IEM discussion thread (Part 1)

[John_W_Clark]

I have been pleasantly surprised that hearing is doing so well for my age. I am 55, and I can still hear up to 15kHz.

@RockinDave

think I’ll pass on that one lol. $1,500 for the original new

I am with you, My entire collection is probably only a bit more than $1500. My top 5 by price are Tea, Tea2, Timeless, S12, P1 Max.

[RockinDave]

Feel like I’ll be barely justifying my future purchase of the Subtonic Tempest lol

[ttorbic]

[ToneDeafMonk]

I think its a killer set and a much better buy than the P8 for listening to music.

[GooberBM]

That’s my baby! Even Super*Review is incapable of resisting.

I told y’all

[rattlingblanketwoman]

You continue to do excellent service to the community, all for nothing! Thanks for all you do. Super consistent evaluations and comparisons.

[D.D.DeVille]

Hello there, newbie here. I’ve been lurking for a few months and recently joined the forums. This is my first post so be gentle with me.

Just before AliExpress Summer Sale ends I’d like to mention a set of IEM. I’m sorry I should’ve done this earlier, but as a full-time carer, I don’t have enough time for posting or listening to music. I’ll post about my situation, background, etc in the Rant thread, hopefully by the end of this month.

Smabat Black Bat 2. Easy to drive 10mm Beryllium Plated 1DD IEM, released in October '22, RRP $49.99 but often sold at $35-39. This set has been pretty much under the radar. Apart from the AliExpress customer reviews, there are only two reviews I can find. The both are on YouTube, one by a Brazilian reviewer and the other one by a Japanese reviewer. (I’m also a Japanese, btw.) The Brazilian seems not to be impressed and keeps mentioning “recessed treble.” The Japanese says he likes it but his opinion is irrelevant because he’s basically an advertiser. This set has been recently hyped by a small number of Japanese forum posters, and they tend to be the ones who find EA500, which has been hyped since December and selling well here, fatiguing. The “official” graph looks interesting too.

I don’t know how accurate/BS this graph is but I’d say this is not far away from what I hear.

The sound
・Very warm and thick note weight. Big bass when called upon. Safe, non-fatigue tuning or veiled sound, depends on how you see it. Definitely not for treble heads. Average soundstage for this price range.

・May require burn-in. Some claim the treble was dead on arrival and resuscitated after lengthy burn-in. I’m actually one of them.

・Hi-hat & cymbals: inoffensive or some people would call it dull. If you’re an EQ person you may want to add an 8k peak to hear them more clearly.

An example of hi-hat & cymbals evaluation track

Rush - “YYZ” (0:44-1:10)

・Vocals: Forward and some say intimate. Those who hype this set often mention the vocals and the guitar sounds.

・Mids/Bass Bleed: Thick. There should be some bass bleed but I don’t feel that much because vocals aren’t affected much and its warmth and thickness win me over.

An example of bass bleed tolerance test track

Snail Mail - “Ben Franklin”

・Bass: Quite strong and somewhere between tight/clean and loose/dirty. Tip-rolling is a must.
I personally like the bass guitar tone and find it easier to follow bass lines. When I listen to AC/DC with this I appreciate Cliff Williams more.

Music

*I’ll use “good” instead of “great” since this is a budget set and I don’t want to hype it up too much.

・Definitely not for J-Pop or K-Pop.

・Maybe too dark for electric music but when I want just bass and female vocals this set do the job.
Song examples:
Caravan Palace - “Black Betty”
Swingrowers - “That’s Right”
Jamie Berry - “Light Up the Night”

・Good with electric blues: the three Kings, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, etc. Also good with Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rory Gallagher, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, etc.

・Good with soul: Sam Cook, Aretha Franklin, Otis Reading, Sam & Dave, etc.
I listen to those music for the vocals and cannot comment on horns, sorry.

・Good with classic rock: AC/DC, Bad Company, Black Sabbath, Cream, Deep Purple, Free, Humble Pie, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, UFO, etc.

・Not good with fast or busy tracks.
I don’t listen to Slayer or Voivod with this set.

・Funk: Funkadelic and Parliament are pure bass fun! Somehow not so good with Sly & the Family Stone though.

・Maybe a bit too bassy for folk singers.

・Modern-ish recordings:

Alice in Chains, good with Facelift but just OK with Dirt. Th same producer/engineer but Dirt has denser sound.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers, good with Blood Sugar Sex Magik but just OK with Californication.

I think you get the idea by now. This set is suitable for “analogue” sound. If you feel something’s lacking when you listen to remastered versions of old recordings, like me, this set could be your beater set.

Thanks for reading.

[ttorbic]

Welcome to hifiguides! Thanks for your interesting post! I knew Smabat made earbuds but didn’t know they also offered IEMs

[JAnonymous5150]

Damn fine first post! I actually heard the OG Black Bat a long time ago, but I honestly don’t remember what I thought of it. I heard it at a friend’s house who is a big fan of Smabat earbuds which is what I was there for. It’s the only Smabat IEM I have ever heard. The fact that I don’t remember any specific impressions shouldn’t be taken negatively as my interests were concentrated elsewhere and if the experience had been a totally negative one I would likely remember it better. Looks like I might have to see if my buddy picked up the new version.

Anyways, welcome and thanks for sharing!

[SoundEater]

JUZEAR41T mmmm, OK, maybe good ( for the price). But I will hardly believe a person who says that all sources sound the same and bows down to B2OG !
So, other reviews will clarify .

[GooberBM]

Juzear 41T: "The Little Engine That Could" Clubhouse

So, in coordination with the monthly AliExpress Discovery sales, I’m going to make a thread here for the Juzear 41T, so that people will be able to make a decision about jumping on this if they want a cheap “knock your socks off” IEM. Because it’s 3-for-3 so far, people.

You mean, like from fellow HFGF’ers?

[SoundEater]

Yes!
10 char…

[GooberBM]

Carry on, then

[Ohmboy]

in-Ear Fetish Review \\ SeeAudio Yume ULTRA IEM

[Leonarfd]

ISN NEO 5 and Penon Tail delivered after being lost in mail system for a month!

OOB yeah this is some bass heavy 1+4 hybrid, but very refined and nice sounding.
The Penon Tail from first listen seems like a no brainer if you want Cirrus Logic Dongle.

[rattlingblanketwoman]

Really nice photos!

[Honguli]

Just watched Mark’s review and he gave this 4 stars, wow, that’s high praise! Only downside is it’s not a super technical set. With other reviewers giving good rating to the 41T and their comments seem to aligned, having average or subpar technicality.
I wonder if anyone tried Juzear 51T? 5 Knowles BA and a supposedly superior DD than the 41T with small price bump, could be a competent set in the price range (1379 yuan before shipping).

[VIVIDICI_111]

@GooberBM Ayo your babies

[domq422]

Ayo I ain’t never heard of these… interesting.

[TimTam]

@domq422

Maybe it would be cool to have a preferred IEM set up thread?..I mean what works best for you with a specific IEM…Dac/Amp, cable and tip combo’s etc.
This would lead to discussing Soundstage, Bass, Tennis Betting Telegram Channel | Telegrambetting.club etc without going off topic :japanese chef knives:

I’m now listening to Amazon HD > iFi Micro iDSD > FiiO FH7 >Treble filter and Spiral Dots…which after a fuck load of messing over 6 months? is my fav for this set lol.

I have yet to hear the Supermoon but I’ve heard nothing but amazing words on it. Damn expensive though…