[gazzington]

These have had the bulk of my ear-time today; beautifully musical and engaging, one could forget aspirations for audio nirvana while walking about with zero wires to consider and just enjoying the music! Much better also than my previous Sennheiser TW2. I had them paired to the ZX507 on a walk this morning and can say with certainty that I enjoyed more than previously when cables to consider - plus Sony on Sony just seems to gel. Also, wandering about the house doing some chores made all the more enjoyable. Another 'best' bang for buck purchase, the first of 2022... I was on the fence way too long with these.

Literally my most used iems. If i lost them I would instantly buy another set

 

[Rockwell75]

Lower mids are more forward than ie900 for sure. But for me IE900 is a V shape just like Z1R.

IE900 is actually what I would consider a u-shaped IEM-- the bass and treble are clearly lifted above the mids, which across the board sit below. IER Z1R is more of a mild-V with an upper mid emphasis and a clear recession in the lower mids. EXT I don't hear as u or v-shaped at all...W shaped maybe but I don't hear any recession in the mids (factoring in that with my library I'm probably talking more about lower mids than upper but it seems to me that if the EXT were actually u-shaped then it would impact the entire midrange, and not just the upper...which is why I think "W shaped" may be the more accurate descriptor). Of course with everything, YMMV.

Edit: In other news 2.5 connectors seem so thin and fragile to me-- I'm worried I'll accidentally snap them off. Also, the EXT probably has the widest nozzle of any IEM I've ever had...it's a bit of effort to get ANY tips on. Right away I tried to use my standard, Sednafit Crystals, and gave up after a while thinking i would be impossible to get them on due to their thicker stems. Then I saw that VE supplies Crystals with the EXT, leaving me thinking it must be possible to get them on, so I struggled a but more-- having to turn the tips right inside out-- and eventually got them on. One of the more unique fitting IEMs I've tried.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Man, so many great IEMs out there right now. Actually, I think that's a good thing for me. With so many out there, I won't be tempted to try to pick them all up. I have to be judicious in my choices. It is so hard to be patient.

Really looking forward to CanJam NYC now. So many great products there.

 

[aaf evo]

Man, so many great IEMs out there right now. Actually, I think that's a good thing for me. With so many out there, I won't be tempted to try to pick them all up. I have to be judicious in my choices. It is so hard to be patient.

Really looking forward to CanJam NYC now. So many great products there.

You’re going to have a field day

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

IE900 is actually what I would consider a u-shaped IEM-- the bass and treble are clearly lifted above the mids, which across the board sit below. IER Z1R is more of a mild-V with an upper mid emphasis and a clear recession in the lower mids. EXT I don't hear as u or v-shaped at all...W shaped maybe but I don't hear any recession in the mids (factoring in that with my library I'm probably talking more about lower mids than upper but it seems to me that if the EXT were actually u-shaped then it would impact the entire midrange, and not just the upper...which is why I think "W shaped" may be the more accurate descriptor). Of course with everything, YMMV.

Edit: In other news 2.5 connectors seem so thin and fragile to me-- I'm worried I'll accidentally snap them off. Also, the EXT probably has the widest nozzle of any IEM I've ever had...it's a bit of effort to get ANY tips on. Right away I tried to use my standard, Sednafit Crystals, and gave up after a while thinking i would be impossible to get them on due to their thicker stems. Then I saw that VE supplies Crystals with the EXT, leaving me thinking it must be possible to get them on, so I struggled a but more-- having to turn the tips right inside out-- and eventually got them on. One of the more unique fitting IEMs I've tried.

Yeah, I was travelling and listening to my LX with my DX300 in Denver. At that time, I had 2.5mm on my Stormbreaker cable. I bent down to pick up my credit card to get into the lounge and I pulled the DAP off the counter where it was sitting. It snapped off the 2.5mm jack. I have since sent all of my PWA cables to Peter Wong to have him reterminate them with Pentaconn 4.4mm jacks. So much better now.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

You’re going to have a field day

I just hope I exercise spending restraint.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Ok, I'll give you a pass this time... but in general I believe it's difficult to compare IEMs from memory. Auditory memory is notoriously unreliable. Although I'll accept that the memory of the experienced folks on this forum can be better than mine.

Edit: they being said, the Phonix sounds like an awesome IEM. Maybe I'll get one in 2023...

I know what you mean. I keep hearing IEMs that I am sure are going to beat out the Traillii for me like the UM Indigo. Then, I A/B test them and the Bird wins the A/B test.

I am very intrigued by the Phonix and EXT. I really hope I don't end up wanting to buy both of them.

 

[Rockwell75]

I'm on the fence about Phonix vs. Traillii-- they each have their strengths and I'm not sure either could entirely replace the other. EXT is its own thing entirely and may in fact be my favorite of the 3. Yesterday with the OG Sednafit eartips EXT sounded a touch bassy with the M8 but today with the Crystals it's pitch perfect. In a way EXT is exactly what I was hoping a followup to the LX would be-- big but more controlled bass, dynamic, natural, unveiled, forward and sufficiently resolving mids and ethereal highs. The only ding in the armour for me so far is fit-- EXT has this weird bump on the nozzle, which I think has something to do with the placement of the HALC...but if it's not positioned just right it causes me some fatigue over time. After a few hours with this setup I switched back to Phonix, which I intentionally started with last night, and while it's still epic in its own right my heart is much more oriented to the musical, dynamic, bodied sound the EXT's DD's provide, even factoring in the slight loss of sheer technical performance you get when going from something like Phonix to EXT. This is typical BA vs. DD stuff and I imagine most people already know where they stand here...but now as before I'm strongly in the DD camp. YMMV.

 

[claud W]

On the topic of new gear arrival.
Ordered a Shanling UP5 dongle from Musicteck. Yesterday I was notified it had arrived VIA UPS. Looked on my front porch and neighbors front porches and no package. Checked info on UPS website and it said it was left at mailbox. My driveway is steep and my mailbox is at the bottom of my steep driveway. UPS and FedEx leave packages on my front porch. Checked again around my and neighbors mailboxes. No Joy. Emailed Andrew Last night .

My above Shanling UP5 showed up on my front porch an hour ago. Andrew is happy too.

 

[Scubadevils]

I'm still tempted to go to CanJam - my wife didn't have an issue when I suggested it! I didn't mention the bigger financial challenge was while there... on that subject, are there typically decent discounts from brands at the event? Looking at flights and not actually bad Dublin to New York. The thoughts of a trip to New York at the same time I planned my next IEM is very appealing!

 

[discord]

Thanks I'll check that out in a few hours when I have more time. In the meantime props to Amin & Marcel for this thank-you note and kick-a$$ piece of VE swag they gifted me. Pure class.

I just did a quick a/b with Nick Cave's Red Right Hand through both IEMs (on the SR25ii). In neither IEM do the vocals feel pushed behind the bass but the bass on the EXT, as you'd expect coming from a DD, is thicker with more presence and longer decay. Nonetheless Cave's voice is front, centre and clear through the EXT while simultaneously you also perceive the thick DD bass response. Both IEMs sound quite balanced to my ears but I think to compensate for the much thicker DD lows the vocals/mids on the EXT needed to be pulled forward a bit to not be drowned in a sea of bass...which is perhaps where this perception of mine comes from. The bass is incredible on the EXT and much more a showpiece than it was on Elysium, where it was entirely a supporting role. The sense I get from listening to the EXT is that they were trying to balance the mid-range focus of Elysium with a more weighty bass response...and so far to my ears they succeeded marvelously. As with all things YMMV.

Edit: Also, I think EXT may have claimed the throne for my favorite bass in an IEM to date.

Glad you're enjoying these. I've owned EXT since the middle of November, and as of now with my current collection, it's the IEM I reach for the most with Odin following it very closely, two very different and complementary IEMs to me. Indigo and IE 900 I would rank at spots 3 and 4 respectively for my usage. IE 900 will likely shoot up in ranking again once I start working in the office more in the future since I'm mostly from home and IE 900 is my dedicated out of the house IEM for hiking/office use.

I don't find the upper midrange of EXT to be a problem for female vocals, and I say that as someone who doesn't mind the aggressive rise to a high peak that Odin has in that area (coupled with the leaner bass which can accentuate the upper midrange). I'd call EXT a light U shape for my hearing and music (FYI I can still hear up to ~17.5 kHZ when I got tested last year), and I agree with what @aaf evo is saying below about a U shape, and I can hear the upper treble/air/sparkle a bit higher than the upper midrange. The U doesn't bother me, it's kind of a light U from what I can hear when I listen to a band that has female vocals + cymbal splashes/riding all happening at the same time. FYI I listen to a lot of female vocal bands, a few male vocal bands, and tons of electronic music. What I consider a "W shape" in my collection is the UM MEST Indigo FWIW.

Anyhow, I really love so many things about EXT such as the quality of the bass/mids/treble, and that the treble extends pretty high up. The bass quantity is an amount that I really like, and I prefer the bass overall (quality + quantity) to even the IE 900. I also like that the size of musical notes on EXT is on the larger side (kind of like Odin). Listening to distorted electric guitars with EXT's thick sound is so satisfying to me.

Can't wait for my PHöNIX to arrive sometime this month hopefully to see how I like it.

I mean you just said you don’t really listen to female vocal based tracks, that’s entirely the frequency area where the EXT is pulled back compared to what a “neutral” upper mid range sounds like which helps create that U shape. So for your music you may not notice it.

Obviously I am not saying you are wrong, I just think describing EXT as mid centric can be misleading.

Enjoy though, they’re awesome IEMs and I miss mine.

 

[aaf evo]

Glad you're enjoying these. I've owned EXT since the middle of November, and as of now with my current collection, it's the IEM I reach for the most with Odin following it very closely, two very different and complementary IEMs to me. Indigo and IE 900 I would rank at spots 3 and 4 respectively for my usage. IE 900 will likely shoot up in ranking again once I start working in the office more in the future since I'm mostly from home and IE 900 is my dedicated out of the house IEM for hiking/office use.

I don't find the upper midrange of EXT to be a problem for female vocals, and I say that as someone who doesn't mind the aggressive rise to a high peak that Odin has in that area (coupled with the leaner bass which can accentuate the upper midrange). I'd call EXT a light U shape for my hearing and music (FYI I can still hear up to ~17.5 kHZ when I got tested last year), and I agree with what @aaf evo is saying below about a U shape, and I can hear the upper treble/air/sparkle a bit higher than the upper midrange. The U doesn't bother me, it's kind of a light U from what I can hear when I listen to a band that has female vocals + cymbal splashes/riding all happening at the same time. FYI I listen to a lot of female vocal bands, a few male vocal bands, and tons of electronic music. What I consider a "W shape" in my collection is the UM MEST Indigo FWIW.

Anyhow, I really love so many things about EXT such as the quality of the bass/mids/treble, and that the treble extends pretty high up. The bass quantity is an amount that I really like, and I prefer the bass overall (quality + quantity) to even the IE 900. I also like that the size of musical notes on EXT is on the larger side (kind of like Odin). Listening to distorted electric guitars with EXT's thick sound is so satisfying to me.

Can't wait for my PHöNIX to arrive sometime this month hopefully to see how I like it.

My initial wording was poor, it’s more down to the treble tuning I guess rather than the upper mid range being pulled back but I feel the perception is more or less the same, just depends which way you look at it I guess.

 

[Scubadevils]

I haven't shared any music here in a while! Listening to this beautiful reissue of a mid 90's electronic album that has flown under the radar, great to see it getting love now from this label with a vinyl and CD reissue. This could be categorised as Detroit techno but it's not for the dancefloor, more chilled but not ambient - stunning album and still sounds fresh today.

https://shop.mentalgroove.ch/album/soundtrack-313-6

 

[gLer]

These have had the bulk of my ear-time today; beautifully musical and engaging, one could forget aspirations for audio nirvana while walking about with zero wires to consider and just enjoying the music! Much better also than my previous Sennheiser TW2. I had them paired to the ZX507 on a walk this morning and can say with certainty that I enjoyed more than previously when cables to consider - plus Sony on Sony just seems to gel. Also, wandering about the house doing some chores made all the more enjoyable. Another 'best' bang for buck purchase, the first of 2022... I was on the fence way too long with these.

You have seen the light! Glad I'm not the only one around here who can easily listen to the XM4 all day and not care for anything else. Sony hit a home run with the convenience, comfort and sheer musicality of these. They make everything sound good. I've known several IEMs that couldn't do that at 10 times the price.

Exactly. I've called mid-treble excess coarseness or powdery-ness in the past; almost as if an hourglass was faintly whish-ing away in the background while the vocalist was recording.

Spot on, glad you've articulated it so vividly. This is an instant fail on any IEM for me and the first thing I listen for (well, after kick drum realism). If an IEM presents female vocals that I know to be well recorded with any of these artefacts, nothing else can redeem the IEM for me because it will suck for the majority of my library. The one corollary is that these artefacts can easily be the result of poor recording quality. It's quite sad how some really great albums have such poor vocal recordings. Instruments are almost never an issue, unless they're micced too hot.

But for me IE900 is a V shape just like Z1R.

I don't hear either of them as V shaped. Z1R is a mild U, and IE 900 slightly steeper but still U. Most of the vocals I listen to are also generally mastered either level or slightly forward, and I almost never hear them as recessed. Since I don't listen at very low volume, I actually prefer vocals a touch back so they don't get shouty. I can handle bass and smooth treble at high volume but when vocals get too loud I dial them back a touch.

Literally my most used iems. If i lost them I would instantly buy another set

+1. Same goes for all three of my current IEMs. Ironically I can re-buy all three for less than the price of one EXT (Z1R used, the other two new). I think my brief foray into $3K+ IEMs is officially over for the time being.

 

[rantng]

Don't know if anyone is interested in MMR IEMs, but Musicteck has a clearance sale on the Balmung & Thummim this weekend (50& & 30% off respectively). I've always thought MMR IEMs were too expensive/overpriced, but $1350 for the Balmung sounds more palatable. I've never been a fan of the design of the Thummim though.

MusicTeck MMR Weekend Clearance Sale - Take 50% off the Balmung or 30% off the Thummim - https://shop.musicteck.com/collections/mmr

MMR BALMUNG
$2,699.00 -> $1349.50
Use code KQ16N4MGE605 at checkout for 50% off

MMR Thummim
$4,499.00 -> $3149.30
Use code G7STCFF968Y9 at checkout for 30% off