You said that Variations has a better treble extension, but from 12-15khz Aria seems to provide more than +5db and more than -5db from around 10khz to 11khz:
Would you consider Variations clearly better extended or just different in terms of treble?
Have you had the chance to compare the Blessing 2 with the Variations? The graphs look very similiar, but Iād say the Blessing 2 has a pretty bad treble extension. Worse than the Aria, but I never got the chance to compare to the Variations
DAC question: would Variations benefit noticably from something like a Hidizs S9 Pro or Qudelix 5K (what Iām tempted to buy) vs Apple dongle( which I own right now)?
Yes. Tribids like more power than regular iems. Both options are great.
Guess Iāll bite the bullet. Might as well upgrade my DAC when Iām already spending USD450 for an IEMš
Finally got my Variations and stumbled upon my first issue.
The stock silicon tips even using the largest pair donāt provide a great seal.
Any recommendations for aftermarket eartips (L/XL)?
Hereās my rundown of what tips are good for Variations. Take note that Azla tips are already one size larger than other brands:
Thanks ser. Iāll order one tomorrow
The SpinFit CP155 are great, as if they are made for the Variations. Might wanna try those :3
Yeah, I owned the B2:Dusk, Variations and Aria together at one point (I do not have the Dusk anymore since I decided to sell them), and I really like them all.
In terms of Treble extension, Iād consider the B2 better compared to the Aria, but not by much. The Treble on the Aria is smoother (which I consider good), but also less detailed. Thereās a certain sparkle that I got on the B2 that the Aria missed, but then again, made up for in smoothness.
Yeah, I really think the Treble response is better, both compared to the Aria and the B2. The Variations is actually better in all points compared to the B2 imo. Treble just sounds more spacious, detailed and sparkly. Not to say about female vocals; the Variations has one of the best representation of those of any IEM Iāve heard.
The Aria also came across as much more coherent. The B2 has great separation and detail retrieval, but Coherency has always been its weakest point in my opinion. The Variations is also very coherent to my ears.
Those are also the reasons why I sold my B2: I kept the Aria for itās smooth, relaxing and coherent sound, all while performing excellent at itās price point. And I kept the Variations since itās a significant upgrade over the B2 in all points to me. I never really got back to the B2, even though itās a great IEM, especially for its price, and the first truly good IEM I ever got myself. So instead of it lying around all the time, I decided to sell it,
Sure, makes sense to sell it, if the Variations is just plain better.
Itās interesting, that you find the treble better on the B2 than on the Aria. I had the opposite experienceā¦ I had the B2 and Aria and found the Arias treble to me more prominent and liked it FR better overall. I still sold the Aria and kept the B2, since I EQed to a point, where it sounded better.
Today I got the timeless which - so far - I consider an upgrade to the B2. I would love to compare the Variations with the Timeless, but I guess Iāll safe the money. Maybe once the Variations 3 is released in 5 years. Too early to say if I am going to sell the B2. Maybe it is not bad to keep a backup/reference, but the Timeless has better (sub)bass and treble and detail and doesnāt need EQā¦ I came to like the fit of the B2 though, even though my ear still get a bit irritated if I used them for >4 hours at a time.
I am confusedā¦ I am just watching Michael Bruceās review and he says that the Variations is not vented, even if it clearly looks like it. Whats going on?
Link with timestamp:
In the comments he says
The Variations is NOT vented and has a huge bore tip
Can someone confirm/deny?
It is vented. At least it feels to me like it is when I insert the Variations into my Ears.
Maybe Michael confused it with another IEM in that regard?
The Variations is still on my shopping list, buy a non-vented design would immediately make it uninteresting. I assume Michael must have mixed something up. Thanks for your response 
My king under 50 is the Revonext QT2s. Itās basically the KZ DQ6 without the treble harshness and more midbass impact. But itās still a bright and energetic IEM, just the way I enjoy. Of course, the only downside are the details - donāt get me wrong, Itās still very good for the price though, but if you are used to higher end IEMs, you will miss them.
The Endgame IEM For K-POP Listeners
Hi guys! Happy New Year! Iāve actually been holding off from writing up my final impressions/review for this IEM but since itās still the weekend and Iām in the mood to finally share my final thoughts on the Variations. The tracks that Iām going to share are mostly the ones that I have not shared before and they tend to be unforgiving sound-wise. If you wanna join along for the ride, I have the links available for you guys to try it out with your own IEMs!
Gears Used
There is something I would like to note here, fitting issue can be a thing. While it has been highly comfortable for me to wear, I have given some of my friends to try it out who had smaller ears, and they donāt seem to like it very much but ended up loving to wear the Mele, FH3, and FD5. So just a heads up fitting wise!
Kpop tracks tends to focus on sub-bass, treble, and vocals. Their tracks also needs decent imaging and soundstage to make their instrumentals to breathe a lil bit more. They are also different than english songs due to Kpop tracks tend to be more on the busy side and having multiple vocals in a song.
My tracks mainly consists female vocals as well. I may be comparing a lil bit from my other IEMs (Mele, FD5, Starfield, and FH3). I recently had the time to demo the Blessing 2 as well and will mention a lil bit of it when I start sharing the tracks below. Letās get started!
EVERGLOW - FIRST - Starting with the show stopper. I did not enjoyed listening to this track while I was demo-ing the B2, but Variations just fixed everything. At the 0:34 - 0:58 mark shows how the vocal stays clear and detailed while the instrumentals in the soundstage and imaging just helps to spaced them out to a comfortable degree. Vocal placement throughout the entire song is wonderful and thatās one of the Variationsās strong suit. With having multiple vocals in a song, the Variations is able to showcase them all.
Red Velvet - RBB - Speaking of Vocals, this is the PERFECT Kpop track to test your IEMs just for the vocals in general. Itās a vocal, sub-bass, and treble focus track. The memberās vocals throughout the entire song is just so detailed. At the 0:42 - 0:55 mark, I did not realized how pronounced their āHeās a really bad boy~ā whispers in both channels to be so realistic like they can be whispering to your ear in person. There are just so many things to highlight in this song so if there is one song I would high recommend to listen in this list, this track would be the one.
LOONAās āSo Whatā. Just right off the bat in the pre-track at the 0:05 - 0:44 mark, shows not only how amazing the imaging can be in the instrumentals and the details of the clangs in both channels, but also the bass rumble really gives a taste of what the variations can do in the sub-bass region and this is only the pre-track.
At the 0:57 - 1:13 mark shows a repeating brass instrumental in the background and will be through out the entire song. What I have noticed was how much more pronounced the brass was with the variations compared to my FD5. Previously I felt the brass was a little bit too messy but the imaging in this really helps put the brass slightly well placed towards behind your head which gives space for the vocals in the mids to breathe.
At the 1:27 - 1:51 mark showcases the background vocals throughout the chorus. The āBa ba ba badā, āIām so badā, and āSo whatā in the background vocals just filled around your head and doesnāt sound grainy at all and continues to be crystal clear despite the instrumentals being busy.
GFRIEND - MAGO is a synthwave-like 80s song. I have said previously that one of the Variationās strong suit is the vocal placement right? At the 0:51 - 1:25 mark, the main vocals will be around you in both audio channels instead of your usual forward vocals.
The variations excels greatly in that department which made most kpop songs that much more enjoyable to listen. The vocal space before the final chorus at the 2:28 - 2:44 is a good example to not only have details of the vocals in the mids but also the details of the supporting background vocals in both audio channels.
So does The Variations have weaknesses? Yeah, they definitely do. While the vocals and the rest are great and all, the sound of the guitar riffs and details from actual drum kit sounds tend to not be great. Dreamcatcher is there to help me show some of the details that the variations was lacking.
Dreamcatcher - You and I - The Vocals are understandably amazing here but so does the FD5 surprisingly. Mid-bass, guitar, and the drums are the focus in this song. At the 1:49 - 1:58 mark, while the drum kick detail is present in the variations, I find the FD5 to have more āKickā to it which has more impact in it leading up to the chorus.
Speaking of chorus, at the 1:58 - 2:27 mark, you could barely hear the bass guitar in it but it was more pronounced and in there with the rest of the instrumentals when I listened back with the FD5. The guitar, while is there, it kinda overlaps with the drums and the bass in some parts in a āmehā which I suppose the tuning in the variations did not want to focus on.
The earlier Dreamcatcher tracks are a good set of examples for me to test out the rock side of kpop with female vocals. Dreamcatcher - PIRI is also a good example if you wanna listen more of a guitar focused song. So yeah, The Variations totally lose some points there if Guitar, mid-bass, and drums are the focus in your music library in general. The FD5 continues to be my companion when listening to Dreamcatcherās discography.
We have now come to the final 3 tracks which brings out the best of The Variations.
f(x) - 4 Walls - is just an amazing track in general. Itās a sub-bass, treble, and vocal focus song. There is something ethereal in their vocals, especially during the chorus at the 0:44 - 1:00 mark. A song recommended to try it out with your own IEMs.
MAMAMOO - Taller Than You A diss track about each otherās height? Yes please. Their vocals are just so fun to listen to in general, especially āMA MA MOO~ā. At the 0:37 - 0:46 mark, it was really playful of them to use the left and right channel for the vocals. I personally did not noticed that with my other IEMs and itās probably more detailed here in the variations. The instrumentals are pretty simple so thereās nothing to shout about, but the vocals are just so fun here with the sub-bass rumble throughout.
Red Velvet āDumb Dumbā is one of my favourite kpop songs of all time and I have yet to find another song that says the word āDumbā through out an entire song. The vocals in this track has a much higher tone and itās fairly sub-bass and treble focus as well. The āDumb dumb dumb dumb~ā vocals the entire is such a delight to have in both audio channels. The sub-bass seems to be more focued on the mids while the vocals are more focused around your ears instead which feels like youāre in their world.
The one thing I can highlight is the homage to Michael Jacksonās title tracks at the 1:57 - 2:24 mark during the bridge prior to the pre-chorus. I just love that moment so much and I want to share that to you guys.
In Conclusion:
I hope you have an understanding why I think The Variations can be Endgame for a kpop listener. While kpop group songs tend to have forward vocals in some tracks, but when there are 4 or more members in a group, the composer tends to put vocals of other members around your ears instead of putting them in the mids, which is why I feel that soundstage and imaging can be quite important when listening to Kpop. They can sound very messy if the IEMs soundstage and imaging are lacking. The detail resolution certainly helps as well.
That concludes this post and my final impressions of the variations! This post ended up being quite a lengthy one so I have to apologize on that 
If youāre mainly a kpop listener, The Variations is truly endgame. It certainly did for me! I know there are a hell lot more kpop songs that I can share and give my impressions on with the variations, but I can only do so much.
Iām not sure if my impressions helps decide your purchase but I hope it also helps you to understand what kind of IEMs tuning you need for Kpop. Last of all, thank you so much for reading, take care, stay healthy, and may you guys have a wonderful new year!
We need our own IEMs Forum member crew wearing black suits.
Which cable is this?
Senlee 8-Core Cable
Unfortunently I skipped Variations on Black Friday. When can I expect the next price drop, does anyone know?
