Youāre right. Somehow this slipped between my eyes. Gonna add it to my 11.11 list!
1 Like
I have both - but not much I can meaningfully add to what @rattlingblanketwoman posted above (and he is way better articulating this than I am anyway).
For me the difference comes down more to library, and more specifically genres. Just my take but the Be DD in the UP handles faster stuff better than the Serialās bio DD. For example the beatdowns on Parkway Driveās Horizons have (to my ears) just the right amount of force and sustain with the UP, whereas I find the Serial is a bit ālightā and the slower decay hangs around a bit too long. (Flip side is on stuff like Public Enemy where the more āorganicā Serial comes in to itās own, majority of my library is faster/harder stuff so UP gets more listening time.)
2 Likes
My very short sound review of the Xenns UP is posted on Head Fi here
Mangird Xenns Up | Super Short Sound Review | Peanutbutter & 1/2 of the Jelly
Pros:
- Warm āAnalogueā playback, doesnāt try to go for an overly articulated āHiFiā sound but still resolves well
- Bass like they installed a miniaturised, industrial hydraulic press in each shell - thick, forceful, controlled, textured and wholly dynamic
- Great clarity and vibrancy in the midrange
- Delicate EST treble, applying gently dispersed treble notes that works well with overall tuning
- Good imaging and some 3D - with right tips
- Never sibilant, splashy, abrasive or wince-inducing, smooth as a wet seal
- Almost no BA timbre that can be detected, thanks Sonion!
- Satisfying and convincing note weight
Cons:
- Would benefit from +1-2dB shelf from 5kHz-9kHz for a snappier, rawer experience
- Would benefit from more separation & wider stereo imaging
- Require the right tips to get proper stage dimensions. (strongly recommend shallow and wide tips like Spiral dots)
- Scales a lot with power, wonāt show you what it can do with a mere dongle from a phone
- Stage could be more immersive still, youāll occasionally be reminded that sound is coming from tiny drivers in an earshell rather than simply appearing from inside the virtual stage of the song.
For those who tried/bought the Thor MK2 ($399 Single DD) and wished for the complete package, this IEM is it. Fit is very good, itās not huge.
9 Likes
Comparing the ISN H50 and the Xenns Up - things that ISN H50 does better/I like better:
More energy in the treble while also being even
A wider, more enveloping and immersive stage with amazing stereo imaging
Even better coherency (due to being merely a hybrid?)
Subdued upper mids, they are slightly too forward for my taste in the Up
Everything else goes to the UP I think. Bass is nuts.
1 Like
Look like you can get any Xenns or Mangird customized no extra charge according to the fellow I bought it from.
Xenns store on Taboo
10 Likes
These arrived today. I briefly listened to them but have left them āonā to Burn-In for now. Any eartip recommendations?
6 Likes
cp100 (L) spinfits for me - but tips and fit/seal are going to be personal/unique to you so YMMV (a lot lol). The UPs do have special sauce though so time spent tip rollin is 100% worth it 
3 Likes
AZLA Crystal short for me the BGVP W01 was excellent sounding as well. Still waiting on some JVC 09 Tips to show from Japan.
1 Like
So which are your impressions?
I think the overall tuning here is interesting and for the most part I like this set. I was waiting a bit to buy and try some tips before posting my impressions since my tip collection is pretty paltry as shown in the pic below and I donāt have any wide bore tips which seems to be the recommended type of tip for this IEM.
Iāve been listening to the UP from various sources like LG V60, HiBy RS2, Chord Mojo 2 & HiFiMan EF400. Overall, XENNS UP sounds a bit Mid focused to me with slightly Intimate Stage and good Bass presence. There is zero issues with harshness and sibilance with the sound and itās tuned in a way that does not sound dull or boring so thatās great.
Bass: The Bass here is Mid-Bass focused and almost perfectly tuned for my tastes. Almost, because I think a bit more elevation in the Mid-Bass region and also a bit more present Sub-Bass would have been nice for me. There is no Bass bleed with any of my sources so thatās also good.
Mids: The Mids are great and like the Bass, almost perfect for me. There is good body and decent texture for an IEM of this style of tuning. The āSā sounds donāt sound over pronounced even with some bright sources so thatās another good thing. The one issue I have is that sometimes, female vocals can sound like they lack some energy and sparkle.
Treble: The Treble is the one area that I have mixed feeling about this set and also the part that seems to be very tip and source dependent. For me, I would have liked a bit more energy and sparkle in this region. Itās not dull or boring but a bit more airiness and sparkle here would have been nice. As it stands, paired with some neutral to bright sources like Mojo 2 or V60, I donāt have anything else to complain about.
Imaging & Stage: The stage size is a bit Intimate but itās got some decent depth which gives it some nice layering. Separation is also good if not excellent. It took me a bit to get used to the Intimate presentation coming from the Hook-X but after getting used to the UP, I donāt mind the Intimate presentaition as much as I did initially.
Detail: Is Ok, itās capable of presenting good detail but I donāt think it can compete with some other sets that do a much better job. At the end of the day, I donāt feel like Iām missing out on anything and donāt find it fatiguing so thatās nice.
I see the XENNS UP as a secondary set that will compliment nicely a primary set of IEMs like the Mest MKII, Oracle, IE 600ā¦ e.t.c. rather than keeping it as a primary set. Itās not the most resolving, detailed set with wide airy soundstage but it is something Iām picking for long listening sections, infact about 3 days back, I listened to the UP for 5 Hrs and never felt tired or bored which is something I canāt say about many IEMs.
Iāll update here when I find the time to research and buy some tips and try them on the UP. Currently, Iāve already got the AZLA Crystals, Spring Tips & Spinfit W1 in my cart and am waiting to research a bit more on tips before making the purchase.
3 Likes
P.S. for those who like to Cable roll. I tried the XINHS Hybrid Cable shown in the pic above and thought it smoothed out some detail which is not something that goes well with the UP. Other than that, it might have pushed the vocals back a tiny bit but the difference is very small and not worth thinking about.
A few said the JVC 09 tips were excellent on the UP so I have some incoming from Japan.
The EST took a bit to come foward If you believe in burn in at all then the UP gets more balanced. I keep giving them a listening rest just to keep confirmed what I hear. Thanks for sharing your impressions. Cheers.
1 Like
Finally got my hands on a Xenns up set through a trade. Oh man, theyāre excellent. Had some tri clarion tips, and they work great. Not sure why I hesitated for so long (price, treble).
3 Likes
Iāve recently made the switch from Tidal to Apple Music and like the overall experience but since Iām on Android, there is no exclusive mode and I find the lack of bitperfect signal a bit annoying.
Iām considering getting a DAP with Android OS and lossless audio support (no android resampling), what DAP would you recommend for the XENNS? I like the DX170 currently, looks nice and seems to have all the features Iām looking for.
1 Like
Thereās a couple in the same price range as the dx170. I have not heard, but I imagine the class A amp module on the Hiby r5 gen 2 plays to the Upās strengths. Iām a sucker for the Shanling sound, and the Up sounds great on the m3 ultra. It does not have as much power as the dx170 or R5gen2 (great battery life though). The only complaint Iāve heard of the dx170 is a sluggish OS.
The Shanling m6 ultra is a bit more, but I can imagine they would pair quite well. Hiby also just released the r6 gen 3 for $499. No reviews yet though
1 Like
Thanks for the recommendation. Iāll also create a thread in the source section and see what other recommendation pop up.
Finally ordered AZLA Crystal Standarad, Spinfit CP145, Moondrop Chu (for Spring Tips), Tanchjim T-APB. The TRI Clarion were out of stock at the moment so will get them later on.
1 Like
I have the DX160 and the two together are great the Cirrus Logic chips are great synergy.
I dont play games on my DAP and it runs just fine people who say it runs slow are doing stupid shit on thier music player instead of listening to music.
UAPP search is not slow.
Thatās good to hear. I have been reading up on the DX170 and have zero doubts that it sounds good. I am however worried about UI and music load up speeds when using streaming services though, especially Apple Music because Iāve seen posts from 2 users complain about slow UI speeds with DX170 & Apple Music.
@ToneDeafMonk any chance you have tried Apple Music on your DAP?
On to the main topic, I forgot to say this before but in my post about the XENNS UP impressions, I was using the Spinfit CP360 as that sounded the best when compared to the other tips I had like the stock tips, Type-E, Campfire Foam, KZā¦
1 Like
I have not tried apple music on it no.
I reason O mentioned UAPP misic app was because people also said the same thingb that 3rd party apps or launchers were slow. But I didnāt see that with the DX160.
Maybe we just need to learn to move slower , sit back and enjoy the music.
And I will take music over function any day.
Same reason i liked the AKM Geshelli Labs J2 over way more expensive Sources with fancy stuff and remotes.
Music first and i can figure out two buttons without a remote. Yup I will take that trade off.
TDM.
1 Like
my guess is some people are hitting the ram limits, with my hiby r5saber spotify/uapp/vlc are fine but deezer would freeze for 3 or so seconds every time I switched songs/unlocked the screen
3 Likes