A/B Comparisons - iems, buds, cans, daps, and more - Tips & Impressions
Dec 8, 2021 at 9:14 AM Post #61 of 396
42. a&k sp2000t (W) vs sony wm1z

The wm1z is a little more forward, a little smoother, with a little more bass (so instruments such as drums, elec guitar sound better), and the background detail is closer and louder. It is heavier, but also feels better in the hand, with nicer buttons and UI.

The sp2000t is airier, clearer, with a wider soundstage and also more height, female vocals sounds sweeter, mids sound fuller, better imaging and layering, but has a leaner and sharper treble. It has more power, streaming and a 2.5mm jack.

What separates the two the most is not the warmness as some might expect. The wm1z is not that warm imo, and the sp2000t can become warmer by using the tube amp mode. Both also have a spherical soundstage (as opposed to rectangular – width but no height), but what is most noticeable is that the wm1z forms an intimate sphere of sound, whereas the sp2000t forms an expansive one. Which sphere one prefers is likely to be a major deciding factor.
 
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Dec 12, 2021 at 11:06 AM Post #62 of 396
43. a&k sp2000t vs chord hugo tt2 (W):

Basically, I wanted to answer the question of "how good is a totl dap vs a totl desktop combo when using iems?" Nobody expects a totl dap to win when running full size headphones, but can it keep up when using iems?

The short answer is no. The long answer is noooooooo.

The hugo tt2 is better in almost everything: it's more natural, organic, musical, airier, has a wider soundstage, tigher bass, better backgroud detail, better imaging, better layering, most instruments sound better and the sound is more expansive.

The sp2000t, on the other hand, has a sweeter treble and a little more bass.

Yes, sorry to dash any hope that one can get the best music even on the move. I wish it was, so I can sell my tt2 and save a lot of money. But it's just not true, even with 32 ohm iems.
 
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Dec 14, 2021 at 9:56 AM Post #63 of 396
44. focal clear pro (W) vs sennheiser hd800s:

The clear pro is more natural, more transparent, more musical, has a sharper treble, more forward mids, better bass, more enveloping and lively sound, more intimate, better layering, better background detail, better bass related instruments (drums, cello, elec guitar, etc).

The hd800s has a wider soundstage, more height, leaner bass, better imaging, more distant mids, is airier, has sparklier treble, and slightly leaner mids.

Before testing, I actually didn’t think I would prefer the clear pro, loving the clarity of the hd800s mids. But the focal pro can keep up with that clarity while offering better transparency and much better bass. That bass makes the clear pro sound a lot more musical than the hd800s, so much so that I prefer it even with classical and instrumental music.
 
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Dec 16, 2021 at 10:21 AM Post #64 of 396
45. thieaudio clairvoyance vs dunu zen (W):

The zen is more transparent, has a fuller richer sound, more bass, wider soundstage, more height, more enveloping sound, sharper treble, more natural vocals, warmer, smoother mids, background is louder and closer, more musical, livelier, better imaging, better fit, better cello, and is airier.

The clairvoyance has sweeter vocals, mostly more natural instruments, better background detail, leaner mids and needs more power.
 
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Dec 21, 2021 at 10:18 AM Post #65 of 396
46. focal clear pro vs utopia (W):

Both have a similar house sound, but the utopia is just better at almost everything. It has better bass (cleaner and hits harder) and sub-bass, is clearer, more transparent, has fuller notes and a wider soundstage, a little more height, more forward mids, better background detail, is airier, more natural, smoother treble, more musical, better imaging, better layering, better bass decay, more expansive and more organic.

The clear pro has a sparklier (but not shouty) treble, leaner mids, is more intimate, but sometimes the bass bleeds into the mids.

At the end of the day, it's nice to see the big brother actually be better. As we all know, that's not always the case for some companies.
 
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Dec 27, 2021 at 10:11 AM Post #66 of 396
47. focal utopia (W) vs sennheiser hd800s:

The hd800s has leaner more distant mids, shaper treble, a wider soundstage, better imaging, a little more height, is airier, female vocals are sweeter, it’s lighter, comfier, and takes a little more power to drive.

The utopia has fuller notes, better bass and sub-bass, better (and closer) background detail, more forward mids, is more natural, more transparent, more organic, has better layering, instruments sound more natural, cello is amazing, has a more intimate, enveloping sound.
 
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Jan 3, 2022 at 11:14 AM Post #69 of 396
48. moondrop blessing 2 vs blessing 2 dusk (W):

The blessing 2 is leaner with recessed mids.

The dusk has more forward mids and more bass. These two factors actually make other differences: the dusk is more exciting, has better layering and a more 3D sound. It also has better tonality.

Some might find the increased bass a little too much for classical music (I found it a tad too much occasionally), but overall the dusk is a better iem, and I see no real reason to get the og when the dusk is around the same price.
 
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Jan 11, 2022 at 6:25 PM Post #70 of 396
49. moondrop blessing 2 dusk (W) vs dunu zen:

The dusk has clearer, more forward mids, smoother treble, is more natural (especially strings), has tighter bass, much better coherence (on the zen a band sounds like they are disjointed, but the dusk makes them sound as if they are playing together), and requires a bit more power.

The zen has more recessed mids, fuller notes, more bass, is airier, louder background detail, and a wider soundstage, but also a harsher treble, and is a little more sibilant.

To be honest, I really enjoy the zen sound, with its airiness and fuller notes, but its lack of coherence knocks off many points in my book.
 
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Jan 11, 2022 at 9:13 PM Post #71 of 396
i think you may be using the wrong term to describe when instruments sound disjointed in this instance. coherence, as far as i know from other reviewers, is related to being able to distinguish the different timbre of varying driver types in a hybrid set. ie: if you can distinguish slow bass in a DD and then BA timbre in the treble then that is an example of incoherence. but since zen is a single DD, it only has one type of driver, so by this definition it should be more coherent than the dusk‘s hybrid setup.

personally to avoid this i use ‘cohesive’ to describe what you were talking about (which, funnily enough, i found to be a problem when listening on the dusks compared to my 1DD earbuds so i sold the dusks). i know theres a lot of reviewer jargon out there, just wanted to give you a heads up. thanks for the reviews as always
 
Jan 11, 2022 at 11:59 PM Post #72 of 396
i think you may be using the wrong term to describe when instruments sound disjointed in this instance. coherence, as far as i know from other reviewers, is related to being able to distinguish the different timbre of varying driver types in a hybrid set. ie: if you can distinguish slow bass in a DD and then BA timbre in the treble then that is an example of incoherence. but since zen is a single DD, it only has one type of driver, so by this definition it should be more coherent than the dusk‘s hybrid setup.

personally to avoid this i use ‘cohesive’ to describe what you were talking about (which, funnily enough, i found to be a problem when listening on the dusks compared to my 1DD earbuds so i sold the dusks). i know theres a lot of reviewer jargon out there, just wanted to give you a heads up. thanks for the reviews as always

thanks for the info :D
i actually do know that other reviewers use the term "coherence" in a way similar to what you set out, but since I'm trying to write jargon-free and for the non-specialist, I use the term coherence in the everyday sense of the word ("the situation when the parts of something fit together in a natural or reasonable way" - Cambridge dictionary).
so when i say it sounds more coherent, it means I find the different instruments/vocals to fit together more naturally, which is also what I assume the non-specialist thinks of first when they hear of coherence.
however, since many reviewers do use the term coherence for another thing, I think I will look into changing it to avoid confusion. perhaps I will use a term like "sounds more together" or "sounds more as a whole" or something.

on the second point about the dusk, I am not sure if I would call it a "cohesive" iem either. it just sounds more cohesive than the zen ^^

thanks for taking the interest, as always :D
 
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Jan 12, 2022 at 12:54 AM Post #73 of 396
for what its worth, i prefer your definition/usage of coherent more. it’s also what i thought the term originally meant and used it that way intuitively myself first before being ‘corrected’. too much jargon out there! lol. thanks for clarifying and being a good sport about it
 
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Jan 12, 2022 at 8:05 AM Post #74 of 396
for what its worth, i prefer your definition/usage of coherent more. it’s also what i thought the term originally meant and used it that way intuitively myself first before being ‘corrected’. too much jargon out there! lol. thanks for clarifying and being a good sport about it
not at all, thanks for pointing it out. i really need to come up with a good way to avoid confusion :D
 
Jan 15, 2022 at 8:04 PM Post #75 of 396
50. dunu zen (W) vs softears rsv:

The zen is more transparent, airier, has clearer notes, better bass, is faster, more natural, sounds more like a whole, is more balanced between bass-mids-treble, sounds more engaging, has better layering, better imaging, and instruments sound better, but is a little more sibilant.

The rsv is mostly smoother, has better male vocals, a sharper treble, pop sounds better.

For all the praise that the rsv is getting about tonality and timbre, I really didn't think it was that good. Normally I check this on instruments, because well... I don't really know what Sia or Adele sounds like in real life. I've only heard them through some sort of earphone or speaker. But I have heard many instruments in real life, and I thought the zen sounded more true-to-life. Having said that, male vocals sound great on the rsv.
 
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