Has anyone who owned the Xenns up tried the fiio x crinicle Fhe eclipse? I know theyâre completely different price points and type, but the graphâs have some of similarities.
Yes!!! The UP gets praise from the man Z. He had me rolling with the Italian dish with gold flakes analogy. Love that he pointed out that theyâre just great to listen to. Iâm with him that Iâd get rid of 5 other sets before I got rid of the UP. If theres ever a colab of the UP Iâm on it instantly.
Zeus gestures more than he speaks. I wouldnât watch any more of his reviews, I donât like the presentation!
Well he is mostly Italian lolâŠZâs like Marmite you either love him of hate him but heâs one of the most entertaining and polarising reviewers for sure
Itâs rare that both Z and HBB agree on an IEM, they both gushed over the Xenns - even though this set seems to split the crowdâŠ
Itâs right up my alley too! To me it feels in a lot of ways like if the Serial was made as a tribrid. Enough similarities in overall character that when I was going back and forward between them for a week or two, Iâd sometimes loose track of which I was listening to.
Well there must be some differences, right?
What would those be
Iâd have to have both to be accurate about that, both had characterful rather than generic bass as beryllium and biocellulose have character in different ways⊠Iâm struggling for vocabulary on how the feel of the two differs there though. Bery has faster attack and slightly faster decay, a tad more clout. Bio has great texture and a very natural attack/decay even if thatâs slower at times.
The emphasis each gave to bass, mids, and highs felt about the same.
Note: one reason I didnât think the Up was as bassy as Iâd heard tell is actually because mine was missing some bass in one channel, someone was able to graph them for me. That person went on to get Xenns warranty on them which seems to have gone well but I never heard them fixed.
A little more treble detail with Xenns thanks to EST, and separation thanks to driver count, but Serial had it beat for timbre with dynamics handling everything⊠plus as time goes on I feel like treble on the Serial isnât the weak spot I once did, I actually think itâs very good.
Out of the two I feel the Xenns could sometimes lead to volume creeping to get a little more excitement out of the mids versus the Serial.
I think thatâs all I got.
Besides the technicalities made available by driver count in the Up, I consider them equals more than anything.
The UP is one of the few sets out right now I really I want to try and its due to my enjoyment of the Serial
Honestly with the $559 11/11 price itâs at right now, youâre not gonna find it much cheaper on the used market, itâs a buy IMO
Youâre right. Somehow this slipped between my eyes. Gonna add it to my 11.11 list!
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 Serialâs bio DD. For example the beatdowns on Parkway Driveâs Horizons have (to my ears) just the right amount of force and sustain with the UP, whereas I find the Serial is a bit âlightâ and the slower decay hangs around a bit too long. (Flip side is on stuff like Public Enemy where the more âorganicâ Serial comes in to itâs own, majority of my library is faster/harder stuff so UP gets more listening time.)
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 âAnalogueâ playback, doesnât try to go for an overly articulated âHiFiâ 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, wonât show you what it can do with a mere dongle from a phone
- Stage could be more immersive still, youâll 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, itâs not huge.
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.
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
These arrived today. I briefly listened to them but have left them âonâ to Burn-In for now. Any eartip recommendations?
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
AZLA Crystal short for me the BGVP W01 was excellent sounding as well. Still waiting on some JVC 09 Tips to show from Japan.