IEM discussion thread (Part 1)

Depends on what you want: if you want the most immersive big soundstage-y sound? No

If you want OH10-style fun and energetic? No

If you want quality sound with good timbre, warmth, some sub-bass pop, and overall good balance? Yeah, it’s a good choice.

I found it to be a little vanilla kinda “just the facts ma’am” like, but it does everything well enough

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Damn that price tag, even used it’s a hard pill to swallow.:dizzy_face:
Do you find them to be pretty musical then? How do they compare to the Symphonia Meteor?

Very musical. Their euphonic nature is one of the things they’re most well known for. I haven’t had the pleasure of hearing the Meteors yet so I can’t say how they compare.

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Between the Andromeda and the Twilight which would you guys prefer and why? :slightly_smiling_face:

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Two different IEMs with different presentations. If I had to pick between the two as an all-rounder I’d probably go with the Twilights because they’re the consummate versatile all-rounder IEM. My Andro 2020s do a lot of genres very well and their bass is quite good for BA bass, but when they don’t get along with a style or genre it’s quite clear and it doesn’t sound good. For stuff like EDM and heavier rock or metal genres the Andros aren’t a good match while the Twilights can do either quite well even if they do other genres better. This is all just IMO and you won’t see me getting rid of my Andros anytime soon. They can be absolutely sublime and really give you something special when you’re listening to music they do pair well with.

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has anyone here heard the Sony IER-M7? I just saw the graph and its quite interesting

I have. A bit warm, bassy, pretty laid back presentation. There’s something weird going on in the upper mids/lower treble that makes some vocals and instruments sound unnatural to me. The soundstage is pretty big and imaging is reasonably crisp, but on other technicalities líke layering and detail retrieval it’s average at best. It suffers from typical BA plasticky timbre (on top of the weirdness it the mid to treble transition area I mentioned) and where the IER-M9 can make you forget that it’s a BA providing the bass at times, the M7 has no such magic so the bass is a bit bodiless at times and lacks authority and articulation. Overall, unless you’re getting a very good deal, you can do better for the money.

Edit: Obviously, this is just my opinion, YMMV…:+1:

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super helpful and similar to other reviews I read after asking the question. Thanks!

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7Hz Legato… Very interesting.
Was listening throughout an 8.5 hour shift with them almost constantly in, periodically taking them out to talk to someone or to give my ears a brief break. Rather comfortable, and surprisingly easy to drive. Only really needed to go to ~40 on my Fiio M5, or ~9-9:30 on ifi Zen DAC V1 (with power match on using the 4.4 and Hart Audio cable/interconnect). It definitely benefits from some extra juice, as I could take it up to ~11:00 on the ZEN before starting to go “Okay, maybe that’s a bit too much”. Truebass did give a nice extra boost, though it’s not like it really needed it, thanks to a decent punch. It was a surprisingly mixed bag with music, as some songs sounded great, where as others (usually more leaning to classical, though not always) sounded a bit… Flat? Muted? Like the life wasn’t really all there for that particular track.

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Yeah I can see that. While it’s got good treble extension it sounds a bit closed off and flat at times. For my library it isn’t too noticeable though. Tip rolling really helped and I have been tempted to try some new tips with it. The tuner said the tri clarions should really open the them up

I used the Clarions on the Minis for a while and I felt that the results were really nice. The bass remained for the most part but it made the lower mids a little more natural while opening up the treble so definitely give the clarions a shot on the Legatos!

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Absolutely, Tri Clarion are the most open/clear sounding of all the tips I tried and will max out any IEM in that regard. For me they even dethroned Xelastecs and their fit is also fantastic while being longlasting
:heart_eyes::ok_hand:t2:

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I was also a bit surprised that bass pretty much stays the same, even with that wide bore

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Seriously! I love the way they fit, but they are very IEM dependent if that makes sense. If you think one of your IEMs are on the verge of being too forward, the clarions will most likely get them there. But at lower to mid volumes they sound so open.

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Only wish thoose tips came in ML :sob::cry:

Try L, they are really soft.
For xelastecs I also have M/L but Tri Clarion fit perfectly in L
Another plus point is they are on the cheaper side and definitely worth a shot

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Ok you guys are too convincing so I ordered :+1:

I used to think that until i tried Fiio HS18. Those are cristal clear, transparent.

This is just how I ended up here… Could not stand the tri clarion shilling any longer and just ordered them… For 8 bucks it’s worth a try :grin:

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Oh no not again, stop it! :rofl:
How is the bass?

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