The discovery thread!

[Argha]

An easy trick to help prevent you from constantly spending on new stuff:

 

[nikbr]

YIKES! Lawsuits flying left, right, and center

 

[cqtek]

Hello everyone.

Here is my review of the Kiwi Ears Airoso, some IEMS that I found to be better than expected. Appearances can be deceiving.
On the other hand, I can't understand the amount of new products that Kiwi Ears brings to the market. Will there be a new 1DD+6BA model called Astral? It's too high a rate, even more so when there are good models like this Airoso.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kiwi-ears-airoso.27972/reviews#review-37372

 

[mathe0]

Purely based on impressions and no A/B, I'd say Project M outdoes the Punch for bass texture and Braindance outdoes it in sub-bass force, but neither of those has the silky top end that the Punch does.

In search of a slighty warmer Project M since it's bass is excellent imo . Should I look at the Punch?

 

[Hypops]

Bass is important to get the rest of the sound "right", IMHO. The "right" bass needs to be "fat" enough, but not too much that it's messy and clumsy. It turns out there is a wisdom in the older tuning of single DD with a hump around 250Hz and gently rolling off in the subbass.

Yes to everything but the rolloff! My affection for the qdc Superior EX has everything to do with that old-school single-DD-style tuning.

Congrats Hypops, its a very solid set. If not for also owning Hisenior Mega5EST BASS+ I would have used Punch as my daily driver at work as balanced basshead set.

I'm impressed and surprised. I fully expected the Punch to be a "sometimes food" sort of set.

Yeah, but when bass is clean early around 250-300Hz IEMs don't sound so bassy on certain music. But for me who love dub techno the Punch and Bass+ can get too much making it a mess. But for most music it just sound so good and fun.

I listen to a lot of hip hop and R&B/soul. Definitely hasn't gotten to be too much yet. I put it to the test with two of my favorite (and bass heavy) albums: Dinner Party by Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington, and 9th Wonder, and Voodoo by D'Angelo. What's weird is that the Punch doesn't sound like a "fun" tuning to me--a word I associate with coloration and/or v-shape tunings. It sounds natural and balanced. Bassy, for sure, but not at all overpowering. I honestly just think my ears need a lot more Vitamin B(ass) than I've been giving them up to now!

Kiwi Ears still have no review program for Punch, so I reached out for Linsoul instead. Even if its a collab IEM with HBB its a set many would love, would be nice with more reviews for it.

This explains the relative dearth of reviews. Surprising considering the brand. But I vaguely remember someone mentioning HBB having a specific reason for not doing the full-blown review circuit on this one, but I don't remember the reason (and I don't watch his vids). Maybe feeling burned after the FatFreq debacle?

Yep, your EQ'd bass shelves were a strong clue, but this is the final piece of the puzzle. You're 100% a basshead, and no, there is no cure.

But the weirder thing is that sets that others find intolerably bright (e.g., Project M) also sound even-tempered to me. Either my ears or broken, or I'm miraculously good with either boosted bass or boosted treble. I apparently swing both ways. A surprise to me!

In search of a slighty warmer Project M since it's bass is excellent imo . Should I look at the Punch?

Ha. Wouldn't go quite that far. Project M has a weird sort of "warmth" already for me, centered higher than usual in the midrange. Gives it a "shushy" sort of sound. But it's a technical monster, which is where I think a lot of its amazing bass texture comes from. By contrast, the Punch isn't much for technicalities nor does it sound especially "warm" to me. Its bass stays enough out of the way not to impact the overall tonality too much. Like its namesake, the Punch is punchy and full bodied, where I'd describe the Project M as snappy and lean.

 

[jbfps116]

Well folks... I'm CULLING two sets that ranked very highly in my scores: the KZ Vader Balanced and KZ Castor Pro Bass. There's a few reasons:

~They both have an odd tucked-style bass that does NOT glide smoothly into the mids. While that might be one method to reduce muddiness in the mids, it doesn't sound very natural. The mid-bass slams can be disarmingly intense at times that don't call for it.

~The KZ ZVX Pro is a BEAST. Like it's end-game budget territory. Bass is still intense, but a bit more natural. It's incredibly capable for a single DD as well, and the 2 and 3-DD configurations of the Castor Pro Bass and Vader Balanced, respectively, aren't THAT much more technically capable, and sometimes, don't form a coherent sound. [I'm being PICKY here...because I have a lot of IEMs and want to cull some. To most people, those sets would likely sound amazing.]

~The Tiandirenhe TD08 Pro Odin is a Beast for ultra-bass response. Another single DD, this set is a go-to for awesome bass, and it doesn't bleed much at all, and has clear, airy response in the rest of the FR. Also, the QKZ ZXN is in this category, although not quite as bassy as the TD08 Pro.

~My more expensive [>$100] sets are generally better in tonality and coherence and capability, and I've not been culling any of them, which makes piling up budget sets a bit...wasteful. The $200 Zhewuyusheng Trinity is also 3-DD and has AMAZING stage, and it has a fun sound that I want to explore more of. The Pula PA02 is also quite bassy, with much better mids and treble response than the Castor/Vader series.

~I'm getting the TRN Shell, which has a FR graph that's closer to my preferences... no tucked bass here, but a long glide into the mids. I'm betting on them to have a richer sound than the rather clinical Vader and Castor.

 

[Leonarfd]

Ruviest showcased the design of their first model Prelude:

New Design Alert

Dive into the vibrant hues of the season with the finalized Prelude exterior! Get an exclusive first look at this chromatic masterpiece

Stay tuned for more reveals coming soon! #RUVIEST #IEM #Prelude

 

[Nimweth]

So... I put the H20's cable on the YuXuanJi [which I STILL haven't actually culled yet] and am listening to some jazz [Sister by Emma Johnson's Gravy Boat] and WOW... I can see why jazz lover @FreeWheelinAudioLuv2 still owns the YXJ... it's GOOD with jazz, with the air and texture for the saxophones... superb. The H20 sounds darker in comparison, but with obviously more BASS punch. But despite the darker sound, the H20 still sounds great... just not as effortlessly spacious and airy in the treble.

But on BASSY tracks, the YXJ still shows bass weakness. "Oneironaut" by Machinedrum has a strong bassline, but on the YXJ... you're not getting very much guttural bass at all.

"Bahia Nights" by Hennie Bekker sounds so spacious on the YXJ... it's a joy to listen to. The guitars sound nice and clean, and separate from the other instruments. H20 also sounds good, with more of a Left-Right stage effect...

"Beneath the Clouds" by Ghostly Kisses on the H60 has great bass for sure... The sub bass waves can be felt in the stomach! Vocals a tad subdued. The YXJ sounds so much more crisper with the treble beats, in a good way. Bass can be heard, but not felt as much.

"Sanity" by Arstidir... So clean and crisp with the YXJ... still bass-light. The H20 here has actually surprisingly pleasant treble performance on the harpsichord [or whatever instrument that is]

Hennie Bekker! I thought I was the only one who has heard of him. I have many albums by him, "Mirage", perhaps, is my favourite.

 

[Neeoo]

My review for the Dita Mecha is up now. https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/dita-audio-mecha.27831/reviews#review-37373

 

[Leonarfd]

Got a delivery by EarAcoustic Audio, all of them DDs with double DD on the STA models. Had a short listen and photo shoot, will keep impressions for later.

STA-Hi End
10mm Dual Magnet Beryllium DD + 6mm Composite DD

STA-Pro Max
10mm Dual Magnet LCP DD + 6mm Titanium Plated DD

SPA-Hi End
11.4mm Titanium Gold Shield, Silicon Crystal Edge Dome and Dual Magnet

SPA-Limited Edition-2
11.4mm Titanium Gold Shield, Silicon Crystal Edge Dome and Dual Magnet

 

[MakeItWain]

The worst thing about the Kiwi Ears Punch is that I'm worried I might need to check out other HBB collabs. I haven't been able to tear these things out of my ears all day.

Okay, yes, these are "bassy" headphones. But I'm genuinely shocked by how natural this much bass sounds to me. Everything I'd heard, read, and seen about this set had me expecting to feel and hear nothing but bass. And it seems like, for some, that's exactly what a set like this sounds/feels like. I guess I'm just surprised to discover that I'm not one of those people.

For reference, I'm an old-school speaker guy who has a 2.1 system tuned to a tee. That system is my reference for what sounds "natural." That speaker rig has been thoroughly measured, positioned, tuned, built, and treated over the course of years to be flat (well, technically, sloped, but same difference). And to my ears, that's a good thing. I love how my speaker setup sounds. By that reference and by my ears, the Punch are the first set of IEMs to approach that system. The Punch sound more correct to me than any other IEM I've heard (admittedly, I'm still in the <20 sets crowd). But looking back at every other IEM I've liked and kept, these are tuned nothing like those other sets. Maybe I should have known I had bass-leaning hearing (for IEMs only) when the Symphonium Meteor were my prior pick for tonal correctness.

By comparison to speakers and full-size headphones, the dive into IEMs really feels like an intensely personal journey. No joke.

Two quick points: it's probably my favorite HBB collab IEM (along with Deuce afterwards) so really up to you. Arcadia is also really good but goes hand in hand against Odyssey which more people may like more.

Point two: as a man who loves bass...

That's true for me of my treble-forward IEMs and full-size headphones. I love the ones I love, but they do take some time to adjust to (like getting into the cold water of the ocean).

But this was my first real experience with a self-described "basshead" set. The Punch surprised me. There was no adjustment necessary. They immediately sounded right. Like finding the perfect shoe on first fitting. I wasn't expecting that.

It's got great capabilities as a basshead all rounder. The implementation of the drivers carries it a bit more than like the Maestro Mini or the Nightjar Singularity which technically measure similar levels of bass but the tuning and ESTs for the Punch really make things not feel lacking at all.

Three cheers for the Cayin N3 Ultra, iBasso Nunchaku, and Little Bear B4-X with upgraded opamp! hurrah hurrah hurrah! TOOBS 4eva!!

Lucky for you, there is nothing by HBB that comes even remotely close to the Punch, which is why it caught @Ineras so off guard (he was one of the first to get the Punch). Nothing even remotely close in sonics or performance (except for MAYBE his super spendy units like the Lava, Mahina, or Jupiter?) in that price range or lower.

Yeah, I think the Punch was the more aggressive bass sets of all the HBB collabs besides Deuce which is a different basshead type of set with the super deep sub-bass emphasis.

In search of a slighty warmer Project M since it's bass is excellent imo . Should I look at the Punch?

No, haha. Definitely not.

 

[PhonoPhi]

Just few images, no words:

 

[jbfps116]

FINALLY got my next cull lot listed! I ended up saving one set of Wan'er, and the Wan'er SE out just because they look so good, and they don't sound terrible. [I actually enjoyed a brief listen to the Wan'er SE and I do appreciate the smooth treble response!] Mostly, I want to compare them to the Wan'er 2 when it comes in. If anyone here sends an offer, mention the Discovery thread and I'll accept a large discount. The Total value in MSRP is almost $500 but we all know I probably only spent like 300 on all that stuff with AE sales lol. Hopefully haha. I might miss the Vader and the stunningly handsome Castor Pro Bass a little, but like I said in a previous post, I have better options already so... Some HAVE to go.

 

[pradiptacr7]

My review of the EarAcoustic Silver Angel Limited is now Live.

These are veeery optimistically priced. Sound quality is nowhere near their pricepoint, but they do look interesting, come with a good cable, and might appeal to some V-shapers that can handle the heat and don't mind the technical deficits.

Hi, I would like to invite you to share your review link and impression for EarAcoustic Audio to the following thread please.
- https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earacoustic-audio-impression-discussion-thread.976113/

This is Hisenior, right?
Is it still available with that shell?

Yes, this is Mega5EST. But I believe they are not making this shell for Universal IEMs anymore. You can opt for custom to get the design.

I'm hoping it's just something to do with my particular unit, but I don't know? This happens and it's not slight heat. It's hurts to the skin touch HOT. Doesn't happen really unless plugged into the charger.

Never tried to put both together. Whenever tried with my PC, always with the battery only where co-ax or USB as the input. However, I'll try and see how my unit behaves.

Just few images, no words:

Is it new Earmen's tube-amp?

 

[MakeItWain]

Is it new Earmen's tube-amp?

Believe that's the Quedelix-T71 dac/amp plugged into Hiby R4