mrtim6
500+ Head-Fier
I bought mine $200AUD less than retail
Testing now with Grace M903 dac/amp unbalanced volume set around 65 with cross feed on.
Rock / Prog Rock
Rainbow - Catch The Rainbow cd rip dynamic range 14
Very detailed IEM close to my (dare I say it) Utopia for detail - in fact mini Utopia came to mind first time I tried them.
Manage to maintain a very nice balance between detail and musicality.
Uriah Heep - The Wizard & Paradise
Great test for bass - (especially the Wizard) tipping my hat to Gary Thain and David Byron’s extraordinary vocals (the paradise) nothing is lost in the mix on the M9s
The Cars - Strangers Eyes cd rip (Japanese import) d/r 14
The mids are definitely not recessed - mind boggles someone suggested the mids are slightly recessed. Ric Ocasek’s distinct vocals are up front and centre in the mix. This is a great sounding album on CD (better on vinyl)
Rolling Stones - paint it black cd rip d/r 12
These certainly shine a light into the recording, their imaging is excellent for an IEM I can figure out laterally (and depth) of exactly where the band members were positioned during this recording.
King Crimson- Court of the Crimson King 24 bit DVD-A rip d/r 11
Greg Lakes bass guitar shines through, woodwinds sound great and the whole symphonic presentation comes over how it should- epically!
Punk
Stiff Little Fingers - Suspect Device cd rip d/r 13
I used this track to see how the M9 copes with a high speed ferociously beautiful track
Best I’ve ever heard this track wow the grunge guitars were there in full force back in 1979 when Coburn was a wee 12 year old
The Ruts - H eyes cd rip d/r 13
“You’re so young you take smack for fun” Malcolm Owen’s song about his unfortunate downfall
M9s capture the excitement without a doubt- this song is all about pace and Owen’s driving in your face vocals.
If people call the M9s boring then my thoughts are their preference must be for something really coloured. Mind boggling as boring these are not - here’s looking at you HD800...I call it as I see it.
The Ruts - West One (shine on me) cd rip d/r 11 - their magnum opus - “out in the dark and on my own”
One of the best test tracks for enjoyment, pace and rhythm
M9s do this track justice very coherent rendition those epic drum rolls around 4:37 are great to test the h/p ability to render Dave Ruffy’s drums
Electronica
EDM
Underworld - Morrocan Meatballs & Juanita- live in Tokyo cd rip d/r 13 & 11 respectively.
Makuhari Messe - The Japanese sound engineer would be happy
The segueing between these two tracks is amazing just so subtle, certainly catches some of the excitement ( however it’s Japan so it’s restrained) probably one of the best underworld live recordings.
Banco De Gaia - Mafich Arabi - Live at Glastonbury cd rip d/r 10
M9s do not lack bass - however they do not over emphase the bass, it’s rendered really naturally what’s present in the mix (something I noticed to my chargin the Noble Encore didn’t do yesterday).
So now what do I not like about the M9s - comfort factor, for me they are not the most comfortable IEMs I’ve ever used.
So far I’m thinking Sony hit the ball out the park on these beauties. Are these the best available Sony headphones since the Qualia 010?
That’s it for now - I will do some more testing on my Walkman and TA-ZH1ES
Testing now with Grace M903 dac/amp unbalanced volume set around 65 with cross feed on.
Rock / Prog Rock
Rainbow - Catch The Rainbow cd rip dynamic range 14
Very detailed IEM close to my (dare I say it) Utopia for detail - in fact mini Utopia came to mind first time I tried them.
Manage to maintain a very nice balance between detail and musicality.
Uriah Heep - The Wizard & Paradise
Great test for bass - (especially the Wizard) tipping my hat to Gary Thain and David Byron’s extraordinary vocals (the paradise) nothing is lost in the mix on the M9s
The Cars - Strangers Eyes cd rip (Japanese import) d/r 14
The mids are definitely not recessed - mind boggles someone suggested the mids are slightly recessed. Ric Ocasek’s distinct vocals are up front and centre in the mix. This is a great sounding album on CD (better on vinyl)
Rolling Stones - paint it black cd rip d/r 12
These certainly shine a light into the recording, their imaging is excellent for an IEM I can figure out laterally (and depth) of exactly where the band members were positioned during this recording.
King Crimson- Court of the Crimson King 24 bit DVD-A rip d/r 11
Greg Lakes bass guitar shines through, woodwinds sound great and the whole symphonic presentation comes over how it should- epically!
Punk
Stiff Little Fingers - Suspect Device cd rip d/r 13
I used this track to see how the M9 copes with a high speed ferociously beautiful track
Best I’ve ever heard this track wow the grunge guitars were there in full force back in 1979 when Coburn was a wee 12 year old
The Ruts - H eyes cd rip d/r 13
“You’re so young you take smack for fun” Malcolm Owen’s song about his unfortunate downfall
M9s capture the excitement without a doubt- this song is all about pace and Owen’s driving in your face vocals.
If people call the M9s boring then my thoughts are their preference must be for something really coloured. Mind boggling as boring these are not - here’s looking at you HD800...I call it as I see it.
The Ruts - West One (shine on me) cd rip d/r 11 - their magnum opus - “out in the dark and on my own”
One of the best test tracks for enjoyment, pace and rhythm
M9s do this track justice very coherent rendition those epic drum rolls around 4:37 are great to test the h/p ability to render Dave Ruffy’s drums
Electronica
EDM
Underworld - Morrocan Meatballs & Juanita- live in Tokyo cd rip d/r 13 & 11 respectively.
Makuhari Messe - The Japanese sound engineer would be happy
The segueing between these two tracks is amazing just so subtle, certainly catches some of the excitement ( however it’s Japan so it’s restrained) probably one of the best underworld live recordings.
Banco De Gaia - Mafich Arabi - Live at Glastonbury cd rip d/r 10
M9s do not lack bass - however they do not over emphase the bass, it’s rendered really naturally what’s present in the mix (something I noticed to my chargin the Noble Encore didn’t do yesterday).
So now what do I not like about the M9s - comfort factor, for me they are not the most comfortable IEMs I’ve ever used.
So far I’m thinking Sony hit the ball out the park on these beauties. Are these the best available Sony headphones since the Qualia 010?
That’s it for now - I will do some more testing on my Walkman and TA-ZH1ES
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