IEM discussion thread (Part 1)

I’ve learned that damn quickly with this latest interaction with him - super stand up dude, just messaged me out of the blue before he even got the set and was like hey, you want to try them? Send them back whenever, I’ll even cover shipping.

It’s people like that that really make this hobby undefeated. Allows me to kind of escape the depressing nature of everyday life from time to time.

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Trust me, man - I almost fell for it too, @GooberBM will tell ya :clown_face:

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Ya can’t agree more. Also messaged me and sent me the EJ07s. Absolute champ. I wanna return the favor, but it seems like he has either heard or owned the sets I have… Not sure if he heard DM or RSV yet but ya.

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Speak of the devil… look what just came in my mail box:



#111 letsgooo

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Jeez - that’s pretty huge of him. I too wanted to return the favor but I can’t imagine I own anything that he’d want to hear, or that he hasn’t owned. I’ll think of something! Also, nice to see your Ultras come in, congrats - happy listening!

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The Truthear Hexa is my new default recommendation at the sub-$100 price point. It is a nearly perfect purchase at its price, with my sole complaint being the relatively slow bass articulation.

My full review, with measurements and additional images, is available here on HiFiGuides and on my blog.

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I too have been listening to the Hexa a little bit tonight. After about 30 minutes of listening, layering and imaging are a stand out for this set. Resolution is surprising for the price tag. Every instrument seems to have its own bubble to play in, it’s addicting. Bass is not going to satisfy bass heads however I will say, that for the amount of bass it does have, it satisfies me with it’s glide into the mids. It lends a small touch of warmth to male vocals and things like violin for example. I don’t have much to fault, honestly. I’ll listen to them more, but if there’s one con I would have to mention I guess it would have to be that female vocals and high hats come off a touch thin to my ears. Consonants may also breath some harsheness to the mix for poorly recorded tracks (trap and EDM in some cases).
They’re extremely comfortable, and the cable is better than I expected - it’s slightly prone to tangling but nothing crazy considering the set is $80. The cable is a lot better than most offerings at the price tag.

Listened on the BTR7 and I used Radius Deep mounts for what it’s worth.

So far so good!

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SA6 Ultra first impressions:

  1. This is all BA? Sounds more like a DD
  2. Super coherent, no crossover issues between FR
  3. Dynamics are very well done (smooth/even transition between FR with treble contrast)
  4. Vocals are chef’s kiss has alot of detail and bite to them without thinness or too sharp
  5. VERY CLEAR and DETAILED
  6. Great mid-bass separation on bass-guitars and kickdrums
  7. Lots of air and treble is well executed and extended (doesn’t sound like BA plastic/like DD)
  8. Gorgeous mid range on par with EJ07 and Serratus.
  9. Would like more low-end impact (sub-bass/slam)
  10. Female vocals and treble can have too much bite at high volume (77db+)
  11. A better tuned Oracle2 with a wider stage IMHO
  12. Unfortunately fit hurts my ears LOL here we go again :rofl: :rofl:
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Pretty much my thoughts exactly. Would like more note-weight, coherence, and overall sharpness, but at $80 it’s hard to complain what you’re getting, especially when it comes to tech. Might need to A/B with Olina, but off memory I prefer the Hexa more and will probably be the new $100 benchmark. It’s also a better tuned, “softer”, B2 Dusk imho.

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I listened for about an hour more after I posted and it seemed like brain burn in was in full effect because holy - at one point, I was absolutely lost in some Jazz. I think the set lends really well with music like jazz, where there aren’t many busy passages and each instrument can shine on their own. The plucks from the stand up bass and the kick drum from the percussionist were perfect accents to the sax or trumpet being played.

They do play slightly incoherent with things like Locket by the band Crumb, but honestly, it is not a deal breaker. I think the set is absolute winner.

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Sorry to hear about your fit woes, they fit my ears like a darned glove! Maybe some tip-rolling could alleviate your issue (up or down a size maybe)? I have found in the past that some sets play better in my ears with medium tips where others need MS or Small for the best sound/comfort/fit.

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Manged to pick up a set of DUNU Vernus. Boy what a great sounding set popped on some spin fit W1 tips and the FiiO pro cable from the FiiO fh5s and sonic bliss. The fit is amazing can’t even feel them in my ears. Amazing sound signature so much more pleasant than the Falcon Pro. Dunu is a strange company that releases limited runs of iems that sound a level above their standard iems. It’s genuinely confusing the thought process going on.

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Glad they’re snuggly for you! I’ll keep trying :joy: might need to go down a size on my left ear. Currently rocking M left and L right. They seal perfectly fine, but just that it gets uncomfortable (stabs against my ear ridge) after 30 minutes on my left.

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Hard agree; I don’t think that they expected it to be as big of a hit as it was, and it’s a real banger! I still hold out hope that at some point they’ll make a “successor” model that won’t be as limited, maybe in another neat colorway!

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Since the nozzles are so stubby, you may want to try some tips that have longer necks (or, if you have them, dual- or triple-flange tips) to keep them from pressing on you! I know how you feel though, I’ve had to let some units go because the fit JUST didn’t sit right with my ear shape (Zen, Provence, Ze Tian Wu).

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I’ll give that a try! See if I can find any :+1: Btw how you liking the SA6U so far?

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Maybe if they had done this once I could buy that. But now that they’ve done it with the SA6U too, you cannot convince me that this isn’t deliberate and that they know exactly what they are doing!

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Oh, they do. Look at all those suckers who bought the SA6U… like me :stuck_out_tongue:

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They are excellent. I have zero complaints for an all-BA set (and I think these are among the units that can change peoples’ expectations of what an all-BA set can do!), and with the tonality, I think that I may be keeping these and letting my U6t go (at least until The Storm lands). I find that I like the Ultras most with wide bore tips. The most surprising thing about the Ultras is that, although I don’t find them lacking for details or highs, they never get uncomfortable or out of control for my ears.
Actually, I do have one complaint, and it’s the cable; it has an amazing build but it is way to stiff for my normal use and I don’t like how long it is with the adapters at a right angle. Those are just personal use nitpicks though. I currently have them paired with a Tripowin “Moss” cable, give a Chrismas vibe with the red/green lol.

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It’s got to be a matter of tooling or costs for “short runs” of the special editions, otherwise why would they not do extended runs? I’m also not sure what agreements (in this specific case) they may have with either the sole retailer (Hifigo) or influencer (Zeos Pantera) where they may be mandated to only do a limited run, possibly even down to the specific configuration. @sebastien_chiu_iFi may be able to shed further light, but then again, he may also not be allowed to share all of the information.

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