The discovery thread!

[JEHL]

I've tried so many things with Hola



and with many possibilities, the best sound is using the default grill, take out the nylon filter behind it, then attach tanchjim filter on top of the original grill but before that, punch 1 hole on the tanchjim filter.
The easiest way is with default filter and default grill, take them out, pinch 1 hole and put them back, more or less similar result with tanchjim filter but less clear but differences really subtle. My best recommendation is just pinch 1 hole on default filter (don't do it when grill is attached on nozzle, you have to take them out first)

Here the result :


default is blue line, smooth but sounded overdampened, bass is trapped inside, bad airflow.
green is my mod with tanchjim filter with 1 hole, attached to original grill (with original filter behind the grill taken out)
red is with original grill and original filter but pinch 1 small hole with needle.

*note : the 6khz valley can't be boosted up, so the Hola by nature sounded very relax on lower treble region. While the mod bringing clearer mids, much better bass because of better airflow, but we can't do anything for the treble sparkles. Its sounded more open even graphed lower there, but not enough quantity on 6khz area for me personally. They are a good beater set but that's it

So 4 points I'd personally like to add on this:

1. Can we get a few example photographs of what modding the Hola's nozzle looks like?
2. I still don't understand the exact function of the filter. So I just put a cut piece of dried disinfecting wipe (because I can't think of a more effective material). This is cut in a shape that matches the height of the nozzle in the BLON BL-03 while leaving the middle open. This is purely based on the hypothesis that that what the filter is filtering is the nozzle resonances.

There's no way for me to show this on a photograph, but the filter is as tall as the nozzle itself.
3. The fact that that the FR drops fast after the 2.7kHz gain is why I want the Juzear 41t. Or something with a similar 3kHz and above to the 41t. The perfect IEM for me would combine the 300Hz and under of the XENNS Mangird Top and Juzear 41t's rest. If such IEM exists, I have absolutely no idea what it is.
4. This looks like the kind of thing I'd love to try on a Tangzu Wan'er S.G... If I had one anyway.

On an unrelated note. Apparently, my nephew tested the HE400se before it was sent. He liked it more than anything he ever used for gaming, and he has way more expensive stuff like Bose QC35 and Airpods Pro and Airpods Max. He didn't test music so if you expected any music impression, I must disappoint you.

 

[DynamicEars]

So 4 points I'd personally like to add on this:

1. Can we get a few example photographs of what modding the Hola's nozzle looks like?
2. I still don't understand the exact function of the filter. So I just put a cut piece of dried disinfecting wipe (because I can't think of a more effective material). This is cut in a shape that matches the height of the nozzle in the BLON BL-03 while leaving the middle open. This is purely based on the hypothesis that that what the filter is filtering is the nozzle resonances.

There's no way for me to show this on a photograph, but the filter is as tall as the nozzle itself.
3. The fact that that the FR drops fast after the 2.7kHz gain is why I want the Juzear 41t. Or something with a similar 3kHz and above to the 41t. The perfect IEM for me would combine the 300Hz and under of the XENNS Mangird Top and Juzear 41t's rest. If such IEM exists, I have absolutely no idea what it is.
4. This looks like the kind of thing I'd love to try on a Tangzu Wan'er S.G... If I had one anyway.

On an unrelated note. Apparently, my nephew tested the HE400se before it was sent. He liked it more than anything he ever used for gaming, and he has way more expensive stuff like Bose QC35 and Airpods Pro and Airpods Max. He didn't test music so if you expected any music impression, I must disappoint you.

1. Sorry I should put my pics also, I was uploading from my PC and the photos are in my phone (simply take with my phone camera, hopefully it is clear enough) :


Here how the original filter behind the grill with 1 small hole, just a little small hole using needle or small safety pin (don't yse big needle or big safety pin or you will alter the sound too much)

Another photo.

And these with tanchjim filter (the filter is attached to the default grill :




2. Filter function is for dampening the sound so it will sounded smoother, to tame peaks or certain frequencies.
Actually I made explanation including your alcohol roll damper with measurements too in BLON thread few years back.
From my experiences "blockage" tamed high mids from 2khz until 4khz while absorbing materials such as sponge, cotton tame more on higher frequencies like 6khz above (good to avoid sibilances)
Lot of materials have different dampening effect and affected by the amount.

3. You can see lot of FR on squidlink actually. That 2.7khz or 3khz pinna is just nice but not sure if you want sparkles after that and the high extension. Too drop after pinna gain will lead to dark sound, lack of air and possibly small soundstage perceival.

 

[helloh3adfi]

and with many possibilities, the best sound is using the default grill, take out the nylon filter behind it, then attach tanchjim filter on top of the original grill but before that, punch 1 hole on the tanchjim filter.

That sounds good. I don't want to boost 1-2 kHz too much. Where did you buy the tanchjim filter? Do you know where it is on AliExpress? Do you reattach the filter and grill by using superglue on the edges?

 

[RikudouGoku]

2. Filter function is for dampening the sound so it will sounded smoother, to tame peaks or certain frequencies.
Actually I made explanation including your alcohol roll damper with measurements too in BLON thread few years back.
From my experiences "blockage" tamed high mids from 2khz until 4khz while absorbing materials such as sponge, cotton tame more on higher frequencies like 6khz above (good to avoid sibilances)
Lot of materials have different dampening effect and affected by the amount.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/blo...ressions-thread.916702/page-257#post-15814248

 

[DynamicEars]

That sounds good. I don't want to boost 1-2 kHz too much. Where did you buy the tanchjim filter? Do you know where it is on AliExpress? Do you reattach the filter and grill by using superglue on the edges?

ali should have them or if you have tanchjim hana or tanya, it comes with the filter. I got mine from spare from my Hana 2021, alternatively you can use mesh500 filter, more or less similar damping effect and sound.
you can reattach the grill with the residue left, they are still sticky enough to reattach, don't use super glue, it will break the paint coat on both side.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/blo...ressions-thread.916702/page-257#post-15814248

Thanks for the link, a bit hassle to find it on the go!

 

[Carpet]

KZ X HBB PR2 full review by Ian Fann​

 

[o0genesis0o]

3. You can see lot of FR on squidlink actually. That 2.7khz or 3khz pinna is just nice but not sure if you want sparkles after that and the high extension. Too drop after pinna gain will lead to dark sound, lack of air and possibly small soundstage perceival.

The ear-gain region is an interesting beast. To my ears, 2kHz has the effect of sharpening the "edge" sound, whilst 3kHz "focuses" the midrange sound, especially vocals, and brings it toward your face.

Just enough 3kHz => kind-of-shallow stage, but wide and "open" / "transparent"
Too high 3kHz => in-your-face, shallow stage
Too low 3kHz => narrow but uncannily deep stage (a.k.a., FiiO FA7s, at least to my ears)

Moondrop Blessing 3 and the Simgot EW100P both have Harman-like 3kHz. Both have shallow but very wide and open soundstage.

I've just realised today whilst listening to the SA6II: the illusion of soundstage "depth" is a by-product of recessed midrange. At all time, the SA6II, U12T, and similar U-shaped IEMs, have bass as the foreground, midrange further away, and treble air at the furthest back around around the headstage. Both U12T and SA6II also take advantage of pulling the 3kHz down to "diffuse" the center image a little bit, further improving the illusion of depth.

Meanwhile, Moondrop Blessing 3 and Simgot EW100P place everything on the same plane. So, if the ultimate goal of tuning is "balance between frequencies", then I guess they have achieved it with VSDF and Harman IE target.
A small "hypothesis test": Using EQ to bump the 150Hz and 50Hz and drop 3kHz, the illusion of depth and layering immediately returns to Blessing 3 and EW100P. The separation between layers, however, still depends on that "mythical" technical performance of the driver configurations. EW100P is simply no match against the B3 and SA6II (as it should be).

---

If you ever wonder what's the fuss about with those $$$$$$ DAP, you can have a look at my review of P6 Pro ($3899). I approached the borrowed unit with the expectation of snake oil, and left the review thinking about saving up to buy one for myself.

Howdy folks, my review of L&P P6 Pro is up and online on my website and head-fi. If you are interested in watching and listening to reviews instead of reading, you can find my YouTube review below.



In summary, from the perspective of someone who has never listened to a TOTL player for more than a demo session, the sound quality offered by P6 Pro was eye-opening. The software is unusable for some albums, due to the lack of gapless playback, and the price is prohibitively high, but the sound is so good that I can see myself eyeing a unit one day. I'm looking forward to listening to the upcoming W4 dongle.

Here are some tricks about sources that I learned when trying to get P6 Pro sound without paying $4000:

• It's not about "scaling up". It's more about smaller dongles not being able to drive IEMs to their full capability. And no, I don't think it is about max power output.
• The sense of "dynamic" and "snappiness" of note attacks depends a great deal on your amplifier. Apple dongle sounds way crisper and more dynamic when supported by my Topping G5.
• The DAC has impact in terms of fine-tuning the sound. For example, keeping G5 as the amp, I can hear noticeable change in the forwardness of the soundstage when swapping between different dongles and DAPs acting as the DAC.
• Most of the time, gain is just loudness, not driving power (meaning those "scaling" thing I mentioned does not exist when changing gain). However, some sources change the way the amp works when changing gain, thus might change the driving power. Therefore, you should try high-gain once to see if the driving power of your amp actually changes. For example, Shanling M6 Ultra sounds way more dynamic and crisp at high-gain, but low and mid-gain sounds the same.

Cheapest way to get the sound close to P6 Pro is Apple dongle + Topping G5 (or NX7). I'll explore some even cheaper battery amps in the future and see what works.

 

[baskingshark]

Taobao soldier

So sad that I‘m literally having my $300 bet sitting on a very fragile see-saw that could be swiped away at anytime.

One chat exchange takes 24 hours, and my agent is idiotic as hell.


Agent: “seller said he will need to add your WeChat”

me: ok, complete your sentence of “how” to add…provide ID or something…

me: ”Ok, then. Provide me seller’s wechat ID”

24hr later

Agent ”sorry we couldn’t add you, please add my wechat ID”

What

The communication level is below 3 years old’s intelligence

Agent’s intelligence level is below average.

Bro told you that buying from Taobao is a crapshoot.
If all goes well, it is generally cheaper than Aliexpress, and sometimes they do carry stuff that isn't released internationally yet.

But if you need CS or warranty, it is a mega hassle trying to talk to the taobao reps, unless your Chinese is superb and you have their internal app chat stuff. Anyways, won't advise buying more expensive gear from taobao, as if you need returns, you are screwed. Sometimes returning stuff to China is more expensive than the item itself!

 

[DynamicEars]

The ear-gain region is an interesting beast. To my ears, 2kHz has the effect of sharpening the "edge" sound, whilst 3kHz "focuses" the midrange sound, especially vocals, and brings it toward your face.

Just enough 3kHz => kind-of-shallow stage, but wide and "open" / "transparent"
Too high 3kHz => in-your-face, shallow stage
Too low 3kHz => narrow but uncannily deep stage (a.k.a., FiiO FA7s, at least to my ears)

Moondrop Blessing 3 and the Simgot EW100P both have Harman-like 3kHz. Both have shallow but very wide and open soundstage.

I've just realised today whilst listening to the SA6II: the illusion of soundstage "depth" is a by-product of recessed midrange. At all time, the SA6II, U12T, and similar U-shaped IEMs, have bass as the foreground, midrange further away, and treble air at the furthest back around around the headstage. Both U12T and SA6II also take advantage of pulling the 3kHz down to "diffuse" the center image a little bit, further improving the illusion of depth.

Meanwhile, Moondrop Blessing 3 and Simgot EW100P place everything on the same plane. So, if the ultimate goal of tuning is "balance between frequencies", then I guess they have achieved it with VSDF and Harman IE target.
A small "hypothesis test": Using EQ to bump the 150Hz and 50Hz and drop 3kHz, the illusion of depth and layering immediately returns to Blessing 3 and EW100P. The separation between layers, however, still depends on that "mythical" technical performance of the driver configurations. EW100P is simply no match against the B3 and SA6II (as it should be).

---

If you ever wonder what's the fuss about with those $$$$$$ DAP, you can have a look at my review of P6 Pro ($3899). I approached the borrowed unit with the expectation of snake oil, and left the review thinking about saving up to buy one for myself.



Here are some tricks about sources that I learned when trying to get P6 Pro sound without paying $4000:

• It's not about "scaling up". It's more about smaller dongles not being able to drive IEMs to their full capability. And no, I don't think it is about max power output.
• The sense of "dynamic" and "snappiness" of note attacks depends a great deal on your amplifier. Apple dongle sounds way crisper and more dynamic when supported by my Topping G5.
• The DAC has impact in terms of fine-tuning the sound. For example, keeping G5 as the amp, I can hear noticeable change in the forwardness of the soundstage when swapping between different dongles and DAPs acting as the DAC.
• Most of the time, gain is just loudness, not driving power (meaning those "scaling" thing I mentioned does not exist when changing gain). However, some sources change the way the amp works when changing gain, thus might change the driving power. Therefore, you should try high-gain once to see if the driving power of your amp actually changes. For example, Shanling M6 Ultra sounds way more dynamic and crisp at high-gain, but low and mid-gain sounds the same.

Cheapest way to get the sound close to P6 Pro is Apple dongle + Topping G5 (or NX7). I'll explore some even cheaper battery amps in the future and see what works.

Couldn't agree more. I was skeptic to get Fiio M17 at first. I just want to buy the new Sony ZX707 at first, then was thinking how if stretch up budget to get WM1Am2 instead to pair with my Z1R but in the end, the M17 (more expensive than WM1Am2) have more technicalities and snappier transient attack and that dynamic while have "body" on every single transient attack although the more colored WM1Am2 also sounded very great. Was torn between two but I got the M17 with great price so I went with M17.
This "dynamic" and "snappiness" that @o0genesis0o said, is spectacular on high end DAP, that i never heard before. Maybe combination of great DAC and together with flagship amplifier as a package made this effect. I thought M11 plus or similarly mid high DAP is just enough for me, but once I get the M17, there is no way going back.
the dynamic, refinement, those transient attack that go fast with body weight, just like quality jab. Since I am a bass quality lover, i like the very tight mid bass presentation but have weighty sub bass on below.
Having flagship DAP has changed my perception from "Good sound = 70% transducers + 20% source + 5% eartips + 5% cable" to "Good sound = 50% transducers + 40% source + 5% eartips + 5% cable"
my midfi IEMs sounded better, and some have marginal improvement, especially those with planars, ESTs, piezos.
This is isn't an advertisement nor review unit. Bought with my own money and I don't have any connection with Fiio btw, just happen that I have lot of their sources, they make great DAPs but their IEMs aren't great to be honest.

 

[carrots99]

Am I the only one imagining that this cable would look really gorgeous with the Kiwiears Quartet?
https://market.m.taobao.com/app/idleFish-F2e/fish-pc/web/detail.html?id=679156198924

 

[Leonarfd]

Ordered the KZ Ling Long, appeared in the bottom row on AliExpress when I was ordering some tips. I guess my year of not buying cheap IEMs has ended.

@FreeWheelinAudioLuv2 I know you have liked yours and the price is so cheap.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Bro told you that buying from Taobao is a crapshoot.
If all goes well, it is generally cheaper than Aliexpress, and sometimes they do carry stuff that isn't released internationally yet.

But if you need CS or warranty, it is a mega hassle trying to talk to the taobao reps, unless your Chinese is superb and you have their internal app chat stuff. Anyways, won't advise buying more expensive gear from taobao, as if you need returns, you are screwed. Sometimes returning stuff to China is more expensive than the item itself!

Hey it worked

My agent is very slow in response but Night Oblivion guy actually responds quite fast

 

[ericf]

I would like to order some 'unknown' IEMs some time but I can't buy from Aliexpress. Something about "According to AliExpress policy, this order cannot be placed". Any ideas? I sent an ID photo a couple of months ago since they asked for it. No response. My first order from 3 years ago was no problem (very small amount).

 

[AmericanSpirit]

I would like to order some 'unknown' IEMs some time but I can't buy from Aliexpress. Something about "According to AliExpress policy, this order cannot be placed". Any ideas? I sent an ID photo a couple of months ago since they asked for it. No response. My first order from 3 years ago was no problem (very small amount).

Due to custom duties, many aliexpress shop don’t ship to Germany or some EU nations, maybe that’s the case?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Ordered the KZ Ling Long, appeared in the bottom row on AliExpress when I was ordering some tips. I guess my year of not buying cheap IEMs has ended.

@FreeWheelinAudioLuv2 I know you have liked yours and the price is so cheap.

I enjoy the Lings very much. When I wanted a worry free but highly entertaining mobile listen, I turn to the Lings. I lose em? So what! $15.00! But I have two, so if that happens, I can just grab my spare.