[theintention]

Falcon Ultra in a heartbeat the C4 is almost to much on the Neutral side to really be called a fun all-rounder

ty Mr Monk. Falcon Ultra it is. That titanium is too sweet.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Hmm...what shall I do now???

Cheers!

Order it now with no regrets?

 

[fidgeraldo]

Order it now with no regrets?

Just did...so I can say to Singaravelan...hey, Fiio FD11 is better

Hmm...I think I ordered that KZ earlier today, too...what was the name...hmm, help me, Singaravelan, what was the name?

 

[szore]

Digital EQ is not an inherently lossy process. Most would not alter the data even one bit if set to on without settings. Your brain is playing tricks on your ears.

Hell, I can't find one single set of transducers in the world that DSP can't improve on, loudspeaker or earphones, so I guess I would find the sound mystically inferior, whenever I see the EQ button off, even if nothing's been dialed in for the EQ yet?

The main reason for that is the high Q resonance peaks found on almost all IEMs above 4kHz (which may or may not show up in coupler measurements which have smoothing applied to them). Which physical mods can in most cases do nothing about, unless you can live with a long cork of foam in your nozzles together with foam eartips to make sure that no sound waves bounce back. And then, good luck getting a good tonal balance from such a configuration without EQ

Of course, one cannot use EQ to negate such resonances, unless one knows how to listen for and tune them out via interactive tone generator testing, so maybe this doesn't apply to most people.

(the above are personal opinions only, not representing that of any company)

For me, EQ ruins the sound, always. The exception is Schiit's Lokius.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Hello folks, another day another pokemon, let me introduce you a very well known set, probally.
Simgot EA500LM (stock, Spinfit W1)


If you're interested in graph comparision, here's the Link

- Bass (6/10): A big bold bass that doesn't mess up with sound signature (neutral), quite pleasing and comforting bass, may not have the best deepness/tactility/thump, just enough of every department (probally might not sound as good as EA1000 but bigger bass, better score)
- Mid (7,5/10): The very same Simgot house sound but smoother, more pleasing than other, probally my favorite so far!
- Vocal (6/10): Vshape, you know it , have some sibilance to the very top end, not so noticeable but something you have to aware (because i'm low volume listener)
- Treble (6/10): typical Harman tuned, airy and correct, slight sibilance (less than EA500, more than EA1000)
- Detail (5,3/10): Macro detail (5,3/10), Micro detail (5,3/10)
- Soundstage (6,5/10): a slightly holographic stage, about the size of "average living room"
- Imaging (5,5/10): Good micro spacing from left to right, lack layers
Bias (7/10): Vshape
Overall: 6,1/10 (slightly better than EA500)
A much better buy compare to EA500 and EA1000, very very recommended for the asking price (90$).

Spoiler: ???

To be honest, while i really like EA500LM when it come to overall package, i missed that unique sound signature of EA500, doesn't mean that EA500LM is bad but i don't feel as passionate about it compare to EA500. It doesn't have that distinct soundstage that i like, don't have that clear and vivid instrument position that i like, don't have the dynamic that i'm always looking for, and the balanced between musical and detail tacitility, i missed those.
Suck to be someone who loved neutral soundsignature!

Here's EA500 and EA1000 score for comparision
EA500

EA1000

Great job, mate! Those scores are tough

For those who have heard both -

Dunu Falcon Ultra vs Cadenza 4 as an every day carry / all rounder?

Haven’t heard the Cadenza 4 but I do have the Falcon Ultra here. I’m torn about that one. It has lovely build, easy to like sound, two interpretations of “neutral” sound. At the same time, it feels very “vanilla”, not bad on anything but it’s just kinda … there. Maybe that’s a good thing.

Personally, I’m a bit bored with the Falcon Ultra. I’d test my luck with the Cadenza 4 instead.

Though I daily drive Hiby Yvain and Symphonium Crimson, so my taste should be kinda weird

Maybe out-valued by newer models in 2024 but has a great sound. I, for one, hope that Moondrop gets back to the level they were at a few years prior

Yes. Out valued maybe, but good sound stays good. Can’t understand folks “it was good maybe a few years ago but it’s not good now”

 

[Leonarfd]

Highly recommend the R2R dongle HIBY FC6, favorite dongle that I prefer more than RU7 that was my previous favorite.
Has a very full and organic sound, highly resolving and quite powerfull.

Had it for a week and I love it, but ofc there will always be something negative.

Cons
No 4.4mm
Stock cable can pick up emf noise, still much better than RU6.

 

[kaeswiss]

Those Lavricables look so clean. Are they really that bright white or have some kind of white sleeving? The cable pics on their website look way more silvery.

 

[Carpet]

XINHS HS01...HS06...HS03... Rundown and Comparison by Akros​

I'd already ordered the HS01 during the anniversary sale.

 

[Redcarmoose]

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/pe...opper-modular-plug.27125/reviews#review-33333

Review number #33333
Review summery:
"Sure if response is too spicy we can easily change cables, or choose a different DAP to bring about alignment. But what if we wanted to keep everything in place, only because the set-up works 80% of the time? Yet there may be the possibility of the OFC Copper Plug simply smoothing-out that last 20% of usage scenarios, plus being a great add to the extra 80% that already worked out? "

Would such a sonic accomplishment be worth the asking price of $35.00?

 

[PhonoPhi]

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/pe...opper-modular-plug.27125/reviews#review-33333

Review number #33333
Review summery:
"Sure if response is too spicy we can easily change cables, or choose a different DAP to bring about alignment. But what if we wanted to keep everything in place, only because the set-up works 80% of the time? Yet there may be the possibility of the OFC Copper Plug simply smoothing-out that last 20% of usage scenarios, plus being a great add to the extra 80% that already worked out? "

Would such a sonic accomplishment be worth the asking price of $35.00?

If a simple functional modular plug can be "beleved/pretended" to change the sound, just because of the word "copper" in it to trigger ridiculuos and never ever proven/documented stereotypes- there is absolutely no hope for this hobby in general and HeadFi in particular

 

[Singaravelan]

Just did...so I can say to Singaravelan...hey, Fiio FD11 is better

Hmm...I think I ordered that KZ earlier today, too...what was the name...hmm, help me, Singaravelan, what was the name?

Haha well done, boss! Zagreb disco nights will never be the same again with Kz Castor bass. Hope you got the bass version!

Fiio fd11 looks so good, I must say but this isn't a cosmetic fight. Castor bass to beat it on low-end; and Trio to swipe it in mids and treble.
Or maybe not! Hope these 2 compare favourably to FD11!
Else I might have to get fd11! Keeping that cash for the Singolo!

 

[Singaravelan]

Highly recommend the R2R dongle HIBY FC6, favorite dongle that I prefer more than RU7 that was my previous favorite.
Has a very full and organic sound, highly resolving and quite powerfull.

Had it for a week and I love it, but ofc there will always be something negative.

Cons
No 4.4mm
Stock cable can pick up emf noise, still much better than RU6.

I have run through a few cable connectors (not just for the wondrous Hiby FC6 but other dongles). Thinking of getting something like this https://conceptkart.com/products/tecphile-u-shaped-type-c-to-usb-c-male-pd-adapter no cable! Hope that solves the issues with my usage-case.

 

[JEHL]

Digital EQ is not an inherently lossy process. Most would not alter the data even one bit if set to on without settings. Your brain is playing tricks on your ears.

Hell, I can't find one single set of transducers in the world that DSP can't improve on, loudspeaker or earphones, so I guess I would find the sound mystically inferior, whenever I see the EQ button off, even if nothing's been dialed in for the EQ yet?

The main reason for that is the high Q resonance peaks found on almost all IEMs above 4kHz (which may or may not show up in coupler measurements which have smoothing applied to them). Which physical mods can in most cases do nothing about, unless you can live with a long cork of foam in your nozzles together with foam eartips to make sure that no sound waves bounce back. And then, good luck getting a good tonal balance from such a configuration without EQ

Of course, one cannot use EQ to negate such resonances, unless one knows how to listen for and tune them out via interactive tone generator testing, so maybe this doesn't apply to most people.

(the above are personal opinions only, not representing that of any company)

I remember at some point having the rather crazy idea of a dual driver IEM where the woofer is a 16mm DD that rest in the concha bowl not unlike an earbud with a large vent, and a BA tweeter, crossed to wherever the BA's performance starts to overtake the DD.

Large DD with a large vent is there to fight the discrepancies resulting from imperfect seal unless you go custom (And presumable even if you go custom there's still some leakage). Don't remember where I saw this, but I remember seeing somewhere that Symphonium Meteor's bass response plummets very fast if the seal is broken and I can only assume this plagues ALL IEMs that use a BA as a woofer, which in contrast, 10mm+ DD woofers don't suffer as much from a broken seal. So I imagine for most people not willing to drop a brand new car worth of money on headgear it probably makes no sense trying to get an ideal bass response out of a BA. (I wouldn't be surprised if this is the reason some people hear the Orchestra Lite as bassy while others hear it as neutral or even anemic)

My own HE400SE is probably an excellent proof of this in the headphone world. It's probably too easy to blame on simply being planar magnetic, but the driver itself is about as sensitive as any other headphone I've tried, but because of how far away the driver sits from my ear, the sensitivity relative to eardrum suffers. but it seems that the distance combined with the driver being 80mm in diameter, means that it hardly cares about a less than perfect coupling to my head to the point where I can use glasses over them and it hardly changes its response which is something no other headphone I owned can pull off.

The IEM would then also have a very long nozzle where the BA tweeter would sit coaxially and not unlike Etymotic, come with either double flange or triple flange eartips. This should (hopefully, I can't actually test this hypothesis) should have a resonance above 10kHz.

Now I can actually reach the point where the point of me replaying to this comment is relevant... A truly perfect IEM is impossible, unless it's quite possibly the most custom IEM ever. The single biggest culprit of this is HRTF. or more specifically how HRTF is NOT working due to IEMs bypassing not just your head, but much of the outer ear as well, while the brain still expects the full HRTF to take place.

Which begs the question. Would the best IEM from a sound perspective be some bizarre lovechild of the Sony MDR-EX1000, the Etymotic ER4SR and the Denon PerL.

So, goal should be as follows:

-Big (at least 14mm) woofer with a large vent, granting it a bass response that has high tolerance for seal imperfections.
-A tweeter that sits close enough to the eardrum that pushes the ear canal resonance to above 10kHz.
-Bonus: Have some HRTF detection capabilities to cut down as much need to EQ as possible. (But you'd still have to EQ anyway because HRTF can be all over the place like that)

 

[DynamicEars]

I have run through a few cable connectors (not just for the wondrous Hiby FC6 but other dongles). Thinking of getting something like this https://conceptkart.com/products/tecphile-u-shaped-type-c-to-usb-c-male-pd-adapter no cable! Hope that solves the issues with my usage-case.

That is so phone / amp thickness dependant, few mm differences will give a gap between phone and the amp and will put too much force to the inner usb c female connector, unless it is adjustable.

I remember at some point having the rather crazy idea of a dual driver IEM where the woofer is a 16mm DD that rest in the concha bowl not unlike an earbud with a large vent, and a BA tweeter, crossed to wherever the BA's performance starts to overtake the DD.

Large DD with a large vent is there to fight the discrepancies resulting from imperfect seal unless you go custom (And presumable even if you go custom there's still some leakage). Don't remember where I saw this, but I remember seeing somewhere that Symphonium Meteor's bass response plummets very fast if the seal is broken and I can only assume this plagues ALL IEMs that use a BA as a woofer, which in contrast, 10mm+ DD woofers don't suffer as much from a broken seal. So I imagine for most people not willing to drop a brand new car worth of money on headgear it probably makes no sense trying to get an ideal bass response out of a BA. (I wouldn't be surprised if this is the reason some people hear the Orchestra Lite as bassy while others hear it as neutral or even anemic)

My own HE400SE is probably an excellent proof of this in the headphone world. It's probably too easy to blame on simply being planar magnetic, but the driver itself is about as sensitive as any other headphone I've tried, but because of how far away the driver sits from my ear, the sensitivity relative to eardrum suffers. but it seems that the distance combined with the driver being 80mm in diameter, means that it hardly cares about a less than perfect coupling to my head to the point where I can use glasses over them and it hardly changes its response which is something no other headphone I owned can pull off.

The IEM would then also have a very long nozzle where the BA tweeter would sit coaxially and not unlike Etymotic, come with either double flange or triple flange eartips. This should (hopefully, I can't actually test this hypothesis) should have a resonance above 10kHz.

Now I can actually reach the point where the point of me replaying to this comment is relevant... A truly perfect IEM is impossible, unless it's quite possibly the most custom IEM ever. The single biggest culprit of this is HRTF. or more specifically how HRTF is NOT working due to IEMs bypassing not just your head, but much of the outer ear as well, while the brain still expects the full HRTF to take place.

Which begs the question. Would the best IEM from a sound perspective be some bizarre lovechild of the Sony MDR-EX1000, the Etymotic ER4SR and the Denon PerL.

So, goal should be as follows:

-Big (at least 14mm) woofer with a large vent, granting it a bass response that has high tolerance for seal imperfections.
-A tweeter that sits close enough to the eardrum that pushes the ear canal resonance to above 10kHz.
-Bonus: Have some HRTF detection capabilities to cut down as much need to EQ as possible. (But you'd still have to EQ anyway because HRTF can be all over the place like that)

Not exactly as your imagination but Sony XBA-Z5 have giant 16mm DD inherited from EX1000 with additional 2 BAs handling mids and trebles. They are quite impactful but too much mid bass bleed for me (even the bleeds are from the BA)

 

[Singaravelan]

That is so phone / amp thickness dependant, few mm differences will give a gap between phone and the amp and will put too much force to the inner usb c female connector, unless it is adjustable.

True. Will avoid.