The discovery thread!

[PeacockObscura]

What you can buy for less than $40 is incredible the ISN NEO 1 see my review
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/isn-neo1.26852/reviews

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

X3 TANCHJIM got me hooked with all these excellent IEMs.

The Bunny is brilliant, and so is the ZERO and the One, so really excited about the Fission.

Neu metal treble ?? Sounds interesting lol, joking apart as I mentioned before) I'm not totl'y au fait with the whole meta tuning thing: hence I'll have to judge it old skool stylee!

So if we toss out the meta terms, let's just say it's got polite treble, and lacks a bit of bite in the upper mids and treble region, so the notes are a bit blunt or rounded, but still with enough crispness to where the music isn't boring.

The new Tangzu iem is 1dd 6ba 1bc

This is a very promising array, but with the current climate in the U.S/China trade, most of these new releases just aren't tempting due to the fiscal approach.

And it is mine but seriously i was listening to the Tangzu Bajie and yes its a good iem but the tuning how it sounded was just my cup of tea.

When you find something that you like this much then new release from them becomes something i consider.
But this is the only Tangzu iem i have heard i have the warner bit i bought to use that as a box art piece i think ill open it up now to see if there is a specific house tuning tangzu has going on that i really like.

What are you guys thoughts on this, do they have a house sig or did just the baije just got it right and others Iems from Tangzu have different sound type?

Tangzu absolutely has no house sound. I have owned or continue to own about 6-7 Tangzu IEMs, and none of them sound anything alike, so Tangzu tunes to the tech, and not to achieve a certain tone, so even the Wu Zetian and the Legend are tuned wildly different.

Great recommendation for this album bro.

Septet looks interesting.

Looks beautiful, and the open design creates a really cool soundstage and spatial cues, but it's on the thinner side of neutral, and if you don't like PZT tonality, you won't like this, because it's got more PZT crispness and timbre than the EW300, with a neutral, linear mid bass.

Septet is indeed intresting, its open back design really adds to the stage and it feel more open, and it sounds so smooth.





It is a good chance for me to post here my full review of the Septet & Astral haha

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kiwi-ears-septet.28165/review/37976/



https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kiwi-ears-astral.28168/review/37977/


Any like and/or comment will be blessed

I must say, these releases of Kiwi Ears are indeed intresting, the Septet is very unique in so many ways, and the Astral is just so good and does nothing wrong. The Astral is my second IEM that deserved getting a 5 stars review.

Septet is good with a warm source (Sony DAPs) and 4.4mm.

Love it...I have upgraded to a new custom keyboard as well, and I love my Soymilk MOG profile keycaps

What an absolutely brilliant keyboard, but I'm too messy. That keyboard would get gunked up way too fast with all that spacing. lol

https://hifigo.com/collections/new-arrival/products/ibasso-dx260mk2
iBasso DX260MK2

For those of you who collect kilobuck DAPs, another one has entered the chat! Elegant design, but no information about it. Just a photo dump. A successor to the DX180?

Agreed, the Defiant I think I've had it for 10 days. It has a close sound signature to my Shanling Tino, which were my favorite until these. The Juzear Defiant just hit you harder, I feel they have more energy in the bass and treble compared to IEMs with very similar dB levels per frequency.
Not sure how to explain that - the sound itself is just more fun but it sounds natural like the Tino. I'd say this is my default sound with the vocal bump higher near 3-4Khz.

Right! I've found it difficult to describe just why it hits me in the feels from a technical level too. They just do. That's not going to be good enough for an official review, but for unofficial impressions, that's my approach. IT JUST DOES.

My JM21 wouldn't charge anymore

Another person with a charging issue with the JM21?! This is definitely a trend? I wonder if this happened during the last fw update? Sorry to hear you too are having charging issues. Luckily mine, when it was with me, didn't give me any technical issues at all.

Yep, called it. Oh well, this let's me "keep" my promise. I guess no more new sets until the midterms, but hopefully much much MUCH sooner.

Told you they were hit or miss, and in this case, a miss. Similar with the Decet, but in my case, I cancelled it before it got tied up in Alix hell, and got the Decet shipped off through KZ in less than 24 hours.

---

My Tuesday daily trio (my Friyay trio!!) consists of the Penon Archangel (thank you Penon for sending me the Archangel packaging sleeve in the mail. Surprise move. If I ever felt like selling (hardly!), now I have the complete commercial packaging. Class move), Letshuoer DX1, and the 7Hz FIVE. So this is a very powerful and musically capable trio today. But not quite ready to start with this group, as I've been ear melted to my Juzear x ZEOS Defiant, listening to metal. xox xox

 

[cagix]

Well because i cant have chance for new dream iem (spectrumica). I have chance to go for.. asos x and is way to me and will go to ts 316.Expectations not small at all.

 

[Argha]

TANCHJIM got me hooked with all these excellent IEMs.

Hate me for saying this

Tanchjim is the only Company in Chifi with a clear vision. That reflects on each of their IEMs. Their foundation philosophy towards neutral sounding is so strong, I almost can blind buy them due to my preference.

( If there is any other brand that has this strong perspective, let me know)

 

[Ozboyblu]

Yep, called it. Oh well, this let's me "keep" my promise. I guess no more new sets until the midterms, but hopefully much much MUCH sooner.

Don’t worry. Happened to me too.

Refund is processed already. Coupon was returned. It’s all good.

 

[MD Rohit]

Just received to new toys today

shanling M3 plus and ONIX xm5

 

[jghjkhfd]

 

[Vonbuddy]

Is the Etude available now? I saw it on Aliexpress, but I'm not going to buy it there at the moment.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Is the Etude available now? I saw it on Aliexpress, but I'm not going to buy it there at the moment.

No. All these in the wild are early review units. When it becomes available for sale, folks here will post it. It's inevitable.

Those little bumps in the mid bass and lower mids, I wasn't sure it had a BCD, but sure enough, it does ("KVT"). Telltale sign of BCD are those blips on the FR graph.

 

[BS5711]

I came across this from a different conversation about two very similar measuring IEM sounding very different to me and thought it might be useful to guys that use FR graphs to help lock down potentially good buying choices in IEM.

It seems the common 711 coupler is specified for use between 100 Hz and 10 kHz with an AI generated search response indicating it may be inaccurate in frequencies above 10 kHz by as much as perhaps 10 db. Another paper on the 711 indicated that it simply isn’t an accurate representation of a human ear above 10 kHz at all.

Apparently the test spec volume is 94 db so listening at normal levels may be less well represented than expected … perhaps ? Also how do folks using a 711 establish the test volume or do they do that at all ? I don’t ever recall seeing a test volume specified with the graphed results. Maybe that is taken as a given for users …. no idea.

I am aware that it is common knowledge that the upper frequencies may not be accurate but it seems that it goes a step beyond that when using it to measure above 10 kHz is beyond its design limits.

I am not a graph guy so don’t really have much to add from personal experience but thought this might be worthwhile for some folks here that are more heavily into relative graphs and buying lots of IEM.

---

“IEC 60318-4 describes an occluded-ear simulator intended for the measurement of insert earphones in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 10 000 Hz. … The occluded-ear simulator simulates the acoustic transfer impedance for the occluded normal adult human ear. However, it does not simulate the leakage between an earmould and a human ear canal; therefore, the results obtained with the occluded-ear simulator may deviate from the performance of an insert earphone on a real ear, especially at low frequencies. Moreover, large performance variations among individual ears will occur which should be considered when using the ear simulator.” - IEC Website, IEC 60318-4.

 

[Erkil]

I came across this from a different conversation about two very similar measuring IEM sounding very different to me and thought it might be useful to guys that use FR graphs to help lock down potentially good buying choices in IEM.

It seems the common 711 coupler is specified for use between 100 Hz and 10 kHz with an AI generated search response indicating it may be inaccurate in frequencies above 10 kHz by as much as perhaps 10 db. Another paper on the 711 indicated that it simply isn’t an accurate representation of a human ear above 10 kHz at all.

Apparently the test spec volume is 94 db so listening at normal levels may be less well represented than expected … perhaps ? Also how do folks using a 711 establish the test volume or do they do that at all ? I don’t ever recall seeing a test volume specified with the graphed results. Maybe that is taken as a given for users …. no idea.

I am aware that it is common knowledge that the upper frequencies may not be accurate but it seems that it goes a step beyond that when using it to measure above 10 kHz is beyond its design limits.

I am not a graph guy so don’t really have much to add from personal experience but thought this might be worthwhile for some folks here that are more heavily into relative graphs and buying lots of IEM.

---

“IEC 60318-4 describes an occluded-ear simulator intended for the measurement of insert earphones in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 10 000 Hz. … The occluded-ear simulator simulates the acoustic transfer impedance for the occluded normal adult human ear. However, it does not simulate the leakage between an earmould and a human ear canal; therefore, the results obtained with the occluded-ear simulator may deviate from the performance of an insert earphone on a real ear, especially at low frequencies. Moreover, large performance variations among individual ears will occur which should be considered when using the ear simulator.” - IEC Website, IEC 60318-4.

I think anything over just 4-5 kHz is a gamble. Notice the fun fact that HBB’s coupler measures less bass than average


Edit: I think this is Listener’s picture. I got it from HBB.

 

[Jaytiss]

I came across this from a different conversation about two very similar measuring IEM sounding very different to me and thought it might be useful to guys that use FR graphs to help lock down potentially good buying choices in IEM.

It seems the common 711 coupler is specified for use between 100 Hz and 10 kHz with an AI generated search response indicating it may be inaccurate in frequencies above 10 kHz by as much as perhaps 10 db. Another paper on the 711 indicated that it simply isn’t an accurate representation of a human ear above 10 kHz at all.

I am aware that it is common knowledge that the upper frequencies may not be accurate but it seems that it goes a step beyond that when using it to measure above 10 kHz is beyond its design limits.

I am not a graph guy so don’t really have much to add from personal experience but thought this might be worthwhile for some folks here that are more heavily into relative graphs and buying lots of IEM.

“IEC 60318-4 describes an occluded-ear simulator intended for the measurement of insert earphones in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 10 000 Hz. … The occluded-ear simulator simulates the acoustic transfer impedance for the occluded normal adult human ear. However, it does not simulate the leakage between an earmould and a human ear canal; therefore, the results obtained with the occluded-ear simulator may deviate from the performance of an insert earphone on a real ear, especially at low frequencies. Moreover, large performance variations among individual ears will occur which should be considered when using the ear simulator.” - IEC Website, IEC 60318-4.

I think there is a lot of truth to what you say. A lot depends on tips used, methodology as well. I think the thing to remember is if you insert even 2mm more or less it has a massive change on the FR. So beyond taste, FR placement in ear is massively dependent on how the fit is for you.

I also recommend only looking at one iem vs another. Like having a Truthear Hexa or Waner is good, as you can check how something measures vs that on someone rig who posts measurements openly. There are many variations and you should take them all with a grain of salt, but they do help explain tonality and help explain how it might sound it ear.

 

[thaslaya]

Aww thanks man, this means a lot especially since my health has really made me dial back my postings and reviews. I still have some outstanding stuff I REALLY need to post…

Well, make like Snoop and...

Does anyone else feel the words "build quality" mean nothing if you have not owned and used said item for at least 6 months? Not sure of what you would call it for something that has not been tested at least over a short time "build impression" perhaps?

I think build quality is fine and maybe "longevity" would be a more apt term for how well it actually holds up over time.

What didn't you like? just curious. Gave it a 4 star and found it quite good, but a little more bright than what I prefer.

Also getting the Aful P7 soon, look forward to hear it after all the praise.

A little bright for sure and maybe a touch too clinical sounding but I admit it needs more testing. My impressions could change.

But more importantly...HOW HAVE YOU NOT TRIED THE PERFORMER 5+2 YET???? It's probably my favorite sub $250 set atm.

---

In other news, I received the Kiwi Ears Astral yesterday and just like I thought, the tuning reminds me of the BrainDance. Will definitely be including a comparison of the two when I get around to doing the review

 

[BS5711]

I think anything over just 4-5 kHz is a gamble. Notice the fun fact that HBB’s coupler measures less bass than average


Edit: I think this is Listener’s picture. I got it from HBB.

I think there is a lot of truth to what you say. A lot depends on tips used, methodology as well. I think the thing to remember is if you insert even 2mm more or less it has a massive change on the FR. So beyond taste, FR placement in ear is massively dependent on how the fit is for you.

I also recommend only looking at one iem vs another. Like having a Truthear Hexa or Waner is good, as you can check how something measures vs that on someone rig who posts measurements openly. There are many variations and you should take them all with a grain of salt, but they do help explain tonality and help explain how it might sound it ear.

Thanks gents,

@Erkil will recall the conversation he and I had about my specific situation.

These are the graphs of two AuR Audio IEM that I have, measured by another chap on the same rig on the same day I believe.

At a glance I expect they should sound very similar indeed but they don't sound alike at all to me. I suspect the differences I hear, mainly in higher frequencies, are perhaps lost in the noise with the inaccuracies of the test apparatus, insertion differences in my own ears and perhaps test procedure and what I hear simply isn't on these graphs.

Luckily I am not a graph guy and generally use other comparative descriptions as a guide but of course that is not necessarily technically reliable either despite folks best efforts.

 

[Redcarmoose]

The Bunny is brilliant, and so is the ZERO and the One, so really excited about the Fission.

So if we toss out the meta terms, let's just say it's got polite treble, and lacks a bit of bite in the upper mids and treble region, so the notes are a bit blunt or rounded, but still with enough crispness to where the music isn't boring.


This is a very promising array, but with the current climate in the U.S/China trade, most of these new releases just aren't tempting due to the fiscal approach.

Tangzu absolutely has no house sound. I have owned or continue to own about 6-7 Tangzu IEMs, and none of them sound anything alike, so Tangzu tunes to the tech, and not to achieve a certain tone, so even the Wu Zetian and the Legend are tuned wildly different.


Looks beautiful, and the open design creates a really cool soundstage and spatial cues, but it's on the thinner side of neutral, and if you don't like PZT tonality, you won't like this, because it's got more PZT crispness and timbre than the EW300, with a neutral, linear mid bass.


Septet is good with a warm source (Sony DAPs) and 4.4mm.


What an absolutely brilliant keyboard, but I'm too messy. That keyboard would get gunked up way too fast with all that spacing. lol


For those of you who collect kilobuck DAPs, another one has entered the chat! Elegant design, but no information about it. Just a photo dump. A successor to the DX180?


Right! I've found it difficult to describe just why it hits me in the feels from a technical level too. They just do. That's not going to be good enough for an official review, but for unofficial impressions, that's my approach. IT JUST DOES.


Another person with a charging issue with the JM21?! This is definitely a trend? I wonder if this happened during the last fw update? Sorry to hear you too are having charging issues. Luckily mine, when it was with me, didn't give me any technical issues at all.

Told you they were hit or miss, and in this case, a miss. Similar with the Decet, but in my case, I cancelled it before it got tied up in Alix hell, and got the Decet shipped off through KZ in less than 24 hours.

---

My Tuesday daily trio (my Friyay trio!!) consists of the Penon Archangel (thank you Penon for sending me the Archangel packaging sleeve in the mail. Surprise move. If I ever felt like selling (hardly!), now I have the complete commercial packaging. Class move), Letshuoer DX1, and the 7Hz FIVE. So this is a very powerful and musically capable trio today. But not quite ready to start with this group, as I've been ear melted to my Juzear x ZEOS Defiant, listening to metal. xox xox

The tariffs between US and China went from 120% to 54%.