Dang. Still available in some online shops as old stock or second hand only? Any way to differentiate them as far as their name? I feel like Xiamen Mi buds would be on an annual refresh type cycle.
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I assume its this model.
https://www.thephonograph.net/xiaomi-mi-noise-cancelling-earphones-review/
xiaomi JZEJ02JY
And yeah at least from what I remember from them they had really bad names and hard to differentiate since they kinda made new versions of the same thing I thinkā¦
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I had several days with the Softears Twilight, a $930 USD single DD (10mm) IEM with 16Ī© impedance and 105dB/mW @ 1kHz sensitivity. Thanks to HiFi Passion (DE) for the tour!
The Twilight doesnāt offer much isolation but a comfortable fit despite its unusual shape. I listened mostly with Moondrop Springtips.
Thereās great thump to the bass, well balanced overall, keeping mids full bodied but clean with a touch of warmth. Mids and treble are smooth with no sharpness to voices - quite a relaxed vocal presentation, not forward. Some treble sparkle, but not super extended or lifted, so the mids and bass are the focus. Itās not the most technical set, it doesnāt emphasize spatial cues or reverb. Understated, relaxed.
Male vocals are almost a bit recessed, but not female vocals. Great vocal timbre throughout. Little subbass, but the prominent midbass helps keep the balance. Great for acoustic, rock, etc. Less well suited to electronic, pop, rap, etc.
I can see why this is considered a bit of a classic. Itās perfect if youāre looking for a warm-neutral, easy listening set that sounds very natural and smooth. For example, if you tried the Dita Mecha and want something less V-shaped and exciting - something more mellow - the Twilight is definitely one to consider!
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Out of curiosity: what is it that makes you go for the Springtips instead of the ones that come with the Twilight? I find them to be a great fit (literally and figuratively) for the Twilight, thatās why Iām asking.
Comfort! I tried a few but didnāt experiment extensively. Was happy with the springtips.
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I can see how the Softears tips wouldnāt be a good fit (no pun intended) for everyone.
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Beautiful man! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do mine 
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Pretty sure i will, first impression is great but will burn them in for a while for the 2 DDs to loosen
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BTW. Good old Spiral Dot FX9 is winning on these so far. (For me).
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Thanks for the rec but donĀ“t have them unfortunately, will roll through my tip arsenal first and see how it goes 
I started with Azla Vivids and they already seem to be pretty darn good, i got a good feeling that i might land here again after rollinĀ“
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So glad you love the beautiful set we had chosen for you. Enjoy it yes after some burnin for the double DDs, bass extension will reach deep, thumping will hit your chest and overall balance much better. Itās a magical set both in looks and in sonic performance, full of energy across all main frequencies & wall of sound 
. Enjoy brother we look forward to hearing more feedback from you in coming days
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Sharing some impressions from a guy in my server that just got this.
"First impressions regarding sound - Wide bore LSR tips, SIZE DOWN, WIDE NOZZLES.
Easy to drive. With -10db preamp, Iām at maybe 10 o clock low-gain on the K5 Pro ESS, I bet you could drive this with a clean 1vrms source. Iāll test later. Isolation is middling, as expected. Itās better than I thought it would be, given the open faceplate, but if you have AC or a fan running in the background, you can hear it. Iād say isolation is about 10db.
Definitely mid forward [probably high pinna], but with surprisingly mild treble. Not nearly as harsh as planar iems, might be a little more mild than an EW300 without foams. [Chipzel - Focus remaster]
Yeah, okay. Mids might be as forward as GAS3. Not as much treble extension for good or bad.
[Evanescence - Bring Me To Life] Not as sibilant as you think it would be given the very forward midrange. I could realistically listen to this for a long period. [F/SN Heavenās Feel - Lost Butterfly]
What about the bass?
Oh, itās good, actually. Drums are decently punchy. Subbass extension is good . Thereās not as much of it compared to, say, a planar iem - think Z12/Timeless AE/Zetian Wu - but the quality is much much better. [Pendulum - Showdown] [Simon Viklund - Left In The Cold]"
Taped faceplate vents vs stock:
āGoes from about -10db [twice as quiet] to like, maybe -15-16
Itās not twice as quiet as fully vented, but it does help block out the fan noise and my keyboard.ā
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What a beast of an IEM this is, canāt take it out of my ears 
(No I have not been listening since arrival lol)
Energetic is the name of the game! EJ10 is perfectly riding that wave and manages to not become fatiguing (at least for me) 
Will try to have a proper review ready in the coming monthš¤š»
C12 is having a hard time now to get some playtime 
I got both with me on my business trip next week thoughā¦just out of fairness 
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Loving my EJ10 too 
I do like a slight treble drop vs stock tuning though, - 2-3db from 3k to about 12k 
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I donāt know man, i think C12 converted me into a treble slut and now EJ10 is cementing that title
I even added some treble on some occasions 
Donāt know If itās the ESTs but it never got piercing or fatiguing, not once 
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I have arrived at what I consider a truth from my perspective and in my experience in this hobby:
Delta Sigma chip dacs are only for dynamic drivers and 1-bit only for hybrids and tribrids.
Get yourself a 1-bit source (Dac-Amp or DAP) and you will be able to have your cake and eat it too in regards to treble intensity and resolution.
Recommend Cayin Ru7 for those on a budget and the newly released Cayin R202 review ā Headfonics for those who have the Cayin N6iii DAP.
Can you explain the difference between a delta sigma and a 1-bit dac?
Iām not speaking from a deeply technical perspective, thatās probably not what youāre after anyway. Hereās my subjective impressions based on listening to 5 different 1-bit DACs so far.
1-bit Dacs strike a compelling middle ground between the tonality and technical performance of Delta-Sigma and R-2R designs.
But this is not the most interesting partā¦
In my experience, the defining trait of 1-bit DACs is that they create a kind of ābokehā effect in the music, where the midrange takes center stage.
Focused, and upfront, while the deepest sub-bass and the airiest highs are gently rolled off and smoothed away. This contrast makes the midrange feel even more precise and concentrated, as if every note is compressed into a tighter, more pinpoint form. I realize this might sound like a drawback at first, but in practice, itās transformative because it imparts genuine depth, separation, and substance to each note. You get an astonishingly āblackā background between sounds where its utter silence and space let individual elements stand out with crystal clear placement and a tangible sense of solidity.
There are more reasons why this works particularly well for hybrids and tribrids and multi-driver setups in general (and absolutely not single driver IEMs).
To directly compare, succinctly, the difference between 1-bit and Delta sigma:
Delta Sigma has complete frequency extension representation which is amazing for dynamic drivers that inherently struggles with extension and sense of ācleanlinessā, but creates a U-shape tonality for hybrid drivers and tribrids that does not struggle with end-to-end extension.
Delta Sigma reproduces the entire spectruma at once, hence why itās got a flat imaging presentation without that gradual depth and shape to the sound.
1-bit dacs are deficient in extension but thatās by design, as it allows the midrange to be exposed first to the listener. This forces a balance with IEMs that on their own reach deep in the sub-bass and into the highest highs.
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Donāt be ashamed to put even more treble on such a flagship IEM. Weāre not in the era anymore to justify any fortune purchase by keeping it vanilla to be the true GOAT audiophile 
EST treble is indeed smoother than BA drivers yet high resolving in the air department. We call it āglitzernā in our de community ya know?
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