[Lamim Rashid]

Reading more on the Thieaudio Legacy 3, seems that most site's comparison with Starfields puts it on equal levels, with just different signatures for different tastes.
It may just end up being a side grade for you if you go with the L3?

To be fair one can argue sometimes an "upgrade" is just a sidegrade on a technical a level (or downgrade) but still feel an upgrade because of sound signature preference. So I guess it depends on what you're looking for. If you're just looking for the right "sound" it could be worth it but if you feel you already have the right sound or close to it and are looking for something more, you might need to spend a little more but then again I'm not actually sure how money translates in the iem world as you go above the $150 margin since everything I've tried has always been around $100, but I'm guessing there's a good chance there's diminishing returns the more you spend. There's also the more important factor of how much you want to spend and what you can afford. Someone else here can probably answer this better than me since I'm sure there are people who have tried more iems in a larger price range.

 

[daijoubu86]

To be fair one can argue sometimes an "upgrade" is just a sidegrade on a technical a level (or downgrade) but still feel an upgrade because of sound signature preference. So I guess it depends on what you're looking for. If you're just looking for the right "sound" it could be worth it but if you feel you already have the right sound or close to it and are looking for something more, you might need to spend a little more but then again I'm not actually sure how money translates in the iem world as you go above the $150 margin since everything I've tried has always been around $100, but I'm guessing there's a good chance there's diminishing returns the more you spend. There's also the more important factor of how much you want to spend and what you can afford. Someone else here can probably answer this better than me since I'm sure there are people who have tried more iems in a larger price range.

Well said and I can agree with that. The journey of finding the "perfect to your ears" may sometimes not just involve better technical/performing earphones or different drivers but just a matter of tuning and sound signature as you said. And it is very much affected by our ability to hear the differences too. Even with diminishing returns, the level which it diminishes is greatly affected by how much our ears have learnt (or is able to, limited by physical ability) to differentiate the "improvements" that comes with the ever increasing costs.

Which is why I guess the audiophile journey is really a rabbit hole and with IEMs and Chi fis it has brought the accessibility into that rabbit hole much lower

 

[Lamim Rashid]

Well said and I can agree with that. The journey of finding the "perfect to your ears" may sometimes not just involve better technical/performing earphones or different drivers but just a matter of tuning and sound signature as you said. And it is very much affected by our ability to hear the differences too. Even with diminishing returns, the level which it diminishes is greatly affected by how much our ears have learnt (or is able to, limited by physical ability) to differentiate the "improvements" that comes with the ever increasing costs.

Which is why I guess the audiophile journey is really a rabbit hole and with IEMs and Chi fis it has brought the accessibility into that rabbit hole much lower

Im 24 and I can't even tell the difference between YouTube music video audio quality and their tidal HiFi/master counterparts. To me it mainly sounds like tidal is more "tinny", and using a good dac (lg hi-fi plus for my iems, and a topping d10 for my desktop speakers) amplified this effect for me. Maybe I'm crazy but half the times I actually preferred not using a better external dac or listening on tidal for this reason lmao. I have an e1da 9038s g3 on the way which is supposed to be an endgame dac so I guess I'll find out if I'm crazy or not once they arrive.

 

[tgx78]

Orb Ordered!

 

[ehjie]

I'm passed the 200 hour (209 to be exact!)
let's play "misty mountain hop"...
Tired, less than normal sleep & upon putting on my Orbs, damn what an energetic feel! without overdoing it.
Got this album on vinyl (re-issue 1977), from my secondary years a cassette from tertiary and that cd i got from '95.
My personal reference for strings, band instrument & voice(s) coherence, that harmonica & of course Mr. Plant's vocal qualities.
This album was skillfully remastered by Mr. Page himself.

enjoy those cymbals crash! not just simple crash, a quality crash
and there's more to discover!!!

 

[daijoubu86]

I'm passed the 200 hour (209 to be exact!)
let's play "misty mountain hop"...
Tired, less than normal sleep & upon putting on my Orbs, damn what an energetic feel! without overdoing it.
Got this album on vinyl (re-issue 1977), from my secondary years a cassette from tertiary and that cd i got from '95.
My personal reference for strings, band instrument & voice(s) coherence, that harmonica & of course Mr. Plant's vocal qualities.
This album was skillfully remastered by Mr. Page himself.

enjoy those cymbals crash! not just simple crash, a quality crash
and there's more to discover!!!

I find it very intriguing that you rate the Orb higher than other more expensive IEMs like the Andromeda and the Kse1500
Do they reproduce hi hats and snares well?

 

[ehjie]

I find it very intriguing that you rate the Orb higher than other more expensive IEMs like the Andromeda and the Kse1500
Do they reproduce hi hats and snares well?

i auditioned the 1500. they're on a different level (mids & treble quality). & i won't compare the orb to that.

Re: the andros, i prefer the bass, mids & trebles from my 1670ss w/ taekyo cable.
Andro's depth, mids & some separation are admirable, very desirable, but the Acoustunes are more resolving (for my ears)...

For only usd.260 for the Orb, an owner such as me w/ more expensive & resolving set, I admire what Penon created & thus it's a fantastic tuning.
My Orbs represent a truly great value for money. SQ to amount paid value is very, very high.
Cheers & let's enjoy the music...

 

[daijoubu86]

i auditioned the 1500. they're on a different level (mids & treble quality). & i won't compare the orb to that.


Re: the andros, i prefer the bass, mids & trebles from my 1670ss w/ taekyo cable.
Andro's depth, mids & some separation are admirable, very desirable, but the Acoustunes are more resolving (for my ears)...

For only usd.260 for the Orb, an owner such as me w/ more expensive & resolving set, I admire what Penon created & thus it's a fantastic tuning.
My Orbs represent a truly great value for money. SQ to amount paid value is very, very high.
Cheers & let's enjoy the music...

Ah nice feedback! I mentioned because I was following the Rank thread and saw you bump up the Orbs above the Andro & 1500 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rank-the-iems-youve-heard.454855/post-15702132

I can really appreciate the impressions you shared as you are coming from experience using TOTL type IEMs.

 

[ehjie]

Do they reproduce hi hats and snares well?
[/QUOTE]

Ah nice feedback! I mentioned because I was following the Rank thread and saw you bump up the Orbs above the Andro & 1500 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rank-the-iems-youve-heard.454855/post-15702132

I can really appreciate the impressions you shared as you are coming from experience using TOTL type IEMs.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rank-the-iems-youve-heard.454855/post-15676650

This list was before the Orb. I have to take down my own Q canals...

 

[ehjie]

Do they reproduce hi hats and snares well?

During the burning in, the Orbs were hooked up on my work PC, ROG specs, 24 bit studio output.
We go back to your question:
"Do they reproduce hi hats and snares well?"
- Yes they do. Tuning is neutral, Decay & nuance, the percussion sound stay on the air longer, is really well extended.
When i said about the quality, the listener could imagine the sticks strike the percussion & then it oscillates wildly to give it that unique sound character.
The Orbs are really that good...

 

[Darkestred]

Do they reproduce hi hats and snares well?

Snares have some meat to them. not thick, though. cymbal reproduction and quality is very good but if you are asking about presence. Hats are pushed back and need eq to go from eh to not bad imo.

 

[pumin]

Joined the gang, and is burning @10 hours. Agree with @audio123 for nice sweet vocal, quality midrange, nice tuning, and @Dsnuts for quality bass, and as said, it's very musical and is good even lots of instruments at same time, eg. in metal. Thank for sharing. I'm expecting a bit more tighter bass, and more revealing on top ends after burning in.

 

[audio123]

Joined the gang, and is burning @10 hours. Agree with @audio123 for nice sweet vocal, quality midrange, and @Dsnuts for quality bass. Thank for sharing. I'm expecting a bit more tighter bass, and more revealing on top ends after burning in.

No problem. Glad to be of help. The Orb vocals are easily the best at this price point hence a no-brainer if you like vocals. Moreover, the vocals on the Orb are much better than more expensive IEMs I have heard. Of course, if you ask me what's the next upgrade for the Orb on vocals, you are looking at the 1000+ USD range so for the price of Orb with that vocals performance, just brilliant. Yea burn in will help. Enjoy, cheers!

 

[Lamim Rashid]

The more I read this thread the more I want to buy the orb over my second choice, the ISN h40. I can pick these up used for $160 and that just makes choosing even harder haha. I would wait for the penon orb to pop up on the used market but it looks like you guys love them too much to sell them but if any of you guys do decide to sell your pair you guys know where to find me - but that's if I haven't given in and bought a new pair already

 

[MaximusArma]

Hey guys, I'm thinking about getting these as my first pair of "real" iems, I currently only own the original galaxy buds, and I have a few questions.

First, would you recommend these or the Ikko oh10s to a bass lover that mainly listens to rap and rock?

Second, for those of you that live in the U.S, how much was the customs fee? I've never imported anything before, so I don't know how this stuff usually works.