The discovery thread!

[helloh3adfi]

Hard pass at that price.

Top up a bit more and you can get legit TOTL gatekeeper type IEMs.

This. DTE900, SR8, Penon and AüR. That's a tough competition for Moondrop.

 

[helloh3adfi]

Truthear NOVA 1+4

Kara and SR5 competition? Unfortunately still no flagship.

 

[ticoss]

Kara and SR5 competition? Unfortunately still no flagship.

Step by step, step by step

 

[Echalon]

I haven't heard the Canon II yet.
My understanding is that it addressed some driver flex issues but that they're largely the same?

I haven’t tried the OG version, but my Canon II has no driver flex (and sounds great).

 

[kmmbd]

I received the Hisenior Okavango (~USD$300) a few weeks or so ago. Unfortunately, due to my vacation coming up, did not have too much time to listen them in-between.
So I took some time out during this weekend and gave these a long, focused listen.

It's a 7-driver hybrid, with 1DD handling the lows and 6BA drivers handling the mids and highs. There are two tuning switches. Hisenior Okavango sound drastically different depending on the tuning switch position.

For now, I prefer the UD position (switch one up, switch 2 down). Results in the airiest highs and most balanced bass to mids transition. The default UU position is the most "v-shaped" of them all. Perfect for Pop, hip-hop and other bass heavy genres. There's still some BA timbre in the highs, but it's nothing too "invasive".

Overall, I find these to be one of the most versatile IEMs under USD$500. Dunu Studio SA6 do not sound drastically different with the switch engaged, while some others tend to veer too much into one way or the other (or have switch positions that are unusable).

The Okavango tread a fine line and manage to sound good with specific genres no matter which "switch position" you end up selecting. I also got the WhiteWhale cable which looks and feels fantastic.

I mostly used the Questyle CMA Twelve Master to form these impressions. A detailed review will follow soon.

 

[r31ya]

HBB already got his hand on Oxygen 2?
or that is 02 as in oxygen (1st)

 

[WILLJS]

Step by step, step by step

Slow and steady

 

[Yodamanjaro]

Hey! Well, even though I'm a big proponent of different preferences, choices and how every review should be treated as 1 data point in the larger scheme of things, I'm posting a reply just because you kinda implied that I did something unreasonable. You should know that as reviewers, we sometimes have to include stuff in our reviews with a larger picture in mind, the kinda stuff our readers generally ask for and the kind of questions we get in PMs after every review we publish. So, not everything is done in a direct sense.

Even though I didn't really want to, I merely included that comparison with a foresight of the number of requests I'd get to compare Phantom to MEST MK2 (MM2) mainly because they both are BCD quad-brid IEMs and MM2 is one of the most popular BCD quad-brids while being the closest one in pricing. It's not included in there to imply Phantom can level its performance or anything of that track but merely to show how these two have two different types of BCD drivers and implementation, and because there's no other BCD quad-brid around Phantom's price point. If you notice in my comparison, I only state what I hear and purposefully avoid including too much of my own personal preferences in order to keep it simple for the reader and leave the decision on him to decide what he'd like rather than I tell him what he would (which would be weird). Oh and I could've included other BCD quad-brids like Empire Legend EVO, Kinera Loki Emerald or UM MM too but didn't just because they get more and more expensive, which is why I limited it to only one BCD quad-brid comparison while the rest are popular IEMs in that segment, regardless of their driver config.

If pricing was the only reason to include IEMs in comparisons, I shouldn't have included MEST MK2 in Kinera Loki Emerald's review either considering Loki Emerald is almost twice its price. But again it was done just because I knew I would get those questions and it is something I thought most readers would like to read about to see how Loki Emerald does compared to one of the most popular BCD quad-brids.

Philosophically, pricing generally is no indication of performance. IMO, quite a few TOTL priced IEMs don't level Moondrop S8 or Symphonium Helios' tonal and technical performance in all or certain aspects but well, I digress.



Now I can see that MEST MK2 is more your jam and fits your preferences better, which is wonderful. It sure is one of the nicer IEMs in its price segment and one of the popular ones too.

But you see, more bass or a bigger bass shelf is not everyone's preference nor does it equal better bass. MEST MK2 does have a slightly bigger sub-bass shelf and images the bass more upfront due to its fuller signature, which is something you might prefer but not all might. I personally like my bass to be more in its place and go deeper into the stage, which is why I like Phantom's presentation more in this case even though I don't state my personal choice in the comparison purposefully.

Also, detail retrieval is quite a tricky thing because brighter (sparklier, sizzlier and airier) treble tuning can trick us into perceiving more detail just because it's like shining a big bright spotlight on everything. So, what I personally like to do is try and write about the individual IEM's technical capabilities as per its tuning. Otherwise tuning can greatly influence perception of some aspects of technical performance and I'd be claiming all the bright IEMs to have the best detail retrieval, be it a $200 one, while they might not be for everyone, especially the treble sensitive, which was kinda the case with MEST IEMs too. The treble sensitive complained of it being bright even though I personally was fine with its treble.

Now when you compare MEST MK2 and Phantom back to back, the mere brightness of MEST MK2's treble can make Phantom's treble sound lesser in quantity in comparison, 'muffled' in your case (which I don't agree with) but you got to realise that MEST MK2 has north of neutral treble boosting while Phantom is sparkly with its lower-treble but warmer with its upper-treble tuning. Again, choice here will depend on how one likes his treble served. I'd probably pick the MEST MK2 when I'm in a mood for a vibrant signature but not everyone might and neither would I every day. On the other hand, I personally dig Phantom for its more accurate ear gain because I personally like a more neutral ear gain peak, about 9dB of it as you can see in my Animagus Preference and Neutral Targets, something I personally value quite a lot for tonality of instruments as an musician/audio engineer.

All this is why we at Twister6, I as well as Alex (@twister6 ), mostly try to write what we hear in our reviews and leave the decision on the readers to decide if something's for them or not. In fact, I sometimes try and put in some of my personal preferences more than Alex does, who goes for an even more neutral approach. Plus the graphs are in there to back what we hear and for our readers to see and not take our written word as gospel.



I can't comment on its resale value but if it's not for you, put it up on Head-fi Classifieds. You never know, you might get takers right away. Buying blind without trying or without many reviews is always a risk. In fact, you tend to lose even more money as you go up the price segments or if you try and sell once the hype has died down and it's not the flavour of the month anymore. People lose significant money even on popular TOTL IEMs like Trailli, Jewel and the likes. Even most U12ts generally go for around $1200 or lesser in the used market even though they are one of the most popular, critically acclaimed IEMs. That's a $800 loss on MRP of $2000. Just saying...

Hope this explains my inclusion of that comparison in detail. Haha! Cheers and happy listening!

Great points all around, and I admit I wasn't expecting a well-thought out response (not at all dig at you but rather personal experience on forums).

I do have a post up on /r/AVExchange and will try posting to the classifieds here assuming I'm able to. Greener pastures and all.

 

[Barndoor]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006042191996.html

hmm, don't own any BQEYZ and suspect I won't get this one either, there always seems to be something more compelling at the price point

 

[cn11]

It will be a hard sell at $800.
They'll need some serious marketing behind it, unless of course, we find out it sounds better than the current 2DD+XBA hybrid offerings such as AüR Audio Aurora at 'only' ~$500!

Man, you sure be having a better experience with the Aurora than I did. I didn't care for the signature at all. I much preferred the Sound Rhyme DTE500 at its price (even a little less). Mids were much more flushed out, and bigger more involved staging. Aurora was thin to my ears in the midrange and the sense of space constrained. Sometimes it's like I have different ears than the majority around here, as I know the Aurora is quite well thought of.

 

[Leonarfd]

Man, you sure be having a better experience with the Aurora than I did. I didn't care for the signature at all. I much preferred the Sound Rhyme DTE500 at its price (even a little less). Mids were much more flushed out, and bigger more involved staging. Aurora was thin to my ears in the midrange and the sense of space constrained. Sometimes it's like I have different ears than the majority around here, as I know the Aurora is quite well thought of.

I think it's 100% okay to not agree always, been in same boat a few times.

I had the EST50(almost same config as dte500, almost same drivers, also made by same manufacturer) and its very wide sounding in its stage. Aurora is more spherical and natural and has slight better staging than most hybrids. Again very personal ofc.

Aurora has a very clean transition from bass to mids, less mid bass than most Penon/ISN sets(notice your sig). So naturally it will be less full bodied, but this again is better for people who like very clean vocal range.

And the Sound Rhyme DTE900(we both have) is the opposite, bass going into mids really making midrange thick and lush. Crin or Timmy would have screamed in agony when trying it But for us who like it, wow it's awesome set

But right now waking up with coffee and some music before work. Playing relaxing jazz with Aurora, wonderful morning ritual.

 

[DynamicEars]

HBB already got his hand on Oxygen 2?
or that is 02 as in oxygen (1st)

Its the old legendary Original Oxygen. I remember it I looked the Oxygen graph on his graphs and It was written as Tanchjim Oxygen O2 like that.
Oxygen = O2

Oxygen 2 = O2-2 (lame joke i know)

 

[Okcerg]

Got Silver Castor yesterday. Thought they lacked a little bass. Turned out it was a bad seal, I must have big ears lol.

So I tried yellow Kbear07, which I knew improved the bass on my Letshouer DZ4. That fixed it, Castor has great bass. I'm quite treble sensitive and I'm really enjoying it with UUDD config. Sounds really good for its price, IMHO.

So, are there any other tips with similar chunky inner ring as Kbear07?

EDIT: Found this great guide:
https://www.audioreviews.org/guide-to-iem-silicone-eartips/
And this thread:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/best-iem-tips.626895/

 

[astermk]

Hi everyone, been absent from following IEMs for quite a while but I'm finally in need of a replacement. The last one I bought was a KZ ZAX (which I liked a lot). What's new around $50 or less and getting a lot of praise? I appreciate a U-shape signature and good technicalities.

 

[nikbr]

Hi everyone, been absent from following IEMs for quite a while but I'm finally in need of a replacement. The last one I bought was a KZ ZAX (which I liked a lot). What's new around $50 or less and getting a lot of praise? I appreciate a U-shape signature and good technicalities.

All I ever hear getting recommended below $50 is currently the Simgot EW200. I have not tried it myself, so for more info it's best to read some reviews.