[ian91]

The mid bass and upper bass from the DD wont be tight like planar bass, they have control and speed like BA so i prefer mid and upper bass handled by planar, the DD just push the air on 40hz below together with planar bass sound (this is what i wish perfection from my Z1R, little bit perfection tightness on mid and upper bass like my modded timeless, well the Z1R already close to perfection, just me being nitpicking b4st4rd)

A good DD (imo) can still be tight and quick in the bass. The Penon Vortex (DLC driver) is a very good example. It's texturing is retained all the way down to the deepest notes on instruments.

 

[DynamicEars]

A good DD (imo) can still be tight and quick in the bass. The Penon Vortex (DLC driver) is a very good example. It's texturing is retained all the way down to the deepest notes on instruments.

Ive dedicated my life to search the best bass IEM, i said just nitpicking since the Z1R is maybe one of the best bass that tight and quick and impactful, above the DLC driver. But the planar bass is better than BA bass (like mixing of BA bass and DD bass, speed and control like BA but have half impact like DD, note : not quite impactful like great DD).
The original timeless is over dampered, lost the air and too blunted and bloated.

Few days back I got chance to pick XBA-Z5 but turns out to be a lemon with 1 BA died on right unit. But i learned new thing, that the Z5 big bass actually not handled by the giant 16mm DD only.
Its handled by all range BA from 20hz up and tuned big on bass, while the 16mm DD that similar to the EX1000 is tuned similarly with EX1000 and EX800st, so the giant DD is low on quantity just to give more air feeling together with BA bass that have good control on mid and upper bass (although the Z5 BA is still old type ones, not open BA like in IER M7 / M9 or similar like TIA BA system in 64audio line ups).
Pretty deceiving right?

From there, I was thinking if we got great planar driver then back up by great giant DD, that will be awesome.

 

[jant71]

https://www-aiuto--jp-co-jp.transla...48.php?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US
https://www-aiuto--jp-co-jp.transla...92.php?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US

Looks pretty cool. I know some will gufaw at a fixed cable in 2022 but it is around $100 and stills looks like a nice concept.

 

[baskingshark]

https://www-aiuto--jp-co-jp.transla...48.php?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US
https://www-aiuto--jp-co-jp.transla...92.php?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US

Looks pretty cool. I know some will gufaw at a fixed cable in 2022 but it is around $100 and stills looks like a nice concept.

This is a Japanese brand? I did speak to a Japanese IEM rep before, and he said quite a number of their local Japanese made IEMs feature non-detachable cables, as their local market are not particular about detachable cables, and they tend to take care of their IEMs very well.

Though on the flip side, in this day and age, $100 for a fixed cable IEM in 2022 is a deal breaker for some, the cable in the picture here looks quite thin too. It is not just a matter of durability though (cables may be the first to die), as some folks may want a detachable IEM simply to use aftermarket/balanced cables or even BT adapters.

 

[unifutomaki]

https://www-aiuto--jp-co-jp.transla...48.php?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US
https://www-aiuto--jp-co-jp.transla...92.php?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US

Looks pretty cool. I know some will gufaw at a fixed cable in 2022 but it is around $100 and stills looks like a nice concept.

Looks like they’ve adapted inTime’s DD+piezo driver tech in this model. Seems legit, made in Japan, maybe worth looking into

From my experience with the Sora and now the Sora 2, the stuff about the VST and what it does isn’t just marketing nonsense either. I would class the Sora 2 as being a marked step above my (slightly more expensive) single-DD RS1 in terms of treble clarity and definition. Yet the overall timbre remains extremely coherent to the point where you might not even realise there’s a piezo in there alongside the DD. Nothing like Chi-fi hissy piezo sound at all.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

This one does make me excited, I absolutely love my Heart Mirror. I already know I won't wait for the reviews and get one when they become available.

Actually had a scare with my Heart Mirror yesterday. Got out of my car at work and was running a little late so I rushed a little, leash of my bag got stuck so that didn't help. When I sat down at my desk I took the HM which was hanging around my neck off and the left one was missing. Had a mini heart attack, just put a KBEAR Limpid pro balanced cable on it the previous night and was looking forward to listening to it.

Hoping it was in the car and not somewhere on the street back home, during a short coffee break went an searched my car and didn't find in or around it. Got even more depressed than I already was. During lunch I decided to search the car again and finally found it in the rails of the seat when my break was almost over. Needless to say that I was relieved to have it back.

I've had this happen, and it's such a relief when you find it, because there were times when I didn't find it and I held to that depression.

 

[freelancr]

Follow up on the Cat Ears. I stopped the burn an hour ago because it simply doesn't change the sound signature at all. See before after:

Then I recorded the sound demo/comparison with the 20$ Salnotes Zero. And wow the Zero is pure harmonic bliss compared to the Meow:



If someone owns both IEMs he or she can maybe confirm or deny that my unit is broken or not. Otherwise I am waiting for a frequency graph measurement from someone else.

 

[Dsnuts]

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-btr7.26025/

The BTR7 is one of those devices you didn't know you needed till you try one. Its sound quality is one factor, but its driving ability is another. It has an astounding 40ft of indoor connectivity and almost double that outdoors. Has 8-10 hours of real world testing I did in high gain power at moderate volumes. Absolutely fantastic for IEMs due to a dead silent background. The sound that this thing puts out has nothing to do with a small form factor. My take on the BTR7.

I have a whole bunch of sources I use to test out IEMs I review with, the BTR7 here has now become one of them.

 

[baskingshark]

Follow up on the Cat Ears. I stopped the burn an hour ago because it simply doesn't change the sound signature at all. See before after:



Then I recorded the sound demo/comparison with the 20$ Salnotes Zero. And wow the Zero is pure harmonic bliss compared to the Meow:



If someone owns both IEMs he or she can maybe confirm or deny that my unit is broken or not. Otherwise I am waiting for a frequency graph measurement from someone else.

The cat ears tie in nicely with the graph - literally. At the 2.5 and 4 khz peaks. MEOOOWWW! Lives up to its namesake.

On a serious note, I trust your graphs bro, your Aria graph looks quite correct. It might be unit variation (QC) for this cat ear IEM, but yeah, hope someone else can measure this IEM's graph with a standardized coupler (I don't really trust store provided graphs). But actually, by the time a second opinion graph is provided, a new hypetrain would have left the station, and this IEM might not be talked about anymore haha.

 

[Carpet]

Follow up on the Cat Ears. I stopped the burn an hour ago because it simply doesn't change the sound signature at all. See before after:



Then I recorded the sound demo/comparison with the 20$ Salnotes Zero. And wow the Zero is pure harmonic bliss compared to the Meow:



If someone owns both IEMs he or she can maybe confirm or deny that my unit is broken or not. Otherwise I am waiting for a frequency graph measurement from someone else.

I trust your measurements too. There seems to be some extreme unit variance.

 

[o0genesis0o]

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-btr7.26025/

The BTR7 is one of those devices you didn't know you needed till you try one. Its sound quality is one factor, but its driving ability is another. It has an astounding 40ft of indoor connectivity and almost double that outdoors. Has 8-10 hours of real world testing I did in high gain power at moderate volumes. Absolutely fantastic for IEMs due to a dead silent background. The sound that this thing puts out has nothing to do with a small form factor. My take on the BTR7.

I have a whole bunch of sources I use to test out IEMs I review with, the BTR7 here has now become one of them.

Nice to see that you are still using FF3. Amazing earphones.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Follow up on the Cat Ears. I stopped the burn an hour ago because it simply doesn't change the sound signature at all. See before after:



Then I recorded the sound demo/comparison with the 20$ Salnotes Zero. And wow the Zero is pure harmonic bliss compared to the Meow:



If someone owns both IEMs he or she can maybe confirm or deny that my unit is broken or not. Otherwise I am waiting for a frequency graph measurement from someone else.

One of the main focuses of my (soon to be published) review is the challenge between the Meow and the Salnotes Zero, here is the excerpt:

Spoiler: Review

The 7Hz Salnotes Zero:
As the Cat Ear Meow beat out the BQEYZ Topaz in cohesiveness, the Zero wins out (over the Meow) one step further in “oneness”. Yep, the coherence is definitely real with the Zero, and so much better than both the Topaz and Meow! Does this make the $19.99 Zero IEM the winner? In comparison the 2X price Meow shows its stripes! Really while winning on the cohesiveness, that’s the only thing the Zero does better. The Meow shows it’s easier to drive, just as much easier to drive as the Meow was easier to drive than the Topaz. The big, and I mean huge difference here is the 3D resolution and separation. While the 7Hz Zero is market defining, it’s not everything. Meow imaging is better spread out and separated, coming into view are individual actual sound items, where the Zero has all elements more fused together into the soundstage. In many ways the two share many common attributes, being they are both mid-centered, and both really well tuned. The Zero still holds cohesive points, yet those same elements are truly challenged by the separation and individual relief obtained by the Meow. Items are simply thrown farther out, embellished, heard and enjoyed.

Upon further investigation the Meow bass was possibly more pronounced, if you know, bass is not a total emphasis of the Zero. The reason this is so hard to pin-down is farther out and itemized bass notes will give the illusion of more bass, and that’s what is happening with the Meow. Though the Meow has a slight unevenness that is (possibly) the product of two drivers, which the Zero doesn’t contain. Probably due to the extra driver results in better imaging and separation in bass. The notes have additional overall note weight than the Zero, and that’s quite an accomplishment, as note weight is one of the Zero’s strongpoints. Upon further testing (with other music) the bass weight is more pronounced with the Meow while offering it up just slightly less cohesive. High pitched elements also offered a more 3D relief and slightly more realistic decay with the Meow. Such elements can be elusive due to the natural ability of the Meow to be more efficient, still when volume aligned, a slight higher extension of treble was observed with the Meow. The same aspects can be noted in the mids, where the Zero is way more together in subtle arraignments of detail replay, the Meow is bigger and more spacious…..getting it’s claws more outstretched, providing a more dynamic experience, despite the slight lack of coherence.

Often I wonder about build material, where the Zero offers a large side (plate) of pure metal, which seems to possibly dampen unwanted vibrations, the Meow is solid metal offering a total single side weight of 8 grams where the Zero is 5 grams. Such weight discrepancy is fully noticeable in hand. Though maybe a combination of weight and form-factor, the Zero inches past the Meow in fit comfort. Really no fit complaints except I may fall back to non-wide-bore tips with daily use with the Cat Ear Meow? Where for me, wide-bore offer great sound, except the tip walls tend to offer less stabilization at times, and the Meow is one of those times.

Conclusion of 7Hz Salnotes Zero vs Cat Ear Meow:
I was personally fascinated by this match-up, finding the results far more descriptive than simple Treble, Midrange and Bass tests. While the Meow is 2X the money, they still don’t cost so much as to make that a determining purchase factor. While the Zero holds the place on the Hype Train, the Meow is as yet to be discovered. There is no denying the over-all strength the Zero brings, you can read my review, I was in amazement of it’s tune, and still am! Yet, in comparison the Meow is just that good, bringing a more lifelike rendition of the music. While the Meow tune is less coherent and even, such brute force of note weight catapulted the Meow into a much better place in the end. The outreach of elements in the stage added involvement, and the frequency response extensions on both ends provided more Meow dynamic contrast. And while the Zero provided an unmistakable element of finesse, despite of its slight sloppiness and lack of composure, the Meow still wins out in the end.

In one single sentence, the Zero is slightly more refined and the Meow more wild.

 

[DynamicEars]

Follow up on the Cat Ears. I stopped the burn an hour ago because it simply doesn't change the sound signature at all. See before after:



Then I recorded the sound demo/comparison with the 20$ Salnotes Zero. And wow the Zero is pure harmonic bliss compared to the Meow:



If someone owns both IEMs he or she can maybe confirm or deny that my unit is broken or not. Otherwise I am waiting for a frequency graph measurement from someone else.

The cat ears tie in nicely with the graph - literally. At the 2.5 and 4 khz peaks. MEOOOWWW! Lives up to its namesake.

On a serious note, I trust your graphs bro, your Aria graph looks quite correct. It might be unit variation (QC) for this cat ear IEM, but yeah, hope someone else can measure this IEM's graph with a standardized coupler (I don't really trust store provided graphs). But actually, by the time a second opinion graph is provided, a new hypetrain would have left the station, and this IEM might not be talked about anymore haha.

I trust your measurements too. There seems to be some extreme unit variance.

Somehow i suspect @freelancr unit seems like filterless unit. Maybe they forgot to put damper on the unit? QC issue?
Here example of my Kato filterless vs default silver filter, if @freelancr got the filterless one, it solved the mystery.

 

[Barndoor]

Somehow i suspect @freelancr unit seems like filterless unit. Maybe they forgot to put damper on the unit? QC issue?
Here example of my Kato filterless vs default silver filter, if @freelancr got the filterless one, it solved the mystery.

Was thinking the absolute same thing. I received my KZ AS16PRO today. I suspect the graph of the KZ would be horrendous without the massive amount of foam added.

In the KZs case filtering couldn't compensate for bad tuning. The upper mids are still off and the treble has been killed completely.

 

[Jmop]

Somehow i suspect @freelancr unit seems like filterless unit. Maybe they forgot to put damper on the unit? QC issue?
Here example of my Kato filterless vs default silver filter, if @freelancr got the filterless one, it solved the mystery.

Wow that mod is actually super solid, going by graph alone.