I’m still gathering thoughts on Ananda Stealth cause I don’t do headphones as much as I do IEMs so I don’t trust my snap judgments nearly as much.
But my first impressions are that sources and amplification clearly matter:
These definitely fit in the “getting it loud enough doesn’t mean you’re getting the best performance” category. Ran them straight off my phone, off the WiiM Pro Plus AK 4493 chip and Hifiman EF500s Himalaya R2R set and the R2R was just a little clearer and open sounding.
My phone would max out on volume just to get loud enough, the ST-Amp can get pushed to basically 3 O’clock through SE connection off the WiiMand 11:30 balanced from EF500, and EF500 barely needs past 9:00 balanced off its own amp.
As for the sound, a couple of things are standing out so far:
the midbass is
sub-bass is only just enough, for me, so the real sub-bass people probably wouldn’t love it here
I do not follow the arguments that Ananda is too bright. Don’t get that complaint at all.
Ananda is really not all that dry and clinical. It’s probably near the middle of the spectrum between fun and analytical.
They lean a touch dryer on S/D and get a touch of warmth from R2R
I wasn’t ready for the difference in staging and spatial presentation. I switched from Ananda to Studio 4 and the Softears sounded wonky AF back-to-back. There was nothing wrong with them, my ears just had to jump back into IEM staging. Really trippy.
Now…back to just listening and not being a nitpicking asshat
Say hi to the Sivga Que: an interesting little warm-neutral set for $70. It’s good for the price but I think it’s going to work for particular people, over being a universal buy. First impressions, at least
I have been curious about the Que. The Que and EW300 seem very similar in terms of the graphs, but Beryllium always seems to deliver satisfying bass that isn’t always on the graph. The Que has a bit of sub-bass roll-off like the early Simgot models did.
These do not sound tucked at all but also not muddy.
$29 basshead set that sound correct.
Not the best for female vocals but otherwise very versatile and fun.
Mini Deuce? I’ll get to try Deuce soon…
They are inaccurate, yes. So if the graph shows a tiny sharp peak in the upper-treble at say 15k, but everything from 9k+ is next to nothing, then that may not be real. But in this case where you see the gain overall being pretty high it usually does mean something.
These (clone) IEC711 couplers follow are based on the IEC 60318-4:2010 standard anyway, which is only meant to be accurate for 100-10 000Hz. So the greater deviation you see at the sub and upper treble is aligned with this.
I’m on the opinion that upper treble should roll-off so it’s not painful and sounds natural. I’m sensitive to 5k and 10k peaks.
In this case, to my ears and probably because of the amount of bass, it sounds sparkly but not sibilant and I would not call it bright either.
I find Olina SE too bright and splashy for example. Tanchjim One and P1+ were sibilant.
SONY A3’s 5k peak sounded bad to me.
No not an issue here. Usually 3k peak affects timbre but not here.
Also please note that I don’t like the sounds of IEMs that graphs really smooth in the upper midrange. Small dips and peaks in the right place can make an IEM shine.
