[xutantuo]

I just got it and compared them with my ie80.
 
In terms of clarity and dynamics it certainly is better, but it's high and bass are pretty bad. The bass is not enough and the high is too  harsh! I don't mind the bass but the high is driving me crazy. I cannot wear them for more then 3 minutes. Whenever some metal instrument comes it's like a needle in my ear.
 
Clarification: I just got them used and haven't remolded them yet. I tried to get it into my ears as deep as possible to avoid sound leakage. Anyway, do you think it's because of fitness that the high is so bad?
 
Thanks!

 

[Dragunov-21]

It's possible; if you're not getting a perfect seal you'd be turning up the volume to compensate and bring out the mids/bass, which would bring the treble to uncomfortable levels.

Sort out your seal first. Foamies are obviously a good option in terms of universal tips for ensuring a perfect seal, if there are any that you could temporarily fit (dunno what the bore is on your iems).

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk 2

 

[xutantuo]

any owner of tf18 here?

 

[Xymordos]

It could also be that your treble tolerance is low...
Though most likely because you aren't having a good seal. Honestly I think you should remold them.

 

[xutantuo]

I tried to plug it still deeper into my ears and the sound does sound way better! Any recommendations for remolding services?

 

[Xymordos]

Unique Melody? You're in China right?  Master Xiao/Xu are also good choices

 

[xutantuo]

I think I am gonna go for Rooth. Do you know him? I heard that he used to work for UM....It's interesting that very few Chinese know about the whole industry.

 

[Xymordos]

Rooth is a separate company all together!  Xiao used to work with Rooth. UM is a completely different company as well.

 

[tomscy2000]

If you're comparing it to your IE80, then of course the TF18 upgrade will sound overly bright and not bassy enough. UM's house sound is as such.
 
Did they give you an FR chart along with your remold? Does it look like this?
 

​

 
If so, then that 6-8k peak is what's causing your troubles. Also, using someone else's customs will invoke high frequency resonances that will cause that peak to sound even more harsh if you're not getting a deep enough fit.
 
FYI, UM and Rooth share common origins; even though their products sound a little different, the overall sound is still similar, always tilted toward upper mids and treble. Rooth is slightly tilted in the mid-bass so their stuff sounds slightly warmer, but that's about it. Since Xiao (Gui Ling) used to work for Rooth, his sound is similar as well; I have a remold upgrade from him, I can attest.
 
Your best bet would be to go with Xu (Thousand Sounds).

 

[xutantuo]

Hey thanks for your professional info! I used foorbar and weakened the 6k-10k range and it sounds way warmer now. Two more questions: Any reason to recommend Qianyin? Also, Would you say that in terms of overall quality, tf18 is in the same tier as, say,miracle,jh13? Another simple solution for me would be selling the tf18 and pay an extra 200usd for a used miracle. Will it worth the money?
 
Thanks a lot!!

 

[tomscy2000]

I don't know if a JH13 or Miracle will be in your wheelhouse for sound. It seems like you like a warmer sound, and I don't think most of these brands offer that kind of sound. Remolds + Upgrades are tough because they're not always ideal, though they shouldn't sound bad by any stretch of the imagination. I can't imagine a TF10x8 being all that bad sounding, though it's obvious you don't like it. My best guess is that you might like something like a Westone ES5. You could try Rooth; I briefly tried their LS-X5 yesterday and it seemed nice, but what's good to me might not fly well with you. If you were already considering Rooth, you might as well contact them and see what they can offer you. Tomo of HFI, who runs international sales for Rooth, is a great guy and seems very knowledgeable and helpful. He might be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[Xymordos]

I think a lot of manufacturers in China, including amps, iems, headphones, dacs, tend to have a bright and treble tilted sound. If you're only remolding then I don't think it really matters which one you choose. That 6k peak looks like a TWFK to me xD