The discovery thread!

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Really interested in more people getting this set I'd like to grab it immediately(I'm a sucker for red iems) but I'm wondering if it would be redundant since I also have the HBB Punch,Deuce, SM, and Titan.

Of course it's redundant with those IEMs you already have, but in our current IEM climate, many IEMs are going to be redundant, so you don't have to add anything like this, but sometimes it's fun to do so? You just add it, knowing there's something already similar in the rotation, and it might end up surprising you?

How much are they? I don’t see them on their website.

He mentions not having a public pricing set yet, but Rhapsodio has a single Magnetostat that sells for $6,300, so even if you take the mention of a more "affordable" set, and you slash $5,000 from it, that settles in at $1,300?? So affordable for who? Watercooler denizens? So we'll see! lol Maybe they will do the Dita?

Solid answer, thanks! I admit I got too fixate on that QUE UTG graph.

On another note, I think you recommended to someone a while ago some AZLA eartips but I don't remember which one... Was it AZLA Crystal Standard 1 or Crystal Standard 2?

So I use both, but for different purposes.

AZLA Crystal OG : Brings up treble extension, clean midrange, and retains the flavor of the bass. It's more of the balanced tip with a lean towards clean treble (these are the tips on my H60).

AZLA Crystal 2 : Slightly attenuates the treble, so for bright IEMs, it's a godsend, while bumping up the bass and giving a slightly warmer tilt, so for bright neutral, or linear bass IEMs, these tips are killer.

Almost impossible to buy anything shipping to the US from anywhere with the unknown extra charges, tariffs, tax, brokerage fees. They’re all over the board. I just got hit with a bunch of charges on an item from Australia by a private party that was marked “gift”. Go figure.

It's probably because customs knew it wasn't a "gift". Now is not the time to try and circumvent the tariffs. When it's newly implemented, and staff is on high alert, is when they will sock it to ya most.

Busy day in the skies and in some airports today, was really hoping to get either the Juzear Defiant or TSMR Armor in before this trip but alas… they are stuck in customs hell I suppose.

Brought the ISN H20 instead!


Modular cable so I can play some Tears of the Kingdom later on the Switch, currently jamming to my AOTY:
The Callous Daoboys - I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven (FFO: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Fall Out Boy, Glassjaw, Metalcore, Mathcore)


Praying there are shiny things at my door when I get back home

Yes sir. Items are taking forever now to arrive. It went from sometimes close to a week from China (which is crazy quick), to now, on average, things are taking close to a month (feels like the early days of Alix all over again), and yes, most of the time when I'm tracking, the item spends twice as long in customs as it used to.

Arrived today. Noble Knight "C".
Burning in, impressions soon:

Looking forward to your impressions, and more importantly, if you hear more stage than the average reviewer?

Yep. Already mentioned this, and I got a unit incoming. Excited for this one.

 

[Vonbuddy]

I don't know? No gapless. The way you describe the sound and the meh 3.5mm, and that's a lot of "sorta"'s that I'd call it a dud. Maybe not complete dud, but a dud nonetheless?


The Legend is a neutral, with an upper mids/treble emphasis, and a very linear bass, which I'd say is very similar to the DX1, ZS12 Pro X, YuXuan Ji, and KZ ZA12. So while it does have a bit of speed, snap, and note resolution, it's lacking in energy and impact, and more sub bass than mid bass. It's open design, so it has a fantastic dimensional stage, but the Legend will not satisfy those looking for Project M type bass presence, or heck, Kiwi Ears Aether type bass. I love it for instrumental jazz music, and atmospheric tracks. It's immersive and will draw you in. Not for reggae, metal, or acid jazz.


Bro, I own both, and though they both sport CNT drivers, this is a completely different tuning. The SP01 is bassier, and dare I say "bloatier" than the Neo1. The Neo, though it does come with mesh filters to customize the sound, virgin, has very snappy, speedy bass response (more mid than sub, but the sub isn't lacking, just not the focus), a clean, slightly warm and incisive midrange (just a touch), and crisp, airy CNT treble, which means very shimmery, airy, and present, like most CNT drivers, but the overall tonality is thinner and less dimensional than the SP01, which has a warmer, more full bodied, and dimensional stage and spatial cues than the Neo1. So they are different, but share some similar driver DNA qualities.



The Ji is for neutral lovers. If you are a lover of bright neutral, then the Ji will hit that spot. It's for picking out nuance, and leans towards technical vs warmth or fun. The bass is very linear, and not very impactful, so yeah, if you're even a bright neutral but mid bass elevated lover, this isn't going to be an IEM for you. This is very neutral, with very little coloration, and a flatter bass response. I have no idea how this IEM has survived my grand culls and sell offs, but against the odds, it has. Might not be forever, but for now, it continues to live in the rotation. Might be it's absolutely gorgeous shell?


Slap this cable on it https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807982823902.html , give it Divinus Wild Boar tips, and a nice warm source or TOOBS, and this IEM is a sonic gift. There's not as much thinness, and the bass takes on a very present character, but it does take some massaging. It's source picky, as well as being power hungry, so you want to feed it power (preferably 4.4mm), and give it the right source tonality, and it soars!


Technically, the Shell and SP01 are very close. They both perform on a similar playing field, but what differentiates the two is one is a single DD, so you're getting the full flavor of a CNT driver, with that tonality, bass snap, and fullness. The Shell has micro planar highs, so the tonality of that driver is in effect. Now the mids and bass are DD, but that tonality isn't exactly manifested, since again, it's a hybrid, plus while they both share lower mids warmth from the mid bass etc, the SP01 is just slightly more elastic and note resolute, as per the CNT, but not as midrange clean and resolute as the Shell, with less air and shimmer in the highs, again, due to it being a single DD and not a hybrid.


You are still quite honed in on Chi-fi sellers lol I checked out awhile ago now. As for the tariffs, it's such a yo-yo, along with the court battles, that there is no chance of it leveling off, or cooling down. So as far as the MASSIVE summer sale, that's still a go. Just not for U.S. customers. The thing you might not have noticed (or maybe you have, Lee?), is that non-U.S. customers are still enjoying great steals and deals on Alix. Have you not noticed the cable teases we get deluged with daily from our esteemed Canadian and European members? Or the IEMs? They are still getting great deals and optimal gains from coupons, so the HifiGo sale, the Linsoul LECs, and the grand Alix summer sale will go on, unabated, and make lots of folks very happy, it just won't be U.S. customers. I figured by now, you'd have pulled the foot from the pedal, and focus on what you currently have, like many of us Americans have lately? Now, if you want to pay more, just to feel like you're still in the game, then by all means, you do you, but I know I'm certainly not thinking about the summer sale, because since late April/Early May, we are no longer target customers in this hobby. That is the reality of the situation we live in currently.


Where I wanted nothing to do with the OG Que based on the massive amounts of corroborating impressions of it, and @nikbr advising me to skip it based on my public preferences, this one seems to speak my language, and this might be something I need to consider, or see if I can get a review unit in? Yep. This is hopping to the top of the want list.


Welcome and yes, drop your Discoveries here! Always welcomed. also, the ISN H60 is the BEAST gatekeeper of the sub $400 sets. It's the Golden State Warriors of the 2010's.

What I am buying has changed. I have toned down significantly. I think my issues are more with someone else making that decision for me lol.

 

[alexandros a]

......wasn't about to post anything....really anything......free time is very very limited for me these days...
.....then TEMPTATION came in......grabbed Defiant on, (stopped for a while burn in process 24 hours so far,,,) and then i thought i ought to post something.......
Connected to Hiby R5 GEN II (class A amp mode / High gain mode / volume 74 out of 100 steps ) with Oriolus BA300s tube amp and WOW WOW WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!

......wasnt see that coming for sure ........wow THE BASS IS TO DIE FOR at this price range ?? simply impossible .....simply tremendous , the absolute star of the Defiant show !!! Has it all....Speed transients.slow lingering decays.....Fast attacks ....and most of all IMPACT ....an IMPACT not available at this price range am afraid sooo..

...what can i say more than BASS alone this is reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally something else !!!!!!!!!! overall note weight (midrange-treble) on the thinner / brighter side of the spectrum still manages to keep a lush & spacious sound signature with a stage (using this combo/set up) out of my head..... but regardless of all that BASS IS SPECTACULLAR over this JUZEAR DEFIANT collab......dont know who Zeos is or what he stands for as far as sound goes but this set is breaking the bank BASS ALONE !!!!!! this thing SLAMS UNAPOLOGETICALLY HARD.....YES IT DOES !

back to normal life now ......Burn in goes on.............more to come really soon...Deuce is clearly in trouble these days.................

 

[jbfps116]

What tips do you have on the VP-07? That set is not bass-shy at all imo. That berry bass is terrific with a good seal.

The fattish, narrow bore ones that came with the Shanling Tino. I have a good seal... but I could tip roll some more. I mean there IS decent bass, especially sub, but not a whole lot of bass slam. They are more or less a treblehead set, so maybe that just distracts attention from the bass somewhat. but the PR3 is definitely even more light on the bass.

Busy day in the skies and in some airports today, was really hoping to get either the Juzear Defiant or TSMR Armor in before this trip but alas… they are stuck in customs hell I suppose.

Brought the ISN H20 instead!


Modular cable so I can play some Tears of the Kingdom later on the Switch, currently jamming to my AOTY:
The Callous Daoboys - I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven (FFO: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Fall Out Boy, Glassjaw, Metalcore, Mathcore)


Praying there are shiny things at my door when I get back home

I do... NOT... listen to this kind of music, but I MUST admit... I tried them on the SR5 and [
WHAT, WHAT?! yea people, the Sound Rhyme SR5 is in the HOUSE! [a day late but oh well.] Got them used for a good price, and they seem like new, with all accessories. Slapped them on the XINHS Summer Elves cable and went to town. That metal album above is... INSANE. The SR5 should be championed for metal music! zero congestion AT ALL.

Same same but DIFFERENT. There is no doubt in my mind that UTG's driver is an improvement over OG's.



They go about forming frequency waves in two separate ways. More to follow.

I love the darker wooden shells!

VERY impressed with the SR5 so far... more delicious listening to come! I don't have that fancy ISN cable people mentioned should be paired with it, but the Summer Elves is likely a good pick. Shells are so dark green they almost look black. They're actually totally black... more like charcoal color. IF I had known they sounded this good, I would have paid full price from Penon, and paid extra for a custom faceplate!

 

[Khumbaba]

Yep. Already mentioned this, and I got a unit incoming. Excited for this one.

You will buy the tool to graph iems? If you can get iems before the official release date, can be interesting if you can graph them and add to squiglink.

 

[GroovyAudio]

So I use both, but for different purposes.

AZLA Crystal OG : Brings up treble extension, clean midrange, and retains the flavor of the bass. It's more of the balanced tip with a lean towards clean treble (these are the tips on my H60).

AZLA Crystal 2 : Slightly attenuates the treble, so for bright IEMs, it's a godsend, while bumping up the bass and giving a slightly warmer tilt, so for bright neutral, or linear bass IEMs, these tips are killer.

Yep. Already mentioned this, and I got a unit incoming. Excited for this one.

So I'll get them both then, problem solved

Oh, you got Kefine Quatio incoming? Nice! Looking forward to your impressions. I'm also interested in this iem.

 

[Jamsblast]

Hey boys and girls, my review for the charming and impressive KZ AM16 Balanced is up, enjoy it!:
Review of the KZ AM16 Balanced by Jamsblast

 

[GBCabral]

Same same but DIFFERENT. There is no doubt in my mind that UTG's driver is an improvement over OG's.



They go about forming frequency waves in two separate ways. More to follow.

Does this sound aggressive in any way? With Metal, for example, did you feel any harshness? I'd be curious to read a comparison between the two versions.

 

[bixby]

Write the Price in your Review!

Why do so many reviewers here write dozens of paragraphs of text, shoot a roll of film (haha) on the IEM, discuss how great it, its cable, accessories, build quality, etc. is at its price point and never list the price. Let alone at the top of the review. The most we get is some link to a shop where we are free to rummage thru and find the model. Is it because the reviewer is getting a little taste?

I have just gone over a half dozen interesting reviews and found no prices. And actually in a whole thread I came across the word price 67 times yet only 2 posts had some $ sign or mention of a number. Urgh!

Rant over.

 

[Kordonrules]

“It's probably because customs knew it wasn't a "gift". Now is not the time to try and circumvent the tariffs. When it's newly implemented, and staff is on high alert, is when they will sock it to ya most”

I guess I wasn’t aware a tariff would be on a private party sale.

 

[audioaura]

......wasn't about to post anything....really anything......free time is very very limited for me these days...
.....then TEMPTATION came in......grabbed Defiant on, (stopped for a while burn in process 24 hours so far,,,) and then i thought i ought to post something.......
Connected to Hiby R5 GEN II (class A amp mode / High gain mode / volume 74 out of 100 steps ) with Oriolus BA300s tube amp and WOW WOW WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!



......wasnt see that coming for sure ........wow THE BASS IS TO DIE FOR at this price range ?? simply impossible .....simply tremendous , the absolute star of the Defiant show !!! Has it all....Speed transients.slow lingering decays.....Fast attacks ....and most of all IMPACT ....an IMPACT not available at this price range am afraid sooo..



...what can i say more than BASS alone this is reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally something else !!!!!!!!!! overall note weight (midrange-treble) on the thinner / brighter side of the spectrum still manages to keep a lush & spacious sound signature with a stage (using this combo/set up) out of my head..... but regardless of all that BASS IS SPECTACULLAR over this JUZEAR DEFIANT collab......dont know who Zeos is or what he stands for as far as sound goes but this set is breaking the bank BASS ALONE !!!!!! this thing SLAMS UNAPOLOGETICALLY HARD.....YES IT DOES !




back to normal life now ......Burn in goes on.............more to come really soon...Deuce is clearly in trouble these days.................

Love the excitement, Defiant definitely seems to bring its own flavor; sounds like a fun listen for sure I’ve been enjoying the Deuce myself, and would love to hear how you think they stack up once burn-in’s done!

 

[Hypops]

Anyone else find themselves changing tips with the changing seasons? Fit seems to change quite a bit, depending on the humidity and heat. I'm suddenly using Wild Boars on the Symphonium Meteor now that the weather has broken the 90F barrier (I usually use Final Type E on them).

Actually, not what I was commenting about. A little more verbosity might help on my part. I am annoyed when I want to post a new response to a thread only to find that head-fi prevents me, complaining about about the fact that mine was the last response on the thread and that violates their posting policy, requiring me to add my new response to my previous posting. Sorry if I’m not being completely clear as I am on some pain meds after a recent lung surgery.

I get it. But like @pk4425 says, it's usually a sign that I'm spending too much time on the forum. If I don't want to edit my last post, I just wait a day or so until someone else posts before adding another post/comment. Usually by then the moment passes and so does the thought. I figure that's a win for everyone else reading the thread too.

Write the Price in your Review!

Why do so many reviewers here write dozens of paragraphs of text, shoot a roll of film (haha) on the IEM, discuss how great it, its cable, accessories, build quality, etc. is at its price point and never list the price. Let alone at the top of the review. The most we get is some link to a shop where we are free to rummage thru and find the model. Is it because the reviewer is getting a little taste?

I have just gone over a half dozen interesting reviews and found no prices. And actually in a whole thread I came across the word price 67 times yet only 2 posts had some $ sign or mention of a number. Urgh!

Rant over.

It's annoying for sure, but that has more to do with the very flexible pricing of Chinese goods than with reviewers. Even before the US trade war began, prices were all over the place. To this day, I couldn't tell you what the actual MSRP is on the EPZ 530. I used to watch that set's prices like a hawk, so I've seen it fluctuate between $850 and $300 depending on the time of day, season, weather, sales, browser cookies, etc.

And then there's the fact that many/most Chi-fi manufacturers will send out review units before even announcing a price! It's a practice that puts reviewers in a weird position. It's almost as if manufacturers want reviewers to misjudge the final pricing. Or even worse, they use reviewers as free marketing researchers to help them determine a final price. Ugh. But it's why I've become a proponent of evaluating IEMs (and full-size headphones) independent of price. IMO I think we would all benefit from reviewers doing more comparisons outside of just similar price categories. It'd give the reviews a longer "tail" too, since prices can change dramatically mere months after a set is released.

 

[willian Donin]

Mentor on W warm on full body side.
GM on bass boost cold V sound.

Can anyone sugest one 3° iem ?
Maybe Traillii ?

i think mentor and GM is on energetic fuller side. Both are similar but different.

i demo traillii and its awesome, more "correct" sound, less energy, less body, but in a parfect balanced tunning smoth briliant!

 

[domq422]

Write the Price in your Review!

Why do so many reviewers here write dozens of paragraphs of text, shoot a roll of film (haha) on the IEM, discuss how great it, its cable, accessories, build quality, etc. is at its price point and never list the price. Let alone at the top of the review. The most we get is some link to a shop where we are free to rummage thru and find the model. Is it because the reviewer is getting a little taste?

I have just gone over a half dozen interesting reviews and found no prices. And actually in a whole thread I came across the word price 67 times yet only 2 posts had some $ sign or mention of a number. Urgh!

Rant over.

For my first reviews, I never wrote the price for whatever reason, there was genuinely no thought behind it. My last few reviews, however, I put the price at the beginning and usually in bold letters. I think it's important as well. This is a good point.

 

[bithalver]

Write the Price in your Review!

Why do so many reviewers here write dozens of paragraphs of text, shoot a roll of film (haha) on the IEM, discuss how great it, its cable, accessories, build quality, etc. is at its price point and never list the price. Let alone at the top of the review. The most we get is some link to a shop where we are free to rummage thru and find the model. Is it because the reviewer is getting a little taste?

I have just gone over a half dozen interesting reviews and found no prices. And actually in a whole thread I came across the word price 67 times yet only 2 posts had some $ sign or mention of a number. Urgh!

Rant over.

It takes about 10 seconds to search for the price of an IEM.