[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

(PIC stollen from Facebook)
New iem and a dongle from truthear

Here we go....the inevitable market flood with new IEM's after a success.

 

[427951]

$19 for LCP!! Wow even Chu isn’t LCP

From that same link:
"From what I gathered it'll be priced at 70 usd. Same dac chips as the $190 (~160 on sale) Moondrop Moonriver2 and $90 Jcally AP98. Probably your usual 3.5/4.4 outputs."

HBB talk: Craziness. Insanity.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

From that same link:
"From what I gathered it'll be priced at 70 usd. Same dac chips as the $190 (~160 on sale) Moondrop Moonriver2 and $90 Jcally AP98. Probably your usual 3.5/4.4 outputs."

HBB talk: Craziness. Insanity.

$70!? Wow Truthear is really going to seize the market for both IEM and DAC dongles.

 

[pevinkarker]

From their Facebook page: 69.99 for the dongle.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Forbidden fruit: https://aliexpress.com/item/1005004950698363.html

Zenfer tribrid model.

Leave it to SFR to come out with that planar + DD config everyone was asking for lol Not to mention a Palladium cable? For $122.00? Hmmm....

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Green = Hakugei Sea Elf (from marketing FR)
Purple = Truthear Hexa (credit to Super Review)

photoshopped by me to proper X Y axis

I bought the SEa Elf for the cable. If the IEM's are any good, then it'll be a sweet gift to myself.

 

[nraymond]

It's all about improving the margins the rest is just BS marketing. Like how it is now with smartphones that come without chargers and no audio jack and micro sd slots. All in order to upsell.

Not exactly. In European Commission COM(2021)547 - Proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2014/53/EU on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment, they state:

This proposal is aimed at preventing fragmentation of the market when it comes to charging interfaces and charging communication protocols, enhancing consumer convenience and reducing e-waste. In particular, it will:
...
- introduce requirements so that end-users are not obliged to purchase a new charging device whenever they purchase a new mobile phone or similar item of radio equipment...

This is in the process of being phased in over in the EU. In the document they go on to outline policy options, and state, "The preferred policy option is option 5 with a broad scope as it involves the fairest trade-off between all the objectives and allow a win-win situation for the majority of stakeholders and the environment." Policy option 5 includes "Making available on the market at least unbundled solutions" as "Mandatory", and elaborates that, "i.e. devices will be sold with no charger in the box (a detachable cable will still be allowed, discretionally)". They further elaborate:

Option 5 is expected to generate environmental benefits by reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by around 180 ktCO2e yearly, material use by about 2 600 t yearly, and reducing e-waste by 980 t yearly. The unbundling of the EPS contributes the most thanks to less extraction of resources, manufacture, transport, use and disposal of the chargers.
As regards consumer convenience, the preferred option will ensure interoperability through a common interface and charging performance, reducing sales of standalone EPS and cables and promoting their reuse. Regarding the harmonisation of the charging interface, imposing a USB type C charging port on the radio equipment is sufficient to address the inconvenience faced by the consumers that are not capable of charging their device because there is no compatible charger at their disposal. This will also translate into a reduction in consumer spending on those items by around EUR 250 million yearly.
The preferred option is expected to improve the economic operators’ turnover overall by EUR 105 million yearly. The turnover benefits for retailers and distributors (EUR 457 million yearly), of charging devices not being included in the retail box and therefore being bought more often standalone outweigh the negative impact on the turnover of device manufacturers (EUR 352 million yearly) incurred by the implementation of the common connector for device manufacturers and also the loss of profit for EPS manufacturers.

Removing headphone jacks and memory card slots makes things easier for the manufacturers (both manufacturing and selling), and they can make more profit by making consumers pay their prices for more included storage vs. letting a consumer adding their own, though I will grant that it makes it easier to design a phone to be water resistant the fewer ports and slots are on it. Consumers certainly like their devices to be water resistant.

 

[ldo77]

Truthear SHIO DAC dongle spec:


Dual CS43198 D/A chips
PCM768
DSD256 supported

moondrop MoonRiver $170USD uses same cirrus chips

Oops! Actually my beloved L&P W2 ($310) uses same CS43198x2 as well! Interesting in pricing that Truthear is going to offer.

What's the price for this Truthear SHIO DAC ?

 

[AmericanSpirit]

What's the price for this Truthear SHIO DAC ?

Being said $69.99 59% cheaper than same DAC chip used Moondrop MoonDiver and 78% cheaper than L&P flagship USB DAC dongle W2

 

[AmericanSpirit]

I bought the SEa Elf for the cable. If the IEM's are any good, then it'll be a sweet gift to myself.

what will your wife who loves purple get for that case?

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

Late to the party guys, but I am simply wowed away by the amazing Kiwi Ears Cadenza. This budget baby is quite a performer, love it for its outstanding tonality. It feels rich and natural to my ears. Last I heard the hype of the month from the budget segment, the Wan'er SG was not up to my taste, but this baby has hit just the sweet spot. ALso it looks spectacular as well. Here I am using it with Astral Acoustics Pulse Copper cable. Stock cable sounds good as well, it's just this cable makes it sounds wider and spacious as well hehe.

P.S:- Not my unit of Cadenza or Pulse cable, Cadenza was received from a friend for an audition while the Pulse is a review sample courtesy of a tour. Thinking to grab a unit of Cadenza for myself.

Here's a random image:-

I would buy the C3 over the Cadenza better shape and fit for most . I have both prefer the C3 sound signature is similar C3 seems to have nicer stage.

 

[nraymond]

Apparently the lawsuit between Knowles and Bellsing has been won by Knowles:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/h...s-in-Trade-Secret-Theft-Case-Against-Bellsing

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-10-08/pdf/2021-21998.pdf


I ain't well versed in law (hope someone can help advise), but even if as per these articles, a US court issues a desist order barring Bellsing containing transducers being imported or sold in the US, how are they going to enforce it? Will customs open up the shell of every CHIFI coming in to American shores? Even if shells are opened, can the customs side identify it as a Bellsing driver if no serial number or identification is labelled on the BA? With every week releasing many CHIFI pokemon, how are the enforcers going to keep up with the flood of Bellising containing pokemon entering USA?

TBH, the advent of Bellsings is actually what suppressed high costs of BA IEMs. The ethics of copying and pirating the technology are definitely not something to be proud of, but just recall, around 4 - 5 years back, Westone/Shure were selling single BA types at nearly $100 USD, and multi BAs could easily hit north of $300 USD. The Bellsings used in some IEMs are actually quite good sounding and they were what broke the monopoly of Knowles over IEMs, leading to cheaper products for mere mortals.

Ironically, Bellsings are also used in TOTL models like the Campfire Solaris and JH products, so the engineers must see (or rather, hear) something in them to use them in TOTL gear (the ethics or using cheaper Bellsings in high priced TOTL IEMs are another story though).

This happened back in 2021, so not that new. Reading the ITC ruling, they state:

The Commission has determined that the appropriate remedy is a GEO and CDOs directed to each of the Bellsing respondents and Mr. Li. These orders bar Bellsing and Mr. Li’s unfair acts for a duration of twenty-six (26) years. [...] The GEO is directed to covered products that are made by, for, or on behalf of Bellsing and/or Mr. Li. The GEO reaches downstream products incorporating the covered products. The GEO includes a provision requiring any importer seeking to import the covered products (or products containing them or the components thereof) manufactured by or for Bellsing and/or Mr. Li or their affiliates or successors, to obtain a ruling from the Commission prior to the importation of the articles, finding that they are not subject to the GEO. The Commission has set the bond at one hundred percent (100%) of the value of the entered products imported by or on behalf of Bellsing and/or Mr. Li and sets a zero percent (0%) bond (i.e., no bond) for downstream products or components thereof.

I believe the "Bellsing respondents" are Shenzhen Bellsing Acoustic Technology Co. Ltd. of Shenzhen, China, Suzhou Bellsing Acoustic Technology Co. Ltd. of Suzhou, China, Dongguan Bellsing Precision Device Co., Ltd. of Dongguan, China, and Bellsing Corporation of Lisle, Illinois (collectively, ‘‘Bellsing’’).

Here is a law firm's article on GEOs and CDOs:

https://www.foley.com/en/insights/publications/2022/07/navigating-range-remedial-orders-itc

Relevant bits:

Exclusion Orders
An exclusion order can take one of two forms: a limited exclusion order and a general exclusion order. Both limited and general exclusion orders prohibit the importation of articles that were determined to violate Section 337 and are enforced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[...]
A general exclusion order is a significantly broader remedy and bars importation of all violative articles, regardless of source.
The ITC will impose a general exclusion order in two situations: (1) where it is necessary to prevent circumvention of an exclusion order limited to specific entities and (2) where there is a pattern of violating of Section 337 and it is difficult to identify the source of the violative articles.

Cease-and-Desist Orders
A cease-and-desist order prohibits a respondent in a Section 337 investigation from committing any unfair acts in the U.S. associated with previously imported violative articles, including the sale of imported articles out of U.S. inventory.
Cease-and-desist orders are generally issued when respondents maintain commercially significant inventories in the U.S. or have significant U.S. operations that could undercut the remedy provided by an exclusion order. Unlike exclusion orders, cease-and-desist orders are administered by the ITC, not CBP.
The violation of a cease-and-desist order can result in the imposition of significant monetary sanctions. If a violation is found, the ITC can assess civil penalties of twice the domestic value of the violative articles up to $100,000 per day.

So the GEO is enforced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and I doubt they will be opening up random products to investigate what balanced armature drivers are inside unless the import declaration/packaging has some obvious connection to Bellsing/Mr. Li or the other named parties. So besides Bellsing/Mr. Li, I'd expect the biggest impact is on Dongguan Xinyao Electronics Industrial Co., Ltd. of Dongguan, China (‘‘Xinyao’’); Soundlink Co., Ltd. of Suzhou, China (‘‘Soundlink’’); Magnatone Hearing Aid Corporation d/b/a Persona Medical and lnEarz Audio of Casselberry, Florida (‘‘Persona’’); Jerry Harvey Audio LLC of Orlando, Florida (‘‘Harvey’’); Magic Dynamics, LLC d/b/a MagicEar of Clearwater, Florida (‘‘MagicEar’’); Campfire Audio, LLC of Portland, Oregon (‘‘Campfire’’); and Clear Tune Monitors, Inc. of Orlando, Florida (‘‘Clear Tune’’). Presumably those companies were named because they'd previously made downstream products that incorporated Bellsing components, so I would think that would put what they import under close scrutiny for the next 26 years.

They CDO is enforced by the ITC, and it has to do with what has already been imported into the US:

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/itc-expands-its-approach-to-issuing-cease-and-desist-orders

CDOs prevent respondents from marketing, selling, advertising, or distributing infringing products already inside the United States at the time a violation is found. CDOs also provide for significant civil penalties of up to $100,000, or twice the value of the infringing products, for each day a respondent is in violation of the CDO.

I think any company that imports products into the United States with Bellsing components is potentially opening themselves up to fines/litigation for the next 26 years, depending of course on whether the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and/or the ITC is made aware of it.

 

[Leonarfd]

That Truthear dongle do seem nice, just ordered the tempotec sonata HD Ii last week.

Still I'm tempted, will there just be plug and play dongle? Or will it have a app also?

 

[gmdb]

Truthear SHIO DAC dongle spec:


Dual CS43198 D/A chips
PCM768
DSD256 supported

moondrop MoonRiver $170USD uses same cirrus chips

Oops! Actually my beloved L&P W2 ($310) uses same CS43198x2 as well! Interesting in pricing that Truthear is going to offer.

Yes, pricing will be interesting. Good to see the Cirrus chips are still players. The ESS chips looked like they were starting to dominate the last 12 months.

 

[gmdb]

This happened back in 2021, so not that new. Reading the ITC ruling, they state:


I believe the "Bellsing respondents" are Shenzhen Bellsing Acoustic Technology Co. Ltd. of Shenzhen, China, Suzhou Bellsing Acoustic Technology Co. Ltd. of Suzhou, China, Dongguan Bellsing Precision Device Co., Ltd. of Dongguan, China, and Bellsing Corporation of Lisle, Illinois (collectively, ‘‘Bellsing’’).

Here is a law firm's article on GEOs and CDOs:

https://www.foley.com/en/insights/publications/2022/07/navigating-range-remedial-orders-itc

Relevant bits:


So the GEO is enforced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and I doubt they will be opening up random products to investigate what balanced armature drivers are inside unless the import declaration/packaging has some obvious connection to Bellsing/Mr. Li or the other named parties. So besides Bellsing/Mr. Li, I'd expect the biggest impact is on Dongguan Xinyao Electronics Industrial Co., Ltd. of Dongguan, China (‘‘Xinyao’’); Soundlink Co., Ltd. of Suzhou, China (‘‘Soundlink’’); Magnatone Hearing Aid Corporation d/b/a Persona Medical and lnEarz Audio of Casselberry, Florida (‘‘Persona’’); Jerry Harvey Audio LLC of Orlando, Florida (‘‘Harvey’’); Magic Dynamics, LLC d/b/a MagicEar of Clearwater, Florida (‘‘MagicEar’’); Campfire Audio, LLC of Portland, Oregon (‘‘Campfire’’); and Clear Tune Monitors, Inc. of Orlando, Florida (‘‘Clear Tune’’). Presumably those companies were named because they'd previously made downstream products that incorporated Bellsing components, so I would think that would put what they import under close scrutiny for the next 26 years.

They CDO is enforced by the ITC, and it has to do with what has already been imported into the US:

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/itc-expands-its-approach-to-issuing-cease-and-desist-orders



I think any company that imports products into the United States with Bellsing components is potentially opening themselves up to fines/litigation for the next 26 years, depending of course on whether the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and/or the ITC is made aware of it.

Marketplaces like Aliexpress, Ebay and Amazon already collect sales tax for some countries. It is possible that pressure will come for those marketplaces not to sell the the "offending" items to US residents. There are already many copyright laws in place for books and other media where you can get the "not for sale" sign for your country when you find a good price. Wasn't the AKG N5005 IEM a recent example of this?