Recently managed to score Thieaudio Hype 10’s for half price and while i think theyre very good, i do find them to have too much bass and not enough uppermids/treble at times, it very much depends on the track and if i really crank them the highs come through, but i try to listen at slightly lower volumes nowadays. But im also thinking that technically other iems may dissapoint after hearing the capability of the HYPE 10’s, so is EQ the best option in my case since i got them so cheap?
For now i have EQ’d them however i would like to find an IEM with my preferred sound without having to EQ much/at all. Also own Kiwi Ears Quintets and i boosted the uppermids/treble by a few db on those aswell.
I usually listen to classic and alternative rock, and i often strive for iems that bring out a punchy snare, bright cymbals, hi-hats and snares hence my EQ choices. Im not sensitive to treble at all, if anything im pretty sure i have some hearing loss in those areas due to blasting headphones in my teens lol.
Just to give some context, i own the hifiman sundaras (slight bass boost) and i really enjoyed the sound of the meze 109 pro’s as well as dt1990.
Ive attached an image showing the EQ im using on my sony NW-A55 just to give a rough idea of how im happy with them sounding. I also had the HYPE4 and had a similar EQ profile, but i found those much darker than the HYPE10 as well If anyone has good recommendations id be very grateful.
Just throwing this out there for a rec to check out and possibly saving you some $ if you like it, check out the Dita Project M. It seems to be in the ballpark for the sound profile/tuning you are after.
hype 10 is overkill and would beat any set with eq so no need to buy anything else because every iem got some sort of deformities in its fr and you always have to eq no matter what you buy. that smooth graph and 12 drivers per side makes it an eq machine. try these eq presets, first one is brighter and second one is cleaner than hype 10s tuning without treble boost.
Preamp: -4.6 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain -4.1 dB Q 0.200
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 44 Hz Gain -1.1 dB Q 0.300
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 170 Hz Gain -2.1 dB Q 0.900
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 670 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 0.900
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 1600 Hz Gain -2.6 dB Q 1.200
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 3300 Hz Gain 4.5 dB Q 2.000
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 4300 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 0.600
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 6200 Hz Gain 1.9 dB Q 1.200
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 8200 Hz Gain 0.6 dB Q 0.500
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 18000 Hz Gain 4.5 dB Q 0.200
Preamp: -2.9 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain -4.1 dB Q 0.200
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 44 Hz Gain -1.1 dB Q 0.300
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 170 Hz Gain -0.9 dB Q 0.900
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 670 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 0.900
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 1600 Hz Gain -2.6 dB Q 1.200
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 3300 Hz Gain 4.5 dB Q 2.000
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 4300 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 0.600
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 6200 Hz Gain 1.9 dB Q 1.200
IE600 is another contender here as I dont find the bass intrudes on anything even if they are capable of delivering it. my favourite bright set Ive heard.
This has been said before but I think you can get the Elysian Pilgrim for a good deal nowadays for I got mine for $245 instead of its usual price of $400 which is really cool for me to finally own an IEM from a brand that I never thought I will be able to grasp it on my hands and have it as my own.
As for the others, I am still learning for I don’t have a clue on most sets on the upper ranges for this is like my first time dwelling on it and as I said, I never given it thought that I will be able to get a set that is like $400 or above. But yeah an another suggestion, I am not sure if these are Neutral bright but at least they’re neutral, and that would be the Hinsenior Mega5Est which is like my next target and probably the very last one that I would get and finally take a break from this hobby, which I wish for real.
makes it an eq machine. try these eq presets, first one is brighter and second one is cleaner than hype 10s tuning without treble boost.
