IEM discussion thread (Part 1)

yeah the Senny is weird because it it graphs well but I think that 7mm transducer needs more to really hit. When I use my bass boost setting I get some of the cleanest bass I have experienced and it definitely gets thumpy in the mid bass. Its definitely a high quality driver that has the capabilities, it just needs more juice in that part of the spectrum. @hawaiibadboy mentioned something similar on his vid about kick drums with the IE600

Couldnā€™t agree more on this. The ASG 2.5 had the bass dial to 11 as you mention. But, man it killed all vocals for me. The Mini is riding a fine balance with the tuning. For those times I want the dial to 11 I just hit X-Bass and itā€™s bueno. Awesome write up with a refreshing twist on the style of approach. I never expected that you owed a review however, itā€™s much appreciated. Iā€™m just one dude trying to help you save money or spend it.

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We should all share thoughts and write-ups with one another, in my humble opinion of course. Itā€™s doesnā€™t matter if youā€™re a professional reviewer or not, I always enjoy when one of us decides itā€™s time to share what we find whether itā€™s just for fun, or maybe you care about your fellow audiophile brothers and youā€™d like to save them money (or make em spend it :sunglasses:)

I endorse write-ups, itā€™s one of my favorite things to read and also partake in and I personally think you did a great job @cal_lando, I actually like this style with just talking about music rather than mentioning each aspect of the FR. Its easier to follow along to and I may just adopt that in the future! :handshake:

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How do you like cymbals and hi hats on those? For me those were on too spicy side of things.

Other than that funnily enough I also felt like there could be even more bass or at least expected more based on the FR. I really hoped that it would wreck my whole ears, but that was merely an ear canal massage on my hip hop part of my library :person_getting_massage:

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I am pretty treble insensitive so cymbals and hi hats are just right now on the MM. On the IE600 hi hats can be a bit overally pronounced but never spicy for me.

This is a great way to put it. I think so hip hop gets mixed with the expectation that someone is boosting their sub woofer which is a bummer. I found my favorite FR has been the IE600 boosted to have Maestro SE bass (ends up being about a +12db boost!)

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Hey guys, I just wanted to say that Iā€™m gonna put the Prestige write-up off until tomorrow. The last few days and particularly today have just been crazy hectic and I donā€™t want to write it up while Iā€™m tired. I already wrote this whole thing on the HE560 V1 versus V3 today and I want what I post to do the Prestige justice. Just figured Iā€™d mention that FYI and aplogize for the delay. Sorry! :man_shrugging::man_facepalming:

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Iā€™m listening to the IE600 right now . Freddie Freeloader from Miles Davis. Iā€™m treble sensitive and am easily annoyed by iems that are too bright. The IE600 sits in a sweet spot. Thereā€™s no sibilance and a decent decay. Thereā€™s also a nice mid-bass thump on the back of my head from the walking bassline and kick drum. Not a big sub bass experience, but i was listening to the IER-Z1Rs and MMK2s earlier. I need to listen to more Milesā€¦Iā€™m being carried away by the music

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I just got the Hekili earlier this week. I havenā€™t spent any critical time on it, but my general impression was underwhelming. Iā€™ll have to listen more, but i recall a muddy , less defined lower end with a lack of technical ā€œwow factorā€ compared to the Symphonium Helios I was listening to at the time.

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Thanks for that. I might just save it for the IE200 then.

Oh, I was asking about Maestro Mini as I did hear that one (and while listening to The Roots recordings like How I Got Over/Undun sometimes my ears were pierced by this brass hits) and not IE600 :sweat_smile: But would love to try this Sennheiser single DDs someday

This has nice features and looks fantastic! Tempted to replace my iFi Zen DACā€¦

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Youā€™re good, brother! Appreciate the heads up. Iā€™m willing to wait for quality and I have no doubt that your write up will be nothing but quality :handshake:

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XD05 PRO going to drop really soon as well not the same price tho

New audio reviewer (bit on the nerdy side) using a novel approach to present (pretty high quality) graphics including soundstage - do you guys think this works or seems a bit convoluted?

My understanding is that the data for the soundstage is subjectively plotted.

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I spent time with the Audio Hekili this morning, running it through a number of test tracks ranging from orchestral, brass band , Hans Zimmer soundtracks, acoustic , jazz, and vocal-focused pieces. Thereā€™s nothing offensive to me and the sound draws me in to want to listen more. It definitely has a good low end, good extension with ok texture. The mid-bass kicks moderately and there is a warmer signature overall. The treble is more pleasing than i initially thought, with less sibilance. It is on the warmer end of things, not crisp. The soundstage seems average compared with my other sets and the imaging and details arenā€™t quite as good as the Helios, but it doesnā€™t slouch. Overall the Hekili makes me smile and want to hear more.

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Just watched the few videos and while a lot of it can sometimes go over my head when it comes to the distortion part (working on learning more as time goes on but it seems to be a little difficult for me to get a grasp) all of the other graphics and what not and the quick nature of the videos makes them enjoyable Iā€™d say.

Thanks for the Rec!

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The bubble charts on 3D space may be an interesting way to visualize - may need some tweaking from the reviewer as feels too wonky and hard to read. I think there is some earbud chart over at Headfi that looks to do a similar thing in 2D but itā€™s challenging to read.

I wouldnā€™t worry so much about the distortion part with IEMs. As minimum phase - the sound excursion isnā€™t really sufficient for it to make a difference to SQ unless damaged or channel mismatched. For context - IIRC etymotics have over 1% THD and yet they are constantly recommended. The U12T I seem to recall had multiple 1% spikes.

Distortion charts would play a nice part in helping with EQ - if you use it - as you could then see the THD peaks across the FR range at different DB levels. But in general low distortion is more an indication of good engineering and/or quality integration of components when discussing IEMs - in my opinion.

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This is my choice of basshead IEMs.
The CCA FLA sounds surprisingly good for $15. I like them more than the other under $20 contenders like the Wanker, Zero etc. I have the Hola incomingā€¦
The KZ ESX is another bombast budget set with a powerful 12mm DD.
The Tipsy Tromso is a more refined ESX also with a 12mm DD (LCP).
The ISN H40 is a classic basshead set.
Among the Moondrop Aria gang I find the TRI x HBB Kai the best. My personal favorite HBB collab to date.
Unfortunately the Tri I3 Pro has a huge bathtub dip between 3kHz and 7kHz. Nonetheless, itā€™s a bass cannon with long listening attributes.
And last but not least the Penon Serial which is the most balanced and refined among all these basshead IEMs. It also has the best low range DD I heard. Listening to drum sets in Metal and Rock songs is a joy. Vinny Appice as drummer on the album Holy Diver steals Dio the show. Almost.

You vill own ze bass and be happy.

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cough cough Dsnuts + Redcarmoose cough cough

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OHHHHH - damn, :adhesive_bandage: off :upside_down_face:

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