Has anyone here messed with Custom IEMs (Campfire Audio, Jerry Harvey, Ultimate Ears, et al)?
I attended my first audio show, had my ears mapped with lasers by Ultimate Ears, should I ever want to order a pair down the road. Listened to their two TOTL IEMs (UE Live, UE 18+Pro), but still kicking myself for not listening to their entire lineup.
UE’s supple, thin, strong cable and proprietary connector tech seemed to kick the crap out of two-pin and MMCX.
Wondering what the skinny is for customs. I like the idea of never dealing with tips sometimes, but would still own and buy universal IEMs too. This is a golden age for universals, after all.
I got it through amazon about a week ago, but my best IEM before this is FH3 and this has much better technicalities so I have no real frame of reference other than @paulwasabii graph and my ears
I’m wondering how this stacks up to any other known IEMs.
Looks like they cut a lot of TWS features down (eg: ANC is about $50 tws quality) at the price and maybe put a more expensive driver in it based on my A/B with what I have for comparison
I think right now it is limited to a few reviewers and not much talk about it. I like it from a hobbyist perspective. I listened to it for a while and had to see what the graph looked like. I think the gist of it goes along with his production background, focus on the parts that are important to him, reduce fatiguing parts for long sessions, and a long battery life to go along with long sessions. I do think they spent some time on driver selection and tuning as you are right, it presents very well and I think part is the mids tuning and part is a decent driver. Even with SBC codec, I am kinda surprised how well it does.
Aside from Dioko’s elevated sub bass, would it be wild and crazy to suggest that the Dioko would up the alley of someone who loves the Blessing 2? All for $99.
I think some of you folks already know this, but I just discovered this today. Apparently Xinhs not only has their own cables, but also their very own IEMs. I hope it is at least a solid performer to those who have it.
My Unique Melody MEXT just arrived today. It’s too early to give my impressions yet but I enjoy it. Not perfect/endgame yet though (if you wonder why I didn’t go for MEST MK2 it’s because the treble is spicier). My Elixir still has a place and won’t be sold anytime soon.
I think I need to experience the best that EST has to offer? What’s the best EST implementation right now? It used to be Variations (& Annihilator) based on reviewers but I’m sure times have changed
Monarch has “wonky”/uneven treble, and Mest has spicy treble. If you want more natural treble and like more bass then go 07M/Lava, and if you want more neutral-warm then moonlight. Best Treble I’ve heard so far are the U12T and Z1R.
After a sufficient time spent with my MEXT, I think it’s a very fun & engaging set, not relaxing as per a Head-Fier. Still not perfect, too much bass impact & too spicy treble even with KBear 07. I think I can’t handle UM treble so no MEST for me. Midrange/vocals I’d rate it below Elixir frankly speaking. One thing that’s sorely missing in Elixir is the vocal reverb/decay (with the same eartips), which is so much more enjoyable when I can hear it on my MEXT.
I guess what I look for is that slightly warm, lush tonality and a teeny bit dark (Elixir does both a bit too much). Elixir does come close but I wouldn’t count MEXT as a failure even if it strays from that description, because it makes me wanna jump & headbang like crazy.
Looks like EJ07M might not fit my preference, and maybe Moonlight as well but this could be a closer match
Monarch MKII was all over the place for me and didn’t seem to pair well with the overall tuning. Which I think was accentuated by the midbass dip. Mest MKII and Mext weren’t exactly spicey for me and treble definitely suited the overall tuning better to my preference vs Monarch. If you are bothered by MEXT treble I’d stay away from the Mest MKII. Same probably goes to EJ07M though I’ve never heard that only the Kinda Lava variant.
It’s hard to say this because it’s an extremely unique tuning. I’ve never personally directly recommended it. However, the Up sounds like it may be up your alley. It’s definitely warm vs slightly warm though. It has ESTs and you can tell they come into play but, it’s definitely the darkest presentation of ESTs I’ve heard. Also, if you want lush you’ll get it with Up in boat loads which for me I adore. As one reviewer mentioned it’s like swimming in warm goo. It’s such a gentle easy listening while still bringing in nice tight, clean and punchy bass.
Moonlights EST implementation isn’t spicy or dark. Just a touch enough to make it noticed. Overall tuning is warm with a slight tilt to neutral. The tuning appeals well for nearly all music. Up can be to warm at times, and while for me it’s a plus, many would probably say it’s weak point. For the EST though on Moonlight it cuts through tuning more than Up and gives a touch more energy to the mix.
I sort of rotate between the two based on my mood and time of day. Up would be my lush easy AM listen while relaxing and sipping a fresh cup of coffee. While bringing in the aroma of a fresh grinded brew and reminiscing of great memories. Moonlight is my mind is awake more and energetic state. But, still as a laidback listener and person doesn’t come across to strong. It gets me more in a dancing state. The details come out more on songs and my mind starts tripping into a euphoric state.
Thanks for taking the time to explain in details what you experienced. Looks XENNS UP is worth trying for to at least gauge how warm I want it to be. Also your description of the lushness it gives you sounds really tempting. I will look into the used market to see if there’s any for sale.
I was kinda avoiding them because some said it’s not as resolving which reminds me of Oracle - I don’t remember much from the short while I demoed it but I don’t think I like it. On the other hand, maybe I shouldn’t expect top tier resolution & clarity from this kind of tuning anyways. Probably I’ll pickup Moonlight if I find I need more in that department.
I agree if you that my preference is kinda weird, maybe owing to my treble sensitivity and my liking towards vocals and strings in general.
EDIT: looking at the graphs, XENNS UP is exactly similar to MEXT up until past 1kHz where the bone conduction driver does its thing. I don’t know if auto EQ can simulate UP.
EDIT 2: As I listen more on MEXT, I can conclude that I can’t enjoy the thumps for too long. It’s making my head sore if that makes sense & it distracts me from listening to the meat of the music (mids). I guess I wouldn’t proceed with the XENNS UP unless the midrange is wonderful. MEXT is a great bassy set but at this price point you might want to hunt for a used IER Z1R instead
I will have a chance to try the UP when I’m back in the US in about 10 days, and I’m very interested in what I’ll make of it as a huge Serial fan.
Serial:
Car audio/live venue sub bass (but nothing nuts, just where it exists)
Tuning is relaxed enough for high volume listening (both volume a in loudness and as in amounts!)
Treble is sufficient. It can be a weak spot if it’s your cardinal focus
mids are great, natural timbre and neither recessed nor overly intimate
Immersive listen
A fairly natural tuning, so genre versatility.
Not a basshead set, but in any sets with less bass than the Serial I feel bad is insufficient. The perfect elevation for natural/live foot thumping fun. Plenty for Zimmer and other soundtracks that rumble.
UP may not be resolving but, in no other way do I believe it should be compared to the Oracle. The Oracle was the set that reviewers had me dead set on thinking I’d love. Instant no go on first listen. I can’t really describe why with detail other than I found it extremely boring. I didn’t even give second thought to selling it. If your treble sensitive I also don’t think Canon would be a good fit. Treble came off as to hot for me. I could tolerate it and loved the tuning but, I fatigued real quick with it. Didn’t find it worth its price to only be limited to short listening sessions.
Concerning the bass on UP I find the chart deceiving. I’d expect by graph comparison for it to be way more elevated in sound than Moonlight and fairly close to the Mext. But, it’s not even close to how I hear it. Mext definitely was more pronounced with bass and oddly the Moonlight often sounds to be the one with more bass compared to UP. My only conclusion is that it’s how higher frequency interact with lower frequencies to your ears; if that makes sense.
IMO I don’t think any IEM is worth 2.5x after you’re past $100. For example, Tea ($260) or Dusk ($320) is not 2.5-3x better than the Olina ($100). At best it’s around 15-20% depending on your library and tuning preferences. To me, certain genres like pop actually plays “better” on the Olina than Tea.
Additionally, EJ07M is also not twice as good as the Tea. Again, maybe 15% at best. And the U12T and Z1R is not 3-4x better than the 07M; at that level you’re running into very high diminishing returns; at best they’re 15% better than the 07M. Now is it worth paying 3-4x more to get the best there is to offer? Well that’s entirely up to you. But personally I’d suggest just saving up for an endgame IEM instead of jumping around, or if you’re satisfied with you’re current set, then maybe you’ll be fine with missing that last bit of refinement.
