The discovery thread!

[kmmbd]

So, I have been listening to the Letshouer Mystic 8 for over a week now.

Let's get the price out of the way first. At nearly $1000 this is an expensive pair of IEMs and faces established competition.

Letshouer did take care of the visual and material side of things to make sure you feel like "money well spent". The PVD coated Titanium alloy shell is really nice to the touch and the intricate faceplate pattern is head-turning.

I am a bit torn about the (faux) diamond inlay and can see them falling out when and if the glue dries, but that's the only nitpick I have.

The stock cable has good quality materials (high purity SPC core) but I wish the wire had lower gauge, because it is quite thin and prone to tangling.

As for the sound, it takes a while to adjust to the Mystic 8 especially if you are coming from the present crop of "unreasonably sub-bass boosted" IEMs. The Mystic 8 is practically neutral, with a very minor sub-bass lift that feels even less due to the BA drivers moving less air than your typical DD.

The mids definitely stand out, and it's one of the best mids in IEMs that I've heard in this price range. The treble has excellent air and smoothness too, nothing is fatiguing yet you hear most of the subtle resonances and decays that often goes missing or gets buried under bombastic sub rumble.

i think in terms of imaging and staging, the Mystic 8 are just "alright". Nothing is too congested or flat, but nothing truly stands out.

Balance is the name of the game here, and the overall timbre is one of the best among all-BA IEMs. The leanness of the bass might put some people off but if you appreciate well-rendered vocals and timbral correctness of strings, pianos, and woodwind instruments - the Mystic 8 should be on your audition list.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

So, I have been listening to the Letshouer Mystic 8 for over a week now.

Let's get the price out of the way first. At nearly $1000 this is an expensive pair of IEMs and faces established competition.

Letshouer did take care of the visual and material side of things to make sure you feel like "money well spent". The PVD coated Titanium alloy shell is really nice to the touch and the intricate faceplate pattern is head-turning.



I am a bit torn about the (faux) diamond inlay and can see them falling out when and if the glue dries, but that's the only nitpick I have.

The stock cable has good quality materials (high purity SPC core) but I wish the wire had lower gauge, because it is quite thin and prone to tangling.



As for the sound, it takes a while to adjust to the Mystic 8 especially if you are coming from the present crop of "unreasonably sub-bass boosted" IEMs. The Mystic 8 is practically neutral, with a very minor sub-bass lift that feels even less due to the BA drivers moving less air than your typical DD.



The mids definitely stand out, and it's one of the best mids in IEMs that I've heard in this price range. The treble has excellent air and smoothness too, nothing is fatiguing yet you hear most of the subtle resonances and decays that often goes missing or gets buried under bombastic sub rumble.

i think in terms of imaging and staging, the Mystic 8 are just "alright". Nothing is too congested or flat, but nothing truly stands out.

Balance is the name of the game here, and the overall timbre is one of the best among all-BA IEMs. The leanness of the bass might put some people off but if you appreciate well-rendered vocals and timbral correctness of strings, pianos, and woodwind instruments - the Mystic 8 should be on your audition list.

Nice review! Seems to line up with consensus impressions. I was supposed to get this in for review, but I've heard nothing since my initial contact with Letshuoer, so no idea if it's still on the way?

 

[jotaerre]

I've heard the cs and the previous gen ess, 9218c. I preferred the ess despite mild treble glare for their better technical performance and I find the timbre on the ess to be more real, transparent, than the cs, warmish with slightly grainy treble, and the newer gen of ess chips have been said to have fixed, mostly, that treble glare. I do now prefer akm after having heard the cma18p though. Maybe that'll change if I try more sources.

Thanks for answering. The question is because the new R3Pro II is about to be released. Although I am very, very happy with my R3 II, I may give it to a friend in exchange for the new model. The new one will have the CS, mine the ESS. I still have some doubts...

 

[gadgetgod]

So, I have been listening to the Letshouer Mystic 8 for over a week now.

Let's get the price out of the way first. At nearly $1000 this is an expensive pair of IEMs and faces established competition.

Letshouer did take care of the visual and material side of things to make sure you feel like "money well spent". The PVD coated Titanium alloy shell is really nice to the touch and the intricate faceplate pattern is head-turning.



I am a bit torn about the (faux) diamond inlay and can see them falling out when and if the glue dries, but that's the only nitpick I have.

The stock cable has good quality materials (high purity SPC core) but I wish the wire had lower gauge, because it is quite thin and prone to tangling.



As for the sound, it takes a while to adjust to the Mystic 8 especially if you are coming from the present crop of "unreasonably sub-bass boosted" IEMs. The Mystic 8 is practically neutral, with a very minor sub-bass lift that feels even less due to the BA drivers moving less air than your typical DD.



The mids definitely stand out, and it's one of the best mids in IEMs that I've heard in this price range. The treble has excellent air and smoothness too, nothing is fatiguing yet you hear most of the subtle resonances and decays that often goes missing or gets buried under bombastic sub rumble.

i think in terms of imaging and staging, the Mystic 8 are just "alright". Nothing is too congested or flat, but nothing truly stands out.

Balance is the name of the game here, and the overall timbre is one of the best among all-BA IEMs. The leanness of the bass might put some people off but if you appreciate well-rendered vocals and timbral correctness of strings, pianos, and woodwind instruments - the Mystic 8 should be on your audition list.

Mine might be arriving tomorrow. Our customs are taking longer than usual now a days. Mystic8 has been in transit for like 20 days now.

 

[BlankName]

Thanks for answering. The question is because the new R3Pro II is about to be released. Although I am very, very happy with my R3 II, I may give it to a friend in exchange for the new model. The new one will have the CS, mine the ESS. I still have some doubts...

It depends on what you want, my focus in audio has been on going up the chain for sources and getting transducers that better align with my tastes and use case. Lower tier sources tend to sound similarish so if you want better or a noticeably different sound then you'll have to jump a price tier from my experience, ie r6iii 2025 or dx180 (I haven't tried either).

 

[Leonarfd]

I have some new toys that arrived before the weekend, the TRI i3 MK3 already had many impressions before in the thread. Quite capable set for the price, its a little bass light for my taste. But an impedance adapter like 15-30 work wonder with that aspect, making it much more enjoyable.

The other one is the new cheap KBear KB02, this actually impressed me more than the i3. Quite fun energetic set, and cheap also. Much more warmth than the i3 Mk3, it also have more bite up top. Reminds me of the Kinera Wyvern Black, but better bass quality and less piercing.

I will make some more posts when I have used them a week or two, perhaps small reviews for both.

 

[alexandros a]

i am back and got some news for you guys...........

very first impressions (as mentioned during last week) over Apevoix Grit (1DD + 4BA + 1BC Tribrid IEM ).........
Apevoix Grit completed earlier today 100 hours of continuous burn in time and as it seems to become a habbit to me ..............(have followed the exact same procedure over ISN EBC80 set which i got during Christmas holidays) so no straight listening straight OOTB..seems like I have become a strong believer of burning in the drivers of each set i get during these days....what surprised me most was the choise of the brand of only 3.5 single ended cable
i use to listen to really high volumes and when i plugged in the Grits on my DX180 which displays a surprisingly 6Vrms at High Gain setting i had to turn the volume up to 85 out of 100 steps to get an almost decent headstage.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That really discouraged me a lot so i quickly changed the termination using a different 4.4 cable....i choosed to use ISN C4 balanced 4.4 with the Grits in order to fully enjoy a loud music experience and obtain a decent head stage as i am used to with all my other sets..........so any observations follow right after are only based using only balanced 4.4 terminated cable for this hour and a half listening section......

One thing is for sure as far as this Tribrid goes...........:

DARK TONALITY - COLOURED SOUND
..and this is the main philosophy of the Grit's tuning ......
any of you looking ofr a neutral/natural sound stop reading right now.......
for the rest of you who really enjoy/appreciate heavily manipulated coloured signature you are free to go on
(at your responsibility.....)
.....cause this Grit will be like hosting a party inside your brain folks............
i have started working on a full review over this one since today ....a set which seems to share some common DNA ground with the similarly priced ISN NEO 3 while i have just started listening to this one for an hour and a half more so ...as you can tell it will take some days for all the necessary comparisons/tests to take place ( i assume sooooo....)
so..............here are (follows) some pros & cons of Apevoix Grit as long as i managed to listened to it having allready completed a full 100 hours of total burn in section.....(just started listening today i remind you all.....)

PROS :
- Surprisingly amazing / excellent layering and multi-dimensional surround sound experience like hosting a party inside your brain......
- followed by terrific spaciality of elements/sound cues across your hypothetical headstage...soundstage and atmosphere is the star of the show here......
- Ideal for electronica/IDM/HipHop/Dance and heavily digitally manipulated music
- Absolutely Tremendous Bass response,bass is nothing less than excellent here ,more than substantial quantity and of godsend quality...i was amazed at this price point truth is.........
- wondeful/Delicious excellent long decays from the lowest to the highest part of the entire FR lingering inside your head longer than you had expected to.........
- excellent depth scene adds to the surround sound experience big time.........
-Decent detail retrieval
-Fatique free long listening with smooth subdued but not artificial treble reproduction..

CONS :
- Certainly requires lots...meaning lots of power in order for you to get a decent headstage and enjoy the real bone conduction implementation experience......
- from time to time some BA timbre particularly over the higher registries/not the most extended treble,roll of is more than obvious at this case.....
- those searching for a PENON midrange you simply ain't gonna find it here guys...sorry...it is airy and spacious but not lush or reach in nuances and texture.. not the star of the show.....feels a bit compressed/under limits compared to the lows and the highs overall......
- its almost a crime to me...... that a 4.4 option isn't include cause its absolutely ****ing necessary here......
-Heavy colouration / Not for naturalists/neutralheads...............

soooooooooooooo..........thats all for now.......i ll be starting coming from tommorow any kind of comparisons with similarly and much higher priced hybrids/tribrids and coming back while i am preparing my full time review............but just for the record for 220 $ i wasnt expecting much but i was wrong this seems like a pleasant much welcomed surprise at this price....keep letting you know more in just a few days......see ya.............

the night is young....and the party is still on..................

 

[Argha]

What does this mean? I'm old.

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[o0genesis0o]

Which DAC chip is better: CS43198 or ES9219C?

It will depend on the implementation, I know. Then there is the thing about... it's all a matter of taste, I know that too.

Thanks!

It’s hard to say, since the circuitry around those DACs matter, as you already know. Even those same CS chip can sound neutral on AFUL dongle and warm on Simgot dongle.

Personally, I lost faith in ESS for a few years until testing the R6 Pro Max, but that’s not fair since the DACs in R6 are from desktop line, not portable line (may or may not make any difference). So, I will lean towards CS43198 this time.

Objectively speaking (at least from what I understand reading blogs of an audio engineer), ESS is pretty much top notch in objective metrics if one knows how to use it properly. CS “cheats” on spec sheet to look better. Maybe that slightly gooey sound of CS makes it more “natural”.

Edit: the engineer I’m talking about is the one behind E1DA products.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

I have some new toys that arrived before the weekend, the TRI i3 MK3 already had many impressions before in the thread. Quite capable set for the price, its a little bass light for my taste. But an impedance adapter like 15-30 work wonder with that aspect, making it much more enjoyable.

The other one is the new cheap KBear KB02, this actually impressed me more than the i3. Quite fun energetic set, and cheap also. Much more warmth than the i3 Mk3, it also have more bite up top. Reminds me of the Kinera Wyvern Black, but better bass quality and less piercing.

I will make some more posts when I have used them a week or two, perhaps small reviews for both.

Yep. KB02 is the biggest budget surprise for me in late 2024-early 2025. Simply stellar sound for what you get. Agreed.

Respectfully disagree with the i3 MK III being "bass lite". Now yes, they do lack a bit of mid bass energy, with very little mid bass bleed to warm the mids, and yes, there's quite a few folks here who are slaves to mid bass presence and energy, and need it on pretty much everything (this is why we got so many detractors about the 81T and Performer 7, despite being excellent sets). The bass is there, and it can provide some punch and sub bass based on your sources. Run these suckers on my upscaled B4-X, and holy bl**p, the bass shows up in spades, and sometimes I'm thinking "this could be a bit much", but yeah, on a lot of sources, the bass can come off as being a bit "polite". For sure.

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Thank you. Now I get it! Key words to optimize search clicks.

 

[jotaerre]

It’s hard to say, since the circuitry around those DACs matter, as you already know. Even those same CS chip can sound neutral on AFUL dongle and warm on Simgot dongle.

Personally, I lost faith in ESS for a few years until testing the R6 Pro Max, but that’s not fair since the DACs in R6 are from desktop line, not portable line (may or may not make any difference). So, I will lean towards CS43198 this time.

Objectively speaking (at least from what I understand reading blogs of an audio engineer), ESS is pretty much top notch in objective metrics if one knows how to use it properly. CS “cheats” on spec sheet to look better. Maybe that slightly gooey sound of CS makes it more “natural”.

Edit: the engineer I’m talking about is the one behind E1DA products.

Wise explanation, it couldn't be better. This, like other hobbies, is starting to be tremendously addictive. As I am also a Gemini, I will opt for a deep conversation between the two of us.

As you can see, the change of the R3 is rather due to a mere whim.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

It’s hard to say, since the circuitry around those DACs matter, as you already know. Even those same CS chip can sound neutral on AFUL dongle and warm on Simgot dongle.

Personally, I lost faith in ESS for a few years until testing the R6 Pro Max, but that’s not fair since the DACs in R6 are from desktop line, not portable line (may or may not make any difference). So, I will lean towards CS43198 this time.

Objectively speaking (at least from what I understand reading blogs of an audio engineer), ESS is pretty much top notch in objective metrics if one knows how to use it properly. CS “cheats” on spec sheet to look better. Maybe that slightly gooey sound of CS makes it more “natural”.

Edit: the engineer I’m talking about is the one behind E1DA products.

Very well explained. Thanks.

 

[Ineras]

Are you able to check first that it draws 5V and only 5V (or whatever the correct amount is for the DCE) and no more?

At any rate, good luck, be careful and report back!

Received the Akliam EC02. Trying it out first with my Hiby FC3, all good so far.

Edit: with DC-Elite

With another adapter, you can charge your phone at the same time.

 

[Scubadevils]

Still trying to catch up with reviews, and find it awkward when a brand reaches out asking for an update - not that I've had any put pressure on me, but I still feel responsible to provide a review within a reasonable timeframe which for me is ideally about 4-5 weeks.

Anyway, review now published for the excellent BGVP NS10 Pro - definitely my top choice set now in this price segment. Leans a touch energetic which might not be for everyone, but an incredibly engaging and exciting signature that I find highly addictive... and indeed goes beyond the $199 price tag - the sort of set I'd love to do a blindfold 'guess the price' test on seasoned addicts

Between the Phantom SE and now the much cheaper NS10 Pro, I have to say I'm very impressed by BGVP and eager to see what they come up with next.

Review HERE

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Been enjoying the Clarinet out of USB c, while my DX170 charges. It's brighter than Coax, but as you know, I can handle brightness with ease.

But it might be time to switch over to TOOBS, before my work day begins?