The discovery thread!

[Otto Motor]

We have to personally experience qualties. Yes the graph is representative and means something, but you can't listen to a graph. The qualities, very many people will comment on, and they are based on the experiential. I thank you for the review, but I need to get my personal qualitative impressions and then 'listen', to the consensus.....but thank you for being a first user and reporting your views.

Sure, but looking at MANY informed opinions is cheaper than forking out $40 ...and this over and over again. I was lucky enough to get my units from Moondrop free of charge...in exchange of many hours of video production and review writing...and LISTENING. Interested to see whether you will find out the same.

Now on to the KBEAR Believe, a $159 single DD with a pure beryllium diaphragm....imported form Japan...and expensive...and difficult to implement. Very stiff material, the beta sounded like a lawnmower...driver speed way to fast. Anxious to try it out.

Only the Dunu Luna and the Final Audio A8000 sport pure beryllium divers.

 

[RikudouGoku]

Sure, but looking at MANY informed opinions is cheaper than forking out $40 ...and this over and over again. I was lucky enough to get my units from Moondrop free of charge...in exchange of many hours of video production and review writing...and LISTENING. Interested to see whether you will find out the same.

Now on to the KBEAR Believe, a $159 single DD with a pure beryllium diaphragm....imported form Japan...and expensive...and difficult to implement. Very stiff material, the beta sounded like a lawnmower...driver speed way to fast. Anxious to try it out.

Only the Dunu Luna and the Final Audio A8000 sport pure beryllium divers.

Dont forget about the Periodic Audio BE!
It sounds.....like crap...yeah forget about it lol.

 

[dharmasteve]

Sure, but looking at MANY informed opinions is cheaper than forking out $40 ...and this over and over again. I was lucky enough to get my units from Moondrop free of charge...in exchange of many hours of video production and review writing...and LISTENING. Interested to see whether you will find out the same.

Now on to the KBEAR Believe, a $159 single DD with a pure beryllium diaphragm....imported form Japan...and expensive...and difficult to implement. Very stiff material, the beta sounded like a lawnmower...driver speed way to fast. Anxious to try it out.

Only the Dunu Luna and the Final Audio A8000 sport pure beryllium divers.

I agree Otto... many viewpoints. On the Moondrop thread many did not notice the peak on the SSR. Some thought it was a really really good IEM some did not like the peaks. Those that hear the peaks are telling the truth, those that don't hear the peaks are telling the truth.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

All of this Moondrop talk made me reminiscent of the Crescent; I threw them in the drawer of regret, after only a couple of days. I didn’t find the playback to be good enough, to overcome the annoying, cable harmonics.

At the time, I was new to IEMs and was only connecting directly to my Note 4. In your review (of the Crescents) I noted, “hard to drive”; I’ll have to give them another shot, on my Qudelix-5k.

The Crescents are indeed hard to drive, but on a good quality DAP/AMP, they deliver some really quality sound with excellent soundstage.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

The Hiby R2 and LZ A7 are not friends.

 

[Otto Motor]

I agree Otto... many viewpoints. On the Moondrop thread many did not notice the peak on the SSR. Some thought it was a really really good IEM some did not like the peaks. Those that hear the peaks are telling the truth, those that don't hear the peaks are telling the truth.

That's interesting...in my SSR review I cited all the "hot shots" in this respect...

And while I fully agree that a graph has limited to no value of actual sound quality (timbre, dynamics, soundstage, driver speed..., but on quantity only), certain peaks can be a warning sign: too much is too much. For example, I would be inclined to give the earphone in the below graph a pass without lining up too long for a listening experience. And surely, different strokes for different folks, that's why a reviewer should write for all preferences and not just for their own.

And there is also that aforemented Fletcher Munson curve that creates different perceptions at different volumes.

Last but not least, sound perception relies a lot on mood, too, imo.

P.S. Typo in the red section has been corrected in the meantime.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

i've gone back to my Hiby R5. The Hiby R2 was purchased for outdoor use and working out anyways, so it's loaded with music and ready for that type of use, but the R5 is so superior soundwise and plays so much nicer with the LZ A7, it was nice coming back to it. My ears are very happy.

 

[Turbulance]

I have just received my new Smabat Black Bat IEMs.

I thought I would share my unboxing with the group.

The IEMs are extremely comfortable and fit firmly in my ears. I doubt they would fall out. They have a single dynamic driver but with some form of graphene coating. The IEMs also have an acoustic tunnel. I gather this is similar to the ST-10 earbuds.

Whatever Smabat is doing here I can say they done an excellent job because I was instantly impressed with the sound. I’ll wait for others to review these IEMs but I think Smabat have a winner with these Black Bats. I’ll just add that they have far exceeded my expectations, especially considering their price.

Other than the IEMs the only other accessories supplied are a set tips (small and large, the medium tips are factory fitted on the IEMs) and a very nice cable. There isn’t anything else in the box, not even a QC certificate.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

So are the Black Bat's the new budget basshead kings? from the reviews and comments, it sure sounds like it is.

 

[audio123]

Going to wrap up the full review of NF NM2+ soon. Love its vivid sound. One of my top IEM recommendations in 2020.

 

[Cheaplad]

@Cheaplad How's that 3DT?

I would rather give it more time to burn-in. But allow me talk about some initial thoughts:

- The transparency is very good;
- It is with a rather balanced tuning with a slight emphasis on the high. I like how it handles female vocals and as well as cymbal sounds;
- On the other hand (end), it is not bassy at all. The bass is detailed but the extension of sub-bass is just wanting. I hope the burn-in would make it better later on;
- The fit is to me perfect. I actually couldn’t hear much from the outside world when I rode the tube;
- It is not easy to drive. Using high gain on my Cayin N3Pro tube UL mode is a good choice;
- It is cable-dependent, or, in other words, the cable choice would change the sound in a more discernible way;
- The stock cable is called “just forget about it” - the soundstage is rather narrow with the stock cable;
- Using my ALO SXC-8 cable, the soundstage has widen quite a bit;
- The metal nozzles are too short which could not hold the Final Type-E tips;
- the look is unbelievably gorgeous!

Suitable for violin / female vocals / drum and bass music.

 

[RikudouGoku]

Got my Koss KSC75, awesome sound and they are very comfortable (barely feel them). I am just 16 years too late in discovering them lol.


Also went and ordered my last purchase of 2020 (hopefully....):

Sony XBA-N3
Sony MDR-1AM2



So I got these coming:

Yincrow RW-9
Blon Bl-01
Tri Through (6x)
Toneking Dendroaspis Viridis
Shuoer Tape Pro
Sony XBA-N3
Sony MDR-1AM2

 

[povidlo]

Got my Koss KSC75, awesome sound and they are very comfortable (barely feel them). I am just 16 years too late in discovering them lol.


Also went and ordered my last purchase of 2020 (hopefully....):

Sony XBA-N3
Sony MDR-1AM2



So I got these coming:

Yincrow RW-9
Blon Bl-01
Tri Through (6x)
Toneking Dendroaspis Viridis
Shuoer Tape Pro
Sony XBA-N3
Sony MDR-1AM2

Improve your KSC75 with plushy Yaxi pads (PortaPro version). Makes them even comfier, plus beefs up the low end a little too!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B073GD4J8T/

 

[RikudouGoku]

Improve your KSC75 with plushy Yaxi pads (PortaPro version). Makes them even comfier, plus beefs up the low end a little too!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B073GD4J8T/

Yeah I heard about those pads, I might order them next time I get something from amazon because shipping is quite expensive for them.
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Yaxi-Earpads-Koss-Porta-Orange/dp/B073GD4J8T

 

[unifutomaki]

I might have just ordered a pair of Sony MDR-EX300APs off the local informal marketplace, and am now looking at scoring a new old stock SBH-24 Bluetooth receiver for the sole purpose of grabbing the included MH755s off of it. All for the sake of comparison with the CCA woodies once they show up, or at least that's the story I'm going with