I’m bias ( full disclosure 
)
Not too bassy
No haze over mids
Not shouty
Very good driver
good extension
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Then sign me up 
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Just some quick praise to the TRI x KAI.
I modeled my preliminary squig IEM target to the Serial. Which is the most sound profile complete IEM to my ears to date.
After listening to the Kai the last 2 days I have to put the Kai on 2nd place. The bass performance is as satisfiying as the Serial with the right amount of pressure/oomph. The whole sonority is right up my alley. As with most single DDs the treble extension/air could be better but that’s a minor niggle.
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share your target if u want me to upload it to my squig btw.
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thx will do. after I toned down the treble part a bit.
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I’m always happy to hear a happy music lover.
I like both set and 1 because i am bias as fuuu 
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The bias is understandable.
When I want something to just enjoy some music, I tend to reach for the Kai.
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I think so
How many new super budget dongles are coming? Maybe a bunch, maybe none
I cannot do a Top 5 list or a Tier List vid because they are dated in 2 weeks, stuff is coming out so fast
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Finally. Olina SE are in my ears. Thanks HBB!
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Thanks for the trust!! 
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After having tried many different
DACs, I have come to the conclusion that in regards to soundstage, single chip designs are pretty much always inferior to multi chip designs.
Everytime I’ve listened to a single chip DAC unit, the stage feels cramped. Cohesive yes, but cramped and origin of notes are tethered to the center of the stage.
One example is the Questyle M15.
Terrific clarity and crispness, but sounds processed and doesn’t put you in the studio so to speak.
It’s like the difference between single DD imaging and multidriver IEM imaging.
2 DACs in dual mono configuration (on for each ear) I now view as a minimum for that blissful floating unattached sensation of notes.
I’ve never heard a Quad DAC config but I’m very intrigued.
I’m going to be comparing the M15 with the upcoming TempoTec Variations V6 DAP, so that’s gonna be fun.
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Just be mindful that this isn’t universally true. I had the Gustard x-16 which has dual ess9068s and it didn’t present sound all that differently to single chip designs. Also there are dacs running anywhere from quad to 8x cirrus logic dac chips from topping to fairly high end dac/ adc’s used in music production. The newest CS chips are pretty decent from what I can see (43198,43193).
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I’ll concede from experience that dual mono won’t ensure definitively a vast soundstage, but I maintain that, by my experience, it opens the possibility for a greater sense of stage if utilized.
In other words, greater heights can be achieved in that regard with a multi chip design.
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Quick note on this, it’s really all down to implementation from my experience for how well something stages. I once had a dac with 8 parallelized chips per channel, so 16 separate stereo chips total, and while it was a great dac, I now have and have heard dacs that do offer much more impressive spatial recreation and stage even from a single or 2 chips, there’s a whole lot more that goes into a dac than just the chip it uses imo (and how many). Really wouldn’t worry too much what chip something uses in the end since imho it doesn’t really matter all that much and more depends on how skillfully the mfg actually implements the chip(s) (assuming it’s even a chip based dac) and the rest of the important aspects of a dac design (analog output stage, power supply, digital processing/frontend, quality of components, etc)
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I’d agree with this. Implementation is key. My old calyx single DAC sounds better or atleast not worse than a few quad or dual dac sources i have had
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Please don’t take this as anything dismissive, because I’m sure all you said is correct, but would you not say that in the same way that multi driver IEMs open up or allow for the possibility for better imaging (as in free, clean liquid sound floating across soundstage) compared to a single driver unit?
I would strongly assume, given right implementation and all other things being equal, that the same principle applies to DACs. (And even amplifiers with dual mono configurations).
That’s why he said “a few” and not “all”. Just like there are lots of 1 driver sets that are better than multi-driver sets, and multi-driver sets that smoke single-driver.
Plus a lot of this is subjective. If you’re predisposed to think a part of the source chain matters, you’re going to believe there’s a difference. If you’re predisposed to think it doesn’t matter, you’re not likely to believe there’s a difference.
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Well said
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