fit and virtually impossible to maintain it over time without experiencing discomfort or my ears trying to launch it. The Z1R is larger than Solaris with stubbier nozzle and a lot more weight. For this reason alone I would strongly rec people demoing Z1R before buying. On the other hand I have never had major fit issues with Solaris or VX. The Solaris is an effortless fit for me while the VX takes a bit of romancing but once I get it in its much less substantial weight makes it easy to wear comfortably for long periods.
Sound-wise the strongest points in favor of the Z1R over Solaris for me were sub bass texture and extension as well as treble extension. The Z1R's sub bass is absolutely divine-- no doubt about it. It's deep, rumbly and very well nuanced. In terms of treble I find the VX treble is a little clearer and more well extended than Solaris and my memory is not sharp enough to comment on Z1R vs. VX in that regard. Despite the wonderful sub-bass I still wound up preferring the overall presentation of Solaris over Z1R because it's more balanced-- the Z1R has a mild v shape with a notable recession in the mid-bass and lower mids. The Solaris actually has a tad more mid-bass oomph than Z1R as well as more detail, better layering and soundstage across the board. All of this would apply even more to VX because I feel it improves upon Solaris in all these regards. Lastly I found the Z1R to have some coherence issues-- the overall presentation lacked a "wholeness" and felt as though you were listening to more than one IEM at the same time. No doubt this was due to the difficulty of trying to integrate 3 different drivers. The Solaris fared much better in this regard and I think the VX, again, is even better than Solaris. In short: fit alone of the Z1R was a deal breaker for me personally, but on the whole I vastly prefer the more balanced and coherent sound of the Solaris and, now by extension, the VX.
Malevolint
500+ Head-Fier
Hmm.. thanks a lot man! I wonder if my big ears would fit it well lol. I have a chance to try it on Saturday at a meet we're having in Seattle (if the guy decides to bring it.. He might return it also for fit issues and doesn't want to risk anything happening).
Would you say that because of the v shape, the Z1R is genre limited? V shape is a dream for edm. The Anole is a true all arounder though and doesn't lack anything that would limit it to any genre.
That's crazy to hear that it has coherence issues! I hadn't heard anything about that. Thought Sony would have taken care of that. I really hope to hear it on Saturday. Thanks a lot for your thoughts man!
Would you say that because of the v shape, the Z1R is genre limited? V shape is a dream for edm. The Anole is a true all arounder though and doesn't lack anything that would limit it to any genre.
That's crazy to hear that it has coherence issues! I hadn't heard anything about that. Thought Sony would have taken care of that. I really hope to hear it on Saturday. Thanks a lot for your thoughts man!
...maybe? Personally if I was going after a v-shape specifically for hip-hop/EDM I would want more bass-- specifically mid-bass-- than the Z1R provides. It's got beautifully extended sub-bass but it's not a basshead IEM by any stretch. The quality is there, but the quantity isn't that much more than Solaris or VX. Again, I find both Solaris and VX to have more mid-bass than Z1R, which was a factor for me.
Indeed it is.
It's actually very subtle. I'm not even sure I would have noticed it on its own however after listening to the Z1R exclusively for two weeks I switched over to Solaris and was struck by how much more coherent and "whole" the signature was-- it presented itself as a unity. The Z1R signature, by comparison, sounded like it was coming from two different IEMs. Again it was a subtle thing and I'm not sure I would have been able to pick up on it via a quick a/b session or listening to Z1R on its own. It was actually the first time I understood what was really meant when people talk about coherence. Again, the VX is even better than Solaris in this regard so I can't imagine it would be an issue. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts if you get to demo it.
Malevolint
500+ Head-Fier
That's fair. I don't experience a lot of powerful sub-bass so I'm always happy to hear gear that does it will.
If I get to hear it tomorrow, I'll let you know if I found the same thing. The Anole is pretty consistent throughout the FR, so maybe up be able to pick up on it.
Either way I'm excited. It's gonna be my first meet!
Right on man. I was hoping to make it down to that meet myself but I'm swamped with work at the moment so there's no way it can happen. Me, you and Ant could have been the 3 VX musketeers lol. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and would love to connect at another meet someday.
Malevolint
500+ Head-Fier
Since I'm making the Anole work with foams, I really don't think I can allow myself to get rid of it. The sound is exactly what I was buying, trading, selling, wasting money to find.
I went through: Rhapsodio Solar, Andromeda S, CFA Solaris, Andromeda S (yes I bought and sold a second one lol), JH Audio Angie, 64 Audio u12t, then finally the Anole VX (and then the LCD-I4 but I mostly use that at home).
It's the only IEM whose sound or design I haven't been able to fault in any way. I've had it for about 3 months now and still marvel at it. Everything else had some kind of fatal flaw. My gf is right.. I have expensive tastes lol.
One for all, Anole for one.. The three musketeers will line on haha.
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Yup. I know I was fonder of Solaris than you but we can both agree the Anole is a clear step up. I don't think mine will be going anywhere for a while. VX nation unite!
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