[auronthas]

Ive got both, to answer your questions:

a) In my opinion, the M9 is the better IEM. I like that the M9 is well balanced and realistic sounding. The bass department is where the M9 really trounces the andros. Andromeda’s bass response is very underwhelming. It sounds boxy, anaemic, and very typically “BA”. Mids on both sets are good, no real complaints with either. The andros may be a little more shouty but that would be a nitpick. Treble is where their signatures differ the most. The way the Andromeda’s treble is tuned makes it sound very airy and sparkly, which is really nice and probably it’s best feature. M9 is not as sparkly, but more detail oriented which is also nice, but maybe a bit boring in comparison to the Andromeda. I feel like the Andromeda soundstage is a little wider.

b) I’d choose the M9, but I think your music taste has to be considered. I listen to a lot of electronic music so the difference in bass is the deciding factor. But maybe if your taste is predominately acoustic/classical/jazz music, then andros treble might be the better choice? I’d say the M9 is a better all-rounder.

c) M9 doesn’t appear to be picky at all. They sound pretty consistent with all my sources.

Many thanks for your feedback and well describe their sound difference, I tend to agree what you describe about Andromeda soundstage with is wide especially listening to classical music.

As my music genres are wide and variety, I would think M9 will suit me.

I will go for audition on M9 later.

 

[Damz87]

utterly broken impedance of the Andromeda).

This is the dealbreaker for me with the Andromeda. I hate how sensitive they are. The sound is so damn inconsistent it’s ridiculous. I can’t be bothered constantly trying different sources and/or cables to get the right synergy. M9 sounds great out of everything I’ve tried it with.

 

[gazzington]

I love the Sony n3 particularly its bass. I'm wondering if I'd like the m9 or should I go for the ier 1zr?

 

[dazzerfong]

This is the dealbreaker for me with the Andromeda. I hate how sensitive they are. The sound is so damn inconsistent it’s ridiculous. I can’t be bothered constantly trying different sources and/or cables to get the right synergy. M9 sounds great out of everything I’ve tried it with.

I'm normally not a believer of cable rolling, but the Andromeda (and to a smaller extent the Polaris) are the only IEMs where cables make an actual noticeable effect on the output.

Whilst the Andromeda has its merits, something really needs to be done about its impedance and sensitivity. On the other hand, Sony, even with its varying quality outputs throughout its years, has been consistently good in managing impedance and sensitivity to sensible levels.

 

[Damz87]

I'm normally not a believer of cable rolling, but the Andromeda (and to a smaller extent the Polaris) are the only IEMs where cables make an actual noticeable effect on the output.

Whilst the Andromeda has its merits, something really needs to be done about its impedance and sensitivity. On the other hand, Sony, even with its varying quality outputs throughout its years, has been consistently good in managing impedance and sensitivity to sensible levels.

Yep I’m the same, the Andromeda is the only IEM where I’ve heard a difference with a cable. But is that because of the cables’ own impedance, rather than the actual cable itself?

Sony must’ve learnt their lesson with the XBA-4/40. They were 8ohm and also had issues with sources. They even recommended not to pair them with their own walkmans at the time because of how sensitive they were lol... Glad they sorted that out.

 

[dazzerfong]

Yep I’m the same, the Andromeda is the only IEM where I’ve heard a difference with a cable. But is that because of the cables’ own impedance, rather than the actual cable itself?

Sony must’ve learnt their lesson with the XBA-4/40. They were 8ohm and also had issues with sources. They even recommended not to pair them with their own walkmans at the time because of how sensitive they were lol... Glad they sorted that out.

Cable makes a difference as it affects the output impedance, which in turn affects the bass and treble response. Problem is that CA's IEMs have ludicrously low impedance (thought not even close to AT's CK2000Ti which has < 4ohm impedance) which means that proportionally speaking, the cable's impedance is going to be a significant factor.

 

[DynamicEars]

I love the Sony n3 particularly its bass. I'm wondering if I'd like the m9 or should I go for the ier 1zr?

If you are digging N3 / z5 bass you should take Z1R route. M7/M9 bass are linear, less punchy. They are made for professional musicians on stage, their sound signature is "correct and precise" but bass slam and punch and dynamic (of course) the N3, z5 and Z1R is what you are looking for

 

[ac67]

If you are digging N3 / z5 bass you should take Z1R route. M7/M9 bass are linear, less punchy. They are made for professional musicians on stage, their sound signature is "correct and precise" but bass slam and punch and dynamic (of course) the N3, z5 and Z1R is what you are looking for

That's the reason I am keeping my XBA-H3 for heavy bass stuffs. For other music genre, I prefer the IER-M9's precision and clarity.

 

[Peter Ruby]

Sony intended the M7 and M9 to be used for professional stage usage. I am guessing thinner cable is more flexible, lighter and less microphonic which is more crucial for musicians.

thats makes perfect sense. I thought maybe the 2 DD and I BA needed a bit more flowing juice to sound right.

 

[Peter Ruby]

Play around with tips sizes. Smaller is better and deeper insertion is better. I syatted out with the LL silicone tips and used them for like 10 months, struggling with fit and inconsistent sound signature the whole time. Then one day I started playing with smaller tips and now I use the MS silicone tips, which provide a consistent fit and consistently great sound. It's all about the right tips man, it takes some playing around. You can also play around with different insetion techniques. I also get the best results after cleaning off the tips and cleaning out my ears with a dry paper towel after using them a while. My ears sweat and produce a lot of wet wax and the sound suffers once that starts to build up in my ears and on the tips. Don't give up on the M9 yet, they are technically better than the Z5 in every measurable way. Except maybe bass impact, but the M9 is no slouch in that department either.

I give my earbuds a nice bath after each use and even the Z1R earbuds look and feel brand new with well over 1300 hours on the ss and s sizes.
The TC don’t sound so good to me so those are practically brand new.

 

[Peter Ruby]

I'm normally not a believer of cable rolling, but the Andromeda (and to a smaller extent the Polaris) are the only IEMs where cables make an actual noticeable effect on the output.

Whilst the Andromeda has its merits, something really needs to be done about its impedance and sensitivity. On the other hand, Sony, even with its varying quality outputs throughout its years, has been consistently good in managing impedance and sensitivity to sensible levels.

Here, I’ll say it for you. Sony is KING.

 

[Raketen]

This is the dealbreaker for me with the Andromeda. I hate how sensitive they are. The sound is so damn inconsistent it’s ridiculous. I can’t be bothered constantly trying different sources and/or cables to get the right synergy. M9 sounds great out of everything I’ve tried it with.

I've only demoed Andro but I think IEMatch solves most of this pretty easily, well at least for those of us that prefer it with a few ohms, I guess the low impedance people that use more than one source will be perpetually frustrated by slight variations. Campfire are probably too cheap for this but it would be cool to see them just include an Etymotic style cable with a little impedence switch in the Y split or something (I always wondered if a cable could take inspiration from one of those super cheapo Koss headphones with a volume POT for these purposes).

Cable makes a difference as it affects the output impedance, which in turn affects the bass and treble response. Problem is that CA's IEMs have ludicrously low impedance (thought not even close to AT's CK2000Ti which has < 4ohm impedance) which means that proportionally speaking, the cable's impedance is going to be a significant factor.

Impressions of CK2000TI have been pretty brutal, but would be curious to see what their impedence curve looks like... seems unlikely but maybe its one of those dr jeckyll/mr hyde situations where with just the right source it sounds like a sane person tuned it.

Here, I’ll say it for you. Sony is KING.

Sony make a lot of frustrating decisions, but some things they hit out of the ballpark. I was amazed by crinacle's measurements page w/ different samples of the 755's. They seem to put the same attention to consistency into lowly add-in IEM as they do their high end ones- A $10 product, any pair of which has better driver matching than some that are literally 100x the cost.

 

[dazzerfong]

I've only demoed Andro but I think IEMatch solves most of this pretty easily, well at least for those of us that prefer it with a few ohms, I guess the low impedance people that use more than one source will be perpetually frustrated by slight variations. Campfire are probably too cheap for this but it would be cool to see them just include an Etymotic style cable with a little impedence switch in the Y split or something (I always wondered if a cable could take inspiration from one of those super cheapo Koss headphones with a volume POT for these purposes).



Impressions of CK2000TI have been pretty brutal, but would be curious to see what their impedence curve looks like... seems unlikely but maybe its one of those dr jeckyll/mr hyde situations where with just the right source it sounds like a sane person tuned it.



Sony make a lot of frustrating decisions, but some things they hit out of the ballpark. I was amazed by crinacle's measurements page w/ different samples of the 755's. They seem to put the same attention to consistency into lowly add-in IEM as they do their high end ones- A $10 product, any pair of which has better driver matching than some that are literally 100x the cost.

Whoops, actually talking about the ATH-IEX1. Someone at my local audio store did some measurements on the ATH-IEX1. The impedance curve was downright disgusting - it was ridiculously obvious where the crossovers were.

The IEMatch does fix the issues with sensitivity, but not really with the impedance.

 

[Raketen]

Whoops, actually talking about the ATH-IEX1. Someone at my local audio store did some measurements on the ATH-IEX1. The impedance curve was downright disgusting - it was ridiculously obvious where the crossovers were.

The IEMatch does fix the issues with sensitivity, but not really with the impedance.

Oops also meant iex1 (not that ck2000 was particularly well received either). How did extra impedence affect the FR?

 

[dazzerfong]

Oops also meant iex1 (not that ck2000 was particularly well received either). How did extra impedence affect the FR?

It's like using it on a high impedance output. The 8:1 ratio (i.e. output impedance is 1/8 of the IEM/headphone impedance) is generally a good rule of thumb to stick with as it offers sufficient electrical damping for most cases.

Cables introduce some measure of impedance to the output impedance - however, normally and proportionally speaking it's ridiculously minor. However, say you have a 1ohm cable paired with a 1 ohm output, you now have effectively 2 ohms output impedance. If your impedance of the IEM is say 16 ohms, not a problem - damping ratio is still high. Say the impedance is low like 4 ohms, and the output impedance is 2 ohms - your damping factor is now a problem.

That's why the IEX1 is silly - with a sweep, there were times where impedance was so low the LCR meter just gave up.