IEM discussion thread (Part 1)

[Mufflertape]

Well said. Tuned well, titanium driver bass is that cross in speed of a planar with the note weight of a dd. It is the ideal imho. Not sure on others.

[Erokh]

The q5k has ldac, and it’s a marvelous piece of equipment.

[cal_lando]

yeah that sentence was confusing. I meant that while I love the Q5K I like the portablility of TWS adapters more for my uses and the only TWS adapter with LDAC is the iFi GO pod

[VIVIDICI_111]

Berylium supremacy baby

[GooberBM]

Rosefinch
Starsea
Fan 2

I like all of the different kinds of DD but I very much have a type

[D.D.DeVille]

There may be some issues but UTWS5 now supports LDAC.
https://fiio.com/newsinfo/847924.html

[cal_lando]

oh wow well that changes things… I have the UTWS3 and I like them a lot but I got the MMCX ones and Im not a fan of the converters but maybe Ill try that setup out before dropping more dough on the UTWS5 or GO pods

[cal_lando]

Another one - DJ Khaled

Cal's Corner Store - I like Bass

Tri Starsea Sound Profile Neutral bright Overview The Tri Starsea may be a name you have heard briefly before. There are plenty of reviews out there that sing its praise however it never garnered mass adoption and a lot that, in my opinion, has to do with two substantial issues. The first is that it leans on the brighter side and can be a little unrefined in the upper treble, causing a bit of harshness and the second is that pressure build up/driver flex. While both issues depend on the indi…

[domq422]

I love the general discussion going on right now - I’d love it if these could be done more so on this thread. I feel like we’re all a bit more grounded on this forum as opposed to… other forums if you catch my drift.

@GooberBM

The “TOTL all-BA is the end-all of resolution” crew kill me sometimes. More drivers don’t mean more technicalities. A well-tuned, quality DD can compete with any 6-8-14BA set up.

I could not agree more. Simgot has done some serious homework on their lineup and I appreciate that company so much for it. In a quick few months, they’ve become one of those companies where I can anticipate their next project to be at the very least, good. Not even decent, but good - and up to this point this is only using DDs! I’ve said this for a while, but it’s amazing how great something can be when it’s done correctly, with care and grace.

@rattlingblanketwoman

Pretty sure I feel the same way.

I feel that, RBW. You’ve been in the game long enough, you’ve earned to just relax and finally just enjoy the music.

@cal_lando

My take on it is that “resolution” is tiered:

So well put, Cal. That last few % of resolution and detail comes at such a ridiculous cost, for most people, just hearing them in passing is enough. I can tell you from experience that owning a TOTL IEM or at least, an IEM considered TOTL and comparing it to other IEMs that are a literal fraction of the MSRP does make that buyers remorse creep in. Tier 2 is the sweet spot imo.

@sovran

buy a good tws, and auto eq it to any iem you desire. your iem journey will end for ever.

While I can definitely appreciate that mindset, I can’t fully agree if I’m honest. Wired IEMs do have an easy-to-distinguish sound quality bump over TWS in my experience. But if you can be happy with a TWS with some EQ, well shit, i’m pretty jealous.

This was so late. Work got stupid busy today, boys. I appreciate you all replying!

[Ohmboy]

Kiwi Ears Quintet - 5 Drivers, Unified Hybrid Sound

[sovran]

@domq422

Wired IEMs do have an easy-to-distinguish sound quality bump over TWS in my experience. But if you can be happy with a TWS with some EQ, well shit, i’m pretty jealous

what tws have you tried? the cheaper ones sound horrendous and garbage in my experience but the more expensive ones sound comparable to wired ones.

[domq422]

I suppose that’s fair. I haven’t tried any high-end TWS offerings honestly. I have a few pairs of TWS at home, but I use one pair from soundpeats and it’s mostly for convenience. Admittedly though, they’re a really fun sounding earphone. Fat bass, with a subwoofer-like effect. I believe I saw a graph online some time ago and it was comparable to the Khan or TE Zero. It’s also duel DD as well.

The next TWS I buy is going to be for ANC and better mic quality as I talk on the phone all day at work and having one earbud in and being able to still write things down and do things with my hands is a game changer. Everyone at work uses Airpod Pro 2 and while I know those are actually a decent pair, I don’t need to spend no $250 on a TWS.

[Kenyon]

I have a lot of the expensive TWS (B&O EX, Noble Fokus Pro, Technics AZ80/AZ60, Fiio FW5, Audio Technica TWX9, Nuratrue Pro, Bose QC 2, Samsung GBP2, Airpods 1/2/3/Pro/Pro2, M&D MW07+, Liberty 3 Pro, AKG N400, and a load of others from Chifi (Moondrop Alice/Parks or Tin Buds 3) to Western (Jabra, Beyerdynamic)

BUT

for me personally the SQ never surpasses a properly amped $100-$125 wired set. As @domq422 commented - I am jealous

[thoohil]

Just out of interest, am I right in the assumption that you can’t buy any Huawei products in the US?

[sovran]

@domq422

Everyone at work uses Airpod Pro 2 and while I know those are actually a decent pair, I don’t need to spend no $250 on a TWS.

airpods pro 2s graphs like this, i doubt they will compete with well tuned iems tbh.

while you have other tws graph like this

[domq422]

Well, TWS sets aren’t my first choice when it comes to SQ. I’m looking for ultimate convenience, mic quality and the best ANC at that point and the AirPods 2 check all those boxes for me considering I have an iPhone. So they’d be the best choice for me personally if I wanted to spend that amount of cash. But absolutely, there are other TWS out there that are better tuned, no doubt about it, I just don’t see a point to focus solely on SQ coming out of a TWS for me PERSONALLY - again, just my opinion.

[domq422]

@thoohil

Just out of interest, am I right in the assumption that you can’t buy any Huawei products in the US?

Hmmm I’m not 100% sure, if I’m honest. Potentially

[sovran]

well i never said you will have top level experience with a tws eqed to any iem.
i said that the high level ones compete with “wired iems” and if you eq them to any iem you want, you get how they sound like so you won’t have to spend thousands of dollars on them+ the convenience factor of 50 iems in your pocket is appealing.
if you decide to buy a totl tuning you liked by trying the eq then you know the gain on sound quality won’t be more than 20% at best for totl sets, but you are committed to pay the cash to get the best sq you desire.

[trouble]

Before I got into iems, I got a pair of powerbeats pros, mainly for working out and thought they were great. Come my first pair of iems; the Truthear Zero, and I would gladly chuck the powerbeats out the window for the Zeros’ sound.

That being said, I got the powerbeats because they let in more outside noise, which I want when running around in the city. Also didn’t want to deal with the ones with a microphone on to counteract the noise isolation. Waterproof rating is also a big plus when running

@sovran

airpods pro 2s graphs like this, i doubt they will compete with well tuned iems tbh.

The powerbeats don’t graph too different from the Zeros, yet the powerbeats come off more spicy and sibilant to me, despite the Zeros graphing higher in the treble and less in the bass. Graphs don’t tell the full story

[sovran]

@trouble

The powerbeats don’t graph too different from the Zeros, yet the powerbeats come off more spicy and sibilant to me, despite the Zeros graphing higher in the treble and less in the bass. Graphs don’t tell the full story

well this is the exact same problem for me
the treble area is the main problem of my iems vs tws, but imo its due to their fit.
to get a good treble response you need a deep and well fit, most iems have semi costume shape to them and they fit well and deep in the ears, but most tws don’t have ergonomic designs( have to fit battery and sensors in them) and the ability to get a deep fit from them will be impossible so thats why the treble is their weak part to iems

but anyways i somehow expect the power beats pros to sound more sibilant or metallicy in the treble, because of its peaky and non smooth treble response compared to the zeros. but both have non ideal treble quality imo.