Goober's Journey Into the IEM Game or "Why Are You Not As Good As....?"

I’ll check the nozzle later today and update the labels to be inline with the mesh tape used and the foam if it’s in there. Oh snap did you just go compare it to the infamous N3. Can’t wait to demo it tonight.

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Everything tastes better with bacon !!! And I would never say you were an idiot! Different libraries, different preferences, and for me, the quintet, given my library, is sublime. Admittedly, I have a number of IEMs that fulfill certain roles( QKZ X HBB, Z300), but for my general listening pleasure, the Quintet is spot on!!!

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Treble looks vastly different and that is arguably the best area of the N3.

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Rosefinch sure lacks air and finesse, not having the Sony muscle behind it, but that’s pretty nice for $15-20 though. Come on :slight_smile:

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Yeah, that BA super tweeter is doing a great job. And with the traditional super dampened sony foam. :drooling_face:

(which btw, there seems to be 3 (4x3mm, 4x5mm and 4.5x.5mm) different new sizes of the “sony import” foam on taobao now, I ordered them all.)

Yeah, I dont really have any sony-like iems in that budget. (although the bl-03 is one just slightly above that.)

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Is that the KBEAR Rosefinch, or the TRN ?

KBear. The real one

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Please let us know if those are the mods needed to replicate your preferred sound profile for the KBear Rosefinch. Cheers :beers:

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I’d say the preferred mods for the Rosefinch are a 350-400-450 (one of the three) grade mesh for the nozzle, and a 300+mesh on the front vent (there are two front vents: 1 directly next to the nozzle and one on the body where the driver is. You can cover one or the other, or both but I usually only cover one). Based on how much upper mid energy you want, you can play with the grade of the mesh, but the 350mesh on the filter and 450mesh on the front vent will get you this:

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Goober,
You da Man! with the plan and the IEM low down. You Rock!
I Appreciate U!
Cheers :beers:, Rafa

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So I knew I had great affection for Dunu Vulkan and how much of a direct upgrade on Tri Starsea it is.

Well that sure explains a lot lol

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I know how much you love that iem, the Vulcan was too spicy and sibilant for me. I am not a fan of that much BA timbre.

I did have some nice bass tho!

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Housekeeping Announcement ICYMI:

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@GooberBM I just looked at your rankling list. The description for Orch Lite is blank. Could you give your TLDR take on Orch Lite?
We both agree on Vulkan and Kailua (and other sets) so your opinion is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

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I think I missed the “best bass overall” part of that. I think my attraction to the Olina was that it had both soundstage and satisfying bass. I have liked the two Simgot IEMs I have ( EA500 and EW200 ). I keep hearing people rave about the technicalities of the EM6L, but I am not seeing much on stage and imaging. Is this just a case where it meets expectations for the price, but doesn’t stand out?

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7th Acoustics Supernova or You Do What You Do Really Well But Do I Even Care?

So I’ve been out of the business of listening to a lot of new sets recently, thanks to being pretty content with my collection and busy life stuff happening. But then, thanks to @Sonofholhorse @VIVIDICI_111 @MMag05 and @cal_lando, I got an entire IEM collection worth of sets to listen to. I’m going to jump around a bit in the order of how I report my findings, and I’m going to start with one of the more hyped BA sets of the last year, the 7th Acoustics Supernova. What do I think of them? Let’s find out.

Songs to Listen to and Follow Along:

As usual, I’m going to write my thoughts in generalities, but I’ll give you a sample of songs that I listen to, that will relate to the concepts I write about. Feel free to ask for specifics, if you don’t keep up with my thought processes.

Playlist

Swashers/Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa (For imaging/detail retrieval (:00-1:00 Swashers), general technicalities check (both), soundstage depth/dynamics/layering/separation (:00-:30 Bubbles))

The Speedwalker (Live at Madison Square Garden) - The Fearless Flyers (For bass elements, particularly sub-bass/mid-bass interplay, drum kits, soundstage/layering)

DISINTER MY HEART - TRAILS (For treble response and resolution, male vocals, midrange response)

Savior - Rise Against (For rock bass elements, male vocals, layering and imaging, treble clarity :38-1:30)

When I Fall (Outta Love) - Kevin Olusola (For Imaging/detail retrieval :00-:07, tonality, timbre, male/female vocal interplay)

Fundamental Elements of Madness - Dax Johnson (For soundstage width 1:10-1:26, piano tonality)

Holding On (Rome In Silver Remix) - Dabin (For female vocals, tonality, mid-bass response within mix From 1:12-1:36)

1 Thing - Sophie Powers (For sibilance, harshness/shoutiness, high volume listening check 1:28-2:01

*Wire & Guns - KID DAD (For general tonality (warmth vs. brightness) and note weight :10-35, for high volume listening 1:34-2:08)

THE SOUND

Cause I’m like a princess in a castle high, waiting for a kiss to bring me back to life; But I don’t wanna spend my time, waiting for just another guy
A Girl, a Boy, and a Graveyard - Jeremy Messersmith
(IEM Tuning Style:Neutral-Bright)

So my experience with Supernova was heavily colored, multiple times, where I will admit biases and preferences got in the way of this set winning me over. The first difficulty came with the fact that @mmag05 sent me the Supernova to demo with the Aür Audio Aurora. In spending time with them, I obviously would have A/B’d them together to get a taste of how they stood against each other. Without going too much into Aurora (because that’s going to be a whole story in and of itself. If you know, you know), I found the two sets to stand on very even ground for the most part. I think Supernova brings enough bass to the music, but it’s not particularly emphasized: It’s there where it’s supposed to be, it’s a good quality where I’m not mad at it, but If I wanted Supernova to dig deep and bump in my ears, it can’t. As I said, what is there is very good, but it doesn’t have enough for my taste.

Fortunately, even without a huge quantity of bass, Supernova does not suffer from thin or light tonality. Supernova’s midrange is great, which is a hallmark of well tuned BA sets. There’s full clarity in the midrange, with nary a hint of mud to be found, and sparkly vocals. Male and females alike sound splendid and Supernova has real juice here. It does have a bit of an energetic upper-midrange, counter to Aurora’s approach, which I find super interesting. As I turn the volume up, I don’t find sibilance; Sophie Powers’ “1 Thing” does not get piercing, but I still find myself dissatisfied by how Supernova sounds at higher volume. I just find the quantity of the upper range off-putting, even if I don’t think it does it badly. The treble is very clear, with great resolution and extension. But maybe somewhere in the upper mids or treble I could use a little bit of a cut, to take that bit of energy off.

The soundstage of Supernova didn’t give me much special, either positive or negative. I didn’t perceive it as anything but average in height, width, and depth. I did get some good feelings from the technicalities: Imaging and layering/separation was very good. Supernova handled my usual detail tests of “Swashers” and “If I Fall” very nicely, giving me a sense of being near the water and hearing wind swirling respectively, though I didn’t get the effects that the absolute best sets have given me.

THE GOOD

  • Great midrange performance (with one caveat)
  • Very good tonality, for a brighter than neutral playback
  • Better than average technical performance
  • Passable BA bass, particularly without tuning for high quantity

THE BAD

  • Upper midrange energy just hit me wrong, for some reason
  • Only passable bass is not my preference
  • Nondescript soundstage is disappointing at the…
  • Price

WHO IS THIS SET FOR?

  • People who want that clean midrange for their vocals
  • Someone who needs a more elevated treble playback versus neutral
  • Boutique IEM company supporters

WHO IS THIS SET NOT FOR?

  • Anyone that prioritizes bass
    • This set ain’t here for that
  • I’d preach caution to anyone who might have a hot spot in the upper-mids or treble
    • Might be a “demo check” set just to be sure you’re good
  • People who aren’t down with a 3 month waitlist period to get your own set new

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Am I being a nitpicky asshole? Yeah, probably. Did I enjoy my time with Supernova? Yeah, I did. Do I see this as a set for me? Not really, but it is a set for a lot of people, and I respect and honor that. This set has a lot going for it, but it also has a lot going against it to my preferences: It’s a great vocal-centric set, but it’s an expensive boutique all-BA IEM that isn’t fully my taste and takes a lot of time and patience to get a hold of. That kind of value proposition has a lot to overcome for me to fall in love, and that just didn’t happen here. But I can absolutely tell you that if you aren’t down on BA sets, and don’t have a high-quality vocal-centric set in your collection, this absolutely should be on your shortlist to get ears on. You very well may love it, even if I don’t. And that’s going to be it for this review. Enjoy your days, and take care till next time!

Rank for 7th Acoustics Supernova: B+
Rank With Personal Bias: B+
Recommendation Level: Highly Recommended (Neutral-Bright)
Rank As a Food: Black Truffle

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Does cost affect your final ranking or is it based purely on performance (sq, build quality etc)? I must have missed a disclaimer

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The first grade is just meant to account for sound quality, coming from my ranking list. The grade with bias is affected by my personal…bias (value, build quality, my enjoyment of a set relative to whether I own it or would buy it).

First grade is my best attempt to be objective. Second grade is completely my subjective experience.

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I was asking because for example Supernova is B+ in non- biased ranking, Simgot EA500 and EM6L are also B+. Are they all on the same level to your ears from SQ for given sound signature all things sound related considered on second thought?

And don’t get me wrong - I also feel that a pricetag of IEM is much more precisely telling the buyer of how fancy the packaging of that product would be than of how good is it going to sound :melting_face:

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