Those types of tunings beg for volume to be raised. I’m more into slightly U shape tunings 
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I was noticing how similar they were just yesterday - EST usually means you hear more treble than is graphed, but these do both look “inoffensive and perhaps not punchy enough”. I’ll have to hear the Moonlight for myself soon, never heard Tea 2. Just riding off graphs.
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Ah I see, well I don’t particularly like more treble so I think I’m good hahah. I wish there were more variety in the $300 range of IEMs. Blessing Dusk 2 were too bright for me, and while I do like the Mangird Tea 2, they really are a slight bit too safe and inoffensive. It’s good if I tune out everything and focus on the details, but a bit more bass and brightness would be nice hahah
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Definitely seems to be the case hahah. Slightly more U-shaped would be nice for some fun
Just a reminder that for iems that you find being too bright, you can fix it by applying a damping filter on the nozzle. Might save you a lot of money that way.
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TRI X HBB KAI Review/Comparison: Deep Waters
Hi guys, I want to start this review by emphasizing that one of my favorite IEMs is the Mangird Tea, meaning, I LOVE a darker tuning since it allows for more scaling and thus immersion… however, in order for the sound to not feel cramped and lacking detail, good imaging, separation, and dynamics are needed. This is where the KAI falls short in with its higher frequency dip and lack of drivers. Don’t get me wrong by itself it’s still a good IEM, but the problem is that there are too many other competitors around its sub $100 price bracket. But before we get into comparisons let’s talk about the pros and cons of the KAI.
PROS:
It’s $70. If you want a meaty, warm, and bassy IEM then the KAI is for you. Note-weight is heavy and authoritative, and the bass is boomy and hits you right in the face. It’s great for older hip-hop, and pop/EDM. I wouldn’t say its basshead level but its close. And due to its lack of treble extension I can crank this bad boy up without any fatigue. It’s great for loud volume listening as well as all-day sessions, and if you just want something to rock your head to and not care much about technicalities then this is the set for you. Plus, it looks stellar.
CONS:
As for the areas of improvement, they have little to do with the actual tuning, but rather the lack of drivers to reach KAI’s full potential. To better understand this I’ll briefly explain how resolution is determined; there are 3 main aspects to it: Dynamic Extension, Separation, and imaging. Dynamics refers partially to tuning, BUT MAINLY how much of the frequency range (20hz to 20Khz) the IEM can cover and how well/smooth it covers it (so no sudden dips and jumps or little jitters). If an IEM is missing a certain part of the musical frequency then naturally it’s also missing all the information in that area. BUT, this doesn’t mean you need the entire frequency since many areas are better off dipped too avoid sibilance (and some regions we can’t even clearly hear), but rather, it’s where the dips occur and how well an IEM transitions from those said dips.
EDIT: To clarify, when I say sudden dips in frequencies I’m referring to sudden changes in volume from a louder frequency area to a quieter one, so difference in loudness and quietness. Dynamics is the change/difference in volume from the loudness parts to the quietest parts which is affected by the recording–> which the sound can then be affected by the tuning of the IEM through taking away or adding certain parts of the frequency which alters the pre-existing loudest and quietest levels of the track when it finally arrives to your ears.
So, you need enough extension for resolution (the TEA for example), but most importantly a balance to both the low-end, mid, and higher frequencies is needed. This is because if you have too much bass WITHOUT ENOUGH DRIVERS you’ll run into the problem that the KAI faces, muddying details in the mids. And if you don’t have enough treble extension or air, then you’ll also face the issue of having the sense of congestion and a sense of smaller soundstage. Here, the KAI runs into both issues: due to the smaller/reduced stage size from the dark treble, the bass is automatically pushed forward in nature as well as other instruments, resulting in a lack of depth when it comes to soundstage where everything is placed right up to your face, and instruments and vocals have a much smaller area to play around in, which again, would be fine if an IEM has amazing separation and imaging that allows precise attack and fast decay that allows the music to flow freely without anything getting in the way, but if an IEM doesn’t have the hardware to do so then it simply results in a muddying and blending of sound blasting in front of your face. This is why cheaper IEMs tend to go with a treble-favored tuning since it allows for more air and space for everything to transverse in due to the lack of hardware at their lower price point.
The Mangird Tea by-passes its issue of darker treble and less air with its more balanced tuning (much less bass takes less room/attention from other instruments and more treble extension) and 6 additional drivers, resulting in great separation and precise imaging, and allowing for an “around your head” staging experience that I think the KAI is trying to reproduce but fails so mainly due to its lack of hardware and the rest to its tuning. As the result, timbre is off as things are boxed in due to the smaller staging, and vocals, although forward and non-fatiguing, lacks detail and sounds muffled. Voices are loud but unclear, if that makes sense. Soundstage wise instruments/vocals are not well-separated for imaging to be precise enough to have an around your head experience like the TEA; this results in a wall of sound right up to your face without much depth and 3D.
As a metaphor, think of resolution as rocks in a river, or the sea in KAI’s case. The better separation an IEM has, or in other words the more separated the rocks are from each other, the easier to see those rocks and pick out the details/texture on each of them with different rocks being different instruments/vocals. Too much bass and not enough treble extension will muddy the waters, making the rocks harder to see, and a combination of muddy waters and unseparated rocks is where the KAI currently stands: hard to see, in deep waters.
COMPARISONS:
Now, how does it stack up to other IEMs around its price? Well, for the past week I have been A/Bing the KAI with the Airship, Olina, Starfields/Aria, and Chu and here’s what I found:
BASS:
- KAI/Airship/Modded Olina
- Olina
- Starfields/Aria
- Modded Chu
- Chu
MIDS:
- Airship/Modded Olina/Olina
- Starfields/Chu/Modded Chu
- KAI/Aria
TREBLE:
- Olina (mid volume)
- Airship/Modded Olina
- Modded Chu
- Starfields/Aria/Chu
- Olina (High volume)
- KAI
VOCALS:
- Airship/Modded Olina
- Olina (mid volume)
- Modded Chu
- Starfields/Aria/Chu
- KAI/Olina (high volume)
SOUNDSTAGE:
- Olina
- Airship/Modded Olina
- Starfields/Aria/Chu/Modded Chu
- KAI
IMAGING:
- Airship/Modded Olina/Olina
- Starfields/Aria
- KAI/Chu/Modded Chu
SEPARATION:
- Olina (barely better than #2)
- Airship/Modded Olina
- Starfields/Aria
- Chu/Modded Chu
- KAI
TIMBRE:
- Airship
- Modded Olina
- Olina
- Starfields/Aria
- Chu/Modded Chu
- KAI–> Due to cramped staging from dark treble KAI sounds boxy and unnatural
CONCLUSION:
So where does the KAI stand? Well, in my opinion there are really 3 options: 1. If you like bass it would be better to grab the Olina and do the double filter mod (which is audibly pretty much the same as the Airship) or the Airship if you don’t want to mod. These 2 sets are a few steps ahead of the KAI when it comes resolution, staging, as well as dynamic extension. It won’t hit as hard as the KAI (note-weight is lighter and less warm) but is overall the much better IEM especially the Olina at $100 which is well-worth the extra $30 from the KAI.
-
If you don’t like warmness and that much bass then I would grab the Chu at more than half the price of the KAI but with better resolution and more natural vocals. You can also mod the Chu (add 2 Olina filters or similar) and get more bass and smoother high-mids/treble with less muddiness than the KAI, although at the cost of less scaling, note-weight, and bass.
-
And finally, grab the KAI if you just want something to rock to at high volumes. It has the best note-weight and volume scaling out of all of them, but of course at the cost of resolution and technicalities.
If you have the Melee already I wouldn’t recommend upgrading since they are very similar which is I didn’t bother putting it on the list… Unless you want the bling 
-And there’s no point in getting the Starfields/Aria since the Chu (especially modded) is the better tuned version of them at $20, and Olina is the upgrade to both at $100… I’m not an Olina shill I swear they’re just that good guys 
Overall still a nice set. Curious to see how it sounds with more drivers, and air 
Ranking: B-
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I think you would enjoy the Canon then
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my KAI has been in my city for 3 days and still not out for delivery… maybe next week lol
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Interesting approach by a reviewer to keep up with the rapid launch schedule of IEMs. Not sure I dig the reviews style - is he so experienced that he can spend 1 song and give a rating? 
I love how his preference is Aladdin > Moonlight > Canon 
won’t be chasing him with a pitchfork though - just YMMV and it’s a hobby!
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Came here to post that as well. Yeah, experience gives you that. I usually get my first impressions of 1 or 2 songs, I just keep doing more for the shake of assurance. With his backlog, I’d 100% do the same.
I like the honesty and price checking, as it always puts things into perspective.
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I tend to do it (one-song testing) when I tip roll. And I can tell you it can’t tell you the whole story: I was surprised when I tested some other tracks, as they hit some frequencies the 1st song didn’t hit. But it gives an approximate, a first glance of what the differences will be.
Is the approximate enough is an question each one has to answer for himself.
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I’ve come to realize that my preferences align more closely with Crin than HBB.
Moonlight is going to be too safe, too smoothed over for me and so the Mahina will be a no go for me…
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I mean it is not a rating of the performance per se, but rather rating of the perceived potential as he said right? I just finished watching that in the morning and it just aligns with my perceived expectations of his taste. I am just wondering - if he did not measure those IEMs upfront and did not have the FR chart in front of him it is hella impressive that he can quite correctly compare the tuning of tested IEM to specific IEM from his memory
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IIRC he doesn’t measure them until after he listens as to not influence his views of said iem.
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Crin also says like (at least) three different times, these are impressions. Not a review at all. I mean I don’t take his (or any one person’s) opinion as gospel but I’m also going to be fair when it’s warranted.
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Yeah I understand, but I’m not sure what the utility of an impression and rating will be if he doesn’t follow up with full reviews? Guess we’ll never know if those impressions ever change, right? Not sure if he said that he’ll do full reviews of select IEMs…Gizaudio (I know he does work for Crin) also does impressions, but then he follows up with full reviews. Anyway, nothing against the man - I preferred his previous style (announcing rating of many IEMs in one go)
In Crin’s case, as he explains in the second disclaimer at the end, is that his first impressions are about deciding if a set is even worth his time to do more listening. That makes total sense, considering the amount of sets he could have to listen to at any given period. For example, he’s only doing impressions on the Tri Starsea now, when that’s been out what…around 2 years now? He’s very much a “I get to it when I get to it” type, so I get it.
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Happy to see him taking an interest in UM MEXT! but I’m pretty sure he has graphed it before.
I agree the competition is tough and I only bought it cuz I can get it for cheap. UM should’ve put ESTs and make a killer v shaped set 
I was interested in that AQ4 response - if it’s that bassy but the signature takes it well, that’s impressive, and if you contact them on Aliexpress it can be bought for $140.
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Ya like @nymz said for impressions only 1 or 2 very familiar songs are enough to know; I do it as well haha songs with high dynamic ranges and busier tracks are usually used to feel out the potential. He does rank them later on his website I think, but Crin only does review videos for the most popular ones.
Also, interesting that he didn’t like the Moonlight even though it graphs very similar to the Aladdin 
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