[Zerstorer_GOhren]

Got mine an hour ago, Surprisingly this is an easy to drive, love the neutral-warmish smooth tuning overall. Using the treble filter vent.

 

[InvisibleInk]

A tale of new Fiios.
It seems Fiio has saved their best stuff for last. This year they have released a few surprises but I think the biggest surprise for me anyway is just how much better tuned their new stuff is. I can tell they have learned a thing or two from previous efforts and improved on all of it with their newer designs. Top stuff in the FD7 beryllum dynamic. Top stuff in the FH9 shown here. And top stuff from their all new FA7S.

FA7S was my weekend review post https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fa7s.25563/reviews#review-27327

Break down on the 3 Fiios I mentioned is like this.
FA7S has 6 Knowles BAs and have one of the best-balanced tunings I have heard from any Fiio. It is as close to a neutrally tuned Fiio as it will get. But with very good extension and balancing on both ends of sound. Bass has zero roll off and treble is extended well.- Bass is legit better than my Zeus believe it or not and so is the treble. Mids are detailed and very natural sounding. The FA7S is for treble and mids fans as the bass end has moderate emphasis but is a good solid bass end none the less. These easily complete with the likes of the Tansio Mirai TSMR-6 or even the Dunu SA6. It is playing at that sound level but cost less.

FD7s are one of the best pure Beryllium dynamic earphones that are Fiios natural timbre king. Outstanding speed and definition of pure Beryllium and is one of the best imaging single dynamic earphones I have heard. It is easily one of their absolute best efforts for sound. Dynamic fans will love these things. The tuning is a balanced V but with a flagship level of imaging with an organic tonal character and top of the line timbre for vocals and instruments. These things on my DX300Max just sings like no other.

New FH9 shown above. I have been burning them in. For folks that always wanted a top-level UM earphone like the MEST or Sonys IER Z1R but those are a bit out of reach price wise. I present to you The FH9 which is playing at that level in sonics. It is got a big brawny sound to it. Once again balanced well but this time around it has a full bored sound. Thick full notes. Great height and depth with excellent stage. All 3 phones mentioned here got great stage but the FH9 is got a bit of extra in how beefy the sound is. It is Fun immersive tuning with a very high level of technicalities. It is using a 13.6mm 2nd gen DLC dynamic that pushes a lot of air. Bass is absolutely fantastic on these. Best Fiio bass to date imo. Their bass caps on it are full on party mode. Mids are thick like the bass. Treble is shimmery and detailed. Its scale of sound is very similar to the much more pricier phones mentioned. This is one hybrid to keep a watch on. It is going to surprise a lot of folks that own much more expensive offerings.

Fiio seems to have been working on earphones for a while, their FH9 for the past 2 years supposedly. These folks been improving their game and these are the end results. If you had any doubts. Fiio is a legit player in the earphone game and this year has been a coming out party for them. They had some good offerings in the past but with these newer offerings. These guys are going for the best value in the industry. It is like. "Thats your stuff? How's about we do the same thing but better for half the price." Lol. I can't imagine what these guys are gals are going to introduce next. I have a good idea but just know they seem to keep a keen eye on earphone trends and sooner or later will bring out their version that give you a true value for the given earphone.

Could a state-of-the-art tri or quad brid be next? That wouldn't surprise me.

I wish the FA7S had a shell like the FH9. Shells like this remind me of my painful experience with the Dunu Zen. I loved the sound, but the shell inflicted too much pain for me.

 

[RCracer777]

My first 11.11 care package just came in.

9 pairs of KZ Starlines M and 1 of the 6 IEMs that I ordered, The Whizzer Kylin HE01B.

Gotta say though the HE01B has the best unboxing experience of a sub €100,- IEM I've ever had.

When opening the box two things went through my mind; These look like gemstones and they are a lot smaller than I expected.
The build quality of the IEMs and the cable are also beyond what I expected at this price.
I've gotta say I'm impressed so far.

Now excuse me while I try and find out if the sound quality matches the build quality

 

[Dobrescu George]

I'm really delighted to report that even without me sharing the review too much, it still reached many of you, because some TWS IEMs are always welcome, and NUARL N10 Plus are comfy, sound good, and pocket-friendly~

If you have questions, I'm always around, and please look forward to the coming days / weeks, I have many more really interesting reviews to share!!

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2021/11/nuarl-n10-plus-tws-iems-press-forward-attack-force.html

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Come on, people! Why has the Dunu EST 112 gone under the radar so? These have been talked about as the best Dunu. Of all the Dunu I've owned, these are by far the best. While I must admit, OOTB I wasn't enamored, and I've started to dial back making comments too soon OOTB, these are just so much fun to listen to. I think it's the resolution + bass speed + imaging that gives me such pleasure. Now if only the edges were a little bit smoother (what?! me saying that?!), maybe dialing back the edges of the upper mids/treble, and just a little more air. Just some more air in the damn EST's, then these to me would be endgame. Regardless, I love the DUNU EST 112, and it's kept me from pulling the trigger on anything new lately.

As an aside, for those who want an EST (magnetostat) that's 80% of the performance of the EST 112 at nominal cost and crazy price/performance ratio, then the CCA NRA would be that IEM. Now this comes with the need to change out the stock cable to pure silver, and replacing the stock tips (I use JVC Spiral Dot ++), and you get awesome resolution + bass speed + imaging + detail retrieval for $20.00. About 80% of the perfomance. Is the bass as resolving? No. Are the details clearer? No. Is the stage as wide? No. But imaging is incredible, treble is airy and not peaky or sharp, and resolution is pretty great for an el cheapo. It's not quite there as far as clear performance, but again, for about $400 less, it's not too far off, so as an everyday beater pair, you can't go wrong. I'm looking forward to seeing if CCA comes out with an improved Pro version?

 

[saldsald]

My first 11.11 care package just came in.

9 pairs of KZ Starlines M and 1 of the 6 IEMs that I ordered, The Whizzer Kylin HE01B.

Gotta say though the HE01B has the best unboxing experience of a sub €100,- IEM I've ever had.

When opening the box two things went through my mind; These look like gemstones and they are a lot smaller than I expected.
The build quality of the IEMs and the cable are also beyond what I expected at this price.
I've gotta say I'm impressed so far.

Now excuse me while I try and find out if the sound quality matches the build quality

How much was it during 11.11? Looks really nice!

 

[bryaudioreviews]

KZ ZEX / TRN VX Pro / Cat Ear HITAM / Smabat Proto 1.0 - Unboxing and First Look​

Just received a few new IEMs. Here are my first impressions:

KZ Zex - $22usd, 1DD+1EST. Fun sounding. Thick punchy boomy bass, splashy thin treble. Coherency isn't the best (very noticeable separation from the DD and "EST" driver), timbre isn't the best, and technicalities are below-average. I also doubt that the "EST" driver used is real. Nonetheless, I find it fun-sounding and enjoyable for Hip Hop.

CatEar HITAM - $25usd, 1DD. Quite bad. lo-fi, boomy, hazy... eww. Left unit has driver flex. Packaging and accessories are cute though.

TRN VX Pro - $88usd, 1DD+8BA. V-shaped sound signature. Full-bodied punchy bass, forward intimate vocals, energetic treble, decent soundstage width, above-average technicalities (for the price). Not bad for $80usd. However, bass is slightly slow and bleeds into the mids, treble can come off as sharp and splashy, BA timbre, incoherencies between drivers.

VX Pro review done! Link to review here - https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/trn-vx-pro-1dd-8bas.25493/review/27336/

Smabat Proto 1.0 - $88usd, modular 1DD. I am a MASSIVE fan of this. Interchangeable bass filter, interchangeable nozzle filter, interchangeable drivers. This IEM is FULLY Modular and you can customize it to your liking. With one driver, you get a total of 6 different sound configurations. I have a total of 2 different drivers here so it means that I get a whopping 12 different sound configurations. For $88usd (+$15usd for another driver), IMO this is a major steal. No matter what your sound preferences are, you will be able to find a configuration that suits your taste and needs. A separate post for Smabat Proto 1.0 will be made to showcase the different filters and driver configurations.


Frequency Response graphs for all 4 IEMs are shown below. If you have any questions regarding any of these IEMs, feel free to let me know and I'll get back to you asap.

Full reviews for all 4 IEMs will be out soon. Stay tuned.

​

VX Pro review done!

Overall, not bad for the price, but nothing mind-blowing or interesting. stock accessories are pretty bad for the price.

Link to review here - https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/trn-vx-pro-1dd-8bas.25493/review/27336/

 

[r31ya]

Crin just update his ranking database,
If you guys interested how recent iems, ranks in his database, you could find it in the database or this post.

https://crinacle.com/2021/11/23/the-almost-thousand-update/
https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/

To note, Crin like clean harman sound, dislike bass cannon or the like. He ranks on bell curve. so either above average, average, or below average with most "average decent" iem gonna lumped in C.

 

[RCracer777]

How much was it during 11.11? Looks really nice!

The pre 11.11 price was €93,- and during 11.11 with the discounts I got it down to €75,-. Seems like a lot for a HE01 but this is with 21% taxes so it's not too bad, still better than full price.

On a side note the sound quality is living up to the build quality. But the separation and layering are ok at best.

 

[kmmbd]

With the recent purchase of the Final A3000, Now I've listened to Final's entire A series: A8000, A4000, A3000. If I had to rank them:

bang for buck: A3000 > A4000 > A8000
Resolution: A8000 >> A4000 > A3000
Bass: A8000 >> A3000 > A4000
Mids: A8000 > A3000 > A4000
Treble: A8000 >> A4000 > A3000
Imaging: A8000 >> A4000 > A3000
Staging: A8000 == A4000 > A3000
Layering: A8000 > A4000 > A3000
Separation: A8000 >> A4000 > A3000
Dynamics: A8000 > A3000 >A4000

So yeah, A8000 is the best which is hardly a surprise since it costs $2000, nearly a 20x price premium over the other two. But the surprising thing is that the A4000 has similar staging to the A8000. I didn't do a thorough A/B testing but stage height/width is similar on both, A8000 has slightly better depth but overall it's a tie in most songs.

Among all three models I find the A3000 to be the best value for money. A4000 is highly technical but can get fatiguing for those who can't handle treble (I personally can't). A3000 treads the "treble" line better, whereas the A8000 is not as perfect as a $2000 flagship needs to be.

(Images: 1. A3000, 2. A4000, 3. A8000)

 

[baskingshark]

the A8000 is not as perfect as a $2000 flagship needs to be.

Agreed. The A8000 is the most technical and resolving single DD I have tried so far, but it needs amping to scale. But the dealbreaker for me is the 5 - 6 kHz area has some spike that can cause fatigue.

 

[saldsald]

The pre 11.11 price was €93,- and during 11.11 with the discounts I got it down to €75,-. Seems like a lot for a HE01 but this is with 21% taxes so it's not too bad, still better than full price.

On a side note the sound quality is living up to the build quality. But the separation and layering are ok at best.

That's quite a lot of taxes, oops....

Have you tried other cables with it?

 

[r31ya]

That's quite a lot of taxes, oops....

Have you tried other cables with it?

In my place, the tax now is at 17.5%.
New Finance minister change the old rule where we used to be able to import goods under $50 without tax, now the rule only applies for good under $3

 

[unifutomaki]

With the recent purchase of the Final A3000, Now I've listened to Final's entire A series: A8000, A4000, A3000. If I had to rank them:

bang for buck: A3000 > A4000 > A8000
Resolution: A8000 >> A4000 > A3000
Bass: A8000 >> A3000 > A4000
Mids: A8000 > A3000 > A4000
Treble: A8000 >> A4000 > A3000
Imaging: A8000 >> A4000 > A3000
Staging: A8000 == A4000 > A3000
Layering: A8000 > A4000 > A3000
Separation: A8000 >> A4000 > A3000
Dynamics: A8000 > A3000 >A4000

So yeah, A8000 is the best which is hardly a surprise since it costs $2000, nearly a 20x price premium over the other two. But the surprising thing is that the A4000 has similar staging to the A8000. I didn't do a thorough A/B testing but stage height/width is similar on both, A8000 has slightly better depth but overall it's a tie in most songs.

Among all three models I find the A3000 to be the best value for money. A4000 is highly technical but can get fatiguing for those who can't handle treble (I personally can't). A3000 treads the "treble" line better, whereas the A8000 is not as perfect as a $2000 flagship needs to be.

(Images: 1. A3000, 2. A4000, 3. A8000)

I was faced with a choice between the A3000 and A4000, and given your impressions I’m happy with what I opted for! With basically USD 30 separating the two when I ordered mine, the fact that the A4000 is as good as it is in terms of single DD technicalities for the price makes it the one to own for me. It helps that I like the treble presentation of the A4000 as well, and the Questyle M12 has really opened it up even further

 

[kmmbd]

Time for Timeless!