The discovery thread!

[tombrisbane]

Ey, all hail the mid-fi addict king good to see you here

Is that the HBB collab Tangzu or the expensive one?

HBB collab

Since we talk about expensive DAC, Imma pimping Luxury & Precision W4 I bought the unit from a friend at a very friendly price (aka I was robbing him blind).

Think of it this way: plugging this USB stick to my old iPhone gives me a (clunky) DAP that can challenge the likes to M6 Ultra and R6 Pro 2. Again, if you don't hear any difference between DAC at all, don't splurge. If you have caught the "audiophile curse" of having a higher and higher demand and attention to details, then keep an eye open for W4 on the used market or when MusicTeck gives a "like new" discount. Tbh, I don't bother with taking my DX300 out ever since getting the W4. Yes, the DX300 is better and I will use it when I want, but I don't feel like I lose that much sound quality with the W4, and the software on iPhone actually works better with the media server I set up at home (blame iBasso OS, not Android).

I agree, got mine on Sunday, an awesome dongle!

 

[4ceratops]

In regards to the Trio a lot of us have settled on UDUD for the switches as the sweet spot. I'd give it a few listens with that switch config too to see if you like it

I have come to this setup as the best one as well. For my ears and brain, of course. The TRIO already has a hearty basic tuning from the manufacturer, and with the switches it can be fine-tuned for my ears without the user messing anything up dramatically. Whether this is a coincidence or a well thought out concept is hard to tell in the case of the KZ. The important thing is that these IEMs have succeeded

 

[Jaytiss]

Just a cool comment on my fat freq gm video. Pretty great company!

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Some new goodies

Let me know about those Senns? I'm in the market for some TW since my Fiio FW3 are no longer functioning. Left bud no longer pairs, so less than a year. Second Fiio IEM to die before a year. Not buying anymore Fiio IEMs, wireless or wired. Ironically, the Fiio DAP I bought 5 years ago is still going strong. Go figure.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Simgot EA500LM has landed, and I've spent the better part of my day listening, rolling, and comparing to the EW200, Trio, and EA1000.

So I ended up with a Crystalline Copper cable, and switched the stock cable over to the EW200. Brass Coreir tips. Silver/red ring filter.

Initial impressions : Treble is CRISP. It shimmers! It sparkles like a teenage vampire! Mids are a tad thinner note wise, and not a lot of warmth. Bass is quick, can be punchy, but with more resolution and heft than the EW200 and despite the EA1000 having that passive radiator thing, has more presence than the EA1000. Now the EA1000 has more natural timbre and is a touch more resolving up top, with more control and maturity, but the EA500LM has better staging and imaging, though the EW200 has even wider and deeper stage! WHAT?! Yep. The Trio has better transparency, stage depth and width, imaging, ad detail retrieval, but it's close, and treble timbre is similar, but the treble is more shimmery and extended than the Trio, and the bass is a league more resolving and detailed than the Trio.

Though they play pretty solidly out of the Sony A17, A55, and the WM1A, I found they actually sonically sounded more bad a$$ through the DX170, Sony A306 and the Sansa Fuze. I'm gonna keep listening and burn these in some, but so far, they are almost as good to my ears as the EA1000, which is over double the price. The bass rocks on these things! Metalheads pay attention! These were made for metal!

 

[baskingshark]

Simgot EA500LM has landed, and I've spent the better part of my day listening, rolling, and comparing to the EW200, Trio, and EA1000.

So I ended up with a Crystalline Copper cable, and switched the stock cable over to the EW200. Brass Coreir tips. Silver/red ring filter.

Initial impressions : Treble is CRISP. It shimmers! It sparkles like a teenage vampire! Mids are a tad thinner note wise, and not a lot of warmth. Bass is quick, can be punchy, but with more resolution and heft than the EW200 and despite the EA1000 having that passive radiator thing, has more presence than the EA1000. Now the EA1000 has more natural timbre and is a touch more resolving up top, with more control and maturity, but the EA500LM has better staging and imaging, though the EW200 has even wider and deeper stage! WHAT?! Yep. The Trio has better transparency, stage depth and width, imaging, ad detail retrieval, but it's close, and treble timbre is similar, but the treble is more shimmery and extended than the Trio, and the bass is a league more resolving and detailed than the Trio.

Though they play pretty solidly out of the Sony A17, A55, and the WM1A, I found they actually sonically sounded more bad a$$ through the DX170, Sony A306 and the Sansa Fuze. I'm gonna keep listening and burn these in some, but so far, they are almost as good to my ears as the EA1000, which is over double the price. The bass rocks on these things! Metalheads pay attention! These were made for metal!

The silver pair of nozzles are quite spicy in the treble/upper mids.

The gold/red nozzles are the least hot of the 3, but still keeps Simgot's house sound of a boosted upper midrange in general. So perhaps this is the best option if you are sensitive to upper mids glare.

 

[Singaravelan]

Yeah, I wonder where they cut corner to make this DAP happen. Android, balanced, with some engineering efforts put in (4 DACs in two separate sound profiles, class A amp) for $250. It sounds too good to be true. I’m very eager to try this DAP.

How do these two separate sound signatures work? Like switches? And what's the difference between these 2 soundscapes?

You received your unit?

 

[Jmop]

The 500LM graph looks amazing, but I heard the sub bass takes away from it too much? Funny how we just discussed that lol. @FreeWheelinAudioLuv2

 

[tombrisbane]

Let me know about those Senns?

Early impressions they seem great, not as energetic as the TWX9, but overall I think they’re tonally better. I have a lot of TWS, these are definitely somewhere towards the top, if not at it.

 

[Jmop]

For me, 10dB is fine for upper mids, 15 is too much.

 

[Basstion]

@baskingshark You recently reviewed the ZiiGaat Doscinco and also, elsewhere, I saw that you did the same with the Penon Liqueur tips, have you tried this combination? I'm interested in Liqueur, given the boom.

 

[r31ya]

KZ ZS10 pro 2 third party graph spotted

 

[o0genesis0o]

How do these two separate sound signatures work? Like switches? And what's the difference between these 2 soundscapes?

You received your unit?

It’s here. Some quick impressions:

• Awesome form factor. It feels good and looks very cool. A part of the back plate actually lights up. Again, can’t get over how cool the whole design is. It’s mostly metal and glass.
• Smaller than what I expected. Every buttons are easy to reach and the DAP fits well in the palm.
• The screen is likely where the cost cutting is. It’s 720p and is less colourful than what I expect coming from the beautiful screens on R6 Pro 2 and R8. But because of how small it is, videos are still sharp and enjoyable to watch.
• Software highlights: MSEB, the plugin system, and SYSTEM-WIDE PEQ! If you want to experiment with tuning, this DAP is an invaluable tool. Just need to find an easy to EQ IEM, like the plain old Blessing 2 and you can also learn about tuning and make your own profile (or just use the autoEQ tool embedded in graphtool website like mine to generate a profile).
• No software issue so far. Connection to my local media server (Jellyfin) is stable without any playback problem.
• Preliminary sonic performance impressions: the stage is flatter than my W4 (not happy), the upper frequencies feel less refined, a bit “splashy” (not happy), but the dynamic is VERY good (very happy). Every transient feels snappy and the volume swings are large. The sound is somewhat aggressive and fun, reminding me of FiiO M17.

All impressions are based on U12t.

This DAP uses one pair of ESS DAC for PCM and one pair for DSD. The DSD seems to roll off more aggressively than the PCM. I think the ability to switch between these circuits is a future promise, not something available now.

Now, time to find and load up @Joe Bloggs ’s DSP plugins on this bad boy.

Edit: light up backplate

 

[4ceratops]

The Trio has better transparency, stage depth and width, imaging, ad detail retrieval, but it's close.

... you're writing in comparison to the EA 500LM. How many people, as many ears. I would say the exact opposite... The Trio may be great, but the EA 500LM, in my opinion, noticeably outperforms it in all of the categories mentioned. I use the gold nozzle one

 

[Redcarmoose]

New!

$119.00
https://penonaudio.com/ISN-Audio-T-OCC

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/isn-t-occ-triple-copper-hybrid-audiophile-iem-cable.27177/

ISN Audio T-OCC 2 Shares Triple Copper Hybrid 2Pin Audiophile IEM Earphone Cable

Specification
Brand：ISN AUDIO
Model: T-OCC
3 kinds of copper combination, 3 kinds of diameters
2 shares, 181 cores per share
Outer diameter is 2.5mm, 18AWG wire
98 cores 0.08 frozen single crystal copper
48 cores 0.06 Quenched single crystal copper
35 cores 0.05 Copper-silver alloy
OFC 2-pin 0.78mm connector
3.5mm audio/4.4mm balanced OFC plug
Aluminum CNC alloy cutting integrated slide
The solder joints is silver–contained tin
Secondary oxidation gold foil gold ring
Cable length: 1.2M