[greymousetaxi]

This was THE big issue with recent KZ as they refuse to apologize or even acknowledge the problem and always of counter attack mode.

that particular rep back then also attacking third party measurement complaints during AS16Pro where the third party measurement is different with the official one
That rep blame it on "uncalibrated-hobbygrade 711 is inaccurate compared to their pro tools"

The official one seems done with high current DAP/DAC (akin to Tri TK-2 which does replicate the offical graph) to get measurement
and turns out AS16pro will behave differently with less powerful "normal" player. only after some spats and discovery that they could get AS16pro to sound close official FR graph with some impedance adapter, KZ finally release the AS16Pro-HighImp version.

poops get worse with that rep during Duo as the rep thinks its good idea to fought Truthear fans and later out of nowhere decided to crap on Crin.
which causes even bigger drama than the original "Duo is clone to Zero" issue.
---
Thankfully after some problem and loads of negativity thanks to that one dude,
KZ finally hires multiple different marketers who are less pissy about things.
we also got kz warranty lady, Jenny (only if you bought it from KZTWS.com or KZOfficialstore on ali mind you)
---

I mean the original drama wasn't as big as... TangZu Shimin Li for example where after all the posing and all,
One guy (i think hifri), open up shimin li and found out that ShiminLi uses the exact driver with Wan'er, put it on metal shell and sell it for more than twice the price.

But TangZu quickly apologize, tried to do a repayment to some people who bought Shimin Li and its way better recieved by the fans and community.

her name is not Jenny it's Judy!

 

[Jaytiss]

You have the Anni? Dayum

It’s nice. But makes. Me hate everything else.

 

[tombrisbane]

I had three weeks to spend with five ‘ChiFi’ IEM’s, the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite (which I already own, so didn’t listen), Hidizs MP145, Yanyin Canon II, FiiO FH15, and 7hz Legato. Thanks to the awesome @Damz87 for organising and FiiO (FH15), Linsoul (Legato and Orchestra Lite) , and @Joe Bloggs (Yanyin).

I have many ChiFi IEM's myself, with all the Kiwi Ears except the original Orchestra, along with a few non ChiFi TOTL, and many midfi IEMs. Listening was done primarily through iPhone -> FiiO Q7 -> IEM using Tidal. I like everything and anything when it comes to music.

My experience with the lower end of the market is that they generally excel at one particular genre, midfi is more allrounder, then TOTL goes for allrounder or back to one particular genre. Let's see how these go.

Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite: I've had these for a while, they're exceptionally detailed for their price however they lack a cohesive sound so I don't find them overly enjoyable for just sitting down and relaxing. If I want to really hear a particular instrument in a track, or for gaming, I find these to be pretty good. Given my large collection these are not in rotation at all for my general listening, however they are sat next to my PS5 and do get used there whenever I'm not using a gaming headset. Not recommended for music, recommended for gaming.

7hz Legato: My review can be found here. In summary I found them to be very much a one trick bass pony. They are not the IEM for me, and I don’t think they’d be the IEM for most people. If you have some IEM’s already, and are after something bassy and not too expensive, maybe. They don't get a recommendation from me. They did excel with guitars for my ears, along with bass focussed tracks, however I found them quite intolerable for pretty much anything else.

FiiO FH15: I was looking forward to trying this out, I hadn't read anything however I've enjoyed some of the cheaper FiiO IEM's and thought they may do well with a more premium one. I was wrong. It's a 3BA, 1DD hybrid, nicely built, didn't come with it's full kit (so only the red filter was included), however from looking at graphs it doesn't appear to make a massive difference. Sound wise I found it to be below average, there is a focus on bass which leads to a muddy overall sound however once you’ve had them in your ears for a bit you get used to it, but it’s extremely obvious moving from a more balanced IEM to this one. There is an overall dampening to the sound which reminds me of what happens to my ears when I’ve been at a concert and my ears are starting to give up. Not completely horrible but not what I could recommend at the price point. I'm sure they weren't going for burnt out ears sound but once I figured out what it reminded me of the absolutely nailed it. I didn't find them particularly good with anything,

Hidizs MP145: 14.5mm planer IEM, comes with three different nozzles and three different tips. Should be enough to find something that you like, all up I do have a preference (rose gold nozzle and balanced tips) however this only got me to an acceptable sound. They don't do anything wrong but also don't do anything particularly amazing. I've since ended up with a free pair from a friend as the nozzles didn't work with his ears (they are quite big) and I give them an occasional listen. If you're after a mid priced planar they're not a bad option, but I think you can do better at this price point and would recommend Hidizs's own MS3 over the MP145. They're very neutral for a planar and excel with tracks where you want to hear detail (similar to the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite however they overall sound better for music than the Kiwi Ears). Vocals are decent and detailed.

Yanyin Canon II: I'd never heard on Yanyin before this. Had no idea what the price point was. I put these in after listening to the Legato and the FH15 and it was like coming home. Beautiful, musical, effortless sound. It's not an extremely detailed IEM, it's more akin to something like the 7th Acoustics Supernova, where you just pop it in your ears and get lost in the music. They were easily my favourite from the ChiFi tour, and I ended up buying a set. The packaging they come in is quite nice, you get a little leather case, and they also have some tuning switches. Both switches increase the bass (and only the bass), with my preference being Up Down, or both Up. I landed on Up Down as my preference. I found them to work with all music, and punching well above their price point. They're in my normal rotation now and have been getting a lot of ear time since they arrived. Highly recommended.

All up it was interesting to hear all of these side by side, Legato and FH15 do something different to the norm (and don't succeed for my ears, but I'm sure it works for some individuals, Legato I could almost own just for how it does guitar music), Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite works great for gaming but find them very lacking for most music, MP145 plays it extremely safe and I guess succeeds at that but I find it overall a little boring, and the Canon II was an amazing find for a musical IEM which I believe punches somewhere around double its price. The Canon II is the only one out of the five that I'd give a strong recommendation to, if you're after a cheaper IEM have a real good read of real users impressions (not so much reviews as a lot of them just hype everything up), or buy something like the Kiwi Ears Cadenza which is a great starting point and then figure out what you'd like more / less of.

 

[o0genesis0o]

I had three weeks to spend with five ‘ChiFi’ IEM’s, the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite (which I already own, so didn’t listen), Hidizs MP145, Yanyin Canon II, FiiO FH15, and 7hz Legato. Thanks to the awesome @Damz87 for organising

I have many ChiFi IEM's myself, with all the Kiwi Ears except the original Orchestra, along with a few non ChiFi TOTL, and many midfi IEMs. Listening was done primarily through iPhone -> FiiO Q7 -> IEM using Tidal. I like everything and anything when it comes to music.

My experience with the lower end of the market is that they generally excel at one particular genre, midfi is more allrounder, then TOTL goes for allrounder or back to one particular genre. Let's see how these go.

Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite: I've had these for a while, they're exceptionally detailed for their price however they lack a cohesive sound so I don't find them overly enjoyable for just sitting down and relaxing. If I want to really hear a particular instrument in a track, or for gaming, I find these to be pretty good. Given my large collection these are not in rotation at all for my general listening, however they are sat next to my PS5 and do get used there whenever I'm not using a gaming headset. Not recommended for music, recommended for gaming.

7hz Legato: My review can be found here. In summary I found them to be very much a one trick bass pony. They are not the IEM for me, and I don’t think they’d be the IEM for most people. If you have some IEM’s already, and are after something bassy and not too expensive, maybe. They don't get a recommendation from me. They did excel with guitars for my ears, along with bass focussed tracks, however I found them quite intolerable for pretty much anything else.

FiiO FH15: I was looking forward to trying this out, I hadn't read anything however I've enjoyed some of the cheaper FiiO IEM's and thought they may do well with a more premium one. I was wrong. It's a 3BA, 1DD hybrid, nicely built, didn't come with it's full kit (so only the red filter was included), however from looking at graphs it doesn't appear to make a massive difference. Sound wise I found it to be below average, there is a focus on bass which leads to a muddy overall sound however once you’ve had them in your ears for a bit you get used to it, but it’s extremely obvious moving from a more balanced IEM to this one. There is an overall dampening to the sound which reminds me of what happens to my ears when I’ve been at a concert and my ears are starting to give up. Not completely horrible but not what I could recommend at the price point. I'm sure they weren't going for burnt out ears sound but once I figured out what it reminded me of the absolutely nailed it. I didn't find them particularly good with anything,

Hidizs MP145: 14.5mm planer IEM, comes with three different nozzles and three different tips. Should be enough to find something that you like, all up I do have a preference (rose gold nozzle and balanced tips) however this only got me to an acceptable sound. They don't do anything wrong but also don't do anything particularly amazing. I've since ended up with a free pair from a friend as the nozzles didn't work with his ears (they are quite big) and I give them an occasional listen. If you're after a mid priced planar they're not a bad option, but I think you can do better at this price point and would recommend Hidizs's own MS3 over the MP145. They're very neutral for a planar and excel with tracks where you want to hear detail (similar to the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite however they overall sound better for music than the Kiwi Ears). Vocals are decent and detailed.

Yanyin Canon II: I'd never heard on Yanyin before this. Had no idea what the price point was. I put these in after listening to the Legato and the FH15 and it was like coming home. Beautiful, musical, effortless sound. It's not an extremely detailed IEM, it's more akin to something like the 7th Acoustics Supernova, where you just pop it in your ears and get lost in the music. They were easily my favourite from the ChiFi tour, and I ended up buying a set. The packaging they come in is quite nice, you get a little leather case, and they also have some tuning switches. Both switches increase the bass (and only the bass), with my preference being Up Down, or both Up. I landed on Up Down as my preference. I found them to work with all music, and punching well above their price point. They're in my normal rotation now and have been getting a lot of ear time since they arrived. Highly recommended.

All up it was interesting to hear all of these side by side, Legato and FH15 do something different to the norm (and don't succeed for my ears, but I'm sure it works for some individuals, Legato I could almost own just for how it does guitar music), Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite works great for gaming but find them very lacking for most music, MP145 plays it extremely safe and I guess succeeds at that but I find it overall a little boring, and the Canon II was an amazing find for a musical IEM which I believe punches somewhere around double its price. The Canon II is the only one out of the five that I'd give a strong recommendation to, if you're after a cheaper IEM have a real good read of real users impressions (not so much reviews as a lot of them just hype everything up), or buy something like the Kiwi Ears Cadenza which is a great starting point and then figure out what you'd like more / less of.

Shoot, did I forget to send the nozzles of FH15 in the package to Damz for the tour?

 

[tombrisbane]

Shoot, did I forget to send the nozzles of FH15 in the package to Damz for the tour?

Yeah I think so, they weren't in the package I got.

 

[thaslaya]

I had three weeks to spend with five ‘ChiFi’ IEM’s, the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite (which I already own, so didn’t listen), Hidizs MP145, Yanyin Canon II, FiiO FH15, and 7hz Legato. Thanks to the awesome @Damz87 for organising

I have many ChiFi IEM's myself, with all the Kiwi Ears except the original Orchestra, along with a few non ChiFi TOTL, and many midfi IEMs. Listening was done primarily through iPhone -> FiiO Q7 -> IEM using Tidal. I like everything and anything when it comes to music.

My experience with the lower end of the market is that they generally excel at one particular genre, midfi is more allrounder, then TOTL goes for allrounder or back to one particular genre. Let's see how these go.

Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite: I've had these for a while, they're exceptionally detailed for their price however they lack a cohesive sound so I don't find them overly enjoyable for just sitting down and relaxing. If I want to really hear a particular instrument in a track, or for gaming, I find these to be pretty good. Given my large collection these are not in rotation at all for my general listening, however they are sat next to my PS5 and do get used there whenever I'm not using a gaming headset. Not recommended for music, recommended for gaming.

7hz Legato: My review can be found here. In summary I found them to be very much a one trick bass pony. They are not the IEM for me, and I don’t think they’d be the IEM for most people. If you have some IEM’s already, and are after something bassy and not too expensive, maybe. They don't get a recommendation from me. They did excel with guitars for my ears, along with bass focussed tracks, however I found them quite intolerable for pretty much anything else.

FiiO FH15: I was looking forward to trying this out, I hadn't read anything however I've enjoyed some of the cheaper FiiO IEM's and thought they may do well with a more premium one. I was wrong. It's a 3BA, 1DD hybrid, nicely built, didn't come with it's full kit (so only the red filter was included), however from looking at graphs it doesn't appear to make a massive difference. Sound wise I found it to be below average, there is a focus on bass which leads to a muddy overall sound however once you’ve had them in your ears for a bit you get used to it, but it’s extremely obvious moving from a more balanced IEM to this one. There is an overall dampening to the sound which reminds me of what happens to my ears when I’ve been at a concert and my ears are starting to give up. Not completely horrible but not what I could recommend at the price point. I'm sure they weren't going for burnt out ears sound but once I figured out what it reminded me of the absolutely nailed it. I didn't find them particularly good with anything,

Hidizs MP145: 14.5mm planer IEM, comes with three different nozzles and three different tips. Should be enough to find something that you like, all up I do have a preference (rose gold nozzle and balanced tips) however this only got me to an acceptable sound. They don't do anything wrong but also don't do anything particularly amazing. I've since ended up with a free pair from a friend as the nozzles didn't work with his ears (they are quite big) and I give them an occasional listen. If you're after a mid priced planar they're not a bad option, but I think you can do better at this price point and would recommend Hidizs's own MS3 over the MP145. They're very neutral for a planar and excel with tracks where you want to hear detail (similar to the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite however they overall sound better for music than the Kiwi Ears). Vocals are decent and detailed.

Yanyin Canon II: I'd never heard on Yanyin before this. Had no idea what the price point was. I put these in after listening to the Legato and the FH15 and it was like coming home. Beautiful, musical, effortless sound. It's not an extremely detailed IEM, it's more akin to something like the 7th Acoustics Supernova, where you just pop it in your ears and get lost in the music. They were easily my favourite from the ChiFi tour, and I ended up buying a set. The packaging they come in is quite nice, you get a little leather case, and they also have some tuning switches. Both switches increase the bass (and only the bass), with my preference being Up Down, or both Up. I landed on Up Down as my preference. I found them to work with all music, and punching well above their price point. They're in my normal rotation now and have been getting a lot of ear time since they arrived. Highly recommended.

All up it was interesting to hear all of these side by side, Legato and FH15 do something different to the norm (and don't succeed for my ears, but I'm sure it works for some individuals, Legato I could almost own just for how it does guitar music), Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite works great for gaming but find them very lacking for most music, MP145 plays it extremely safe and I guess succeeds at that but I find it overall a little boring, and the Canon II was an amazing find for a musical IEM which I believe punches somewhere around double its price. The Canon II is the only one out of the five that I'd give a strong recommendation to, if you're after a cheaper IEM have a real good read of real users impressions (not so much reviews as a lot of them just hype everything up), or buy something like the Kiwi Ears Cadenza which is a great starting point and then figure out what you'd like more / less of.

The OG Canon I think is underrated and still holds up today. I miss mine

 

[o0genesis0o]

Yeah I think so, they weren't in the package I got.

Let me check my drawer.

Anyhow, the FH15 is sample from FiiO (the same one I reviewed)

Both Legato and Orchestra Lite are samples from Linsoul.

The canon 2 is all Damz and Joe Bloggs.

 

[Rambone]

I see in your Sig you have the Artti T10, if you don't mind I would love some direct comparisons with that. I have been eyeing the F1 pro for a while but since I got my T10's at like 55€ the F1's are twice as expensive. Really wondering how much of an upgrade it will be.

Apologies for the late response. Been a long day out with the family.

F1 Pro tends to sound more resolving and a step up in vocals and mids compared to the T10. Treble and Bass are the most notable things that stand out to me as a direct upgrade over the T10. T10 has a bit of warmth to the tone but has some nice balance. F1 leans more neutral and bright to me.

I think the F1 has some special synergy with a warmer source. When connected to a warmer source such as my Hifiman EF400, the bass on the F1 becomes total swoon material, you best believe swoon I did. It's just so lively and exciting compared to the T10, faster even.

I think the T10 is a safer when it comes to treble comfort levels. It's fine but some of the things that I like about planar sets is the sparkle, not getting a lot of that on the T10. The F1 Pro I ran into some treble trouble in my first 30 minutes of listening to it, mostly being too much of a good thing. I found it to be on the edgy and uncomfortable side. Most of my tips have are a wider bore size and didn't work too well for me (YMMV). It's something that I am monitoring as I put more time into to see what settles but it seems that I have mitigated the brunt of it by using narrow bore tips that was included and sticking with a warmer source (my Hifiman EF400). I think this is the final form that I will be using for this set anyway, even if the treble wasn't a issue, I like the way this sounds this way. I'm not too worried with the treble and after the driver has had sufficient hours of runtime on it, I'll go back to other tips and see what changes. Presently I'm using the Cyan cable that was an add-on.

There are some things that I am still working on with the T10 to add some more brightness and sparkle back to it but it is a work in progress. I've since added a all silver core cable and have been trying to pair it with brighter sources. Right now I am using my Topping D10s dac (with ESS chip) and iFi Zen CAN with Xspace and Xbass enabled. It is quite an improvement. I'm still finding I have to make a compromise with some of my tips where I need to choose between a bump in bass or more clarity....or I can just go listen to my F1 Pro, have it all plus call it a day.

Edit: Forgot to add, for the T10, I'm using Spinfit Omni tips. I think it gives the most clarity while still providing an outstanding bass performance for my ears.

Is the F1 Pro an upgrade? Yes.

 

[Singaravelan]

Hahaha I am a pacifist

But to be honest, when I served in the army, I was the best shooter (they called me a sniper).
I had all ten shots (AK-47) in the center from a 100 m distance.

The best designer, the bestest sharp shooter, that's our man Fidgeraldo!

btw, every time i hear sniper, i always get reminded of this hilarity: Time Stamp: 2:05 min. Bob Mortimer, Da legend!

 

[Singaravelan]

It’s a better S12 that happens to be cheaper.

The best left-field pick I did in this new hobby thus far has been the planar IEM: Sivga Nightingale. As Jay's Audio says it in his review, "best soundstage before Z1 R". It's airy, sparkly, and a lovely circular soundstage that has appropriate music pouring out of ears and all around. Purrfect for Metal and Jazz and Jazz vocalists like Diana Krall and the ilk. It has changed my Metal game, totally as the planar is great for rapid metal with its velvety veil of sound that softens out the harshness (since Metal is usually hot-ly rendered mastered), especially paired with FC6, and that airy huge circular soundstage. You can tag with a non r2-r dac if you don't want it to be soft. Once you get used to its soundscape, it gets very addictive. And paired with FC6, the bass is tighter and enough for me (though it will never be enough for bassheads and hence this will remain a very niche and low-selling) and mids add a lovely layer to it. The graph is so so funny to look at - almost a straight line before treble waviness begins. Not that I can read graphs, hence the usage of 'funny'. Somehow, overall package is a gem. I can still get the F1 Pro as it would be allrounder and totally different as i can't see anything in the iem world similar to Nightingale, but will keep the money and see if I can swell it up in time to plunge for Mirai X or something else later. Overall, pretty chuffed with this addictive gem, and gets used the most along with Aful P8.

 

[bixby]

Something that comes up in this thread, especially in reviews that makes me wonder.

What does all-rounder mean? And before you tell me that it works with all genres, think for a minute.

If you were buying a studio monitor wouldn't you want it to be faithful to the recording of all genres? To clarify, if you are listening to reggae or hip hop with lots of pumped up bass shouldn't a good set reproduce this? And if you were listening to great female vocals wouldn't a good set do well on this type music as well? Or if you are listening to some bright AF K-pop or other idioms, wouldn't you want it to show their character?

Or maybe I am missing something, is an all-rounder about coloring the music in a way that it changes many genres into a homogenized character? One that strips the genre of those characteristics, making them more palatable and perhaps making them more mundane?

And would an antithesis be an IEM that is not described as an all-rounder be flawed in many ways? Eg. in that it cannot reproduce some genres or recordings faithfully.

 

[Singaravelan]

Man y’all want some good stuff to test sets with check this group out. They have some amazing stuff but this song with my SR8s and those 14BA singing from the Topping NX7 is blowing my mind. The dynamics are incredible. Lots going on with a deep soundstage and average width

This is why that Aful Cantor keeps nagging away at me. Want to experience what 14 BAs do, especially as with one just BA they seem to have wowed the pants of the likes of @o0genesis0o , @Jaytiss and a few more. How will 14 BA sound, coupled with Aful expertise. @o0genesis0o if it's out of budget for me, I will come to a cafe near your home and hear it. Next Christmas/new year time when I get to your country. Deal?! Don't worry, I shall return em to you after at the end of the coffee at Pellegrini's Espresso Bar or even five-guys's coffee! don't chicken out! and whatever you say about your budget now, I am more sure than you that you will be getting the Cantor!

 

[Singaravelan]

It’s nice. But makes. Me hate everything else.

The step down from something you can't unhear must be indeed tough, na?

 

[Jaytiss]

This is why that Aful Cantor keeps nagging away at me. Want to experience what 14 BAs do, especially as with one just BA they seem to have wowed the pants of the likes of @o0genesis0o , @Jaytiss and a few more. How will 14 BA sound, coupled with Aful expertise. @o0genesis0o if it's out of budget for me, I will come to a cafe near your home and hear it. Next Christmas/new year time when I get to your country. Deal?! Don't worry, I shall return em to you after at the end of the coffee at Pellegrini's Espresso Bar or even five-guys's coffee! don't chicken out! and whatever you say about your budget now, I am more sure than you that you will be getting the Cantor!

I got to hear it at CanJam it was buttery smooth like a Aful 8 with more resolution and more bass. No idea why they are waiting so long on it. They have been hyping for a long time…

 

[Leonarfd]

What does all-rounder mean? And before you tell me that it works with all genres, think for a minute

Depends on the user, we all have different taste.

My take is an allrounder doesn't have to mean correct sounding.

If you have heard flat sounding studio monitors in treated room, that is often not that musical. Some recordings can sound spectacular, but also many can sound outright bad.

Then if I use something like a good set of warm bookshelf speakers that's not overly resolving, I will like most music.

Studio monitors also not always reflect what the artist want you to hear, they are made to help find flaws in music.

This goes back to IEMs also. Some prefer technicalities more than musicality, also wrong to say musicality as for some musical means resolving also.

In the IEM world an allrounder for me need to be om the warmer side of tuning without being to bright any places, where all my music flows without me wanting to turn volume down or change track. Basically a set that can play my library on random.
It will also need a certain degree of technicalities, but not too resolving where I will flinch hearing my older recordings or just not as good produced music.