The discovery thread!

[Singaravelan]

Are there any good bullet style iems? Tanchjim zero and One type.

My wife won't wear the regular iems, but cribs about the sonic quality of Tanchjim One or Tanya dsp. "Regular Sony buds are as good or better than this. What's the big deal about these" grrr..

Zero Tanchjim is pretty good but needs power and no way she is going to attach dongles. Fuss pot!

I thought of earbuds but suspect the fit is going to be hard to find.

Are there any usbc dsp type iem with bullet style? Or even non dsp, with detachable cable. I have a moondrop cable with usbc termination that I can attach the iems and give to her.
Bullet style is priority. Else she will be hiring a sniper (stay away @fidgeraldo ) to bury a bullet in my head.

 

[baskingshark]

Are there any good bullet style iems? Tanchjim zero and One type.

My wife won't wear the regular iems, but cribs about the sonic quality of Tanchjim One or Tanya dsp. "Regular Sony buds are as good or better than this. What's the big deal about these" grrr..

Zero Tanchjim is pretty good but needs power and no way she is going to attach dongles. Fuss pot!

I thought of earbuds but suspect the fit is going to be hard to find.

Are there any usbc dsp type iem with bullet style? Or even non dsp, with detachable cable. I have a moondrop cable with usbc termination that I can attach the iems and give to her.
Bullet style is priority. Else she will be hiring a sniper (stay away @fidgeraldo ) to bury a bullet in my head.

USB type C bullet-shaped IEMs:

Tanchjim Tanya DSP, Tanchjim One DSP, Moondrop Quarks, Moondrop JIU.

Would not recommend the Quarks, it has bad DSP implementation, sometimes notes go out of tune during some music passages, and it hisses like a snake.

JIU and One DSP are not bad, but are budget IEMs in the big scheme of things. More for beginners rather than seasoned audiophiles.

 

[Singaravelan]

USB type C bullet-shaped IEMs:

Tanchjim Tanya DSP, Tanchjim One DSP, Moondrop Quarks, Moondrop JIU.

Would not recommend the Quarks, it has bad DSP implementation, sometimes notes go out of tune during some music passages, and it hisses like a snake.

JIU and One DSP are not bad, but are budget IEMs in the big scheme of things. More for beginners rather than seasoned audiophiles.

One dsp she isn't too chuffed up with. Tanya "was okay, cheap bass even in my podcasts, idiots" was her response.

Wonder why no bullet iems around (even without dsp as I can attach em to a usb c terminating cable I have). Will look up jiu thingy.

 

[IEMbiker]

One dsp she isn't too chuffed up with. Tanya "was okay, cheap bass even in my podcasts, idiots" was her response.

Wonder why no bullet iems around (even without dsp as I can attach em to a usb c terminating cable I have). Will look up jiu thingy.

You can try Sonic Memory SM1.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

This is the second and third instances, where I've read (I'm sure there are more) about the treble range lacking; while excusable in a lower monetary tier, shouldn't we expect more from a $400 unit ?

I agree. There should be NO bass bleed coming from a $400 unit. Ever.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Are there any good bullet style iems? Tanchjim zero and One type.

My wife won't wear the regular iems, but cribs about the sonic quality of Tanchjim One or Tanya dsp. "Regular Sony buds are as good or better than this. What's the big deal about these" grrr..

Zero Tanchjim is pretty good but needs power and no way she is going to attach dongles. Fuss pot!

I thought of earbuds but suspect the fit is going to be hard to find.

Are there any usbc dsp type iem with bullet style? Or even non dsp, with detachable cable. I have a moondrop cable with usbc termination that I can attach the iems and give to her.
Bullet style is priority. Else she will be hiring a sniper (stay away @fidgeraldo ) to bury a bullet in my head.

KZ Linglong

 

[Singaravelan]

KZ Linglong

Oh thanks ...

 

[r31ya]

KZ Linglong

Oh thanks ...

Linglong often appears at $7~8 in my place,
a default rec if you need budget bullet iem.

Tanya (different tuning and SQ) used to fill that space but Linglong seems to be abit more durable.

there is this Astrotec Vesna if you wanna look into something a bit fancier side with LCP driver (pricier too)

 

[Rambone]

USB type C bullet-shaped IEMs:

Tanchjim Tanya DSP, Tanchjim One DSP, Moondrop Quarks, Moondrop JIU.

Would not recommend the Quarks, it has bad DSP implementation, sometimes notes go out of tune during some music passages, and it hisses like a snake.

JIU and One DSP are not bad, but are budget IEMs in the big scheme of things. More for beginners rather than seasoned audiophiles.

Droplet falls into the same category, not bad but not something that I would find myself reaching for.

 

[baskingshark]

I agree. There should be NO bass bleed coming from a $400 unit. Ever.

LOL the 3DD scrotum-like Campfire Trifecta - a very affordable $3375 USD - has bass that bleeds everywhere.

Just for laughs, there is a pirated CHIFI version of the Campfire Trifecta on Aliexpress - we can affectionately call it the "CHIFECTA"
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006077773104.html

$239 USD!

Graph looks like it might burst the eardrum though. Banshee with a middle finger of sibilance?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Linglong often appears at $7~8 in my place,
a default rec if you need budget bullet iem.

Tanya (different tuning and DQ) used to fill that space but Linglong seems to be abit more durable.

there is this Astrotec Vesna if you wanna look into something a bit fancier side with LCP driver (pricier too)

Also the sound is way more than the $10. Absolutely great bass and sub bass along with excellent treble and the soundstage is impressive for a micro driver.

 

[saldsald]

Hi, just want to share a discovery here but it may only be a discovery for a small group of people but not all:

This is my heavily modded TRN BAX - New DD, retuned 29689 and EST drivers, so basically it's just the shell repurposed.

Purple is BAX with the new DD.

BAX with PWAudio 1960s clone (but with a much better plug)

And it's a 10mm DD made by Huayunxin, which is my discovery here.
It simply works right out of the box (as I actually picked the impedance on purpose) so I have not done any further tuning to it.
It has a rounder and warmer sound, much improved resolution, more balanced, more reverberated, taller stage than the original. Well they sound pretty different TBH but it's harder to drive now. This is the sound I expect from a mid to upper tier IEM. The original BAX I consider it unfinished, it sounds good with some specific cables due to the current drawn by the 29689 so the bass of the DD was underpowered with most cables. The 29689 was a bit metallic and the EST was still tuned a bit wild so there's too much air which destroyed the defined shape of the stage.

IMO most DD-BA hybrids in the budget market are not properly tuned or not tuned at all due to the wrong choice of driver impedance. Also, they are never physically tuned unless they are tubed so I think at some point it is good to learn how an IEM is tuned.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Also, they are never physically tuned unless they are tubed so I think at some point it is good to learn how an IEM is tuned.

I’m interested in learning this. Where can I find out more? Is there a textbook or something?

 

[saldsald]

I’m interested in learning this. Where can I find out more? Is there a textbook or something?

Nope, but you can go to the home made IEM thread I guess. The best way to learn is still through experiments and mod some IEMs that are worth modding, test each driver systematically and separately and make sure your source, cable, tips are not the bottleneck. I am sure you will be surprised how things are overly exaggerated and overlooked.

 

[Ballheadv1]

Hi all, new to this forum and saw this great thread. Was looking for cables on Etsy for weeks, and saw there were only a few shops selling cables. Two shops caught my attention, the first one is Scandisound (https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandiSound?ref=l2-about-shopname), informative thumbnails to show all the connectors and terminations, tried to search for a website but nothing could found, seems to be a pretty popular shop on Etsy as I can see lots of comments and feedbacks on their shop. The second one is NMD Audio (https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/NMDAudioShop?ref=l2-about-shopname), which gets cables at different price ranges and some cables with uncommon materials like injected graphene, oil-soaked materials etc., the only thing is that it seems to be a pretty new shop. Have tried to search on Google and seems that they have an official website (nmdaudio.com).

Has anyone tried to get cables from any of these two shops by any chance before? Not sure if it is allowed to mention any specific shop name here, will remove the reply once it is not allowed. Thank you everyone and hope you guys have a good day.

Hi guys, I hope you all enjoy your weekend. After waiting for a few days, the cable Nebulous finally arrived. Since it is a brand that has never been discussed before, so I would like to share my experience here.

The cable is an 8-wire Silver-Copper alloy cable, with modular termination. The price was 109 GBP, but when I bought it, there was a 10% discount so it was around 100 USD or a bit more. For more info, please visit their website (https://nmdaudio.com/products/nebulous), as I would like to keep this review short.



This is a subjective review. It is my first time sharing a new gear on this forum. Listening experiences can vary greatly across people, so I hope you guys will take this review as a reference.

I was initially fascinated by the packaging. Based on my previous purchasing experience on Aliexpress, Etsy and other beginner cables, they usually don't invest much in packaging, especially for a new brand. Another brand that offers good packaging for entry-level cables is Fifty Strings, but that's a chi-fi brand, and that may be the reason they can keep the cost low while still providing a good package.

Regardless, whether a cable is good or not should be judged by its sound quality. As this is an entry-level cable, I paired it with low-to-mid-priced gear. This time, I used the ISN Audio neo5 earphones and the Astell & Kern SR25 MKII DAP. I compared the stock cable with this cable for the neo5. I must say, the cable quality exceeded my expectations given its price point. Many reviews of the neo5 mentioned poor layering. I agree, and I believe the major factor is the limitation of the stock cable. The stock cable provided a listening experience where the low and mid ranges overlapped, resulting in a narrow soundstage. Nebulous provides a more adequate soundstage, a more solid bass, and closer but detailed vocals. The layering on the neo5 is greatly enhanced due to the soundstage improvement. The solid bass also enhances the overall atmosphere of a pop song without masking other frequencies. The bass, the drum kick, and the snare feel like they're penetrating from the back to the front.

The cable has two main shortcomings. Firstly, it is pretty thick, though not heavy. It is still portable, considering it is an 8-wire cable, so it is understandable. If you are looking for a light and soft cable, this may not be your first choice. Secondly, the high-frequency extension of this cable is acceptable, but not outstanding. It is primarily vocal-focused, or I would say it's an all-round cable for beginners. It can handle a wide variety of song genres, but if you enjoy listening to an orchestral soundtrack or something that requires very high precision on positioning and a bigger soundstage, it may not provide a perfect listening experience.

To conclude, this is my first time sharing my experience here, trying out something very new in the audio market. I hope this review can help people who are searching for the cables they want or, in another sense, encourage people not to hesitate to try out different cables. I believe this cable has the potential to be one of the contenders for entry cables with excellent price value. If anyone wants me to do more comparisons with this cable, feel free to message me, and I will try my best to share a subjective yet informative listening experience.