[thaslaya]

I was just looking at this cable, so sick

Gorgeous cable, man! I guess also gorgeous IEM but my cable love is out of this world at this time.

ivipq reached out to see if I wanted to review a cable and gave me a few choices. This one stuck out to me because it's a combination of fabric and a more traditional plastic. I ran it through my hands and it feels really nice and unique.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Similar problem for me yesterday, and same one as yours for my brother today (both of us ordered the Medusa). My unit passed the custom thought, while his it's still stuck with the same issue as yours. I suspect they had some problem at the sorting center, I don't think it's necessarily correlated to TRN in particular.

I really hope they'll be able to fix it immediately, because all these jellyfish won't be able to unstuck themselves otherwise!

EDIT: to be more specific, my issue was a "Processing delay at sorting center" while my brother got the same update as yours, that is "Processing problem at departure country/region sorting center".

Mine got sorted out and sent. *phew* So now they are a day behind the Conch, which didn't get delayed.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Alright, I think I'm turning into a cable fanboy.

But this is my last standalone cable I ever buy (unless I get the Maestro Mini and then need a dedicated blue cable if I don't use the NiceHCK Luna for it)

But as die hard LA Lakers fan...



Purple and Gold Xinhs cable got me going.

LA Lakers fan since 1979!!

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Mail call! Ready to get these in my ears and have a listen! Impressions to come soon!

Those wood shells are sooooooooo beautiful! Too bad they sound sig isn't my preference, otherwise, those would be in my ears instead of the on the way Project M.

 

[MakeItWain]

LA Lakers fan since 1979!!

Lakers fan since I was a kid just after the Magic era. You got to see some of the best years!

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Lakers fan since I was a kid just after the Magic era. You got to see some of the best years!

I basically chose the Lakers due to Magic! I lived in Michigan during Magic's Michigan St years, and essentially followed him to where he was drafted, which happened to be THE LAKERS!! What a divine chose for me, right?

 

[baskingshark]

Thank you for letting me know. Honestly, I had no idea and I admit I know almost nothing about earbuds. Today I learned something new. It seems that the curve I posted earlier is not useful, so I will remove it from my previous post to avoid giving anyone the wrong idea. I listened again, and my impressions remain the same. I hope others enjoy their U-2 as well.

Yeah earbuds are super niche even amongst audiophiles. Earbuds are more similar to open backed headphones than IEMs per se, just without the clamp and weight.

So earbuds provide superior soundstage than IEMs but you get no seal as the transducer lies outside the ear canal. So isolation and sub bass may take a hit.

So pros and cons, but earbuds are generally much cheaper than iems. Budget earbuds go from 1 to 15 usd, midFi for earbuds is around 20 to 50 usd, and anything more than 100 bucks can be considered TOTL for earbuds.

Unfortunately, I haven't tried the FiiO FF3. I don't have much experience with earbuds, to be honest. I remember using them when I was a teenager, but since then, I've only listened to one or two a year. I don't think it's ideal to compare them to IEMs, as IEMs tend to isolate sound better and usually offer more vocal clarity and treble extension. How does the FiiO FF3 sound? I'd consider getting one if you recommend it.

FF3 is a bassy and warm earbud. Big mid bass and smooth upper frequencies, can even be considered basshead for a earbud. Not too resolving though.

I installed foams on them and the bass quality/quantity is better, but mids and vocals are now veiled and treble is non-existent lol. It's similar to how you initially described them.

I much prefer them without any foams. Bass becomes a bit anemic, but mid range is more clear and there's more treble presence. It could definitely do with more treble extension though. I don't have any donut foams laying around, but they might be good on the U-2.

I actually don't have much experience with earbuds either, but I would choose the U-2 over the Yinman 600, especially with the price difference. I still wonder if I had a bad set since it's a beloved set in the earbuds thread.


I haven't seen too many people post impressions on the U-2, but from what I've seen, the general consensus says these aren't that great. I don't love them, but I don't hate them either. They're the only earbuds I have at the moment so I'm using them to listen to podcasts while I'm working since I still need to hear my surroundings.

Btw, do you have any earbud you prefer that you'd rec?


SOON! They posted on their FB page that if everything goes smoothly, they'll launch in early June.

The Yinman 600 ohm is one of the hardest audio gear to drive. 87 dB/mW sensitivity and 600 ohm impedance.

Not a matter of volume, but if underpowered the bass is one noted and flabby, with zero dynamics. In general, most dongles and daps can't drive it properly, even some desktop amps can't do justice to the sound.

Anybody else that ordered the Medusa get this notification today? I've never got one like this before.
EDIT: It has left the sorting center. "problem" apparently resolved? LOL

Similar problem for me yesterday, and same one as yours for my brother today (both of us ordered the Medusa). My unit passed the custom thought, while his it's still stuck with the same issue as yours. I suspect they had some problem at the sorting center, I don't think it's necessarily correlated to TRN in particular.

I really hope they'll be able to fix it immediately, because all these jellyfish won't be able to unstuck themselves otherwise!

EDIT: to be more specific, my issue was a "Processing delay at sorting center" while my brother got the same update as yours, that is "Processing problem at departure country/region sorting center".

The customs officer probably opened the Medusa packaging and saw the Medusa eye and got turned to stone?

 

[Surf Monkey]

The FiiO FF3 is a great place to start with buds. They’re really excellent. If you want more resolution then FF5 has you covered.

 

[baskingshark]

Senn is releasing a new HD620S headphone soon.

SPECIFICATIONS
Wearing Style / Principle: Wired headband, Closed-back
Transducer | Size: Single Dynamic | 42mm w/ 38mm diaphragm
Ear Coupling: Over-ear (Circumaural)
Ear Pad Material: Artificial leather
Impedance: 150Ω
Frequency Response: 6 - 30,000 Hz
THD: <0.05% (1 kHz / 90 dB SPL)
SPL: 105dB (1 kHz / 1 Vrms)
Magnetic Field Strength: 6.25mT
Weight: 11.5 oz
Cable: 6' cable w/ 3.5mm plug (includes 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter)

https://bloomaudio.com/products/sennheiser-hd-620s

 

[Redcarmoose]

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/tangzu-x-hbb-xuan-nv.27168/reviews#review-33992

Left to right:
Top row:
TANGZU XUAN NV $79.00 = 2DD 1 8mm PU X 11mm LCP
Kiwi ears Singolo x Crinacle $79.00 = 1X 11mm LCP DD

Middle row:
QKZ x HBB Hades $49.99 = 2X9mm DD
TINHIFI T5S $129.00 = 1X 10mm DOC DD

Third row:
TINHIFI C2 $29.00 = 1X 10mm PU+LCP DD
BLON X HBB Z300 $35.00 = 1X 10mm Silicone diaphragm

Kiwi ears Singolo x Crinacle:
Really even and complete is how I note the Singolo, free from any off frequency, thus coming across as clean. Clean is the word for what this IEM does 24/7. And while in this review I partake of the TINHIFI C2 and the TINHIFI T5S, really the two and the Singolo could be viewed as riding in the very same automobile. Yep, to where the Singolo takes that midrange luster and profound delineation and runs slightly farther than the C2 (due to technicalities) and the T5S due to a more forward tuning. Yep, to where the Singolo makes the T5S sound almost sleepy and it is far from asleep at all. So you may be wondering why I’m not comparing the TANGZU XUAN NV yet. Well it is easy to get a handle on what the TANGZU XUAN NV is about. Really in so many ways it is the exact opposite of the Singolo. More Singolo forward vocals, less bass action and still holding a giant stage. Stage is a funny thing because I believe it is both from frequency and technicalities, Yep. And the Singolo has the combined effect of the two going on in unison. What makes the music as such become lifted off the ground into the midrange, forgetting the grounding taking place in the XUAN NV at all. Nope, we are flying slightly higher off the ground. Cruising with our buddies in a low-rider 1962 Impala, yet we are Head-Fi geeks too, so it is a midrange car stereo taking place minus the heavy bass kickers of the XUAN NV.

As such these images of midrange, like a few to follow make the Kiwi ears Singolo x Crinacle the perfect complementary IEM to a XUAN NV purchase. I mean there is no denying the Singolo is great, just how great compared to the more sloppy XUAN NV could be a matter of taste, or the time of day, or mood you found yourself in.

QKZ x HBB Hades:
Can you say bass. Even if you open your window and yell B A S S outside your house, listeners may think you’re crazy, but they still won’t be illuminated as to how much bad-as Bass the Hades truly has, Yep it is that much. Where it took me a month to write this XUAN NV review, it took me almost that long to reset my hearing after visiting Hades. OK, all joking aside, the Hades actually got a great review from me, and you know why? Stage, a giant stage, bigger than the TANGZU XUAN NV and maybe one of the biggest here today. Yet a part of that is the bass stage, to where the following T5S is cleaner and more strict as to TINHIFI’s idea of correctness. It is like this Hades represents the bass needy…….those low frequency vagabonds who are jonesing for more than their fair share of bass material. But the truth riddle of Hades is how after listening to it for a while this extra bass becomes almost normal? To where if any IEM could lead you over to the Dark Side then the Hades could. Just like a drug dealer handing out fun free samples to try, only to permanently mess-you-up in the end.

TINHIFI T5S:
Look, this is my favorite IEM on this list. I chose it for a few reasons, yes it is way more money than the TANGZU XUAN NV, except what I’m attempting to do is show the diminishing returns per dollar spent, but also there was another reason. The T5 came out in May of 2021, almost exactly 3 years ago. It reviewed very badly, the T5 was just too bass light, that and with the treble and midrange that were even amplified more by this whacky balance. So to have this T5S just recently show-up and be my favorite TIN out of everything, well that is sentimental. OK the T5S is better in many ways from the TANGZU XUAN NV, but they are different too…….let me explain why. First off we can start to hear the TINHIFI sound. This sound is a no-playing around totally organized and scheduled intent of sonics. A proposed venture into TINs commander ruthless careful idea of just how they think IEMs should sound. Imagine the little $29.00 IEM to follow in this review and start adding on accessories. Where the C2 is in its underwear, the T5S is in so many ways a mature and complete sound, that while the C2 has less bass, there is a smoother and harmonically rich embellishment into which we interpret the full-throttle approach of the T5S. I know I said I was going to compare the XUAN NV, and I will. Yet hearing the C2 really drove home what TIN is doing here. That really the C2 and the T5S are tuned and technicalities wise are driving in the same direction. Big expanded mids of clarity in proportion to the XUAN NV. Yep, so imagine the C2 as the younger weaker sibling and the T5S going all out. Sure it is more IEM and fighting (the XUAN NV) here is like a bodybuilder taking a slug during a bar fight at a drunk unsuspecting Mesomorph! Yet while yes, there is way more detail held in what the T5S does, and sure it is considerably more change, still just like the C2, this T5S ends being complementary to owning the XUAN NV? Where the XUAN NV is more relaxing and quirky. Yep……there I said it. I was waiting this whole review to drop the word quirky on you. As in relation to back-to-backs the XUAN NV is a little less dressed up-for-a-wedding than the T5S. Sloppier and more casual in technicalities. Maybe a tad blurry even. Where TINHIFI are like a military IEM, the XUAN NV is cutting school and ***-off.

It may be how the T5S does technical bass, but this warmth, a first for TINHIFI that combines with the mid technicalities to create a winner in my book. A 5 out of 5 score. Hooray!

TINHIFI C2:
What a $29.00 addition to the battle? HA, the little C2 is exactly $100.00 less dinero than the TINHIFI T5S. And really it was out and around so I saw it, and thought that it would be good to contrast what you get. Showing-up right at the very end of 2022, the C2 wins points for being a cool design, and I really like metal IEMs if they are done right. But the question here is what does less than half the money of the TANGZU XUAN NV get you? God I love this little guy. Look at it as a full hiccup in TINHIFI design. They must have let the junior engineers out for a session in design. Does any IEM in the history of TINHIFI look like a metal robot ear? No, and the song playing is fabulous for the money. None of that brittleness like what is found in the BLON X HBB Z300 to follow. Yet we are working with a very up-front and thinner posture than what the XUAN NV is about. Where what becomes of this is higher relief into how the midrange is spread out into luxurious fashion. No it does not hold the overall micro or macro density of the XUAN NV, yet who is complaining here. I am not complaining! Bigger more vibrant details in the upper midrange and treble. As such those factors are pushed even farther into reality by lesser bass action too. Really this style of playback, believe it or not, becomes complimentary to the XUAN NV. Enough said! Word for today is Windex Spray!

BLON X HBB Z300:
Why did I include this one? Primarily due to it being a HBB collaboration, it also very much defined my point in relation to this new direction in XUAN NV bass curtailment. Very clean, meaning one single 10mm driver in a solid anti-resonance shell will emit a clarity and absorption of off frequencies and lesser harmonic resonances at times. This directness is in contrast to what the TANGZU XUAN NV is about, the XUAN NV is actually a little softer due to the 2X DD fighting. Yet this purity of the HBB Z300 has its merits. Thinner on all counts despite what the added mid-bass does. I hope this makes sense, that there is more mid-bass and lower midrange held in HBB Z300 playback, and a lesser push at 3kHz, yet for whatever reason the forwardness is both more brittle and over-all sounds a hint more sterile? I mean I looked at the graph and while the graph makes sense, this is one IEM that contradicts some of the graph, and makes a reality that 8kHz peak energy oppose from it being just measurement resonances. As such that forward energy combined with the rest makes this IEM way less musical in the end, in comparison to the XUAN NV! Sure it is good for the money, but will ask for less volume levels in playback due to such strict Nurse Ratched character!

 

[thaslaya]

Those wood shells are sooooooooo beautiful! Too bad they sound sig isn't my preference, otherwise, those would be in my ears instead of the on the way Project M.

I wholeheartedly agree! After a way too brief listening session I have to admit the DaVinci is everything I wanted it to be. I'd characterize it as tasteful bassy with smooth vocals and just the right amount of treble presence. It's my #1 iem of the year so far.

 

[Ineras]

Switched to Sancai wide bores on the SLT6, no more pressure build up. However bass actually got boomy and bloated. Ended up with Down Up switches, tightened up the bass. Also sounds pretty good with the KA13, no sibilance.

 

[Rambone]

I installed foams on them and the bass quality/quantity is better, but mids and vocals are now veiled and treble is non-existent lol. It's similar to how you initially described them.

I much prefer them without any foams. Bass becomes a bit anemic, but mid range is more clear and there's more treble presence. It could definitely do with more treble extension though. I don't have any donut foams laying around, but they might be good on the U-2.

I actually don't have much experience with earbuds either, but I would choose the U-2 over the Yinman 600, especially with the price difference. I still wonder if I had a bad set since it's a beloved set in the earbuds thread.


I haven't seen too many people post impressions on the U-2, but from what I've seen, the general consensus says these aren't that great. I don't love them, but I don't hate them either. They're the only earbuds I have at the moment so I'm using them to listen to podcasts while I'm working since I still need to hear my surroundings.

Btw, do you have any earbud you prefer that you'd rec?


SOON! They posted on their FB page that if everything goes smoothly, they'll launch in early June.

Earbuds are mostly an unexplored frontier for me, I just never got into them much because they were uncomfortable and I liked how in ear monitors sounded better. The most recent pickup I had in recent years was the VE Monk Plus and now the Moondrop U-2 out of growing curiosity, so I'm not in a position to recommend any.

I don't dislike the U-2, it's a fairly musical sounding set but just lacked enough detail to do any critical listening and the treble felt a little too dark at times where I had to lean on certain dac/amp synergies to bring it out to an acceptable level for me and at louder volumes. I just feel like the U-2 isn't offering me anything special aside from maybe the soundstage. I'm not writing them off just yet, I plan on continuing to use them as they are rather okayish to wear with the foam covers on. As far as recommending the U-2, I just don't know, I wouldn't feel good about it.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/tangzu-x-hbb-xuan-nv.27168/reviews#review-33992

Left to right:
Top row:
TANGZU XUAN NV $79.00 = 2DD 1 8mm PU X 11mm LCP
Kiwi ears Singolo x Crinacle $79.00 = 1X 11mm LCP DD

Middle row:
QKZ x HBB Hades $49.99 = 2X9mm DD
TINHIFI T5S $129.00 = 1X 10mm DOC DD

Third row:
TINHIFI C2 $29.00 = 1X 10mm PU+LCP DD
BLON X HBB Z300 $35.00 = 1X 10mm Silicone diaphragm

BLON X HBB Z300:
Why did I include this one? Primarily due to it being a HBB collaboration, it also very much defined my point in relation to this new direction in XUAN NV bass curtailment. Very clean, meaning one single 10mm driver in a solid anti-resonance shell will emit a clarity and absorption of off frequencies and lesser harmonic resonances at times. This directness is in contrast to what the TANGZU XUAN NV is about, the XUAN NV is actually a little softer due to the 2X DD fighting. Yet this purity of the HBB Z300 has its merits. Thinner on all counts despite what the added mid-bass does. I hope this makes sense, that there is more mid-bass and lower midrange held in HBB Z300 playback, and a lesser push at 3kHz, yet for whatever reason the forwardness is both more brittle and over-all sounds a hint more sterile? I mean I looked at the graph and while the graph makes sense, this is one IEM that contradicts some of the graph, and makes a reality that 8kHz peak energy oppose from it being just measurement resonances. As such that forward energy combined with the rest makes this IEM way less musical in the end, in comparison to the XUAN NV! Sure it is good for the money, but will ask for less volume levels in playback due to such strict Nurse Ratched character!

I very much enjoy the Z300. Excellent treble and decent stage and imaging, but I find the bass a bit middling in texture and speed, and the mids lack resolution, but for hip hop. pop, or classic rock, I find them quite enjoyable, plus the fit is really comfy for heavy metal shells.

 

[Jmop]

Senn is releasing a new HD620S headphone soon.





SPECIFICATIONS
Wearing Style / Principle: Wired headband, Closed-back
Transducer | Size: Single Dynamic | 42mm w/ 38mm diaphragm
Ear Coupling: Over-ear (Circumaural)
Ear Pad Material: Artificial leather
Impedance: 150Ω
Frequency Response: 6 - 30,000 Hz
THD: <0.05% (1 kHz / 90 dB SPL)
SPL: 105dB (1 kHz / 1 Vrms)
Magnetic Field Strength: 6.25mT
Weight: 11.5 oz
Cable: 6' cable w/ 3.5mm plug (includes 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter)

https://bloomaudio.com/products/sennheiser-hd-620s

This actually might be alright.