[brsdrgn]

I admire the people who will start this hobby nowadays. Seeing all these crazy single DD releases which reveals much more details and extension on the higher end comparing it to the DDs 10-15 years back with warm character usually with huge bass with mediocre details, makes me wonder where it can go in the future. People have much much more options thanks to the development, technology.

In the past you had to pay at least 150$-200$ to have sth decent. Now it's so easy to find under 60$ and these DDs are much more capable than before. It goes overwhelmingly too much but eventually consumers wins. But really wow. What a time that we're living.

 

[dharmasteve]

Did you test the Legato with its stock cable? Would you say the stock cable is good enough and does not require an upgrade cable for good sound / performance?

No I very rarely use 3.5mm any more. So I used 4.4mm for my DAP's and iFi Go Blue, 2.5 mm for my Quedelix 5k and Hidizs S9 Pro. There are quite a few good value KBear and NiceHCK balanced cables that will suit the Legato. At the moment I prefer Copper. The most important thing I found is to get about 50 or more hours burn-in, or listening done before making judgements as the 7HZ Legato really opens up with use. Unboxings and immediate reviews will not accurately represent the 7HZ Legato. The 6mm driver gives better treble after burn-in. The bass as others have said is impressive and weighty, most importantly is the mids that become more noticeable and forward after burn in, or a lot of use. I have give credit to the tuner, he has done a great job

 

[Fat Larry]

I admire the people who will start this hobby nowadays. Seeing all these crazy single DD releases which reveals much more details and extension on the higher end comparing it to the DDs 10-15 years back with warm character usually with huge bass with mediocre details, makes me wonder where it can go in the future. People have much much more options thanks to the development, technology.

In the past you had to pay at least 150$-200$ to have sth decent. Now it's so easy to find under 60$ and these DDs are much more capable than before. It goes overwhelmingly too much but eventually consumers wins. But really wow. What a time that we're living.

The law of diminishing returns seems to be getting more pronounced these days as well. Even compared to five years ago.

 

[ExTubeGamer]

I admire the people who will start this hobby nowadays. Seeing all these crazy single DD releases which reveals much more details and extension on the higher end comparing it to the DDs 10-15 years back with warm character usually with huge bass with mediocre details, makes me wonder where it can go in the future. People have much much more options thanks to the development, technology.

In the past you had to pay at least 150$-200$ to have sth decent. Now it's so easy to find under 60$ and these DDs are much more capable than before. It goes overwhelmingly too much but eventually consumers wins. But really wow. What a time that we're living.

You would be surprised what happens if xMEMS drivers get popular. Think of them as an In Ear version of electrostatic headphones. It might be possible to produce them at a lower cost then your typical single DD.

 

[Leonarfd]

You have a faulty unit, my unit can be used high gain 60% volume for over 10 hours AB mode. Fast charges in under 2 hours.
A little warm unde long use, but not as much as a smartphone playing games.

I can not hear any difference really on IEMs swapping between A and AB mode, maybe on some highly resolving IEMs.
Only on my Verite and T1 headphone I notice a small change in A and AB mode due to more power.

Sound is very good and a step above dongles I have tried.

Power: I used it to for couple of hours (it was set to AB Class) with 4.4 balanced out and the battery went down from 42% to 9%. I plugged into a 33W Charging Plug and it states Rapid Charging, fully charged in 8 hours. 3 hours later it is at 35% and fully charged on 5 hours. My mobile using the same Charging plug, DOES indeed charge fast.
After switching to A class listening over 4.4 mm out for an hour I noticed that the unit is getting very warm (could be nice pocket warmer in winter time)

Drag down from top there is a button to change gain mode, you only change gain when moving from a sensetive IEM to a harder to drive headphone. Low gain is cleanest always if there is enough volume on it.

Buttons: the buttons are on the side and after a while you might be able to tell which one is which. BUT there is no button for gain change. This needs to be done through Settings - Audio - Gain.

Not around any hidden wireless networks, only password encrypted ones. And that works perfect.

Mine are set up just as an DAP no Facebook or any social media. Use it only as Music player and streaming device. So not really concerned about spyware

Will I use it? most likely, but have to test it with more iems and headphones.
Would I buy it again? NO.

Not fun buying something you are not satisfied with, I know the feel.
I for one is very happy sonically and in how it has behaved and would have bought it again, or even maybe bought the new R6 Pro II.

 

[brsdrgn]

You would be surprised what happens if xMEMS drivers get popular. Think of them as an In Ear version of electrostatic headphones. It might be possible to produce them at a lower cost then your typical single DD.

I read about them last year when Riku mentioned. They were also on Canjam I believe with a prototype at that time.I haven't seen anyone mentioning that these drivers sounds amazing but rather slight impressions. Maybe they're not allowed to talk? Idk!

I hope they'll be up to their claims. I believe if they achieve what they promise, it's going to be a huge disrupter on the market. However, I also think that the headphones with that drivers are gonna be crazy costly at first.

On Thd Podcasts yt channel, there was a representative from the company going through a presentation and showing what they have in lab but it didn't seem so impressive to me. At least he didn't give that self confidence. They say they're just producing the drivers and their partners are working with them for the implementation in their headphones.

Montara was mentioned once somewhere and I was hoping a tws will show up maybe. But it looks like the second half of the year might bring sth.

If everything is going well they'll revolutionize the headphone market. Also they will affect the dap market as well to drive their headphones properly.

 

[wdelta06]

I admire the people who will start this hobby nowadays. Seeing all these crazy single DD releases which reveals much more details and extension on the higher end comparing it to the DDs 10-15 years back with warm character usually with huge bass with mediocre details, makes me wonder where it can go in the future. People have much much more options thanks to the development, technology.

In the past you had to pay at least 150$-200$ to have sth decent. Now it's so easy to find under 60$ and these DDs are much more capable than before. It goes overwhelmingly too much but eventually consumers wins. But really wow. What a time that we're living.

Yes it is...

EA500 would have been at least $250 and possibly more expensive for that level of quality tuning and build.

Same goes for EA2000 which I guess-timate would gravitate around Moondrop Variations price point.

 

[AudioNewbie76]

I read about them last year when Riku mentioned. They were also on Canjam I believe with a prototype at that time.I haven't seen anyone mentioning that these drivers sounds amazing but rather slight impressions. Maybe they're not allowed to talk? Idk!

I hope they'll be up to their claims. I believe if they achieve what they promise, it's going to be a huge disrupter on the market. However, I also think that the headphones with that drivers are gonna be crazy costly at first.

On Thd Podcasts yt channel, there was a representative from the company going through a presentation and showing what they have in lab but it didn't seem so impressive to me. At least he didn't give that self confidence. They say they're just producing the drivers and their partners are working with them for the implementation in their headphones.

Montara was mentioned once somewhere and I was hoping a tws will show up maybe. But it looks like the second half of the year might bring sth.

If everything is going well they'll revolutionize the headphone market. Also they will affect the dap market as well to drive their headphones properly.

There's currently only a single IEM using xMEMS by Singularity Audio, info is scarce however. There's also USound, which has a rudimentarily built IEM using their own MEMS drivers, that costs around 300 USD on Digikey, and iirc, it has a built in DSP and DAC/Amp in the area around the Type C connector, like many other Type C IEMs. I'll see if I can find the link for both. Honestly though, the Singularity Audio set seems extreme, considering they require a specialised iFi Diablo to function, due to their above average voltage requirements. Wonder why they couldn't just have it be like the USound set using an incredibly small ampifier.....
Edit:
The USound set: https://usound.com/product/wired-earphones-reference-design/
The Singularity Audio Set: https://www.singularityaud.io/
Edit 2: Oh yeah, TWS seems to be one of the targeted application of MEMS, since in TWS sets, people don't have to worry about amplifier requirements since the brands would already have them built in from the get go

 

[gooberbm]

Yes it is...

EA500 would have been at least $250 and possibly more expensive for that level of quality tuning and build.

Same goes for EA2000 which I guess-timate would gravitate around Moondrop Variations price point.

It would be Dark magician type pricing if it’s as good as it sounds

 

[Descoberto]

Man, I love the tin hifi c2, what a wonderful sound, my god.. which iem could be an upgrade for it? I think it's hard for someone to beat that, maybe it's because I found my "soul mate", before that I had already tested cadenza, kz esx, tripowin tc-01, timeless and mangird tea 2, but the c2 .. Damn .. how crazy! I LOVE it in every way, I just didn't like the fit. If he had the body of a cadenza or tc-01, I would never leave him again.

 

[PhonoPhi]

The law of diminishing returns seems to be getting more pronounced these days as well. Even compared to five years ago.

I remember how I started in an IEM world with a misconcept, that you need to spend at least $100 for a good sound - hence Fiio F9 pro, 1 More Triple (do love them) and Quad.
Then, when I heard KZ AS10 - it was wow(!) and down the rabbit hole

Some new IEMs on the horizon. So far, no news of new KZ pokemons (for now).

1) Moondrop JIU

Looks to be some USB C termination, a la the Quarks DSP.



https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=528746849420858&set=a.490191296609747



2) Tripowin Piccolo

$35 USD
11mm Dual-Cavity LCP Dynamic Driver





https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005401828996.html

It would be great to see Moondrop developing their power-efficient USB and DSP processing.
I was comparing single BAs - all enjoyable, limited understandably, while the Droplet was firmly on top...
Until

This track was murderous for the Droplet - high dynamic range with quiet lows of the first 30 sec - where organ hiss and background noise from DSP dominated, and the dynamic range limitations were exacerbated.

T800 handled the track magnificently - more lows than Dioko, most notable difference from my second favourite modified ASX.

The current operating setup:

Electrons first enter one mixed cable to pre-sort, then the dongle (skinned/defaced for the gross misdemeanor), then another mixed cable for the "post-sort", then the refinement of pure silver for the culmination of the audiophile bliss of T800 with Clarion tips

 

[superuser1]

xMEMS

iFi to Release Diablo X. The Worlds First DAC to Support xMEMS Technology, at CanJam NYC 2023​

iFi will be presenting the Diablo X alongside Singularity Audio’s In-Ear Monitors. These both feature xMEMs tech to push the boundaries of IEM and headphone performance.
Southport, England – iFi audio will be adding to its already extensive list of portable DAC audio products with the release of their Diablo X at CanJam NYC, February 25-26, 2023.
iFi have partnered with xMEMS as an official DAC/headphone amp technology partner. The Diablo X is being released to support the brand-new xMEMS’ ground-breaking solid-state monolithic speaker technology.

The Diablo X, when paired with In-Ear Monitors featuring the xMEMS’ monolithic micro speaker, will provide audiophile-level resolution, creating a lightning-fast transient response, near-zero phase shift, and +/-1° part-to-part phase consistency, resulting in the most natural sounding In-Ear Monitors with the most accurate time domain music reproduction. The result is a highly uniform and reliable driver that eliminates the need to match and calibrate.
Just like the original iDSD Diablo, the Diablo X delivers reference-level sound by using two BurrBrown DAC chips and a 16-core XMOS chip to process the data received via the USB and S/PDIF digital inputs, meaning the Diablo X can handle up to PCM 768, DSD 512, 2xDXD. It also provides full MQA decoding, like its predecessor.

A Perfect Pairing​

iFi audio will be showcasing the Diablo X alongside In-Ear Monitors from Singularity Audio at CanJam NYC 2023. Singularity Audio will be releasing their xMEMS In-Ear Monitors, the first IEMs to feature xMEMS solid state speaker technology. Paired with the iFi Diablo X, the two become a perfect bundle, because one cannot be properly utilized without the other.
“iFi audio is excited to be working with xMEMS as an official DAC/headphone amp technology partner,” said Victoria Pickles, Head of Partnerships for iFi audio. “xMEMS’ ground-breaking micro speakers offer great potential to push the boundaries of IEM and headphone performance. And our portable audio technologies are uniquely positioned to ensure this potential is fully realized. With specially optimized iFi DAC/headphone amps set for launch in 2023, it’s going to be an xCITING year!”

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Some new IEMs on the horizon. So far, no news of new KZ pokemons (for now).

1) Moondrop JIU

Looks to be some USB C termination, a la the Quarks DSP.



https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=528746849420858&set=a.490191296609747



2) Tripowin Piccolo

$35 USD
11mm Dual-Cavity LCP Dynamic Driver





https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005401828996.html

finally Jiu!
Hmm Jiu character reminds me of Akagi from Azurlane.

Is it juts me that Tripowin Piccol reminds me of DragonBall’s Piccolo instead of actual instrument?

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Man, I love the tin hifi c2, what a wonderful sound, my god.. which iem could be an upgrade for it? I think it's hard for someone to beat that, maybe it's because I found my "soul mate", before that I had already tested cadenza, kz esx, tripowin tc-01, timeless and mangird tea 2, but the c2 .. Damn .. how crazy! I LOVE it in every way, I just didn't like the fit. If he had the body of a cadenza or tc-01, I would never leave him again.

You may try Dunu Titan S or Truthear ZERO as a step up from C2, here is some details about LCP driver single DDs. The charts below C2 = Tripowin Lea, they supposed to be same IEM with different shell.

Out of whim: LCP arms race debriefing

When I google something IEM related, there are high chance certain head-fi posts would hit on top, so I hope this input would help LCP wonderers not sure which may be a better fit.



Quick recap of LCP era
Liquid Crystal Polymer , an epoc making dome material used for many dynamic IEMs with SONY and other high-end brands been historically used for top notch series, re-introduced by Moondrop Aria 2021, an era of LCP has now counted almost 2 years. I loved Aria after removing its metal filter then wow’d by Moondrop Variations uncompensated driver-to-ear LCP woofer and still in love even to date.

I skipped LCP hybrids like Truthear HEXA and only focused on LCP dynamic IEMs in my collections that I could think of (maybe I forgot some, like I almost forgot Tripowin Lea). A-B tested those, all completed at least 30 hours of burn-in as LCP has tendencies to perform sloppy right out od box.

▶︎Tried to roll back all to stock cable and ear tips, but I was too lazy on Trurhear ZERO and Hakugei Sea-Elf so they are equipped with after market cables.

▶︎Used AZLA Xelastec Crystal to all

Here is the result:

Note Weight from bass heavy to Treble bright:
Sea-Elf>>ESX> HOLA>TE ZERO>Lea>Aria>Titan S

Sense of Resolutions
Titan S>Aria>TE Zero>HOLA>Lea>Sea Elf>ESX

LCP’s unique Treble softness (non metallic timbre; rich overtones)
Aria > Titan S > TE ZERO> HOLA > Sea Elf > Lea > ESX


LCP‘s unique sub-bass resonance imaging
HOLA>Aria>Titan S>TE ZERO>Sea Elf>Lea>ESX

Perceived Bass amount (bass floor height & slope x area x timbre )
Sea Elf>>>>>>>>>>HOLA>TE ZERO>Aria>ESX>Lea>Titan S

Upper Mid clarify = Sense of imaging transparency
Titan S > Lea > TE ZERO > ESX > Aria > HOLA > Sea Elf

Overall Image Positioning and Staging Coordinates coherency and conformity
Titan S > Aria > Lea > HOLA > TE ZERO > Sea Elf > ESX

My preference:

High sound pressure music with vocals (Rock/Pops)
TE ZERO>HOLA>Aria>Sea Elf>Lea>Titan S>ESX

Electronica with no main vocals (SFX voice counted)
You better get BA set, but if I’d forced to use DD
Sea-Elf > Titan S> TE ZERO >Aria >HOLA> Lea > ESX

Acoustics & Jazz
Titan S>Aria>Lea>HOLA>TE ZERO>ESX>Sea Elf

Orchestral
Sea Elf>Titan S> TE ZERO > Aria > Lea > HOLA>ESX


Final one sentence debrief for each LCP IEMs:

DUNU Titan S around $70;
One of best safe tuned balanced IEM, lower bass floor than other LCPs out there makes Titan S one of best balanced good for most of genre, an all rounder. In a stock form, Titan S is the only LCP that has air presentation for hi-res source that will play an important role. Great sounding from stock cable is a plus.

Moondrip Aria OG around $70;
Safer upper mid tuned IEM mainly aimed to play high-gain / sound pressure mixed modern pops with comfortable output. Stock cable tamed upper mid clarify as well as stock metal damper filter. Recabling and removing metal filter is recommended.

Truthear HOLA $19;
Almost par with Aria OG, with deeper reaching bass, but resolutions are lower when compared to Titan S and Aria. For the price, HOLA is a beast. Same tuning with Stock Aria, it‘s designed to play shouty high gain modern pops, so for other genre the upper mid may be desired with higher gain level. You can simply swap the stock cable, that cable push down upper mid, I confirmed this and noticed a huge change in upper mid when switched cable. Same applies to Aria OG.

TrutHear ZERO $49;
Moondrop Variation’s dynamic driver sibling. Same sub-bass and upper mid focused balanced U tuning. It has wide dynamic range and would handle many genres with great musicality. Resolution are one of nit picks for TE ZERO that it could do better. Best pick for sub$50 and Great choice between Titan S or TE ZERO depending on your favorites.

Hakugei Sea-Elf around $60;
Warning!!! Stock cable of Sea-Elf is one of hardest cable I ever encountered out of hundreds of those. I had yet met any good pair with this stock cable, so simply put “it sucks”. Sea-Elf itself is also not a beginner friendly one, it has zero air right out of the box, and need very long burn-in process to have its intended performance. But I do quite like it because it‘s Two LCP DD singing same frequency in unison, a bi-turbo feeling. It’s qdc tuning which I learned that doesn’t fit well for DDs. Relaxed upper mid for DD would leave an impression of “unclear” rather than “relaxed or delicate“. Sea Elf also has immense amount of brutality in Bass range , with fullsize LCP x2 playing that Gozilla styled bass is very bass head satisfyin, the bass range speed is also quite fast, thus I enjoy Sea Elf for Basshead mood and in need of layering for EDM and Orchestral.
Hard to recommend, but it has its own good raison de’tre.

Tripowin Lea $20;
One of nicely harman tuned LCP IEM that is affordable and once was best sounding $20 class IEM. Also one of the most underrated IEM. It is basically a budget DUNU Titan S. With pretty low bass floor, It matches really good with J-pops. Only limited by somewhat smearing driver that I can tell is not Titan S/Aria class one is using. But for the price it’s forgivable. As a stock tuning, I think Lea is an option to consider between HOLA. HOLA outperforms Lea only when recabled.

KZ ESX $23;
KZ‘s 10 year anniversary model. It has quasi-thin “liquid polymer” diaphragm per KZ, it’s not exactly an LCP driver as I can tell when comparing to other authentic LCPs. But as someone walked through their products and dynamic driver development history, I do quite impressed KZ has done to their latest quasi-LCP ESX DD. It’s 80% of what Tripowin Lea‘s driver is offering, so ESX is still on the way to reach a proper LCP. For the Price tag, I can’t recommend ESX and would rather rec for either Lea or HOLA.

Last but not least, I’d honer Truthear HEXA, as it has top class LCP woofer and very high performing BA sets going for $69-79. A good vocal-neutral IEM lean sounding to check if you are looking further steps from LCP dynamic.

 

[r31ya]

Well, when tuning switches become sub $100 territory and comes every other weeks,
i have to pity all of the FR grapher that basically have to graph 4+ times more than normal iem.

Anyhow, IanFanns KZ D-FI third party graph.
detail refresher, DFI have 3 tuning switch that add 1~3 db of sub bass elevation and 1 switch that elevate all channel by 4db
hence the dual line. i wonder that the last switch is to mimic highgain effect by upping every segment by 4db? or its something else?

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