IEM discussion thread (Part 1)

I have seen short cables being sold. So that is possible.

:smirk:

thats not bad! I could probably twist that to the point where it best splits for me. Thats what I did with your buds and then I put electrical tape to hold it

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Heā€™s not lying though. FAAEAL Iris 2.0, a $10 bud, has better soundstage than most IEMs

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Was going to ask about the Xenns Top when this popped up in my recommendation.

I love my P1+. They do something to the sound presentation that no other IEM Iā€™ve tried have achieved.
They are not perfect but I like them.

I am now tempted to try a tube amp with them to see how it reacts.

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Have you tried the OG P1s, too? If so do you have any thoughts on how the OG and Plus differ? Liking the P1s this much got me wondering about the P1+. I have tried the P1 Max, Stellaris, and the S12 Pro and I own or have owned the S12, Supermoon, Hook-X, Timeless, Muse Hifi Power, and Wu (probably leaving a couple out) and the S12s, OG P1, and Supermoon have been my favorites so far. In trying all those planars I somehow skipped the P1 and P1+ and Iā€™m not even sure exactly how since I always had the intention of trying the P1 because I had heard good things about it. If the P1+ is anything like the OG, then I can totally understand why you dig it and itā€™s definitely on my must try list now.

Edit: Also owned Dioko for 72hrs. I always forget that oneā€¦:man_facepalming:

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Donā€™t forget the P2.

I donā€™t have the P1. The reason why I got the P1+ is because itā€™s easier to drive and has no sub-bass roll off.

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Sounds like Iā€™m going to need to get ahold of a pair of the P1+. For right now though, I am very happy with how these P1s are performing. They definitely have some special sauce and are surprisingly versatile. Iā€™ve been enjoying them with everything from neo-prog to jazz to indie rock. Theyā€™re a very solid pair of IEMs.

Based on their tuning and performance, Iā€™m also thinking that these would be a pretty solid set for actual monitoring work. Iā€™d have to play around with tips some more to see if they isolate well enough for loud venues and live work, but as I have them setup right now I think theyā€™d perform admirably in a studio setting.

I use Final E tips on mine. Works well to tame the treble a little.

I really like the warm never muddy bass and the sweetness that the vocals have. My favorite part is the stage like soundstage that make it sound more like speakers than IEM.

The one issue Iā€™ve found is the timbre of instrument in the upper range like violin can sound a bit off.

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So far I have found the Tinhifi T2 blue foam tips to be a pretty good, comfortable option, but I have only tried a couple other tips thus far so I donā€™t know if theyā€™ll be my final pick or not. I still plan to try the Final E, some Radius Deep Mounts, and a few other foam tips I have on hand. Depending on what effects I get out of those (which are my standards/favorites that I generally rotate through on IEMs that have similar tunings and needs) I have others I may try if I think I need to.

My Kiwi Ears Cadenza review is up in my HiFiGuides thread.

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I got to listen to the Aroma Audio Jewels today and, while they were not my preferred tuning or presentation style, they were REALLY impressive. They have incredible detail retrieval and their rendering of spatial cues along with very precise imaging and abundant layering makes for a very immersive experience.

They definitely favor female vocals over male, which can come off lacking a little strength and depth to their tonality (this is slight, but for a very expensive and elite IEM itā€™s necessary to note it, IMO). The only other real criticism I have is that on some tracks the bass comes off as being very separate from the upper two-thirds of their sonic range, almost as if itā€™s being created by a separate source. I wasnā€™t able to do as much tip rolling and other testing as I like to pinpoint what it was that was causing the issue or what characteristics the tracks I was hearing it on had that the others that didnā€™t cause the problem didnā€™t. Overall, I spent a little over 2 hours with them and on almost every objective front (disregarding as much personal preference kinda stuff as possible) I was very impressed with what Aroma was able to due with these IEMs.
Also, the Jewels were also quite comfortable for me as well, FWIW.

I made a comment in here like a week ago or something about the UM Multiverse Mentor being a good IEM, but also being clearly overpriced as I felt it wasnā€™t differentiating itself much from IEMs half its price. The Aroma Jewels are overpriced in the way that any elite audio gear is IMO because thatā€™s just the market weā€™re living with currently, but, unlike the UMs, the Jewels are clearly giving you a performance increase over their $2k-$2.5k bretheren. How much of an increase would take much more listening time for me to give you a decent answer on and whether itā€™s worth double the money is something you can really only answer yourself, but the fact that the increase is apparent and that I came away impressed is a good start for sure.

Edit: Spelling and to mention that I used my Cayin N8ii as the source for this session.

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Thanks for the glimpse at Summit-Fi. That is rarified air I could only dream of wishing to see

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And better timbre and dynamics than any IEM.

The Jewels are too rich for my blood as well. I have a friend who is VERY into high end IEMs in particular and he also happens to be the kinda guy whoā€™s always down to let me have a listen to his latest toys. He wanted to hear my Holo Audio May KTE DAC and he happened to have the Jewels with him when he came by so while he tried out the May KTE with some of his other gear, I took the opportunity to demo the Jewels.

Edit: And youā€™re welcome. I post stuff like this when I can because I hope people find it interesting so itā€™s always nice to get some validation from guys like you Goober!

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Just tested this, the mids seem a bit wonky to me from first hearing it but with this configuration I get the impression that I get a more coherent fq. However, they might be more recessed. I need to listen a bit more.

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Kind of a random comment, but on the low cost end of the spectrum, Iā€™m quite pleasantly surprised by the Hifiboy OS V3s I just picked up from @rattlingblanketwoman (thanks again bro! Youā€™ve become one of my fav IEM stores these days :joy:) that showed up yesterday. They have a really nice energy about them, some good bass extension, are surprisingly cohesive, and they carry a good level of clarity through the mids to the treble despite the nominally v shaped tuning.

Basically, I bought them blind because I had some vague memories of people thinking they were good back when they came out a few years back (2018). For $40 it would be hard to go wrong. So far I have found myself really enjoying them and Iā€™ve been quite surprised at how well theyā€™ve held up. One of the things I love most about this hobby is when you find smiles and satisfaction in unexpected places. The first thing I listened to on them was Tom Morelloā€™s The Atlas Underground Series in hi-res and they have a combination of sub bass rumble, mid bass punch, and clarity with reasonably good detail retrieval that suited those albums and that musical style perfectly. I had so much fun.

The last thing Iā€™ll mention is that their technical performance was also a bit of a surprise for me. While they were in transit I read up on the OS V3s to see what I could expect. Back in 2018 several reviews mentioned that they had some decent technical chops, but I just figured that with the passage of time that performance would no longer hold up. I have to say that I was somewhat wrong. Are these technical champs? No. Can you find better technical performers for the money these days? At the $130 or whatever they sell for on Penon you definitely can. That said, you can also find worse technical performance for the money and I would say that the OS V3s perform admirably, holding up well 4+ years after their initial release. I would say that if these were released today in the $80 to $100 price range people would be impressed and positive reviews and accolades would follow. For instance, I think their performance stacks up favorably to the Hexas that are so hot right now and that I was able to also try recently.

The fact that I got just as much if not more enjoyment and fun today from a set I bought for $40 and a set worth $5k is such a cool and unique side to this hobby. :metal::sunglasses:

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Donā€™t say this out on head-fi on the water cooler page. They might stone you lol :joy::rofl::joy::rofl:

Seriously though, I agree with your sentiments here :100:. Old tech that is good doesnā€™t die, like XBA-N3. But it does usually get cheaper over time as new tech or products can match it for less. And there is no wrong way for anyone to enjoy their journey through the hobby, but the only reason to spend $5000 on an IEM or headphone is because you want to. There is no material benefit to going that far, but if it makes you feel good (and you can afford it) then itā€™s worth it!

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OPPO Enco X2 Frequency Response Graphs

:ok_hand:

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I got these in my ears. Read these impressions. Dig deep and really absorb them.

co-signed

All of them. Every word. This.

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