[InvisibleInk]

Is a magni 3+ sufficient for these?

Maybe. I’d try it first if you already have one. My insensitive planars are fine with it.

 

[jmwant]

Maybe. I’d try it first if you already have one. My insensitive planars are fine with it.

I'd wait for some reviews to show up first.

 

[kin HGD]

I'm digging the Final E clear/red tips, really open upper mids and treble with controlled bass.

really？I am looking for some tips to give a better mids and treble but lows

 

[Jmop]

really？I am looking for some tips to give a better mids and treble but lows

Yeah these are great, so are the Audiosense S400. The Audiosense sound less open and detailed to my ears but have a smooth and pleasing response, definitely worth the pick up for under $10.

 

[Jmop]

Got the new K3 on the way, should be a good grab. The original is excellent.

 

[Vladimir 198]

really？I am looking for some tips to give a better mids and treble but lows

Have you tried BGVP E W01? They do just that, and are fairly inexpensive. The quality is excellent. Though without show-off and bullying prices.
https://aliexpress.ru/item/1005002984595057.html?spm=a2g39.orderlist.0.0.264d4aa6zKyTDW

 

[unifutomaki]

This weekend’s impulse purchase, the Creative Aurvana Live! 2. Bought partly out of curiosity, partly for its looks. Very mid-noughties black and silver plastic fake chrome chic.

 

[jagujetas72]

I really wasn't planning on reviewing these but I decided to give them away so here's my take on the Final Audio E3000.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/final-audio-design-e3000.22426/review/27022/

Please do let me know your thoughts on it and bump me a like if you like

 

[JEHL]

Have I created an abomination yet?

 

[jmwant]

QDC releases it's latest single DD IEM, the dmagic solo. The price is set at $159. Is this the most affordable QDC IEM yet?
https://hifigo.com/blogs/news/qdc-dmagic-solo-latest-single-dynamic-driver-iems

 

[WAON303]

Looks like swappable termination plugs will be a common feature in the sub $200 price bracket.

Haven't heard great things about the Neptune and Uranus models so I'm not sure if the Dmagic Solo will be a competitive IEM.

 

[mndless]

This weekend’s impulse purchase, the Creative Aurvana Live! 2. Bought partly out of curiosity, partly for its looks. Very mid-noughties black and silver plastic fake chrome chic.

I have the Aurvana Platinum and they don't sound bad, but they really aren't living up to the potential of a 50mm driver. Always fun to see more people giving them a go.

 

[Ace Bee]

So, I received the 7HZ Timeless for audition and review. I must say I was mighty impressed by it. Here is a brief comparison with Yanyin Aladdin from a very brief listening:

Timeless vs. Aladdin:

• Timeless has sharper notes, Aladdin notes are slightly smoother, but still enough crisp
• Timelesss Notes are a bit leaner, Aladdin notes are a bit fuller
• Due to the leaner notes, Timeless has a tiny bit more airy sound than Aladdin
• While details are similar, Aladdin notes are more well defined and lively, sounds bigger. Timeless notes sound a bit compressed and smaller.
• Timeless has a more v-shaped sound, adding a bit more depth to the stage. Aladdin has slightly more forward mids.
• Bass of Timeless is VERY good, goes deep, sounds full bodied, and yet has enough speed not to muddy the midrange. Fast, big, juicy bass - loved it! Aladdin has a much more controlled bass response compared to Timeless - midbass has less emphasis and sounds less full bodied, although not hollow.
• Aladdin has a slightly warmer tonality, Timeless has a slightly cooler tonality.
• Treble responses of both are very comparable - energy and extension-wise. So I can't really pick out one over the other.
• Width of soundstage is similar on both, depth is slightly better on Timeless, while height is considerably better on Aladdin, which provides a better, more complete, and more grand presentation.
• Timeless has a slightly cleaner and darker background than Aladdin.

All listening was done through Balanced out of Shanling M3X in High Gain. Volume matching was done before comparison.

 

[baskingshark]

Smabat is coming up with an IEM which has modular swappable drivers and swappable dampers: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=376475094118323&id=109595270806308

Store page here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003205011934.html

Called the SMABAT Proto











Thanks to @Vannak for discovering this Smabat new modular IEM, there's also a post here about it: https://www.facebook.com/groups/135840535288493/posts/176385384567341/
(This post describes the various drivers available and the graphs). Apparently there's an aftermarket BERYLLIUM driver available too!!

Smabat recently released 2 earbuds (the SMABAT M0 and M2S Pro) which had the same unique idea of having modular drivers of various sorts to put into the same shell, no soldering is required. In addition to the various drivers, they also sold tuning dampers for a few cents that also could change the sound signature. So many many permutations to play with to get a desired sound for these earbuds: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/page-3702#post-16427874

Really looking forward to this new modular IEM idea. Kind of like a Toneking Ninetails on steroids.

I bought the SMABAT Proto IEM about a month back from the SMABAT official store on Aliexpress, together with a fibre membrane aftermarket driver. Received some discount as I'm an old customer of their earbuds.



SMABAT is better known for their earbuds than IEMs, I actually bought the entire lineup of SMABAT earbuds haha. The SMABAT earbudss have good subbass due to a labyrinth shell design. This is pretty unique when compared to run-of-the-mill earbuds, which are generally slated for having anemic subbass.

So SMABAT recently released the SMABAT M0 and M2S Pro earbuds, which featured a very innovative modular plug and play concept. They had different dampers and drivers that could be attached to the IEM to modify the FR. Just keep the shell and cable, and mix and match to your heart's content. No soldering is required too! This provided a crazy amount of permutations for how one can tune the sound to.

Enter the SMABAT Proto, which is an IEM that uses the same modular concept, with no soldering needed here too. My nickname for the SMABAT Proto is the SMART BAT, batman would be pleased with a toolkit of gear to modify the Proto's tuning. Think of LEGO and IEMs having a child. I'll talk about the various configurations later.


The Proto comes with a good spread of accessories:
1) IEM itself
2) Cable - no microphonics, quite nice haptically. It features an MMCX connector, now I'm anti MMCX, but the quality here seems quite good, both earpieces lock into the MMCX with a good click without spinning. Definitely better quality than my last 2 Tin HIFI purchases: the T2 Plus had a helicopter windvane MMCX connector, the Tin T2 Evo had such a tight MMCX that one needs to go to the dentist to remove it.
3) Various dampers (we'll talk about this below)
4) Tweezer
5) Leatherette carry bag
6) Silicone eartips - L/M/S

The Proto can be worn over ears or cable down (if one wants to use it cable down, please switch earpiece sides but keep cable orientation). This is really nifty to increase fit permutations! Some might also like the convenience of a cable down IEM, so more options is always better for us consumers.

Build is good and light, I've no driver flex or comfort issues, but this is a YMMV situation. Isolation is about average, will bring it for a subway test later next week.

The stock driver (10 mm titanium driver) is quite easily drivable, but it scales better when amped, as per most single DD sets.

With the stock 10 mm titanium driver, I would describe the SMABAT Proto as a U shaped balanced set. Timbral accuracy is excellent as per its single DD roots. Soundstage is big in width and depth, height is perhaps above average. Imaging, layering and instrument separation are good, assisted by the big soundstage.

I really like the stock tonality: Midbass is north of neutral, punchy and clean, with minimal midbass bleed. Subbass extension and rumble is good. Bass timbre and texture is excellent. Treble/upper mids are forward without going into banshee territory. Sibilance is mild. It isn't an analytical or hyper detailed set, but everything sounds natural and organic. Cymbals sound as they should, some budget CHIFI can give a splashy sound on these.




Ok the above was just describing the stock config. There's many many more permutations to play with. This set's tuning dampers really work, they ain't gimmicks unlike some other sets (looking at you NiceHCK M6 cough cough). In addition to the dampers, there are 3 other aftermarket drivers one can buy to increase permutations and tune the IEM to your own preference! And if you add different eartips, sources, and even cables (for our cable believers) to the equation, then the permutations are really mindboggling.

Spoiler: Various dampers

In terms of dampers, this is what is advertised on the Proto's store page:

Spoiler: Treble damper and FR

The first potential area of modifcation is with the treble damper at the nozzle. This features only the blue damper, it can be pushed into the nozzle and removed if needed. Without any treble damper, the upper mids/lower treble are boosted. With the blue damper on, this area is tamed.

Spoiler: Bass damper and FR

The next possible area to modify is via the bass dampers. This is done by just sliding the red/gold/silver damper into the IEM's bass damper hole. As per the store provided graph below, silver damper gives the least bass (around neutral levels of bass), red gives the most bass (basshead levels) and the golden damper is a midpoint of just being north of neutral.

Pick your poison:

You can change the dampers with the provided tweezer, just grip the protruding part of the damper and wiggle it a bit. Here is a video on how to do it, many many thanks to @axhng for his video: https://imgur.com/xQoXvmD
It looks difficult but once you get the hang of it, they can be swapped out in seconds.

All the above are provided in the packaging. The stock config is the golden bass damper without any treble damping. The dampers are actually very small, so please change them at a well lighted place. They would make a snack for pets if the damper drops somewhere and would be a disaster if they are lost! I have a feeling some with poorer eyesight or coordination may have issues swapping the dampers, it isn't as easy as flipping switches on an IEM, but in general, once someone likes a particular sound signature, I think in essence we will just keep to the tuning config and not make changes throughout the day.

So far we have only talked about the dampers. The Proto's drivers can be also changed.

Spoiler: Different aftermarket drivers and their FR

The stock driver is a 10 mm Titanium diaphragm driver, one can purchase 3 other possible drivers from SMABAT, with their attendant graphs as attached here:

The driver can be changed by removing the front panel on the IEM, here's a video from SMABAT on how to do it:


I only bought the red fibre driver, wanted to get the other aftermarket drivers, but I knew there was no way I could sneak so many audio paraphernalia past my wife. I'm not a cat with nine lives, but maybe on 11/11 or Black Friday, I'll slowly collect the rest of the Pokemon drivers. Shhhhh.

Anyways, I'm really impressed with this melding of lego and IEMs. Great concept for those who don't have soldering and DIY skills. Everything is plug and play. The stock tuning is already very good, featuring a big soundstage, good imaging/layering and natural timbre and tonality. There's many areas to play with in terms of dampers and aftermarket drivers, to give anything from a neutralish tuning to a basshead set. The sky is really the limit with this set, and this SMABAT Proto gets my vote for one of the best releases of 2021.

 

[axhng]

Anyways, I'm really impressed with this melding of lego and IEMs. Great concept for those who don't have soldering and DIY skills. Everything is plug and play. The stock tuning is already very good, featuring a big soundstage, good imaging/layering and natural timbre and tonality. There's many areas to play with in terms of dampers and aftermarket drivers, to give anything from a neutralish tuning to a basshead set. The sky is really the limit with this set, and this SMABAT Proto gets my vote for one of the best releases of 2021.

+1 to this. Really like how they sound in stock configuration and it's one of the most impressive (plus surprising) IEMs I've tried this year. Granted, it's not a very long list though. lol. I gave the red "fibre membrane" drivers a go too and wasn't really a fan of it. A bit too warm for my taste even with the silver (more neutral) damper, and the driver sounds noticeably slower compared to the stock titanium plated driver to me.

At around 80USD, I still think it's great value for money considering you can tweak the tuning slightly too. Actually, I would still be happy to spend that amount even without the "modular" aspect of it because the tuning suits my taste to begin with. I wasn't able to get it to work cable down sadly, even swapping sides it felt a bit loose and unstable, and over the ear was the most stable comfortable for me. Thankfully the cable is nice and pliable, and while the isolation isn't great, the more relaxed fit makes it extremely comfortable for my ears, so I've been spending a ton of time with them since I got them.