[r31ya]

CCA Rhapsody comparison with Moondrop Blessing by Mars Chan in facebook audio group,

CCA Rhapsody vs Moondrop Blessing 3 and others with graphs.
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I bought the Rhapsody for about 36 dollars including shipping. It's a hybrid consisting of 2x 8mm dynamic drivers for bass and 4 balanced armature drivers for midrange and treble on each channel.
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I'll make this as short as possible and focus on sound only. The peaks at 8 to 9Khz on the graphs are measurement artifacts but inaudible to me.
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Vs. the 320 dollar Blessing 3, Both are non-fatiguing, Both have no BA timbre and artificial sound associated with bad BA driver implementation,
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Both have no driver incoherence issues.
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Both are natural sounding but the Rhapsody sounds more organic while the B3 is more analytical.
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The Rhapsody sounds smoother to my ears and on the graph ( see graphs ) but the B3 has more extension, details and resolution.
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The B3 has less pinna gain but both are never shouty nor unnatural pinna glare.
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The Rhapsody has more bass but the B3 has better quality bass by having clearer sounding texture and bass definition.
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The Rhapsody has sound-stage and imaging above average for its price but the B3 has more 3d in its presentation and with more defined imaging, also has more space between the instruments.
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Tonally the Rhapsody is on the warm side of neutral with musically enjoyable bass, The B3 is on the lean side of neutral but has an airier, faster and cleaner sound presentation.
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If I have to choose only one, the B3 of course as I can simply add bass boost to make it complete and cannot simply add resolution to the Rhapsody, plus the B3 looks much better to me. But if I have to choose only one from my entire modest IEM collection excluding the B3, I will take the Rhapsody without hesitation.
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The reason why I'm comparing these two sets with a big price gap is Rhapsody delivers the promise of KZ, offering sound quality comparable to much higher priced products at very affordable prices, But not quite up to 1,000- dollars (wink2x).
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Vs. Simgot EA500, The EA500 to me sounds a little fatiguing and I couldn't listen to it for more than 30 minutes, The sound stage on the EA500 is flat and situated near your face, lacks 3 dimensionalities, brighter, lacks note weight and lacks sub-bass extension (see graph), all these when compared to the Rhapsody. In terms of resolution, they are about equal, the EA500 will sound to have more of it at first, But the more you listen, the more you realize that the EA500 is pushing the details onto your face while the Rhapsody is calmly presenting the details in front of you.
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Vs. other sub 100 dollars IEMs,... Just buy the Rhapsody, it sounds overall better than any sub 100 dollars I've heard, I haven't heard the Tangzu FuDu and the Simgot EM6L, but I think they will fair better with the Rhapsody as they also have good graphs, But the Rhapsody can be bought for only 36 dollars, It's a no brainer and in my opinion a must buy or must try.
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I'm still waiting for my Moondrop May, I've gathered lots of positive things about it, Now I'm wondering where it would land in this under a-hundred-dollar IEM hierarchy.
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Happy Holidays guys, Cheers!

while obviously sound sig preference and pet peeve came to play here and he did stated that B3 still kills Rhapsody in tech and resolution,
its still somewhat interesting comparison.
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KZ ZSN 2 (the christmas package)



first impression by Marcello Mariozi from facebook audio group

A celebration of the KZ curve.

Yes, its an improvement on the ZSN family. We got to remember how KZ revolutionize the market with the release of the ZSN, still used in many stages today as IEM for musicians.

Im not an audiophile, I analyse IEMs for stage monitoring mainly.

Extension: plenty. Its a sub-bass improvement over the latest ZSN Pro X and has plenty treble extension as well.

Balance and EQ: it sits on the more energetic side of KZ curves, pronounced V. And also treble centric, (recommended with memory foam for treble sensitives). In that sense of all “old” KZ curve models it has the best treble quality.

Timber fidelity: on par with all KZ curve IEM (ZSN family, ZS10 family and ZAX)

Detail retrieval: amazing…

Stage: good, usual for a 1+1 configuration.

Overall: the best ZSN so far. Getting really close to the ZAX. Rembering the ZAX weak spot (bass), this one is actually better in that aspect! Will take over the ZSN Pro X recommendation and risking taking over the e ZS10 Pro X!
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[Bosk]

Happy holidays everyone! My review of the Penon DOMEs has just landed - you're invited to learn all about them here.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Happy holidays everyone! My review of the Penon DOMEs has just landed - you're invited to learn all about them here.

Nice review mate!

You should have a photo of the IEMs in your hands in the future to show how small they are. Or put a banana in the photo for scale.

It’s interesting that you relate slower bass decay with basshead preference. Yet you didn’t like the 7th Legato at all, if I remember correctly?

One day when I win a lottery and upgrade my measurement rig to a B&K 5128, I’ll send you my 711 coupler and help you setup a graph tool site. These penon IEMs with unusual tuning are always interesting case study about tuning and tonal preferences.

 

[Bosk]

Nice review mate!

You should have a photo of the IEMs in your hands in the future to show how small they are. Or put a banana in the photo for scale.

It’s interesting that you relate slower bass decay with basshead preference. Yet you didn’t like the 7th Legato at all, if I remember correctly?

One day when I win a lottery and upgrade my measurement rig to a B&K 5128, I’ll send you my 711 coupler and help you setup a graph tool site. These penon IEMs with unusual tuning are always interesting case study about tuning and tonal preferences.

Thank you!

I do find bass texture can be more satisfying when decay is slower which is probably one reason why BAs struggle to replicate DD bass - they're almost too fast. Moving less air is probably another reason.

The trick for me is keeping decay slow enough for adequate texture, using drivers that are responsive enough to keep up with fast music without lagging behind. Even CFA's Trifecta are guilty of that, and it's a bit of a dealbreaker I find. Entry-level IEMs used to be famous for slow DDs but thankfully they're generally a lot better these days.

BCDs seem to be really good at adding extra bass texture without slowing things down, but unfortunately haven't filtered their way down to lower-priced IEMs yet but hopefully that changes soon.

 

[PhonoPhi]

Edit: a mishap of thepremarure "post reply button", sorry about it.

 

[Surf Monkey]

H

So true.

 

[PhonoPhi]

CCA Rhapsody comparison with Moondrop Blessing by Mars Chan in facebook audio group,






while obviously sound sig preference and pet peeve came to play here and he did stated that B3 still kills Rhapsody in tech and resolution,
its still somewhat interesting comparison.
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KZ ZSN 2 (the christmas package)



first impression by Marcello Mariozi from facebook audio group




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Great story; looking forward to compare ZSN pro-2 to ZAT.

 

[r31ya]

Great story; looking forward to compare ZSN pro-2 to ZAT.

Yeah, it seems to be pretty interesting.
graph wise it seems to be more balanced version of ZSN tuning
and apparently the driver upgrade have improve the tech as well.

while its another KZ budget hybrids, but after all one DD iems,
i wanna see this balanced out ZSN Fun-V tuning with new driver vs the sub $30 newcomer batch

 

[Redcarmoose]

A review!
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/ziigaat-nuo.26845/reviews#review-32542

Comparison between 7Hz Salenotes Zero MK1, Zero MK2 and Ziigaat's very own $99.00 Cinno IEM.

 

[suman134]

Here is my unfiltered comparison of the Oriveti OD200 and Simgot EA1000

EA1000 is about details and precision. It's lively, agile and cleaner and transparent. OD200 has a slightly different approach. It's too has the details and precision in it's mind but it's a bit more smoother and less on the face. It has less energetic finishing region and wants to balance things better with a fun yet nicely accurate presentation that isn't fatiguing after some hours.

Let's start with the cable. EA1000 has an inferior cable by a big margin. It's stiff, has a bit of memory too. OD200 has a much better cable that behaves better. Has modularity and better comfort.

If we start with bass OD200 is a bit more punchy with a bigger area of impact and slightly more rumble. Subs are good, mid bass is more prominent with fuller meatier notes but what I don't like is the lack of proper definition. Notes aren't as well separated as I wanted them to be. It's decent, gives a softer landing to most bass notes but that robs it off of details and technicalities. Decay is slightly slower and dynamics aren't great sadly.

EA1000 has a bit more sub bass extension and has better layered delivery and definition of individual notes. It's definitely more technically capable. Notes are tighter but still has good punch and slam. Has a bit faster decay and better dynamics.

Mids on OD200 are very good. Very good vocals. No flaws that I find. It's slightly W shaped but that's fine. Male vocals are grunty while female vocals are petite and accurately tall and energetic. There is no issues of comfort. Instruments are lively and engaging with right amount of finihsing energy and resolution. They aren't very tall or the cleanest but have good definition and clarity. Upper mid is energetic bus nothing to worry about.

EA1000 is slightly different with taller, a bit more energetic approach. Vocals are slightly more textured but a hair less throaty with slightly better resolution. Instruments are a bit more transparent and cleaner. No upper mid devils to worry about.

Highs of the OD200 are similarly energetic and detailed but notes aren't well separated at their bases. Good layering and separation with decent amount of air.

EA1000 is more clean and clear with better definition and air at the floor. Instruments have better separation are their origin points. Has slightly more energy in the finishing region but that's the beauty of this IEM.

Stage is one of the most developed one with the OD200. Very good instrument placement around the head with very good Z axis placements. Very good sonics with good back and foreground contrast.

Stage is slightly wider on the EA1000 but it doesn't have much presence on the back of foreground but it's more Vivid sounding thanks to it's realistic contrast and cleaner instrumental definition.

 

[gadgetgod]

Let's take a small dip into the budget category and take a break from the traditional 100$+ category that I usually explore.

Visiting the 7Hz Zero 2!!

I have had the pleasure of listening to the OG 7Hz Zero, which was a really good set with a neutral tuning profile and an excellent amount of details for the price point. Zero's success needs no validation from me or anyone else as we are pretty aware that thousands of units might have moved worldwide(that too just an estimation, but being connected to the hobby and discussing with people, I believe my estimation is correct). 7Hz has come up with the new Zero 2 recently, the pair is just released in India I guess today only. I bought this unit from CK to make some impressions and if I like it might go ahead and make a YouTube Video this Sunday as well.

Build is kind of similar to the OG model, With the same plasticky shell with metallic face covers with a brushed finish. Looks decent. Fits nicely, and isolates properly. Comes with colourful eartips as a bonus.
Sound-wise the OG model had impressed me with its exquisite details for the price, but man the Zero 2 improves on it in a really good manner. The main issue with me for the OG model was with the lean bass response, it is very much improved on the Zero 2, it now has a slightly warmer tone. The bass has more authority, much more when compared to the OG model. Treble is not as spicy as the OG model, in fact has a smoother presentation. Bass is the main improvement I would say. The added bass is nicely done, it is tight, controlled, and doesn't leak into the midrange. Midrange, especially vocals sound really good, slightly forward but not too much to come into the face. Staging feels a little immersive, neither too big, nor congested or intimate.

Overall, I would say the 7Hz Zero 2 definitely sounds great, it has maintains a musical sound which is definitely going to hit well with the users. Some people who preferred the neutral to the slightly bright tone of the OG model might not find the warm and musical tone of the Zero 2. But as per me, the Zero 2 is a great set considering the requirements of people who buy 25-50$ products. It's easier to drive, it has really good clarity and resolution for the price point. And it doesn't sound fatiguing or sharp at all. Might see if I can make enough time this weekend to shoot a proper video review. Also, I would like to add that the Treble of the OG model was tad bit cleaner.

Going to be my default recommendation for people who are looking for something around 2K. Good for:-
>People who prefer smooth, musical sound.
>People looking for great sound for around 2000 Indian Rupees.
>Good for genres such as Bollywood, EDM, Hip-Hop, Pop.

Average Performance For:-
>People who crave for more details and a little leaner signature.
>Genres such as Rock, Metal, etc.

 

[Daniel70928]

Hello, are there any iems under 1000 that have similar or very close tuning to the vision ears Phonix?

 

[o0genesis0o]

Hello, are there any iems under 1000 that have similar or very close tuning to the vision ears Phonix?

You need something thick and warm with good detail and dynamic. Maybe something from penon? Thick is not a common signature nowadays. @Bosk

 

[Daniel70928]

thank you!

 

[PROblemdetected]

Hello, are there any iems under 1000 that have similar or very close tuning to the vision ears Phonix?

Maybe BGVP DM6.

a little more emphasis on midbass and 8k, but its a fullba like the phonix