[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Running the budget version of your setup tonight, testing freshly-arrived 11.11 earbuds: Fiio X1 to Mont Blanc to NiceHCK DIY MX500.

^5's! I've had that setup minus the earbuds unless you swap out yours with the VE Monks, then last year at this time, i had this very set up : X1 + Mont Blanc + buds. Nice budget set up!

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

My 11/11 haul that came in yesterday.

I got several of those kbear cables. very good cable.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

I currently own 6 different DAPS, and it's pretty incredible that the Hiby R5 is so far ahead of all the others sound wise. Yeah, i know part of it has to do with MSEB, but still, from every technical box check, it's such a mammoth sounding DAP. It's as good or better sounding than my old Sony NW-ZX2 and the Fiio X5 III. Best investment i've made in the last several years and i got it for a steal at 50% off from Hiby directly on their 3 day sale.

 

[courierdriver]

Reecho insects Awaken arrived and sounds very very good.
I love his timbre and it’s very comfy.
Mid is clear but doesn’t miss Body at all.
Very balanced sound even out of box and outstanding value at this price!

Thanks for the many, many nice pics! You have really gone to great lengths to show off this set. Much appreciated!

 

[Banbeucmas]

I usually lurking in this thread to see if there is something now. Guess this is my turn to share something actually new.
A Vietnamese IEM brand that has been working under the radar since 2015. And this is one of their first major work for the global market

This is my first impression of the AYA Siren, I will make a review few days later
https://banbeu.com/aya-siren-first-impression/

My full review on the IEM: https://banbeu.com/aya-siren-review/
I am quite optimistic for this brand. The current competition in the Vietnamese market is actually quite fierce despite the slow pacing due to how close the brand are, as a lot of them learn and compete from each other frequently. Hopefully the second product will have some major improvement.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Why isn't anyone talking about these?

21 BA's per ear!!! And so reasonably priced. LOL

https://www.amazon.com/Balanced-Sup...07TG8VRWM/ref=pd_sbs_23_2/146-9787259-6054448

This should be right there next to the Luna and EE Odin???

 

[baskingshark]

Why isn't anyone talking about these?

21 BA's per ear!!! And so reasonably priced. LOL

https://www.amazon.com/Balanced-Sup...07TG8VRWM/ref=pd_sbs_23_2/146-9787259-6054448

This should be right there next to the Luna and EE Odin???

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32929300978.html

This CHIFI here is also 21 BA and roughly 5 times cheaper! As per typical CHIFI convention, they combine both side's drivers to make it 42, but the actual 21 drivers must still be a pain to do crossovers (if implemented) and tune. Anyways, too risky to blind buy, but I would suppose driver count isn't as important as tuning and implementation. Look at the recent TRN and KZ sets with high driver count, they didn't have that great reviews. Sometimes less is more.

 

[ehjie]

Why isn't anyone talking about these?

21 BA's per ear!!! And so reasonably priced. LOL

https://www.amazon.com/Balanced-Sup...07TG8VRWM/ref=pd_sbs_23_2/146-9787259-6054448

This should be right there next to the Luna and EE Odin???

LOLS, Reasonable, yeah right (more lols)

 

[chinmie]

My full review on the IEM: https://banbeu.com/aya-siren-review/
I am quite optimistic for this brand. The current competition in the Vietnamese market is actually quite fierce despite the slow pacing due to how close the brand are, as a lot of them learn and compete from each other frequently. Hopefully the second product will have some major improvement.

I've only tried the Aya Silver, that one is quite good sounding

 

[SciOC]

I currently own 6 different DAPS, and it's pretty incredible that the Hiby R5 is so far ahead of all the others sound wise. Yeah, i know part of it has to do with MSEB, but still, from every technical box check, it's such a mammoth sounding DAP. It's as good or better sounding than my old Sony NW-ZX2 and the Fiio X5 III. Best investment i've made in the last several years and i got it for a steal at 50% off from Hiby directly on their 3 day sale.

I just ordered mine from hiby on 11.11 for $221. I have the original R6 and R6 pro. At this point I haven't listened to it much, but it sounds pretty great. It has 4.4mm balanced line out that you can easily convert to 2x3 pin xlr for balanced input into many desktop amps. Only hiby and ifi has that right now. Hiby really knows their crap, and the R5 I think I is their most ridiculously priced item. They seem to price based off their Android hardware rather than features and sound performance. There's no reason I should have to pay double for the R6 pro....

 

[GearMe]

you mean the RE-400? I was listening to mine last night. They are a very good mids centric earphone. Very fluid and female vocals are soooooo good. The treble is a bit subdued, but it doesn't lack for detail. Warm and engaging.

Yep...good price as well. Got mine for $18.85 on Amazon a few months ago.

 

[dharmasteve]

I just ordered mine from hiby on 11.11 for $221. I have the original R6 and R6 pro. At this point I haven't listened to it much, but it sounds pretty great. It has 4.4mm balanced line out that you can easily convert to 2x3 pin xlr for balanced input into many desktop amps. Only hiby and ifi has that right now. Hiby really knows their crap, and the R5 I think I is their most ridiculously priced item. They seem to price based off their Android hardware rather than features and sound performance. There's no reason I should have to pay double for the R6 pro....

I had the Stainless Steel version of the basic HiBy R6. In honesty it wasn't miles ahead of my phone the Samsung S9 plus sound wise. I also had 2 X iBasso DX160s, one sounded good, one was just OK. I took a punt on this HiBy R5 some time ago and bought it directly from HiBy for under £200 ......amazing value, compared to anything else on the market. Putting all the features together, including MSEB, good 4.4mm balanced, form factor, it is a fantastic, great sounding bit of kit. As DAP's start to mirror phone sizes the R5's form factor is becoming unique. I hope they keep making it for a long time so I can get a back up one day. It's just a bloody good DAP.

 

[dissociativity]

If one were to pick one of the 2020 IEMs under $150 to stick with for a long period of time, what would you choose? I'm thinking the TRI Starsea might be a good, versatile pick?
How does it compare to a moondrop SSR/SSP?

 

[redguardsoldier]

If one were to pick one of the 2020 IEMs under $150 to stick with for a long period of time, what would you choose? I'm thinking the TRI Starsea might be a good, versatile pick?
How does it compare to a moondrop SSR/SSP?

I have both SSR & Starsea. I would say Starsea wins on lots of aspect:

• Isolation. SSR has poor isolation, maybe it's better for you if you need to be aware of your surroundings. But for me, good isolation is more versatile as I can use good isolation in quiet environments but not the way around.
• Resolution. Starsea has much much better resolution. I heard things that I could not hear with SSR. Still, I would consider SSR to have very capable resolution.
• Better sub-bass extension. Bass on SSR is no slack, but the Starsea is more capable of deeper bass.

Things to consider in SSR favor:

• Poor isolation. As I said above, sometimes, you want this .
• Fit. As SSR is much smaller, you will be more likely to have no issue with its fit. Still, Starsea is already much smaller than the others, say the KZ ZSN-type shell, KBear Lark, etc
• Natural & coherent sound. Single DD still wins at the end of the day for naturalness. The drivers of Starsea are working together seamlessly, but from time to time, you can still feel "oh, this is the DD slamming; and this is the BA doing its job". Maybe it's just my imagining things

 

[peter123]

If one were to pick one of the 2020 IEMs under $150 to stick with for a long period of time, what would you choose? I'm thinking the TRI Starsea might be a good, versatile pick?
How does it compare to a moondrop SSR/SSP?

Haven't heard the Starsea but the NM2+ and I3 (if considered 2020) are also great options in that price range.