[STE333]

Hey

Hey man, I don't seem to see any double flanges in your tip selections - I really think this might be your solution!

I personally used double flange wide-bore HiFiMAN eartips which I adored with the M9 for the longest time. But have since transition to single flange symbios. for comfort.

I still think the double flang sounded better, and balanced out the FR a bit.

Hi
I have the m7 and the Tanchjim apb tips really solved the vacuum/suction problem for me. They co

 

[STE333]

I have the m7 and the Tanchjim T-APB tips really solved the vacuum/suction problem for me. They come with a wide bore pair and narrow bore pair in the box, and for me the air pressure balance works, worth a look.

 

[hoofman]

@Vamp898 how have your experience with the new Sony tips been with the M9?

 

[Vamp898]

@Vamp898 how have your experience with the new Sony tips been with the M9?

I received them today.

First impression, weird. They feel like silicone to the touch, they feel like silicone in the ear, but they are not. Not negative, just strange. You can't compare them to memory foam at all considering look/feel.

They allow for pressure compensation, but not as fast as memory foam. So after you insert them, there is air pressure for a very short time, for like 3-5 seconds but then you feel it slowly go. And if you push them further in after insertion, you will cause pressure for 3-5 seconds again, but that is no issue for me. Memory Foam also cause this for like 1 second.

But because they need a few seconds to compensate pressure, they have the same issue like silicone that when you raise your eyebrows or do things like that, the sound will change because pressure changes. They can't compensate fast enough to cope with sudden changes. The Material is much more firm and silicone like.

To me they don't feel like triple comfort, they feel like thicker silicone ones to me.

The sound is, to me, like silicone. If i am able to insert the silicone without air pressure issue (which is rare, but with enough patience, i can do it) it is pretty much the same sound.

So compared to Memory Foam, they sound less warm, the treble is more forward and everything sounds a bit more clear.

With the TA-ZH1ES+IER-M9 with ReoNa i sometimes have the situation that the treble is a tiny bit too peeky for me when i use silicone. The S she sings is sometimes a bit hot for my ear. With the Memory Foam, i did not have this "issue", with the NI1000 i have this issue again. This shows me, that they sound much closer to normal silicone than memory foam.

I'd assume if you would not tell someone that they are foam, they would not notice it. So the sounds is pretty much like silicone imho.

It is an absolutely unique experience. I thought 20€ for one pair was expensive but there is pretty much nothing to compare it to. It is not memory foam, no matter what brand, and i would not compare them to memory foam. To me, they are like silicone that isolate better and don't cause air pressure issues.

Even though they are expensive, i consider them the definitive earpiece for the IER-M9.

 

[STE333]

I just want to cry… not about the song or how awesome M9 sounds (it is), i’ve tried so many eartips with different sizes, that the ONLY one i can use comfortably is foams… and i don’t like foams.

Any others from stock silicone until spring tips of 3 different sizes all of them have issues, the weird thing is i thought i got my end game eartips the spring tips M size, it seals, doesn’t have suction, no sharp pain on insertion, and no imbalances aandd it doesn’t seal anymore like What.

Until this day M9 along side Seeaudio Bravery are my most uncomfortable iems, its my bad luck that my ears aren’t good with unvented all BA iems… damn.
Maybe… spring tips size ML will come out.. just need that a bit bigger than M..

Other than my problem above, its awesome

Sorry to harp on about it but the tanchjim t-apb tips will probably solve your problem, all other tips I tried had the same issues with vacuum/ suction effect. I keep seeing people have the same problem with this iem as they are unvented but these tips are never mentioned. They effectively vent the M7/M9 without losing the isolation.

 

[Vamp898]

I just want to cry… not about the song or how awesome M9 sounds (it is), i’ve tried so many eartips with different sizes, that the ONLY one i can use comfortably is foams… and i don’t like foams.

Any others from stock silicone until spring tips of 3 different sizes all of them have issues, the weird thing is i thought i got my end game eartips the spring tips M size, it seals, doesn’t have suction, no sharp pain on insertion, and no imbalances aandd it doesn’t seal anymore like What.

Until this day M9 along side Seeaudio Bravery are my most uncomfortable iems, its my bad luck that my ears aren’t good with unvented all BA iems… damn.
Maybe… spring tips size ML will come out.. just need that a bit bigger than M..

Other than my problem above, its awesome

Then get the Sony Memory Foam (which are not Memory Foam but i call them like that for simplicity reasons. Proprietary Polyurethane/Silicon hybrid material doesn't roll off the tongue ). They feel and sound like silicone but aren't. You don't even have to squeeze them when inserting! You can just put the IER-M9 in like normal.

I just tested them and they are my main earpieces now. All advantages of silicone without the disadvantage (no air pressure compensation)

 

[LunarLight]

Sorry to harp on about it but the tanchjim t-apb tips will probably solve your problem, all other tips I tried had the same issues with vacuum/ suction effect. I keep seeing people have the same problem with this iem as they are unvented but these tips are never mentioned. They effectively vent the M7/M9 without losing the isolation.

Don't you see on the right box, most top right corner the blue one is t-apb bass and green one t-apb treble, both have sharp pain when inserting it in my right ear, have slight suction, and has different pressure when i look up and down resulting an uncomfortable feeling and different sound.
edit: i also tried one step smaller than what i keep, too small..

Then get the Sony Memory Foam (which are not Memory Foam but i call them like that for simplicity reasons. Proprietary Polyurethane/Silicon hybrid material doesn't roll off the tongue ). They feel and sound like silicone but aren't. You don't even have to squeeze them when inserting! You can just put the IER-M9 in like normal.

I just tested them and they are my main earpieces now. All advantages of silicone without the disadvantage (no air pressure compensation)

The.. uh Triple comfort..? i can't find anything when typing sony memory foam, at best the one with wf-xm4 shows up (haven't tried it yet, expensive af), btw the triple comfort depends on size have sharp pain too and it won't stay because any slight head movement will unseal by itself so i have to push it every time, its annoying, sometimes it literally won't seal at all even i push it hard and rotates it, just unplug by itself.
edit: although i have problems with them, when i got it right and don't move, its one of the best, just lack that silicone's grip

 

[Vamp898]

Don't you see on the right box, most top right corner the blue one is t-apb bass and green one t-apb treble, both have sharp pain when inserting it in my right ear, have slight suction, and has different pressure when i look up and down resulting an uncomfortable feeling and different sound.
edit: i also tried one step smaller than what i keep, too small..

The.. uh Triple comfort..? i can't find anything when typing sony memory foam, at best the one with wf-xm4 shows up (haven't tried it yet, expensive af), btw the triple comfort depends on size have sharp pain too and it won't stay because any slight head movement will unseal by itself so i have to push it every time, its annoying, sometimes it literally won't seal at all even i push it hard and rotates it, just unplug by itself.
edit: although i have problems with them, when i got it right and don't move, its one of the best, just lack that silicone's grip

Triple comfort is silicone. The foam are EP-NI1000

 

[LunarLight]

Triple comfort is silicone. The foam are EP-NI1000

Oh thats it, do you use your usual size or need to down or up size for it?

 

[zenki]

I got t-apb, they're pretty good. The pressure relief thing actually works in my case and the quailty is top notch.
Definitely one of the surprises of 2021.

 

[Scubadevils]

I had the same pressure issues with Traillii, not quite as bad but still an issue. Now using Tanchjim T300 and resolved, excellent tips. Ordered another set for M9.

 

[Vamp898]

Oh thats it, do you use your usual size or need to down or up size for it?

First of all, im on Day 2 now with the EP-NI1000 and they still sound exactly how they are supposed to sound. It is crazy how much clearer and detailed they sound compared to the Memory Foam i had before. Its like taking off a pillow.

With the IER-Z1R, i can use SS (S Short), S and MS (M Short) with silicone and they all fit. MS are the most comfortable to me because i don't have to insert it as deep and so the metal housing is less irritating.

With the IER-M9, i have to use ML (M Long) for proper fit because i can not insert them as deep and so i need longer tips.

With the EP-NI1000 i can use M with both IER-Z1R and IER-M9 perfectly. I guess S would also fit the IER-Z1R but again, i don't want that metal housing that deep my ear.

Most people say "insert the IER-M9 as deep as possible" but i personally disagree. They have not been designed to be inserted deep (they designed them that way intentionally that you can take them out or put them in easily when you're on stage or are an PA Engineer. The deeper an IEM needs to be inserted, to more hassle do you have when using them which is not the point here) so i would recommend to choose a size that doesn't require you to insert them deep (which is generally a bit larger than deep insertion).

 

[ChildOfDust]

Hello, new user here. I just ordered the M9's, they should arrive next week. I'm pretty excited to hear them. I'm somewhat of a novice in the audio community(not a total beginner), the M9's will only be my 2nd high end IEM's, currently I have the Thieaudio Monarch's and while I like them a lot, I don't love. I'm just wondering if anyone here can compare the M9's to the OG Monarch's? I've looked around here and other places online but haven't found any real comparison.

 

[Vamp898]

Hello, new user here. I just ordered the M9's, they should arrive next week. I'm pretty excited to hear them. I'm somewhat of a novice in the audio community(not a total beginner), the M9's will only be my 2nd high end IEM's, currently I have the Thieaudio Monarch's and while I like them a lot, I don't love. I'm just wondering if anyone here can compare the M9's to the OG Monarch's? I've looked around here and other places online but haven't found any real comparison.

First of all, the is one important thing about the IER-M9. Its is an closed/isolating IEM that doesn't allow for any sort of air pressure compensation.

That means they are extremely picky about what tip size you use and also how you insert them. A lot of people (i feel like more than 50%) have issues and can not fit them unless they use (Memory) Foam earpieces (Due to their nature, they let through air and allow for pressure compensation).

Sony released their own Foam (Proprietary Polyurethane Silicone mix) earpieces which, that is the current result of research in this forum, perform the best and seem to sound as close as it is possible to normal silicone if not identical (But they are hellish expensive. Normal foam cost 1-2€ a pair, the Sony ones (EP-NI1000) cost 20€ a pair but seem to last >1year rather than >1month)

So there is quite a possibility that until you buy a pair of foam, you'll not know how the IER-M9 actually sounds.

But if you manage to fit them properly with silicone or decide to get for foam, the IER-M9 sound much more "realistic" and "authentic". Instruments keep more of their natural character, everything sounds more "as it is there" and especially more fun.

Japanese divide the Tunings into three Categories

- Monitoring (Extremely Flat and not meant to listen at music but for mixing/mastering)
- Listening (A tuning that is designed to listen to finished/recorded music and should give an authentic recreation of the live performance)
- Club (A tuning that is mainly focused on Fun and works best with electronic music)

The IER-M9, even though it is an Monitor, belongs into the "Listening" category, it intends to make the music sound as realistic and live as possible but with a monitoring touch. So it sounds a bit less "fun" than most Listening Earphone and a bit more balanced overall, but still a _lot_ more fun than pretty much all In-Ear that belong into the Monitoring category.

So you could say a Listening Tuning that is more on the balanced side.

The Monarch is (my personal opinion) an typical ChiFi In-Ear with an Tuning that doesn't really belong in any category and its main target is to make the perceived amount of details as large as possible. It tries to sound fun, but also bright and detailed and all at the same time. So its neither Monitoring (It can't be used for that), nor is it really Listening.

Its a Monitoring Tuning with boosted bass and boosted treble. So it sounds like it does have more details, but actually the treble is less controlled and the actual amount of details is lower than with the IER-M9.

I personally dislike the Monarch (Mk2 too). I think their tuning is really weird and makes most music just sound off/wrong and unnatural. If you have a warm recording, it doesn't sound warm. If you have a cold recording, the treble is hot and painful. Even though the bass is boosted, most Instruments that need a good Bass like Cello or Double Bass sound flat and boring. Thats pretty much typical ChiFi (i can already feel how the crapstorm is incoming ).

Because i don't like them, nothing of what i said might be relevant for you^^

Even though i am not a big fan of Graphs because they only show a small part of the picture, these graphs make a pretty good job to explain the difference in tuning (unrelated to their sound characteristic which is very different too)

 

[ChildOfDust]

Thank you very much for your reply and thank you for comparing them to the Monarch! It looks like my M9's are out for delivery now, so hopefully I will get to hear them today.

In the past I've not really been a fan of foam tips. I do have a few pairs lying around somewhere I think so I can at least try them, but I will probably stick with silicone. I read that they can work well when not inserted too deeply, which I really like the idea of. I don't love being fully sealed most of the time. I might try the pinhole thing if the pressure builds up too much though and see if that helps.

As far as the Monarch, I do believe it is the tuning I don't love as wel, that and they just sound thin, especially in the mid-bass. I basically can't use them wo eq and I don't like having to eq if I don't absolutely have to.
I had looked at the graph's pre-ordering and I do have a 40 and 100 ohm adapters for the Monarch, but I can't use them as I can't power the iem's properly when I use the adapters. I use the BTR5 pretty much exclusively now and even on high gain with volume maxxed on both the BTR5 and my Samsung it just doesn't go loud enough. I listen to music very loudly. I know it's not good for my hearing but I don't care. lol. I don't listen for long periods either.
Do the M9's work well with impedance adapters? I can't use the ones I have anyway as they are 2.5mm balanced tip, but just curious.

I was looking at the Sony Walkman's the last few days as I think you had written that the M9's really come alive when using one. Unfortunately I just don't think that is something that would work for me. They look too big and I really hate the idea of have a cable plugged into the music player itself. I mainly listen to music at work, while moving around a lot. Atm I just put my phone in my side pocket of my leggings and the btr5 is tucked in my front pouch, so the cable of the IEM is completely tucked away, out of sight, out of mind. I am curious what the sound difference would be with a Walkman still. It's something I might consider for home use, although that would be way down the line, can't justify the price atm for how little I'd use it.