I recently got the EA500LM and I’m interested in enhancing their bass response without affecting the vocals and midrange.
Due to the inability to return option, I’m seeking recommendations for tips that will complement the EA500LM, providing them a bit more oomph in sub/mid bass and adding dynamism while preserving details?
Or is it pointless to even attempt, as using tips with a small bore intended for bass enhancement may inevitably lead to reduced detail and outright muffling, regardless of the effort?
The EA500 LM are so easy to drive that they don’t really scale that much with better or more powerful gear. Sure, there’s improvement, but it’s minimal.
I’ve been A/B testing the EA500 LM and the Galileo for the last few days. The EA500 LM is the clear winner when driven by a phone, but the Galileo responds better to more power when I drive both on my JDS Labs Atom+ stack. The Galileo is much closer to the EA500 LM when driven with ample power.
It isn’t about driveability that I am talking about. It is DAC and the, often times, benefits of going balanced with a DD. Sometimes there is magic, sometimes not.
10-4. Maybe there will be a slight improvement in signal integrity with balanced. But the added power of balanced probably won’t do much in a headphone that’s so easy to drive.
I know from experience; I’ve been testing the EA500 LM extensively. Damn nice, fun set for the dough, by the way. Highly recommended under $100.
Thanks. I am waiting for the eventual 1000LM or I might grab the Origin or the Doscinco… I will probably go the Origin route as I am a fan of Tanchjim.
Have you tried Dunu S&S? I’m a big foam tip user, but the S&S are my go-to silicon choice if I want to preserve detail whilst keeping some of the bass and warmth from foam tips. Definitely my fave silicon tips so far (haven’t tried Divinus Velvets or Penon Liqueurs though, both of which are on the way).
I second this choice for a listening test to see how the S&S tips sound to your ears, @Abhirup_Panda. There is something special about these tips and was the “saving grace” for my S12’s since others just would not work for me given it’s short insertion depth. The seal also did wonders for bass without touching mids or highs, to my ears.
I haven’t tried using a balanced cable yet, and I don’t have an external power source for them either. And for the dac I’m currently debating whether to opt for a budget-friendly option like the Apple dongle or save up for the Fiio KA13.
Thanks for more context. Down the road getting a better dongle will likely help. The Apple dongle has limitations but I find they are more sturdy than the OTG dongle cable. I just lose the Apple dongles…
I hope you find the tips that get you what you want.
you tried any of the hybrid (silicone/foam) tips? I recommend the ones from Sony, like the EP-TC50, they also sell the ones that comes with their TWS sets like the EP-ni1000m and the EP-ni1010
I had to spend some time figuring out how to get my usual tip-roll assortment to stay in the coupler, but eventually got it working to match my particular wearing style. Also, this is my modded version of the LM with a high density foam swap in the gold nozzle + red band.
A to F = Left to Right. The rightmost is what I use for all my measurements, since it stays pretty snug. I really don’t know some of the names of these tips, so apologies for the missing/incorrect naming.
Tip A : ???
Tip B: 7Hz Horn Tips
Tip C: Ultra Clear Tips from the Softears Twilight
Tip D: LG Tone Tips from the HBS-730
Tip E: QDC Tips from the 8SL
Tip F: ???
(These are all L~XL sized tips minus the last, the largest you can get basically)
In my subjective listening tests, I found the first two tips, A & B to have more bass since they fit snugly in my ears and took slightly more effort to remove. The latter ones would not fare the shake test and also didn’t sound as intense on both ends of the spectrum. Messing with different tips, insertion depth, and ultimately seal, while not conducive to good measurements, might lead to a subjectively improved listening experience.
[UPDATE]
I’ve omitted my graph results, since repeat measurements with a different IEM and more consistent seating behavior have shown that different positions created the similar graph phenomenon with different tips. I also noticed my coupler was lowering the volume of my PC during the seating process, since I did not disable the “audio output” of the headset adapter. Until I can do multiple runs with each tip, I’ll assume those results are borked.
Do note that large sizes like these are usually pretty terrible for graphing. (they pop out of the coupler after a while or you might ehm, make the silicone “wiggle”.)
Besides that issue though, IMO tips effect are not shown on graphs and you really need to test them out with your own ear anatomy.
I had the coupler suspended at a downward angle on to the tip facing upward (face side-down) with enough tip coverage (~50%) to get a seal, which matches how the IEMs are generally situated in my ears. Additionally made sure that the tips themselves weren’t deformed or moving when conducting the measurements (let them sit for about a minute or so.)
I would say that they graph like I hear them, taking into consideration my hearing peculiarities, but like I mentioned it could really just be varying seal (?)
Yes, seal is gonna be a huge factor and if a tip doesnt seal for you it just wont work well. On a coupler, you wont have issues like that since they all pretty much always work to a certain degree.
Looks like I’ve sussed out the culprit. I still hear similar differences, but I can’t keep the graph up if I’m running into issues like that. Still very curious how my style of wearing IEMs combined with my ear anatomy impacts what I hear. The LM has been described as rolled off, but I find it slightly bright even post-mod with certain tips.
