The discovery thread!

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

I'm not surprised. Nothing specific to you. I don't think any set in the "arms race for neutrality" (what a weirdly mixed metaphor) has ever fared very well in this thread, at least not for long. Lots of good reasons why--some objective and some subjective.

One word to add to your comment as to why....BASS. The obsession is real.

Aether sounds better than the VolumeS?? Man you guys will make me spend money again :/ I just bought the VolumeS last month.

No. He means that the Aether, in his view, has superseded the Volume S in order of PTT for purchase.

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@BeelzAlBob - Right! Absolutely a steal at $150.00. Sometimes, just like the AFUL MagicOne, you just need to drop the price to revive a hidden stalwart. The Hype 2 is among those. For sure.

 

[Conan1974]

I was just brilliant today, just for a moment, but it counts. Do not be jealous
Seriously now.
Was looking for a tips with a bigger top opening.
De Baroque and the Divinus were bit costly and far away.
So i went to the local store, to have some pleasure, i mean something sweet to chew and Eureka.
What can i see - ear buds for 4 euro, whats on the top of the nozel? Tips with bigger opening.
Problem solved. I listen to the IEM with them on right now.
I think i can hear that the voices are slightly more away and the soundstage is slightly wider. But - if its true - the differences are so small, that i can not say for sure, that its there.

 

[activatorfly]

Good question. I can't say its a set anyone is gonna actually need especially for folks that own multiple sets that check off all the boxes. I mean do we ever need moar IEMS? Its not going to disrupt the market or anything like that. But for the money its a set that makes you realize you don't need to spend $200 or $300 or $400 and up to get a good solid sounding IEM that is truly enjoyable.

Its definitely not for neutral heads or meta tuned IEMs. But for the folks that like some beefy bass but want technicalities with balance to matter for your sound. Its one of the best examples of a cheaper IEM outdoing the competition especially at its price range. I suppose you got to be into your V shaped tunings to like them as much as I do but in the sea of harmon tuned stuff. These are a breathe of fresh air. Something new for ISN is the nicely resolving dynamic driver they are using on this set. First time I seen them use a larger 13mm dynamic handling most of the sound.

This set also makes one realize you don't need 12 drivers per side for a full rangy dynamic sound quality. I have reviewed 12 BA driver set ups that don't have the dynamic sound of the H20. Its not the be all at its price but I will go as far as to say. I personally have reviewed sets over twice the price that I prefer these over easily. It will only be a matter of time when the collective gets their own H20. I am just giving an early insight into what we are dealing with on these. It is very clear to me ISN took their time on this one.

I did some amping on them last night using my E12a amp. I was telling myself there is no way these things cost $69. Lol. No possible way.

I'll have a good answer for you by mid week, when the H20 land. You might read that the H20 is the best thing since sliced bread, that it resets the market, and it sounds like an angel's choir, but I assure you, I'll provide you with an even keeled approach to a comparo with the SP01 very soon, my friend.

I just PTT on these...my first ISN set (after managing to bypass them since the ISN H40 era!) With the Penon voucher they seem to be a no brainer @ £40.

 

[Thieme]

It seems customs has singled out my package of the Fiio FT1 Pro
I had really looked forward to trying them but customs has them for 1.5 week already. I see one on the local second hand market for a very nice price and in good condition, it is so tempting to just buy that one and sell mine as "new in box" when it does arrive. Same guy is also selling some Aune AR5000 for what seems to be a nice price. I seem to remember those being good as well but I think I might prefer trying out the planar in a headphone.

 

[mrsergey]

WOWSER! That's kinda crazy: I'm listening to the KB currently...as a result I don't need the Anvil no more & now the Volume S have been superseded by The Aether imho.

Lately i was very positive.
I enjoyed so much iems like shanling ME600, Tangzu Gate, Sound Rhyme SR8 and ISN H60 (after a friend figured out that i have reverse polarity).
All this time the bass was bad on the ISN H60 because those idiots printed "R" on the wrong side of the cable .
Anyway, i got today the Aether and...
They are just ok.
Not bad but also not amazing.
It still early to talk about their sound in details but my first impression is that they sound "normal".
They have "safe" tuning.
Pretty warm with relaxed treble, nice soundstage, a lot of details and decent bass. Nothing that gonna make you jump out of your seat.
Are they one of my best iems? Hahahah .
Not even close.
But at least they are not boring as the CK2V and the Dusk.
So yeah, they do sound better in my opinion than both of them.

 

[activatorfly]

Lately i was very positive.
I enjoyed so much iems like shanling ME600, Tangzu Gate, Sound Rhyme SR8 and ISN H60 (after a friend figured out that i have reverse polarity).
All this time the bass was bad on the ISN H60 because those idiots printed "R" on the wrong side of the cable .
Anyway, i got today the Aether and...
They are just ok.
Not bad but also not amazing.
It still early to talk about their sound in details but my first impression is that they sound "normal".
They have "safe" tuning.
Pretty warm with relaxed treble, nice soundstage, a lot of details and decent bass. Nothing that gonna make you jump out of your seat.
Are they one of my best iems? Hahahah .
Not even close.
But at least they are not boring as the CK2V and the Dusk.
So yeah, they do sound better in my opinion than both of them.

Thanks, I'll hang fire on them methinks. Upcoming Spring releases will no doubt overshadow many FOTM sets bigtime!

 

[Thieme]

Ugh I also found out that apparently I ordered a wrong cable for my FT1 Pro. I just saw 2x3.5mm and thought "yay that is easy" but Fiio cable is TS instead of TRS that other brands seem to use I just tried googling for Fiio FT1 pro aftermarket cable and no-one seems to be warning people it needs TS plugs, so annoying!
That makes the cable I ordered to be thrown away money as I doubt I can resell it. Almost makes me just want to buy a Hifiman headphone instead... I do wonder how the TS VS TRS plugs are wired and if I can do anything to make it work.

Edit: Fiio's own marketing material made it a bit confusing. At first thought it was TRS VS TRRS but it is TS VS TRS

 

[Ferdinando1968]

I'm watching this series on NF, and this track struck me:

 

[claud W]

Lately i was very positive.
I enjoyed so much iems like shanling ME600, Tangzu Gate, Sound Rhyme SR8 and ISN H60 (after a friend figured out that i have reverse polarity).
All this time the bass was bad on the ISN H60 because those idiots printed "R" on the wrong side of the cable .
Anyway, i got today the Aether and...
They are just ok.
Not bad but also not amazing.
It still early to talk about their sound in details but my first impression is that they sound "normal".
They have "safe" tuning.
Pretty warm with relaxed treble, nice soundstage, a lot of details and decent bass. Nothing that gonna make you jump out of your seat.
Are they one of my best iems? Hahahah .
Not even close.
But at least they are not boring as the CK2V and the Dusk.
So yeah, they do sound better in my opinion than both of them.

So you think the Aethers sound normal? Have you tried breaking in those BIG planers? IMHO you have not heard them yet, 100 to 150 hours of break in advised or sell them tomorrow.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Interesting... funnily enough, my buddy let me borrow his pair so I have them in house as we speak. I have 1 pair of Coreirs that I own, so I'll give those a shot.

Thanks for the tip though, brother.

I also have a pair of Singularities on hand as well. They're... good. But just like my initial impressions at CanJam last year, they don't wow me. The design is a little simplistic as well. I'll be testing more to see if I have any more luck with them.

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Speaking of single DD IEMs, for whatever reason, the OG Olina with a 500 grade mesh filter on the nozzle has been rocking my world lately. I was thinking about selling them off to make room, but I decided to listen to em' for a the first time in over 6 months and holy moly... they're so holographic and natural sounding... I have fallen back in love with them. It's crazy how our ears change over time. Just food for thought, give your IEMs a listen if you haven't taken them for a spin in a while, they might surprise you.

Good gears remain good. Maybe we just got bored of them at some point, or we didn't have good enough DAC or amp back then.

Edit: how the heck are your photos so nice. Do you setup lighting and get your DSLR out for just a snapshot for headfi?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Thanks, I'll hang fire on them methinks. Upcoming Spring releases will no doubt overshadow many FOTM sets bigtime!

@mrsergey's impressions line right up with Paul's, with jaytiss, and with most of the folks who bought them or got them after the initial HOOPLA. Safely tuned, bassy, lacks treble sparkle, large stage, and not the best IEM ever sold. Now if you're a fan of the KE4, the PRX, or the Dusk, then this just might be a bullseye though? If you're into that kind of "vanilla" or inoffensive tuning?

 

[domq422]

Good gears remain good. Maybe we just got bored of them at some point, or we didn't have good enough DAC or amp back then.

Edit: how the heck are your photos so nice. Do you setup lighting and get your DSLR out for just a snapshot for headfi?

True that. Last time I listened to these I didn't have the DC07, the desktop gear I have now or the BTR17 so maybe that's it... I couldn't tell you. I also think that our ears and taste changes as well. Whatever the reason might be, these are clicking with my ears right now. More so than 90% of my other gear, no joke.

Also, you're far too kind, brother, thank you! I have my lights and Z6 on hand at all times lol this morning I had some free time so I decided to create a little. Since I've been doing it so long, the shots and editing don't take too long because I have the vision of what I want already. Still, thanks so much

 

[pk4425]

I'm not surprised. Nothing specific to you. I don't think any set in the "arms race for neutrality" (what a weirdly mixed metaphor) has ever fared very well in this thread, at least not for long. Lots of good reasons why--some objective and some subjective.

Was the Volume S depicted as a neutral set upon release? I honestly can't remember with the feverish pace of Chi-fi IEM releases these days. If so, then I guess Softears succeeded. But the Volume S are not special neutral, especially at $325. They're ordinary neutral. Not boring, as there is some note weight and bass linearity. But not worth the money, at least to me.

Decided to hop on the Hype 2 hype train redux 2025 and I gotta say, y’all weren’t kidding. This thing kills for $150. No brainer. This will be my walkin around set going forward.

Congrats! It's only March, but the Hype 2 is the surprise of 2025 for me. Now I'm wondering how many 1.5- to 2-year-old gems might be out there at basement prices.

So you think the Aethers sound normal? Have you tried breaking in those BIG planers? IMHO you have not heard them yet, 100 to 150 hours of break in advised or sell them tomorrow.

I can MAYBE understand the need for nearly a week's worth of constant playing to break in dynamic drivers because they're a giant membrane. But planars? They're magnets attached to a membrane. How do magnets stretch and conform? They're hard objects.

Maybe it's my old ears, but I've never heard a headphone or IEM that transformed with time. Small improvements? Sure. But turning a pumpkin into a princess? Nope. Never. Not trying to start a crapstorm, Claud, as I know you're a burn-in devotee. Cool, cool. Break-in just never did much for me.

 

[audioaura]

Spending this week with my collection of All-BA IEMs. Will come up with a video soon comparing these beauties.

Letshuoer Mystic8:-
How beautiful can female vocals sound with crisp, neutral tone? As beautiful as the Mystic 8 can bring. Absolutely phenomenal when it comes to female vocals. Bass is a little lean, but very refined and defined. Oh not to mention the beautiful titanium shells.

7th Acoustics Supernova:-
If Mystic8 is the queen of IEMs for female vocals under $1000, I have to call Supernova the king of male vocals. Fuller, rich, musical, is how I would define this beautiful set. Not to mention my unit has this really beautiful White Pearl color face covers.

Ice Labs Prismatica:-
An IEM I loved during my first listen last year in Singapore. Ended up buying it later last year itself. Again a fuller sounding set with a warm profile. Bass so good that it feels like we have a dd hidden somewhere lol.

AFUL Cantor:-
AFUL's flagship has a different charm of its own, high-resolution clarity, a neutral tone, and great micro dynamics.

What All-BA IEMs do I have in my collection hmmmm, I have to go and check hehe.

Sounds like an absolute BA dream team! Mystic8 for angelic vocals, Supernova bringing the deep, rich tones, and Prismatica sneaking in with that DD-like bass—love the variety! Can’t wait for the video. Any surprise favorites so far, or is it too early to pick a champion?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Was the Volume S depicted as a neutral set upon release? I honestly can't remember with the feverish pace of Chi-fi IEM releases these days. If so, then I guess Softears succeeded. But the Volume S are not special neutral, especially at $325. They're ordinary neutral. Not boring, as there is some note weight and bass linearity. But not worth the money, at least to me.

Congrats! It's only March, but the Hype 2 is the surprise of 2025 for me. Now I'm wondering how many 1.5- to 2-year-old gems might be out there at basement prices.

I can MAYBE understand the need for nearly a week's worth of constant playing to break in dynamic drivers because they're a giant membrane. But planars? They're magnets attached to a membrane. How do magnets stretch and conform? They're hard objects.

Maybe it's my old ears, but I've never heard a headphone or IEM that transformed with time. Small improvements? Sure. But turning a pumpkin into a princess? Nope. Never. Not trying to start a crapstorm, Claud, as I know you're a burn-in devotee. Cool, cool. Break-in just never did much for me.

It's also not so much about burn in with the Aether either. I burn in my stuff on the station as they come in, regardless, just to break the drivers in, but no amount of burn in (500 hours? 1000 hours?) is going to change the tuning of the Aether from meta. It's stuck there, because as PW showed, that's just how KE tuned this particular IEM. So if you dig that sorta tuning method (KE4, Mega5EST, KZ PRX, Moondrop Dusk), then the Aether will stroke your audio bone. If not, then no burn in will turn the tide.

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A great synergy cable was right under my nose the whole time for the ISN EBC80!! The Penon Space!! It's been sat on my Tangzu YuXuan Ji for ages, but folks bringing up the Space cable got me thinking, and so I dropped it on the EBC80, and SYNERGY SISTERS!! Super happy with this. Most prominent is the treble peeks about a bit more with the sparkles, and the bass tightens up some. Some. Overall, good combo to try if you have both?