[Carpet]

Because Tripowin and BQEYZ threads are not very active so I'm asking here.

Between Olina original and Topaz, which one is a combination of T3 Plus and salnotes zere?

I love the warm and mellow sound of T3 Plus and details are amazing on salnotes zero.

Olina will be much closer to Salnotes Zero than Tin T3+. It does not have a prominent bass. Shoutiness in upper mids and harsh peak in treble can be corrected by placing an additional filter (included with IEM) over the existing one on the nozzle (credit to Michael Bruce). Topaz I haven't heard, reviews seem to indicate warm tuning with safer treble (similar to Aria 2021). Aria 2021 is still a good option if you want smoother treble and a slightly warmer tuning with more focus on mid-bass. Aria Snow edition and Tin T2 DLC are also worth checking out (feedback on T2 DLC is just starting to come in). Check out GS Audio GD3C if you want good sub-bass. Wait until 11/11 sales, that will be best deals of the year, something you may not have considered, is bound to come up as a "too good to miss" option.

FLOAUDIO CALLA arrived in the mail today too, better than I expected. Akros review (the only one out) is pretty much spot on. Driver flex and warm tuning with bass boosted. Shells look very nice and are comfortable semi-custom shape.

BUT

There is a $30 off voucher on the AE store valid until the end of the month. An unremarkable $50 IEM is actually pretty good for $20.

 

[ChristianM]

Olina will be much closer to Salnotes Zero than Tin T3+. It does not have a prominent bass. Shoutiness in upper mids and harsh peak in treble can be corrected by placing an additional filter (included with IEM) over the existing one on the nozzle (credit to Michael Bruce). Topaz I haven't heard, reviews seem to indicate warm tuning with safer treble (similar to Aria 2021). Aria 2021 is still a good option if you want smoother treble and a slightly warmer tuning with more focus on mid-bass. Aria Snow edition and Tin T2 DLC are also worth checking out (feedback on T2 DLC is just starting to come in). Check out GS Audio GD3C if you want good sub-bass. Wait until 11/11 sales, that will be best deals of the year, something you may not have considered, is bound to come up as a "too good to miss" option.

FLOAUDIO CALLA arrived in the mail today too, better than I expected. Akros review (the only one out) is pretty much spot on. Driver flex and warm tuning with bass boosted. Shells look very nice and are comfortable semi-custom shape.

BUT

There is a $30 off voucher on the AE store valid until the end of the month. An unremarkable $50 IEM is actually pretty good for $20.

Thanks for reply, yeah I read about Olina double filter mod but some people like it and some say the bass is not really good after double filter.
I also thought about calla but I only have money for one IEM which I will buy from AliExpress on 11.11
So far I only see Topaz within my budget, it was $64 on AliExpress several weeks ago.

 

[DynamicEars]

Thanks for reply, yeah I read about Olina double filter mod but some people like it and some say the bass is not really good after double filter.
I also thought about calla but I only have money for one IEM which I will buy from AliExpress on 11.11
So far I only see Topaz within my budget, it was $64 on AliExpress several weeks ago.

1 nylon filter is enough to make the bass bloated because of blocked airflow

2 nylon filters? Probable making hundred dollar iem bass like wrecked budget bass.

Seriously that isn't the solution.

 

[baskingshark]

New BGVP IEM:
The NS10

It looks like a behemoth driver setup: 2DD + 8BA. Wonder how they squeezed so many drivers inside. MMCX connector.

https://www.facebook.com/BGVPaudio/...indF32GkRuWGf8hVk31bsBBFCULzpEJb8WJjbYpmj5dYl

 

[darmanastartes]

Look forward to your final review.

But just from brief listening, how do you find the Moondrop Stellaris? The 13 dB pinna gain is a bit worrying for the upper mids.

Had a few friends who bought it and they found it shouty, but I guess upper mids/treble perception is quite dependent on hearing health/age, ear anatomy (pinna gain), volume played at (Fletcher Munson curve), ear tips etc.

I don't know if "shouty" is the right word as much as "squashed." I feel like vocals are compressed along the lateral axis and do not have room to breathe. It's a very segmented midrange. I'm not really a fan of it in its stock form, especially after hearing the Stellaris EQ'd to a target more in line with what Moondrop normally has on its IEMs.
My suspicion is that Moondrop is using the same or a similar driver as everyone else and hasn't figured out how to shift the center of the pinna gain peak too far away from 2.3 kHz using this driver, nor have they figured out how to avoid the tendency of this driver to narrowly peak at this frequency. As far as I know, 7Hz is the only manufacturer who's managed to both shift the apex of that peak further down the frequency range and broaden it, as seen on the Dioko.
I don't think the problem is the amount of pinna gain on its own. I think the problem is that Moondrop tried to give the Stellaris what on any other Moondrop IEM would be a reasonable amount of pinna gain without solving these driver limitations. Something like the Raptgo Hook-X works a lot better for me even though they haven't solved these issues either because they adjusted the amount of pinna gain down substantially.

 

[Animagus]

Hey guys! Here is my review of the Shozy Elsa, their 5BA flagship multi-BA IEM. Read on to see how it sounds, graphs and fares against their previous collaboration with AAW - Pola39 as well as the competition. Enjoy!

Shozy Elsa​

 

[chinmie]

I don't know if "shouty" is the right word as much as "squashed." I feel like vocals are compressed along the lateral axis and do not have room to breathe. It's a very segmented midrange. I'm not really a fan of it in its stock form, especially after hearing the Stellaris EQ'd to a target more in line with what Moondrop normally has on its IEMs.
My suspicion is that Moondrop is using the same or a similar driver as everyone else and hasn't figured out how to shift the center of the pinna gain peak too far away from 2.3 kHz using this driver, nor have they figured out how to avoid the tendency of this driver to narrowly peak at this frequency. As far as I know, 7Hz is the only manufacturer who's managed to both shift the apex of that peak further down the frequency range and broaden it, as seen on the Dioko.
I don't think the problem is the amount of pinna gain on its own. I think the problem is that Moondrop tried to give the Stellaris what on any other Moondrop IEM would be a reasonable amount of pinna gain without solving these driver limitations. Something like the Raptgo Hook-X works a lot better for me even though they haven't solved these issues either because they adjusted the amount of pinna gain down substantially.

I've just heard it this afternoon.. not a fan.. both in fit and sound..

 

[BigGearHunter]

New BGVP IEM:
The NS10

It looks like a behemoth driver setup: 2DD + 8BA. Wonder how they squeezed so many drivers inside. MMCX connector.



https://www.facebook.com/BGVPaudio/...indF32GkRuWGf8hVk31bsBBFCULzpEJb8WJjbYpmj5dYl

It shouldn't be too difficult to get 10 drivers on there. Just ask the KZ people. With any luck the BGVP people might even connect them.

 

[lushmelody]

It shouldn't be too difficult to get 10 drivers on there. Just ask the KZ people. With any luck the BGVP people might even connect them.

KZ is a more reliable QC at least. BGVP not a good track record though. Dont know why they insist in MMCX

 

[Carpet]

Thanks for reply, yeah I read about Olina double filter mod but some people like it and some say the bass is not really good after double filter.
I also thought about calla but I only have money for one IEM which I will buy from AliExpress on 11.11
So far I only see Topaz within my budget, it was $64 on AliExpress several weeks ago.

I think that Topaz deal was in the BQEYZ Official Store, it's gone now. I had my eye on it, since I don't have a piezo. Most bargains will probably dry up now, so stores can claim their discounts are more impressive come the sale! Remember that older IEMs will usually have better discounts than recent models.

The Calla is okay, not great. But at the discounted price it's competing with Rosefinch, Dragonscale and ESX, not the SG-01 OVA, TA1 Max or T3 plus.

1 nylon filter is enough to make the bass bloated because of blocked airflow

2 nylon filters? Probable making hundred dollar iem bass like wrecked budget bass.

Seriously that isn't the solution.

For me it's been a significant improvement, I don't think I'm alone in that belief. Everyone has different preferences though. The hardest thing in this hobby is figuring out what you will like, based on other peoples opinions. Being in a position to personally audition gear, prior to ordering it, is a luxury I can't imagine!

 

[Animagus]

KZ is a more reliable QC at least. BGVP not a good track record though. Dont know why they insist in MMCX

IIRC BGVP's MMCX fiasco was around DM7's launch. It's been 3 years since and they've been using much better, higher quality MMCX sockets since then in my opinion. I do prefer 2-pin myself but none of the MMCXs have failed on any of the IEMs I've gotten from BGVP in the last 2-3 years. Is that not the general experience with BGVP in the recent years?

PS - I just reviewed their sister company THHiFi's IEM 2 days back and they are manufactured by BGVP. Pretty solid MMCX connectors on those too.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

IIRC BGVP's MMCX fiasco was around DM7's launch. It's been 3 years since and they've been using much better, higher quality MMCX sockets since then in my opinion. I do prefer 2-pin myself but none of the MMCXs have failed on any of the IEMs I've gotten from BGVP in the last 2-3 years. Is that not the general experience with BGVP in the recent years?

PS - I just reviewed their sister company THHiFi's IEM 2 days back and they are manufactured by BGVP. Pretty solid MMCX connectors on those too.

Yeah, but the real question is what animal do you change into?

 

[Animagus]

Yeah, but the real question is what animal do you change into?

Oh hello there fellow potterhead!

 

[PhonoPhi]

KZ is a more reliable QC at least. BGVP not a good track record though. Dont know why they insist in MMCX

So much agree!
I got my VG4 out of the mantra "graduate from KZ" for "different experience"...
Well, my experience communicating with BGVP was very bad to start with
No quality control problems with my unit, seemingly well made, but I am not using them much and do not touch much MMCX.
Most importantly, the quality of sound in bass and treble are worse than KZ, (mids are nice with 29689), as simple as this for that "mid line IEM".
So I learned hard to disregard opinions of reviewers of the free samples (or samples for promotion).

 

[lushmelody]

IIRC BGVP's MMCX fiasco was around DM7's launch. It's been 3 years since and they've been using much better, higher quality MMCX sockets since then in my opinion. I do prefer 2-pin myself but none of the MMCXs have failed on any of the IEMs I've gotten from BGVP in the last 2-3 years. Is that not the general experience with BGVP in the recent years?

PS - I just reviewed their sister company THHiFi's IEM 2 days back and they are manufactured by BGVP. Pretty solid MMCX connectors on those too.

Important anedoctal because they dont sell as much units as other brands