Yep same for me, Kill Jill’s bass drop was on a total other level, I actually laughed out loud and shock my head in disbelief, no set has done that in a very long time.
Man if you had been there Saturday you could’ve borrowed my set for the duration I’ll be there again next year so if you go just hit me up
I honestly preferred the GM with the new SuperStage Module over Storm and taking in consideration the £2.5k price difference, I could’ve snagged the GM and two modules, a Cypherus Audio Black Dragon Susvara and a Cadenza 12 which if I had £5+k of loose change in my pocket that’s where it would’ve gone
Glad you enjoyed your day there too bro
Edited…I’m waiting on Chang’s final tuning/price for his new bud, that might well be my next purchase.
Valid question, but very hard to answer just based on memory, I won’t do that to you. But quick thoughts are as follows;
MEST 2; well balanced and slightly bright leaning with a big emphasis on stage width, height and depth. Crimson has better bass and more palpable treble to my ears with a more forward upper mid range that’s still smooth. I haven’t heard MEST 1.
U12t has shockingly good bass for an all BA set, but it lacked excitement to my ears. (U12t has probably the best BA bass I’ve heard up to this point not counting the STORM because, well, that just isn’t fair.)
Tia Trio and Nio are both very fun IEMs. Just going off my notes the Trio is warmer and more engaging in the mid range with a subdued treble. the Nio had less bass but a more expansive sound stage with more energy over all in the upper mids and treble.
The U4s is another all-arounder that did everything fairly well, but just didn’t stand out as special to my ears.
The Prestige LTD is a beast of an IEM, it’s great to fantastic pretty much everywhere with a more palpable treble compared to the Crimson. You can’t go wrong with the LTD imo. I preferred my pair of Monarch MK2 because of the mid range sweetness but I could see other people preferring the LTD due to the more impactful bass.
I’d still take the Crimson over all of the sets I just wrote about besides maybe my pair of Monarch MK2. The Crimsons are damn near end game detail, resolution and staging with the trade off being the treble being a bit too forward for most folks. It wasn’t for me, but that is something you need to keep in mind.
Symphonium released a retuned version of the Crimson called the Euphora recently and by the graph, it appears to have more bass and less treble compared to the Crimson. Maybe the perfect IEM for some folk.
Got asked to share about this one here also, 1DD + 8BA hybrid IEM for $300. Bought this directly from Sound Rhyme after I saw the measurement.
Finished my review today on Sound Rhyme SR9 from another thread here, thick bassy sound with good treble extension. Intoxicating and fun sound, I have really enjoyed this one.
Please read if you find this interesting, cheers.
The GM is quite good, you’re right about that. I love how versatile that IEM is without being gimmicky at all. That’s an intelligently designed IEM, befitting of the price tag imo. The STORM, well, that thing is just a cheat code. It’s the best IEM I’ve heard to date but it better be for the price of admission.
I get that. The metal GM w/SuperStage…dam, it’s such a complete dream package. One and done fo sho’. The one I’d get to exit. I don’t think I can say the same about Duality or Storm. On the one hand incredible dynamic bass, the best. and on the other…Storm brought an immersion factor that was off the chart. They took some time to explain their design goals to me and feel they got very close. I’m gonna stick my neck out and say I think its an accomplishment and most likely stands alone it what it does.
Thanks so much for that offer. Even on the 2nd hand market, its too much to blind buy. I know price doesn’t guarantee anything, but tbh I did hear the difference from say mid-fi to top end (confirmation bias?) and that’s one reason why I sometimes avoid CJ…to not know. It’s been an exciting few years to see price barriers being broken (I have new appreciation for the tactility I get from the LM driver) and yet summit-fi prices also extend to new heights. Now I have an idea what’s out there these days, the times come. I’m sure everyone here deserves to have at least one great performing set to enjoy music on.
It’s a set for sure, add the SuperStage module and it’s for me, I’ve never heard Joni Mitchell’s Lesson in Survival/Let the Wind carry Me so well presented, I was totally dumb struck and I’ve listened to those tracks 1000’s of times on many ’s sets and 2 channels and there was me doing a brilliant Goldfish impersonation, eyes wide open and jaw dropped lol.
We may have a near-centenarian new audiophile in our midst – my father, who turns 96 next month!
Pop doesn’t understand my headphone hobby. Every time I tell him I bought a new set, he responds: “Jesus! Another one?” He doesn’t understand different sound signatures or sound quality – until yesterday.
He lost his charger cable for his cheap wireless earbuds, so I brought over a USB-C cable for him yesterday. I also brought my TRN ST7’s and an Apple dongle, for sh*ts and giggles. I had him try the ST7s, and he loved them even though the Liqueur tips were far too big for his small ear holes (the exact opposite of my Lincoln Tunnel ear holes; is he REALLY my dad? :)). I’m heading back over to his house today to fit him with properly sized tips.
Anyways, I have gifted Pop my ST7s and Apple dongle and before I order another pair of ST7s, is there another hot set under $30 now that I should try instead of the ST7? I like those because of their spherical stage and good imaging, but their resolution leaves something to be desired across the spectrum. I get it – it’s a $25 IEM.
Still, what else should this lover of classic rock, hard rock, alt-country, Americana and bluegrass try? I tried the vaunted Trio, and it was just OK. To be fair, I probably didn’t tip roll enough with that set. But anything else I should give a go for $25 or less?
As an older listener, he might need more upper mids and treble than I would usually consider recommendable quantities, to compensate for natural gradual hearing loss. Exactly how much though I’m not sure. I love this story, keep us updated!
The ST7 seems well matched in that regard. So you’re looking for something tuned similarly with better resolution?
Oh wait you mean for yourself now that you’ve passed the ST7 on
My personal affordable recs would be:
VE Bonus IE, $20 bullet shape, V-shape, probably not going to give you refined resolution but fantastic for rock etc, I think timbre’s great.
I had a shootout of several budget offerings here, all 3 were decent:
Also although it never hit me as too special, a lot of people think the tuning of the Wan’Er is excellent for its price point.
And dare I ask… but at this price point, would your use cases permit earbuds by any chance? Some incredible bang for buck if their open-ness isn’t an issue, and you can get a fit with earbud shells.
Yes, I’m referring to me. SORRY for that confusion!
Pop is stoked with the ST7s, even if he doesn’t know what’s better or worse. Happy Pop, good Pop.
Appreciate the recs. I’m willing to try earbuds. Would bring me back to my third-gen Sony Walkman days in the 80s, when Sony packaged them with flat buds instead of foamy on-ears.
Others, please keep the recs coming, especially for IEMs! Thanks.
My favorite budget set is Tanya DSP. It might lack in mid-bass for rock but other than that it’s fantastic for the price.
FYI, I didn’t try the new crop of budget sets to compare to.
Dunu Titan S2 is more expensive but seems like a good buy.
If you want a VE Bonus IE, I can sell you mine for cheap or trade for something else if you are in the USA.
I like the Tanya DSP, but I think the One DSP has the mid-bass you want for rock. I own both and the only complaint on the One is the sub-bass rolls off a bit, but you can fix it with the DSP. Those two sets sort of went the opposite direction on the bass tuning.
I had both at the same time and I preferred Tanya even though I typically like more mid bass.
There was something in the treble around 10k that made it splashy and slightly sibilant. It could have been insertion depth…
i have an HYPE 2 and ERSE in my humble collection. Will Truthear Hexa offer anything distinct on the table? It is on sale and i heard quite a bit ooooh…aaaahs about it.
@Raptor168 continuing the discussion on bullet style IEMs here for you. Final Audio has some good bullet style IEMs, in case you’re interested on upgrading. Or if you want a budget set, Tanchjim Tanya. I think @Rikudou_Goku can advise you on Sony’s bullet offerings
I’ll be there again next year so if you go just hit me up 
< GM, Storm, Cypherus Audio Black Dragon Susvara and I don’t quite know why Cadenza 12 lol…but here we are 
set for sure, add the SuperStage module and it’s 
for me, I’ve never heard Joni Mitchell’s Lesson in Survival/Let the Wind carry Me so well presented, I was totally dumb struck and I’ve listened to those tracks 1000’s of times on many 
’s sets and 2 channels and there was me doing a brilliant Goldfish impersonation, eyes wide open and jaw dropped lol.
He doesn’t understand different sound signatures or sound quality – until yesterday.
