[AmericanSpirit]

If anyone missed this post on DAP thread, it’s very nice cross comparisons for various DAPs from all categories.

Thread 'Hi-Res Portable DAPs comparison chart 2022'
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hi-res-portable-daps-comparison-chart-2022.961903/

In the post there is a link to 2021 version. Wow Godlike headfier from Japan.

Here is his blog for other info, I find it very resourceful.

I bet this level of professionalism maybe a hint of that this person might be actually working for SONY or AsahiKasei, one of power house of Japanese industrial components companies—the AKM chip manufacturer)

AsahiKasei isn’t just the chip maker, they are like Japanese Texas Instruments + BASF, makes vast variety of high-tech products of which I was surprised that AsahiKasei actually makes DAC chips to that extent.

Product demographics benchmarking from his blog. Wow that’s a consulting firm class.

Hope there is one for dongle.


Also from this guys blog, a very odd-ball discovery for me.

Wait DUNU had SA4?! MSRP 264USD

4BA SA4 available in Chinese domestic market.

Madoo type711. 3planar+2BA. Crazy idea implemented by Acostune’s sub brand.

His blog’s first article was TRN X7‘s review (definitely a bad impression). Looks like X7 was his first dark and muffled sounding IEM encounter

and it’s great to find genuine pricing from his blog for knowles’s BA. Wow this person really maybe the insider.

This tracking chart, I would only make if being paid money for it. A Japanese manufacturer love to use “@“ mark as abbreviation of “Unit Price” and I can see this person has same traits

 

[PhonoPhi]

If anyone missed this post on DAP thread, it’s very nice cross comparisons for various DAPs from all categories.

Thread 'Hi-Res Portable DAPs comparison chart 2022'
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hi-res-portable-daps-comparison-chart-2022.961903/

In the post there is a link to 2021 version. Wow Godlike headfier from Japan.

Here is his blog for other info, I find it very resourceful. I bet this level of professionalism maybe a hint this person might be actually working for AsahiKasei (the AKM chip manufacturer) AsahiKasei isn’t just the chip maker, they are like Japanese Texas Instrument, makes vast variety of high-tech products of which I was surprised that AsahiKasei actually makes DAC chips to that extent)

Hope there is one for dongle.

The best DAC/dongle resource out there is Dongle Madness.

I could not help ordering Truthear Shio, my first audio acquisition of 2023.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

The best DAC/dongle resource out there is Dongle Madness.

I could not help ordering Truthear Shio, my first audio acquisition of 2023.

Thanks!! Ah it’s Andy’s blog? Nice. I find his IEM review to be very trustworthy too.

Haha there you go SHIO mate

 

[zachmal]

So two of my three new IEM orders have landed. Early mind you. The Tansio Mirai Sands and Fearless Audio Shangri-la. OOTB impressions?

The Tansio Mirai Sands, with stock cable and stock tips was GARBAGE! Shrill and with way too much treble presence, even on a warm source. So I changed the cable to the Linsoul Crystalline Copper cable I ordered, and JVC Spiral dots and VOILA!! Now we're talking! With a 3D image, excellent stage, and the purveyor of details, while listening to tracks from Dave Matthews Band and Natalie Merchant, I get a feeling these won't come out of my ears much. Similar in tone to my AKG N5005, but with better imaging and more air.

Fearless Shangri-la? Bassy warm sound with forwardy mids. They sounds very similar to the Wu Zetian in presentation and stage, but of course the bass driver hasn't been burned in yet, so too early to really gauge the qualities of the bass until it's had a chance to burn in, but at the moment, this would be a set for someone who likes sub bass/mid bass/bass weight, forgiveness in mastering quality (the Sands is absolutely NOT forgiving of modern mastered tracks), and harmanish style treble. This set is the complete opposite of the Sands, and typically not my style, but I'll give it some burn in and see if the bass settles? Oh, I also A/B'd them against the Moondrop KXXS, and they are similar tonally to them, but with a tad more mid bass presence and thicker mids, but both are fairly close tonally. Very similar treble presence and extension. More to come.....

p.s. Both are really comfy to wear. The Shangri-la are larger shells while the Sands are a bit smaller and fit more flush, but both are comfy and isolate well.

you think the Shangri-La would be a good IEM at around 180-190 bucks ?

not sure if it'll work out but I assume, I could get it at that price *knock on wood*

I don't particularly like (or dislike) harman tuning or AutoEQ-ed setting - but it also not too bad

and KXXS tuning is supposed to be really good, from what I read

2019 though - and 3 years is an eternity for chi-fi

 

[InvisibleInk]

If anyone missed this post on DAP thread, it’s very nice cross comparisons for various DAPs from all categories.

Thread 'Hi-Res Portable DAPs comparison chart 2022'
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hi-res-portable-daps-comparison-chart-2022.961903/

In the post there is a link to 2021 version. Wow Godlike headfier from Japan.

Here is his blog for other info, I find it very resourceful.

I bet this level of professionalism maybe a hint of that this person might be actually working for SONY or AsahiKasei, one of power house of Japanese industrial components companies—the AKM chip manufacturer) AsahiKasei isn’t just the chip maker, they are like Japanese Texas Instrument, makes vast variety of high-tech products of which I was surprised that AsahiKasei actually makes DAC chips to that extent.

Product demographics benchmarking from his blog. Wow that’s a consulting firm class.


Hope there is one for dongle.


Also from this guys blog, a very odd-ball discovery for me.

Madoo type711. 3planar+2BA. Crazy idea implemented by Acostune’s sub brand.

Sony just announced a new one, the NW-A306. Soon Shanling will release its eagerly-awaited M1s. I think both will come out in March. I'm more interested in the latter.

 

[audio123]

Been a while since I last visited this thread. Hope everyone is doing fine.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

you think the Shangri-La would be a good IEM at around 180-190 bucks ?

not sure if it'll work out but I assume, I could get it at that price *knock on wood*

I don't particularly like (or dislike) harman tuning or AutoEQ-ed setting - but it also not too bad

and KXXS tuning is supposed to be really good, from what I read

2019 though - and 3 years is an eternity for chi-fi

Let me tell you. Right now. As we speak. I'm actually enjoying the Shangri-la more than the Sands. BLASPHEMY!! But truth. The Shangri-la has more natural tones, and the bass is big and thumpy, so it's a fun bass! Now the Sands is a detail monster, but omg it's not forgiving at all! Plus so far the presentation of the mids are thin. There's no meat, so pop and hip hop simply fall kinda flat. The sound signature reminds me of an Ety earphone or the E80. On the other hand, the Shangri-la plays pop, alternative rock, hip hop, and jazz like an effin champ! It's forgiving of mp3's, and makes you bob your head. Plus the resolution of guitars is killer good and it's no slouch in the details department, just not to the caliber of the Sands or N5005. If we continue with this trend, I'll be keeping the Fearless Audio and selling the Sands.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Sony just announced a new one, the NW-A306. Soon Shanling will release its eagerly-awaited M1s. I think both will come out in March. I'm more interested in the latter.

Not interested in either at the moment. The Sony, which I'm a fan boy of, requires an amp. Too weak to run solo unless you have very easy to drive earphones. After the Hiby R2 debacle, I have no faith in those tiny square players. But who knows? Maybe that higher end balanced Sony?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Been a while since I last visited this thread. Hope everyone is doing fine.

Welcome back audio123.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Just noticed BQEYZ official store offers “Earphones only no cable, no accessories “ type clearance for Spring2/Summer lucky bag for $59

If anyone interested in those, maybe it’s worth?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Wu Zetian + Fearless Audio cable + UE silicones = FANTASTIC!!! That Shangri-la stock cable on the Wu really opened them up with more air and openness in the upper mids than with any other cable including it's own stock cable, which i'm currently using on the Sands. Bass is also less boomy and much faster and more focused. My collection is getting to be so much fun and I still got the Sea-Elf and it's cable coming in next week.

 

[audio123]

Welcome back audio123.

Cheers mate. It's just lately I only play TOTL gears so have moved from this thread to another thread. I am happy to see everyone still doing great!

 

[Carpet]

Flo Audio Lily arrived today. Not exactly a planned purchase. These had a coupon that was expiring soon and I hadn't minded the Calla, so I exhibited my usual level of self control. Medium sized solid resin IEM with minimal accessories. Initial impressions were bad until I realized I had a bad seal and changed from my usual 07 tips to CP100. Yes, the fit is a little shallow (not quite as bad as a BL-03). Having changed to longer tips they had bass, a lot of bass. Treble is slightly rolled off, not annoyingly boosted to cater to the treble indulgent crowd (think Harmon). The single BA is doing a great job and there's only so much extension you can wring out of it (I'm sure if it was Knowles they would have managed to "casually" mention that amongst the promotional material on their site). A Japanese article on these someone posted a while back, recommended an 80 Ohm impedance adapter for a flatter response. Yuck! If that's what an ER2SE sounds like, I'm glad I've never tried to ram one into my brain. I had a 30 Ohm adapter lying around so I tried that instead. Much more palatable. Still kept some of the bass boost, but cleaned things up and gave a more balanced sound. I haven't had time to A/B it with anything else yet. I'll be interested to see how it matches up to KZ AS16Pro and Audiosense DT100 (when it gets here). I'm glad I picked this up rather than the TRN X7 which was about the same price on special!

Oh, and the following cable works well on it: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004394239656.html

​

 

[Carpet]

Not interested in either at the moment. The Sony, which I'm a fan boy of, requires an amp. Too weak to run solo unless you have very easy to drive earphones. After the Hiby R2 debacle, I have no faith in those tiny square players. But who knows? Maybe that higher end balanced Sony?

Shanling seems to be revamping their lower end players M0 Pro is out and it will be interesting if they produce a Q1 update. My guess is that Hiby's new efforts aren't going to be especially tempting!

Edit: Dammit, looking closer that M0 Pro, it also functions as an LDAC BT receiver and has dual ES9219 DACs. That puts it close to BTR5 functionality for a price in the same ballpark.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Cheers mate. It's just lately I only play TOTL gears so have moved from this thread to another thread. I am happy to see everyone still doing great!

So what's your favorite TOTL IEM? You got enough in your signature to put a down payment on the Sennheiser HE-1. Impressive.