The discovery thread!
Apr 10, 2023 at 4:00 PM Post #76,051 of 100,438
I am struggling with the MS5 That 5k shelf is killing me. I like my sparkles but something is just off.
What source do you use? I mostly run them with Shanling M6U (warm-ish). K7 is also alright. With linear sources like G5, the harshness can be high. I mostly listen to orchestral musics and soundtracks, so 5-8kHz boost is helpful, but some Bon Jovi can be harsh with this tuning. I imagine harsh genres with already boosted treble can sound quite nasty.

Noted that I use the treble nozzle with MS5. I don’t know why, but going all the way or muting the treble works, but the “balanced” stock tuning doesn’t.
 
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Apr 10, 2023 at 6:01 PM Post #76,052 of 100,438
#New Cable Discovery
New cable brand started in Japan.
BigMango

The cable looks pretty nice for ¥4000(30USD)
Available on Amazon Japan.

Hmmmm I may get one when I got some other orders from Amazon Japan🤔
Here is the link
https://amzn.asia/d/abPDZC7
 
Apr 10, 2023 at 6:54 PM Post #76,054 of 100,438
Another EQ challenge. Just to save my poor wallet, this time with Band8 on my GK10
24F05269-33AC-46CA-BD86-F2678EFD527C.jpeg
graph - 2023-04-10T220338.140.png
Geekwold_GK100.jpg
graph - 2023-04-10T220350.376.png

No matter how i look at it, the midrange of Band 8 seems wrong 😑

Btw, did you know that you can use my graph db to generate PEQ that matches other IEM? Just upload the target response as a target. Crinacle’s db also has this but you have to pay. One of the reason I set up the graph DB is because i want to do this EQ based on my measurements without running the AutoEQ manually in command line
 
Apr 10, 2023 at 7:31 PM Post #76,055 of 100,438
Sound Rhyme family is here. SR1 and DTE900 (If improved) will join the family soon.
20230410_162558.jpg
 
Apr 10, 2023 at 7:42 PM Post #76,056 of 100,438
No matter how i look at it, the midrange of Band 8 seems wrong 😑

Btw, did you know that you can use my graph db to generate PEQ that matches other IEM? Just upload the target response as a target. Crinacle’s db also has this but you have to pay. One of the reason I set up the graph DB is because i want to do this EQ based on my measurements without running the AutoEQ manually in command line
HBB had them graphed for a while.
P5 and B5Pro seems like 2 different models.
graph.png
 
Apr 10, 2023 at 7:46 PM Post #76,057 of 100,438
No matter how i look at it, the midrange of Band 8 seems wrong 😑

Btw, did you know that you can use my graph db to generate PEQ that matches other IEM? Just upload the target response as a target. Crinacle’s db also has this but you have to pay. One of the reason I set up the graph DB is because i want to do this EQ based on my measurements without running the AutoEQ manually in command line
I'll be honest, it scares me. It looks like it might sound odd.
 
Apr 10, 2023 at 7:50 PM Post #76,058 of 100,438
I'll be honest, it scares me. It looks like it might sound odd.

Well, we need to listen. This midrange with bump at 500Hz is not the usual patterns. For me, when I say this and that about graph, I usually implicitly refer to some patterns between graphs and sound that I discovered. Some times you come across something so strange that you have no idea what to expect, and then you realise it’s not bad, just different (I’m thinking about 64 Audio Trio and Kublai Khan).

@Tzennn how does your EQed tonality sound like?
 
Apr 10, 2023 at 8:00 PM Post #76,059 of 100,438
Well, we need to listen. This midrange with bump at 500Hz is not the usual patterns. For me, when I say this and that about graph, I usually implicitly refer to some patterns between graphs and sound that I discovered. Some times you come across something so strange that you have no idea what to expect, and then you realise it’s not bad, just different (I’m thinking about 64 Audio Trio and Kublai Khan).

@Tzennn how does your EQed tonality sound like?
I have tried to tune like this before the band 8, two particular thing that stand out in this kind of tuning is clear distinct between tri band and sweet, really sweet and natural mid/vocal. But sound stage and imaging is bad!
Band8 on my EQ sound like a speaker, it also aggressively tuned
 
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Apr 10, 2023 at 8:08 PM Post #76,060 of 100,438
No matter how i look at it, the midrange of Band 8 seems wrong 😑

Btw, did you know that you can use my graph db to generate PEQ that matches other IEM? Just upload the target response as a target. Crinacle’s db also has this but you have to pay. One of the reason I set up the graph DB is because i want to do this EQ based on my measurements without running the AutoEQ manually in command line
Haha i will use yours, i just use neptone audio because seems like he have the same coupler as mine, also have a huge measurement library. By all means, please try more iem and review more so i can play with EQ 🤣
 
Apr 10, 2023 at 8:15 PM Post #76,061 of 100,438
The graph of Blessing 3 is already up at Crinacle's database: https://crinacle.com/graphs/iems/moondrop-blessing-3/

The amount of ear-gain scares me :beyersmile: But at the same time, I'm also very excited about their new 2DD configuration.

Speaking of cross-over overkill, I think the subtonic storm (maybe the only IEM with 7-ways crossover at the moment?) manages to achieve a breakthrough level of clarity / resolution that blows all the reviews'/listerners' socks off, even the very critical ones. Gaea (and likely MS5) also use 4-way rather than usual 3-ways and they did a great job at note definitions and separation, all of that stuffs (of course the tonality of Gaea plays an important role as well). The HiBy Zeta with 5-ways also achieved an impressive level of technical performance even with its warm and moody tonality. Of course, we cannot draw any conclusion from a few samples, but I start to pay more attention to the crossover after experiencing these IEMs.
Well at 1st I thought it'd be isobaric anyway. But someone else already pointed out it's probably a push/push configuration so it's designed more like a dipole than an isobaric loading.

Regardless Moondrop claims that this new Blessing should have the combined maximum bass output of 2 10mm drivers, So it'd be the equivalent of putting a single 14.1mm driver in there at least membrane area wise.

As for the Subtonic STORM? If I'm reading the CTRL page correctly. the biggest selling point of the STORM is that it makes as much use out of the Sonion ESTs as possible by letting the ESTs play at their most sensitive frequency ranges while covering the dips with BAs. Hence the 7-way crossover.

This seems to be much more elegant than my idea of just throw ESTs into the housing until the sensitivity is acceptable at the lowest points then just notch the peaks and probably all pass/zobel the much more sensitive DDs and BAs to match the ESTs. So I initially called it a 3-way and for the most part that is true but I grossly oversimplified the overall crossover circuit desing in reality.

Could this abomination that my mind came up with even work? Would it be possible to sell it for $2000 max still? How large would the shell be? Could anyone even wear this thing and if they can? Would it be comfortable? Could it play the entire THX bass sweep?

Edit: Perhaps the worst part in all of this is that the most interesting part for me is the dual DD setup. So the best IEM I could probably come up with probably uses the 2 12mm DD for bass and a single 5mm DD for full range, so a 3DD.

I had an idea for a midrange, but I was beaten to it by the Moondrop Blessing 3 already.
 
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Apr 10, 2023 at 8:35 PM Post #76,063 of 100,438
Aful Band 8 Pro(may be also Band 5 Pro) uses a maze-like sound tubes setup which the Performer 5 lacks.
B8:
Screenshot_2023-04-10-17-07-48-991_com.taobao.taobao.png
P5:
Screenshot_2023-04-10-17-09-47-490_com.android.chrome.png
The Fearless ACME also got something crazy like that:
Screenshot_2023-04-10-17-08-57-081_com.taobao.taobao.png
FiiO is also really proud of their maze-like tubes from the DD, acting as a physical low-pass filter.

Who knows, maybe we are seeing another interesting tonality pattern. Started from deep V + cat-ears trebles (and whatever oddity used by Western manufacturers), we moved to Harman/DF, and now we seems to be in the era of bass boost + flat mid + subdued ear-gain + big air (think of SA6 II, Neon Pro / VX, STORM).
 
Apr 10, 2023 at 8:43 PM Post #76,064 of 100,438
Well at 1st I thought it'd be isobaric anyway. But someone else already pointed out it's probably a push/push configuration so it's designed more like a dipole than an isobaric loading.

Regardless Moondrop claims that this new Blessing should have the combined maximum bass output of 2 10mm drivers, So it'd be the equivalent of putting a single 14.1mm driver in there at least membrane area wise.

As for the Subtonic STORM? If I'm reading the CTRL page correctly. the biggest selling point of the STORM is that it makes as much use out of the Sonion ESTs as possible by letting the ESTs play at their most sensitive frequency ranges while covering the dips with BAs. Hence the 7-way crossover.

This seems to be much more elegant than my idea of just throw ESTs into the housing until the sensitivity is acceptable at the lowest points then just notch the peaks and probably all pass/zobel the much more sensitive DDs and BAs to match the ESTs. So I initially called it a 3-way and for the most part that is true but I grossly oversimplified the overall crossover circuit desing in reality.

Could this abomination that my mind came up with even work? Would it be possible to sell it for $2000 max still? How large would the shell be? Could anyone even wear this thing and if they can? Would it be comfortable? Could it play the entire THX bass sweep?

Edit: Perhaps the worst part in all of this is that the most interesting part for me is the dual DD setup. So the best IEM I could probably come up with probably uses the 2 12mm DD for bass and a single 5mm DD for full range, so a 3DD.

I had an idea for a midrange, but I was beaten to it by the Moondrop Blessing 3 already.
I think I brought up the b3 may be using a push pull system like the Audio Technica's on the Moondrop thread and Moondrop's official user directly denied that's the case.
 
Apr 10, 2023 at 9:00 PM Post #76,065 of 100,438
so…

I just throw an inquiry to seeaudio official through twitter, hope we get an official statement like Tangzu did.


One of my follower sacrificed Rinko and commented “it is a planar”
https://twitter.com/sat03_a1/status/1645351131311382536?s=46&t=0JEY5S3Hf1wWOxR34LyJdw

Per a Japanese audiophile who opened up the shell
“It appears the internal wiring is different, maybe HBB has got the pre-production uni?”


There are mixed voices circulating right now on internet.

Hope SeeAudio take this “confusion” seriously and make any kind of announcement.

[EDIT] Just received a feedback from Seeaudio
BF603235-73A6-4F83-84A7-5DB8E2338901.jpeg

We probably could see their official response soon👍
The integrity starts on a personal level.

Think, how doomed is this hobby if anyone is free to claim "some dB" attenuation of cables (love to see the legal evaluation of such claims) or the perennial gibberish of palladium, graphene, etc. "special effects" totally free of any tangible evidence. Cables can serve as a brilliant "litmus paper" of BS.

Further to add to tis list are the claims of "magical" improvement upon "burning" after 300+ hours (!) for some IEMs.

With all these unsupported ridiculous individual claims, the expectations for the integrity of manufactures can be perceived as so out of the context...

If "it is just the hobby" (a commonly cited mantra) - then, OK, it is all about some individual "happiness" of the subjective perception, and how can anyone then insist on any "credibility" - the companies similarly "just feel like it" and duly serve their customer base.
 
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