Mate have you gotten into DIY / higher end earbuds? Don’t wanna tempt you but…
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I’d love to but they simply don’t fit into my alien ears.
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what shells have you tried before?
This MX500 shell should work with most people.
That’s basically the standard 90s style earbud. Doesn’t matter which buds I use. My Antitragus is nearly flat so that there is not sufficient Intertragal incisiure and therefore no way my ear can hold the bud in place unless I glue it in.
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IEM recommendations around or under $300?
I can’t seem to find the one that I’m satisfied with…
I’ve tried:
- Linsoul Tin 2: Way too sharp for my liking on the higher end, though amazing detail and clarity
- Moondrop Aria: I just got the Snow edition, and I’ve also tried the originals. They’re way too… boring? They just feel way too safe and the sound also seems a bit mushed together. Also, the fit isn’t very good for my ears.
- Blessing Dusk 2: These were good. They’re sharp, detailed, but they’re not quite what I’m looking for. They’re a bit on the sharper side, the bass isn’t very fun, and it just leans too much on the higher end.
- Mangird Tea: Doesn’t provide as much “oomph” as the Dusk 2, but I often prefer these over the Dusk 2. Instrumentals are amazing, there’s a bit of clarity to the music–albeit in exchange for a bit of fun, the bass is present and enjoyable.
So far, I enjoy the Mangird Tea the most, and I feel like Moondrop IEMs have just been a bit uneventful for me. It seems that I shy away from high end boosts and prefer enjoyable bass?
I also have the Sennheiser 58x which is a 10/10 for me. If I can find an IEM that matches its clarity, soundstage, and comfort, I’d be satisfied.
Also, has anyone compared the Mangird Tea 1 to 2? Despite RMA-ing it once, I still have issues with the Tea where the 2-pin connectors slowly rises up and I always have to push them back in before putting them on. Quite bad quality control… If they fixed that issue, and if there is a significant enough difference between the two, I’d be willing to try them out.
Thanks in advance!
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Awesome review! You’ve almost won me over. Do you happen to have issues with 2-pin connectors with either of the Mangird Tea, or did I happen to win the quality control lottery? My first pair was so loose that I RMA’ed and got another one, but even on the replacement, one connection is much looser than the other, and I find myself pushing the pins back into the IEMs quite often…
Never had any QC problems. In fact, Tea2 is almost impossible to take the stock cable off lol
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Sounds good, much better than it coming off every time I put them on hahah. Thanks!
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Anytime! 
Watch the review from Akros I would vote the Canon as you can find out more of what your really looking for and get a great sounding set.
Just picked up a set myself today.
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I continue to use the D13 and have begun using the Oriolus Isabellae. Notes:
- I still stand by what I mentioned before; I have seen a couple of people calling this set “muddy”, and I can’t help but disagree with that assessment. It’s a warm, mild-V shape with an early pinna gain and the treble pulled down a mite, but still well extended. I’ve heard “muddy”, and this ain’t it IMO.
- The Isabellae makes for an “odd couple” match with the D13, making this an interesting duo:
where the D13 is warm and relaxed, the Isabellae is punchy yet detailed.
The D13 is wide, with less distinct imaging where the Isabellae is a more natural soundstage with sharper, more precise imaging
The D13 is an IEM that you just lose yourself in the music, while the Isabellae grabs your attention and keeps you engaged (but not in an overbearing way)
The D13 is tiny with a long stem, where the Isabellae has a FAT short nozzle (both have been very comfortable for hours to me, though)
While they’re both quite enjoyable, between the two I think if I had to pick just one it’d be the Isabellae…which should make sense, given that its retail is something like 5X over the D13.
The tl:dr on the D13 (to my ears): this is for people who want a warm DD that hits hard and low, but isn’t going to fatigue you. It is NOT for Detailheads, Trebleheads or the more technically-inclined. It’s kind of in a unique niche for what it does at its pricepoint, but for most people looking for an all-rounder, the current ongoing wave of budget releases will probably win out in most opinions. I haven’t done a lot of A/B yet, but I think (for the money) I’d still rec the Olina to most people for the ~$100 mark over the D13 UNLESS you are treble-sensitive or want a DD that you can just chill with, or are not mod-inclined.
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Is there an easy way on squigs.link to compare IEMs from different reviewers? There’s a few I’d like to compare but, no one reviewer has them both.
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Nope. You would also get different reading due to couplers differences.
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Ah, didn’t think about that part. Thanks for the answer.
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I agree. Letshuoer did a great job again with the D13. Have you tried the brass (treble) nozzles? They do bring some spice to the upper frequency range.
Like in the Tipsy Tromso these 13mm DDs bring some kind of special sauce with them.
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The best you can do is to compare squigs of the same sets, in order to understand how the couplers read differently, then approximate the set you want to compare.
I’ve done that with the Penon Vortex to get a very rough idea of what the signature could look like, compared to more popular sets.
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I’m unsure what it sounds like to have such an early gain region. I’m wondering there’s anything else I’ve tried that had that?
I have yet to try the “Spicy Gold” filter; will probably start running that next week!
@rattlingblanketwoman The only other unit I’ve had with a similar pinna peak is the Thieaudio Legacy 3, which was…fine. I don’t know that I hear much of a difference shifting from 2K-3K and inbetween, as much as I do with sheer gain quantity. That being said, I’m not a certified “Midhead” so YMMV.
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There is a way but it requires google chrome, notepad and some hackerman skills.
The main difference between graphs would be
- Tips used.
- Insertion depth.
- Unit variance.
MRS, Precog and SP (mine) units from the same revision but measured with different tips ( i guess. iec711 clones not quite accurate past 10kHz).
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