[Surf Monkey]

Ah good old wood. Still my preferred material for speaker woofers (processed to paper form).

Mmmm. Yes. Woofer. Woooooofer.

Woody. It’s a very woody word.

Woofer.

 

[gadgetgod]

Ah look like my family got hit by viral, I was not even able to check out the thread for a week or something. Hope you guys are having a great time(sorry I might not be active for a few more days my 2-year-old still has a viral fever). So I am here to wish you all an early happy new year(will try my best to be here on 31st night as well

Here's my post regarding New year!!

I have tried plenty of gear this year, I am thankful to many people for all that. From my regular 200-500$ bracket, I have got to own some 1000$ bracket stuff and was lucky enough to audition some top-tier stuff as well. TBH with all the exposure this year, I feel afresh and new to the hobby. I have finally found two IEMs this year which I consider might be the end game for me, they are the Empire Ears Odin and Oriolus Trailli!! I liked the Aroma Audio Jewel as well. But what can I say, it would take me a few years to grab the Trailli and Odin itself lol.

Some Gear I have tested and liked a lot this year according to their price brackets:-

Around 50$:-
Celest Gumiho, Tangzu Shimin Li.

Under 100$:-
BQEYZ Topaz, QoA Gimlet, DUNU Kima.

Under 300$:-
Audio Hekili, BQEYZ Winter, AFUL Performer 5.

500$ & Around:-
SA6 Ultra, Senn IE600, UM MEXT.

1000$ & Beyond:-
Noble Audio Kublai Khan, Audeze Euclid, Noble Audio Sultan, Oriolus Trailli, Empire Ears Odin.

Digital Audio Players:-
TEmpotec V6, HiBy RS2, Shanling M7, Astell&Kern SE200, Kann Max.

Cables:-
Effect Audio Eros S & Cadmus.

Portable USB DAC/AMPs:-
Questyle M15(The King Dongle IMO).

I have tried a lot more, maybe missed a few to mention here, but love these the most to remember them every day!!

Some things I enjoy but don't like a lot:-
Tangzu Waner'SG, See Audio Yume II.

Some things I don't like at all:-
FiR Audio NE4.

I hope you guys enjoy reading this post!! Happy new year to you and your families
No picture today, not feeling well enough to click a good image

 

[Vonbuddy]

Ah look like my family got hit by viral, I was not even able to check out the thread for a week or something. Hope you guys are having a great time(sorry I might not be active for a few more days my 2-year-old still has a viral fever). So I am here to wish you all an early happy new year(will try my best to be here on 31st night as well

Here's my post regarding New year!!

I have tried plenty of gear this year, I am thankful to many people for all that. From my regular 200-500$ bracket, I have got to own some 1000$ bracket stuff and was lucky enough to audition some top-tier stuff as well. TBH with all the exposure this year, I feel afresh and new to the hobby. I have finally found two IEMs this year which I consider might be the end game for me, they are the Empire Ears Odin and Oriolus Trailli!! I liked the Aroma Audio Jewel as well. But what can I say, it would take me a few years to grab the Trailli and Odin itself lol.

Some Gear I have tested and liked a lot this year according to their price brackets:-

Around 50$:-
Celest Gumiho, Tangzu Shimin Li.

Under 100$:-
BQEYZ Topaz, QoA Gimlet, DUNU Kima.

Under 300$:-
Audio Hekili, BQEYZ Winter, AFUL Performer 5.

500$ & Around:-
SA6 Ultra, Senn IE600, UM MEXT.

1000$ & Beyond:-
Noble Audio Kublai Khan, Audeze Euclid, Noble Audio Sultan, Oriolus Trailli, Empire Ears Odin.

Digital Audio Players:-
TEmpotec V6, HiBy RS2, Shanling M7, Astell&Kern SE200, Kann Max.

Cables:-
Effect Audio Eros S & Cadmus.

Portable USB DAC/AMPs:-
Questyle M15(The King Dongle IMO).

I have tried a lot more, maybe missed a few to mention here, but love these the most to remember them every day!!

Some things I enjoy but don't like a lot:-
Tangzu Waner'SG, See Audio Yume II.

Some things I don't like at all:-
FiR Audio NE4.

I hope you guys enjoy reading this post!! Happy new year to you and your families
No picture today, not feeling well enough to click a good image

I was intrigued to see you included the Audio Hekili. I am waiting on mine from Linsoul at the moment. What did you like most about it? The Winter and Performer 5 are on my list to get at some point. I have the Tempotec V6, but I have not started using it yet. Wouldn't mind hearing your experiences there either. I really like the Questyle M15. Probably my best portable at the moment. The 12 is good too.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Cross posting Truthear ZERO and Softear RSV A-B Test.

Both of them are fully personal preference fitted so it may not be useful review material, just a audiophile’s hobby notes

Softears RSV :
▶︎Cable | PW Audio Copper 28 V2 4.4mm TRRS
▶︎Eartip | Softears UC (M)

Truthear ZERO :
▶︎Cable | XINHS Gold&Silver 4.4mm TRRS
▶︎Eartip | SpinFit CP360 (L)

prerequisites.

 

[gadgetgod]

I was intrigued to see you included the Audio Hekili. I am waiting on mine from Linsoul at the moment. What did you like most about it? The Winter and Performer 5 are on my list to get at some point. I have the Tempotec V6, but I have not started using it yet. Wouldn't mind hearing your experiences there either. I really like the Questyle M15. Probably my best portable at the moment. The 12 is good too.

Hekili, I love it for its effortless sound. It's for me like, put it into the ears and keep on listening for hours and hours without any fatigue. The only con would be the BA Timbre that's pretty evident in most tracks(although I don't mind it, because Hekilli delivers quite a resolution for its price). V6 is a good DAP, although I have sold it as I have settled with the SE200 currently. V6 has got quite a balance for its price bracket. I have heard the other players in the bracket like the HiBy R5 Gen 2/Shanlign M3X(not the ultra), V6 delivers good balance between clarity and tonality.

 

[Vonbuddy]

Mmmm. Yes. Woofer. Woooooofer.

Woody. It’s a very woody word.

Woofer.

I tried to send John Cleese a video clip of Coach Mike Leach, God rest his soul. If any of you are not familiar with Coach Leach and are interested, he was one of the most free-spirited guys you would know. Youtube is full of his video clips that are more than funny. Here are some:

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Yep, agree with you.

Well, the barrier to entry for entering this hobby is way lower than just 4 - 5 years back, budget gear is more affordable than ever, today's $20 IEMs may be 5 years' ago $100 type of sound quality, today's midFI may be the TOTL of a few years back. As you pointed out, the variety and quality on offer for sub $100 is now really amazing. Great time to be in this hobby! No need to sell a kidney to get some small whiff of audio nirvana.

Budget gear is really very good to experiment to see what sound signature you like (or dislike). But perhaps once you know what you want, it is probably wiser to upgrade to midFI and stop buying in budget sidegrade purgatory. Cause just snagging 5 so called budget IEMs will add up to a midFI set, and I think around 70% of the budget releases are mere sidegrades that ultimately will end up in a drawer and not get much ear time.

With regard to upgrading to TOTL, I would argue that the diminishing returns are bad. Like MidFI -> TOTL maybe gives 10 - 20% improvement but for 10x more coin. So midFI is still the sweet spot IMHO.

But of course different strokes for different folks. Some like the journey (rather than the destination), to savour every different new budget champ that comes out. There is an undeniable FOMO (maybe staying on audio forums is bad haha). Some consumers wanna sieve the wheat to find that 1 in a 100 gem? Some want to chase the TOTL unicorn at all costs, even a 10% improvement to them is worth spending the money. So whatever floats your boat, nothing right or wrong, just spend within your means (don't spend the baby's diaper fund on IEMs)!

Yea 2022 is indeed a year of

▶︎TOTL boutique shop facing more pressure of gap between that 10-20% gap shrinking. Maybe single digit difference by 2023. Those TOTL IEM Only costs $400-500 as breakeven point. Above that is purely intangible goodwill.
▶︎Advancement of sub$100, especially heating up sub$20 segment, I feel poor for cost-initiative brands, they now are not allowed with excessive leisurely profit margin over their offering. But it has to be this way, a spirit of fair macroeconomic competitive market.

Rolling back just a year or so, the blind-pick for sub$100 was Moondrop’s Aria OG, with few other colored side options.

Now we have all options and tuning readily available, KZ is facing tough challenges as this battleground was their main market.

One breakthrough I saw for 2022 is Truthear.

I’ve spent enough time to draw a conclusion that both Truthear ZERO and HEXA is market re-defining spec for sub $100 (HEXA), sub$50 (ZERO), now seemingly Truthear is really entering the “actual sales volume zone” that weighs 80% of company’s revenue source, the hot sub$20 jungle.

I was hoping Truthear to enter $100-500 segment and starts to offer TOTL beater with that price, but it was purely personal desire based hope, their advancement to U20 is strategically making sense.

As we are almost reaching the end of 2022, I do hope a happy new year and great 2023 for the further endeavors of this industry.


P.S.
@MOONDROP
My personal wish for 2023, seeing Moondrop losing its absolute competitiveness with their blessings for $100-500, and rise of Truthear, is that they come up with revamped M8–the successor project of S8– with 12BA with following capabilities.

Moondrop S12 : 5way 4 acoustic tube
Price @599 MRSP with cost of $550, keep $49 in moondrop’s earning.
▶︎3 switches tunable with bass tuning based on Variations with lower bass floor. Let users to decide when to initiate “sub-bass”, “finesse”, “vocal” boosts.
▶︎With pressure release system like AFUL
▶︎Hopefully some similar internal acoustic bass resonance chamber to amplify bass with more depth imaging, like AFUL’s “micro resonator tech”

2BA for Subwoofer | Vented Sonion 38 AcuPass
2BA for mid-bass to Mid | Sonion 37
4BA for mid to upper-mid | Softears -MID-A (probably proprietary Custom Sonion 2600 or like)
2BA for treble tweeter | Knowles SWFK with capacitor
2BA for super tweeter | Knowles RAD with capacitor

 

[Surf Monkey]

I tried to send John Cleese a video clip of Coach Mike Leach, God rest his soul. If any of you are not familiar with Coach Leach and are interested, he was one of the most free-spirited guys you would know. Youtube is full of his video clips that are more than funny. Here are some:

LOL

“I’ve found that there’s still candy innovation…”

Priceless. Thanks for sharing that.

 

[Leonarfd]

ISN EST50
Very early impression is very good and fun. Detailed tonality and impressive soundstage with a excellent sub bass shelf. One of few who has dared for the newer stabilized wood offer over the stock green or old blue design, happy I did.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

People might say Sony is underrated, for me i'd say Tanchjim

something can't be underated if they talk about it all the time, and in the case of the Oxygen, it's constantly brought up for comparison.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Have any of you had difficulty ordering from Aliexpress? They have cancelled two orders that have led to not getting items.

Nope. Never. Always a smooth transaction, but I typically steer clear because of the long waits in shipping. Sometimes 3 weeks.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Ha.

I smell money behind hyping Cadenza. He received more than 1 set of freebie from Kiwi ears

take extra caution from HBB’s inputs.

 

[gooberbm]

Ha.

I smell money behind hyping Cadenza. He received more than 1 set of freebie from Kiwi ears

take extra caution from HBB’s inputs.

This is a very cynical take, to say a company with two IEM releases paid off HBB to cancel his own collaboration and “shill” for them

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

This is a very cynical take, to say a company with two IEM releases paid off HBB to cancel his own collaboration and “shill” for them

Yet...it could be true?

 

[gooberbm]

Yet...it could be true?

And it could also be true that nothing untoward is going on, but we’re choosing violence today, it seems