The discovery thread!

[Leonarfd]

Forgot to say, joined the HYBY R4 x EVANGELION hype train and ordered. The nerd in me could not stay away.

Have some more stuff to share from Symphonium but ill keep that for tomorrow, something bassy and fun.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

I am going back and forth with Letshuoer on the value of an open box S15 they are selling on eBay. They are selling at $228 and I made an initial offer of $195. I am trying to be practical. What would you offer?

I'd skip it and buy the S12 2024 instead for exactly the same price.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Could not keep up with the thread lately I mostly listen to rock and jazz music. Wondering what my next Mid-Fi IEM would be. Any recs? Thanks!

Rock n jazz? ISN H60, S12 2024, Dita Project M.

 

[nihalsharma]

SWEEAR HE-N7PRO​

SWEEAR is a relatively less-known brand from Hong Kong that I hadn’t heard much about until recently. A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon some reviews of their IEMs on Head-Fi, and there are also a handful of videos on YouTube. Their flagship model, the SR11, has already been reviewed by some well-known figures in the audio community. For anyone interested, here are some links to check out.

Review by @Trance_Gott on Headfi: Link
BGGAR's review on YouTube: Link
Headfonic's review of SR11: Link


The N7PRO, a hybrid offering from the brand, arrived a few days ago, and I have spent a few hours with it. The configuration is 1 dynamic driver and 6 balanced armature drivers. There is a 3-way crossover implementation. Some other specs:

Sensitivity : 112dB
Frequency Response : 9Hz-23kHz
Impedance : 16 ohms

The IEM is available here: Link


Initial Impressions:

The N7PRO comes in an impressive and thoughtfully designed package. The box is on the larger side. The presentation is top-notch and leaves a lasting impression. Inside, the IEMs and ear tips are neatly arranged in foam cutouts, giving it a premium feel. The carry case, made from soft leather, is spacious enough and adds to the overall quality. The latest version includes their refreshed, upgraded cable, which is modular with detachable 4.4mm, 3.5mm, and 2.5mm adapters. The cable itself is fabric-sleeved, well-built with a four-wire configuration, and surprisingly lightweight despite its good thickness. It’s also tangle-resistant, adding to the ease of use.

In terms of build and design, the N7PRO is definitely satisfying. The faceplate, with its sleek logo, is among the most beautiful I’ve seen on an IEM. The shells are lightweight and a standard size—slightly smaller than the Hype series for comparison—making them comfortable for long listening sessions without any issues with fit.

Sound:

The N7PRO has a warm, relaxed signature that leans more towards a musical, laid-back sound rather than one focused on razor-sharp technicalities. The bass delivers a solid impact, though it could benefit from better refinement. On bass-heavy tracks, you can feel the punch, but the texture and layering fall a bit short. However, on tracks where the bass is less prominent, it feels more controlled and enjoyable.

Moving into the midrange, things continue to impress. The mids are forward, with vocals taking center stage and feeling close to the ears. There's a pleasant warmth here, and the resolution is good, revealing plenty of detail without feeling overwhelming. Female vocals shine more than male vocals, which can sometimes sound a bit thick. The upper midrange is well-tuned, extending smoothly without any sharpness. This is especially noticeable with female vocals, which reach higher registers without any harsh peaks.

In the treble, there's a good amount of detail and a sense of airiness. The treble is smooth, lacking any sharpness or harshness, and you won’t miss the sounds of cymbals or their subtle layering. As mentioned earlier, the focus is on musicality, and the treble is tuned just enough to provide clarity without overpowering the rest of the signature.

On the technical side, the N7PRO holds its own. The soundstage is spacious, with good width and depth, and the instruments feel well-separated. The layering is decent, though the resolution could be slightly improved. If the warmth were toned down a bit, the overall output would be cleaner and more precise. However, the warmth seems intentional to emphasize its musical character.

The IEM is also easy to drive, though on more powerful sources, you might encounter some static hiss. As far as source goes, it pairs better with neutral to a bit bright source. A warm source may make things a bit muddy.

I need more time to fully evaluate the N7PRO, but my initial impressions are positive. It does many things well, and I think its tuning will appeal to a broad audience. However, those who prefer a more analytical, crisp sound may find it a bit different. I'll share more detailed thoughts in the coming days. Thanks!

 

[anli]

Yet, on another side, R4 was voted unanimously as the most user-unfriendly device ever (!!!) by my family while on our trip around the beauty/wildereness of lake Superior. For non-aidiophile users, R4 displayed a horrible combination of connectivity problems, volume locks/non-responsiveness due to Hiby haste implemtations of regulatory limitations - just very raw software overall for beta, if not gamma/omega testers... It may be OK/nice/great for "reviewers of free samples", as the dominant participants here, but not for simple users, as I can humbly attest...

(cite fragment bolded by me)

It's nice to feel like a special user. (no problems during days, at all)

 

[gadgetgod]

So i spent a few hours with the Melodic Artification Alter Ego. I had a brief listening session during the Canjam SG, it was a good experience but nothing that would blow my socks off. A retailer in India got a unit and I tried it for a few hours yesterday. Here are some of my thoughts.

1. The design speaks premium. I say this very little, but the design of the Melodic Artification speaks very premium of it. It looks classy and at the same time has a unique appeal to itself.
2. When I focused on to its sound, I was instantly taken away by the audio lord. I don't remember how those 2-3 hours passed by and the guy said to me, "Okay Pulkit, I wanna listen to the Alter Ego as well".
3. The tuning of the Alter Ego is highly addictive, I wouldn't lie but those 2-3 hours I thought of making many notes and share detailed impressions, but sadly all I could do at that time was enjoy the music.
4. Despite being different drivers, the coherency is really commendable. It sounds like a single unit.
5. Smooth and Effortless, there it is, there I said it, the Alter Ego sounds completely effortless to me.

The bass switch, I need to play more with it. I have requested the retailer to give me a few days with the set, once he allows me to have it at my home, I will do a detailed take for sure. Here are a few images for my friends at the Discovery Thread.

 

[Rambone]

HIBY R4 X EVANGELION https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-r4-x-evangelion

Well it's finally available for Pre-order. I see that a few of you have jumped in on this already! I got my order in a few minutes after the count-down ended. During the final 5 minutes I kept thinking to myself .... do I really need this, do I? I...I..I already have a R4!

In the final moments I decided YES I DO.

A few reasons. I love Evangelion and the R4 design was begging for the Eva treatment. HIBY didn't just go for a cash grab and change the colors and put a few logo's on the R4 and call it a day (Looks amazing BTW). They also did a lot of upgrades under the hood AND the OS is themed after the series super computer 'The MAGI system'. You just have to see it in action, absolutely sure to give any EVA fan a EVA sized chubby for sure! Some notable mentions asides from the bump up in internal storage and memory, HIBY documents that there is a improvement to the sound signature of this unit and it runs cooler than the original R4. The special edition R4 even boasts an improved resolution of the screen!

Below are some snippets of the specs for comparison and a link for more technical info:
https://store.hiby.com/blogs/hiby-r4-x-evangelion/explanation-regarding-anime-tuning-for-r4-x-eva

Original:

This special edition of the R4 is way more than I could have hoped for and for me justifies the bump up in price. When you put a lot of effort into something which clearly it shows that HIBY did, I'm going to encourage that and reward this with my hard earned cash.

Hell YES brothers, I am excited!

 

[bithalver]

That’s the one but oof, dynamic pricing is nasty. I haven’t heard Pyramid, but the XINHS one is quite different from the Asos so it really comes down to what you plan to pair the cable with and what sort of improvements you’re looking to get from it. And then if you choose the Asos, there’s the small matter of deciding if you might want the Asos+ or Asos+X instead. With many Penon releases it pays to lock in the early bird discount but with the Asos I kind of wish I’d waited for the souped up versions.

I have the Pyramid secondhand; new price is too high for me. ASOS I bought new; I read a lot about the upgraded versions and thought most prbably I will not hear the difference.

I see that more and more discoverers have been using multi-quote replies. How's feature that working out for everyone? For some reason, I can't quite vibe with it myself. Too disjointed, I imagine, for my feeble brain chemistry to process.

If we reply to all messages one-on-one this thread will explode. My brain too trying to catch up.

I'd skip it and buy the S12 2024 instead for exactly the same price.

S12 2024 is a good one just the cable ... however looks good sounds bad. My own XP.

 

[Nimweth]

I hope to remain one and only in my limited uniqueness.

Off HeadF nowi, I simply enjoy a lot KZ AS24pro (together with more neutral and more switch-engaging AS24) with my totally preferred, among all other sorces, Plus4 DAC - pretty much enough to savor all my music for thetotl bliss

Lastly, few words about my experience with Hiby R4 - "audiophilically" OK/good - really great PEQ, plugins; internal amps heat up nicely dissipating all this energy into something hopefully meaningfull for a sizeable brick of a DAP that R4 is... and a very good transport for all my DACs.

Yet, on another side, R4 was voted unanimously as the most user-unfriendly device ever (!!!) by my family while on our trip around the beauty/wildereness of lake Superior.

For non-aidiophile users, R4 displayed a horrible combination of connectivity problems, volume locks/non-responsiveness due to Hiby haste implemtations of regulatory limitations - just very raw software overall for beta, if not gamma/omega testers... It may be OK/nice/great for "reviewers of free samples", as the dominant participants here, but not for simple users, as I can humbly attest...

Surely, solutions to R4 properly functioning may exist, but with my previous Tempotec V1a - there was no any problems with any connectivity, so no more Hiby & any other DAPs in my music universe...

The funds are saved on this hobby will be chanelled to support live music - music lessons, orchestral performance support, etc.

Glad you like the AS24 Pro. Which setting do you use? I have them on 1100. Nice to see you back as well.

 

[jbfps116]

Yet, on another side, R4 was voted unanimously as the most user-unfriendly device ever (!!!) by my family while on our trip around the beauty/wildereness of lake Superior.

For non-aidiophile users, R4 displayed a horrible combination of connectivity problems, volume locks/non-responsiveness due to Hiby haste implemtations of regulatory limitations - just very raw software overall for beta, if not gamma/omega testers... It may be OK/nice/great for "reviewers of free samples", as the dominant participants here, but not for simple users, as I can humbly attest...

My main concern about android-based DAPs... I have almost no experience with Android apart from some very crappy cheap phone I got when I was in China... Have you looked for updates to fix the issues? I really don't want a hugely-buggy DAP. I'm too used to the smooth iOS devices!

 

[anli]

HIBY R4 X EVANGELION https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-r4-x-evangelion

Well it's finally available for Pre-order. I see that a few of you have jumped in on this already! I got my order in a few minutes after the count-down ended. During the final 5 minutes I kept thinking to myself .... do I really need this, do I? I...I..I already have a R4!

In the final moments I decided YES I DO.

A few reasons. I love Evangelion and the R4 design was begging for the Eva treatment. HIBY didn't just go for a cash grab and change the colors and put a few logo's on the R4 and call it a day (Looks amazing BTW). They also did a lot of upgrades under the hood AND the OS is themed after the series super computer 'The MAGI system'. You just have to see it in action, absolutely sure to give any EVA fan a EVA sized chubby for sure! Some notable mentions asides from the bump up in internal storage and memory, HIBY documents that there is a improvement to the sound signature of this unit and it runs cooler than the original R4. The special edition R4 even boasts an improved resolution of the screen!

Below are some snippets of the specs for comparison.




Original:



This special edition of the R4 is way more than I could have hoped for and for me justifies the bump up in price. When you put a lot of effort into something which clearly it shows that HIBY did, I'm going to encourage that and reward this with my hard earned cash.

Hell YES brothers, I am excited!

Real sounding changes from the original version are still questionable.

 

[Danx3k]

My main concern about android-based DAPs... I have almost no experience with Android apart from some very crappy cheap phone I got when I was in China... Have you looked for updates to fix the issues? I really don't want a hugely-buggy DAP. I'm too used to the smooth iOS devices!

I’m long time dedicated iOS user myself, but have really enjoyed having android based daps. Android has come a long way, and for dap usage, it’s completely fine and easy to use.

Android users will tell you that’s the case for their phones as well, but well…we know better

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

It's old video, and Andy seems prefer warm source.
Weirdly, He rated Onix better than Elite and recent ibasso own DC07 he likes it more and in the end he confused and seems stressed out trying all those dongles and scrap all the ranking.

Well the DC Elite is last year product, it isn't a hype train. It has been tested against time and competitors. Must be something about Andy's product, or well we just hear differently. It's Andy vs at least 20 or 30 experieced audiophiles then, go figure

Right. I've railed against this type of presentation for awhile now. One does not negate the majority. It's like when someone presents a less than stellar review of the ISN H60 or the Project M or pick whatever well received product. That single review does not negate the others. It's called an outlier. It's called an outlier for a reason. Nowadays, I stack reviews and impressions to come to a buying conclusion, and I usually throw out the one or two negative reviews, unless there's recurring themes within those and positive reviews, then it's something to pay attention to, but it's helped me hit on many more purchases than I've missed lately.

 

[Rambone]

Real sounding changes from the original version are still questionable.

I'm sure there will be people who will compare the two versions including myself to get to the bottom of it but in the meantime this is what we have to go off of.

https://store.hiby.com/blogs/hiby-r4-x-evangelion/explanation-regarding-anime-tuning-for-r4-x-eva

Edit: Looks like link isn't working so, copy/paste.

"Thanks to the love and support of HIBY fans for the HIBY R4, at the beginning of the HIBY R4's launch, many users thought that the HIBY R4 was designed with EVA in mind, and some users suggested that we should make a purple and green color scheme, and even some of them DIY'd their own EVA-style cases for R4. It was the enthusiasm and love from R4 users that drove us to contact EVA's copyright for collaboration discussions, so the HIBY R4 x EVANGELION Limited Edition is a further optimized product based on the HIBY R4.

Since the HIBY R4 was originally equipped with Class-A amplification circuitry commonly found in desktop audio equipment, the sound is able to ensure a natural and linear output, which is able to present the rhythms and vocals of pop music well, but also to a certain extent accommodates the wide soundstage of reproducing live recordings, with a certain sense of horizontal diffusion. However, the linear sound performance of Class A amplification circuits is based on a certain level of power consumption and heat dissipation, so some users who were new to the HIBY R4 in the early days of its release were concerned about the normal operating heat.

For this reason, when designing the HIBY R4 x EVANGELION Limited Edition, we have optimized the efficiency of the Class A amplifier circuitry and heat dissipation, resulting in a lower operating heat and a 33%-43% increase in operating time (depending on operating conditions). At the same time, most of the ACG-related music/songs we come across mainly utilize electronic instruments and synthesizers for recording and production arrangements, and the singer's vocals are more infectious, as opposed to the natural instruments and live recording environments of classical music, which require less. This consideration has also been recognized in discussions with the EVA copyright holder and in the current show auditions.

As a result, the HIBY R4 x EVANGELION Limited Edition has a crisper sound performance and a more regular soundstage, with less focus on the lateral expression, and is still suitable for pop style music. The ‘ACG tuning’ style that people are concerned about is actually a simple expression of this feature, rather than a speculation of ‘EQ adjustment’ or ‘enhancement of bright tones’."

 

[jbfps116]

Well the showdown of the Wan'er vs the Wyvern Black was TIGHT! Possibly the closest matchup I've had to do yet. I was a bit surprised to find the Wan'er sounds even a bit warmer than the Wyvern which I already thought was quite warm, but no, the Wyvern ended having just a bit more treble sparkle to push it over the winning line 3/5 times, just barely. The poor lovely blue and gold Wan'er has lost a FOURTH matchup.

The next showdown is the CCA Trio vs the TRN ST7... what a battle that will be. My guess is the Trio will win, but will it be too intense for some songs, causing me to prefer the more refined ST7? We shall see.