I used a good discount! For this price it will be the bomb!!! 
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I absolutely am not one of the people impressed with ESTs just because theyāre there. Most of the tribrids Iāve heard with them either donāt sound like anything is happening (EJ07m for example) or sound unnatural (Penon 10th).
And theyāre expensive for doing so little. Tribrids and all-BA sets are sets I donāt really care for because of their cost relative to performance (in my opinion).
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Good and technical DDs are expensive too, GŠ¾obs 
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Yeahā¦.they SURE are 
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The difference is that when a high end DD is $500, we all start off wondering if it is worth it. An EST tribrid, at the same price, would be the cheap end of the range, and pushing $1k isnāt uncommon.
I am with @GooberBM , certain configurations seem unlikely to be cost effective, where others are amazing for the money.
I am not a big of the EST sound either, much like I think DD bass sounds better than BA, for treble I think BA beats EST. That doesnāt mean it canāt be done differently.
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The entire driver configuration debate is moot anyway. Driver count and type itself arenāt indicative of good sound after all, but what certainly contributes are both good driver quality and good engineering.
There are sets employing ESTs Iāve heard where I could not tell if they were even doing anything at all (like the EJ07/07M or EST112) and then there are sets employing them properly where they definitely do contribute to a stellar Treble response (Oracle, Variations, Monarch Mk3ā¦).
In the End, Driver Count and Type are just two factors in an overall large and complex engineering task.
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EJ07M and Oracle seem to have very similar upper treble, so Iām not sure what difference in output could be heard beyond tuning differences:
That being said, yeah, ESTs seem like a bit of a meme overall to me; I used to think that I could hear a cleaner output over BAs for post-10khz but over time, I think I just hear good extension and implementation per the model rather than the driver type specifically. A good example is the Storm, which just sounds unified and extended; if I didnāt already know that it had ESTs, I would have guessed that it was all-BA any day of the week.
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Super tweeter > BA but can be closeā¦never tried EST so canāt comment.
^ +1
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This is all very debatable and depends on the quality of the drivers and the engineering. I think ESTs are better than BAs for treble IF IMPLEMENTED WELL.
A DD bass is better than a BA bass only in pumping air, but again a lot depends. The SA6 MK2 gives me a vibration that almost makes my ear hair fall off .
From the FR of the IE600, everyone would think that the cymbals will pierce your eardrum, but this is not the case - the sound is very balanced and gently caresses my earsā¦ BTW I listen to the IE600 80% of the time and weāll see if it gets dethroned by the monster DTŠ900!
And one more thing - I donāt think there is a hybrid/tribrid that can beat DD in terms of coherence and timbre, at least thatās beyond dispute 
.
The planars still canāt grab me for my music, I donāt know why!
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Itās an interesting thing, this debate. ESTs vs BAsā¦ I remember when I couldnāt tell the difference between DD bass and BA bass back in the day and while now I can distinguish them from one another, ESTs v. BAs I still cannot. I think I can hear a more airy quality in the treble if I were to A/B the Monarchs with say the SR5 for example, but that could just be a placebo. Hell, my last write-up comparing the Prestige LTD and Mon MKIII included a little EST name-drop in there. Whether the ESTs actually make a difference or not, I am indifferent about it. Which is good, it saves me money! 
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This. I completely agree with this.
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What Thieaudio meant in that picture above, is that Sonion EST drivers (they arent ārealā electrostats btw, they are based of Electrets) have low SPL.
(Dual EST model)
(Dual super tweeter BA)
At least 10db sensitivity difference here.
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Agreed with what have been a said so far. To me ESTs sound a bit smoother when I A/B to BAs, but again that could just be better tuning as most EST sets cost a lot more and with more time spend fine tuning the treble especially on sets like the Prestige LTD, BUT the Helios actually have one of the best treble Iāve heard, similarly to the Z1R, which is an all-BA and DD/BA, so I think tuning and crossover is most likely more important when it comes to the treble vs driver.
For example, I was able to hear the Truthear Nova recently, and its treble is fairly smooth and extended, even better than some EST sets like the UP, but again Iām not sure if thatās tuning or what. I also agree with @GooberBM the EJ07Mās EST does nothing for me 
- the OG EJ07 on the other hand sounds much smoother but still airy, although Iām not sure if thatās the tuning or what 
Also, Nova review done 
:
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āRabbit hole with loveā
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So I got to try out some IEMs at an audio show recently, and my thoughts on them are:
64 audio volur: exceedingly well tuned, exceedingly competent. Exceedinglyā¦ boring? Honestly felt like Jack of all trades, master of none. Nice bass detail but I feel nothing from it? I can appreciate its technical qualities but nothing moves me.
64 audio 4s: honestly I might prefer this? More intimate, slightly more V. I think itās only slightly inferior to the volur but still not my tea.
Also 64 audio has the general slope after the ear gain that leaves a pretty non-fatiguing tuning but that made it pretty boring and unengaging to me. I can see them as something I can leave on for multiple genres and enjoy everything Iāve heard, but nothing I hear would really move me either.
Elysian annihilator: Wow, I can tell that the upper midrange and treble are on another level. The rest is pretty good, but nothing that really moves me either if Iām being honest. Liked it more than the 64 audio stuff.
Sony ier-z1r: very impactful bass, I can see what others mean when they described it, but itās very mid-bassy and and the midrange and upper midrange feels kinda hollow? Not to my taste honestly.
Fir audio radon 6: now this I get the hype. The kinetic bass thing gives an extra impact surrounding the ear as opposed to just the canal, and it gives it a much bigger sound akin to wearing headphones. Itās like a hybrid of the intimacy of IEMs with the feel of headphones. The bass is also much more to my taste. It didnāt lose in detail to the volur but the extra feel of bass in the surrounding area gives you more of that bass feel. Not to say itās a complete basshead set. Feels pretty balanced across the board and the upper midrange tuning is much more to my preference.
Conclusion: none of the kilobuck set and above feels like enough of a step up from my thieaudio hype 2 if Iām being honest. Though if thereās one set where I would just buy and leave the hobby with it would be the fir radon 6, but that is too ridiculously expensive.
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I hope I like HYPE2 as much as you do. Iām of the same opinion about kilobuck, thatās why I donāt cross the $1000 mark.
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I like it a lot, but I tend to prefer upwards ear gain too
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We are of the same mind here. There are some very good sets around that $300 mark, and the margins you are chasing just get smaller. I have heard most of the high end ThieAudio sets, and while I like most of them ( fit not withstanding ), I could easily walk away with a Tea2 and be happier. I think that was part of the goal for the Hype2, since the Elixir was their last trip into the < $500 range, and it went OK ( I still think the gain was a bit much ).
Most planars are too tinny and they tend to have a weird flat imaging problem.
The P1 Max is still my big exception to this. The S12 with some EQ can be amazing.
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The S12 retuned well also bops.
Dunno why people are so afraid of midbass and lower-mids. These tunings cut them out like a plurality of fundamentals donāt live thereā¦
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