The discovery thread!

[Jmop]

X5 might be a good pick if all you're gonna do is use it as a transport? As an actual DAP, it's been scathed.

I was actually gonna use it as a dap, from the info I’ve taken in the sound from the balanced out is quite proficient in all aspects with no standout weakness, the line out sounds interesting to toy with as well. If it doesn’t work out then I’ll just pickup one of those small HiBys.

 

[suman134]

Yes, well as long as you get the Aether enough power then you are qualified to make judgments like so. But the Aether is very boring from just a phone, or Apple Dongle! Still something as popular as the Aether gets a lot of arrows shot its way, being high profile and all.

It is true I’m a Kiwi ears fanboy. They have my sound, and while maybe the regular Kiwi ears sound is not for everyone, it is true the bass at times can be interpreted as careful. I’m just starting my Etude review, and did a little listening yesterday and the bass the way it was set-up was very careful and clean....even with BCD! But the wild part is I have made the Etude sound a bunch of ways, meaning change ear-tips, cable and DAP and it is a whole different animal. Still I’m going to try and give the review as much objective power as I can. That may be showing how the Etude can be many things? But the other Kiwi ears bass that was very different was the Atheia full-size. That headphone had a prominent mid-bass hump, still offering sub-bass but it was overpowered by the hump. Then there was a prominent 2.5kHz peak, then the treble was sloping after that. Talk about color! Still what can I say, I like it too? I have reviewed almost pretty much all they make except the original Orchestra and one small DAC/Amp. I still hold the Quintet in high regards as well as the Quartet, which came out in 2023....it came out around May I think?

I like Kiwi Ears too but no doubts about it's mid bass bloat and lack of sub-bass doesn't matter the power you put into it. It's mid bass too isn't that textured or defined enough. Airoso is better there.
Nothing saves Aether's sub-bass, I tried the AxC cable, different tips too.
What tips and cables you used to have the best possible sub-bass.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

For me Zs10 pro 2 isn't sibilant at all.

Mine was so sibilant, I had to put 300 mesh on it, and it still didn't quite get smoothed over, but then the native mesh broke, and it was ruined, but for awhile, after it was burned in, the ZS10 Pro 2 was one of my favorite budget IEMs, but it did have a bit of sibilance, like the Vader.

I was actually gonna use it as a dap, from the info I’ve taken in the sound from the balanced out is quite proficient in all aspects with no standout weakness, the line out sounds interesting to toy with as well. If it doesn’t work out then I’ll just pickup one of those small HiBys.

I adore my R3 II. Indispensable.

 

[Jmop]

Mine was so sibilant, I had to put 300 mesh on it, and it still didn't quite get smoothed over, but then the native mesh broke, and it was ruined, but for awhile, after it was burned in, the ZS10 Pro 2 was one of my favorite budget IEMs, but it did have a bit of sibilance, like the Vader.

I adore my R3 II. Indispensable.

Do you have the R1? Wondering which HiBy has the best battery life if I’m gonna focus on transport, also gapless playback, I know the two R3 sabers do that perfectly or at least my units did.

 

[suman134]

EarAcoustic Audio has me confused with their naming scheme but I have to admit thst their set of accessories are fantastic ( It would have been awesome to have a modular cable though )and SPA HI END has one of the biggest stage under $200. I can feel the influence of TFZ here, especially with staging and imaging.
This single DD is not tuned to be bassy and that's a very good thing in my opinion. I was tired of hearing bassy IEMs in this price range. It still has very good thump and definition but faster with the decay. It goes toe to toe with the Falcon Ultra but has a less dry feeling to it. Early opinion though, let it burn!!
Here is my unboxing and initial impression:

 

[Inserthouse]

I am down to two IEM’s that I would like to buy. Either the Penon Archangel or Xenns Top Pro. Trying to see which would serve as a good all rounder. The most expensive IEM I have had was the Moondrop Variations but I recently sold it. Any opinions are greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Do you have the R1? Wondering which HiBy has the best battery life if I’m gonna focus on transport, also gapless playback, I know the two R3 sabers do that perfectly or at least my units did.

I bought the R1 and boomeranged that thing. It was quite uncouth. Not very good technicalities wise, boomy bass, and rolled off treble. Now features wise and battery life were good, but not the sonics. As a transport, and it's BT was decent, but it just wasn't anything to write home about.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Howdy folks,

My review of AFUL PolarNight is finally online on head-fi and my blog, completed with an assortment of comparison against other good earbuds in my collection and the AFUL P7 IEM.

Spoiler: tl;dr:

Conclusions​

As I concluded my (very) long assessment of PolarNight, the conclusion is pretty straightforward: these are some special earbuds. Yes, the tonality has some hiccups, but that’s not uncommon or particularly problematic in the world of earbuds. Where AFUL makes its mark with PolarNight is in technical performance. It’s not every day that I find earbuds that are competitive in technical performance and bass quality compared to good IEMs. In fact, it wouldn’t be exaggerated to say that PolarNight stands at the forefront of mass-produced earbuds.


But here is the elephant in the room: the DIYers. Whilst PolarNight cruised through my A/B tests against mass-produced earbuds, it faced quite a tough competition against some of the more prominent DIY earbuds. So, as a consumer, the question for you is whether you should go with top-notch factory-made earbuds where you arguably have a higher degree of consistency or test your luck with hand-made-in-small-batch earbuds. Only you and your priorities can answer this question. In any case, AFUL PolarNight and the earbuds form factor receive a high recommendation from this reviewer.

Updated: May 11, 2025

Thanks to @o0genesis0o and @RikudouGoku . I have been neck deep in Ubuntu server and docker.

I open-source my templates for building and deploying dockerised server recently: https://github.com/nguyentran0212/personal-server

If you are still working on this, you can have a try. I welcome any code contribution or bug fix.

 

[avishifi]

I liked the XINHS M99 so much so I ordered another two

 

[Sitilac]

Got a really nice cable from Yongse recently really impressed by the quality of it. Has 3.5 + 4.5 as well as mmcx + 2pin. Does anyone know if they have an official store with all their products I just tend to find them scattered around.

 

[tombrisbane]

Looking forward to your impressions on the WoodNote.

The packaging is very impressive!

Giving them my initial listen now, not sure what they sound like from a comparison point of view, acoustic guitar sounds great, overall very musical. Need a lot more time with them, but I think they’re going to be very well priced at 179 based on what I’m hearing.

 

[Erkil]

Got a really nice cable from Yongse recently really impressed by the quality of it. Has 3.5 + 4.5 as well as mmcx + 2pin. Does anyone know if they have an official store with all their products I just tend to find them scattered around.

Yongse Official Store
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EG3gxh4

 

[Narendhiran]

Juzear Defiant: A daily companion -- anywhere and everywhere.​

Juzear Defiant is a warmly tuned IEM with nice punchy bass, recessed but lush vocals intended for relaxed music listening without letting go of the necessary details of the music.

At this price point, it is always about trade-offs -- with Juzear Defiant, you get a balanced, smooth tonality that works for most genres, at the same time is not the most resolving with details getting highlighted.

Disclaimer:
Not a seasoned audiophile, so take my impressions with a grain of salt (maybe multiple grains of salt).

Thanks, Hifigo and Gadget generations, for gracefully helping me audition the Juzear Defiant.

** More about me, my music preferences & songs used for testing are added at last, so you need not scroll through things that are not necessarily interesting for you. **

Package:

Juzear has given a banger of a package with the Defiant, defying business logic on how can one provide this much quality accessories for under 100$ pricerange. Here are what you get with the Defiant

• Lush cable with swappable termination
• 2 x 3 pairs of silicone eartips
• Foam eartip (feels a lot premium than the general run of the mill ones)
• Leatherette case; very sturdy, has enough space for IEM tips, and a Dongle DAC. [I would buy this if sold separately]

They are definitely giving a tough competition to Dunu, who has been leading this area (still leading, but Juzear is coming pretty close)

Looks, fit & comfort:

Looks: Stunning -- got the jade green variant -- fully resin built with a green faceplate. Looks and feel way more premium. One has to give Kudos to the Juzear team for this brilliantly designed IEM.

Fit & comfort: Not small, neither too chunky -- feels right-sized. Very comfortable to wear, the shell is nicely contoured to fit in. The bundled tips provide very nice feel, delivering a good passive isolation.

Side-sleep test: Pass -- happily. Easy to wear for a quick bedtime music, before dozing off.

Stock Cable:

• White, blue, and magenta strains alternate to create a good-looking cable. (might look out of place for the green variant)
• Well-behaved, no memory
• No microphonics
• Neither too thin not too thick
• Swappable terminations.

Source chain:

Source device:

1. Samsung S23
2. Apple MacBook Pro
3. Asus 6z

Music streaming:

1. Apple Music
2. Hiby music (local FLAC files)

DAC & Amps:

1. Fiio K11 R2R
2. Moondrop Dawn pro

Sound:

Bass: Meaty and punchy bass, with good sub bass extension. Bass attack and decay are rendered very nicely -- nothing lacking on this front.

Vocals: Mids are great, reproducing lush vocals -- both male and female vocals are well presented.

Treble, Details, & Resolution: Treble levels are properly balanced, no sibilance whatsoever. There is enough details to not miss any critical detail of the music. But, this is not the most resolving set in this price range, and it does not need to be as well.

About me: [Feel free to skip]

**Not a seasoned audiophile**

More of a music lover than an audiophile. Most of the time, I am lost in the song before I notice any technical details.

Music preferences:

• Severely localized (Tamil 75%, Hindi 20%, International 5%)
• Heavy on vocals; bass and instruments more supportive in nature
• Bass and beats on ~40% of songs
• My hearing capabilities/ limitations
  • I have a hearing lull in the 15-16K frequency range
• Favorite artists:
  • Composers: AR Rahman, Ilayaraja, Deva, MS Vishwanathan
  • Male Vocals: SP Balasubramanian, Hariharan, KJ Yesudas, P Unnikrishnan
  • Female Vocals: P Susheela, KS Chitra, Harini, Shreya Ghoshal

Glad that you are here; thanks for reading.

Verdict:

It is a daily companion IEM that you can travel with, relax, and wind down with coffee or for some bedtime music. Nothing jars out, breaking your attention to whatever you are doing, at the same time being around to give you company when you want it.

For a long time, there has been a large gap for budding audiophiles who were looking to upgrade from Tangzu Wa’ner in sub 150$ category -- most of the time an upgrade would give you the bump in details but miss on the tonality -- Juzear Defiant comes the closest to fill the gap, delivering significantly higher details and clarity coming from the Wa’ner while maintaining the lush tonality.

Thumbs-up from my side; it is a great starter package or secondary travel IEM for enthusiasts who like warm and balanced music rendering.

 

[gadgetgod]

I am down to two IEM’s that I would like to buy. Either the Penon Archangel or Xenns Top Pro. Trying to see which would serve as a good all rounder. The most expensive IEM I have had was the Moondrop Variations but I recently sold it. Any opinions are greatly appreciated, thanks.

I have been hearing good thoughts on both of them, but my wallet is waiting for the new AFUL flagship set.

 

[GorGhast]

Good Sunday everyone! I've spent the weekend so far revisiting some of my cheaper IEMs. The KE Aethers have been so good to me that I've frankly overused it a bit, so felt the need for a refresher (btw, I think it works perfectly fine from my phone, a crusty motorola g41). Currently using my Delcis, which although not a value king by any means, is such a clean little bassy V-shape set. Also been using the Tangzu Xuan NV a lot as they're just so god damn comfortable both tuning-wise and fit-wise with the Sancai Balanced tips.

I'm saving money currently after having splurged on my home office setup, but I'd like to pick up a few more under-100 dollar IEMs to add to my little fun stash. Does anyone have any recommendations? Preferable something new-ish that haven't gotten too many reviews yet as I'm looking to write a few more reviews as well.

I adore my R3 II. Indispensable.

Speaking of Hibys, I think my worst buy in this hobby so far has gotta be the Hiby R4 Evangelion edition. It's so big and chunky, which would be if it didn't have all these sotftware and hardware issue that makes it even more inconvenient to use. My Tidal crashes often, the download function doesn't work properly half of the time, weak wi-fi, it turns itself off if it gets bumped slightly, turns itself off if it gets too cold, sub-par battery life, oversensitive buttons etc. etc. makes it a nightmare to carry around. It's fiddly to get to work as a DAC too as it often has a choppiness/stutter problem. The only good thing I have to say about it is that it looks cool and sounds good when it actually works.

I might've gotten a bad unit, but their customer support didn't respond to me and their returns process sounds like such a hassle, so I probably won't buy another product from them. I heard others have similar problems too. Until I can get hold of a repairs guy, I'll probably just buy a lighter, cheaper Fiio or save up for a DAP from a more reputable brand like Sony and count the Hiby as a loss.