[SoundJedi]

Only graphs I have seen:

That's not too bad. Is it normal that these are so different?

 

[prawdziwysimone]

That's not too bad. Is it normal that these are so different?

These are the same but scale is different

 

[RikudouGoku]

That's not too bad. Is it normal that these are so different?

If you are referring to why those 2 dont look the same, it is due to the scale.

 

[saldsald]

Was looking for a warmer version of the NM2+ (I really like the sound btw), the NA2+ could be a good choice but wanted to try something more different and I don't like the shape of the NF audio shells. So here comes the NiceHCK topguy.



Comes with a copper cable (likely made by XINHS, lol) and adaptors. Some Acuostune tips (or their clones). Fit my ears like gloves (unlike the NM2+)
Sound is very coherent, resolution is definitely lower than the NM2+ but less "exhausting" however lacks a bit of excitement and air. Overall still a rather good set, just a little polite and forgiving. Will do some burn-in, tip rolling, cable rolling later.
Here is the graph:

Is that bass roll-off? hmm...

Wow not bad this is the cable that comes with Lofty and Topguy:

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKIRGUP

 

[baskingshark]

The Mooncake festival is celebrated around Asia during this period, and people like to give mooncakes as gifts. Sometimes the boxes the mooncakes come in are very elaborate.

Today, I received a Mooncake box which has speakers inside, since my relative knew I was into audio stuff!

I was quite excited to test it out, but alas, the sound quality is like 1/5 or less. Missing bass and a banshee shouty treble greets the listener. Like nails scratching on a chalkboard.

Even my wife (who can't tell the difference between a $1.70 USD night market pirated beats earbud versus a $1700 DUNU LUNA) rushed into the room and asked: "Where is that jarring sound coming from! Turn it off immediately!!!"

But I wonder, is there a market for audiophile mooncake boxes? Moondrop mooncakes wanna create something with anime otaku girls festooning the box?

 

[ehjie]

Gather around, folks. I have a tale to tell of Japanese Generosity!

As I already posted a while back. I was quite interested in 634EARS SARN II, and had placed an order. The price was about $160, and even though there are numerous single DD iems at that price range, somehow I was feeling the need of a wooden shell IEM. On top of that, I have this knack of trying to find hidden treasures - these are the two reasons why I felt myself drawn towards 634EARS, even though I had an earlier inkling for the JVC woody iems. But anyway, I digress.

So I hit 634EARS up on instagram, and got talking. Let me tell you - it's a one man company, and he is an extremely nice person to deal with, but, he also does not take crap from anyone! (Loved that about him, by the way.) I read the sound signature of SARN II, and found out it has a bright sound with strong low end. Now, while I am fond of strong low end, and I prefer some amount of brightness, too bright iems makes it fatiguing for me, and I was also concerned about the bright Asian tuning. So I discussed all of these with him, and asked if the brightness of SARN II can be mellowed down. He explained that only 8ite-TS have the warm and mellow sound signature, SARN II is not designed like that. He shared with me a histogram chart of Frequency Response of SARN II, and informed that he can tweak its tuning slightly to reduce upper end attacks a bit as per my request. I decided to go with that. Paid the amount, and then sit tight.

About two weeks later, he shared with me two different histogram charts with the said modifications - one had more reduction in the upper frequencies than the others. He suggested the one with less reduction, I took his advice and confirmed it, and sit tight. He shipped my iems a few days later.

Once I got the package, and I opened it, I found all the mundane items - cables, a very nice hardshell box, 3 sets of eartips - 2 normal silicone, 1 whirlwind, C rings for further tuning, etc. The iems were in a different box, and when I opened it, this is what greeted me:



Folks, there were not one, but TWO PAIRS OF IEMS!! I was completely overwhelmed and surprised and giddy! He decided to gift another pair of IEM just like that!! I never even asked him! What a man!
And then I noticed the writings on the pouches - the stabilised wood one is what I originally requested, and it has the name SARN II written right there. The other one, however, has the name Special written on it. I recognised the housing from his insta page - it was a Granadillo Wood housing. So then, barely able to contain my excitement, I popped the SARN II in my ear. Suffice to say I was completely blown away, but I will continue with my initial impression of SARN II in a later post. Thereafter I tried on the Special, and was surprised to find it rocking a completely different tuning! It was more bassy, with much more fuller midrange, and slightly smoother upper range. Bass was bumped up in quantity. The tuning was different, but still quite good.

Then, I noticed a black thank you note, which, when turned over, revealed this:



Guys...I mean...I can't even...he made this SPECIAL specially for me, trying to match my taste from what little I told him! Later through insta DM he confirmed that he tried to replicate the 8ite-TS sound signature with a PET DD, as that is what I requested at first. I of course could not thank him enough for being so sincere...he is one gem of a person, honestly!

I cannot thank you enough, Masashi Saita. You will have my gratitude forever and always for being so sincere to try to create an entirely new iem for my taste, even though you had no obligation to. Thank you. You have a big heart and I feel so fortunate to have a touch of it in my possession.

'Grats!
Your very thorough queries, generated very favourable results.
Share 'em here as well...
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/japanese-brand-iem-thread.906467/post-16541403

 

[SoundJedi]

If you are referring to why those 2 dont look the same, it is due to the scale.

I've taken a chance on these. Want to sample the Moondrop flavour and a 4.4mm nice cable doesn't hurt.

Still looking for a Variations too.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

I've taken a chance on these. Want to sample the Moondrop flavour and a 4.4mm nice cable doesn't hurt.

Still looking for a Variations too.

TBH that curve is smooth and silky. Moondrop house sound is on the safer side. So unless you want really shiny treble you will like them definitely. Maybe that's why they have added filters this time around as many folks found KXXS too safe/dark.

 

[baskingshark]

TRN's recently released TRN X7 didn't have the best reviews, but it seems the TRN VX Pro is coming soon. Anyone wanna take one for the team?

Personally I didn't like the original TRN VX. I found it a shout fest due to the overly boosted upper mids and treble. Mind you, the TRN VX had good technical performance, but I had to use it with micropore mods or EQ, couldn't tolerate it in stock form for more than 5 minutes. I named the TRN VX "poison ivy" in memory of the "female poison" banshee tuning and VX poison gas moniker.

Hope this VX Pro turns out better, keeping fingers crossed.

 

[dw1narso]

TBH that curve is smooth and silky. Moondrop house sound is on the safer side. So unless you want really shiny treble you will like them definitely. Maybe that's why they have added filters this time around as many folks found KXXS too safe/dark.

actually from the graph, looks like KATO is even darker than KXXS/starfield?... wonder which filter is used on this one...

 

[Dobrescu George]

Feels like a good moment to post a new review about an IEM, this time the high-performance NM2+ from NF Audio宁梵声学 & Shenzhen Aoshida

Great performance, a tight fit, good overall relibality, and good build quality, so you don't have to worry about a thing!

The signature is mostly bassy, with a nice amount of impact and depth, making the NM2+ a great option for those looking for some punch!

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2021/09/nf-audio-nm2-iems-this-time-its-all-metal.html

 

[AudioAw2015]

Gather around, folks. I have a tale to tell of Japanese Generosity!

As I already posted a while back. I was quite interested in 634EARS SARN II, and had placed an order. The price was about $160, and even though there are numerous single DD iems at that price range, somehow I was feeling the need of a wooden shell IEM. On top of that, I have this knack of trying to find hidden treasures - these are the two reasons why I felt myself drawn towards 634EARS, even though I had an earlier inkling for the JVC woody iems. But anyway, I digress.

So I hit 634EARS up on instagram, and got talking. Let me tell you - it's a one man company, and he is an extremely nice person to deal with, but, he also does not take crap from anyone! (Loved that about him, by the way.) I read the sound signature of SARN II, and found out it has a bright sound with strong low end. Now, while I am fond of strong low end, and I prefer some amount of brightness, too bright iems makes it fatiguing for me, and I was also concerned about the bright Asian tuning. So I discussed all of these with him, and asked if the brightness of SARN II can be mellowed down. He explained that only 8ite-TS have the warm and mellow sound signature, SARN II is not designed like that. He shared with me a histogram chart of Frequency Response of SARN II, and informed that he can tweak its tuning slightly to reduce upper end attacks a bit as per my request. I decided to go with that. Paid the amount, and then sit tight.

About two weeks later, he shared with me two different histogram charts with the said modifications - one had more reduction in the upper frequencies than the others. He suggested the one with less reduction, I took his advice and confirmed it, and sit tight. He shipped my iems a few days later.

Once I got the package, and I opened it, I found all the mundane items - cables, a very nice hardshell box, 3 sets of eartips - 2 normal silicone, 1 whirlwind, C rings for further tuning, etc. The iems were in a different box, and when I opened it, this is what greeted me:



Folks, there were not one, but TWO PAIRS OF IEMS!! I was completely overwhelmed and surprised and giddy! He decided to gift another pair of IEM just like that!! I never even asked him! What a man!
And then I noticed the writings on the pouches - the stabilised wood one is what I originally requested, and it has the name SARN II written right there. The other one, however, has the name Special written on it. I recognised the housing from his insta page - it was a Granadillo Wood housing. So then, barely able to contain my excitement, I popped the SARN II in my ear. Suffice to say I was completely blown away, but I will continue with my initial impression of SARN II in a later post. Thereafter I tried on the Special, and was surprised to find it rocking a completely different tuning! It was more bassy, with much more fuller midrange, and slightly smoother upper range. Bass was bumped up in quantity. The tuning was different, but still quite good.

Then, I noticed a black thank you note, which, when turned over, revealed this:



Guys...I mean...I can't even...he made this SPECIAL specially for me, trying to match my taste from what little I told him! Later through insta DM he confirmed that he tried to replicate the 8ite-TS sound signature with a PET DD, as that is what I requested at first. I of course could not thank him enough for being so sincere...he is one gem of a person, honestly!

I cannot thank you enough, Masashi Saita. You will have my gratitude forever and always for being so sincere to try to create an entirely new iem for my taste, even though you had no obligation to. Thank you. You have a big heart and I feel so fortunate to have a touch of it in my possession.

He's definitely a character with passion, and such a generous person as well.

I ordered a pair too, should arrive next week.

BTW, how'd the treble turn out? Is it too much like you imagined?

 

[RemedyMusic]

Gather around, folks. I have a tale to tell of Japanese Generosity!

As I already posted a while back. I was quite interested in 634EARS SARN II, and had placed an order. The price was about $160, and even though there are numerous single DD iems at that price range, somehow I was feeling the need of a wooden shell IEM. On top of that, I have this knack of trying to find hidden treasures - these are the two reasons why I felt myself drawn towards 634EARS, even though I had an earlier inkling for the JVC woody iems. But anyway, I digress.

So I hit 634EARS up on instagram, and got talking. Let me tell you - it's a one man company, and he is an extremely nice person to deal with, but, he also does not take crap from anyone! (Loved that about him, by the way.) I read the sound signature of SARN II, and found out it has a bright sound with strong low end. Now, while I am fond of strong low end, and I prefer some amount of brightness, too bright iems makes it fatiguing for me, and I was also concerned about the bright Asian tuning. So I discussed all of these with him, and asked if the brightness of SARN II can be mellowed down. He explained that only 8ite-TS have the warm and mellow sound signature, SARN II is not designed like that. He shared with me a histogram chart of Frequency Response of SARN II, and informed that he can tweak its tuning slightly to reduce upper end attacks a bit as per my request. I decided to go with that. Paid the amount, and then sit tight.

About two weeks later, he shared with me two different histogram charts with the said modifications - one had more reduction in the upper frequencies than the others. He suggested the one with less reduction, I took his advice and confirmed it, and sit tight. He shipped my iems a few days later.

Once I got the package, and I opened it, I found all the mundane items - cables, a very nice hardshell box, 3 sets of eartips - 2 normal silicone, 1 whirlwind, C rings for further tuning, etc. The iems were in a different box, and when I opened it, this is what greeted me:



Folks, there were not one, but TWO PAIRS OF IEMS!! I was completely overwhelmed and surprised and giddy! He decided to gift another pair of IEM just like that!! I never even asked him! What a man!
And then I noticed the writings on the pouches - the stabilised wood one is what I originally requested, and it has the name SARN II written right there. The other one, however, has the name Special written on it. I recognised the housing from his insta page - it was a Granadillo Wood housing. So then, barely able to contain my excitement, I popped the SARN II in my ear. Suffice to say I was completely blown away, but I will continue with my initial impression of SARN II in a later post. Thereafter I tried on the Special, and was surprised to find it rocking a completely different tuning! It was more bassy, with much more fuller midrange, and slightly smoother upper range. Bass was bumped up in quantity. The tuning was different, but still quite good.

Then, I noticed a black thank you note, which, when turned over, revealed this:



Guys...I mean...I can't even...he made this SPECIAL specially for me, trying to match my taste from what little I told him! Later through insta DM he confirmed that he tried to replicate the 8ite-TS sound signature with a PET DD, as that is what I requested at first. I of course could not thank him enough for being so sincere...he is one gem of a person, honestly!

I cannot thank you enough, Masashi Saita. You will have my gratitude forever and always for being so sincere to try to create an entirely new iem for my taste, even though you had no obligation to. Thank you. You have a big heart and I feel so fortunate to have a touch of it in my possession.

thank u for sharing us your story. He has a big heart indeed. a sincere and genuine man. i will follow him also on the gram to support. and who knows, maybe i can purchase a pair too.

 

[cqtek]

Have the manufacturers gone mad?
Don't you think there is a lot of news?
Well, I'm going to contribute to this madness.

Sounds good, this guy... NiceHCK Topguy.



And this one has a tuning with some surprises... LZ A2 PRO.

 

[Ace Bee]

He's definitely a character with passion, and such a generous person as well.

I ordered a pair too, should arrive next week.

BTW, how'd the treble turn out? Is it too much like you imagined?

I am loving it...I simply cannot put it down!
Regarding treble, yes, on few occassions, in tracks where the highs are energetic and may be a bit sizzling/harsh on occasions, those traits can be detected. But I never had to wince because of that, which happened before poorly tuned set.
Also, the stock cable is crap, and the tips are ok. It's clear that the complete effort has gone to the development of the iems, and accessories have been kept at a bare minimum to make the most of it. Put on a better cable and a better pair of tips, and they truly sing! This is my setup:

Cema Electroacousti RS cable 2.5 mm balanced + 2pin to mmcx converter + ePro Horn eartips. The cable adds more body and warmth, the eartips reduce treble edginess while retaining the wide stage, and the end result is spectacular to say the least! I am not saying anything more as a full impression post will follow soon, along with a review.

thank u for sharing us your story. He has a big heart indeed. a sincere and genuine man. i will follow him also on the gram to support. and who knows, maybe i can purchase a pair too.

Please do, throw in a good pair of cable, and you will be surprised to say the least! In fact, I am so happy with the sound, I am now positively considering the OBER-SS ($525), as he confirmed that is a true upgrade over the SARN II. However, my heart is also swaying for a used M9 (SGD750), so I am not sure at then end which bullet I'll bite, or if I'll bite at all, or rather choose to wait for something else. Everything is undecided now, but I am sure that if I suddenly got around USD600 from somewhere or someone asa gift, I will place an order for OBER-SS eyes closed!