[ian91]

I've jumped aboard the 3DT train to pair with my M8 as an out-and-about IEM. It should be with me in a few days.

I do appreciate everyones efforts and contribution to this threadwith reviews and advice regarding tips / seal and micropore tape / filter mods - thankyou! It seems like this can be a divisive IEM. I'm not upper-mid treble sensitive but I may still want to play around with adjustments to these frequencies.

Yes. The larger Moondrop filters for the Starfield/KXXS fit the 3DT nozzle perfectly.

I did cut a portion of the filters off, primarily to decrease the damping effect a little, but it also serves to allow better airflow for the bass, not that it sounded boomy even with the full filters in place.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention - I actually have the spare Starfield filters to hand so I can give this a go. Is it relatively easy to do?

I‘ll have to see what role the 3DT will play in my IEM rotation. But it‘s exactly what I had hoped for, it adds a different flavor to my collection.

Thanks your write up too - seems like its very tip & seal dependent.

The tips i'll be trying include:

Comply foams
Dekoni foams
Symbio W Mandarins
Spinfit CP360
Spintfit CP145
Final Type E
Xelastec

Fingers crossed there's one in there that gives good seal and complements the sound signature.

 

[surfgeorge]

Really enjoying these out of the box but the SS tips it comes with are still maxing out my fit. Are the final audio type E SS a little smaller? I actually swapped to symbio peel smalls and not bad but could use a little smaller tip. Can't decide on 2.5mm cable either !

The included SS tips are the smallest possible tip on these nozzles IMO.
I first tried to achieve a deep fit with the stock SS and other small tips, but ended up with bigger tips (M-L) and shallow fit.
Symbio peel actually sounded good but I did not get a secure fit.

I have ordered 2 pin adapters for my MMCX cables and a medium priced cable from the same manufacturer as the Tianwaitian cable to see what improvements that one brings. But it will take a few more weeks to get delivered by Aliexpress snail mail...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001398172252.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.2c574c4dl5B4q8
Silver version 2-pin

I've jumped aboard the 3DT train to pair with my M8 as an out-and-about IEM. It should be with me in a few days.
Thanks your write up too - seems like its very tip & seal dependent.

The tips i'll be trying include:

Comply foams
Dekoni foams
Symbio W Mandarins
Spinfit CP360
Spintfit CP145
Final Type E
Xelastec

Fingers crossed there's one in there that gives good seal and complements the sound signature.

I didn't mention it explicitly, but one challenge with the 3DT is that they don't like too tight a seal IMO.
A perfect seal produces a vacuum, causes me discomfort and destroys the sound.

Too soft tips on the other hand really create an issue with driver flex when inserting the IEM, and they don't support the big shell enough. Foam might work well too, but for me a shallow fit with a stiffer silicone tip worked best.

Really tricky, but the result is well worth the effort IMO.

 

[ian91]

I didn't mention it explicitly, but one challenge with the 3DT is that they don't like too tight a seal IMO.
A perfect seal produces a vacuum, causes me discomfort and destroys the sound.

Another dimension to the challenge! Wish me luck!

 

[szore]

I've jumped aboard the 3DT train to pair with my M8 as an out-and-about IEM. It should be with me in a few days.

I do appreciate everyones efforts and contribution to this threadwith reviews and advice regarding tips / seal and micropore tape / filter mods - thankyou! It seems like this can be a divisive IEM. I'm not upper-mid treble sensitive but I may still want to play around with adjustments to these frequencies.



Thanks for bringing this to my attention - I actually have the spare Starfield filters to hand so I can give this a go. Is it relatively easy to do?



Thanks your write up too - seems like its very tip & seal dependent.

The tips i'll be trying include:

Comply foams
Dekoni foams
Symbio W Mandarins
Spinfit CP360
Spintfit CP145
Final Type E
Xelastec

Fingers crossed there's one in there that gives good seal and complements the sound signature.

Ive been using Spiral Dots, to me they sound the best and I have a good collection of tip[s

 

[surfgeorge]

Ive been using Spiral Dots, to me they sound the best and I have a good collection of tip[s

I generally like Spiral Dots and had hoped they would work, but had driver flex issues with the 3DT.
How do you insert them to avoid that, and are you going for small Tips/deep fit or big tips/shallow fit?

 

[szore]

I generally like Spiral Dots and had hoped they would work, but had driver flex issues with the 3DT.
How do you insert them to avoid that, and are you going for small Tips/deep fit or big tips/shallow fit?

Well, what's the big deal with driver flex? If it happens, it happens once on insertion, then I just listen to music, what's the big deal?

 

[IEMusic]

I have smaller ear canals and fitting IEMs is not always easy, but the 3DT is a real challenge.
The shell is really big, the nozzle ridiculously thick, this sealed IEM is exceptionally sensitive to fit and seal, and on top of that the driver flex makes tip choice even trickier. After a lot of tries I settled on Final Audio Type E tips, but I still have others coming in.

Thanks for your impressions. That’s a very good point. The 3DT is a large IEM, and the nozzle in particular, is very wide. Surprisingly, no one has really brought up this issue before. I have very wide ear canals, so I didn’t really notice any fit issues, but I definitely noticed the nozzle as I struggled to put on some ear tips.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention - I actually have the spare Starfield filters to hand so I can give this a go. Is it relatively easy to do?

It’s very easy to do. Just stick it on, as it fits in the center perfectly. If it attenuates the upper mids and treble too much for you, you can either remove the filters and trim some of it off, like I did, or you can poke holes in it with a needle, like @tgx78 did.

 

[IEMusic]

I generally like Spiral Dots and had hoped they would work, but had driver flex issues with the 3DT.
How do you insert them to avoid that, and are you going for small Tips/deep fit or big tips/shallow fit?

I had the best fit with cut Tenmak foam tips. It was very comfortable, caused no driver flex at all, and caused no pressure buildup. The bass, however, lost some impact and the bass transients were blunted, I think due to not having an airtight seal. I cut them to avoid negative treble and imaging effects.

Right now, I like Spiral Dots the best. It seems like the consensus is that the 3DT is better with shallow insertion, rather than deep insertion with smaller ear tips. To avoid driver flex and pressure build up, I always pull on the top of my ear (up and back) while inserting them, or very briefly to depressurize, while wearing them. I now do this with all my IEMs as a habit. I did purposely induced a lot of driver flex on my 3DT units, and there have been no issues from it.

 

[KutuzovGambit]

I have medium-small ear cavities and a small ear canal. I don't actually have any issues with the large nozzles, rather the trouble is finding tips that get the insertion depth just right in order to both achieve a seal and also not push the shells out in such a way as to cause hotspots on the antihelix. So far only the small stock tips have been able to work for me, although I have some Tenmaks on the way.

 

[holsen]

I have medium-small ear cavities and a small ear canal. I don't actually have any issues with the large nozzles, rather the trouble is finding tips that get the insertion depth just right in order to both achieve a seal and also not push the shells out in such a way as to cause hotspots on the antihelix. So far only the small stock tips have been able to work for me, although I have some Tenmaks on the way.

I use Tennmak in M with just about every iem I use them in as small is too small. The 3DT is the only one where small actually works for my medium ears. I also get a Hotspot with the 3DT on both ears, rotating the shells slightly downward or forward so that the cable connector is pointed at about 10:00 instead of 11:00 seems to get rid of the little pressure points on both sides.

 

[KutuzovGambit]

Added my review of this gem: Unique Melody Terminator 3DT

 

[H T T]

Added my review of this gem: Unique Melody Terminator 3DT

Very nice review! What is your opinion of the 3DT vs. the Globe? Apples and oranges?

 

[KutuzovGambit]

Very nice review! What is your opinion of the 3DT vs. the Globe? Apples and oranges?

Very, very much so. Two totally different beasts. Very complementary. The 3DT wins on technicalities and is overall more balanced, but there's something inimitable about the refined romanticism of Penon's house sound.

 

[H T T]

Very, very much so. Two totally different beasts. Very complementary. The 3DT wins on technicalities and is overall more balanced, but there's something inimitable about the refined romanticism of Penon's house sound.

I was thinking that, from your two reviews of the two sets.

I have been investigating the 3DT for quite some time. I have a couple concerns that have me hesitate. One is driver flex. I find it annoying as anything. The other is the need to use foam tips to avoid driver flex. Can you speak about your experience with those issues? Maybe I need to upgrade from the Yume to the 3DT for my mid-fi yin/yang "end game"?

 

[IEMusic]

I was thinking that, from your two reviews of the two sets.

I have been investigating the 3DT for quite some time. I have a couple concerns that have me hesitate. One is driver flex. I find it annoying as anything. The other is the need to use foam tips to avoid driver flex. Can you speak about your experience with those issues? Maybe I need to upgrade from the Yume to the 3DT for my mid-fi yin/yang "end game"?

I can cause driver flex on the 3DT but not very easily. Many of my other IEMs are worse. I also like the 3DT and the Volt as complementary.