[MIBUK]

Liking the buzz from the PM4 guys and girls. But, as a Hunter , any news on when you're likely to start shipping, @BobTrinity.

Also, what would people recommend for an iPhone friendly IEMs amp that doesn't cost the earth?

 

[Neotribal]

We don't use Knowles, I have never liked the sound they make. Armatures in delta and pm4 are both specialist hearing aid armatures and were not designed originally for iems but with a little tweaking they are

Dude that's awesome... some serious "playing outside of the box" here...

So the PM6 and Hunter will be our first taste of your tuning on ba's actually designed for music, lol this is gonna be great

 

[Neotribal]

Liking the buzz from the PM4 guys and girls. But, as a Hunter , any news on when you're likely to start shipping, @BobTrinity.

Also, what would people recommend for an iPhone friendly IEMs amp that doesn't cost the earth?

Last we heard, they were waiting for drivers to arrive... Nevermind a ship date, give us pics of the Heat-Treated Ti

As for a cheapy amp that plays well with iPhone, I like the fiio e12 Mont Blanc

 

[sup27606]

Last we heard, they were waiting for drivers to arrive... Nevermind a ship date, give us pics of the Heat-Treated Ti

As for a cheapy amp that plays well with iPhone, I like the fiio e12 Mont Blanc

I would suggest the E12A instead of the E12 because even the low gain mode has unacceptable noise, not suitable for IEM. I would recommend the Cayin C5 (which I am going to use with the PM6) which has zero noise for IEMs and also an overall better sound than the E12. Price wise, the Cayin C5 is probably $30 more than the E12.

 

[Neotribal]

I would suggest the E12A instead of the E12 because even the low gain mode has unacceptable noise, not suitable for IEM. I would recommend the Cayin C5 (which I am going to use with the PM6) which has zero noise for IEMs and also an overall better sound than the E12. Price wise, the Cayin C5 is probably $30 more than the E12.

I've heard plenty of good things about the c5... probably better to listen to this advice, I've not listened to my e12 in a while

 

[Bob A (SD)]

My gunmetal finish PM4s just showed up in my mailbox.  Didn't have to sign for them.  They were shipped from the UK and for whatever reason the Royal Mail tracking never showed them leaving Heathrow. 
 
Plugged in the stiiff around the ears cable and fitted my fav Auvio medium tips.  Running the default damped natural gunmetal filters plugged into my Rockboxed xDuoo X3.  Right off the bat I noticed I had to increase the volume setting over that used with my Trinity Technes.  Way too early to post any other impressions other than very smooth and detailed.  Just very glad to have them in hand!
 
Silver damped and gold damped will be the next filter sets I'll audition.  FWIW I found the purple smooth neutral filters in the Techne to be my preference.  These would roughly correlate to the PM4's gunmetal filters.

 

[hernandoco]

 
LOL, this is the trimmed version, should have seen them last week and there would have been no doubt that the Pod is a direct descendant of the Woolly Mammoth

 
They do respond very well to a little extra juice

 
...So how much power does that strap add? Also, how does it sound after the strap has been added?  What about slighly loosening the velcro?

 

[maniac2003]

  @Bobtrinity 
With a bit of luck just in time for my brithday this friday (18th). Crossing my fingers and have some 

 until the delivery guy shows up.
Can't wait to hear the PM4 + silver cable.

Man I'm getting bored of that popcorn

 
Probably the delivery guy is listening to my PM 4's 

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

Man I'm getting bored of that popcorn  
Probably the delivery guy is listening to my PM 4's 

This is the one time exception where it's ok to "shoot" the mailman.

 

[xineis]

We don't use Knowles, I have never liked the sound they make. Armatures in delta and pm4 are both specialist hearing aid armatures and were not designed originally for iems

but with a little tweaking they are

Whoa! That's seriously outside of the box thinking. Congratulations, Bob and Trinity team!
 
PS: still waiting for my PM4s to arrive. Hope they do this week.

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

Whoa! That's seriously outside of the box thinking. Congratulations, Bob and Trinity team!

PS: still waiting for my PM4s to arrive. Hope they do this week.

It's been discussed in this thread, I specifically even think I initially asked about it. I even posted info about it. Do a search there is good info in the thread.

 

[xineis]

It's been discussed in this thread, I specifically even think I initially asked about it. I even posted info about it. Do a search there is good info in the thread.

 
Will do! In my defense, this thread was really difficult to keep up with. Thanks!

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

Will do! In my defense, this thread was really difficult to keep up with. Thanks!

Welcome to the thread.

Keyword: Sonion

http://www.head-fi.org/t/796729/trinity-phantom-series-new-thread-worlds-first-push-pull-hybrid-iem/5460#post_12818759

Hint hint look at my pic icon. There is a reason I have it.

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

I wanted to add more about Sonion. Here is some background about their history; a great read.

https://cymbacavum.com/
CYMBACAVUM

Sonion’s AcuPass Technology: Making Things Easier for Everyone

Disclosure:

All information presented in this article is derived from publicly available documentation. CYMBACAVUM has not been privy to any confidential industry documents.

In the world of premium earphones, while many manufacturers around the world are able to design and manufacture dynamic, moving coil transducers, the supply of balanced armature technology to earphone manufacturers around the world is essentially a two-horse race between the US-based Knowles Electronics and Netherlands’ Sonion SA. Out of these two companies, Knowles has always held the market lead. With a long history in microelectronics manufacture, they’ve managed, in recent years, to capture a good portion of the premium audio market with their miniature dual driver design, the TWFK. This tiny little driver, measuring in at only 5.00 mm × 2.73 mm × 3.86 mm, enabled some absolutely tiny in-ear designs, such as the JAYS q-Jays, the Ultimate Ears UE700, and many more. The TWFK’s success translated not only well to the mainstream (almost all balanced armature designs originate from applications intended for hearing aids), but the driver’s wide bandwidth and small size also allowed the TWFK to be a preferred driver of many manufacturers of custom in-ear monitors as well.

However, the TWFK, as great as it is in terms of tiny size and wide bandwidth, has had to concede a number of technical tradeoffs. A good number of IEM users lamented that TWFK-equipped IEMs sounded a bit thin and metallic, with unconvincing bass depth, and could even be at times sibilant. Having heard a good number of TWFK-equipped IEMs and their variants, I can agree that these complaints are not unfounded. Much of this subjective assessment has to do with the small-sized enclosure and the lack of adequate back volume required to provide the bass response necessary for listeners’ satisfaction. A number of companies, such as Westone, EarSonics, and Ultimate Ears, have had to design their flagship products around an assembly of larger-sized BA drivers on top of the TWFK, significantly increasing size and design complexity because of the need to design around a multi-bore output. For universal-fit IEMs, a manifold design would also be necessary. In addition, because of the difficulty in creating low-noise/distortion low-pass filters in crossovers for multiple BA-based IEMs, it’s not a surprise that acoustic engineers from all over have been searching for an acoustic-based alternative. In order to make things simpler for earphone manufacturers and designers, Knowles designed several integrated, dual-driver high/low solutions in not only the TWFK, but also the GP/GD/GQ drivers, and has even custom-designed solutions, such as that used in the Apple Dual Driver In-Ear Headphones. With easy tweaking options, integrated drop-in solutions are what seem to be trending for the rapidly expanding premium earphone market.

Sonion, on the other hand, has not had as much widespread success. They’d been playing second whistle to Knowles, and never managed to release any drop-in solutions until recently, when they introduced a new dual-driver assembly. In addition, the new driver set utilizes proprietary technology they term ‘AcuPass‘ that promises to make earphone design and implementation easier than ever. Without going into details, AcuPass is essentially acoustic low-pass technology that simplifies crossover circuits and enables multi-driver receivers to be combined into one single output port, making parts easier to design for. Sonion has a great layman’s explanation in video form:




The whole process works somewhat like the much-ballyhooed Shure SE846’s “true subwoofer”, where the woofer output is sent through a small, diameter-restricted and convoluted output path in order to filter away high frequencies without the need of passive LC/RC circuitry through SMD components. The SE846’s acoustic low-pass filter is a bit more complicated than is AcuPass, but the overarching principles governing both designs are exactly the same. While both the SE846’s acoustic design and AcuPass have come out only within the past year, these concepts are not exactly “new”. Klipsch, in their partnership with Sonion, explored the acoustic low-pass concept in the now-discontinued Custom 1/2/3 series of IEMs. Ultimate Ears has also explored these concepts with the UE4Pro custom-fit IEM, which uses a special woofer with a diameter-restricted output. In that sense, the UE4Pro could probably be regarded as the direct predecessor to AcuPass.

Only now, however, has Sonion been able to introduce a ready-made module that fully realizes AcuPass without the need for special, custom-order runs like those established by Klipsch and Ultimate Ears, and this realization is Sonion‘s 1723 assembly:

In this 1723WT03 driver assembly from Sonion, the output from the 17A012 woofer is fired against a small chamber created by the AcuPass center plate and exits through a small custom-fabricated damper to restrict higher frequency output, effectively becoming an acoustic low-pass filter centered around 80-100 Hz. The tweeter of the the 1723, coded as the 2331, is part of the 2300 series of drivers, which is a “standard” driver series designed to possess a frequency response as accurate to human eardrum response as possible. They’re analogous to and very similar in performance to Knowles‘ ED driver series, which has been made famous by the Etymotic ER4. As a single wideband driver, however, the 2300 is often found not to possess the kind of low-end headroom required for convincing reproduction of low frequencies. 

In the past, Sonion has attempted to make up for its shortcomings by venting the driver, coming out with iterations such as the 2354 and 2356. However, venting often increases total harmonic distortion levels of the transducer to audible levels; balanced armature drivers also commonly possess higher levels of odd-order distortion, which is said to be sharper and less palatable to the ear than even-order distortion, leading to claims of “tinny” response in IEMs. The logical way to keep distortion low but to add low-frequency performance is to use a specialized woofer. The 17A012 woofer in the 1723 AcuPass is part of the 1700 series of drivers specifically designed for audio use, of which Knowles does not have a direct analogue. In the middle is a specially machined plate that is the key component of AcuPass. It manages to restrict the output diameter of the woofer response, cutting frequencies very low — much lower than if it were an crossover designed with resistors and dampers. The single spout output is icing on the cake, making it easy to design a small-sized universal-fit IEMs around the 1723. However, in concept alone, AcuPass doesn’t need to be solely a single spout design.Since the receiver terminals of BA drivers are usually very small, accompanying the AcuPass technology is the addition of an integrated PCB board that makes for easy soldering (without the need for microscopes).

Moreover, the best part about this AcuPass technology is that it’s not restricted to just this 1723 design; it can be applied to essentially any receiver in the Sonion portfolio. Already, there are rumors of Sonion developing a “3323” driver assembly, based around the 3300 series drivers and the 2300 series, arguably improving on the sound quality of the 1723 because of lowered distortion, and improved transient articulation of the 3300 series over the 1700 series. It’s certainly very exciting, and AcuPass may very well give Sonion the cachet to catch up to Knowles in market share for the premium earphone segment.

So which products are already equipped with AcuPass technology? Let’s start with universal-fit IEMs. The earliest product to sport AcuPass in its present form is undoubtedly the Imation TDK TH-ECBA200BBK (or BA200 for short, reviewed [COLOR=06973B]here[/COLOR]). At a street price of ~$150 USD, the BA200 is a massive win for the discerning audiophile, as it sports [COLOR=06973B]great electroacoustic properties[/COLOR] (courtesy of the 1723 AcuPass driver inside), on top of the great street price. Unfortunately, TDK has quietly discontinued the model, dumping extra stock into discount stores such as Ross, which has in turn sold them for bargain bin prices. The second universal-fit IEM to utilize AcuPass is likely the FitEar Parterre. While the drivers used within the Parterre were purposely not mentioned by Suyama FitEar, third-party individuals have analyzed the Parterre’s outward electroacoustic properties and found it to correlate heavily with the 1723WT03/9. Mr. Keita Suyama has also mentioned in passing to the Japanese audio press that the Parterre does not utilize a traditional electronic low-pass filter, further suggesting the use of technology at least similar to AcuPass. Then, shine a bright light in on the Parterre, and two drivers similar in size to the 2300 and 1700 will be revealed, along with a PCB attached to the back.Even though only two universal models using AcuPass currently reside on the market (the new Audio-Technica ATH-IM04 might be using it in conjunction with other drivers), several custom IEM models are verified to be using the 1723 AcuPass:

• [COLOR=06973B]CanalWorks CW-L12[/COLOR]
• [COLOR=06973B]CosmicEars BA2, BA4R/F[/COLOR]
• [COLOR=06973B]CustomArt Music Two[/COLOR] ([COLOR=06973B]CYMBACAVUM Review[/COLOR])
• [COLOR=06973B]Livezoner41 LZ2 ‘Street Life Gold’[/COLOR]
• [COLOR=06973B]Livezoner41 LZ4[/COLOR]
• [COLOR=06973B]InEarZ IE-P250 Pro[/COLOR]

Considering the 1723 was only officially released to the public in late-January 2013, to have this many official, in-production CIEM models already using the AcuPass driver in their designs speaks to the 1723’s ease of use, wide-ranging applicability, and performance. Is AcuPass the technology that will vault Sonion ahead of Knowles in terms of market share, however? Not necessarily. While the current 1723 assembly is excellent in terms of sound quality, it is not actually all that small. While it’s small enough to fit inside a Westone or Shure-like universal form factor, it will be unable to shoehorn itself inside an enclosure like that of the JAYS q-Jays. Thus, when it comes to absolute size, the TWFK still has its advantages. We’ve got to keep in mind that Knowles Electronics has a few tricks up its sleeves as well, and has been hard at work making high-quality, small-sized drivers that can double as woofers. Knowles will undoubtedly be releasing new drivers that will attempt to keep Sonion‘s growing market influence at bay.

Sonion has great potential with their AcuPass technology, however, and we here at [COLOR=06973B]CYMBACAVUM[/COLOR] will look forward to many new products that take full advantage of this convenient new technology.

I'll post again for everyone that missed it all.

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

So these are the drivers details if anyone is interested, very nice. The drivers appear to be the best Sonion offers. Excellent choices Bob and thank you again for the specs. I like to know what goes in my ears! 

Also drivers specs.