I have no idea about the internals, but coherency aint Serial’s best trait.
Edit: seems he never got any penon branded IEM on his list, which actually checks out with the usual lack of graphs.
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Love the guy, but I never was a fan of crin’s tuning (dusk was a miss for me) so I’ll prob pass and grab the KAI 
@hawaiibadboy just keeps taking my money 
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I’ll just have to completely differ in opinion on that. Could be that you had such a bad couple of sets in other ways, that coherency ended up off in them as well. It’s inexcusable that they had the channel imbalance they did.
Coherency is something I care about too, and I think the Serial is better than just about any of the hybrids/tribrids I’ve heard in that regard. With many of them there’s eventually a sense of which driver is pulling off what, with a slightly different character to each part of the FR
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Yeah I can see why, there are just too many DDs that are outright good and competitive for each price bracket, so too many competition to consider on what to get nowadays. Man, I remember when the IEMs like the T2, BL-03 and ZS10 Pro were the rage, now looking at what’s going on today, a lot has changed much more options than before.
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Might have been that, yes. It was just something I clearly noticed from the start.
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Timmy Gizaudio has just received his Elysian Diva. We might have a review soon
aa, the reddit starter pack.
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Between the Serial and the Up it has been very very close. With the same source, things are actually leaning very slightly in favor of the Serial. As far as things I can give as qualifications:
- Timbre of violins is very slightly better on the Serials.
- A very unexpected preference to the bass quantity on the Serials. Hard to pinpoint exactly where and why for now. (To clarify the unexpected part - feels like more or harder hitting… again, UPS are not anywhere near as bassy as their reputation or graph suggests)
I think the Hiby R5 Saber is giving a sound I like above what I hear from the Qudelix 5K (barely) and the Apple dongle (also barely). If I had to pick a word, that may be the wrong word for the slight improvement I hear, it could be dynamics?
All this exploration was because I was getting slightly tired of the Serials so really I thought I’d be more disposed to picking something else for the fun of change, it’s pretty crazy that I’m struggling to find any true improvement from IEMs this much more expensive. I know about diminishing returns, but I’m not sure any of what I’ve been trying really yields more than 5% improvement in any area, if even that. DDs for the win.
I still feel tribrids and hibrids are a step behind in timbre. EST can add texture back into BAs to compensate, but it’s clearly a separate sheen. On things like strummed metal acoustic strings ESTs always sound like they’re overcompensating for texture with a little too much jangle and prickliness. (This is a general EST statement, the Up is more subtle in its incorporation that the others I’ve heard)
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This is quite an endorsement for the Serial. My cursor is inching closer and closer to the buy button
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What about 07m vs Serial?
I haven’t given it anywhere near as much time because the bass tuning isn’t to my preferences (sub-bass sounds isolated from the rest, a broad wash everything else sits high above, needs more mid bass bridge)
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Seems like the KL would be a better comparison
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Still wouldn’t be enough. Serial/UP etc are very very warm. Some will call it perfect, some will call it bloat. It will, as always, depend on your library - example: classical rock/metal, almost no bass hippy rock, low recording quality, etc.
KL is warmer than EJ07m but still not close to Serial or UP levels. N3 would be a nice comparison tho.
My initial question was regarding quality since that’s where 07m driver shine, but I get his point. I got the same problem with Variations. It’s a pain to gauge anything when it just doesn’t fit your library.
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From memory the EST on the EJ07M was apparent as the try-hard kind that tries to add back in too much jangly detail. But it will need relistening to stand as a definite opinion! I just think I remember rolling my eyes during the opening strum to a track. Also the sub bass seemed a little vague around the edges (decay?) compared to others. I’ve been feeling the same way about the Canon in that regard so far.
So far I always thought the EJ07M seemed a little expensive, and I definitely still feel that way. Can’t justify the “new” price tag. Same goes for Up, but I can understand the material costs of beryllium besides the EST that either have. I’m not convinced the overall effect of EST tribrids supersedes well done hibrids. And I’m not a fan of hibrids over similarly tuned DD or multi DD sets at that, providing it’s possible to match tuning with that restriction of course. Usually it’s hard to cover the entire FR well that way, something has to miss out (ie: Vortex)
Although I’m itching to list the EJ07M and Canon as I need to pay off bills soon, I’ll try to give each a revisit to make sure I’m not being too hasty.
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The bass is fast and tight to be clean and cohesive in the BA transition. It’s a Fostex DD iirc.
Did you ever tried Blon Bl-03 or a Sony? Seems right up your alley from memory.
Oh the EST is usually made to smooth out the details and air to not make it jagged from BAs. Also reaches higher frequencies with less effort given it’s nature - basicly a DD opposite, depending on the size.
I would go ahead and post it. FR wise you won’t like and IRL always comes first. I just had to sell a couple stuff as well. Sometimes life gives you lemons.
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I was ready to list my Serial and this post made me give them another try and god damn I’m having a hard time making the decision to sell them!
They are great for when I want that extra bass and laid back presentation but idk how often I’ll actually reach for them…
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That’s me with the Vortex - hugely engaging while unfatiguing, best mids and highs in the business… to be honest great mid bass too. Just quieter on sub bass than I’d like, which would stop me reaching for them. Really feels like “you can’t have it all” in this hobby.
From the very spoilt perspective of being offered so much, and only noticing what’s missing 
Value to performance ratio is nuts and somehow still getting better.
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So true! I feel like our tastes overlap so much so I appreciate your reviews on other sets I would never get.
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How’s this for a value question (for you both): Take the question “what keeps me from reaching for the set?” and reframe it as “what makes me reach for them?”
If you have good enoughs reasons to reach for them, then it’s worth it
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“Reaching for sets” in general is very personality based. I usually end up reaching for one rather than putting my music through different flavors. I’ll tend to have a favorite flavor.
I understand and respect the concept of having 3+ IEMs that illuminate something differently in my music. I actually wish it was something I did because it makes so much sense to me. But in habit… I always end up with a favorite, and no matter how much I love or respect the other sets, they go unused. Maybe I can chalk it up to limited listening time in my case, besides personality in general.
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