[AudioDHD]

One way to find out is to listen when they come back and see if you still get the same sound you were blown away with before posting them. If you do, the odds of the postman unjumbling any damage is a lot less likely, so that will be a good barometer for whether QC is genuinely an issue.

Like people have said, it could be source related, it could be fit or ear geometry or it could just be good old fashioned perception. Bottom line - whatever the outcome of the test data, if they sound good to you, that's all that matters. That's what I love about this hobby - certain things can be measured and quantified, but at the end of the day, people can't. If you hear angels singing when all everyone else hearts hears is elephants breaking wind, just relax and enjoy the harps!

Thankyou! youve written exactly what I needed to read right niw! Am still stuck at work and just starting to feel a bit of a downer coming on! when I get home m8 Ill lift my glass to you

And if another IEM comes along that takes me over the moon like this did I might play it down as to not get others expectations too high.. apologies all for being such a big girl about being a fanboy!

 

[Paulus XII]

 
but @AudioDHD has been posting very positive impressions about his unit. Are you saying his impressions are based on a lemon unit? Are you near new zealand? would you be willing to send Paul a pair to see if it really is a lemon?

 
I definitely would. But think this is useless at this point.

 

[MuZo2]

Paul, I would volunteer to measure your pair. I am in Germany and if interested you can send me a pair. I have some iems in similar price range but mostly BA units.

 

[AudioDHD]

I definitely would. But think this is useless at this point.

I highly doubt they are Lemons , noway they could have sounded that good to me if they are..

They cost me $440 NZD , if they were Lemons Id be the first to complain about it!

 

[Paulus XII]

It's a shame because this IEM, done right, is so so good. Mines are a couple steps above FLC8S and this is just not me saying, we are talking trained ears here listening to my IQT5 AND FLC8S, but this is end of the game for me. Faithfully I got an extraordinary IEM and when/if I decide to put it for sale again, somebody will be highly impressed. Anyways, Golden Ear is no longer recommending it, our review was put on hold. We can't recommend something that works for 3 members here and all the other ones are defective/different, whatever.

 

[AudioDHD]

It's a shame because this IEM, done right, is so so good. Mines are a couple steps above FLC8S and this is just not me saying, we are talking trained ears here listening to my IQT5 AND FLC8S, but this is end of the game for me. Faithfully I got an extraordinary IEM and when/if I decide to put it sor sale again, somebody will be highly impressed. Anyways, Golden Ear is no longer recommending it, our review was put on hold. We can't recommend something that works for 3 members here and all the other ones are defective.

Am not sure they are defective, seems to be so many other variables when it comes to this IEM. Paulus my QT5s sounded exactly as you , bhazard , Carlsan, Yulu described yours ..

 

[AudioDHD]

@Brooko what tips have you tried? Pffft actually nevermind. .

This shift refuses to end! I need alchohol!!

 

[RedJohn456]

@Brooko what tips have you tried? Pffft actually nevermind. .

This shift refuses to end! I need alchohol!!

To be fair Paul is no newbie when it comes to stuff like this. But lets see what the measurements show, that will show the other half of the story.

 

[AudioDHD]

To be fair Paul is no newbie when it comes to stuff like this. But lets see what the measurements show, that will show the other half of the story.

Paul was kind enough to show me some measurements and explain them.. left me with the impression that Yhinzin has gone and shoved some semi decent components into a stainless steel housing but done little in the way of tuning..

 

[Paulus XII]

Paul was kind enough to show me some measurements and explain them.. left me with the impression that Yhinzin has gone and shoved some semi decent components into a stainless steel housing but done little in the way of tuning..

 
On your case.

 

[AudioDHD]

On your case.

True in my case.
Still luv how my QT5s takes favorite attributes of my other IEMs into a one massive holographic package! That wont change! They have been superb for EDM!

 

[MuZo2]

  Honestly - if I was to give a rating on these right now (for $300) - these would be 1-2 stars.  And yes  - this pair really is that bad. It was a relief to take them out of my ears.
 
 

So Paulpark 1.5 star review was spot on ?

 

[Brooko]

OK - had another 2 hours with these and they aren't improving.  I've also measured them (and remeasured them) so that I know what I'm getting is consistent.
 
Before I measured them - this is my findings (after running them through my usual tracks for reviewing) - so I know these tracks incredibly well.
 

1. Sub-bass = OK, there is a bit of rumble there, and its not too overdone.
2. Mid-bass = overdone, and is a real part of the problem.  Its not just a hump, relative to the mid-range its a mountain.  Bit it doesn't sound like a typical hump because it's not centered around 100-200 Hz so its not manifested as impact.  Its hard to describe.
3. Mids - distant, sucked out, muddy, lost.  Worst mid-range I've heard for a long, long time.  It's not just slightly dissonant - it really is awful.
4. Lower treble - it's "OK" - but you don't notice it because the mids and bass just aren't coherent

 
BTW - I've tried these with my iPhone 5S, X5ii, X3ii and with the E17K.  All the Fiio's are low impedance and the E17K is basically dead flat so any issue is coming from the earphone.
 
And here is the problem:
 
(Usual disclaimer - The graphs below are generated using the Vibro Veritas coupler and ARTA software. I must stress that they aren’t calibrated to IEC measurement standards, but the raw data I’m getting has been very consistent, and is actually not too far away from the raw data measured by other systems except for above 4-5 kHz where it shows significantly lower than measurements performed on a properly calibrated rig. So when reading the graphs, don’t take them as gospel – or at least remember that the area above 4-5 kHz will likely be significantly higher.)
 

 
 
 
Left and right channel matching - which isn't too bad, so I don't think this is a QC issue.  For this to be a driver issue, both channels would need to be affected equally (unlikely).  Also - assuming the failure of a pair or BAs - there would be far more cut out of the frequency chart I think.
 
And as you can see - massive mid-bass which bleeds all over the mid-range, sucked out and muddy mid-range, and no cohesion between lower and upper mids.
 
In the Fidue Sirius thread, someone suggested they were being overhyped, and also I had someone also mentioned in my FLC8S review that the QT5 was superior - so lets look at the Sirius next to the QT5.
 

 
Sirius has a bass vent on the inside.  This is what it looks like uncovered - and below is what it looks like covered:
 

 
I think the reality with the Sirius lies somewhere in between - and maybe even closer to the flatter graph.  Anyway - the bass on the Sirius is in perfect proportion, extends well, and the mid-range has a nice bump.  Tonally it is very coherent, and natural sounding.  Contrast that to the QT5 and it shows the QT5's issues even more.
 
I'll leave you with one more - the MEE P1 - which I'll be writing up soon.  It's a single dynamic, only $200, and in every aspect - build, cable, accessories, and most importantly sonics - there is daylight between it and the QT5.  For this graph I didn't volume match at 1 kHz because it doesn't show the true picture.  Instead I matched at where the natural peaks are - and it is this graph which should show everyone just how horribly tuned this particular pair of QT5s is.
 

 
 
I'll photograph these tomorrow - just so that I have a fair record of them - but at this stage I'm not reviewing them.  It would give me no pleasure, and I can see nothing constructive in doing it.  The only thing that worries me is that both reviews on the QT5 are very positive. It could be that this unit is defective - and I'd suspect something is amiss because I can't see either bhazard or FUYU rating this particular pair as anything but a 1 or 2.  It worries me that if Zhiyin's QC is very inconsistent (and honestly after viewing the cable and listening to them - I'd really question their QC standards), then based on those two reviews - people run the risk of buying lemons.
 
I want to re-iterate that I am in no way saying that these two guys have written dishonest reviews - as I suspect their units sound a lot different to this one.  I'm just saying that I'm not too sure how to fix the current situation - and to be honest, I don't want to waste hours writing these up.
 
Many thanks to Audio DHD for sending them down.  You'll have them back just after the weekend.

 

[Brooko]

  So Paulpark 1.5 star review was spot on ?

 
If he had a pair similar to this - then yes.

 

[MuZo2]

Measurements pretty much match other measurement I have seen.