As always, thanks for the nice write-up!
I have the Olina, and I predict that the Serial will stay and not the Olina 
unless you mod it a lot
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That is interesting, because I would have thought the same of the S12 since I really enjoy the bass more on the Timeless. Instead I discovered the S12 got me to listen to things I hadnāt before. Today I like both sets about the same amount, but for different things. I think Olina might be like the S12 for me on this.
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Stupid question alert!
Do custom iem need tips or do they just go straight in your ear canal without tips cause there molded to go right to the end part of the canal.
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No tips, they go straight, and thatās the point
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Have anyone tried the Yu9 Audio U-556? they have been making etymotic clones(still are) but the 556 is thier own design and look cool.
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Really? That is weird, never thought about that in this way - I thought they would fit perfectly in the concha/outer ear, but in canal you would still need something to get the seal (as tissue is not rigid body). I thought only Final Audio Piano Forte X is this crazy so to not require using tipsā¦
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iāve only seen 1 CIEM in real life, and that was indeed without a soft interface between the shell and the ear canal. It looked super uncomfortable and counter-intuitiveā¦
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In fact BCās are suppose to work even better in CIEMās like MEST as a posed to universal fit.
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God dang so beautifulā¦but how do they sound? Good quality drivers in there!
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I will be curious to read about them.
I am not usually a big fan of the electret driver sound, and now we should cue the standard electret vs electrostatic argument, since we all know these arenāt actually electrostatic. I still donāt know why the IEM market decided to do this, but sigh.
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I didnāt have chance to get a tribrid but iām thinking of cz i dont like BA timber in the air region . What do u donāt like about est vs ba and DD ?
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EST makes the cymbals sound weird. They get a fuzzy and splashy sound to them. I am with you that BA isnāt my favorite, but I prefer BA over EST. I have noticed this on both the KZ CRN and ZEX and some might write it off as a KZ thing, but my other KZ without the EST doesnāt do that ( ZS10 Pro, 4BA + 1DD ).
DD and planar have far better timber to my ears, and my favorite IEMs are almost all single DD or planar. For brighter tonality the Olina or S12, for darker the Mele or Timeless, but I also listen to the T3+ and CRA.
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I know you mentioned it, but you cant judge ests by your KZ subpar experience, the same way you cant judge BAs below a certain price.
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For my experience i have t3+ too and i love the tunning in the extension they sound like a mix between ba and DD idk why but i m okey with that. I had tanchjim oxygen and i think they have the best tember . i have oh10 and i donāt like the single ba timber . And now looking for end game cz i know my preference
I forget to talk about my timeless they sound like t3 plus ine the extension with a bit more emphesis and and lots of details
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Tell as a bit about ur experience . I know that u did try a lot of stuff some of them are the best on the market so i think u have a fuller vision
Well, the magnetostatic used on kzs is not the same driver type of, lets say, sonion ests.
Thereās a reason for a price difference, although Iām not defending money = quality.
They donāt sound the same. Ests well done can surpass BAs or even DDs, but every type has its shortcomings.
The term tribid was used for a 3 driver hibrid, and that messes things up. Usually itās used for DD+ba+ests, but itās so vague that can mean anything. As an example, LZ A7 is a tribid, with dd+ba+piezo, but thatās far from the āestsā.
What I meant is, you cant judge ests by hearing a magnetostat just like you cant judge a well done BA because low quality BA sound terrible (which I agree).
One of the biggest lessons I learned from my experience is that you avoid everything but DDs on budget gear, at least until midfi. And now planars, ofc, with S12 defying laws of price to performance.
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The A7Ā“s piezo actually sounds like a budget sonion EST, similar in a lot of ways but there is some more air in it but also some more unnatural timbre.
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I was talking about true endgame iem maybe with est like monarch mk2 or mest or ba like u12t . Not budget set . Iām curious about ur experience with est timber vs ba vs dd in the upper mids to treble extension . What sounds more natural and more detailed . We know single dd is a benchmark in terms of timber . And can a good quality ba or est sound as natural or even close ?
Oh, sorry Iāve missed that point.
Well, thereās well done BAs, like RSV, that pretty much sound like a DD, so yes.
Regarding detail and extension, ESTs > BA > DD, as DDs have problems with that on upper regions. The best way to cross this seems to be using tweeter DDs (Z1R). The best treble extention Iāve heard was U12T and thatās Tia drivers working (BA). Thereās also great examples of well done treble with ESTs, that Iāve heard, like Moondrop Variations.
As for upper midsā¦ I think tuning and detail come a longer way than drivers do. The best female vocals Iāve heard, all come from BAs (RSV, EJ, Teas).
EST is my favourite for treble/upper treble, BA for mids and DD for bass. If Iām listening to classical/jazz, DD all the way.
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Yes, I will definitely call that a KZ thing, since ZEX was the first to use KZās new āelectret,ā which is actually magnetostatic/magnetret.
Itās a thing of itās own and far inferior than the typical EST drivers you hear in sets that are over $100. Thatās why Crin called out KZās false marketing and told them to write magnetostatic instead of electrostatic for CRN.
Soā¦ I donāt think youāve heard the real EST (aka āelectretā) sound yetā¦ 
Simply put, KZs donāt count.
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