The discovery thread!

[PhonoPhi]

I don't even see eye to eye with red many times, but still, this comment is not cool, and misplaced within any community. In ours? Egregious.

@jbfps116 - You can get these on Amazon. These are about as good as something from Status Audio, Raycon, Jrumz or any of those sellers who you see on Facebook or Amazon selling "innovative and studio grade" BT earbuds.

Sure, you are the same part of the reviewers here. You took some long path to get there... Nothing cool about it, sure!

Your petty rival with "moose" here is just a fight for some dominance in this sand box, as welll as the fight for some fairly limited "reviewer" resources- with "moose" being totly more "mentally flexible" and "winning".

P. S. "Moose" loving you as per their last comment is totly precious to witness here

 

[pk4425]

This thread is not good for my UK wallet. Just had the Phoenixia arrive and in my email was a Penon Fan 3 50% off voucher and @Redcarmoose review link!!!!

So yes bought that also and it’s incoming

Hope you dig the Fan 3! Still my favorite IEM, even as I graduate into more mid-fi sets. It was my first in that class and still my fave.

KZ is borderline hilarious. 16 BA for $56. This company is the poster child of the "let's throw feces against a slick wall and see what sticks" marketing mantra of some Chi-fi companies.

Sure, you are the same part of the reviewers here. You took some long path to get there... Nothing cool about it, sure!

Your petty rival with "moose" here is just a fight for some dominance in this sand box, as welll as the fight for some fairly limited "reviewer" resources- with "moose" being totly more "mentally flexible" and "winning".

P. S. "Moose" loving you as per their last comment is totly precious

Dude, what's your end goal with these posts? We are a community of enthusiasts, many of whom also review. That's nothing new here, at least not since I've been around starting in December 2023. That comes with its inherent conflicts of interest, especially since none of us are professional reviewers. So, either accept or move on.

If you're trying to be the lone guy standing in front of the tank in Tianamen Square, congratulations. Your bravery inspires me to take up arms against THE MAN.

Otherwise, continually banging on about how compromised this thread and its participants are is a ticket to nowhere but self-satisfaction within the catacombs of your self-righteous mind.

Finally, is it Go Sens or Go Leafs for you?

 

[WAON303]

KZ is borderline hilarious. 16 BA for $56. This company is the poster child of the "let's throw feces against a slick wall and see what sticks" marketing mantra of some Chi-fi companies.

KZ is that kid who says a lot of unfunny jokes but hopes one of them makes people laugh.

Imagine if this KZ is just as good as the old Divinity V16? Wouldn't that be a huge plot twist?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

@FreeWheelinAudioLuv2,
We don't always see eye to eye, but I luv ya anyway!

Respect, buddy. You keep being you and delivering the highlight reviews.

Sure, you are the same part of the reviewers here. You took some long path to get there... Nothing cool about it, sure!

Your petty rival with "moose" here is just a fight for some dominance in this sand box, as welll as the fight for some fairly limited "reviewer" resources- with "moose" being totly more "mentally flexible" and "winning".

P. S. "Moose" loving you as per their last comment is totly precious to witness here

I took NO ROAD. I was retired from reviewing, and had no desire or will to do any reviews (for free or reduced gear). I was approached by a seller in private, asking me if I would be interested in reviewing a planar of theirs, at a reduced price, and I said sure. I'd been freely buying my gear, and providing this community with impressions for years. Then after that very short lived cooperation, then I was asked by a well known and awesome reviewer here if I would be interested in doing reviews for HiFiGo. At that time, I had watched @thaslaya do reviews, and he was the first guy to ask me if I was interested in swapping loaner sets? Right after I started doing that, and joining tours, is when I got the request to review (something that was not of my impetus in the least. They came to ME). I said yes, and so there was no road to anything. It just happened, based on the respect my impressions of gear got from this amazing community. So there's no "winning" or "TOTLY radical" or being mentally flexible or being "calculated". What about reviews of tour units? Tainted as well? Those are free for a limited time!! Most of my reviews will go from 3-4.5, and I even gave a 2, and I've never given a 5. So basically, the exact same formula and delivery that I used to give the gear that I paid my hard earned cash for. So you got me wrong, you got most people wrong here, and it's never a good look to appear jealous of anyone. We're all in this together, bro. But before you cast aspersions, maybe learn the background first? Just saying.

KZ is that kid who says a lot of unfunny jokes but hopes one of them makes people laugh.

Imagine if this KZ is just as good as the old Divinity V16? Wouldn't that be a huge plot twist?

That KZ is interesting. AM16 with bass boosted tuning? I actually enjoyed the AS10 Pro while I owned it, but sold it because of the ear pressure build up, and not because of the sonics, because it was actually a very nice sounding IEM. This AM16 probably has the same issues, but $56.00 it is not for us humble Americans at the moment. Thanks orange dude!!

 

[caryking]

Absolutely. One of my fondest musical memories came in 1986, when I attended a college journalism conference in Washington, D.C., as the sports editor of my college paper along with our executive editor and assistant editor. We were there for two nights and went to a jazz club in Georgetown on the first night.

Killer trio was playing. Piano, upright bass, drums. Playing bop and hard bop, which I LOVE. It was the classic cliched jazz club scene -- dim lighting, round cabaret tables with candles, wood-paneled walls, everyone sipping drinks and absorbing all the beautiful music. An indelible memory for me, even 39 years later!

Go see some live jazz in a small club. It's magical

I’m a jazz person as well. I’ve been trying to get into the Villiage Vanguard in NYC whenever I visit my daughter. Typically, the act is not something I find compelling enough to go see.

 

[AnakChan]

@FreeWheelinAudioLuv2,
We don't always see eye to eye, but I luv ya anyway!

To be frank, that’s pretty common with lotsa married couples.

(sorry, that’s the best ChatGPT could do!)

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

To be frank, that’s pretty common with lotsa married couples.



(sorry, that’s the best ChatGPT could do!)

LOL That's hilarious!

---

Been kickin it tonight with my ISN EBC80. Trying to decide if it goes on the chopping block along with the Penon Fan 3. WEll, at this moment in time, I think it's been saving itself from that fate, though this could change at any time, but thru the Nunchaku and Hiby R3 II, it's a fluid, warm, and shimmery sound with a very large soundstage and full midrange (thanks BCD!!). Just wish it was a little more resolute, like the Archangel. Then on to the Apostle and the Maris, as I wind down my review, and prepare to send them off to the next lucky audiophile.

 

[Ineras]

Haven't seen those BA bass drivers on the AM16 before.

 

[pawdiophile]

Hi, would really appreciate it if you could spare a few minutes to complete this short survey on IEM cases! (It’s a personal project and not affiliated with any company.)


Link: https://forms.gle/LrCnXsEMkzuVoq8r6


Thanks!

 

[o0genesis0o]

Haven't seen those BA bass drivers on the AM16 before.

I unironically want that IEM just to test their BAs. So weird how none of them has the sprout.

 

[Hypops]

Been listening to my newly arrived Aful PolarNight off and on throughout the day. They are my first set of flathead earbuds so they are taking some getting used to.

Getting the fit/positioning right takes some real finesse. It'll be a while before I feel confident in how I'm positioning these in my ears. But for now, the farther away from my ear canal the better. If I leave them on for 20-30mins, they naturally slide out to a sort of natural "ledge" in my ear. Once they're there, they sound excellent. Could be the time and brain burn-in, or it could be something about being positioned very shallow that evens out their response.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Been listening to my newly arrived Aful Polarnight off and on throughout the day. They are my first set of flathead earbuds so they are taking some getting used to.

Getting the fit/positioning right takes some real finesse. It'll be a while before I feel confident in how I'm positioning these in my ears. But for now, the farther away from my ear canal the better. If I leave them on for 20-30mins, they naturally slide out to a sort of natural "ledge" in my ear. Once they're there, they sound excellent. Could be the time and brain burn-in, or it could be something about being positioned very shallow that evens out their response.

Take your time. The best fit for buds, IMHO, is not to jam as air tight as possible, but to ensure that the buds "hang" onto the "pocket" outside the ear canal (sorry for the lack of vocabulary) stable enough that even if I shake my head, the buds do not fall out. That's how they were tuned.

My graph (take it with a bucket of salt. These graphs are never accurate)

I measure more bass than AFUL's 5128 graph (I think 5128. Need to check the doc again). I also think the 15 db ear gain is pretty real. But buds measure different from IEMs, so you shouldn't compare apple-to-orange here. 15dB on IEM is deadly. 15dB on buds feels like a standard Harman 12.5dB on IEMs. Still, I wish AFUL pulls this down just a touch.

Across all of my buds, only TGXear serratus has a similar level of treble extension. Surprise surprise (well, not surprising, actually), both of them are the most of technical buds I have ever tested.

Edit: that's an excellent level of channel balance, btw. I have seen much worse from factory-made buds. But to be fair, it's not as impressive as how DIYer manage to achieve channel balance despite all the drilling and moding they did to the shells, given that everything is 3D printed inside PolarNight.

Edit 2: I don't recommend using full foams on these. Subjectively, I hear worse bass response, less dynamic. Objectively, I measure a slight drop in bass response. The hypothesis here is that AFUL deliberately uses the donut foams to increase the ventilation at the front of the driver. Thus full foam = choking the driver beyond the intended design.

 

[Hypops]

Take your time. The best fit for buds, IMHO, is not to jam as air tight as possible, but to ensure that the buds "hang" onto the "pocket" outside the ear canal (sorry for the lack of vocabulary) stable enough that even if I shake my head, the buds do not fall out. That's how they were tuned.

That totally jives with my experience. I also couldn't think of the most "technical" way to describe it, but yeah. What you said. That spot.

My graph (take it with a bucket of salt. These graphs are never accurate)



I measure more bass than AFUL's 5128 graph (I think 5128. Need to check the doc again). I also think the 15 db ear gain is pretty real. But buds measure different from IEMs, so you shouldn't compare apple-to-orange here.

This reflects the treble-forward sound I was originally getting, but the combination of going "raw dog" (no foams) and letting the buds naturally slide outward over time solved that big ear-gain spike for me. That also leveled out the boominess I was originally getting in the mid-bass and brought up some of those treble accents. I'm really enjoying them now.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Haven't seen those BA bass drivers on the AM16 before.

Vented BA drivers?! Do you see the vent hole? How much is this going for again? I might have to dip when the dip rolls back the tax?

Take your time. The best fit for buds, IMHO, is not to jam as air tight as possible, but to ensure that the buds "hang" onto the "pocket" outside the ear canal (sorry for the lack of vocabulary) stable enough that even if I shake my head, the buds do not fall out. That's how they were tuned.

My graph (take it with a bucket of salt. These graphs are never accurate)



I measure more bass than AFUL's 5128 graph (I think 5128. Need to check the doc again). I also think the 15 db ear gain is pretty real. But buds measure different from IEMs, so you shouldn't compare apple-to-orange here. 15dB on IEM is deadly. 15dB on buds feels like a standard Harman 12.5dB on IEMs. Still, I wish AFUL pulls this down just a touch.

Across all of my buds, only TGXear serratus has a similar level of treble extension. Surprise surprise (well, not surprising, actually), both of them are the most of technical buds I have ever tested.

Edit: that's an excellent level of channel balance, btw. I have seen much worse from factory-made buds. But to be fair, it's not as impressive as how DIYer manage to achieve channel balance despite all the drilling and moding they did to the shells, given that everything is 3D printed inside PolarNight.

Edit 2: I don't recommend using full foams on these. Subjectively, I hear worse bass response, less dynamic. Objectively, I measure a slight drop in bass response. The hypothesis here is that AFUL deliberately uses the donut foams to increase the ventilation at the front of the driver. Thus full foam = choking the driver beyond the intended design.

I don't hear that at all with full foams.

That totally jives with my experience. I also couldn't think of the most "technical" way to describe it, but yeah. What you said. That spot.


This reflects the treble-forward sound I was originally getting, but the combination of going "raw dog" (no foams) and letting the buds naturally slide outward over time solved that big ear-gain spike for me. That also leveled out the boominess I was originally getting in the mid-bass and brought up some of those treble accents. I'm really enjoying them now.

Congrats on the Polar Night! Great set! That benefits from bass foams.

 

[Nimweth]

Not "tribrid" - quad (quatre), at least get it correct for your "review" of " free samples", mon cher...

I was silent for a month just watching the thread, your last comment triggered my sentiments about reviewers of Penon and Linsoul here...

Yeah, just get a right cable synergy and any review can be fully justified

On a more constructive note, source-transducer synergies can be so profound - I could not believe one of the negative synergies recently.

Of course, it might be "tetrabrid" from the Greek.
Meanwhile I have been testing the Ziigaat Lush and it sounds like the love child of the Kiwi Ears KE4 and Airoso. Brighter and more lively than the KE4 but more balanced than the Airoso with better bass. More to come soon.