The discovery thread!

[jsmiller58]

seems like the new gen bellsing BAs (29689BA) is already trickling down to more budget IEMs

CCA Pianist,
(1DD + 2BA, sound tube shells it seems)
($29 on discount, $39 normal)



No FR graph, not much marketing material but its on sale in, https://www.kztws.com/products/cca-pianist
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This is what i meant with KZ rep being very combative, but KZ company is oddly listening to feedback.

it seems they listening to feedback from Duo,
with multiple request for 10mm DD + 7mm DD pairing (instead of Duo's 7+7) and what possibly could be Bass EQ to deal with bass-lite complaints.

but it seems at $12 pricing, it seems they'll forgoes the soundtube shell

Sorry, I probably missed it somewhere…. Is the price $12 or is that a $12 discount off of the price?

 

[Uprox]

Me neither, but i believe in things that can be explained. That's the reason i dont believe in God. Il just wait until science prove that cables do matter

It is enough to believe in your own experience and to understand the cause-and-effect chains.

 

[PROblemdetected]

Some surprises on the mail today.

So much time since I've been so exited to test an iem (last one was the MARGARITA)

FEBOS (Hisenior) OKAVANGO and 5P ultra (a SR5 side-grade)

 

[gadgetgod]

Some surprises on the mail today.

So much time since I've been so exited to test an iem (last one was the MARGARITA)

FEBOS (Hisenior) OKAVANGO and 5P ultra (a SR5 side-grade)

Kind of excited to know more about this IEM (Okavango). Please tag me when you post some impressions and stuff.

 

[Ferdinando1968]

Some surprises on the mail today.

So much time since I've been so exited to test an iem (last one was the MARGARITA)

FEBOS (Hisenior) OKAVANGO and 5P ultra (a SR5 side-grade)

I am waiting also for OKAVANGO.
They are stunning.
I hope they sounds well.

 

[kmmbd]

Looks like CMA 18 portable DAC-Amp are right around the corner. Super excited for this one. Image credit: vsg @ TPU.

Seems to have LDAC support, a proper line-in (which even there desktop amps did not have), and 4 independent SIP modules (used to be 2 of those on the M15).

 

[bschnell9]

Looks like CMA 18 portable DAC-Amp are right around the corner. Super excited for this one. Image credit: vsg @ TPU.

Seems to have LDAC support, a proper line-in (which even there desktop amps did not have), and 4 independent SIP modules (used to be 2 of those on the M15).

What do y’all think this’ll cost?

 

[kmmbd]

What do y’all think this’ll cost?

If I had to hazard a guess, knowing Questyle's usual pricing structure, between USD$500 - $800.

 

[Vonbuddy]

 

[DynamicEars]

For those who haven't checked out, Crin updated his rank list.

https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/

The u12t being demoted from S to A rank (A tone, A+ techs) is going to piss a lot of people I reckon

Not sure why the B2 and Moondrop S8 are now the same rank?

I don't think anyone who has both is going to argue about both being equal in techs when the S8 is like double the price.

Some new interesting adds like the DUNU Talos being A rank with 3 stars and the Tea 2 being only at B- which I don't personally agree but it's his list.

Also U12T is on the same rank as B2, right ?
Some classifications appear unusual to me.

He really isn't reviewing much lately.

To me, this ranking list does not reflect listening experience and the relative gaps between IEMs I have personally heard anymore.

Not that I have ever refer to his ranking list as some sort of “authoritative source” in the past.

100% true.

The only things you can get from this list is:

- Crin got 100% more picky.
- Crin still hates mid bass.
- Max Viento-B shill.
- Rip u12t and SA6 owners.

It’s not like Crinnie says “U12t is A tier” today, then the IEM suddenly sounds worse than yesterday. (Though some of our friends and U12t owners here seem to think so).

Just to be clear, I also has bones to pick with U12t, now that I have lived with it for a long time rather than just fanboying over it after long audition sessions.



He has a store now? The store seems pretty cool.

I have also done a reranking of my list recently, which absolutely nuked some of my favourite items like AFUL, JD7, FFx earbuds (and likely nuked the few remaining review collaborations with retailers and manufacturers). But it is done because I have experienced better gear, thus the benchmark IEMs have been demoted, thus everything relying on those benchmarks must be denoted as well.

I don’t know what process or standard he uses (besides “trust me, I know stuffs”), but Talos and B2 and S8 and U12t on the same bracket is … questionable.

i just saw his new rankings.. other than him raising the IE600 up (which i agree), all other repositions seems all over the place..

but hey, it's his personal ranking after all, so he can do whatever he wants , i guess

If true, then Crin and I have that in common. I listen to music at quite low levels. 20-30 on the 100-120 level system or 3 on the 10 level system. I want to make sure I can listen to music well into my 70's, if I'm blessed enough to live that long?

Well, crin list used to be more accurate when he still being critical reviewer and father of measurement.

But seems like in the end business affecting objectives.

that list simply has weight in Thieaudios and Moondrops with Linsoul being one of main sponsor of the site.

I have / had / tried some of the IEMs up to S- ranks and this new rank will made his reputation down when you put Odin on same level as Blessing 2 and S8.

well clear up S class level to make way for Monarch MkIII it seems. I'm sad

Sorry, I probably missed it somewhere…. Is the price $12 or is that a $12 discount off of the price?

Yes the thats the discount amount, not the actual price. Still not sure how much the real price.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Well, crin list used to be more accurate when he still being critical reviewer and father of measurement.

But seems like in the end business affecting objectives.

that list simply has weight in Thieaudios and Moondrops with Linsoul being one of main sponsor of the site.

I have / had / tried some of the IEMs up to S- ranks and this new rank will made his reputation down when you put Odin on same level as Blessing 2 and S8.

well clear up S class level to make way for Monarch MkIII it seems. I'm sad




Yes the thats the discount amount, not the actual price. Still not sure how much the real price.

That’s what stood out to me as well. Lots of Linsoul products floating up the list.

 

[r31ya]

KZ is on a hunt,
Official FR Graph of CCA Pianist
[1 x 10mm DD+2 x New Gen Bellsings BA, $29 (discount)]

Traced and uploaded by Xerus-kun to squig

earlier pinna gain,1DD+2BA vs 1DD+4BA and price point difference, but yeah,
its interesting enough

 

[saldsald]

I turned the gaming/movie modes into deep subbass music modes, the volume needs to be turned louder to let the vibrator kick in:

Honesty it is a pretty good sounding set, it's probably my tips or cable so the treble really isn't as bright as suggested by the graphs. The subbass is quite impressive in terms of quantity and resolution is pretty high here.
It's a 4.7ohm btw.

IMO if you test the Konoka with music you need to test with songs like this one in that gaming mode (however it's not good for music in its stock form due to the wonky bass impact).

The techo kind of bass rumble is very obvious with the vibration unit engaged.

So here are some measurements showing what that so called bone conduction driver truly is in the CVJ Konoka:

Purple is the DD, Green is the "Bone Conduction' driver. Surprisingly the FR could be measured with a coupler. I listened to the driver with a function generator and it agreed with the graph and my playlist test that it worked (loudest) at around 100hz.
And the impedance measurement:

It's more like DD without a back damper designed specifically to vibrate wild enough at some frequencies. And the mechanical vibration has the same graph as the sound generated and passed through the nozzle.

 

[kmmbd]

KZ is on a hunt,
Official FR Graph of CCA Pianist

Not sure who they're hunting when a large portion of the community has essentially boycotted the brand due to recent PR disasters.

 

[kmmbd]

Received the Sennheiser Custom Comfort eartips and been using them with the IE 900 and IE 600 for the past few days.

So far: the best eartips for these two IEMs, especially, and the comfort + isolation improvements are well worth the price premium for me (I have spent more on cables than these eartips for far less, if any, sonic improvements).

The most noticeable improvement comes in the form of end-to-end extension, with the exceptional isolation further highlighting certain low-level information that you may miss otherwise. Staging is less wide but depth has noticeably improved.

Highly recommended for IE 600/900 users, and the one "upgrade" I'd recommend for these two IEMs over anything else.