I’m not used to production chains and QC, but 2% seems huge to my ears.
Imagine these numbers with, let’s say, a sony product. That means you’ll have 200 faulty units for 10’000 made. They just couldn’t handle the impact on their image.
And then again we don’t talk about something that would be a little bit off the charts of variance acceptability: the variations have a huge impact on the sound, the primary function of the f*cking product!!
Quick sound rundown of 3 IEMs I have received recently.
First, the Alambic Ears Mundaka. (€850)
Pros:
Smooth driver transitions
Exceptionally inoffensive treble
Dense, thick bass
Cons:
Hard to drive
Stage dimensions, especially width
Treble is muted and soft
Lack of detail perception due to smoothness
Bass driver is located at the very back of the IEM, robbing it of immediacy and slam.
Lacking drive and “It” factor.
Now the Audio Lokahi ($239)
Pros:
Precise and defined bass
Airy
Very forward
Intense
Cons:
Artificial sounding
Etched sounding
BA Timbre
BA Bass
“Projects” sound, opposite of spacious
Limited, intimate stage
Lastly, these miracles. ($39)
Pros:
Detailed
Quite spacious
Energetic treble
Airy
Full-sounding
Good phantom center
Good imaging
Decent depth while keeping it engaging
Cons:
Full sounding at the expense of some minor bloat
Piezo timbre is a tiny bit spicy and brittle, think high frequency dentist drill
The Mundaka obviously offers the most “luxurious” sound with no etch or crossover issues, it is simply more refined than the other two. For me however, it is lacking something that prevents me from enjoying it that much, which is why it is going back for a refund.
The Lokahi has been getting most eartime recently and I have grown pretty tired of it now that I have the Geek Wold GK10.
Yes, the Geek Wold GK10 is the IEM I enjoy the most out of these three, all things considered. I believe It is mostly due to timbre which affects so many other attributes of sound. 2DD, 1BA and 2Piezo is quite a dynamic driver combination, pun intended. It sounds most spacious out of the three, and sound is supposed to impart a sense of spaciousness in order for it to sound convincing.
Dynamics does this the best.
Guess someone got a good set, huh? Can you measure GK10?
Hoping the same for me 
Can’t measure unfortunately!
I just know they are gonna get so much eartime starting now. There is a rumor about an upcoming GK100 going for $250-350, I wonder what driver setup it’ll use if it’s true.
Not sure if you followed the hype-train into a brickwall montain on these forums and headfi…
But that set is a one trick pony. No one gets the same graphs, experience or even working drivers. Guess you lucked out.
The general consensus is that if you got a nice set, you won the sub 100$ lottery. In the other hand… You just trashed 45$ if its a quality controlled one.
Its 50-50. Either you do, or you dont 
or if you believe in fairy tales, theres only 2% chance of getting a bad one
If mine arrives and works, ill try to give impressions and measure if I can…
Or just get Mele
Are You sure that’s a Lawton mod? 
So he replaced the driver too?
Put a dynamic in there?
I thought Fostex were planars… 
You know Your collection is kinda big when You forget that You actually own a set of planar magnetic headphones even when writing their name several times… 
I have a Tea, an X6 and a LBBS incoming BTW… Going through both this and Rikudou_Goku’s huge thread has convinced me I need those in my life… 
They are dynamics.
WTF are you talking about? They are dynamic drivers. I didn’t forget anything.
Well… I made a fool of myself then…
I thought they were all Planar Magnetic…
DOH! 
Sorry for your wallet. 
I already have quite a collection…
Need to buy my third 12 piece watch case as some of the compartments are “double booked”…
My problem is I’m lazy, so I rarely sell any stuff…
Seems I’m not the only one…
It all started when I bought a pair of Tin T2’s (a few years back), then the Koss PP’s, KSC75 (X), KPH30i’s, then modding…
A handful of open backs, a few amps (RNHP + Feliks Echo MK2 amongst others) and DACs and now I’m here…
Oh, also bought the Triple Driver (on ears) a few days ago…
And currently wearing Legacy 2’s.
BGGAR’s right… It’s an addiction… But one of the better ones…
Maybe these are a better choice than watch cases (which are damn expensive):
(I need another one lol.)
Sure but they look very nice…
These are the ones I have:
Considering these but I can’t see the IEMs/earbuds in the drawer then…
#1stWorldProblems
Sorry for derailing the thread…
Sooo, when can we order the Mele…?
HD 800 iem version love the looks tho
I’m a teacher and a parent, I know they’ll be ready when they’re ready. I know asking won’t speed anything up. But I sure am looking out the window for the Mele man…
