Thanks for the info. Firstly, you can ask the man himself, he’ll know better than I do due to experience and well, he literally tuned it @hawaiibadboy
If you’re a timbrehead, DD is the way to go. When we talking DD, Oxygen always come to mind, as it holds the king title. Keep in mind signature is slight different and fit is nowhere near as good as Mele. Treble might be too shouty for you.
If you want something with darker treble but still detailed with good techs for the price, of course it would be Mangird Tea, but that’s an hybrid. It doesnt have bad timbre whatsoever, but a single DD is a single DD. Bass is less elevated than Mele.
For planars, you have timeless. Due to logistics problems, I haven’t heard it yet, but word on the street is that its awsome for the price. Keep in mind treble should be more present than Mele and planar bass is different.
An hibrid alternative that also comes to mind and that might worth looking into, is sony N3.
I’d avoid Moondrop if treble is a problem.
Your library is way closer to HBBs than mine, altho our preferences sometimes overlap.
I wouldnt care much about sources for now, unless you go planar or more demanding headphones. Until then, Apple dongle is fine and you can always upgrade after
Did you notice any difference when you go from your L&P W2 to Xduoo XD-05 bal? I think it’s worthwhile to have a better source than Apple dongle if the OP goes up to Oxygen or Timeless. Thoughts?
I think the 7hz doesn’t need a more powerful source than a plain smartphone. It is only a tad bit harder to drive than the Blessing 2. At least when it comes to volume. If it benefits soundquality wise may be subjective, but I don’t hear an obvious difference between desk amp and smartphone.
However the 7hz (while having a warm quality) has much more treble energy and sparkliness than the Blessing 2. I love it, but from what usagidan wrote, I personally wouldn’t recommend the timeless to him in the first place (but I might be in the wrong).
Thank you very much! Ahahah I should add that type of statistic on that sheet. I’ll upgrade that list this weekend, but last 2 weeks have been crazy. I’ll keep this statistics in mind
Oxygen and Mangird Tea were on my list, so I guess I’m thinking in the right direction.
Some friends bought Timeless and they’re still waiting to arrive, I’ll try to test them before make a choice.
Never heard about Sony N3… Will take a look into them.
I like Moondrop’s treble but upper mids was always an issue to me.
Well, of course I did It’s a dongle vs a batery powered brick with 1W@32ohms
W2 is insanely good for the size and portability. I love that dongle! It’s still the most clean source I’ve heard to date, probably.
XD-05 Bal just made go deeper into sources once I plugged it in. RSV just fed on that power and opened up. I’m not more into memes (cables, sources, difference in dacs, the light exposure, room temperature, the bitcoin value affecting sound, MQA, etc.) but I like to try new stuff. I have a new DAP incoming (Hiby R5 Sabre) and a new amp (Toping NX7). I’ll play around for a while. I can see myself getting iFi Gryphon and just call it a day in a couple months
If @usagidan needs a better source without breaking bank, I’d prolly say Qudelix 5k (I also have one inc, but stuck in customs atm). It opens up the BT option as well as PEQ.
Guys,
Do you listen to some headphones on top of all this IEM craziness? If yes in what scenario and maybe how do they supplement your IEMs?
I have this itch to buy something for Christmas for myself that you killed for IEM related stuff, but headphones on the other hand…
I’d rec Hifiman HE400se, for great entry level planar, but must have good source for the power.
The most IEM-like headphone I’d rec is 1MORE Triple-Driver Over Ear, but specifically the graphene driver version. The impact was phenomenal, so good that I kept my flawed set from Amazon Warehouse (left driver had a component rattle and occasionally create a channel imbalance). The titanium driver version (gold) sucks. I bought the gold originally to replace the flawed one, but returned immediately due to the lack of detail and elevated bass compared to the graphene version (silver, or red/black). Also, 1MORE slacked off on the H1707 built quality, I could feel that the cups had sharp edges and had glue resin sticking out the sides of the pads. Simply put, if you can find it purchase the 1MEJH0006 model (top one, graphene), not the H1707 model (lower one, titanium):
FIY; the Iem version of the H1707 is the LZ A6. If you like one of them, you will love the other. The LZ A7 pop-black + high-density tuning foams is also similar.
I use my Sundara when it’s quiet around and I want soundstage and deeep bass (EQ or warm source needed).
When I need better sound isolation, I go for IEMs. I also can’t use the Sundara for hours and hours because my ears get hot. And it squishes my hair lol.
I’d say just go with KPH30i.
KPH40 has a lot of accessories, but reviews on the sound are quite mixed. Besides, us folks owning so many IEMs, I don’t see why we need the utility function.
I can Second the HE400se. Lovely pair of cans. I‘ve heard the Sundara as well and would recc the HE400se over it any day. I find it to be at least on par, if not better, and its also half the price.
But yeah, they do love some clean power. My Atom Amp+ makes them sing beautifully.
@hawaiibadboy
It’s a dongle vs a batery powered brick with 1W@32ohms 
