The discovery thread!
Jul 27, 2019 at 1:41 AM Post #43,021 of 131,432
Yes they both are:ksc75smile: That's why I have both:beyersmile:

Been away a bit and see the NX7 is a hit all around? I’m gonna grab T800 and NX7 when cash is available!
Are these two good choices?
I’m on the fence with these...?
Thanks

Off topic: some guy called me “pops” today... lol I’m still
 
Jul 27, 2019 at 1:42 AM Post #43,022 of 131,432
Jul 27, 2019 at 7:27 PM Post #43,023 of 131,432
Ended up buying a pack of those "Horn Shaped" tips. Just got them today. The stem is on the smaller side but it's somewhat thin and flexible so it fits bigger nozzles with ease, got a pair on my MD Crescents now. Due to the thinner silicone it's dang comfy.
 
Jul 27, 2019 at 10:55 PM Post #43,024 of 131,432
Well, that's only half true, because the price range of the current mid-fi gear occupies the range where the summit-fi was 10 years ago. Also, now the price disparity between the different segments is greater than ever. What used to be something like: entry-level at sub-$50, lower mid-fi at $50-150, upper mid-fi at $150-250 and TOTL at $250-500 has turned into something like: entry-level at sub-$100, lower mid-fi at $100-400, upper mid-fi at $400-800, lower high-end at $800-1200 and TOTL at $1200-5000.

As someone who has heard a lot of the TOTL gear from before - sennheiser ie8, shure se535, etymotic er4s, westone 4, ath ck10, etc. I can only half agree with the statement that the mid-fi iems of today sound better than all of the top-tier iems of yesteryear. It's definitely not just the tone - detail monsters like the ety er4s and the ath ck10 (and most TWFK-based iems of before) are still detail monsters. Yeah, with the evolution of hybrid designs and BA drivers some of the newer iems might have better low-end or bigger soundstage, better layering, etc. on top of the good details, for instance like the flc8 introduced a marriage between a TWFK and a dynamic driver for the bass.

For me the chi-fi divers used in most of the mid-fi stuff nowadays still can't touch a single TWFK in performance and that's the issue - now we have manufacturers using 6,8,10... 42 drivers trying to win the numbers game while in reality there are far superior 2-3 driver iems out there. In fact, I still stand by my opinion that the closest to an upgrade to something with a TWFK like a brainwavz b2 or ath c10 I've heard is the Noble 4 (now Savanna) and that's a $500 iem, so I wouldn't go as far as saying that all of the current mid-fi stuff (if we're talking $100-250 iems) is better than the old flagships. Some of them are, but mainly because even back there there was stuff like the sennheiser and shure products trying to pass for flagships and being way too overpriced for what they were. With, that said, we do have more versatile iems now and we can get something with good details and good bass for less money - it might not excel in detail retrieval as an ety er4s, but it will have better low-end and pretty good details for cheaper.

The main segment that has really changed is the entry level. Before, there wasn't much choice and there weren't many good sub-$50 iems, but with the progress of chi-fi now we have cheap stuff that is blurring the line between entry- and mid-fi. Also, due to the insane competition more expensive top performers in the mid-fi range of yesterday like gr07, re400, dunu titan 1, etc. can be found at half (and even less) of what they used to sell for.

The times are surely crazy, but I urge people to try to not jump on every hype train and if possible to wait for someone with more experience to chime in before jumping on. It just seems that there are way too many people who don't have proper point of reference when they are recommending the new giantslaying stuff and then a month later comes along the yet another giant slayer and the cycle continues. This advice is especially aimed at people who don't have spare money to burn for monthly experiments. If you only have $50, $100 or whatever amount of money to buy a new product and don't intend to spend such an amount on monthly or even weekly basis, then do your research and get something tried and proven rather than being swayed by the current hype train, which will never return once leaving the station.
It is how you use the driver

I make some iem myself

I agree with TWFK post.
Actually I can make way better with single driver(RAB32033) compared to TWFK

And sometimes I love to go 8 drivers to 22 drivers project. In the end, a person should know why he took so many driver at the first place and he will make a good iem.

For 8 drivers I use 4 way crossover, tube phase correction and lot of stuff

For my 22 drivers
I used 2x CI
And TWFK 30017 x5
And TWFK 23991 x5

All the FK in parallel and WBFK in parallel, then used a 20ohms resistor on FK( 10 parallel FK) and 10ohms resistor on WBFK( 10 parallel WBFK)

And use a 3 way crossover.
2xCI - low
10xFK(5 high impedance, 5 low impedance) - mids
10xWBFK(5high impedance, 5 low impedance) - high

Adding resistor to the FK and WBFK leads to impedance same as orignal TWFK30017(the most famous TWFK), so crossing becomes easier and it shoots down the noise and distortion.

Here I am reducing the distortion and sharing load per driver by increasing driver count.


And I think CTZ 42BA is also doing same as so much smooth FR is not possible if crossover is over done.

Just sharing
 
Jul 27, 2019 at 11:08 PM Post #43,025 of 131,432
I don't know if these guys were expecting a 1K build on a $65 earphone but all 3 of my samples came out perfect. I have no issues with any of them..

I said 3 cuz this just came in the mail

This pic is so fresh I just took it out of my camera to load up on here. Popped that box open. The question is. Does burn in really matter?

Using the same stock cable to keep parameters the same. 2 pairs of NX7. One with roughly 300 hours plus of use and burn in the other. So fresh out of the box don't know if anyone has heard this except the people that are making sure left and right match up.

Using a splitter out of my Shanling M5s. .Out of the box. The treble sounds brittle and mids thinner than my well used NX7. Overall tone is more brighter the mids slightly compressed sounding. But I can most definitely tell they are the same earphones. .
My pair. .Fuller smoother mid range is the biggest difference the bass end seems more tactile agile and slightly fuller as well. Treble seems a touch smoother. The biggest difference for certain was the mid range.

Then I took it one step further. I threw on my silver cable. Better precision and overall even better coherency. More of a result of balanced than single ended but sounds more wider deeper and sounds superb.

Camping for your NX7 review
 
Jul 28, 2019 at 12:31 AM Post #43,026 of 131,432
the MD Crescents have some amazing timbre. Listening to Phil Collins greatest hits, and the horns, drums, and guitars are presented with such beautiful tone and precision. Love the pings from percussion. Sweet extension and resolution.
 
Jul 29, 2019 at 3:08 AM Post #43,027 of 131,432
I predict that this thir will be a discovery for many people the next few months:

20190728_204540.jpg
20190728_201942.jpg


This little fella is definitely no slouch either but uses a more common design with a amplifier stage compared to the DA that's a power dac without a amplifier stage:

20190728_205151.jpg
 
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Jul 29, 2019 at 3:30 AM Post #43,028 of 131,432
Looks interesting, @peter123 - I know you are a connoisseur of portable DACs, soso wh sort of level of it playing at?

Speaking of discoveries, tried the first properly "affordable" model from oBravo at Canjam London yesterday. It's called the Cupid, and is an 8mm planar / 6mm DD hybrid in a small form factor Westone style coffee bean shaped shell. Of all the gear I tried, I only bought two things, and this was one of them.

It's an unusual tuning - LOTS of bass, and a dark and warm sort of sound, but the treble speed and extension is insanely capable for something at £250. It reminds me if a more technically adept take on some of the bassier Aurisonics models from years past - good stage size, musical as hell but with a good treble capability to cut through the warmth.

Definitely worth checking out if you have a chance. The shells are very pretty too - solid brass with some electroplated/polished coating. (Ignore the case - that's one of the new Empire Ears puck cases In using to cart them around). Obravo have had a bit of a bad rep for stupidly priced higher end models (tried a few, and they were OK, but nowhere near good enough to justify the sort of prices they are charging), but this is a strong entry in the sub $500 market that seems to be emerging with the various manufacturers now.

1564384966330..jpg
 
Jul 29, 2019 at 4:24 AM Post #43,029 of 131,432
@Jackpot77
I just came home from two weeks watching my daughter play football in Sweden and Denmark so I've only used it for a couple of hours and haven't even opened the eq software yet. Needless to say I need a lot more time to make some valuable conclusions BUT first impressions are extremely positive. It's very powerful and I wouldn't recommend to use it with IEM's really. As already mentioned the HD800S and HE560 sounds amazing with it. Once again, these are just very early impressions much more to come later.
 
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Jul 29, 2019 at 6:10 AM Post #43,030 of 131,432
I received the E1DA Powerdac V2 a few days ago and could only run it from my PC, sounds really good with my HiFiMan He400i. I'm wating for some usb adapters so I can try it with my Phone and daps. The HP Toy software is a joy to use and connects to the Powerdac V2 very easily.
 
Jul 29, 2019 at 6:45 AM Post #43,031 of 131,432
I received the E1DA Powerdac V2 a few days ago and could only run it from my PC, sounds really good with my HiFiMan He400i. I'm wating for some usb adapters so I can try it with my Phone and daps. The HP Toy software is a joy to use and connects to the Powerdac V2 very easily.
I'm considering buying the PowerDAC V2....what usb adapters are you ordering...micro usb & usb-C ??
 
Jul 29, 2019 at 9:48 AM Post #43,032 of 131,432
Jul 29, 2019 at 1:20 PM Post #43,033 of 131,432
The Powerdac V2 is not up for sale yet. https://e1dashz.wixsite.com/index/

Box:



Open Box



USB connection:




Adapter I bought (USB B to USB A female, allowing a USB C cable to be used)




Both E1DA dac/amps
Thanks for the info/pics....I’ll order a USB-A>B adaptor!....I’ve emailed E1DA regarding the V2, it appears that it only has a balanced i.e. no SE stage - their site suggests that the unit will be sold soon via Ali Express...btw how did you order yours?
 
Jul 29, 2019 at 1:29 PM Post #43,034 of 131,432
Thanks for the info/pics....I’ll order a USB-A>B adaptor!....I’ve emailed E1DA regarding the V2, it appears that it only has a balanced i.e. no SE stage - their site suggests that the unit will be sold soon via Ali Express...btw how did you order yours?
I was lucky enough to be sent a pre production sample so that I could evaluate and give feedback before the final run
 

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