The discovery thread!

[gadgetgod]

Yeah, something about the tuning that pulls this IEM back. But it's not that underwhelming, I think. Easily surpass Andromeda and catching up with U12T in my A/B, so it barely squeezes through the gate into my 5/5 class.

Anyhow, this IEM is one of those that the more careful I listen, the more problems I pull out. Glad that I had a chance to dissect it so carefully before buying. I think I'll hold on to my toy fund for now. (I should, I need a new desktop amp)

here i failed myself haha, i couldn't dissect myself and ended up with one. No complaints though, I enjoy the Voltage every time I listen to it.

 

[Jmop]

This first track off the Indila album, it’s so good..

 

[baskingshark]

The Tripowin x 0diBi Vivace is a collab with a South Korean audio reviewer. Price TBC but I think this is a budget one.

It uses a 10 mm titanium DD, with a PET diaphragm. Easily driven and fits well.

Sound-wise, the Vivace seems to be one of those new "META" balanced and fatigue-free type tunings - mostly U-shaped - with a 7 dB ear gain translating to minimal shoutiness in the pinna gain region. Very easy to appreciate for longer listening sessions.

Timbre is good with authentic note weight. I'm not sure what is the price bracket to compare against other benchmarks, but technicalities would be classed as above average if this were a budget pair under $50 USD.

Will do more testing and report back.

 

[Jmop]

The Tripowin x 0diBi Vivace is a collab with a South Korean audio reviewer. Price TBC but I think this is a budget one.



It uses a 10 mm titanium DD, with a PET diaphragm. Easily driven and fits well.

Sound-wise, the Vivace seems to be one of those new "META" balanced and fatigue-free type tunings - mostly U-shaped - with a 7 dB ear gain translating to minimal shoutiness in the pinna gain region. Very easy to appreciate for longer listening sessions.


Timbre is good with authentic note weight. I'm not sure what is the price bracket to compare against other benchmarks, but technicalities would be classed as above average if this were a budget pair under $50 USD.

Will do more testing and report back.

You’re doin the lord’s work with these graphs, basking!

 

[Jmop]

I definitely overhyped the Blon BL05S lol, dropped it pretty quickly after the initial listen. I mean it’s good, but I need to chill. I’m much more thorough when it comes to evaluating albums.

 

[Sonic Sleuth]

Starting the weekend immersed in Nostalgia Audio Camelot, paired with their Lancelot cable.

While I'm usually more of a headphone enthusiast and rarely consider spending more than $1000 on IEMs (headphones just seem like a better value for my personal preferences!), the Camelot has truly won me over.

Has impactful and textured sub-bass with impressive extension and control.
Highly resolving midrange with accurate timbre and precise imaging, allowing for really good separation of vocals and instruments.
The treble is refined, airy and effortless with excellent detail retrieval, extending the soundstage without introducing sibilance or harshness.

While I also usually gravitate towards single DD IEMs for their inherent cohesiveness, Camelot manages to achieve a level of sonic unity that's rare to find in multi-driver setups, proving that a well-executed design can overcome the challenges of driver integration.

 

[bithalver]

I only hope that the true king of iems under £1000 can be crowned at the end of this year.

The only rule being it was released in 2024.

I/O Volare for me, 100%.

If you're an audiophile who puts soundstage above all, you're not bothering with IEMs. It's pretty much audiophile gospel that most open-back over-ears will give wider soundstage than a sealed IEM. Just buy the HD 800s and be done with it if soundstage is your one-pony trick.

Word. That's why I trust you motherf*ckers more than many reviewers, and I respect the hell out of the few reviewers who don't constantly glaze the balls of IEM manufacturers to keep the gravy train of free product rolling.

Me? Hell, no.

FWAL, Wain and Moose have FORGOTTEN more than I'll ever KNOW about IEMs. I'm not worthy to even clean their ear tips. Seriously. Appreciate even being mentioned in the same breath as them, but no, no, no. They are OG's. I'm a wannabe.

Do NOT humilate yourself: your additions are valuable (and funny, most of the time )

Nah, don't downplay yourself. Your voice is worth as much as anyone else's here.

Exactly.

Color matching worked out well enough.



So many different graphs for this. My set kinda matches up the most with Practiphile's.

No burn in yet so I can hear that slight veil over the midrange, but definitely an improvement over the S12 pro and S08. Thicker sound, significant bass boost as well. Lovely mid-bass. They did a great job eliminating sibilance and fatigue. Doesn't take long to tell this is a fantastic planar. Value for $ on this one is up there.

Agree.

May I ask what cable is that ?

 

[Nimweth]

The two IEMs I got the most orbital stage, and those sounds coming from weird angles and placements around my "dome" are both budget IEMs. The TRN ST7 and the KZ Castor Silver. Crazy cool staging. Ironically, the higher I go up the pricing ladder, the effects become rarer, with the orbital stage coming back in view with the Aur Audio Aur, which has a fantastic and full orbital stage. Wait, the FAN 3 too, but to a lesser extend even with the BCD.

The Saga Bass is right up there in staging.

 

[superuser1]

Any initial impressions on the Tangzu - Yu Xuan Ji? I may have missed them in the sea of posts

 

[gadgetgod]

Starting the weekend immersed in Nostalgia Audio Camelot, paired with their Lancelot cable.

While I'm usually more of a headphone enthusiast and rarely consider spending more than $1000 on IEMs (headphones just seem like a better value for my personal preferences!), the Camelot has truly won me over.

Has impactful and textured sub-bass with impressive extension and control.
Highly resolving midrange with accurate timbre and precise imaging, allowing for really good separation of vocals and instruments.
The treble is refined, airy and effortless with excellent detail retrieval, extending the soundstage without introducing sibilance or harshness.

While I also usually gravitate towards single DD IEMs for their inherent cohesiveness, Camelot manages to achieve a level of sonic unity that's rare to find in multi-driver setups, proving that a well-executed design can overcome the challenges of driver integration.

Nostalgia Camelot is my favorite flagship <3 Good to see you also enjoy its signature.

 

[nikbr]

There’s a lot of competition in the budget IEM space right now, and for me, the Kefine Delci and SIVGA Que really stand out as two of my favorites in this price range.

Kefine have been busy, and the one @gadgetgod mentioned, the Klean, is on its way to me too. Expecting good things. And I'll compare it to C2 2025, Vivace, Que.

I am sure that is a large part of it but I don’t think there is any denying the “need” to say good things about products to get more products to review so the hyperbole flows.

In today's market, there are literally zero sets without at least a few positive qualities, so "needing" to say good things is a rough simplification. It's easier to see whether the reviewer is truthful by reading the negatives. Surely there must be something that's not straight perfection.

Project M is a special IEM, at least for me. I mean, at one point you will feel it sounds so effortless, and the other time it will just push out all the details to your face. in my experience, the Project M is a very revealing IEM for the price. for badly mastered tracks, it would bring out the flaws perfectly. I personally love it for its vocals and clean sound response.

Agree, it's a special one. Review landing later today.

Love the Zonie cable - I first took a shot at Tripowin with Granvia which I bought for a set of headphones, gorgeous cable for comparatively low cost… that led me to trying Zonie which again is fantastic quality. I must explore more!

I'm getting two Tripowin cables alongside the IEM mentioned in my next quote. I'll tell you how I feel about them.

The Tripowin x 0diBi Vivace is a collab with a South Korean audio reviewer. Price TBC but I think this is a budget one.



It uses a 10 mm titanium DD, with a PET diaphragm. Easily driven and fits well.

Sound-wise, the Vivace seems to be one of those new "META" balanced and fatigue-free type tunings - mostly U-shaped - with a 7 dB ear gain translating to minimal shoutiness in the pinna gain region. Very easy to appreciate for longer listening sessions.


Timbre is good with authentic note weight. I'm not sure what is the price bracket to compare against other benchmarks, but technicalities would be classed as above average if this were a budget pair under $50 USD.

Will do more testing and report back.

Graph looking okay, and the IEM too. I was hoping for a similar, earlier 12kHz peak as the Piccolo. This looks more like the usual 14-15kHz spike. I hope the bass is at least as good as on the Piccolo too. I've got one on the way.

 

[nikbr]

Any initial impressions on the Tangzu - Yu Xuan Ji? I may have missed them in the sea of posts

Those few that got it mention nothing but positives. Great bass and awesome technicalities. Along with sick looks.

 

[baskingshark]

Graph looking okay, and the IEM too. I was hoping for a similar, earlier 12kHz peak as the Piccolo. This looks more like the usual 14-15kHz spike. I hope the bass is at least as good as on the Piccolo too. I've got one on the way.

Bro, any measurements above the coupler artefact at 8 kHz cannot be interpreted and are not accurate.

 

[Argha]

 

[Jmop]

I guess RS6 would be my endgame dap with it’s three gain stages.