The only multi driver configs I find coherency close to single driver are things like the DQ6/3DT, though they are all DD in it, so possibly all BA would be similar, I don’t really get BA IEMs though.
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I don’t even know how to describe what is different. All I know is the b2 dusk feels… less smooth? Maybe? While both the Zen and the Timeless have this sort of transparent quality as they move through the FR.
It could be that Zen and Timeless are both simply better IEMs. I don’t know. But I have been suspecting it has something to do with transition/presentation of different driver types. When I put in the dusk, I love the tonality but I crave whatever it is that Zen/Timeless have.
3DT is high on my list. But, ideally, I would want several options at the same time. And that budget is a while off.
Have you added the FiiO FD7 to your list?
From my time selling high-end speaker systems I was most in love with the one driver ones. No cross-over meant there was simply less they could F up. However, from the zillion IEF reviews I’ve read so far I come to a slightly different conclusion (albeit I’m not there yet) and that is that most (and maybe all) single dynamic drivers seem to struggle with the highs. It looks like it’s very hard to get everything right. A thing that puzzles me is that with speakers you often get a much better soundstage, imaging, inner detail, pace/rhythm/whatever you want to call it, and I contributed that to the lack of the cross-over and active filtering. However, I have yet to find anything similar for single dynamic drivers as it seems that tribrids with a lot of electric tricks seem to have a WAY better soundstage and imaging. That goes completely against what I would expect and it probably only shows that there’s no one technique or material or whatever that is king. For me that’s a bit of a disappointment as I like to believe in Simple = Better. So yeah, I think I popped it myself…
drftr
Nope. Because, on the surface, it seems to similar to my Zen.
This seems to be the case, but strong highs hasn’t been a priority for me. The Zen sound fantastic to my ears. The FD7 should actually address the vocal shoutiness the Zen has. But I am not sold on their other attributes comparatively. (The zen’s presentation is just amazing for me)
I haven’t heard enough imaging to draw any conclusions. But, I do wonder about the physics of it. If I were to guess, I would say that any time you have drivers dedicated to a frequency, you can enable more/better layering generating that illusion of stage. Our brains are ridiculously good at untangling sounds and interpreting them. This is one reason I am excited to try a multi-dd like the 3DT. I really want to see how it compares to the Zen in that respect. Same with multi-ba. Multi-planar if anyone even makes one ;).
This is just an outright guess though. I don’t know if BA/DD/Planar would add/remove staging additionally.
Reading this makes me think if there’s really any layering based on (f)actual recorded info about it or that reviewers are simply hearing the fact (?) that instruments with a lower frequency tend to be behind solo instruments and vocalists in general whose frequencies are simply captured by other drivers. Would be interesting to hear what for instance covering the whole frequency range of a cello would do to the position of that cello in the soundstage compared to instruments that are fixed because they keep playing the same thing. That might reveal the real qualities of soundstaging/imaging/depth/etcetera vs the quality of the tricks our mind plays.
drftr
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Well any soundstage besides reality and a multi channel speaker setup is using audiotory tricks to simulate 3D space. Part of that is in the recording and part of that is how the driver handles it. The rest is our mind putting things back together in a way that makes sense.
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The thing that gets me is over ears like the arya. That’s a single driver practically throwing it’s voice around your head. Are some of these larger over ear drivers simply more able to layer in a way that might need multiple drivers on an IEM.
Another thought is the space between drivers themselves. Our hearing apparently becomes much more positionally accurate as you get closer to the eardrum (somebody covered this above, been trying to learn more).
Maybe we pickup that as part of the staging?
Anyone aware of hybrids that use one or more dynamic drivers plus an electrostat/electret? I don’t think I have come across that combination. Could be interesting to keep the timbre of dynamic drivers for everything except maybe the last part of the curve. Me thinks BA can come across as a bit plasticky at times and this would be an interesting setup to avoid that.
drftr
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From what I read it seems like bggar is working on a dd+est set.
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Can’t find too much info but a review on Head-Fi says it’s a 1DD?
drftr
The hbb mele is his and its a 1dd for $50. Mine is incoming.
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KZ ZEX
10 char
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Tnx… I’d be more than a bit surprised if it would hold up against the monsters in the $500+ range. But admittedly funny things have happened in this business over the past year.
drftr
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I don’t feel Dusk is worse off than Timeless.
I mean it’s kind of apples and oranges when each iem does something better than the other.
Timeless always has better mids, against any BA iem. Since it’s a planar.
Dusk is that “almost perfect” iem at $300. A pleasing foundation of tonality and resolution, with actual soundstage and instrument separation riding on top of that. With a good cable and source, I might even call it end-game. Until you reach the kilobucks where more premium iems live.
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Specifically in coherence, I feel the timeless is better. And, I still can’t pinpoint why.
I agree that it is amazing (it got me back into audio after a bunch of far more expensive headphones disappointed me). But both the Timeless and Zen have this sense of “completeness” that the dusk doesn’t have. And the dusk is better tonally balanced than either of them.
I still can’t figure out why that is. Maybe it’s more detail/resolution. Speed of the drivers. maybe it’s just my assumption that it is multi-driver coherency and it is really something else. All I can say is it is there. Maybe I really dislike BA grain?
Gonna put them in for a while tonight. See if I can figure it out.
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I just bought ZEX for $18 from KZ Global Store which has a $3 coupon.
I’m in this hobby for about 10 years and this will be my first ever KZ. 
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On timeless vs dusk. The details of music sound “clipped” on the dusk. A way to visualize this is a square wave vs a sine wave. There is a sense of “flow” from one note to another note that isn’t present on the dusk but is on the timeless. Choppy is too strong of a word, but that’s what my brain wants to say.
It’s not always there. And I still suspect it is due to crossovers and notes that cross the crossover frequencies.
Subconsciously, this was always an “immediate” reaction. I simply want to take the dusk off and listen to the timeless or the zen. Consciously, I am having a really hard time pinpointing the differences directly.
Additionally, the timeless bass is just better. That silky smooth yet prominent bass is a huge selling point. I tried to avoid bass prominent songs for the above testing because once the timeless bass hits, I have zero interest in anything else.
obsessed with boosted planar bass okay? OKAY?
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You guys referring to the “typical” (is it?) BA sound here? Could it be because of the speed of the drivers and that the human ear prefers more decay as echoes are not cut off in real life either, even though the add blur?
The “BA house sound” is exactly why I still haven’t pulled the trigger. It may not he there, or not on every BA IEM, or maybe it becomes less when you have 6-8 BA drivers that are all responsible for a smaller part of the curve? I honestly can’t tell.
drftr
I am personally yet to hear this “bad BA timbre” everything I’ve heard has been pretty nice personally, the only thing that has made me want a DD in my next set of IEMs is that I want a bit more slam/impact that I almost get from my MMR but it’s not quite there, it’s very close though.
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