Mobileaudiophile.com (MBA) Corner

IEMs / Other In-Ear Monitors (IEM)
141

Absolutely fair. Sometimes, the most detailed IEM or headphone is not the right one. Things like Estat overear cans have the most amount of detail I’ve ever been able to experience in my life, but the timbre is so strange I know I wouldn’t ever be interested in one unless I go with one of those Uber expensive Stax sets.

I also personally go with aftermarket tips always, but I understand from a reviewers point of view why you’d want to use the stock tips, to get a better understanding of the entire package.

1 Like
142

Hello. It was not clear to me in your Oh5 article which tips were the most appropriate. Are they the wide mouthpiece or the narrow one?

All the best.

143

**Exactly. You can’t know how a dessert with a fruit on top tastes without consuming it all together in its OG form. Sprinkle some more sugar on it, and it will have a dull taste without any contrasts. Or subtract some and have a bland lump of whatever.

2 Likes
144

According to what I recall, the oval tips produced excellent results.

145

Or add some hot fudge and kick it up to the next level :relaxed:

1 Like
146

Lol, yeah, it is an option.

But considering that I switched from a V30 to a dx300 as my source and that they are both neutral or reference grade for different budgets, using BAL output and saying it in the writeup is the most I can bear. Putting on makeup to look very pretty or applying modifications to speed up the car are against my ethical values. And if I am reviewing that girl with many layers of makeup or the car with various modded equipment, it will be confusing for the reader and me.

1 Like
147

Oh I gotcha. I was just being funny in that you were giving examples of modifications that lessen the effect of the results, so I had to be a smarty pants and give an example of improving the results.

Definitely not trying to argue you should review in any kind of way that would question your own ethics and personal feelings. You do you the way you need to do you!

1 Like
148

A decade and a half ago, I thought, “I had to hear what everybody hears.” And it was my motto at the start of my reviewing career. It still is :wink:

149

I can be boring to death because my lifelong career affects my hobby with the holy rules of ethics :laughing: :laughing: I am a psychotherapist and coach who got fascinated by IEMs.

4 Likes
150

UGH you’re the worst. @Lcg842 is working on her social work masters and all I ever hear about is the NASW Code of Ethics.

BLEEEEEHHHHH, keep your ethics out of my hobbying :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

5 Likes
151

:laughing:

I am MBA, and I review with the whole Code of Ethics in my memory. :stuck_out_tongue:

2 Likes
152

IMG-1265
IMG-12651920×3413 499 KB

Now Tin Hifi C5 10MM SPD here, thanks to Linsoul and Tin Hifi. Its looks are so similar to those of the Tin Hifi design language. The cable is detachable, which is not new for Tin Hifi. But it’s using a 2 pinned socket, brand new (after Tin Hifi DLC), and welcome to Tin Hifi!

The treble sounds thin on the drum’n’bass of the Pendulum. The source is the legendary V30. I will check that track with dx300. His voice is shouty and distant. I want to believe that this is only because of the source. Background resolution is meh…Everything looks unfinished as of now. But the power needed is pushing v30 limits hard. The sound level is close to maximum, and what I get is moderate to high volume.

However, it fared well in David Gilmour. Drums are smacking on their surfaces. His voice is textured with years of PF. But yet, he is not alone on the stage. Instruments and back vocals are too close to him. And the basses of the Get Lucky sounds muffled if you pay attention.

DX300 time

H gain now. Get Lucky had discovered the luck that Daft Punk had never known. But it’s suffering from a lack of shimmer. Pendulum’s Propane Nightmares - Live at the Brixton Academy Pendulum - Propane Nightmares (Live At Brixton Academy) - YouTube is disappointingly one-sided. Layering is hard to hear.

David G “Rattle That Lock” He is deprived of some elements that make this song nice. I can’t hear his lips opening up before he starts singing. But hopefully, every element is now spaced out.

I have mixed feelings about it. I’ll sleep over it and listen again. But the current situation reminded me of Senn IE80, which needed +250 hours before sounding decent. I fear this might be one of them

15 hours later. I sat down and started listening. I heard tight and somewhat thin basses in electronics. And vocals are separated from electronic instruments too. Okay, basses doesn’t have a spectacular resolution. David G.‘s Rattle That Lock is pretty okay in general, albeit with a slightly more energetic timbre than how it should be. Technicalities have faded out by ½ . And Pendulum sounded distant as usual, the melodic structure beneath is hard to hear. It was a reason I loved using Propane Nightmares Live at the Brixton Academy. The album version doesn’t have that in the climb of the song to its verses.

Boy, I love the second chance at listening and taking notes. 1st time, you’ll be comparing it with your sonic experience (if not to a specific iem) but the second time, your short term sonic memory is refreshed, and you can hear the real earphone. Let this be a note for everybody and future generations.

#iems-other:in-ear-monitors

1 Like
153

I’m a psychotherapist (clinical social worker) focused on iems too!

3 Likes
154

Yuppie! 1 might be chance, but 2 within the same borders can’t be a coincidence. :heart_eyes:

1 Like
155

YAY FOR CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKERS! :grin:

Unfortunately, I can’t use IEMs, cause I use hearing aids, and I suffer from IEM FOMO, despite having access to earbuds. :slightly_frowning_face:

3 Likes
156

A colleague of mine just received his new hearing aids. That subject really interested me: he has integrated Bluetooth and integrated dsp with correction based on his own frequency response. He even have an app to tune the FR himself, so he can raise bass if he wants.
At the end of the day, I wonder if he really needs any other earphone/headphone/bud anymore :thinking:

2 Likes
157

IMG_1312
IMG_13121920×770 123 KB

IMG_1314
IMG_13141920×1158 284 KB

IMG_1316
IMG_13161920×1161 289 KB

First impressions of Fosi Audio DS1 before its review__

I heard that the Fosi Audio DS1 got a lot of bad press because it looked like Moondrop Moon River 2. Maybe. But let the sound speak instead. I will be comparing it to Truthear Shio in my review too. The battle between the dual CS43198 and Quad(?) ES9038Q2M will be worth seeing, as was the epic deathmatch between planar iems (evil grin) https://mobileaudiophile.com/vs/trivs-of-3-planar-iems-ii/

The sources are V30 and Neutron. It’s playing so transparently and revealingly over the Salnotes Zero sound. But the treble seems buffed up by a quarter. My main problem was the mixed feelings caused by the fact that these two devices controlled volume (and thus power output) independently of each other. I remember (verified ASAP) that pressing relevant buttons made changes in the overall gain level in Truthear Shio. The Neutron’s vertical gain display on the right isn’t moving if I press the + or - button, but the level in my ears rises or falls.

Letshuoer S12 is freely displaying its planar nature, and the same level of transparency applies. However, I can tell that Zero has a more serious face. And DS1 toned it down slightly, but the results aren’t the same with S12. Blues Rock of the Blues Brothers doesn’t have that blues with DS1 when used in combination. On the other hand, I maxed out the volume from its built-in rockers, but 40/100 of V30 means mid to high volume as the result.

Deathmatch and more details are waiting for its review. It must beat Shio when handling k240 600oHm. But considering two frequently visited iems, my first impressions are positive, even though they are not at Shio’s level positive - it was a love at first sight. PS: Here is Shio for those who wants to remember how it was: https://mobileaudiophile.com/dacs/truthear-shio-dac-amplifier-review/

#iems-other:in-ear-monitors

1 Like
158

1750077947952080606
17500779479520806061000×522 58.6 KB

So said our team member Chris:

Shanling MG600 First Impressions

The link provided contains my first impressions of one of Shanling Audio’s newer sets, the Shanling MG600. Thus far, I have been extremely pleased with this set, as it is one of the best built, best looking, and best sounding sets that I’ve had in quite some time. So, I figured I’d publish my initial thoughts to the website. I thank you very much for reading, and please take care.

#iems-other:in-ear-monitors

3 Likes
159

Absolutely stunning faceplate/shell design. That blue stabilized wood look has always captured my heart.

Great write up :handshake: seems like an interesting IEM for sure.

1 Like
160

image
image2048×1152 639 KB

image
image4032×2268 1.66 MB

image
image4032×2278 1.95 MB

image
image2268×4032 1.96 MB

Read Mahir’s take in Hidizs MS5 Dark Angel has been first impressioned with the balanced nozzle after the extensive listen from it’s first moment at hand.

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: HIDIZS MS5 DARK ANGEL
IMPEDANCE: 5.3Ω
SENSITIVITY: 104dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 40KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78MM)
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER + (4) BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVER

I feel like 4/3 experience of TOTL iems are on the way (so says the guy who had reviewed UM Mest MK2 https://mobileaudiophile.com/reviews/um-mest-mkii/ and Noble Audio Kadence https://mobileaudiophile.com/reviews/noble-audio-kadence-review/ before). And power is obviously enhancing it’s slightly bass favoring yet huge and detailed sound.

#iems-other:in-ear-monitors

3 Likes