But, but… I thought that earth was flat?!
jkjk
Received Szalayi today. “Palate” cleansed as I’ve been at camp with middle schoolers, so no listening for several days.
I am usually a M or MS eartip, the Szalayi fit using the smallest provided tips, I would worry for anyone who is usually a S or SS.
The dynamic and planar make a good combo. There is some of the planar eeriness of "I can hear this clearly but my eardrum isn’t feeling it, but anything that should be felt has plenty of physicality.
Lost my treble long ago - Vulfpeck has no shortage of visceral impact.
Ay luna que reluzes with Jordi Savall (obv. not the only artist involved) starts off with distant (accurately staged) but clear sounds, very subtle, when the main singer’s voice comes in it was very moving, hard to do mids any better than that, and also a perfect contrast with the volume/placement of the secondary singer.
Take back by Green Day, almost a metal song, very full-force and like a live concert.
Plenty of cases of there being the perfect level of “bite” to guitars, Pigs by Pink Floyd being one.
The Good Son by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - the lowest singing notes give a lovely warm hum at a low level and great detail in the organ. Timbre is on point with the guitars, at least, no better or worse than how an EST would handle it.
Why Didn’t You Stop Me by Mitski, one of the first tracks to let me know dynamic impact, guitar bite, and intimate (but not overly forward mids) would all be fine. The mids level seems to be on the perfect balance for a fantastic vocal experience.
Easily way up there as one of the most holographic IEMs to date.
I would say that like listening to the Volt, there is a sense of coloration, of there being almost too much resonance. It’s a wonderful experience, but clearly a little “extra”. If you like the “extra”, it’s like putting a great sauce on just about anything. Its size might add to the very rich resonance it has. There’s no masking/crowding of harmonics though.
The only possible criticism that I haven’t even checked out yet, as I haven’t listened to the track on a different set to see if it’s just the recording, is cymbals seemed a little subdued on an old Beatles recording - let’s see, it was To Know Her is to Love Her from LIve at the BBC (one of my all time favorite Beatles ballads)
It’s not a set that has very obviously more sub bass than mid bass or vice versa. For example the Volt excelled at mid bass, many other sets these days have a clearly elevated sub bass, but in listening so far, both are strong.
And that “listening so far” has not been long. At all. About a half hour.
I don’t know how long the previous owner burned in for, but I haven’t added to that. For those that care about source chains, I’m using a Qudelix 5K at high gain, and a Penon CS819 2.5mm balanced cable (came without a cable and these had deep blocks to insert). BT streaming from an iPhone 11.
EDIT: Wow. “Bye” by Lorn - sub-bass is “window shaking” for my ears, with the mids of the synth really gliding around in a full bodied and expressive way.
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I’m finally willing to say on the record: If you haven’t heard the TRN TA1 Max yet, you REALLY need to. The same way the Zero is dumb at $20, this is dumb at $50.
The quality of lower priced IEMs is getting seriously stupid, man!
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That was me when I first discovered the Tin Hifi T2 and that was also the time when I was using the Shure SE215s, and those got rekt super hard by my T2s and it was never the same afterwards.
Wow I don’t like the Timeless at all
Got em last night and have been comparing them track by track with Kato, haven’t heard a single song I prefer the Timeless on.
vocals are better on Katos, mid bass is better, imaging/separation is better, even just the enjoyment of music is much higher for me on the Katos. I think the only thing I can point out that I feel the Timeless does better is speed and treble.
I will say the fit and seal on the Katos is terrible compared to the Timeless though, especially the ear hooks, they don’t stay in place at all lol. They felt molded to the back of my ear with the Timeless
Maybe I should just get Airship
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We’ll, that’s planar for you 
I’m not a huge fan of them either.
You won’t go wrong with airship. I prefer it over the Kato, although it’s more of a sidegrade. Or just grab the Olina since it’s pretty much the Airship after the double filter mod, plus you get two tunings (stock and mod).
Personally I would save up for sets like Blessings 2 Dusk, Variations, and EJ07M. Seems to fit what you like.
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If you’re interested in the airship I would wait for the olina revision that’s coming out soon. Should be pretty similar and a fraction of the price.
Does anyone know the release date for them?
i don’t think anyone knows for sure but according the HBB they are coming out “quite soon”.
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I take everything I said about the Timeless back haha
Threw my Final E tips on and just hit shuffle, these are incredible
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Yep, it is one of those moments where you should give an IEM more time to break in, into your ears and get used to its sounds first. And once you get the whole sounds of it, you will eventually appreciate it and will have an overall conclusion that this particular IEM that you got is worth it for the money, or at the other side, one of the worse ever.
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Also, any of you guys have been using the 7Hz Salnotes Zero and been doing some tip rolling as well, to make the sounds of it much better? I mean I am fine with the stock tips but it would have been cool if there are third-party ear tips as well that does a possible better job that complements the Zero’s sounds.
You wouldn’t be getting the $20 price point, if they added accessories like that. But yeah, tip rolling would absolutely improve the perception of sound for you. Source matters too. I find them too thin on neutral sources, but sounds much more balanced for me with a warmer source
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Yeah I do agree, they can be a bit a thin on a neutral source, but luckily I am using the ifi Zen DAC which I think is a warm source, therefore it balances the Zeroes just right. Also I think it’s best to find an ear tip that is similar to the E Types which add a bit of bass, while not sacrificing it’s overall signature of your IEMs and maintaining soundstage as well.
I still like the Katos more but the Timeless is great.
If I could get the treble sparkle on the Kato that the Timeless has, just a little bit less mid bass and a bit more detail retrieval, they would be perfect
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I’m looking for next level
I love the Acoustune HS1670SS looking to move up on my radar are:
AKG n5005
Senheiser ie600
Acoustune HS1655CU
Any recommendations around £550?
I like good quality bass with mids with great timbre and smooth sparkling highs
With the Aliexpress promos going on, i’m thinking about picking up something.
Earlier this year i’ve had an affair with the QoA Vesper, i found the signature to be super enjoyable, however i still feel it could be a little bit more detailed and if possible, more bass.
Anything interesting to replace it up to US$100 on Ali today?
I’m eyeing the BGVP Melody, Tri HBB Kai, KBear Ormosia and a few others not worthy of note, but i haven’t been able to make up my mind.
My pick is Tripowin Olina. Avoid the KAI if you want details. Haven’t heard the other 2, but Olina is currently the $100 gatekeeper; lots of detail, good amount of mid-bass, 3D imaging, and great amount of air for treble and soundstage. Only drawback is that it’s sibilant at high volume, but the double filter mod fixes that. The value to performance is insane on the Olina, easily competes with $200+ IEMs. My rec for sure.
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Could you elaborate a bit on that? I’m a bit treble sensitive, how do you do this mod?