[nymz]

Here is a discovery for anyone who's still interested in those. 634ears iems handmade from Japan, takes over a month from ordering for them to be made. I think you can choose any wood or engraving you'd like. I ordered a pair of T8IE-S and loving them so far. They are very musical but smooth sounding, no harsh peaks or muddiness anywhere, still burning them in though.
What's unique is that these have a "c-ring" system, which is just a plastic ring on the stem of the IEM to cover up the air flow and slightly tweak the sound, holes covered provide more bass. More elegant solution to the tape mod so many perform I guess.
website: https://634ears.com/category/products/earpones/

Don't even care how they sound. I need this in my life.

 

[docentore]

Yes integrity is of utmost importance.

Does integrity means copy-paste from review to review? Two different IEMs same description of sound.

 

[Martward]

I think it's very important that reviewers share when they get denied review samples, especially after a less than positive review. It shows how much you can trust the first batch of reviews. If the company drops all reviewers who dare to say something negative then probably the first reviewers didn't do so, that could be a taste thing or a shill thing, doesn't matter.

Also I don't think that how expensive someone's collection is necessarily makes their opinions more or less credible...

 

[Vladimir 198]

Does anyone have information on the dynamic drivers used in the chi-fi? When you read the descriptions, then what just does not occur. composite, bio, graphene, beryl, titanium, with a double magnetic system, came across with a triple one. Head spin. Maybe someone will be able to somehow systematize this and at least roughly explain what can be expected from this or that? With armature drivers, it's still a little easier. But dynamic ones are just a disaster.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Does anyone have information on the dynamic drivers used in the chi-fi? When you read the descriptions, then what just does not occur. composite, bio, graphene, beryl, titanium, with a double magnetic system, came across with a triple one. Head spin. Maybe someone will be able to somehow systematize this and at least roughly explain what can be expected from this or that? With armature drivers, it's still a little easier. But dynamic ones are just a disaster.

Mostly its like raffle lottery. Many brands throw in exotic terms like Diamond, beryllium and what not. It's mostly dependent on tuning. But yes, drivers like LCP have better base response, graphene sounds a bit mature. It's anybody's guess what exactly is used as not many teardown samples are available in the public domain.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

See Audio Bravery intrigued my interest, specifically for hakugei stock cable.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/see-audio-bravery.25333/reviews

My experience with See Audio is only limited to Yume, for Yume, hmmm It has good tuning except the bass DD driver to my liking.

Pretty standard 2BA+1DD, and well expected technicalities from Knowles ED29689 (used for ER4, KBEAR Neon, TRI Starsea and many others) covering full range, backed up by Knowles FH 33518 (pretty rare unit, but this has been seen on Custom IEMs with 2BA+1DD config), that covers higher frequencies.

The 10mm liquid silicone diaphragm one they called, lacked the meat to my liking too thin and too delightful, reminds me of bass of ER4’s BA bass, despite the measurements says it has sufficient down sloped sub-bass focused floor. (Note: I tried my best, using different cables/ear tips, and evem teared dumper filters apart and adding tape mod, literally all possible mod to save the thin bass, result was unsuccessful.)

But the tuning of Yume is something very delightful, reminds me of Dusk without 6khz peak. So this Bravery (they replaced DD to knowles woofer) is something that again may bring a good hope, just from speculative perspective.

I’m interested to see Yinyan Alladin comparison to See Audio Bravery.

If something can compete with blessing2/dusk, I think those Alladin and Bravery are the good candidates.

The warmish-neutral description of Bravery reminds me of DUNU Studio SA6, and yes from tuning of Yume, I can see where that’s coming.

 

[ian91]

See Audio Bravery intrigued my interest, specifically for hakugei stock cable.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/see-audio-bravery.25333/reviews

My experience with See Audio is only limited to Yume, for Yume, hmmm It has good tuning except the bass DD driver to my liking.

Pretty standard 2BA+1DD, and well expected technicalities from Knowles ED29689 (used for ER4, KBEAR Neon, TRI Starsea and many others) covering full range, backed up by Knowles FH 33518 (pretty rare unit, but this has been seen on Custom IEMs with 2BA+1DD config), that covers higher frequencies.

The 10mm liquid silicone diaphragm one they called, lacked the meat to my liking too thin and too delightful, reminds me of bass of ER4’s BA bass, despite the measurements says it has sufficient down sloped sub-bass focused floor. (Note: I tried my best, using different cables/ear tips, and evem teared dumper filters apart and adding tape mod, literally all possible mod to save the thin bass, result was unsuccessful.)

But the tuning of Yume is something very delightful, reminds me of Dusk without 6khz peak. So this Bravery (they replaced DD to knowles woofer) is something that again may bring a good hope, just from speculative perspective.

I’m interested to see Yinyan Alladin comparison to See Audio Bravery.

If something can compete with blessing2/dusk, I think those Alladin and Bravery are the good candidates.

The warmish-neutral description of Bravery reminds me of DUNU Studio SA6, and yes from tuning of Yume, I can see where that’s coming.

Wouldn't mind comparing the two, the descriptions sound similar to what I hear with the Aladdin. However, I have doubts that the bass BAs can top the DD in the Aladdin. It has the most natural attack, decay and timbral properties I have encountered in a DD yet. I was listening to some tabla (drum) music last night and the detail was just incredble.

What I'm saying is, even if the tuning in the Bravery is identical (i.e. brilliant) I would probably still choose the Aladdin just for properties of the DD and how it conveys instrumental music.

Would love to see a direct comparison though!

 

[povidlo]

See Audio Bravery intrigued my interest, specifically for hakugei stock cable.

Looks like the same cable used in $30 hakugei earbuds.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Looks like the same cable used in $30 hakugei earbuds.

Thanks for the input, someone else mentioned it’s a variant of hakugei little harmony cable which I saw it’s sold around $70 USD.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMnOmjV

It does look more like the little harmony one.

 

[ian91]

I love the looks of the Bravery though, right up my street.

 

[povidlo]

Thanks for the input, someone else mentioned it’s a variant of hakugei little harmony cable which I saw it’s sold around $70 USD.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMnOmjV

It does look more like the little harmony one.

Earlier listings of these earbuds have the cable looking more like Little Harmony as well. I actually bought them thinking cable has purple splitter and connectors but turned out it's all grey

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Earlier listings of these earbuds have the cable looking more like Little Harmony as well. I actually bought them thinking cable has purple splitter and connectors but turned out it's all grey

Hmm the connector shape does look exactly like that!
So Bravery’s actual IEM price ($270 less $30 cable less $20 xelastec) comes close to $220, which is $50 increase from 2BA+1DD Yume @$170. 4BA (knowles + sonion ) for $220 from See Audio.
Sounds like a buy for me.

 

[FSTOP]

I agree and disagree at the same time. It is all about the exposure to audio gears. How can someone who has no exposure to flagship IEMs knows what's good sound?

Audio123,

Can I respectfully disagree with you? I've read many of your reviews over the last few years, given you lots of thumbs up, and agreed with you so many times. But your comments lately have been disconcerting.

I haven't heard a single IEM over $300. By your account, I know nothing of what "good sound" is.

But, I have a degree in audio engineering. That means I had training using studio-grade audio components, including multitrack mixing boards, how to pick and properly use a myriad of microphones to record all types of sounds, vox, and musical instruments in the field, at concert venues, and in a studio, and how to record and mix all of those down into a proper stereo sound field. I've been recording and mixing audio (along with video and as a still photographer), as a profession for over 3 decades.

Most of my music listening is done in a sound-treated room with racks of studio equipment.

I also design and build my own speaker systems, including tuning boxes and 4th-order crossover networks, from scratch.

Many of my friends are professional musicians. One plays a centuries-old (priceless) cello handed down from generations of musicians and plays mostly live in inter-continental concerts and as a studio musician on many recordings. I don't think she owns any consumer IEMs.

In my training and with none of my sound engineer peers, would anyone use an IEM to mix audio. Many commenters and reviewers on HeadFi are also musicians, and I respect their training and ear for knowing how a particular instrument should sound, regardless of the IEM they are listening to a recording with.

Yes, absolutely "reference" is very important. But stating that one particular IEM, costing $5K+, is the best, which the rest of us haven't heard, is of no help. Not to mention everyone has different ear anatomy, preferences in various types of music, and the way it is presented through electronics.

Are any of my points valid?

I appreciate your viewpoint, as I do many others on this forum, but when statements are intended to just be hurtful and self-serving, they are no longer helpful.

I look forward to some of your upcoming reviews.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Audio123,

Can I respectfully disagree with you? I've read many of your reviews over the last few years, given you lots of thumbs up, and agreed with you so many times. But your comments lately have been disconcerting.

I haven't heard a single IEM over $300. By your account, I know nothing of what "good sound" is.

But, I have a degree in audio engineering. That means I had training using studio-grade audio components, including multitrack mixing boards, how to pick and properly use a myriad of microphones to record all types of sounds, vox, and musical instruments in the field, at concert venues, and in a studio, and how to record and mix all of those down into a proper stereo sound field. I've been recording and mixing audio (along with video and as a still photographer), as a profession for over 3 decades.

Most of my music listening is done in a sound-treated room with racks of studio equipment.

I also design and build my own speaker systems, including tuning boxes and 4th-order crossover networks, from scratch.

Many of my friends are professional musicians. One plays a centuries-old (priceless) cello handed down from generations of musicians and plays mostly live in inter-continental concerts and as a studio musician on many recordings. I don't think she owns any consumer IEMs.

In my training and with none of my sound engineer peers, would anyone use an IEM to mix audio. Many commenters and reviewers on HeadFi are also musicians, and I respect their training and ear for knowing how a particular instrument should sound, regardless of the IEM they are listening to a recording with.

Yes, absolutely "reference" is very important. But stating that one particular IEM, costing $5K+, is the best, which the rest of us haven't heard, is of no help. Not to mention everyone has different ear anatomy, preferences in various types of music, and the way it is presented through electronics.

Are any of my points valid?

I appreciate your viewpoint, as I do many others on this forum, but when statements are intended to just be hurtful and self-serving, they are no longer helpful.

I look forward to some of your upcoming reviews.

This positivity is the need of the hour. People have different ways to enjoy music not everyone is fortunate enough to listen music via flagship IEMs. But, they still love music like everyone else on this forum. All of us are reviewers here because everyone shares their views, reviews and impressions to further the discourse and help a fellow in getting that musical bliss through their gear.

 

[mndless]

Audio123,

Can I respectfully disagree with you? I've read many of your reviews over the last few years, given you lots of thumbs up, and agreed with you so many times. But your comments lately have been disconcerting.

I haven't heard a single IEM over $300. By your account, I know nothing of what "good sound" is.

But, I have a degree in audio engineering. That means I had training using studio-grade audio components, including multitrack mixing boards, how to pick and properly use a myriad of microphones to record all types of sounds, vox, and musical instruments in the field, at concert venues, and in a studio, and how to record and mix all of those down into a proper stereo sound field. I've been recording and mixing audio (along with video and as a still photographer), as a profession for over 3 decades.

Most of my music listening is done in a sound-treated room with racks of studio equipment.

I also design and build my own speaker systems, including tuning boxes and 4th-order crossover networks, from scratch.

Many of my friends are professional musicians. One plays a centuries-old (priceless) cello handed down from generations of musicians and plays mostly live in inter-continental concerts and as a studio musician on many recordings. I don't think she owns any consumer IEMs.

In my training and with none of my sound engineer peers, would anyone use an IEM to mix audio. Many commenters and reviewers on HeadFi are also musicians, and I respect their training and ear for knowing how a particular instrument should sound, regardless of the IEM they are listening to a recording with.

Yes, absolutely "reference" is very important. But stating that one particular IEM, costing $5K+, is the best, which the rest of us haven't heard, is of no help. Not to mention everyone has different ear anatomy, preferences in various types of music, and the way it is presented through electronics.

Are any of my points valid?

I appreciate your viewpoint, as I do many others on this forum, but when statements are intended to just be hurtful and self-serving, they are no longer helpful.

I look forward to some of your upcoming reviews.

This is absolutely true. The best way to gauge the tuning of a "reference" tuned IEM is to directly compare the listening experience with a reference tuned loudspeaker and see how they differ. IEMs are constantly battling against the fact that you don't have room gain and you don't get the natural sound distortion associated with how your outer ears interfere with and amplify sound frequencies. It's what Harman was studying when he created his reference curves for over-ear and in-ear headsets. It doesn't require a $5000 set of IEMs to know if something sounds good, but it does limit in certain ways whether you can claim that something is "the best", for what that's worth in an ever-evolving market trying to cater to buyers listening to an ever-broadening pool of music genres.

This is why it's generally better to contextualize things. "This is the best set I have listened to, even compared to x, y, z more expensive sets, etc." Is much easier to accept than "this is the best set." This is also complicated further by the fact that people have very different ear structures, both inner and outer ear structures. So someone whose outer ears are very different from yours will perceive the sound produced by a "reference" tuned loudspeaker quite differently to you, which means that when you take away the effect that their outer ears have on their perception of sound, an IEM that you feel is "reference" tuned may not sound right to them.

Audio gear is complicated. Having experienced the higher end of the scale does provide more datum points to draw conclusions from, because you'll have heard sets where they're using all the best drivers and complicated crossover networks because cost is no issue when designing that type of niche luxury, premium, high-end audio gear. You get to experience the limits of the current technology, which can help you pin down where other, lesser sets are underperforming.

It's just generally better when people can be nice about it instead of trying to put down others for not having the opportunity to experience the same things they have within the hobby.

Edit: I'm currently luxuriating in the beautiful sounds coming from my KEF iQ90 tower speakers right now, and it's hard to say if I've heard a set of IEMs that quite lives up to them yet. Hopefully I'll find some eventually, but I'm so glad I traveled a third of the way up the US coast to pick these beauties up.