[tgx78]

@Rockwell75 & @holsen It was great meeting you both and I would love to meet again when you are near Strathcona or North Vancouver.

I really enjoyed listening to the 64 Audio Duo today. Would love to hear it again when I am sober.

I have to say that I listen to pretty much only classical music. OK, a bit of jazz and hip hop here and there, but I find the bass on the Jeff's Dorado wonderful and perfectly blended with the whole spectrum. Listened to jazz, classical and female vocals. Yaeji's 'Raingurl’ drum kicks and ’Mas Pan' by QCB was absolutely unreal. Dorado to me sounded sort of like salt- a necessary spice that can cause harm but can also add much to the pleasure.

Cayin RU6- loved the midrange presentation. Highs and Lows were Ok. Again I need to revisit when my hearing is not compromised by excessive alcohol intake.

 

[Precogvision]

Wow, this thread has exploded like crazy, it's hard to even keep up nowadays! Here were my year-end favorite IEMs. They haven't changed dramatically since last year, but I did swap out some IEMs here and there and added in some honorable mentions too.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Wow, this thread has exploded like crazy, it's hard to even keep up nowadays! Here were my year-end favorite IEMs. They haven't changed dramatically since last year, but I did swap out some IEMs here and there and added in some honorable mentions too.

Surprised that Monarch mkii made your honorable mention. Have you heard Indigo yet? It might be my IEM of the year.

 

[Rockwell75]

@Rockwell75 @Scuba Devils any tip suggestions for the Zen Pro ??

OG Sednas mainly...how are you getting on with it so far?

Timeless is my current daily driver. Any recommendations for PEQ?

I haven't tried any yet.

Can you suggest some eartips for Timeless?

OG Sednas or Sednas lites as both tips have a longer bore.

@Rockwell75 Honestly surprised you enjoyed the Monarch MKII so much, truly. I thought they may be too "reference'ish" for you, hahaha. They definitely hit the mark of what I was after. As I said upthread a couple weeks ago, it was becoming more & more of a want to have a set to complement my IE 900....and I leaned towards going back to my audio roots (2-channel speaker rigs as a teenager) where reference was the goal....but I have become, well, not a basshead, but someone who can appreciate all sorts of tunings barring bass-light ones.

The MKII are the neutral'ish with bass boost set that I sought. It was a very short search, frankly, LOL. Again, not for everyone to be sure, but if this is the tuning that you can appreciate, and want to stay out of multi-kilobuck land, I have a hard time coming up with something better.

It's a nice balanced non-offensive very transparent tuning. Like the u12t it's probably not something that I'd buy or that will sit atop my favorites list any time soon, largely due to my penchant for a more musical signature & the concomitant need for DD timbre in the mids and lows...but I can appreciate it for what it is and I understand why so many are fond of it.

 

[Rockwell75]

2021 IEM Favorites -- December 23 Edition

1) Dunu Zen Pro
2) 64 Audio Duo
3) Oriolus Isabellae
4) Sennheiser IE900*
5) 7HZ Timeless

Honorable Mention: Thieaudio Monarch MKii*

*I didn't really have enough time with either the Sennheiser or the Monarch MKii give anything other than cursory thoughts.

 

[Rockwell75]

@tgx78 @holsen

Here is the scene from that movie I was talking about. There is a lot in this dialogue that I can relate to with respect to this hobby and our appreciation & assessment of gear.

 

[tgx78]

@tgx78 @holsen

Here is the scene from that movie I was talking about. There is a lot in this dialogue that I can relate to with respect to this hobby and our appreciation & assessment of gear.

I concur. Beautifully spoken as well.

Came home to these two. KZ sounds very pleasing. Will try the Onyx tomorrow.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

@tgx78 @holsen

Here is the scene from that movie I was talking about. There is a lot in this dialogue that I can relate to with respect to this hobby and our appreciation & assessment of gear.

I loved this!! Thank you for sharing, an honor indeed

 

[gLer]

What is your personal IEM of the Year?

I would choose either Empire Ears Legend EVO for its Bombastic Bass or Unique Melody Indigo for its Insane Imaging.

I am sure that if I heard them that Elysian X or Annihilator would be in the running for its Tremendous Treble and Vision Ears EXT or Phonix for its Monumental Mids.

A couple of weeks ago I would have said EVO. It's still in my top 5 IEMs of all time, but no longer number one or two.

Top spot goes to an IEM that I'm not quite ready to talk about yet, but is also not new, so can't technically be called my 'IEM of the Year', but is instead my GOAT.

Second spot goes to IE 900 - that's a no-brainer for me, since it ticks every box I have sound-wise, build-wise, fit-wise, and has outlasted big-hitters like Fourte, LX and EVO.

I'm about a week in with my 'new' one-two, and (touch wood and recite a silent prayer) I'm done with IEMs (and headphones) for the foreseeable future.

Bring on 2022, bring on new and interesting views and reviews, but the merry-go-round officially ends here.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

OG Sednas mainly...how are you getting on with it so far?

They hurt my ears as in the shell is killing me I will try the longer bore Sednas tomorrow but right now my ears are aching badly. Hopefully no pain in the morning so I can give those tips a whirl, if no better I will have to sell them. I love the tonality especially male vocals. Leonard cohen sounds right next to me in treaty from I want it darker. But some mid tempo rock doesn’t stand up to well…the metallic edge zings through. Some
Slight wince moments in the lower treble as well. I’ll see what happens tomorrow with the OG sednas.

 

[Scubadevils]

A couple of weeks ago I would have said EVO. It's still in my top 5 IEMs of all time, but no longer number one or two.

Top spot goes to an IEM that I'm not quite ready to talk about yet, but is also not new, so can't technically be called my 'IEM of the Year', but is instead my GOAT.

Second spot goes to IE 900 - that's a no-brainer for me, since it ticks every box I have sound-wise, build-wise, fit-wise, and has outlasted big-hitters like Fourte, LX and EVO.

I'm about a week in with my 'new' one-two, and (touch wood and recite a silent prayer) I'm done with IEMs (and headphones) for the foreseeable future.

Bring on 2022, bring on new and interesting views and reviews, but the merry-go-round officially ends here.

I'm intrigued as to what it is that has dethroned IE900! Look forward to hearing all about it.

 

[Scubadevils]

They hurt my ears as in the shell is killing me I will try the longer bore Sednas tomorrow but right now my ears are aching badly. Hopefully no pain in the morning so I can give those tips a whirl, if no better I will have to sell them. I love the tonality especially male vocals. Leonard cohen sounds right next to me in treaty from I want it darker. But some mid tempo rock doesn’t stand up to well…the metallic edge zings through. Some
Slight wince moments in the lower treble as well. I’ll see what happens tomorrow with the OG sednas.

Ah that's disappointing, sorry to hear - I know all too well what's it like after my initial experience with Traillii, it took a week or so of a break from IEMs for mine to recover but that was deeper in the ear canal. I use bigger tips with ZEN, always L where with other IEMs (such as Traillii) I drop to M. I've definitely used regular Azla, the non short / non light version and they were excellent - I'm using them currently on Dark Sky which similarly need a bigger tip. Good luck, I hope you can resolve it.

 

[Ace Bee]

That reminded me, @Scuba Devils , we're still waiting for the comparison between Zen Pro and Dark Sky.

 

[Scubadevils]

That reminded me, @Scuba Devils , we're still waiting for the comparison between Zen Pro and Dark Sky.

I finally open my ZEN PRO tomorrow and will be able to compare in the coming days. The tour unit was gone before I received Dark Sky and I don't like going by memory.

 

[Precogvision]

Surprised that Monarch mkii made your honorable mention. Have you heard Indigo yet? It might be my IEM of the year.

Nope haven’t heard it yet! I’d need to find someone with one; it’s a limited edition, so I doubt they’re sending units out. Must be good if you like it, though.

Honorable mentions were basically ones that made me say “wow” but that I didn’t like as much subjectively

I'm about a week in with my 'new' one-two, and (touch wood and recite a silent prayer) I'm done with IEMs (and headphones) for the foreseeable future.

Bring on 2022, bring on new and interesting views and reviews, but the merry-go-round officially ends here.

Yeah, okay…see you in a few weeks with some new hot IEM bling