[Rambone]

Yes, that is good to hear. I mean that is what Head-Fi is for, people to compare first impressions. Though putting regular bore tips made a world of difference. I simply have to remember I can’t always use my favorite ear-tips.....even though I want to. Also cable changes can work wonders. I even now have a cable that is a mystery being it will never be produced like it is for sale in the world, except it many times will remedy this tone issue, it simply smooths stuff out, so I may need to try it. Still it is $59.00 IEM in the end, so?

Good points, I had to deviate from my favorite ear-tips as well. I've done limited rolling but settled on Divinus Velvets and my Hifiman EF400 which helps give a bit more smoothness to the playback, seems like a good pairing to my ears. Haven't played around with anything but the stock cable as I didn't feel too compelled to tie up any of my good cables for this set.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Such pretty earpieces. Are they hollow or filled?

They are beautiful, and I don't know if you remember but I thought they would be way more pricy....posting guesses in this very thread. I saw the Forteza Purple on an E-mail and thought it was special? Yet they come also in green or black. They are ported and hollow as seen by the small metal air-pressure release vent. Super low-weight too, though I have not weighed them yet.

 

[Leonarfd]

Not even the 4 DD Quattro has enough bass? Looks like you are looking for an upgrade to the Aur Ascension.

Looking at measurments the Quattro should be a very bassy one, the low end style is close to the DTE900. But less ear gain and upper mids, so probably even warmer.

Ascension have a very different type of bass, with less midbass and more sub bass extension. And I would never call it a basshead amount, it's more about being warm enough to have a good balance with the mids and treble.

 

[gadgetgod]

Oh god the past two days have been very hectic. I was trying to complete my writeup for BQEYZ Wind review and also working on a video showcasing my top-favorites of 2023, but health took a toll on me and i was just lying around. Thankfully i am a little better today and up here wishing my dear friends a Happy New year. Prepared a short post for you all.

2023 is coming to an end, Let’s end this with some of the best things i discovered this year.
My favourite music artist?
AUR
https://youtu.be/8GkPMG8IwBQ?si=cRpRpp5JyIeDFg7f

Genres that I enjoyed the most this year?
Classic Rock(Audioslave ftw), Pop, Bollywood

My favourite iem this year?
There are many but Softears Twilight, Oriveti OH700VB, and Spirit Torino Twin Pulse come at the top.

My favourite music player this year?
Sony WM1Z mk2(I don't own one and have no plans to buy any soon because its 250,000 Indian rupees and i am not that rich).
Some friends are praising Questyle QP2R a lot, I got a sweet deal for a used unit and it is arriving my way in the first week of January.

What do I want from 2024?
Focus more on work, and get back in shape with good health. Listen more music, explore new gear, explore more of Rock music

and give some time to family and friends

Any gear I am eyeing for 2024?
Probably just the CA Super Moon but can’t buy anything for another 7-8 months so it will come mostly by year end.
Wishing everyone a great year ahead!! Party hard and enjoy music.

 

[Singaravelan]

Among things I own: U12t, Gaea, Andromeda 2020

Honourable mentions: AFUL P8 & Magic One, NiceHck F1 Pro

Across all IEMs I have tried: MEST MkIII, Z1R, U12t or Trio

---

Edit:

• Re: Z1R: if your ears can fit these, getting one is no brainer. It sounds cavernous like listening to a pair of earbuds. I’m looking for a good discount myself.

oh! So that Nicehck F1 Pro planars are that good, eh? Am looking for my first planar; was dithering on what to get. Are you doing a review anytime soon?

 

[nikbr]

Just a quick Sunday Music and English lesson. Still learning every day!

 

[Jaytiss]

oh! So that Nicehck F1 Pro planars are that good, eh? Am looking for my first planar; was dithering on what to get. Are you doing a review anytime soon?

I’m getting one in a few days. I hope that it’s good!

 

[gadgetgod]

oh! So that Nicehck F1 Pro planars are that good, eh? Am looking for my first planar; was dithering on what to get. Are you doing a review anytime soon?

It indeed is. I am rocking one. And with their Cyan cable, the pair matches perfectly.

 

[o0genesis0o]

oh! So that Nicehck F1 Pro planars are that good, eh? Am looking for my first planar; was dithering on what to get. Are you doing a review anytime soon?

I promised NiceHck folks to get the review out soonish, so yeah. Working on that review at the moment. I like these IEMs. They are good for fun bassy music, if you like your bass to be tight and dynamic rather than a big wooly “WHAM” like the 7hz legato.

 

[gadgetgod]

I promised NiceHck folks to get the review out soonish, so yeah. Working on that review at the moment. I like these IEMs. They are good for fun bassy music, if you like your bass to be tight and dynamic rather than a big wooly “WHAM” like the 7hz legato.

And also the Treble to be crisp yet inoffensive at the same time. Probably a relaxing sound here.

 

[Singaravelan]

I promised NiceHck folks to get the review out soonish, so yeah. Working on that review at the moment. I like these IEMs. They are good for fun bassy music, if you like your bass to be tight and dynamic rather than a big wooly “WHAM” like the 7hz legato.

Don't you knock my Legatos! nostalgic piece for someone like me, and a retro number for younger lot like you! But no.. They don't want a fun subwoofer type wham these days.. You guys go sniffing into the decays of the notes, soak up the posthumous lingering of the reverbs, want 'holographic in-the-environment soundstage feel to turn around and gasp where the **** did that mofo bird sound come from' and want to breathe the 'air', feel the spaciousness, want the eyeballs to pop out of sheer shock from the treble twang -- and all this at 156 dollars, with a discount coupon. **** you all so do I boss, so do I.
But yeah, please fulfil your nicehck review promise! And hope it just isn't a bassy set... But mids and upper Freq are good...

 

[baskingshark]

Hello everyone. I'm curious with all the new single DD IEMs taking over the discussion, I'd like to know the general opinion about hybrids vs single driver sets.
Is it easy for everyone to switch back to single driver ones from the multi driver ones, especially ones with higher count? Or the level of separation and effortless sound makes it more appealing?

Driver type, driver brand, and driver count are not as important as tuning and implementation.

In general, the different transducer/driver types do have their inherent pros and cons, but there is no best driver type/number, it really depends on how it is implemented. Companies can stuff many drivers into a shell (see KZ/TRN), but churn out a crap IEM. Conversely, good tuners can eke out the best performance from a single driver. I've heard some high-end single DDs like the Final A8000 and DUNU LUNA that can have resolution matching some multi BA/hybrids.


There are exceptions, but in general:
1) Single DDs
- Usually are more coherent and move air/decay in the bass more naturally.
- Timbral accuracy is generally accepted to be more natural on DDs compared to other driver types.
- DDs are usually vented, so there may be penalties in isolation compared to unvented BA types.
- DDs may not have as great upper treble extension as multi driver types or planars.
- In general, single DD types may have less technical performance than multi driver BA/hybrid at the same price point , especially in the budget segment.

2) BAs
- BAs generally when used in a multiple configuration, may give better technicalities than a single DD.
- However, BA bass may sound less natural as it doesn't move air or decay as much as a single DD. Lately, the trend has been for vented BA bass, so as to give this bass movement of air, but they still don't sound 100% like DD bass.
- Speaking about vents, BAs generally are not vented and hence have better isolation than DDs.
- Single BAs are disadvantaged as these don't cover the upper treble and sub-bass as well as a multi-BA config. Arguably, single BAs are not too common nowadays cause of this reason (exception is the AFUL MagicOne that has some wicked tech to overcome the single BA compromises).
- Cheap BAs may sound a bit less natural in timbre, especially with bass decay. YMMV, some are not particular about timbre, and certain music genres emphasize timbre more than others.

3) Hybrids
- These theoretically combine the best of both the DD and BA concept, with the DD handling the bass, and the BAs handling the higher frequencies.
- In practice however, there may be coherency or cross over issues - eg bass can sound much slower than the BA, or the timbre/note weight between the different drivers can sound oddly different.

My IEM of the year for various reasons is the SIMGOT TS-316… fantastic set and sits in a reasonable price range - versus kilobuck sets that is, I know $499 or so isn’t cheap. I just keep going back to it, such addictive tuning.

I think you meant the TIMSOK TS-316, not SIMGOT?

Haha gotta say CHIFI's naming convention is quite confusing sometimes.

 

[baskingshark]

Is that true? Could u provide more info about it?

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/cxqlje/knowles_files_claim_with_us_trade_commission_to/

Just had a google search, this comes up.

Apparently the lawsuit between Knowles and Bellsing has been won by Knowles in end 2021:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-10-08/pdf/2021-21998.pdf
https://www.businesswire.com/news/h...s-in-Trade-Secret-Theft-Case-Against-Bellsing


Outcome:
US court has imposed a "26-year long general exclusion order barring the importation into the United States of Bellsing balanced armature devices that are made with, use, or benefit from Knowles’ trade secrets, as well as any downstream products, regardless of source, containing the offending Bellsing devices, such as hearing aids and wireless headsets".



LOL I'm not sure if this is enforceable though. Can the US customs open and catch every Bellsing containing IEM coming to US shores? Pretty sure if the BA is not labelled, even if the customs officer opens the package and the shell, how are they going to identify that it is a Bellsing BA?

 

[Scubadevils]

Driver type, driver brand, and driver count are not as important as tuning and implementation.

In general, the different transducer/driver types do have their inherent pros and cons, but there is no best driver type/number, it really depends on how it is implemented. Companies can stuff many drivers into a shell (see KZ/TRN), but churn out a crap IEM. Conversely, good tuners can eke out the best performance from a single driver. I've heard some high-end single DDs like the Final A8000 and DUNU LUNA that can have resolution matching some multi BA/hybrids.


There are exceptions, but in general:
1) Single DDs
- Usually are more coherent and move air/decay in the bass more naturally.
- Timbral accuracy is generally accepted to be more natural on DDs compared to other driver types.
- DDs are usually vented, so there may be penalties in isolation compared to unvented BA types.
- DDs may not have as great upper treble extension as multi driver types or planars.
- In general, single DD types may have less technical performance than multi driver BA/hybrid at the same price point , especially in the budget segment.

2) BAs
- BAs generally when used in a multiple configuration, may give better technicalities than a single DD.
- However, BA bass may sound less natural as it doesn't move air or decay as much as a single DD. Lately, the trend has been for vented BA bass, so as to give this bass movement of air, but they still don't sound 100% like DD bass.
- Speaking about vents, BAs generally are not vented and hence have better isolation than DDs.
- Single BAs are disadvantaged as these don't cover the upper treble and sub-bass as well as a multi-BA config. Arguably, single BAs are not too common nowadays cause of this reason (exception is the AFUL MagicOne that has some wicked tech to overcome the single BA compromises).
- Cheap BAs may sound a bit less natural in timbre, especially with bass decay. YMMV, some are not particular about timbre, and certain music genres emphasize timbre more than others.

3) Hybrids
- These theoretically combine the best of both the DD and BA concept, with the DD handling the bass, and the BAs handling the higher frequencies.
- In practice however, there may be coherency or cross over issues - eg bass can sound much slower than the BA, or the timbre/note weight between the different drivers can sound oddly different.






I think you meant the TIMSOK TS-316, not SIMGOT?

Haha gotta say CHIFI's naming convention is quite confusing sometimes.

Ha yes indeed - TIMSOK! I actually managed to blend both Simgot and Timsok into another word on Facebook Simgot on my mind too as EA1000 on the way!

 

[Neithan]

So I’ve spent the last couple years trying to get to know what I like more and more and 6 months ago I bought the Sound Rhyme SR5 (thanks @FreeWheelinAudioLuv2) and I keep coming full circle back to it.

The most expensive sets I’ve bought to try and beat it are Quattro, Okavango and EPZ 530. Have sold them all (kind of regret selling 530).

For me the bass quantity on SR5 is perfect. No more no less please. The mids are right where I like them - a little forward and present. The treble is perfect for me but the upper mids never get shouty whatsoever. The cymbals are there right in the slot for my preferred splashiness and the crispiness. This is one of the harder things for me is when the treble is spot on and airy it seems the set can get a bit shouty. This one doesn’t. Maybe my only nitpick would be wanting a slightly more lush/wet vocal.

So that said, does anyone have a direct upgrade to this? In a perfect world I would find this end game and be done (I know I know wishful thinking). Maybe it can’t get better (for me personally) but surely a $150 IEM, I got for $90, can’t be endgame. Right?!? I was just messaging with another head-fier that my New Year’s resolution is to enjoy what I already have, not just with IEMs but life in general but before I go down that path can it get better for me for under $700ish? Hard to imagine better bass quality (for me wasn’t there on Quattro or Okavango) and I like the table where it’s at and the location of the vocals. Am I looking for better staging and instrument separation? Maybe?

Can anyone help me with recommendations for a possible new set to at least try that meets all these parameters?

I wore my SR5s for six months and really liked them. However, since I bought the Xeens Mangird Top, I've hardly used them again.
For me, they're better than the SR5s across the board. The bass is better, particularly the sub-bass. The mids have more detail, the timbre is more natural, and the highs have more detail without being so aggressive...
But for 90$ the value that the SR5s offer is spectacular.
There are also those who think that the EJ07Ms are an upgrade on the TOPs.
Nothing like experimenting, but something I don't think is mentioned often enough on this forum... Enjoy what you have, enjoy the music and remember that you only have one pair of ears...