[Bad Wolf]

If we are at this topic, anyone knows a good upgrade from pistons? In terms of bass. T1E is awesome as I heard, but something in higher price ranges (for example, around/above $100)?

Bought Piston for good bass and 17 bucks. They are awesome but I need a goal to save my money for.   House-dnb-trance-hardstyle n such bassy genres lover here.

You really can't go wrong with the RHA MA750. The bass goes freakishly low. The build quality is impeccable. I've been listening to Daft Punk a lot today, and I almost can't believe how fantastic they sound. Also, you should look into the Yamaha EPH-100. They apparently have even more bass than the RHA, but with less clarity and they're not built as well.

 

[smy1]

Haha, I think airy is good How is the mid-bass on the 750? I always eq'd it down quite a bit on my pistons. I like a warmer sound, but not to the point where it takes a serious hit on mid range clarity.

I don't remember. I returned them after 3 days

 

[Arsis]

Movie with Pistons = !
Last night I watched Skyfall (via Netflix) and was quite impressed. Notably impressed with bass extension. The contra bass of the orchestral score and LFE were beautifully reproduced. Stereo imaging was very natural and dialog was clear and defined.

Signal chain:
Neflix app... Sony BDP... Pioneer vsx-822... Mogami 12' extension... Xiaomi Pistons 2.0

 

[Ira Delphic]

Xiamom Mi headphones announced -interchangable on-ear and over-ear combo, semi-open, 50mm drivers...$80
http://www.androidcentral.com/xiaomi-announces-interchangeable-Mi-headphones
 
Interesting but I doubt something I'd want. 
 

 

[luberconn]

whoa, interesting find there delph

 

[thatBeatsguy]

  whoa, interesting find there delph

Not too interesting when it's a repost from the Chinese Brand thread. 

 

[luberconn]

lol, i think i commented about it in both thrads.  i saw it here first tho.  those might be a little too flashy for my sensibilities, but if they sound good, that's all that matters. 

 

[thatBeatsguy]

  lol, i think i commented about it in both thrads.  i saw it here first tho.  those might be a little too flashy for my sensibilities, but if they sound good, that's all that matters. 

Judging from Xiaomi's moves with the Pistons, I'm pretty sure there will be a silver-white version of that...hopefully. 

 

[Ira Delphic]

 

  lol, i think i commented about it in both thrads.  i saw it here first tho.  those might be a little too flashy for my sensibilities, but if they sound good, that's all that matters. 

Judging from Xiaomi's moves with the Pistons, I'm pretty sure there will be a silver-white version of that...hopefully. 

 
And the inevitable Crystal Edition Rose Pink 

 

[julian67]

I'm waiting for the white plastic edition at $12.

 

[scrypt]

So far, my new Pistons sound surprisingly clean and balanced, albeit with a bass bump that suggests someone applied a mild EQ (as opposed to, say, an FR-obliterating special effect suitable for a car stereo from GTA III). 
 
The controls seem to work with all of my Android phones, which is exactly why I bought them.
 
Here's what I find perplexing: said Pistons sound better through the headphone out of my OnePlus One than through its USB out to a DACmini by CEntrance (a company that needs a new shift key). 
 
I'm beginning to wonder if the miniplug-to-quarter-inch adapter is the culprit. 
 
I suspect that the DACmini is pleated and cuffed to iDevices, which can make ordinary quarter-inch adapters sound thin and flat, thereby exsanguinating the sound of one's ear-speaks and peeing on one's Wednesday-night listening excursions like a threatened tree frog. 
 
Admittedly, my DM is not the IEM variant and was designed for phones that knosh on hefty dollops of power, but I still find the HLF-filter-gutted sound to be suspect.
 
Ergonomically and practically, the Pistons seem perfect for commuting (as long as you keep the volume low and don't compensate by turning it up in noisy environs).

 

[julian67]

The problem is with the 10 ohm output impedance of the DACmini. It means that typical low impedance IEMs and portable headphones will have very unbalanced frequency response (different frequencies get rendered at different volumes - sounds horrible). Your phone's headphone out impedance is probably closer to 1 ohm, maybe even lower.

A rule of thumb is that your headphone's impedance should be at least 8 times greater than the amp's output impedance. In practice an IEM with 32 ohm resistance will probably sound decent enough with a 10 ohm impedance amp such that you will probably not mind it at all. Apple and Samsung IEMs and buds tend to have 32 ohm impedance so they work pretty well even when paired with various equipment they are not intended for.

The easiest and cheapest fix is to add some resistance to the earphone with a cheap adapter such as used by Etymotic to convert ER4P to ER4S. 3rd part ones are easily found on ebay, i.e. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Etymotic-ER4P-to-ER4S-3-5MM-plug-resistor-adaptor-/281517313234?pt=US_MP3_Player_Cables_Adapters&hash=item418bbd4cd2

 

[ozkan]

  I'm looking for a comparison on Xiaomi Piston 2.1 vs ATH-IM70 as well... There is a big price difference between the 2 IEMs and if the sound sig is not that much different then i would not buy it.. But maybe for the looks...
 
Looking at the frequency graphs of IM70... It seems similar to the Xiaomi Piston 2 from my hearing point of view.
 
Hopefully soon someone can compare these 2 IEMs. 

 
There are very different sounding IEMs. Not even close.  Pistons 2.1 is overly bassy, bloated, muffled and has V shaped sound signature while IM70 has less bass quantity but comes with better quality. Also the mids are slightly forward with much better details and seperation. Treble has more presence on Pistons but at the same time it is very artifical and aggresive. 
 
There is no contest. IM70 is overall better and they are exactly very different IEMs.

 

[Randu]

HawkEye
 
THANKS for posting the real vs fakes pics - Huge!!
 
TBG - Can you sticky this near the OP at the top?

 

[thatBeatsguy]

  HawkEye
 
THANKS for posting the real vs fakes pics - Huge!!
 
TBG - Can you sticky this near the OP at the top?

• No link to the "real vs fake pics"
• No @ tag to HawkEye0701
• No @ tag to me
• You can't "sticky" a post "near" an OP.

 
Correct all 4 errors, then we'll talk.