The Oriveti OH700VB amazing build quality with superb sound signature a V shape iem with a bass head switch from Oriveti review will be posted after extensive tests. Upgraded the already good cable with a bespoke CLAN AUDIO cable
4 Likes
There are things in life that you know you would do and which are probably good ideas, but for some hard to explain reasons you just postpone doing them forever until you actually do it and then wonder why it took you so long. Those may be large things like exercising, changing a job that sucks out your life, dumping a life partner that drives you crazy etc.
I for example bought MS size Azla Crystal tips after having them in a cart for more than a year.
They fix all the problems of Xelastecs (being a bit too large + the fact it gathered all the shit from my house better than my vacuum cleaner) while keeping all the pros - providing extremely good seal and putting the vocals forward.
They provide the perfect fit and seal for MEST finally after 1,5year of tip rolling. But what is best those are also perfect fit for the Twilight. Stellar tips, my new default!
Technically as compared to Spinfit W1s those are much stiffer in both cap and stem area making them seal better and not collapsing and also more sticky.
P.s. this ivipq cable for in the picture is also amazing - I think @Rikudou_Goku uses some custom version of it in his Grand series 
8 Likes
Indeed I do for gen 2.
4 Likes
I think eschewing this question entirely and just living through the enjoyment of new ways to hear the same music is what drives most.
Canât say any hobby follows any sort of logical progression - they all are inherently flawed in that each person experiences differently, has different budgets, different needs to have the best. Yadayda, hedonic treadmill, consumerism, etc.
I absolutely agree on the waste and how that could be a negative. Itâs something I think about a lot and have focused on buying second hand as a result â good value + most IEMâs are pretty damn durable!
Thatâs not to say itâs an invalid question though! Iâve certainly entertained it before.
2 Likes
Iâm never buying something directly from FatFreq again. Theyâve pushed back their shipment of Scarlet Mini preorders again, without telling anyone. You have to keep hounding them on their website to get an automated email telling you theyâre pushing back shipments again and again.
FF is prioritizing shipments to retailers like MusicTeck before people who preordered on their site. I paid in full over 2 months ago and still no shipment of my order. Theyâre also charging a 10% refund fee, which would be $62.70, just to cancel the preorder. This should be illegal but I donât think any country has laws against it, except maybe the EU?
This guy ordered from MusicTeck last month and already got his Scarlet Mini. People like myself paid in full for our Scarlet Mini over 2 months ago and FF is now saying December to January when their original shipment was supposed to be October to NovemberâŚ
Sorry for this small rant. Figured Iâd let people know not to buy anything from FatFreq directly, unless you donât mind waiting months for your item to arrive, with no communication from FF. Other people have had similar stories with their orders of more expensive IEMs like the Grand Maestro and Maestro SE. I shouldâve listened to them.
20 Likes
Thanks for the heads up I was seriously thinking about getting the Maestro Mini. Then a few folks here ran into delays and other issues. The restocking fee after this long seems very scammy.
On a brighter note and at a totally different price point, I gave the Castor Black a try, and I get ToneDefMonkâs love for it. I think I have landed on DUDD for the switches. It is nuts that a $16 IEM sounds that good. I hadnât tried any of the bass tuck style tunings before, now I feel like I should get the HBB Khan ( it is one of the few HBB sets I donât own ).
I never would have expected to say some nicer about KZ than FatFreq.
4 Likes
How did you pay? I think they donât get your full payment. Paypal and others take a fee from seller when transfering money. I donât know about 10% thoâŚâŚ
1 Like
Iâm never buying a KZ product, regardless of how good, bad, or inexpensive they are.
Theyâre a horrible company and will not get a cent from me, ever again.
If you want a FF product, buy used or from a retailer that has them in stock. Unless you need to go custom, then prepare to wait months and have no communication from FF. Good luck getting any problems sorted by them after the sale too.
4 Likes
PayPal. If they donât want to incur major fees, then donât take the entire payment in full from customers up front and make them wait months. Preorders are usually small deposits no more than $30 or a small percentage of the final cost. It was my mistake for trusting FF with my money. But yeah, PayPal wouldnât charge vendors 10% of final productâs value just for using them. No business would use PayPal if they did.
2 Likes
If you used PayPal for your pre-order you could open a case and PayPal will get your money back without cancelation fee⌠I did that once when i accidentally ordered something from FF website
(it was grand maestro and the fee would have been very high)
4 Likes
Thanks, I might give that a try.
1 Like
2 Likes
Whatâs going on, compadres? I picked up another IEM on a complete whim. I wanted to try something a bit different this time, so I went with something that breaks almost every rule I go by this time to hopefully shake things up a bit.
A little bit of a disclaimer here that I feel needs to be said; Gareth Chan from HIsenior and I have been going back and forth for a little bit on Facebook and I have to say, the dude is just a standup guy. Iâm not sure if the dude actually runs the entire company of Hisenior, or if heâs just a rep but either way, keep that in mind when reading my quick write-up here. Heâs a nice dude and heâs been kind to me so whatever bias that may present whether consciously or subconsciously, it needs to be noted. The TLDR version is towards the bottom if youâd like to scroll down now.
Test Tracks, tips and sources used;
Summary
â˘Goon - fruiting body
â˘Mega Mango - OMG!
â˘Chastity Belt - different now
â˘Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile
â˘Courtney Barnett - small poppies
â˘Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener
â˘Big Thief - Simulation Swarm
â˘No Vacation - Days
â˘Men I Trust - Tailwhip
â˘Men I Trust - Sugar
â˘High noon - not the one
â˘Paramore - Decode
â˘Paramore - figure 8
â˘Just Mustard - In Shade
â˘Ludwig Goransson - Can You Hear The Music
â˘Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song
â˘Pearl Jam - Alive
â˘Everything yes - My Turn
â˘Varsity - alone in my principals
â˘Varsity - cowboy killer
Daft punk - infinity repeating
Daft punk - horizon
Daft punk - give life back to music
Daft punk - voyager
Wild Painting - Waves
Parcels - Everyroad (Skip to 6:00 for Sub Bass attack)
Sources;
FiiO BTR7 on High Gain using the 4.4 mm output
Topping D10s and L30 Desktop Stack
Apple Music Hi-Res Lossless
Tidal Hi-Res
A few Local FLAC and ALAC tracks
Tips used;
Tanchjim 300 (vocal)
H570
Clarion
Also, just a shout-out to @ToneDeafMonk for the rec. I was in between a few sets to buy in order to find some excitement in the hobby and he recâd the T4 instead of the Ziigaat Cinno/ARRTI R1 and Iâm glad I went this route. He also connected me with Gareth from Hisenior so, thank you, sir.
With all of that out of the way, the Hisenior T4 is a proper pair of IEMs in my humble opinion but I donât think theyâre market-breaking or anything in that regard. Thatâs not to say theyâre not an all-around fantastic pair of IEMs though. First off, the presentation;
For about USD 199 (I got them for about $152 with all the AliX coupons and discounts during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday week event) everything from the box design to the actual unboxing and accessories included are probably top-notch for this price range. Thereâs no struggling here when trying to get the sleeve off the black packaging underneath like some other brands, it slides right off. Once you open up the rest of the packaging, youâre presented with a very large and well-made mini pelican-like case with a little handle on top. This case feels like itâs made extremely well, with dividers inside to wrap the cable up in and the IEMs to sit in their own individual pockets to avoid scratching and damage during transport. Not to mention, each shell was shipped individually wrapped and separated from the cable for further protection.
Not even my Monarch MKIIs were shipped like this. That attention to detail and care must be noted. Thatâs class packaging compared to the rest of the market. You also have a healthy amount of accessories included, most notably, the new modular 3-in-1 cable. There is no need for me to cable roll with this IEM. While the cable itself doesnât match the IEM in terms of aesthetics, it has great behavior and doesnât seem to tangle at all. There are plenty of tips ranging from Foams, to various silicone. They all appear to be more or less generic style tips but there is a full set of those turbine tips, these things;
I didnât try them, but Iâve heard good things.
The shells themselves are extremely well made, seemingly from resin, they are smooth, comfortable, and beautiful.
One thing, however, is the nozzle is fairly long and angled in a way that, for my ears at least, creates a ridiculously air-tight seal. I mean, outside noises are almost completely muted with no pressure build-up that I can detect. If youâre a person who doesnât like deep-fitting IEMs, you probably wonât vibe with this set. Itâs deeeep. Similar to the Penon Fan 2 so if youâve ever tried those, youâll know what I mean.
On to the sound, these of course like lots of other IEMs in 2023, have switches on board. I think Iâm now Iâm at my limit in terms of images for this post so Iâll link @ToneDeafMonk squig, so that thereâs a visual aid for what Iâm about to say.
The Switches donât do much, which is why I really donât f with IEMs that have switches, I find them fairly gimmicky until you get up in the money bags territory like with the Grand Maestro for example. My favorite setting though is probably the âVocalâ setting. I find that even with a few fewer dBs of lower mids and bass, it allows the vocals to breathe a little bit better. Due to the lack of a crazy Harman-style ear gain (thank god for that) and a fairly linear bass response that doesnât flatten until about 600 Hz, the extra treble from 6k onwards helps distinguish the vocals and some percussion from the bass, creating a nice separation between the two ends of the spectrum. The Bass setting is a touch too dark, the balanced setting is again, a touch too dark, and the Soundstage setting while also very nice, sounds a bit too⌠muddy even. Iâm struggling to find the right verbiage and muddy is a gross exaggeration but it just seems like the bass glide almost needs to flatten by 450 Hz rather than 600 to create that better separation and layering effect for the type of music I listen to, which is a lot of Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, some Jazz and some Electronic/daft punk style of music.
In the vocal setting, I find thereâs ample bass here to satisfy most of us, bassheads you can find your way out. But in typical BA fashion, the mid-bass is fast and snappy, with good texture and detail whilst lacking that decay of a DD, and the Subbass, while present, isnât as powerful as I would like. Iâd like about 5 dBs more of a lift there in the sub-bass region for some of my music to really pop and have that solid foundation (Fruiting Body by Goon, Do you hear the music from Oppenheimer, Not The One by Highnoon) but I digress. It isnât a huge deal, the sub-bass is felt and heard, for sure, for my preferences though, Iâd like a touch more with better rumble. I always compare all other sets with the Monarch MKII in this regard. While the Mid-bass from my pair of Monarchs is rather mushy and soft with plenty of power, the Sub-bass is probably the best Iâve heard overall.
The rest of the FR is actually pretty easily summed up - itâs probably near perfect for my preferences. The gain is just right, vocals are quite literally perfectly placed in the mix with tons of texture and breathy qualities. Female vocals have a touch of warmth that adds some body without sounding drowned out. The treble in the vocal setting is great, plenty of details to be heard here without ever sounding the least bit harsh. Iâd like a touch more splash in the 10k - 15k region (think EA500) but regardless, this treble shouldnât offend anyone.
Overall, Iâd say the Hisenior T4 is a great pair of IEMs that deserve their $200 price tag. From the packaging to aftersales support from Hisenior, to the SQ, Iâm surprised these arenât more popular. I know the Simgots and the Truth Ears of the world exist, which is probably the main reason why honestly, but for me, the relaxed pinna and the long gliding low-end response is exactly what this hobby needs right now in the never-ending sea of Harman tuned IEMs.
Iâve never owned an all-BA IEM until now for fear of lacking mid-bass, BA timbre, and pressure build-up. But I can confidently recommend the T4 to anyone whoâd like something a little bit different and is looking for this style of tuning.
TLDR version;
Tuning is superb 
Timbre is natural, non-BA-like at all
Comfort is subjective, but these work for me with no pressure build-up and fantastic isolation
Packaging and accessories are top-notch for the price category
Good detail retrieval and overall resolution
Could use a little more sparkle and lift in the mid to late treble 
Iâd like more sub-bass
Mid-bass is not DD-like. Decay is missing (@GooberBM this one is not it, pimp, but itâs close)
Deep fitting (Subjective)
Not the widest/deepest/tallest soundstage and not the pinnacle of imaging either
Thanks for reading gents, have a fantastic day 
18 Likes
Nice to see some love for T4 @domq422, my turn to say to you this time. Awesome photos 
Finished my review on Hisenior T4 over at head-fi.
Musical and relaxed tuning, overall warm tilt with lush midrange.
Been my daily driver for over a month now, I want to spread the love and shipped it for some friends to try now. Will be missed meanwhile.
Feel free to read if its of any interest, cheers.
8 Likes
Excellent, thoughtful review, my frood 
I scrolled down, but seeing the tl/dr scrolled back up and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
I made a different play, but if things had been just a little differentâŚwell. I have my eye on Hisenior now.
Thanks!
3 Likes
Way too kind, sir, thank you so much
It also appears that our ears work very very similarly. Your pro and con points at the top of your review almost mirror exactly what Iâve tried to write down here on my write up. Now I know who else to follow for reviews on various IEMs in the future considering our HRTF and tastes match well 
Also, of course, your pics are incredible as always. Fantastic review, brother.
2 Likes
Wonder where this new term (from you) came from. 
2 Likes
New?!?!?
NEW?!!
Fool, you better cut it out 
Iâve been using this term for nearly a full year.
but your detailed posts are a treasure, never stop 
Nah, I understand HRTF in the sense that everyoneâs is different. For example, @GooberBM and I have a very very similar HRTF and weâve proved this on multiple occasions with our random library meet ups in Boston. Weâd sit down, listen to an IEM back to back, and when sharing our thoughts weâd have similar if not the same thoughts on it. My HRTF hot point is about 3.2k and his I think is a little bit less than that. Otherwise, our views and tastes regarding IEMs is about the same. Heâs just never impressed is all 
On the other hand, @MMag05 and I have very different HRTFs. I was thoroughly disappointed with the Symp. Meteor and he absolutely loved it.
2 Likes