i havenāt done any tip rolling besides the foams and that was a no go for me, i love how open they feel and sound but man those peaks are piercing on me, like a resonance control on a synth filter just turned up and really peaky on some tracks
1 Like
Interesting for sure. I have never considered my FD5 overly sharp. I donāt have any DTXXX experience. Your posts made me curious, and I am bored, so I just did a direct comparison to what I had nearby. I have had my Campfire Polaris 2 in all day. Just switched to FD5. FD5 is quite a bit brighter than Polaris, but not sharp or painful to me. The bass is much cleaner/tighter on the FD5 as well. Are you a high volume listener?
Iām worried about your hearing if you canāt hear the treble peaks 
maybe you achieve a more appropriate seal than us?
Try the narrow nozzle, the vocal tips and a copper cable if you have one. Those tweaks brought the treble down to a level I thought was fine. Didnāt care for the mids though.
I am middle aged and surely have some age appropriate hearing loss. 
. So that could be the difference. I tried the narrow nozzles and all the tips. I landed on the default nozzles and balanced tips.
yes i would say im a loud listener, and my tastes are wide from Baroque to Richard Devine to Metal to Techno to Dark Ambient to Dark Jazz to Electronic. .Iāve spent the day listening and trying the bass tips and my Spinfits. These were a set iāve wanted to try since they came out and i like some aspects but that treble and sig is not what im looking for. I was impressed by the FH3ās and the BA treble was right there for me so i wanted to try a single DD. These will be going back and i think im just gonna go for the Monarch, that will tell me alot. Still wanting a solid natural timbre single DD for classical, acoustic instruments so i wanna try the Oxygen first then move up, maybe Zen or Illumination. Happy though, at least i know what i donāt like and can move on.
IMO, the oxygen is more fatiguing to me and brighter than the fd5.
2 Likes
The amount of people complaining about the FD5ās trebles spike makes me wonder if this has anything to do with unit variation.
I can spot offensive trebles (some beyers for example) and I honestly canāt say FD5 treated me with such.
Like I mentioned before, if anything I wouldnāt mind a bit more trebles on FD5ā¦
Weird
Hopefully it isnt unit variation with something at this price thoughā¦
1 Like
If you like to gamble then Iād recommend the Urbanfun YBFā¦ The Quality control is shit tho. I was lucky and got a well put together beryllium unit.
Acoustune HS1657cu is one I have seriously considered in the past as i loved the HS1551cu. Inoffensive DD with a special Myrinx diaphragm. Amazing timbre!
1 Like
im all about finding a solid DD, ive read about the Urbanfun before just got lost in all the rest lol.
Just keep on mind YBF is an actual roulette, you never know what r u going to buyā¦
2 Likes
interesting, looks like Zen or Illumination then
right on, ya im seeing the quality variance
It really depends on what you are sensitive to.
For me, I am most senstive to peaks at the 3,5k area. And the Zen isnt a problem for me, but it is an intense iem for sure.
However, if you are less sensitive to that area than I am. Then the Zen could actually be dark, since the upper-treble is rolled-off quite a lot.
With the Oxygen, its peakiness for me at least, is because of the upper-treble, it has quite a lot of it. Literally the opposite of the Zen.
The FD5 on the other hand, is more even between the lower and upper treble so it doesnt sound like a particular area is extra peaky. The extra bass quantity it has over the Zen/Oxygen of course helps its overall tonal balance. Thats why for me, the Oxygen is the brightest and most fatiguing out of those 3.
With the FD5 and Zen, they are somewhat more even in terms of brightness and fatigue.
4 Likes
Im really not sure which frequencies it hit me at but it felt like DT770 250 peaks, like a really sharp Q resonance on some tracks mostly electronic, i was just shuffling so i was getting into everything. Ill have to look at a graph of it compared to my FH3 and Legacy 3, I do really like the resolution though over the FH3, but man it hurt, and im somewhat of a loud listener, especially with Techno/Bass Music
Oh, yeah. Listening volume will definitely affect the treble (and the bass), since you will perceive more of it at higher volumes.
Tips also changes the sound so maybe try some other tips as well. Final type e are well known to reduce treble peaks.
1 Like
Right on thank you, i tried the Fiio tips and my Spinfits which i like on the L3ās, will have to get some Finals
Indeed, get a good tip collection first before you even consider moving up above the fd5 range.
They are super important. You can check my database for my tip comparisons.
And also this one: Tweaking Tips - A Simplified Guide To IEM Silicone Eartips UPDATED 2021-03-2 ā¢ Audio Reviews
2 Likes