The discovery thread!

[jmwant]

Thank you, Chris!
Knowing Kinera attention to detail (starting with their own shipping box), the image would be protected, and the easier way is to overcoat it, but then it would be shiny/reflective.
What they did is to something like hot print/emboss into plastic, and there are slighly raised outside ridges (almost against the seamless aesthetics) to further protect the print.
Since experiments are often better than theory - I tried to scratch it with the hemp cloth - nope, and the image is not likely be damaged by earpiices touching each other in a pouch/case.

Having said this, the image is small, the top plate width is about 1.8 cm (3/4 inch), so you may check if they ship the beautiful bookmark with the black shells - then one can have the best of the worlds with the black shells and an artistic image (and a nice present to someone loving books); my take is that they've made the bookmark for the artistry to be fully appreciated.

I listen largely to classical and acoustic music. I usually mention it. I did not feel that Celest Gumoho favours these genres specifically. For instance, Dioki strikes me as fitting more for electronic music, while AS16 pro is geared to classical/acoustic.

The key fearure of CG is the lightness and agility, which I love, but on the opposite side - one of the lighest note weight and fast decay.
GC are ethereal & opposite to earthy/meaty.

Thanks. I mostly listen to rock and metal so I guess its not for me then

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Honestly wouldn't say no to a real disrupting set of IEM. I wonder when this day will come...

We've all been waiting over a decade for this phantom. Doubt it's coming. If the thing can be as technical as the Salnotes Zero, with mid bass, but not a bass cannon like a lot of these 2 DD units, with above average stage and imaging like the Zero, with a tad more treble extension, then we could see a contender for that "phantom" disruptor set?

 

[Redcarmoose]

We've all been waiting over a decade for this phantom. Doubt it's coming. If the thing can be as technical as the Salnotes Zero, with mid bass, but not a bass cannon like a lot of these 2 DD units, with above average stage and imaging like the Zero, with a tad more treble extension, then we could see a contender for that "phantom" disruptor set?

Lol............

 

[jsmiller58]

We've all been waiting over a decade for this phantom. Doubt it's coming. If the thing can be as technical as the Salnotes Zero, with mid bass, but not a bass cannon like a lot of these 2 DD units, with above average stage and imaging like the Zero, with a tad more treble extension, then we could see a contender for that "phantom" disruptor set?

The problem is that the goal posts keep moving year after year… no, wait, that’s a good thing. Today‘s mid-fi is close to end game a few years ago.

 

[r31ya]

I kinda missed it on last weekend, Akros review of KZ ZS10ProX

 

[counterclockwise]

Great write up!
How are they with fit/isolation compared to Etys? I love my Timeless but I never wear them out and about because the isolation is fairly poor, and a pair of Ety-likes but they don't EQ that well. This seems like it could be the best of both worlds.

Fit:
Pretty comfy actually, once you figure them out.

Experimenting some more today I think I was getting the fit wrong initially. Being used to etys I was going for a moderately deep fit at first, which is totally doable, but I realised that cannot be the intended fit. See, they come with these strange "earlock" contraptions that you can optionally slide on for a more secure fit:

That doesn't leave much insertion depth.
(They also look like little ear torture devices, but they're actually quite soft and pliable.)

So I put those on to get a feel for the intended insertion depth, and they're actually surprisingly comfy. So, at what seems to be the intended insertion depth, they're definitely much less, shall we say, invasive, than etys. Also, the shallow insertion tones down the sub-bass I mentioned yesterday. Guess what I took for exaggerated sub-bass is actually compensation for the shallowish fit. (Still toning it down a little bit, but I went from -6dB to -3dB.)

Going by the manual and blog post (https://akoustyx.com/blogs/blog/about-our-s6-series) the intended wearing style is over-ear, but wearing cable-down is viable too. The earlocks can be used either way. I prefer cable-down (long hair plus frequent mask-wearing makes over-ear a hassle), but... when wearing them cable-down, the microphonics of the included cable are spectacular, and not in a good way. So, at minimum you'll need a shirt clip or some such to make that work.


Isolation:
Basically comes down to the tips you use I guess, cause these tiny housings won't obstruct much. Their blog post claims that the included memory foams "can easily achieve near 34dB passive ambient noise attenuation". Haven't tried the foams yet, nor worn them in noisy environments, so I can't comment from experience though. They also include one pair of dual flanges (called "2-flaps" on the box ^^) which might isolate decently for some. For me they don't get anywhere close to making a proper seal though (must be an S or M size...). Given the shallower fit I wouldn't really expect ety levels of isolation.


Getting a consistent fit and consequently a more consistent frequency response out of these now, they really seem to be tuned quite well.

 

[saldsald]

Since the Z12 isn't available in China, I wonder if this is the same model with a different name:

 

[saldsald]

This dB Luna's been out for a while but I think it's worth posting. I was interested in their Manroe which is a 2DD in the same looking plastic shell as the Luna (the Luna is all stainless steel) but didn't pull the trigger and now this Luna is just beautiful. dB and Rose are the same company btw.

 

[firesign]

Since the Z12 isn't available in China, I wonder if this is the same model with a different name:

That's a new model, the S12 Pro. Maybe the same driver with different tuning?

 

[ian91]

That's a new model, the S12 Pro. Maybe the same driver with different tuning?

As far as I'm aware the S12 Pro is simply a different shell and modular cable. I'm not sure it warrants the 'Pro' label, it's quite misleading.

 

[Redcarmoose]

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[WAON303]

As far as I'm aware the S12 Pro is simply a different shell and modular cable. I'm not sure it warrants the 'Pro' label, it's quite misleading.

Exactly the same as the Fiio FD3.

You don't call a product Pro if the only difference is cable upgrade.

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

Exactly the same as the Fiio FD3.

You don't call a product Pro if the only difference is cable upgrade.

I agree kinda poor marketing especially if the sound signature is exactly the same. Not sure if they were going to change it to complete with better tuned Zeitan Wu but they should have!

 

[WAON303]

I agree kinda poor marketing especially if the sound signature is exactly the same. Not sure if they were going to change it to complete with better tuned Zeitan Wu but they should have!

Shuoer missed the chance to fix the treble issues some people have with the S12.

Make the S12 Pro's tuning like the Hook-X and you have an insanely competitive IEM to the point of probably outclassing everything in the price bracket.

 

[Hustler]

Next planar IEM - NiceHCK F1.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hopesanddriams/posts/3327207084182951/