[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Other than that Heir Audio 4.Ai is also tuned for neutrality

 
I don't agree w/ this recommendation or assessment.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Those two I mentioned have a flat frequency response. Neutral. No boost in any part of the spectrum. If there is any, it is a very very small one.

 
Where are you getting this information?  It is clear you have not heard the 4ai.

 

[7nationarmy]

My assessment is based on my experience with 4.A demo and the fact that they use the same driver configurations and tuned similarly. I believe several reviews here in head-fi also mentioned that 4.Ai does have neutral sound.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/621602/heir-audio-4-ai-appreciation-impression-review-thread
Read those links and you will understand where I was coming from.

 

[Poimandres]

Please shed some light on your thoughts of the Heir 4ai, Anaxilus. 

 

[Inks]

If you get a flatter response from the RE0 than the B2 something is wrong IMHO.

X2, the B2s need long tips to even out that treble though. 
 
Most balanced IEM I have seem seems to be the ER4B with orange Knowles dampers. Personally I have found the HF5s with brown dampers and short tips to be the most balanced IEM I have heard with a bit of compensation on the treble due to the brightness of newer recordings, while having all the sparkle needed for even those recordings without it. Amazed how there's really no sibilance and yet it's highly revealing like a ER4S or B. 

 

[Anaxilus]

To keep it short, the 4ai does have a slight bass boost to give it that sense of naturalness, while enjoyable it is not neutral in the sense I find it 100% accurate.  There is also a narrow midrange suckout that affects the coherence of strings like the guitar in Hotel California from Hell Freezes over for example.  That's all I can say for now as I'm on the loaner program for the 3ai and 4ai and need to decide how i will be passing along my impressions.
 
The 4ai sounds quite different from the ER4S or UERM.  

 

[iim7V7IM7]

ive been doing this research for many years and yet i found only two iems that at least comes closer to my expectations . " ety er4s & westone 4s..  bt need to change everything with the tym..  if any one knows something  better plz  try to give me suggestions .

appreciate it!

Frequency response of Westone 4r (not flat on this chart)

I enjoy listening them very much!

 

[AstroTurf]

Quote:

Frequency response of Westone 4r (not flat on this chart)

I enjoy listening them very much!

I think the chart producer has something to do with that.
 
Jim

 

[Inks]

Even with the proper compensations, the W4 is not that flat. Funny, to me the W4 is kind of like how Anaxilus is describing the Heir 4ai. 

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

Even with the proper compensations, the W4 is not that flat. Funny, to me the W4 is kind of like how Anaxilus is describing the Heir 4ai. 

 
Haven't heard the 4.Ai, but +1.  There are two areas where the W4 falls short of flat, one is the bass boost the other would be a drop in the lower treble that I hear.  

 

[Spyro]

W4 may have a bass "boost" relative to flat but let it be known it would certainly be considered bass lite relative to ALL other universal multi drivers.
 
I find it odd that among the universals, the 2-driver and 3-driver all have strong bass presense but when you add a 4th driver the bass really drops off.
W4, UE900, 4Ai..am I missing others......?

 

[Anaxilus]

How do the B2 and CK10 fit into that notion?

 

[Inks]

The 4 armature types seem to have less bass overall than some bassier multi-BAs, but better depth than most 2-1 single BAs. Manufacturers are smart, they know quality bass involves depth, which can be a drawback of armatures, boosting bass overall only brings about that veiling midbass. Problem is, there are bloated bass 3BA IEMs like the W3 and SM3s, which make most BAs sound bass light. 

 

[iim7V7IM7]

I can't speak to the flatness of their frequency response (I offered up a graph that I found) but I can say:

- They are comfortable to wear and quite efficient
- They present a very detailed portrayal of the musical mix
- They have what I would describe subjectively as a neutral timbre

These are also some notes from one of my listening tests:

I can hear 20 Hz, but is attenuated. 30 Hz is louder with it rising to 80 Hz where it remains at a constant volume. I begin to hear at 16 kHz with the volume increasing to a constant volume at 15 kHz. They have 60 dB of dynamic range. Bass frequency quality remains pure with no rattle throughout the sweep. The drivers appear to be matched well with the image centered.

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

W4 may have a bass "boost" relative to flat but let it be known it would certainly be considered bass lite relative to ALL other universal multi drivers.
 
I find it odd that among the universals, the 2-driver and 3-driver all have strong bass presense but when you add a 4th driver the bass really drops off.
W4, UE900, 4Ai..am I missing others......?

 
Not all 2 driver IEM have strong bass...  The B2 are a big example of this, even the ADDIEMs.  The W4 actually (to my ears) has more bass than both of them (this is from memory).  It really has to deal with driver selection and tuning.  The 3-BAs tend to have a huge BA for the bass (3.Ai are an example of this).