[r31ya]

The CCA CRA+ that wasn't an improved CCA CRA
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/cca-cra-universal-in-ear-monitor.25857/reviews#review-28556

But there was one! I have found people that think this is their deserted island IEM. Really go back a few pages where I ask what is the cheapest you could get away with.

i remember this,
KZ/CCA have details on how they have improve the CRA in CRA+ from fixing animec bass and such
but there are soo many changes it ended causing the community goes, "This is not CRA". funny thing

btw its listed at $28 but you could find these as low as $10 on discount every now and then.
still great deal i suppose.

 

[Redcarmoose]

i remember this,
KZ/CCA have details on how they have improve the CRA in CRA+ from fixing animec bass and such
but there are soo many changes it ended causing the community goes, "This is not CRA". funny thing

btw its listed at $28 but you could find these as low as $10 on discount every now and then.
still great deal i suppose.

Yes, maybe forgotten, but a great $10.00 IEM on sale, IMO?

 

[Barndoor]

I paid under US$6 for the CRA in April 22!

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

i remember this,
KZ/CCA have details on how they have improve the CRA in CRA+ from fixing animec bass and such
but there are soo many changes it ended causing the community goes, "This is not CRA". funny thing

btw its listed at $28 but you could find these as low as $10 on discount every now and then.
still great deal i suppose.

They were pretty good. They replaced my damaged DQ6 as my favorite budget at the time, but I ended up selling most of my CCA's, except the NRA, after I got the Lings.

 

[psy472]

Hello!

What do you think about the video?
There's something to discuss

the graph of the OG Hidizs seems to reflect the titanium gold version currently. So maybe Hidizs crippled their OG MP145 and used their better tuning in their expensive IEM instead?

 

[Danx3k]

Just got word. The TSMR-X will be launched tomorrow on Penon site. I am most definitely looking forward what to folks have to say after getting these. See what you all think about em.

Still no graph available? I am quite interested in this, but I need to see how it measures first, to see if its to my liking.

 

[kmmbd]

How is the sound though? No doubt the Kineras are all lookers.

But I've tried 7- 8 Kinera IEMs and sad to say, they all look better than they sound.

For me Kinera has been a mixed bag as well. I liked the Nanna 2.0 for example (despite the odd coloration of tone) but not a big fan of the Urd which I felt did not implement the EST drivers properly.

The Verdandi fixes some of the issues I had with Urd. First of all, the ESTs are now lively enough to be noticed and the timbre of the treble is nice. EST treble can be a tad ethereal/weightless at times and this is also noticeable here but that is just the nature of the driver and applies to practically all EST hybrids out there.

What I find interesting is the midrange tuning. I did not notice any shout in female vocals (and as you can see, upper mids are less aggressive vs Harman) but the bump around 1.5kHz does some interesting things. It adds heft, some "chestiness" to vocals. Not so much that they start to sound boxed in and closed, but enough to make them sound somewhat "diffused".

This works really well for female vocals, which IMO is a standout on the Verdandi. For male vocals I found it to be a mixed back as already "husky" or "raspy" vocals tend to sound even more so.

The bass is aided by the BC driver, which requires contact with the boney part inside the ear (I forgot the medical name for it). Eartip selection becomes very important for this reason. Once in contact with the bone, the bass has very good density even if it's on the slower side (though I have been spoiled by the speed of certain dynamic drivers here ala IE 900).

Overall, I find the Verdandi to have a smooth, relaxing sound. Imaging/staging is competitive enough for the asking price, though something like IE 900 or Bonneville will probably outresolved these in that front (though priced higher). Layering is another strong point as each individual instrument is outlined even in busy tracks.

If you are looking for a standout IEM in one specific area (e.g. bass or treble) then the Verdandi won't do. These are more of a "good at almost everything" category. Worth the $1200? Well, that's a difficult question and I will need more time to A/B against the other kilobucks I have around to answer that.

 

[o0genesis0o]

For me Kinera has been a mixed bag as well. I liked the Nanna 2.0 for example (despite the odd coloration of tone) but not a big fan of the Urd which I felt did not implement the EST drivers properly.

The Verdandi fixes some of the issues I had with Urd. First of all, the ESTs are now lively enough to be noticed and the timbre of the treble is nice. EST treble can be a tad ethereal/weightless at times and this is also noticeable here but that is just the nature of the driver and applies to practically all EST hybrids out there.



What I find interesting is the midrange tuning. I did not notice any shout in female vocals (and as you can see, upper mids are less aggressive vs Harman) but the bump around 1.5kHz does some interesting things. It adds heft, some "chestiness" to vocals. Not so much that they start to sound boxed in and closed, but enough to make them sound somewhat "diffused".

This works really well for female vocals, which IMO is a standout on the Verdandi. For male vocals I found it to be a mixed back as already "husky" or "raspy" vocals tend to sound even more so.

The bass is aided by the BC driver, which requires contact with the boney part inside the ear (I forgot the medical name for it). Eartip selection becomes very important for this reason. Once in contact with the bone, the bass has very good density even if it's on the slower side (though I have been spoiled by the speed of certain dynamic drivers here ala IE 900).

Overall, I find the Verdandi to have a smooth, relaxing sound. Imaging/staging is competitive enough for the asking price, though something like IE 900 or Bonneville will probably outresolved these in that front (though priced higher). Layering is another strong point as each individual instrument is outlined even in busy tracks.

If you are looking for a standout IEM in one specific area (e.g. bass or treble) then the Verdandi won't do. These are more of a "good at almost everything" category. Worth the $1200? Well, that's a difficult question and I will need more time to A/B against the other kilobucks I have around to answer that.

Your Harman IE target looks pretty strange.

 

[baskingshark]

ND X12

10mm Dynamic Driver + 5BA (30095 x1 + 50024 x 4)
$49.99 USD
Shells look quite psychedlic
Comes with tuning switches apparently

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006485187631.html

 

[Ichos]

Dear friends, here is my take on the LETSHUOER S15.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/letshuoer-s15.26854/review/32800/

Super musical! A more comprehensive review, including comparisons, will soon be available in my website.

 

[kmmbd]

Your Harman IE target looks pretty strange.

It's a somewhat "non-smoothed" version (notice the resonance around 8kHz). Many squig sites are also using what they call "Harman combined" which is not the same as the Harman of course. This came as part of the squig site setup, may have to look into how I can incorporate those other ones.

But at least it matches the known "ture Harman" IEMs. E.g. compared with Truthear Nova:

Either way, I will have to check how I can get the smoothed/more popular version of the target.

 

[pevinkarker]

Lets ear if the sound match the beauty of this iems

 

[F700]

My impressions about the Oriveti OH700VB https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/oriveti-oh700vb.26819/reviews#review-32798

 

[nikbr]

I have the old Aure, and i'm taken to awesome places every time I put them in my ears. I can only imagine the newer and more expensive Ascension?

I just got the Ascension and once it's burnt in that will be the first comparison I'll do. Similar, but not at all. Just like all AüR releases. Similar graphs, but wonderfully and wildly different sounding in real life.

ND X12

Haha excuse me, does it actually say 'Soft vocal' on that blue graph?! More like Shout vocal. Not any better on the red graph's description with 'Enhance frequency' ...

 

[fidgeraldo]

Espresso time...

Cheers!