Just came back a few days ago from a vacation overseas to see family, didn’t bring any IEM as I wanted to give a vacation to my ears as well… yesterday had a 2h session with my Punch and damn, I’m still impressed… I love the tuning and the mf bass.
Quick update on the faulty Arcadia I got: They asked to record a video showing my test method and after that they asked to destroy the pair and send pictures. I should receive a new pair soon.
did you have a coupler and show the graph or have to do something different?
yesterday had a 2h session with my Punch and damn, I’m still impressed… I love the tuning and the mf bass.
You’re not kidding. The Punch’s overall bass range is impressive. The transition from sub-bass to mid-bass is great. I’m able to distinguish both sub and mid-bass qualities independently. The great thing is, it doesn’t muddy the mid range either. Yes, it has huskier mids, but it’s well done. The highs are detailed without being fatiguing. It’s a keeper IEM for sure.
I suggest tip rolling. For example, the Spinfit W1’s slightly shaves the bass and opens up the soundstage, making it a friendlier all-around IEM. If you want to emphasize the bass, try Dunu SS or Fiio bass-specific ear tips. Also, a better cable if you believe in that. The Punch has been the go to IEM for rock and hip-hop tracks.
That sucks to hear about the Arcadia. Glad they’re making things right though.
No, don’t have a coupler. They just asked to test different cables and sources, and the video shows me doing that. They had to trust me. And I had to destroy the faulty set.
You mention variance but you will be shocked how bad some Knowles/Sonion drivers are in this regard. And I have many brands that will agree on this point. Technically they’re not “out of spec” but that’s just because the accepted tolerance is very wide. For Azul I had to discard approx 20-25% of the lower mid drivers, for example. But it also depends on the exact model, some are incredibly consistent. On the other hand, reliability of clones is something I have no personal info on.
Just to be clear, I am not picking a side, just throwing out info I have that otherwise might not be known.
The biggest draw to me, at least from a western manufacturer standpoint, is the concern of IP theft. It seems like reputational suicide to use an “unbranded” driver, even if there are benefits beyond just price. It really is a shame that there is such theft, because as mentioned prior, the engineers are clearly talented if they can improve on the drivers they cloned. I would like to see those BA manufacturers create their own products in their own form factor and with their own innovations. Something they can be proud to stamp their name on.
A duopoly of reputable brands like Knowles and Sonion can cause issues. Both brands have bumped up prices a non trivial amount in the last year or so. I admittedly do have a vested interest in this but I would like to see some more innovation! A shame Sony doesn’t sell theirs. There’s also TSST (a Toshiba and Samsung joint venture) which used to sell to third parties a while ago, but they seem to be dead for a long time now. Molex made BAs but I am unsure if they are still in production.
Really interesting, wouldn’t have occurred to me. That’s a huge added expense to the manufacturing if you can only use some of the BAs you’ve paid top dollar for. I’m guessing you can’t send back the duds because they’re “within spec”?
Yeah, it’s definitely an expense you have to be aware of. And as you rightly pointed out, I can’t send them back because they’re technically within spec.
Also another thing re expenses, certain regions get favouritism regarding dealer pricing. Australia, where I’m from, has some of the worst. For some of the drivers I use, it’s around half the price to buy a full tray them from a US online store that isn’t known for having great pricing to begin with AND the product has to be special ordered in both scenarios. So it’s not like they just bought it in higher quantities and that’s why their pricing is lower.
I appreciate the “Inside Baseball” on the drivers! I also know that the tolerances may be ‘within spec’ bit I admittedly had no idea what the actual rate of tolerance/variations are. I do appreciate that you and other members of the trade go above and beyond to match to your tuning as well!
Your personal experience is interesting because it is the opposite for 5 brands.
1/US
1/Europe
3/ S.E.A
Only one of the 5 is considered Chifi and the other 4 are expensive.
They all…all 5, and since this is text back and forth, I have them, say that a downside is RMA/fail rate and out of spec parameters which is RMA food but they often trash them.
So it is the inverse of your experience. I like and of course believe you but the other 5 are in private DM speaking freely. Nobody has any reason to be anything but candid.
I have via 10 years of communication with various companies/collabs gotten videos showing stuff that would blow minds, like Chinese factories were sharing during tarif wars ($40 build sell ing for $4000…and $50 depending on where you bought and which name was put on it.
My vids are the Chifi/Summitfi version of that. from 2 years ago. Shared with 1 guy and asked to keep it low and he didn’t. The long versions of those vids are just confirmation of what everybody knows.
Also, shout out to Linsoul.
I hope this message finds you well
It ain’t my fault your “team” thought everyone was just gonna shut up and swallow custom forever.
Keep your clone filled sets and send em to folks who will kiss your ass harder than rep for the buyers and they do it poorly
HiFiGo and LINSOUL
Of course, I’m just one voice in many. My sample size of clones is very small, so I can’t say anything about variance and failure rate of clones. I’ve not had to deal with anything the other brands had. But, all I’m saying is that if the drivers ARE working, they’re not bad. That’s all the context I can provide.
I am appreciative of your candor and input 
I want to discuss things like this, family and earphones…in that order 
This topic was a long time coming and I’m glad you are adding your experience to the discussion.
I am going to enjoy the day with my son. Please share updates on the new sets you are selling. They look quite nice. 
Thanks for pulling back the curtains a bit!
It’s both a pleasure and an honour to be a part of this vibrant community!
I agree. This is by far the best place to discuss these topics.
Is this what they call ‘click’ bait?
I’ll see myself out now.
I’m away with work for the next few days. Managed to get a short session in after work before I go out for an obligatory work meal.
I’ll be in tomorrow morning to do a longer session 
I mentioned that cap could likely come off easily in my Vol S review. This means you can change the bass level via the damper inside the back shell. Neat… or not. The owner would need to decide that.
Hmm 
So back up for one lucky YouTube subscriber? 
