Do you have a good seal?
Do you notice anything different if you press and hold the iem with your fingers?
3 Likes
Gave them a fresh chance. Used Whizzer SS20 tips and I’m confident I’m getting a good seal. My impression isn’t really changing. EA1000 is better for me
3 Likes
I know we dunk on KBear a lot around these parts, because most of this year was spent with them trying to be KZ, but worst.
But…
$20-25 banger? That’s not a today catch-and-release, but I’m back pocketing it. We shall see
1 Like
That graph for the flash looks absolutely terrible. Could be a decent beater but nothing more.
Mud, honk and lack of air is what I see.
1 Like
It certainly has little to no refinement but the dip at 4.5k is likely the crossover where the BA is taking over.
Everything over 10-12k is super overrated anyway, just like everything below 40Hz is. Even with perfect hearing lots of music doesn’t have information in that area anyway.
Plus, as I always say, if I’m going to advocate for being different and not just following the same boring graphs to find interesting sound, I cannot instantly dismiss a graph that is different from the same old boring graphs
If the BA is doing the rest after 4.5k then it is pretty much doing nothing except add a big peak right at around 8k.
nah, if you dont have much 10k+ in an iem it sounds congested and lacks a ton of air.
Below 40hz is important to have but can be compensated by the missing fundamental principle.
A huge improvement would be if it was like this
2 Likes
The 2k could mess up the vocals or timbre or both
I see the early and steep pinna, and am happy I have the Rosefinch not the Flash.
4 Likes
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. I’ve had a very blessed year in the hobby, between the opportunity to try or own gear but more importantly the time spent and relationships built with many of you here. And so I would like a chance to give back:
I’d like to do a gear gift/tradeaway.
It’s going to work like this: I have a list of gear I’m going to offer up as gifts. If you want it, you claim it. Whether you want it for you or you’d pay it forward to gift it to someone else, the rest would be up to you.
I’ll get pictures together in the morning
Then there will be some gear that I’d offer for trade: If you trade with me, you’ll get a free gift from me on top of the trade. In terms of trading, these are sets I’m either directly interested in, or things of these price/tier
- Kinera Celest PhoenixCall
- Oriveti OD200
- Timsok TS-316
- Hisenior T4/Okavango
- Penon Dome/Quattro
FOR GIFTING
- Kinera Celest Gumiho (TAKEN)
- TinHifi T2 Plus (TAKEN)
- TinHifi T3 Plus (TAKEN)
- Tri x HBB Kai
- Tri Starsea (With box and original accessories) (TAKEN)
All gifted IEMs will come with an upgrade cable
FOR TRADING
- TGXEar Alpha (TAKEN)
- Rikubuds Grand Rider 1
- Raptgo x HBB Hook-X (with modular cable)
- IMR Ozar (With tuning filter system and original 3.5mm cable)
- IMR Elan+ (With carrying case and original accessories)
I’m going to keep this US or Canada only: Anybody in Canada would have to split shipping with me.
UPDATED 12/28: For current availability
UPDATED 1/2/24: After further deals
16 Likes
Hmmm…best IEM I’ve ever gotten to hear? 
10 Likes
I have a Okavango and Dome to trade Goobs?
Reach out if interested. Cheers J
2 Likes
10 char…
The Okavango… how’d you like that one, Monk?
3 Likes
Second best Hisenior they made I enjoyed that one but can’t have too many of the same tuning and when you don’t listen a tone time to thin the herd.
3 Likes
A big thank you to @GooberBM.
I asked after the Tin HiFi T3+ he had posted to gift. He not only sent me the T3+ with OG cable and some tips, he also included the T2+ with OG cable, three additional cables a nice case and pouch. What What What! So much swag!
Thoroughly enjoying the different sound signatures.
If I had to start from scratch again, the T3+ would have been a solid intro to the IEM world and may have stayed my journey down the rabbit hole…maybe lol.
Gratitude
12 Likes
Hisenior T4 or Accepting the Nihilism of Balanced Armatures
You will have to excuse the nature of the metaphor in the title because it’s a stretch. But if you’ve followed my journey at all, you know that I have a difficult relationship with all-balance armature sets. I especially struggle with the bass performance/tuning that we get in all-BA sets. I find them to be generally tuned for sub-bass over midbass performance, as if they are dynamic drivers that may bleed into the mids. This flies in the face of the fact that BAs execute bass with a premium on speed and decay. The problem, for me, is that these IEMs lack midbass emphasis that is convincing for me in any way, which is vital for my personal enjoyment of bass playback. Even the very best BA sets I’ve heard (like Neon Pro, Butastur, or Supernova) haven’t overcome this issue for me.
Which brings us to the T4. I had a curiosity about this set where, graphically, it presents like the midbass has some more emphasis in it, and could be the type of BA tuning that could possibly win me over. So did it? Lets find out.
THE SOUND
Cause When Its Over I Won’t Have to Do This No More; Like a Drug, All My Love, Still the Same as Before
Like a Drug - BRKN LOVE
(IEM Tuning Style: Midcentric)
So I’m going to cut to the quick: I did all of my listening in the bass setting on the T4’s tuning switches. I found the bass switch is mandatory for my ability to enjoy the set and played it as such, (I turned off the treble switch and did not activate the soundstage setting. If you want a little more air and treble energy, then pop it on, but I did not. All impressions will be in the bass setting). Saying that, the bass on T4 is fine. You get enough quantity in sub and mid-bass, with enough warmth in the sound. It is not my preferred quantity but it’s okay. The quality is also alright: If you like BA bass, this is good. If you don’t like BA bass, this won’t convert you. And I don’t feel converted either, but like I said, it is enough because this set is more concerned with making sure you get that clean midrange performance.
The midrange is the make or break for this set and it is much more make than break. The low-mids are clean, with some warm, but never muddy or congested. There is an uncolored palette for the vocals to play from, and they sound very good. Vocals are clear, forward and present, and always getting the proper emphasis. I think my personal nitpick is that the pinna gain could use a couple of dB pulled back on them. The upper mids are not in any way harsh, sibilant, or unpleasant, but I could do with a bit of an edge of metallic sounding timbre getting taken off. It’s not a dealbreaker but it is something for me.
The treble, I would obviously leave the way it is; considering how I did not prefer the sound of the boosted treble. It over-accentuated what I didn’t like in the upper-mids, so I wouldn’t want to put more emphasis on that. Clarity and resolution are more than enough at this level for me to take it as is. I didn’t find anything in the soundstage to knock my socks off: I hear more depth than width, but it’s not very dramatic on either axis. It’s fine and good enough, but there’s no huge hall feeling and no crazy 3D bubble. It’s adequate IEM staging. As for technicalities, I like the imaging and separation capabilities: Listening to Swashers, I get some dynamic range that makes it sound like a pretty good IEM playback of the water flowing, but it does not give me the feeling of the best transducers, where I feel like I hear water swashing back and forth rather than hearing a playback of water swashing. There’s no shame in T4’s game, but it just doesn’t go to that next level.
THE GOOD
- Solid performance across the board
- Affordability
THE BAD
- Lots of good but nothing special that blows me away
- Good enough bass still doesn’t equal good bass
- Can show BA timbre
WHO IS THIS SET FOR?
- Completionists who want an IEM of as many transducer configurations as possible and doesn’t have an all-BA set
- People who prefer to emphasis mids and/or treble (depending on switch choices)
WHO IS THIS SET NOT FOR?
- Anybody who is generally anti-BA set
- this isn’t the set that you’d have to get, to change your mind
- Someone who wants a set with special sauce
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
So I started writing this feeling like it was going to be a very positive review overall and I’d be like “this is the all-BA set you should get, if your budget minded and wanted to try this transducer type”, and I still think that’s the case in the end. But the longer I have these in my ears, as I write this, I’m just slowly getting hit with the BA-timbre and I would not find myself using them regularly. They do a lot well, are well priced, and my nitpicking ass is just not the target for most BA sets. And that’s okay, I accept that. If you’re more open-minded about BA sets than me, then this is 1000% a contender, so I do not want to run away anybody that could be into this set. The more I try, however, the more I just have to come to accept that all-BA sets (at any kind of affordable price) aren’t for me…which is a spoiler for soon-to-come review, so stay tuned. And that’s going to be it for this review. Enjoy your days, and take care till next time!
Rank for Hisenior T4: B
Rank With Personal Bias: B
Recommendation Level: Lukewarm Recommendation Relative to Other Choices (Midcentric)
Rank As a Food: Apple sauce
10 Likes
Im guessing the Sony IER M7/M9 are the last resort for you. Or maybe the budget version of those in the Audiosense DT100.
2 Likes
Subtonic Storm
I’m taking the lesson that “budget” all-BA sets and me don’t jive. So…no lol
5 Likes
I would love to hear what you think of the Plunge Audio Unity
3 Likes