[Dsnuts]

I had to take a pot shot at a dude on he FD3 introduction thread. I hope he reads that part as it was meant for him. Guy comes in out of nowhere and says

"Looks like another "almost good" IEM if you ask me.. Treble needs to descend before 4k for natural vocals."

Here's the problem dude.. NO ONE ASKED YOU. Lol. I almost wanted to ask him if he was making a DLC dynamic earphone for $100 that he can send me a sample of since he is the expert he knows better than Fiio obviously. I would love to hear it.

If he owned the thing maybe he has a valid concern but this is based off of rough graph provided by fiio. Lovely

Please folks I know a lot of you guys know your graphs and such. Please try not to judge a phone before actually hearing it. Not asking for much but it is statements like that just kills me a little bit inside. Cringe worthy don't quite describe it.

 

[audio123]

Just wanted to show some support for what you said. I have reviewed for a number of years and recently called it quits (working on my last review at the moment) because the scene for reviewers has changed quite a lot.

I started out reviewing, like so many others here, just to share my thoughts from one head-fier to another. It was part and parcel of being a member of this community. I learned from and worked with the best, those capable of drawing an FR graph by ear, those who (behind the scenes) provide feedback to manufacturers that leads to product improvements and those who work in the music industry, slaving away to produce the music we enjoy, yet we never lost that community spirit. There was always just the fun of the hobby and respect for the limits of our hearing (biology) and enjoyment of music (psychology) that dictate whether or not we like certain gear. In fact, trying to understand each others preferences was a key part of helping each other find what gear we liked best.

Ironically, those reviewers I personally respect the most are also the ones who do a lot of their work in the background and hardly ever (if at all) get credit for it. They don't need it. Those reviewers are also pushed increasingly into the background by influencers who are drawing all the attention to themselves. For myself and a few others I know, that has been a reason to call it quits. None of us enjoy the resulting atmosphere, which is one of competition and vying for attention and "likes", while genuine expertise is ignored. So it doesn't hurt to be a bit more careful these days.

First and foremost, trust your own ears. If you can't demo, read many different reviews and impressions so you can make an educated guess and remember that even then it can turn out unexpectedly. Try to see if friends who have similar preferences might have heard gear you are interested in. Most of all, never spend your savings because someone else tells you to. Treat anyone who pushes you to buy something (expensive or cheap) with suspicion. A good question to ask yourself could be: Is what they write prescriptive (ie. tries to make up your mind for you) or descriptive (ie. lets you make up your own mind)?

I absolutely concur. Reviewing is a hobby for us but some wannabes want to make money from it and now they are complaining they are not being sent samples. I will not hesitate to call them out.

For example, this user in the screenshot below is so entitled. If people don't send samples, just buy it if one really wants it. Clearly, this user is reviewing for the free samples and money. There is no Oriolus Traillii review sample but I order it myself.

 

[Vladimir 198]

This is not a "discovery".

 

[ehjie]

Just wanted to show some support for what you said. I have reviewed for a number of years and recently called it quits (working on my last review at the moment) because the scene for reviewers has changed quite a lot.

A good question to ask yourself could be: Is what they write prescriptive (ie. tries to make up your mind for you) or descriptive (ie. lets you make up your own mind)?

Good point. When a fellow head-fier/hobbyist do some queries, I try to be as objective as possible, in a polite way i.e. needless badmouthing. There is actually no good nor bad in choices, just preferences.
Most of the time, I give notice to where my tuning bias is set so that whoever I am conversing with has a very fair idea how I gauge the device in question...

 

[sutosuto]

When a fellow head-fier/hobbyist do some queries, I try to be as objective as possible, in a polite way i.e. needless badmouthing. There is actually no good nor bad in choices, just preferences.

LOL, I recall I asked you about Acoustune1300 when I searched for upgrade from LZ A7, instead of persuading me to buy something, you wished me to enjoy my A7 when I told what I am looking for, not sure if you remember
Luckily, I was not impulsive to buy anything too at that time.

 

[ehjie]

LOL, I recall I asked you about Acoustune1300 when I searched for upgrade from LZ A7, instead of persuading me to buy something, you wished me to enjoy my A7 when I told what I am looking for, not sure if you remember
Luckily, I was not impulsive to buy anything too at that time.

LOL. Thanks for reminding me!
30 years in this hobby. From portables, desktop to Home hi-fi, back again to portables. From vinyl, cassettes, cd and now digital, only to go back to vinyl, but maintaining portables.
As a hobbyist, I have a very fair concept of HOW our brain works.
Deciding the next upgrade is a very tedious process, pretty much the same degree of difficulty as raising/setting aside the budget for it.
But for the typical enthusiast, research, research, research ->buy->sell old stock->upgrade, this is the normal travel route.
The Best upgrade should be very significant, either complementing your current stocks w/ a different flavour, or to totally supersede all of them, some hobbyists prefer 1 or 2 excellent sets. Some are collectors. I belong to the latter...

 

[mndless]

I don't necessarily mind if reviewers waffle a bit on their reviews, even if it comes across as shilling. What I do mind is them not being objective when it comes to describing the sound that they're hearing. I waffled plenty on my review of the GS Audio GD7B because it's got a weird tuning, very similar to the Fearless Audio Tequila. Nearly flat until the upper treble roll-off. I personally like this tuning for many applications, but I know for a fact that most people will not. As long as you can remain objective about what you are or are not hearing that you expect to be hearing from listening to your music, then I don't mind people trying to soften the blow to whomever provided their review sample of they didn't purchase it outright. I also think it a fair expectation that people are forthright with where they got their set. Did you buy it outright? Is it a loaner on rotation? Is it a set you've been sent that you're allowed to keep? If a handful of honest reviews that point out inherent flaws in a set are enough to keep a company from sending you products to review, then that isn't a company you want to work with in the first place.

 

[audio123]

I don't necessarily mind if reviewers waffle a bit on their reviews, even if it comes across as shilling. What I do mind is them not being objective when it comes to describing the sound that they're hearing. I waffled plenty on my review of the GS Audio GD7B because it's got a weird tuning, very similar to the Fearless Audio Tequila. Nearly flat until the upper treble roll-off. I personally like this tuning for many applications, but I know for a fact that most people will not. As long as you can remain objective about what you are or are not hearing that you expect to be hearing from listening to your music, then I don't mind people trying to soften the blow to whomever provided their review sample of they didn't purchase it outright. I also think it a fair expectation that people are forthright with where they got their set. Did you buy it outright? Is it a loaner on rotation? Is it a set you've been sent that you're allowed to keep? If a handful of honest reviews that point out inherent flaws in a set are enough to keep a company from sending you products to review, then that isn't a company you want to work with in the first place.

I concur. Look at that wannabe I mentioned earlier who is reviewing for samples and money. The worst part is he feels entitled. Ridiculous.

 

[mndless]

I concur. Look at that wannabe I mentioned earlier who is reviewing for samples and money. The worst part is he feels entitled. Ridiculous.

I don't even mind paid reviews if they state that they accepted money for the review and try to be objective about it. It does mean that I take their reviews with a much larger amount of salt, but they can still be a datum point in my consideration of a set. Without such transparency, though, once such things come to light, it basically sinks your credibility.

Honesty is everything when it comes to trusting what you say.

 

[audio123]

I don't even mind paid reviews if they state that they accepted money for the review and try to be objective about it. It does mean that I take their reviews with a much larger amount of salt, but they can still be a datum point in my consideration of a set. Without such transparency, though, once such things come to light, it basically sinks your credibility.

Honesty is everything when it comes to trusting what you say.

Yes integrity is of utmost importance.

 

[mndless]

Figured I would post this here as well as it's dedicated forum in case people were considering purchasing a set from these guys:

Bad news, guys. It looks like GS Audio is going to be charging now for alternate shell colors and faceplates.

US $20.00 | GS AUDIO Artwork Appearance Options Customized Earphone Appearance Shell Panel with Beautiful IEM

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPX2TNH

I kinda expected this to happen as they got more popular, but it still sucks.

 

[Animagus]

CONS: Not for people looking for a reference style IEM, I would’ve liked a bit more upper-treble air but YMMV, stock cable not as flashy for the price, subtle differences with tuning filters.

LACK OF TREBLE AIR?! In a EST?! NOOOOO WAY!! It can't be possible! LMAO This has been the plague of every EST I own or owned, and definitely the plague of the Mofesest Trio....the upper treble air is always tuned missing or shy. I'm starting to think that EST's are inherently lacking in air. Either that or tuners are scared to death to let the treble shine through on EST's, fearing they'll offend the treble sensitive, who seem to have taken over the IEM world from the treble hungry chinese and japanese.

Hey there! Please don't misconstrue what I wrote or read between lines that I didn't write. I wrote that I personally would've liked a bit more upper-treble air - because I personally like airy signatures. That doesn't mean NE5 lacks upper-treble air, is dark sounding or has a roll-off. I specifically mentioned 'YMMV' because everyone's preferences are different and some people like upper-treble to be warmer/smoother and some like it to be extra sparkly and sizzly (like TRI Starshine). If it 'lacked' upper-treble extension and air or had a perceivable treble roll-off, I would've specifically mentioned that, like I did in my DK-3001 Pro and DK-2001 review (for example) and others that warranted it. Kindly read the treble section of the NE5 review for full impressions. In any case, if I left any room for doubt, I'll re-write the sentence better for it to be clearer.

NE5 isn't airy like U12t or Craft Ears Six (which is even more) or extra airy like TRI Starshine. It's smoother and natural sounding in upper-treble but has good upper-treble extension till 20kHz without any perceivable upper-treble roll-off. It's one of the better EST implementations I've heard, which is especially difficult to come by in this price range, at least relative to the ones I've tried. Anyway, my impressions are based on what I hear but here is the final graph of NE5 from BGVP for whoever is interested. BGVP has shared the animated-coloured version of this graph on their AliExpress product page too.

Hope this helps!

 

[illumidata]

I absolutely concur. Reviewing is a hobby for us but some wannabes want to make money from it and now they are complaining they are not being sent samples. I will not hesitate to call them out.

For example, this user in the screenshot below is so entitled. If people don't send samples, just buy it if one really wants it. Clearly, this user is reviewing for the free samples and money. There is no Oriolus Traillii review sample but I order it myself.

Say what you will about his motivations, his reviews are extremely thorough and very clear in their methodology. I know exactly how he reached the conclusions he did and what he was listening to in order to reach those conclusions. Not something i can say about yours, sadly.

I’d also suggest that stalking people across social media and letting them live rent free in your head is not a good use of anyone’s time, but YMMV.

Maybe stop trying to create drama, follow your own advice and enjoy the music.

 

[Strifeff7]

Still waiting for a new "Discovery" in this Discovery Thread.

 

[audio123]

Say what you will about his motivations, his reviews are extremely thorough and very clear in their methodology. I know exactly how he reached the conclusions he did and what he was listening to in order to reach those conclusions. Not something i can say about yours, sadly.

I’d also suggest that stalking people across social media and letting them live rent free in your head is not a good use of anyone’s time, but YMMV.

Maybe stop trying to create drama, follow your own advice and enjoy the music.

Reviewing is just a hobby for me. I don't need to convince you in any way. He probably want to convince people like you to subscribe to his Patreon which in turn allow him to earn some money. For his case, there is an ulterior motive beyond reviewing. This means you are supportive of him to feel entitled to getting samples & earning money in the process? I am not trying to create drama but this is to allow other audiophiles to know about this issue. It is all about being transparent.