MoonsOfJupiter
New Head-Fier
I thought this would be a good topic as both retunings and collabs are exploding lately. I hope that this becomes a thread about current and future examples and not just about the iems mentioned here.
I really like what HBB has done with his collabs, mostly because I share his taste for a warm bass boosted and treble on the smoother side, anti sibilant tuning. My personal curve would have 5 more dB of sub bass and 2dB less of a 2-3dB peak. You can tell he listens and analyzes, carefully measures an iem's tone and corrects some issues and usually succeeds. His QKZ x HBB collab is a $20 must for anyone who likes a warm and smooth sound for the cost of a dinner.
On the other hand, I feel that both Shuoer and Dunu have lost opportunities to gain new customers/sales with the S12 series and the SA6 Ultra respectively.
New to iems this year, I started with the Aria, wasn't enough bass for me. Narrow down my options around $200 to the OH10, Timeless and S12. Heard sound test demos and while the Timeless and S12 sounded impressive, a bit too shouty and potential for sibilance for me. OH10 had a bit more bass and wasn't sibilant. Very happy with them. Bass is tasty, want more...found the Maestro Mini (hybrid). Love them. Now have a taste for a next level tribrid bassbeast and it'll likely be the Bravado mkII - but don't want to get off track of the thread further.
When I heard about the Z12 and watching Zeos' vid, he got my attention when he said they were adding some bass. I thought the next thing he would say was "and with the S12 being on the bright side, I decided to take some edge off the treble"....but alas it wasn't so. Then soon after the S12 Pro magically appears? Ok now they surely.... but no, they didn't:
I would've hoped that the Z12 would have added more than 1-3dB of bass and gone at least 5 more dB of sub bass. So they add a little bass but more treble is added as well? The S12 already had a bright signature. Then they release a quick follow up S12 Pro that is almost identical to the prior two, really making me shake my head. (and I'm sure Zeos wasn't thrilled either, cutting into the Z12's space almost immediately). Three very similar flavors. Doesn't make much sense to me.
The same missed chance with the SA6 Ultra:
The "Ultra" is virtually identical to the OG SA6 from 20Hz - 1K, then is still very close beyond with better extension above 10K. The treble actually looks very solid on the Ultra, they made the perfect correction. But why not elevate the bass beyond neutral? Give people something new to lust over besides a drop of sparkle.
Bassheads mostly glanced away from these so called options and both companies also lost the chance of current S12/SA6 owners buying the other choices by giving them no reason to. My wallet is grateful I guess because I would've bought both collabs if they gave a proper alternative.
Let's see what comes out in the next few months. I'll be looking out for more HBB collabs.
I really like what HBB has done with his collabs, mostly because I share his taste for a warm bass boosted and treble on the smoother side, anti sibilant tuning. My personal curve would have 5 more dB of sub bass and 2dB less of a 2-3dB peak. You can tell he listens and analyzes, carefully measures an iem's tone and corrects some issues and usually succeeds. His QKZ x HBB collab is a $20 must for anyone who likes a warm and smooth sound for the cost of a dinner.
On the other hand, I feel that both Shuoer and Dunu have lost opportunities to gain new customers/sales with the S12 series and the SA6 Ultra respectively.
New to iems this year, I started with the Aria, wasn't enough bass for me. Narrow down my options around $200 to the OH10, Timeless and S12. Heard sound test demos and while the Timeless and S12 sounded impressive, a bit too shouty and potential for sibilance for me. OH10 had a bit more bass and wasn't sibilant. Very happy with them. Bass is tasty, want more...found the Maestro Mini (hybrid). Love them. Now have a taste for a next level tribrid bassbeast and it'll likely be the Bravado mkII - but don't want to get off track of the thread further.
When I heard about the Z12 and watching Zeos' vid, he got my attention when he said they were adding some bass. I thought the next thing he would say was "and with the S12 being on the bright side, I decided to take some edge off the treble"....but alas it wasn't so. Then soon after the S12 Pro magically appears? Ok now they surely.... but no, they didn't:
I would've hoped that the Z12 would have added more than 1-3dB of bass and gone at least 5 more dB of sub bass. So they add a little bass but more treble is added as well? The S12 already had a bright signature. Then they release a quick follow up S12 Pro that is almost identical to the prior two, really making me shake my head. (and I'm sure Zeos wasn't thrilled either, cutting into the Z12's space almost immediately). Three very similar flavors. Doesn't make much sense to me.
The same missed chance with the SA6 Ultra:
The "Ultra" is virtually identical to the OG SA6 from 20Hz - 1K, then is still very close beyond with better extension above 10K. The treble actually looks very solid on the Ultra, they made the perfect correction. But why not elevate the bass beyond neutral? Give people something new to lust over besides a drop of sparkle.
Bassheads mostly glanced away from these so called options and both companies also lost the chance of current S12/SA6 owners buying the other choices by giving them no reason to. My wallet is grateful I guess because I would've bought both collabs if they gave a proper alternative.
Let's see what comes out in the next few months. I'll be looking out for more HBB collabs.
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