[ldo77]

HIBY FC6 is great imo, more on the analogue and rich sound. So if your like me it's golden.
Just beware that it can at times pick up emi noise, but less than RU6. One way to solve it is a better shielded usb cable, or run it of your DAP

Yes, FC6 is a good dongle ... But very power angry hungry.

 

[Leonarfd]

The fact that the FC6 only has 3.5mm port is criminal

Yeah, reason as they often say is that R2R is not truly balanced. But having just an adapter built in being able to plug in 4.4mm would be good even if its not more powerful.
Can not cost them much more to implement it, though it would increase size of the dongle.

Yes, FC6 is a good dongle ... But very power angry.

Yeah I read from donglemadness its not as bad as the worst, but clearly drain battery more than the average dongle.

 

[iscorpio71]

The CKLVX I think is the same as the Pula but the SLIIVO is slightly differently tuned. But I dunno...

The CKLVX is a well tuned iem. Very smooth and enjoyable with a slightly mid-centric focus compared to the X. The X is more extended in both the top and the bottom, and has a greater sense of openess ( and is a little less intimate). Overall I prefer the X, but when I listen to the CKLVX I am not thinking about it. The CKLVX is thoroughly enjoyable on its own, and was about 140usd vs. thx at 380ish.

Thanks,

I'll hold my horses on this ones, and safe.

Best

 

[lgcubana]

What cable do you use with 10th ?

The Penon Bass cable; here's my review of it: link to Bass cable review

 

[DynamicEars]

Thanks for the prompt and clear reply bro. I can clearly understand what you're saying by comparison with u12t.

Nope the 250hz dip is too much with Helios, just like variations, I prefer flat one on those frequencies range.

Btw I was waiting for singolo but seems like the 6khz have too much dip, maybe it will sounded less energetic, too safe or not bitey enough for me. HBB like to tune this way but for me, the lower treble details there will be washed out. Usually crin tunes this area just right, dunno what happen with singolo. Otherwise I just pick the Aful MagicOne, or maybe skip both.
Not sure, lately there are no new stuff that really grab my attention the unique MagicOne is quite different with their new tech plus I can't resist beautiful transparent shell, oh well those coming midfi IEMs are interesting.

@o0genesis0o
Just few hours later... oh crap Aful MagicOne is coming. Really bad self control.

 

[ericf]

Friends. What have you bought at this Aliexpress Anniversary sale? What is the damage to the wallet?

Any worthwhile deals?

Not totally sure it's part of the sale, but it's always a sale on Ali, isn't there?
Anyway, I got myself a few new Tiandirenhe products. I have a few already and have liked most of them. Only one dud so far. They seem to have been the OEM manufacturers behind Magaosi (my favourite IEM is Magaosi DQ4) so I've kept my eyes open for developments. Not too many great ones of those, but I am watching them.
Here's what I got this time:
Magaosi K3HD

Tiandirenhe MMCX diy earphones Chinese pear wood

Tiandirenhe-Mj Signature DIY Hi-Fi mmcx earphone in Pearly Solid Wood DD+BA DLC diaphragm Knowles BA high frequency units

Tiandirenhe TD19 Graphene unit

Tiandirenhe TD20 11mm Planar Driver Audiophile Monitor Stage HiFi stabilised wood In-ear Earphone

All these for just above $300.

 

[kaeswiss]

Earbuds are closer to open backed headphones than IEMs per se, as the former have zero seal. So generally, there is no isolation and loss of sub-bass, but you get a big soundstage compared to most IEMs. IEMs may have more sub-bass and may have more micro-detailing, but the soundstage is quite confined to in your head. Different pros and cons between the 2 transducer types.

Some earbuds also come in crazy high impedance/low sensitivity, so they may be harder to drive than traditional IEMs. One good thing is that earbuds are generally cheaper than IEMs as they mostly use single DD. So budget earbuds are considered to be sub $20. $20 - 100 USD is actually midFI for earbuds. And seriously, TOTL earbuds can be considered from $100 USD.

The Yincrow RW2000 is considered one of the gatekeeper TOTL earbuds in the Headfi earbuds thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/ (you can go talk to the friendly earbud addicts there!)

I have a RW2000 too and it is very balanced, U-shaped, excellent timbre. $89 is a good deal for sure. But I'm not sure if you would be keen to try some budget/MidFI earbuds before diving straight in to a TOTL earbud haha? But that is good in a way, you can hit the good stuff first and don't waste money buying pokemon sidegrade stuff, though sometimes you might miss the journey of experiencing these lower cost goodies!

THXBRO! I feel like I already have too many IEMs that I've moved out of my rotation and into storage, which is why I'd rather have one Charizard over a bunch of Pikachus. I'll check out the earbud thread though in case there's a great starter pokemon I'm not aware of lol.

 

[PHLHarmonic]

Easily tempted as always, I'm trying to decide if I want to order an Alpha Omega Ra after coming across the recent thread for it. The configuration for the price (~$560 USD, 1 Beryllium-coated DD/4 Sonion BA/2 Sonion EST) is very hard to find, along with an additionally cheap option of customizing the shell/faceplate. It would be a blind buy and I'm still a little concerned the mids might be just a bit too scooped out based on the FR graph, but I've been looking for something with really good bass.

The owner has been extremely communicative through WhatsApp and shared some of the designer faceplace options. There's a black and gold flecked option akin to the UM Mest Mk II which seems the safe choice, but I also like a few of the designer options. I won't say which are my favorites, but I'd love to know what people think. I should add that there's a chance the Ra shell may be on the large side, and I need to try to get a better idea of that as it could make much of the above moot.

My other primarily option I'm still considering is to wait a couple weeks or so for the Symphonium Titan at almost twice the price, ~$1k USD. Symphonium is of course a much more known entity in this space, and early impressions of the Titan have been really good. I'd love to try the Crimson, even if the tuning probably isn't want I'm looking for. I was considering the Singularity for a long while but it's mostly out of consideration for the time being as I'm not sure if I'll be getting all that much more than I do from my MIROAK-II as a single DD IEM.

 

[cqtek]

Hello to all.

Here is my humble opinion on the little ifi hip dac 3.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/ifi-hip-dac-3.26837/reviews#review-33363

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

The fact that the FC6 only has 3.5mm port is criminal

So agree and such low power.

 

[Singaravelan]

So agree and such low power.

Low Power? Certainly not. Runs planarr iems and hd660s2 cans beautifully. Unless you are talking about some heavy cans..

 

[Ace Bee]

Did you buy an Invictus from Emiliano?

Who is Emiliano?

 

[-rowan-]

NiceHCK Dragonscale 2 in the house… and the first winning pairing is with Dita Project M, which it has now spent most of the weekend with.

Still getting to know it but thought I’d post some initial impressions in case anyone’s circling it. It doesn’t seem to favour any particular part of the frequency range, has good resolution and extension with good dynamism while keeping it natural and clear.

Didn’t think that M was in particular need of more treble, or that the fancy stock cable was lacking. But here Dragonscale 2 is pulling its weight, bringing out the air, presence and positional detail that resides in the upper treble, stepping up the resolution and throwing the stage wide open.

Edited to add: I usually detest fabric sheathed cables, but have to say that this one has relatively little microphonics which pretty much stop being an issue once music starts playing. Which I assure you is the best thing I’ve said of fabric sheaths.

 

[1oad3r]

NiceHCK Dragonscale 2 in the house… and the first winning pairing is with Dita Project M, which it has now spent most of the weekend with.



Still getting to know it but thought I’d post some initial impressions in case anyone’s circling it. It doesn’t seem to favour any particular part of the frequency range, has good resolution and extension with good dynamism while keeping it natural and clear.

Didn’t think that M was in particular need of more treble, or that the fancy stock cable was lacking. But here Dragonscale 2 is pulling its weight, bringing out the air, presence and positional detail that resides in the upper treble, stepping up the resolution and throwing the stage wide open.

Edited to add: I usually detest fabric sheathed cables, but have to say that this one has relatively little microphonics which pretty much stop being an issue once music starts playing. Which I assure you is the best thing I’ve said of fabric sheaths.

Thanks for sharing your initial impressions. And that’s a fantastic shot too, bravo. I’m expecting Project-M to arrive tomorrow. A departure from the sort of profile I would usually go for, but the design, price and acclaim piqued my interest

 

[o0genesis0o]

very power angry.

I’m using that description in future dongle reviews

@o0genesis0o
Just few hours later... oh crap Aful MagicOne is coming. Really bad self control.

I recommend grabbing some Xelastic tips if you haven’t. Go one or two size smaller so that the IEM can fit flush against your ears. To me, Snowy Night -> MagicOne (Xelastec S) is an ideal chain. Not the ideal sound ever, but great “synergy”