[InvisibleInk]

Our friend asked me to deliver a good bye to good folks here for him:

From @AmericanSpirit twitter:


Edit: tl;dr;: everything he posts must be vetted somehow.

Wow, they came down on him like a ton of bricks. I'm sure HiFiGuides forum will welcome him without those chains...

 

[cobrabucket]

Our friend asked me to deliver a good bye to good folks here for him:

From @AmericanSpirit twitter:


Edit: tl;dr;: everything he posts must be vetted somehow.

Man, that is awful! I understand rules but he seems like he should be exempted from this for the reasons he brings up, at least until they get the company actually making income.
I will try to follow him elsewhere, but this seems wrong to me.

 

[o0genesis0o]

I see the MS5 gets all sorts of different reactions

It goes for Kublai Khan/MEST tuning, but it is not able to blend the 8k peak into the rest of the signature somehow (maybe the peak is too high). It's not shouty, just trebly and can sound odd with some tracks. The bass nozzle does a good job of taming the signature without killing the treble extension. I tried all kinds of foams and filters I have here following @DynamicEars advice, but I either kill the treble extension and details or I don't change the signature enough, so hats off to Hidizs for that bass nozzle.

Excellent, indulgent bass. Good resolution for the sub $500 bracket. Hi-Fri confirms via teardown that everything inside these IEMs are well designed and use high-end components. Maybe Hidizs can revisit this one day to retune it or maybe add a BCD to blend the treble into the rest of the signature somehow. Weak recommendation from me.

 

[ian91]

Discredit to them when they could have the talk before just banning or removing posts. Makes people feel pretty powerless

They didn't ban me but yes, it wasn't a nice experience. Either they allow a potential subversive poster with an agenda to continue to post while they investigate or, like most control mechanisms, shoot first and ask questions later. The latter protects the community better but it didn't feel nice to be silenced, even if it was only for a day or so.

Regardless, it's 'spilt milk' now and it's all been sorted. I just wanted to share how vigilant the admins are to covert advertising.

 

[r31ya]

They didn't ban me but yes, it wasn't a nice experience. Either they allow a potential subversive poster with an agenda to continue to post while they investigate or, like most control mechanisms, shoot first and ask questions later. The latter protects the community better but it didn't feel nice to be silenced, even if it was only for a day or so.

Regardless, it's 'spilt milk' now and it's all been sorted. I just wanted to share how vigilant the admins are to covert advertising.

In one hand its understandable decision to have "trades member" to be put on extra scrutiny.
but in the other hand, you will be put on extra scrutiny even if you are posting simply as one of the enthusiast and not as "official account"

understandable precaution but yeah, kinda sucks of people involved.

 

[baskingshark]

Ok, guys. I have a $20 coupon from Linsoul that expires at the end of the month that I need to use.
Any suggestions [hopefully under $150]?
I was thinking about the Kailua, the KZ AS24, the Simgot EW200, Hidizs MS3, or the 7Hz Legato.
Ideally would like something that contrasts with what I already have.
Is the Kailua any good? Is the AS24 actually worth it (especially considering I recently got the EPZ 530)?
I also could wait to see if the get the Moondrop Starfield 2, but it's uncertain whether they will have it before the coupon expires.
Anyways, I have been trying to figure out a nice, easy solution to this but it is starting to frustrate me with their limited selection, out-of-stocks and overall higher than normal prices for a lot of their inventory.
I am not opposed to choosing something I didn't list here as well.
Thanks in advance.
Y'all rock!

My 2 cents, based on the very nice gear you already own in your signature, I think if you want something contrasting, the only one is the 7Hz Legato.
The rest of the stuff you mentioned are not gonna give any value-add over the higher end better stuff you have, so best to keep your powder dry for a more substantial upgrade, or something different.

The Legato is a basshead set with huge sub-bass that will rumble your jaw. It is not too technical or resolving, but the sound is reminiscent of the floor speakers of yesteryears. Head-banging set, good for bass forward stuff like EDM and hip hop and a set for "fun". But basshead tuning is quite niche in a way, it might be a bit intrusive if you don't want big coloured bass like for example in Classical music, but it will be something different from the usual Harman fare.

 

[Redcarmoose]

I just got my sample today from Kiwi Ears website (2 weeks time and this time no local taxes)...Redcarmoose convinced me to give at least a try with his complete review
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kiwiears-quintet.26582/reviews#review-31155




I really wanted to give a try to a rather complex and risky/muddy hybrid multi drivers like this, though I think the best results for me were mainly none hybrid systems (except IER-Z1R absolute reference, XBA-N3 as fun reference & EXT quite good even if far too expensive and weak), but, till now I enjoyed clearly a lot single DD (IE900-600, Xelento & HA-FW1800), the surprising Planar (ZeTian Wu) and for a month, I got my new tone reference IER-M9 with some full load of "Sony"'s special BA drivers.

My first feeling after a pair of hours with the Kiwi Ears Quintet, is that I am a bit surprised that mid high and high frequencies are clearly less detailed than with my IER-M9 or IE600, as I was expecting something "different" even aggressive with some BA + micro Planar Magnetic + Piezzo Bone Conductor involved in the sound ...
Compared to the M9, it seems some cymbals are muffled a bit in the path for some of my jazz test tracks..
For ultra low and low frequencies, in my case, everything seem to be there with the DD, deep low frequencies and good impacts (better than IEM-M9 without EQ).

Basically, I am one who is not really convinced by any hardware burning, cables & amp effects on sound quality, though FIIO pure silver balanced cable seems sometimes to improve high frequencies for my ears (this can still be a placebo effect).
Usually, I am far more convinced by some proper EQ and of course ear tips effects..
So, even if some of the Kiwi Ears stock ear tips inclued in the box are really comfortable, I felt some of my other ear tips with very large hole nozzle => opens the sound by a significant margin in mid-high/high frequencies.

So, I am thinking the Kiwi Ears Quintet fits perfectly in my ears as they are long and rather slim (this should allow to lay down with the head on the side ), In my case, they are :
-> totally non fatiguing for hours with no sibilance at all,
-> with a rather "dark" tone signature,
-> giving quite promising impacts and not too muddy low frequencies.
I will still take some time to "burn" a bit this quintet (?) and mainly my ears and I will see in a week or two if they will really join my actual dream team : Ier-M9, XBA-N3, HA-FW1800, Ze Tian Wu or go on the shelf full of unused IEMs and dust...

Congratulations. Also they really get better with burn-in.

 

[r31ya]

Not sure whether this have been post here,
Simgot EM6L,
"Budget" hybrid

August release

 

[Okcerg]

Our friend asked me to deliver a good bye to good folks here for him:

From @AmericanSpirit twitter:


Edit: tl;dr;: everything he posts must be vetted somehow.

Really sorry to hear that. @AmericanSpirit is such a great contributor here, always helpful. Hope the fact that he's not getting compensations will make it possible to remove the MoTT.

 

[Jaytiss]

Have this being post here,
Simgot EM6L,
"Budget" hybrid



August release

Paul Wassabbi made a video. Looks very interesting, but will it be 500 like the EM5? I feel for a 4 + 1 200 is a reasonable price with the kara being 180, the P5 at 200 seems like that'd be a much better price than 500. Anyone have any sense where this might be at?

Paul's video

 

[Kenyon]

It does feel like a penon promotion thread here at times, yet AmericanSpirit take a fall for being open and honest.

This x1000!!!

Penon should be promoted because they are what Head-Fi is about, only they offer better bang-for-the-buck and are even getting better at IEM production.

- your a smart guy so I am sure you are not 'missing' the point and are aware that this isn't about the quality of the product but the means of marketing, their transparency, and the consistency of that being policed.

 

[Jaytiss]

Monarch MKIII Available again right now!!!

Link: https://www.linsoul.com/products/thieaudio-monarch-mkiii?sca_ref=4032745.r9Te5WuMYp

Black and white set is 1000 while the custom one that I want is 150 more. I am not so sure if I need the custom set, but hard to say. But for a little bit more it might be the way to go.

Thank-you.

Well, I didn't mean to harm anyone, or take too much of anyone's time or effort? Who does the post benefit? Well others have started posting reviews in this thread, though mine may have been somewhat larger? Did you read the hidden apology at the start? I guess I'm so emotional about this particular IEM, I want to tell the world?

Who does it benefit? Probably who ever reads it. I mean the 10th is so well rounded that it could be liked by everyone, it goes with every DAP and plays back every musical genre.................that's why I'm a little over the top with my review. But I don't foresee this happening again any time soon?

Penon should be promoted because they are what Head-Fi is about, only they offer better bang-for-the-buck and are even getting better at IEM production.

Honestly, reviews take a ton of time and typically we get almost nothing for them. I really enjoy your opinions on the Penon and am seriously thinking about getting one, but I have a lot of money at headphones.com so I'll probably get an Monrack MK 3, and am getting the 7th Acoustics Supernova. So it's hard to say. Selling the Dunu SA 6 mk 2 as I use the P8, the Quintet, and Meteor mostly. (Meteor's base is fatiguing at times, but fun.)
Ok, so is the 10th Aniversary a daily driver impressive set for you?

 

[Uprox]

As owner of several ISN/Penon cables I take it with a big grain of salt. Not bad cables but nothing more, as tonnes other brands. So the same way I perceive information about their IEMs - not bad for the price.
P.S. It's probably because I'm primarily looking for the technicality of the sound, and after the filter - the pleasantness of the tonality and other more subjective aspects

 

[gadgetgod]

I Went In Blind With These 1300$ IEMs, & The Result is Here!!

Hello Friends,

I hope you all are well and doing great. Today, I am going to share a story, this post might get a little long, but please bear with me because I have a lot to say. So this started earlier last month with Ace Bee sending me his unit of D’s Audio F-Heart. D’s Audio is a boutique IEM store from Hong Kong, and I don’t know how Ace Bee got a hang of this person through Instagram. So he sent the unit to me to make a graph and have a short listen as well. I was literally sold when I listened to the F-Heart. The timbre, the tone of that IEM sounded so phenomenally good that I was like, man get me one of these as well. So we planned and he asked me to look at his Instagram page to see all his offerings. There I checked out the Fire Phoenix, the pair instantly grabbed my attention with its crazy glittery look and pattern. I asked about the pricing and it was somewhat over my budget priced at 1300$(luckily the reviewer’s discount got it close to 1000$), So Ace Bee then helped me with the payment as well, and after a wait of around 20-22 days(with 12 days at customs in Delhi), the Fire Phoenix landed in my hands.

I got this unit about 2 weeks back, and I have been listening to it on and off ever since then. The maker asks for 1000 hours of burn-in, but I thought of giving it around 200, currently, I am at 50 hours mark with 15-20 hours of actual listening and about 30 hours of just pure burn-in on a player overnight. So these are basically my initial impressions of the pair, they may or may not change after the burn-in period is done(I desire to give 200 hours). Let’s begin with the impressions.

Disclaimer before I begin:-

I am in no way associated with D’s Audio, I just loved the F-Heart and went in blind for the Fire Phoenix thinking if the guy can do such beautiful tuning with a 500$ IEM, I wonder what he can do with his single DD flagship. Well, actually the Fire Phoenix is a sub-flagship featuring an 11mm JVC DLC driver. There’s also a Dark Phoenix priced at around 1700$ that features an 11mm JVC Wooden Dome Driver. I bought the unit with my own money, D’s was kind to offer me a discount and I got the pair for close to 1000$. My opinions might be biased by my own listening preferences.

Package, Design, and Build:-

You just get a simple package with two sets of Acoustune ear tips and a round earphone case with a D’s logo on the front. The pair comes with his own crafted cable, this cable is called SL.02 something. The cable is soft and really handy, I chose a 4.4mm termination. The pair itself is stunning to look at. The shell was completely hand-painted, it looks and feels quite awesome. But let me tell you, the shell size is a little bigger in size. So fit might be a concern if you have smaller ears. For me, no issues as such. Although I had to do some tip-rolling to get perfect comfort and fit. There’s some driver flex on the right side as well. I found my peace with Azla Sedna Earfit Light, Feaulle Lates H570, and Softears UC tips. Once you get the perfect combination, the pair fits like a charm.

Driving The Fire Phoenix:-

TBH I was having a fantastic time with the HiBy R6 Pro II and Fire Phoenix, until recently my friend sent me his Astell&Kern PA10 for an audition. PA10 for all those who don’t know is a portable amplifier, and by god how drastically it has improved the performance of the Fire Phoenix. From a good sounding set on the R6 Pro II, I have an excellent sounding one on the R6Pro II+PA10. Don’t worry, the pair sounds phenomenal directly from the DAP as well, R6 Pro II and Aune M1p both are excellent combinations.

Personally, I have now bought a PA10 for myself after auditioning, the goodness of AKM’s flagship on the R6 Pro II and the pure Class A output of the PA10 makes the Fire Phoenix shine with all her glory!!

Sound Impressions:-

Here’s a graph of the Fire Phoenix that I made earlier when I got the unit.

The pair sounds slamming, literally slamming in the lower end. Mid-bass has a bombastic presentation. Sub-bass rumble is also quite thunderous and strong. Mid-bass has a little boom in bass-heavy tracks but nothing to worry about. Lower-mids are recessed, but they have good clarity even with such a strong lower end. Upper mids are forwarded especially in the vocals, but they don’t sound sharp or harsh by any means. Vocals actually feel quite lively and have a properly textured finish. They actually sound beautiful with a rich and lush tone to them. Timbre and tone on the Fire Phoenix is simply top-notch, the pair sounds natural by all means. Treble is crisp yet it isn’t sharp or snappy. With the AKM’s velvet AK4499 magic, the notes are well-rounded and sound fantastic.

Tone & Timbre of the Fire Phoenix deserves a standing ovation, I mean it just feels lively, and to the point. It feels natural and organic in all its glory. I mean, it’s super hard to find flaws with the tonality and the timbre of the pair. It sounds rich and I mean, just get the gist man, it sounds phenomenal. Multi-Driver hybrids might have some added micro-details, but for most of the 1000$ IEMs I have heard to date, the Fire Phoenix has to be among the best and the most natural timbre.

Technical Performance of the Fire-Phoenix is again superb but it lacks some micro-details imo. Soundstage is really massive, it starts closer to the listener and goes far and beyond. I might say this is probably one of the widest sounding IEMs I have heard to date. Separation and layering is also quite solid in terms of performance. Well, this is all good, now let’s move ahead to some of the things I think might not be so good with the Fire Phoenix.

For starters, the bass is heavy. Like for people who don’t like a lot of bass, they might not like the signature of the Fire Phoenix. It is heavy, it is hard-hitting, and it is probably slamming with all the wits. For Bass-Heavy tracks there’s a little boom in the mid-bass as well. Secondly, the treble might use some more crispiness. I would have loved some added sharpness and that would have made this my perfect pair. Also the micro-details could be improved a bit. Well, let me share a surprise now, With the PA10, the aforementioned issues are almost disappeared. With the added clean and precise amplification by PA10, the pair shows more control yet visceral bass response, and better crispiness in the treble region as well.

Final Words:-

I have enjoyed the likes of Thieaudio Monarch MK2, Unique Melody Mest MK2, and many other pairs that are priced around the 1000$ price bracket. Coming from a boutique brand, with unique looks, and a single dd, the sound of the Fire Phoenix definitely deserves praise. I went in blind just believing the guy thinking Man he has made a fantastic pair in the form of F-Heart at 500$, at 1300$ he will do something big, and yes the Fire Phoenix sounds big. I won’t lie, I was feared to my core since the day the payment was made. It was like spending around 1,00,000 Indian rupees that too blindly, but in the end it feels all worth it!!

If you are here till the end, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule, may you have a good day ahead!!

 

[Visveswaran Umashankar]

I Went In Blind With These 1300$ IEMs, & The Result is Here!!

Hello Friends,

I hope you all are well and doing great. Today, I am going to share a story, this post might get a little long, but please bear with me because I have a lot to say. So this started earlier last month with Ace Bee sending me his unit of D’s Audio F-Heart. D’s Audio is a boutique IEM store from Hong Kong, and I don’t know how Ace Bee got a hang of this person through Instagram. So he sent the unit to me to make a graph and have a short listen as well. I was literally sold when I listened to the F-Heart. The timbre, the tone of that IEM sounded so phenomenally good that I was like, man get me one of these as well. So we planned and he asked me to look at his Instagram page to see all his offerings. There I checked out the Fire Phoenix, the pair instantly grabbed my attention with its crazy glittery look and pattern. I asked about the pricing and it was somewhat over my budget priced at 1300$(luckily the reviewer’s discount got it close to 1000$), So Ace Bee then helped me with the payment as well, and after a wait of around 20-22 days(with 12 days at customs in Delhi), the Fire Phoenix landed in my hands.

I got this unit about 2 weeks back, and I have been listening to it on and off ever since then. The maker asks for 1000 hours of burn-in, but I thought of giving it around 200, currently, I am at 50 hours mark with 15-20 hours of actual listening and about 30 hours of just pure burn-in on a player overnight. So these are basically my initial impressions of the pair, they may or may not change after the burn-in period is done(I desire to give 200 hours). Let’s begin with the impressions.

Disclaimer before I begin:-

I am in no way associated with D’s Audio, I just loved the F-Heart and went in blind for the Fire Phoenix thinking if the guy can do such beautiful tuning with a 500$ IEM, I wonder what he can do with his single DD flagship. Well, actually the Fire Phoenix is a sub-flagship featuring an 11mm JVC DLC driver. There’s also a Dark Phoenix priced at around 1700$ that features an 11mm JVC Wooden Dome Driver. I bought the unit with my own money, D’s was kind to offer me a discount and I got the pair for close to 1000$. My opinions might be biased by my own listening preferences.

Package, Design, and Build:-

You just get a simple package with two sets of Acoustune ear tips and a round earphone case with a D’s logo on the front. The pair comes with his own crafted cable, this cable is called SL.02 something. The cable is soft and really handy, I chose a 4.4mm termination. The pair itself is stunning to look at. The shell was completely hand-painted, it looks and feels quite awesome. But let me tell you, the shell size is a little bigger in size. So fit might be a concern if you have smaller ears. For me, no issues as such. Although I had to do some tip-rolling to get perfect comfort and fit. There’s some driver flex on the right side as well. I found my peace with Azla Sedna Earfit Light, Feaulle Lates H570, and Softears UC tips. Once you get the perfect combination, the pair fits like a charm.

Driving The Fire Phoenix:-

TBH I was having a fantastic time with the HiBy R6 Pro II and Fire Phoenix, until recently my friend sent me his Astell&Kern PA10 for an audition. PA10 for all those who don’t know is a portable amplifier, and by god how drastically it has improved the performance of the Fire Phoenix. From a good sounding set on the R6 Pro II, I have an excellent sounding one on the R6Pro II+PA10. Don’t worry, the pair sounds phenomenal directly from the DAP as well, R6 Pro II and Aune M1p both are excellent combinations.

Personally, I have now bought a PA10 for myself after auditioning, the goodness of AKM’s flagship on the R6 Pro II and the pure Class A output of the PA10 makes the Fire Phoenix shine with all her glory!!

Sound Impressions:-

Here’s a graph of the Fire Phoenix that I made earlier when I got the unit.

The pair sounds slamming, literally slamming in the lower end. Mid-bass has a bombastic presentation. Sub-bass rumble is also quite thunderous and strong. Mid-bass has a little boom in bass-heavy tracks but nothing to worry about. Lower-mids are recessed, but they have good clarity even with such a strong lower end. Upper mids are forwarded especially in the vocals, but they don’t sound sharp or harsh by any means. Vocals actually feel quite lively and have a properly textured finish. They actually sound beautiful with a rich and lush tone to them. Timbre and tone on the Fire Phoenix is simply top-notch, the pair sounds natural by all means. Treble is crisp yet it isn’t sharp or snappy. With the AKM’s velvet AK4499 magic, the notes are well-rounded and sound fantastic.

Tone & Timbre of the Fire Phoenix deserves a standing ovation, I mean it just feels lively, and to the point. It feels natural and organic in all its glory. I mean, it’s super hard to find flaws with the tonality and the timbre of the pair. It sounds rich and I mean, just get the gist man, it sounds phenomenal. Multi-Driver hybrids might have some added micro-details, but for most of the 1000$ IEMs I have heard to date, the Fire Phoenix has to be among the best and the most natural timbre.

Technical Performance of the Fire-Phoenix is again superb but it lacks some micro-details imo. Soundstage is really massive, it starts closer to the listener and goes far and beyond. I might say this is probably one of the widest sounding IEMs I have heard to date. Separation and layering is also quite solid in terms of performance. Well, this is all good, now let’s move ahead to some of the things I think might not be so good with the Fire Phoenix.

For starters, the bass is heavy. Like for people who don’t like a lot of bass, they might not like the signature of the Fire Phoenix. It is heavy, it is hard-hitting, and it is probably slamming with all the wits. For Bass-Heavy tracks there’s a little boom in the mid-bass as well. Secondly, the treble might use some more crispiness. I would have loved some added sharpness and that would have made this my perfect pair. Also the micro-details could be improved a bit. Well, let me share a surprise now, With the PA10, the aforementioned issues are almost disappeared. With the added clean and precise amplification by PA10, the pair shows more control yet visceral bass response, and better crispiness in the treble region as well.

Final Words:-

I have enjoyed the likes of Thieaudio Monarch MK2, Unique Melody Mest MK2, and many other pairs that are priced around the 1000$ price bracket. Coming from a boutique brand, with unique looks, and a single dd, the sound of the Fire Phoenix definitely deserves praise. I went in blind just believing the guy thinking Man he has made a fantastic pair in the form of F-Heart at 500$, at 1300$ he will do something big, and yes the Fire Phoenix sounds big. I won’t lie, I was feared to my core since the day the payment was made. It was like spending around 1,00,000 Indian rupees that too blindly, but in the end it feels all worth it!!

If you are here till the end, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule, may you have a good day ahead!!

Incredible iems, both this and the F-Heart. D's Audio created magic with both these iems. I can't wait to receive my Infinity.

Cheers,
Vishy