Oh yeah testing on a Fiio K9 pro AKM both with stock cable and tips if that matters.
With reguards to the BUBG footsteps test honestly both will work. FD7 has sharper angle of imaging though if thats what you mean by better.
With reguards to Magnetic moment
FH9 would be the better of the 2 as its less sharp and also the warmness assists in creating a nice rich soundscape. FD7 is technically more impressive with its sharper and more precise imaging but the bass decays too fast in this case. Is also abit sharp for my taste on this song.
Sinking your toes into warm sand
I feel FD7 takes the win here, FH9 is quite congested in this song and the syth bells doesnt stand out the same way the FD7 does. Texture wise FD7 wins hands down along with the imagaing with it being quite the playful song with all the panning. FD7 makes it quite etheral. So dispite FH9 having the fuller sound still I would say FD7 is more imersaive as you can see the soundscape around and inside you.
Black Star
FD7 and FH9 both highlight different espects and honestly its a tie imo. FD7 would be for the fine gritty texture and extension. FH9 for the body less about looking down a microscope and more about feeling the music.
Differential
Honestly dont do this to me. FD7 sounds like its miced very close to the guitar and you can hear the details of every string pull and slide and personally thats my jam. FH9 on the other hand sounds like you are a meter away and the individual sounds merge together to form a coherent picture. Both I would say sound natural and correct but from different perspectives. Personally I would always go FD7 with strings but this a very ymmv situation.
I prefer the 07 and 07m over the FD7. The 07M def has more bass and a bigger soundstage. But as other people have mentioned the OG 07 is just a special IEM. I think it would be hard to be dissapointed with either.
Dark Magician would not be so good for airy soundstage, spatial performance, and high technical abilities? Nor the 07 variants for stage & air, it seems, compared to 07. My impression so far is that DM is a pure music set, and I was not impressed with Oxygen, except for the natural mids.
Everyone looks for different stuff. I demoed mest and didnt grab it. I would take DM or EJ over it, any day. I love their stage/holographic presentation.
I have the FD5 and FH9, my opinion is the FH9 is a direct upgrade to the FD5. They have a similar Harman tuning with elevated bass and treble, but the FH9 fixes the mid bass hump and treble bite that the FD5 has.
Would you also say FH9 is basically superior in every way to FD5? Even larger stage…? Equal air? Even more detail? I’m pretty psyched to hear it!! Right now my plan is to order EJ07, FD7, FH9, and then EJ07 KL last, as I think it may not be as technically excellent or balanced as the other 3.
For the price, going from FD5 to The Variations is almost a night and day difference for me. More resolving, better imaging and a slightly better soundstage since the FD5 soundstage is already pretty darn good.
I feel that you have mostly made your decision to go with the FH9? It is pretty much a direct upgrade from the FD5 and yes. Superior in every way. The FD7 is almost like a different kind of tuning and leaning towards my kind of music library (K-Pop). I’m not a basshead so I appreciated the FD7 more. I did not get to buy any of them since I have the variations and currently happy with it.
Yes, I will do a shootout with those 4 IEMs and go from there. It’s possible I won’t like any of them, but I think unlikely, heh…
I don’t know what to think about Variations. I’m definitely not a Moondrop fan currently(Kanas Pro, B2, Starfield), and the lower price of Variations isn’t helping me choose it(as I want to get as far away as I can from KP/B2/Starfield sounds) lol. So far, I prefer BA over EST, so a more BA-based set may appeal, if none of these quite do it. Impossible to say without hearing them all haha… 2 things I absolutely value in a high-tier phone are: speed, and excellent 3D positional accuracy.
So far, I’m not convinced that MEST or Z1R are worth the extra money compared to these 4. But maybe something like a U12T would be.
I did not like the B2 at all but loved the variations so that kind of situation can happen!
Good luck on getting those 4 IEMs! Looking forward to your impressions on them. Do remember that anything $500 and above can potentially lead to diminishing returns so do read on impressions and reviews that are above those price. More expensive doesn’t mean that it’ll sound good to your music library and usage.
You find KL to be overkill? I would think, if I wanted MORE than EJ07, to go for KL lol. I have no idea if people prefer M over KL, or vice versa.
I love the minute, delicate textures and crazy sound effects in dark ambient, which FD5 opened my ears to, for one (music realm) example where speed/clarity/3D are awesome to have.
From initial listen I would say the stage is equally as large, but where the FD5 has length the FH9 has length plus depth giving a more holographic presentation to the song. The FH9 has a more natural timbre, with more bass quality and quantity, and a more relaxed treble tuning. Unfortunately, my right side driver was defective and was making sizzling/static noises so I had to return it for an exchange. I’m not even mad though cause it is what it is and electronics do arrive DOA, just luck of the draw I guess. I can’t wait to get my replacement in so I can do more in depth listening and comparisons. When do you expect to get your 4 IEM’s in? I’m curious to what you have to say about all the ones you ordered and how they compare in tonality and soundstage.
