[PeacockObscura]

People say, "I'm just a hobbyist", but I think that's a fuzzy distinction that means different things to different people. I don't use the term hobbyist reviewer for myself because it's not clear to me what it is. It's not like someone can go to school or get a license to become a "pro" reviewer. Even in the "pro" publications like Stereophile my understanding is that not all the reviewers there do reviewing as their full-time job. There are also very different types of "pro" reviewing outfits. There are the commercial ones where most of the money comes in from ads (often from the companies making some of the products being reviewed) and that ad money is a significant revenue stream for the publication, which can influence (intentionally or unintentionally, consciously or unconsciously) the objectivity of the reviews. Sometimes this can be as subtle as receiving review samples direct from the companies which are "golden samples", having gone through additional Q&A checks and/or tweaking to achieve a higher performance target that isn't representative of the retail product. On the other end of the spectrum are the non-profit organizations like Consumer Reports which have (by design) no ad money coming from companies and go out of their way to acquire (sometimes multiple) retail units, posing as regular customers, to make sure what they are reviewing is representative of what everyday people experience, and also combine that with reader surveys to gather real-world data on product performance and reliability in the field and then independently publish those results.

To the people who use the term "hobbyist reviewer" online, maybe they mean "casual reviewer", and mean to imply they are somehow being more objective than the pros because it is just a hobby? However if a "hobbyist reviewer" is receiving a review sample direct from the manufacturer nobody but the manufacturer knows if that's a golden sample, and getting free review items creates at minimum a subconscious effect on the reviewer (and the associated pressure either implicit or explicit regarding a positive review likely feeding into receiving more review items at a later date and/or page views and traffic, because correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the main page of head-fi.org features negative reviews). And for hobbyist reviewers who buy audio gear with their own money, unless they are within a retail return window or have unlimited finances, they are dis-incentivized from giving too negative a review that could tank the aftermarket value of the item (since they're less likely to get as much selling it if they try and recoup some of their costs). I think there can be a lot of work involved in being objective, and not a lot of incentive to do that work for the hobbyist. And to say to the reader, "make your own judgement", well, that judgement can only be as good as the info the reader has available, which is often pretty incomplete.

OK my use of hobbyist was clumsy I'm a bloke who has bought 75 sets of iems and 18 Daps who enjoys sharing my subjective thoughts on them I have received exactly 3 cables on a review tour, and 4 iems from 3 companies to share my review/opinion on said iems I have given 1 review that said this is pants and been excommunicated by said company and 2 positive reviews because they were good the majority of my reviews are of iems I've bought off ebay or Ali express so not sure what I qualify as. I prefer enthusiast. I'm going to start doing a you tube channel based on iems that are in my collection purely for fun cos that's why I'm here in the first place to have fun. I'm sure there's plenty of people on these forums that could be under the microscope. My fault for raising my head over the parapet and biting to the fact someone referenced one of my posts cause I was over excited at a pretty new cable I'd just bought. Lesson learned

 

[PeacockObscura]

The Rose Technics Quiet Sea next to the IKKO OH5 Asgard not only share looks but have very similar tuning one cost me £42 the other £500 I like em you might not.

 

[msing539]

Does anyone own or use this case? https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803346207210.html

I'm really in need of something that can hold/protect a dap, dac, and iems. plus the small usb c cable.

This one is 3.5" wide x 4.7" tall x 8.7" long (converted from mm)... the height is chonkier than I'd like.


Edit: The dimensions might be misleading because they have two different cases on the listing. One option can fit two iems, so I have to imagine that's 8.7" long. And hopefully the other one is shorter and less chonk.

 

[cobrabucket]

Does anyone own or use this case? https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803346207210.html

I'm really in need of something that can hold/protect a dap, dac, and iems. plus the small usb c cable.

This one is 3.5" wide x 4.7" tall x 8.7" long (converted from mm)... the height is chonkier than I'd like.

I have one. Good case, IMO.
I originally bought it for my Hiby R6 III but have since upgraded to the R6 Pro II.
The tray at the bottom is form fitted so the R6 Pro II isn't snuggly in there, as I removed it when I changed DAPs.
But that's nbd bc I ended up putting extra dongles, amps and IEMs in there and now have more room.
It feels pretty sturdy and well made.

 

[msing539]

I have one. Good case, IMO.

Did you get the one that's marked for like the R5/Lotoo Paw 6000? Or the one that holds 2 iems and like a HiBy R6?

I'm really trying to figure out the dimensions of the smaller one.

 

[kazinova]

ARTTI - R1
Impressions

I've spent a couple days with the R1, a triple dynamic driver set from a brand that doesn't come up in a lot of the usual places. I took a flyer on it based on some recommendations on here, the fact that it had a Beryllium coated diaphragm for the largest driver (something I've never experienced before) and because there were all sorts of coupons floating around for 11.11 that I just couldn't resist.

Quick TL;DR at the top: I think they are largely a miss due to congestion and clarity issues, not a massive disappointment given the price I paid ($61), but at the "full" price of $100 there's a lot of competition that I think can provide better technicals with a similar tuning. So I would recommend avoiding these unless you too are curious about the berry coating and how a 3DD set might sound.

What's in the box?!
Pretty standard stuff for the sub-$100 price range, a small carrying case, 6 sets of tips--large and small bore in S/M/L--and a pretty decent cable with a branded cable tie. I don't think the cable is coherent with the style of the IEMs themselves. The connector doesn't match the shells, nor does the brown color compliment the shells... but I was able to get 4.4mm so that was a plus, though most sub-$100 buyers are probably just looking for 3.5mm anyways.

Build & Fit/Feel
The shells feel light for being metal construction but largely feel more confidence inspiring than the molded or 3D printed resins of most of the other IEMs at this price point. The fit is just fine for me, I have a notoriously picky left ear and it takes a little bit of finagling to get a secure fit that provides the seal I need to feel the bass. I ended up using my standard go-to eartip for all my listening: the Spinfit W1s.

The nozzles have a nice screen on them and seem solid enough to handle some abuse, whereas some resin IEMs make me convinced the nozzle will snap off if I look at them wrong while tip rolling.

Sound Signature
These sound like a pretty generically V-shaped IEM to my ears. There's a uniform amount of energy in the lows and reasonable gain in the highs. Mids feel recessed in the same way that my ancient Beats headphones did. This results in most vocals sounding like they sit a little far back in the mix and get covered up by a fuzzy warmth that makes the treble portion of the range feel blunt and lacking detail. This works with recordings that already have a lot of room noise and warmth to them, but makes a mess of crystal-clear detailed recordings.

I did enjoy the feel of the bass, it took a lot of going back and forth to experience the difference the coating might be making. If there's a way to describe it that makes sense to me it's like the berry coating makes the bass feel like a combination of DD and planar bass. It feels generally tighter than on the single DD sets that I have and definitely superior to the Quartet. But I feel like I get just as much speed and impact out of the Canon II's "biological" diaphragm, whatever that means. There's something really satisfying about the bass in booming pop/hip-hop tracks, which is why I'll be keeping this set around, with my original TruthEar Zeros out of commission this will stand as my comparison point for bass. Even though the recessed vocals and congestion means I won't be reaching for these for casual or critical listening very often.

Based on my highly professional scale I would rate the quantity/quality of the low end as better than the Heyday but worse that something like the Legato, mids are really recessed and slide to the dumpster end of the spectrum, and the treble quality is also on the lower side due to the fuzzy bleed of the mid-bass/bass.
____________________R1
0 --------------- 5 --^---------- 10 BASS
Dioko--------Heyday----------Legato

________R1
0 -------^------ 5 -------------- 10 MIDS
Beats --------Quartet--------Canon II

_________R1
0 --------^----- 5 -------------- 10 TREBLE
CRA-----------Zero------------Dioko

Take all of this with a grain of salt, I haven't listened to much so I included my points of reference with the scales so you know how your experiences stack up to mine. I always assume everyone on here has exclusively cheap sets, or massively expensive collections. I'm somewhere on the mid-low noob end of the spectrum.

Main albums/music used to test:

Pop-Alt Rock-Electronica-Classical/Soundtrack

 

[Click]

Today is 2 weeks after Penon said Quattro will be available in 2 weeks...

 

[Ferdinando1968]

The Rose Technics Quiet Sea next to the IKKO OH5 Asgard not only share looks but have very similar tuning one cost me £42 the other £500 I like em you might not.

I wanted to tell you the other day, when you posted that comparison photo.

I tried the Quiet Sea a few days ago, and I quite liked it.

The Asgard may sound similar, but it seems more aesthetically pleasing to me, with its purple color.

Plus the accessories (cable, carry case) seem top notch to me.

Unfortunately its price is high, and this discourages purchasing.

 

[PROblemdetected]

ARTTI - R1
Impressions

I've spent a couple days with the R1, a triple dynamic driver set from a brand that doesn't come up in a lot of the usual places. I took a flyer on it based on some recommendations on here, the fact that it had a Beryllium coated diaphragm for the largest driver (something I've never experienced before) and because there were all sorts of coupons floating around for 11.11 that I just couldn't resist.

Quick TL;DR at the top: I think they are largely a miss due to congestion and clarity issues, not a massive disappointment given the price I paid ($61), but at the "full" price of $100 there's a lot of competition that I think can provide better technicals with a similar tuning. So I would recommend avoiding these unless you too are curious about the berry coating and how a 3DD set might sound.




What's in the box?!
Pretty standard stuff for the sub-$100 price range, a small carrying case, 6 sets of tips--large and small bore in S/M/L--and a pretty decent cable with a branded cable tie. I don't think the cable is coherent with the style of the IEMs themselves. The connector doesn't match the shells, nor does the brown color compliment the shells... but I was able to get 4.4mm so that was a plus, though most sub-$100 buyers are probably just looking for 3.5mm anyways.


Build & Fit/Feel
The shells feel light for being metal construction but largely feel more confidence inspiring than the molded or 3D printed resins of most of the other IEMs at this price point. The fit is just fine for me, I have a notoriously picky left ear and it takes a little bit of finagling to get a secure fit that provides the seal I need to feel the bass. I ended up using my standard go-to eartip for all my listening: the Spinfit W1s.

The nozzles have a nice screen on them and seem solid enough to handle some abuse, whereas some resin IEMs make me convinced the nozzle will snap off if I look at them wrong while tip rolling.


Sound Signature
These sound like a pretty generically V-shaped IEM to my ears. There's a uniform amount of energy in the lows and reasonable gain in the highs. Mids feel recessed in the same way that my ancient Beats headphones did. This results in most vocals sounding like they sit a little far back in the mix and get covered up by a fuzzy warmth that makes the treble portion of the range feel blunt and lacking detail. This works with recordings that already have a lot of room noise and warmth to them, but makes a mess of crystal-clear detailed recordings.

I did enjoy the feel of the bass, it took a lot of going back and forth to experience the difference the coating might be making. If there's a way to describe it that makes sense to me it's like the berry coating makes the bass feel like a combination of DD and planar bass. It feels generally tighter than on the single DD sets that I have and definitely superior to the Quartet. But I feel like I get just as much speed and impact out of the Canon II's "biological" diaphragm, whatever that means. There's something really satisfying about the bass in booming pop/hip-hop tracks, which is why I'll be keeping this set around, with my original TruthEar Zeros out of commission this will stand as my comparison point for bass. Even though the recessed vocals and congestion means I won't be reaching for these for casual or critical listening very often.

Based on my highly professional scale I would rate the quantity/quality of the low end as better than the Heyday but worse that something like the Legato, mids are really recessed and slide to the dumpster end of the spectrum, and the treble quality is also on the lower side due to the fuzzy bleed of the mid-bass/bass.
____________________R1
0 --------------- 5 --^---------- 10 BASS
Dioko--------Heyday----------Legato

________R1
0 -------^------ 5 -------------- 10 MIDS
Beats --------Quartet--------Canon II

_________R1
0 --------^----- 5 -------------- 10 TREBLE
CRA-----------Zero------------Dioko

Take all of this with a grain of salt, I haven't listened to much so I included my points of reference with the scales so you know how your experiences stack up to mine. I always assume everyone on here has exclusively cheap sets, or massively expensive collections. I'm somewhere on the mid-low noob end of the spectrum.

Main albums/music used to test:

Pop-Alt Rock-Electronica-Classical/Soundtrack

Nice review mate.

I also feel them congested, that bass is too much for some tracks.

But for the sale price, still a bargain

 

[PeacockObscura]

I wanted to tell you the other day, when you posted that comparison photo.

I tried the Quiet Sea a few days ago, and I quite liked it.

The Asgard may sound similar, but it seems more aesthetically pleasing to me, with its purple color.

Plus the accessories (cable, carry case) seem top notch to me.

Unfortunately its price is high, and this discourages purchasing.

If you hold the Quiet Sea up to the light it's purple too. I'd look on the used market if you were thinking about the OH5 the new price has dropped to around $300 in the sales new so there should be some bargains around

 

[Surf Monkey]

Does anyone own or use this case? https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803346207210.html

I'm really in need of something that can hold/protect a dap, dac, and iems. plus the small usb c cable.

This one is 3.5" wide x 4.7" tall x 8.7" long (converted from mm)... the height is chonkier than I'd like.


Edit: The dimensions might be misleading because they have two different cases on the listing. One option can fit two iems, so I have to imagine that's 8.7" long. And hopefully the other one is shorter and less chonk.

I own one. It’s nice. Mine is for my HiBy R6 2020.

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

Lol first time I've been called a power user... I bought the OD200 blind enjoyed it so much I reviewed it I received an email asking if I wanted to try a review sample of the OH700VB so I said yes so I will be reviewing it. The bespoke cable was bought for my IMR Titan but wasn't a good fit so I tried it with the OH700VB and it has good synergy. I may well purchase a set when funds allow as I really love them.

Oh brother I get my balls busted all the time , I stopped saying if it was free review sample, I purchased or one of the other members of our review group shared one of thier units, gear , cable , extra tips, gummies ect...

I really doesn't matter to me as like you, I get stuff in and listen to it and share my thoughts, like it or otherwise.

I get called overly enthusiastic all the time and agree can't help it. It's who I am.

The amount of poops I give now are 0

I can tell you something, many people are happy to get a idea of a person's early Impressions and are thankfull and say it.

Many others do realize that we are all biased in one way or another , wether it be our personal preference, brand history or simply your mood.

SO I SAY THANK YOU for sharing!
Keep going you are appreciated

And yes the OH700VB are fantastic probably one of my favorites sets of 2023 and maybe all time.
Right up there with the Grand Maestro, Twilight, Advar and Oracle.

Haters be damned you miss out.

The rest of us keep loving the music.
Because in the end that's all that really matters.

 

[theintention]

Most people don’t want to be marketed to without their knowledge. Every time someone brings this topic up, the same users come out of the wood work about “haters” and like, bro we are the opposite lol get out of here.

We are the people spending actual money on this stuff, I come to these forums to read impressions, it’s truly not that hard to disclose if yours has to be taken with a grain of salt because you got the product for free. It’s not. It’s one sentence. “Thank you to X for providing this.”

End of discussion.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Got the EPZ 530 off Aliexpress at a discounted price.



This is a 5 BA setup - dual Sonion 38AM007 handles the bass, 1 x Sonion 2389 takes care of the midrange and the treble is settled by a Shengyang ED05 BA + E50DT BA.

The shells are fashioned from wood and come in an exotic Mamba green or lava orange hue.

Ergonomics are excellent, one of the best fitting IEMs, and isolation can hit near 30 dB passive isolation as it is not vented.

Easily driven, amplification is not 100% neeeded.



The stock cable is a 16 core gold-silver pallidum alloy, with 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm, 4.4 mm terminals are provided. Comes in a nice wooden box.

Tonally, the EP530 sports a V-shaped sound. This set is superbly technical, with a holographic soundstage and excellent micro-details, you can pick small nuances in the music. Imaging is pinpoint and instrument separation is very spacious. It is probably one of the most resolving midFI IEMs.



Surprisingly there is not too bad BA timbre, with just a bit of BA bass (not as much decay as traditional DD bass), but it extends deeply in the sub-bass.

It lies a bit on the bright side, so perhaps treble sensitive folk might need to adjust this area with source pairing and eartips, or consider alternative options. The 530 has a similar graph to the crowd-favourite Kinera Celest Phoenix Call, except the EP530 is in a way more superior league for technicalities.



This set is definitely one for technical junkies.

Will do some more testing and report back, but I think it can give sets like the Moondrop Variations and co a run for their money.

Did you say technical?

I don't really like the shape of the 1k-2k though.

But seriously, good IEMs are getting so much more accessible nowadays. I'm not just talking bout the sound but the whole package.

 

[PeacockObscura]

Oh brother I get my balls busted all the time , I stopped saying if it was free review sample, I purchased or one of the other members of our review group shared one of thier units, gear , cable , extra tips, gummies ect...

I really doesn't matter to me as like you, I get stuff in and listen to it and share my thoughts, like it or otherwise.

I get called overly enthusiastic all the time and agree can't help it. It's who I am.

The amount of poops I give now are 0

I can tell you something, many people are happy to get a idea of a person's early Impressions and are thankfull and say it.

Many others do realize that we are all biased in one way or another , wether it be our personal preference, brand history or simply your mood.

SO I SAY THANK YOU for sharing!
Keep going you are appreciated

And yes the OH700VB are fantastic probably one of my favorites sets of 2023 and maybe all time.
Right up there with the Grand Maestro, Twilight, Advar and Oracle.

Haters be damned you miss out.

The rest of us keep loving the music.
Because in the end that's all that really matters.

Thanks bro