Yes! Finally someone pulled this together. Thanks for doing it @ nymz. Not that the other earbud forums have been bad, but it is nice to see this happen
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To my ears the Kai seem more well rounded than the Mele (which I still adore) in that when I listen to something that has both male and female vocals they both come through more even on the Kai than the Mele. It also seems like it does the same with instruments where I hear a bit more over the bass and they seem to come in a bit more organic (or should I say natural?) too. Curious what your thoughts on that might be!
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Hello SriV,
I bought the Shouer S12 and I have been amazed by its technical capability ever since and have been loving using it for several hours at a stretch. It has taken my listening time from all other IEMS/Headphones almost making them obsolete. After using it with Qudelix 5K(Balanced-240mW /ch), what I have realized is that S12 responds really well to eq. Having tried EQ with several other IEMs/headphones in the past, I can say with confidence that S12 responds predictably and accurately to eq. These are the settings I used. These are the results of my tweaking of measurements averaged from Crinacle, SuperReview, Precog and Banbecumas posted by Psyquo. Let me know if you like it 
Pregain: -1
Peak:63hz|0.5db|Q1.414
LShelf: 170hz|2.1db|Q0.7
Peak: 700hz|2.2db|Q1
Peak: 2256hz|-6db|Q1.1
Peak: 3594hz|3.8db|Q1.8
Peak: 3788hz|1.2db|Q0.63
Peak: 6800hz|-5.2db|Q3.5
HShelf:15000hz|0.2db|Q1.5
Cheers,
Vel.
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Thanks for sharingā¦understandable on eq since Q5K is not warm source.
But I only has to apply low shelf 50hz by +2db (z12?) when using my Ovidius B1 on Neutron player.
Interesting findings
- Neutron player has 64bit processing
- Neutron player has pcm to dsd conversion
Both of these require immence hardware intensive task and stuttered on L2B and E44 donglesā¦but Ovidius B1 eats those high data push from Neutron like a cake walk. This is when i realised though L2B has superior dual dac its USB bridge hardware should be inferior not capable of high data push. Same case for E44 i can not use both Neutron features at the same time. But not the case with B1 though its hardware is not disclosed fully but its superiorā¦check specs B1 is 4 channel undisclosed akm the other dongle dac chips are only 2 channel.
Believe it or not my penon pac480 cable (it could be impedence or more cores) which improved soundstage note weight etc.
Finally I fed the output from B1 to my mt604 (have to use 3.5mm to 4.4mm adapter first and then 4.4 to 4.4 interconnect to feed mt604) out of the moon really. Dont have any urge to change anything or add anything for a medium term say 2 yrs.
Thanks.
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Oracle mk1 at a reduced price of 450 euros vs Oracle mk2 at a price of 600 euros. What do you think? Not sure
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They are pretty different and fit different libraries.
To me the only questions is how Mk2 stacks vs EJ07m and others, more than vs its OG.
I prefer Mk2 to the OG, but thatās mainly due to bass quality and more controlled vocals/mid-range, as the unit I have on hands (lol unit variation on OG is crazy) is too forward.
The bigger questions is how you like your treble and extension to be. OGās is much more subdued.
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Thanks a lot. I feel like donāt like ātoo muchā treble. But I am also not against EQāingā¦ Currently I use Olinaās and S12. The S12ās are sometimes a bit too bright without EQ.
Iām not sure this will help with so little information on ur preferences/library, but my preferences will gravitate torwards Oracle Mk2, Mahina or EJ series when around that price backet, only considering tribids.
I can see the appeal on Oracle OG but it doesnāt click to me. I much prefer RSV for what I think OG does best.
With a bag of salt, regarding tribids from memory:
- Mahina if u want warm and dark;
- EJ07m if you want bass quality over quantity, with sub-bass elevation and treble to still be on the darker side;
- Oracle Mk2 if you like EJ07m but want more treble energy;
- Variations if you want harman target and hate mid-bass warmth.
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Thanks a lot for you quick reply 
think Variations is not for me, as the nozzle diameter is a bit too much (I donāt want to risk it). Regarding EJ07m an Mahina, I have to do some more research first
I listen mostly to Pop / Rock / RNB. The Oracle mk1 looked interesting because of the discount I could get on it.
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Oh, thatās @hawaiibadboy playground. Oracle OG is def a rec from his side and a bargain at that price, given his preferences! Talk to the guy, but I can antecipate a āHELL YESā for OG at 450$.
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Thanks a lot! Iāll ask him
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ā¦ā¦ orrrrr the tea/tea 2 if you want a freshly baked 
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That makes a ton of sense. For most rock music the guitar is central, so the Kai puts them forward a bit more than Mele, and vocals seems to benefit as well.
Most planars seem to take EQ well
Pulling that extra treble down really makes a difference on the S12. The short bus mod constricts the treble by narrowing the tube.
Agreed, the BTR5 is slightly warmer to my ears, and still my favorite portable DAC/Amp.
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Also - I think based on your description and genre choice that you would looove Xinhs Erasmus. They are like Tea for 1/2 the price. They are maybe slightly less smooth in top end, but still amazing. I donāt know what exactly you listen but they take The XX, Jamie XX, Bruno Mars, Michael Kiwanuka, Rhye, Big Thief like champ
My new favourite of 2022 and it is a great year.
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Olina SE and Olina OG (new sample):
HZSOUND HEART MIRROR (pro is on the way, somehow this got here first):
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Going from the Kaiās Iām really thinking of going to the Mahina since I feel I want/need a bigger-er sound which Iām hoping theyāll deliver on
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Thatās a nice thought. If you love the KAI, I donāt think uāll go wrong with Mahina
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If i remember correctly, you already reviewed the HM a while ago.
Let me guess: you gave them away, and now that the pro is coming, you want to compare it to OG so you have bought it again?!
I sadly donāt have much hope for this set: I was kind of disappointed with OG HM, that just appeared as a shouty set for me whereas many reviewers praised it for details. For me it required an extensive tip rolling to make it listenable; it didnāt make it really good, though.
The funny thing is it graphs like Aria but doesnāt sound like it at all, according to chi-fi reviews.
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Bingo.
HM has pretty good technicalities for itās price, the tuning is what it is. I was a big fan, lets see how that holds up
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Yes I remember. I even blamed you for my buying of the set 
Iāll listen to it this evening, to remember why I donāt like it 
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