[jsk ksj]

I thought so as well. I was quite lucky to find the rubber plug - I noticed the hole on the left earbud and found the plug on my bed. Again, sorry for my poor camera skills but this is what it looks like:


TIA!

I cannot find any diagram of thay part of the iem. I would be very surprised if this is any sort of vent, as one big criticism some have of the ier-m9 is that they are not vented & some experience a vacuum pai after prolonged use. I have never experienced this personally.

I think you are safe to glue back. If you want to be extra cautious, block the hole with some blu-tac & listen for any change in sound.

ps congrats on your new m9's, best iems I have ever tried I mis-read & thought you had just bought them.

 

[AgentXXL]

I cannot find any diagram of thay part of the iem. I would be very surprised if this is any sort of vent, as one big criticism some have of the ier-m9 is that they are not vented & some experience a vacuum pai after prolonged use. I have never experienced this personally.

I think you are safe to glue back. If you want to be extra cautious, block the hole with some blu-tac & listen for any change in sound.

ps congrats on your new m9's, best iems I have ever tried I mis-read & thought you had just bought them.

Will do... and yes, the fact that I get the vacuum issue likely means it's not a vent. But I'll try using a temporary seal to double-check.

And yes, I really enjoy them. Took me a bit to adjust to their signature, coming from my Shure SE846. The Shure is still high on my list and to me, still have better bass response. Alas the Shure's don't hold up to use while sleeping - cracked the shells on two pairs of them. I have a plan to make some custom shells for them, but health issues have gotten in the way and made it a back-of-the-bench project.

As for my other issue, I guess any paint that will adhere to the magnesium body would be fine. But I just used a simple solution for now - black Sharpie to the rescue!

 

[AgentXXL]

Well, I'm a numbskull... that rubber plug for my M9s came out of the left earbud about 2 months ago. And I've been using them daily with no noticeable change in sound quality. As I do get the vacuum effect, it's pretty much guaranteed that this is not a vent. After taking another look at it under a magnifier, it actually looks like the plug broke, with part of it still in the hole. I blocked the hole and did some 'critical listening' and nothing appears to change whether it's blocked or not. Looks like I can safely glue it back in place.

 

[HelpMePls]

Anyone here who owns the IER-M9 happen to play competitive FPS games at all? Always wondered how they would perform for this use case given how much praise I have seen regarding their imaging and technical performance in general.

 

[jsk ksj]

Anyone here who owns the IER-M9 happen to play competitive FPS games at all? Always wondered how they would perform for this use case given how much praise I have seen regarding their imaging and technical performance in general.

iems, generally, will not match the headphones you have as your picture. This is my experience with the ier-m9.

 

[psikey]

Will do... and yes, the fact that I get the vacuum issue likely means it's not a vent. But I'll try using a temporary seal to double-check.

And yes, I really enjoy them. Took me a bit to adjust to their signature, coming from my Shure SE846. The Shure is still high on my list and to me, still have better bass response. Alas the Shure's don't hold up to use while sleeping - cracked the shells on two pairs of them. I have a plan to make some custom shells for them, but health issues have gotten in the way and made it a back-of-the-bench project.

As for my other issue, I guess any paint that will adhere to the magnesium body would be fine. But I just used a simple solution for now - black Sharpie to the rescue!

I kept my SE846 and will never sell them, I sold my M9 just last month. My Shure's must be over 8yo now and still look mint (clear version).

Saying that, ones I'm using and enjoying the most are my cheapish Fiio FD7 with its single Beryllium DD. Best for me ever sound wise were my Sony IER-Z1R but just too large & un-comfy for my small ears so sadly sold those on too.

The IER-Z1R sounded better to me than headphones I've owned/tried, inc. the Sen HD800 which didn't do anything for me. I don't bother with headphones now as don't like the clamping, weight and enclosed feeling of the cups.

 

[AgentXXL]

Anyone here who owns the IER-M9 happen to play competitive FPS games at all? Always wondered how they would perform for this use case given how much praise I have seen regarding their imaging and technical performance in general.

I'm not a competitive gamer per se, but I still play occasional FPS games with friends. I've used my M9s for a couple of these games and I still have a pretty good sense of where sounds are coming from. My SDR modded HD800 with Dekoni earpads combined with a Modmic Wireless is my preferred solution and certainly has a wider soundstage. I don't take my whole headphone amp setup with me when going to a LAN party, so that's where I've used the IER-M9, with my Fiio Q5s TC as the DAC/amp.

 

[AgentXXL]

I kept my SE846 and will never sell them, I sold my M9 just last month. My Shure's must be over 8yo now and still look mint (clear version).

Saying that, ones I'm using and enjoying the most are my cheapish Fiio FD7 with its single Beryllium DD. Best for me ever sound wise were my Sony IER-Z1R but just too large & un-comfy for my small ears so sadly sold those on too.

The IER-Z1R sounded better to me than headphones I've owned/tried, inc. the Sen HD800 which didn't do anything for me. I don't bother with headphones now as don't like the clamping, weight and enclosed feeling of the cups.

I'm not likely to ever sell the 2 pairs of SE846 I own. But both pairs are unusable at the moment, due to the cracked shells. I did order some replacement shells off Aliexpress, but they won't work for the SE846, even though they were advertised that they would. Alas I didn't really take the time to try out the replacement shells until past the return date from the vendor. So now I'm planning to make my own shells using my 3D printer. Once I have a working prototype, I'll try the same 3D model on some magnesium alloy stock on a CNC. Hopefully the full metal shells will make them much more tolerant to use while sleeping, i.e. far lower chance of cracking the shells.

As for the M9, to improve bass response I've got a couple of tactile transducers from Woojer - the simple 1 transducer Strap and the multi-transducer Vest. I use them on occasion to supplement the bass response, but they can be a little gimmicky at times. They've got a new model of the Vest available but I haven't taken the plunge on that one due to the existing ones being less functional than I desire.

As for the HD800, I've always liked mine, but didn't really 'fall in love' with them until I did the SDR mod and replaced the stock earpads with new ones from Dekoni. And the really big improvement was using them with my Topping DX7 Pro and A90 amplifier. I had previously only used them with my Ray Samuels Audio 'The Intruder' and my Fiio Q5s TC. The full desktop setup drives them properly, and they sound fantastic to me. Alas I have neck problems from a bad car accident 20+ years ago. Had 1 surgery for it in 2014 and potentially another one this year. That makes it more difficult to wear the HD800 due to the weight and strain they put on my neck.

I also own a pair of Fiio FH7 which are pretty decent, but the Shure and Sony IEMs are still my preference.

 

[Vamp898]

After some testing, i decided to tune the TZ myself instead of using the TRZ.

imho, this provides the best possible result in Sound Quality, but the isolation goes down the drain. So its not really for outside use, but the sound quality is just as perfect as it gets.

I just cut everything down to the inner tube

Took me only a few seconds to do so this is my personal recommendation. I use the TZ outside the house and the "tuned" Version inside and i am perfectly happy that way

I tested them on my plane flight yesturday,. but the isolation is not good enough to enjoy the music outside, at least for me.

 

[MudEnjoyer]

After some testing, i decided to tune the TZ myself instead of using the TRZ.

imho, this provides the best possible result in Sound Quality, but the isolation goes down the drain. So its not really for outside use, but the sound quality is just as perfect as it gets.

I just cut everything down to the inner tube



Took me only a few seconds to do so this is my personal recommendation. I use the TZ outside the house and the "tuned" Version inside and i am perfectly happy that way

I tested them on my plane flight yesturday,. but the isolation is not good enough to enjoy the music outside, at least for me.

Did you notice better preservation of the higher frequencies with your mod?

 

[Vamp898]

Did you notice better preservation of the higher frequencies with your mod?

Absolutely, no comparison. Its a day and night difference in the treble especially.

It wasn't muffled before, but you instantly notice it. Everything sounds wider, opener and clearer.

 

[DynamicEars]

Did you notice better preservation of the higher frequencies with your mod?

Absolutely, no comparison. Its a day and night difference in the treble especially.

It wasn't muffled before, but you instantly notice it. Everything sounds wider, opener and clearer.

This is so logical, where the inner plastic tube act as resonance chamber that have minimum absorbs compared to foam with high frequencies. With that mod, the foam part where usually absorb high frequencies more, now are gone, so high frequencies are more pronounced with upper highs have big contribution for soundstage (air).
Similar to pentaconn coreir which have brass as "resonance chamber", the secret of their great imaging and soundstage.

 

[vietzerg]

Anyone tried the M9/M7 with the Tangzu Sancai tips? I think it alleviates the vacuum/pressure buildup issue pretty well.

 

[MudEnjoyer]

This is so logical, where the inner plastic tube act as resonance chamber that have minimum absorbs compared to foam with high frequencies. With that mod, the foam part where usually absorb high frequencies more, now are gone, so high frequencies are more pronounced with upper highs have big contribution for soundstage (air).
Similar to pentaconn coreir which have brass as "resonance chamber", the secret of their great imaging and soundstage.

Yes, and also the fact that the more foam, the bigger the likelihood it will bent on your ear canal muting the sound even further.

It is also why the bullet style Complys sound airier than the regular ones, and the Sony EP-NI1000 sound almost like the wide bore silicone tips.

 

[Vamp898]

Yes, and also the fact that the more foam, the bigger the likelihood it will bent on your ear canal muting the sound even further.

It is also why the bullet style Complys sound airier than the regular ones, and the Sony EP-NI1000 sound almost like the wide bore silicone tips.

That is the biggest difference for me i assume. I can feel very clearly that the "Standard" TZ are a tiny bit too long. Which is contributing well to the isolation but yes, there is a bending of the foam in the ear canal for sure. At least in my ear.

My Father hears no difference, but he needs L-Size and the TZ fit just perfect. For him, the modded version is too short and he has fit issues. So it is very likely different from ear to ear. But for my ears, the "Mod" makes a big difference and i think this comes mostly (not all probably) from being just shorter and so not being bend or pressed as hard as the normal ones.