Yeah, we need more chi-fi brands to compete in the headphone world, because IMO at the current market. Pretty much every headphone are overpriced…
IMO that’s not really true. It’s only true for the more affordable range, but for the kilobuck and up, the west has a pretty good spot.
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Yes, I agree that western iems do seem to have a better hold on the kilobuck range+ compared to the low/mid tier.
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I agree to an extent, you are buying a brand more than the RnD IMO. I feel that its pretty stagnant regarding breakthroughs as well. I may try a Mobius sometime, Audeze trys to be like Apple so I’m not the biggest fan, but those have some good tech. Digital stuff is not my number 1 want for headphones, but it may be an interesting development until we all have nuralink…
Which is one of the things I hate…
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The west competes in kilobuck + but doesn’t win outright. and they lose in the lower fields with IEMs. That is what I will concede.
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I think it’s really tricky for western companies like CFA or Gaudio and others to compete in the lower field. The cost of labour and production can’t be as low as the asian counterpart, so I think it makes sense.
The Samara looks interesting 
. Can’t wait to see your review.
Yeah, its probably the one I will start with.
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We could have a very large discussion about that. Simple solution is China respects IP, if not then makes sense why they cant compete because they cant shift production overseas etc.
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@hawaiibadboy made a video about that:
Actually very ironic that I watched it yesterday, and now today I got the K buds that had shitty presentation and no accessories…
Both are buds over 100 usd and yet the presentation/accessories are as if they are sub 10 usd…
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2021-05-28: Creation of the DIY foam mod.
You most likely have an iem that you arent exactly pleased with the treble, maybe its a bit too much in quantity or just a peak that annoys you. Well, then you should try this DIY foam mod using ordinary earbud foam as the material. All you need to do is rip it apart into smaller pieces. Like this:
To get a 1/16 size of the full foam then you put it inside the tips and the magic begins from there.
(watch this video if you are unsure on how to do it: Try this: RikudouGoku's Foam Mod for Taming Treble Peaks - YouTube)
Positive changes:
The DQ6, TSMR – 4 pro, Hana and the T800 benefited a lot from this foam mod. The shoutyness in the Hana and the TSMR – 4 pro (along with less BA timbre but also got a pretty big hit with the technicalities) is gone while the peaky treble in the DQ6 is also gone. The sibilance with the T800 is gone as well and is actually useable for me now and also got a bit less BA timbre in it. Game changer for the DQ6, Hana and the T800!
Neutral:
The mod with the EX1000 and the Tape does help, but not enough. The Tape needs to have its 3,5k peak cut down a lot more and the EX1000 just needs a big overhaul of its entire treble.
Negative:
None of these iems needs this mod for me since I dont have issues with them. So with them, the quality dropped without any real benefit in tonality. The modded Oxygen sounds identical to the modded Hana as well.
Overall: This mod is a great mod if you have some slight issues with peaks here and there or if you just want it to be warmer overall. But when the issue is caused by a massive peak or if the entire treble just needs to overhauled, then this mod wont solve the issue and you are better of with PEQ. With iems that you do not have problems with, it simply reduces the overall quality, so not recommended for them either.
If you want to increase or decrease the effect, just use a bigger size (like 1/8 instead of 1/16) or with a more porous foam. Using the Hana as the example, you can see that using the 1/8 size will reduce the treble even more and also boosts the bass directly, this isnt good for me because it loses too much quality. Thats why, I believe that the 1/16 is the optimal size.
Rank changes accompanying this mod:
Audiosense T800 A+ (foam mod)
KZ DQ6 A (foam mod)
Tanchjim Hana A+ (foam mod)
Tansio Mirai TSMR – 4 Pro B (foam mod)
from:
Audiosense T800 B+
KZ DQ6 A-
Tanchjim Hana B
Tansio Mirai TSMR – 4 Pro B-
Also added a separate a separate ranking for iems with mods:
(The list will be sorted by the highest rankings.)
So this should be helpful to people that dont want to mod their iems. Just a noticed though, I dont count changing cables (doesnt affect sound) nor tips as being mods.
Since tips are extremely important to fit and therefore the sound (stock tips almost never fit me).
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btw. isnt it funny how everyone praised KZ for DQ6 and thought they finally learnt their lesson?
Well, they recently anounced 12 BA set (24 total)…
yeah lol. I already suspected that the DQ6 was a big fluke. (kinda like the blon 03 seems to be, with them not being able to replicate the magic.)
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Hello there! I wanted to ask for a recommendation! So one of my girlfriends is daily-driving some BLON BL-03s and I wanted to ask about possible upgrade options. Specifically looking for:
- Small size/weight (BL-03 fits her ears well)
- Equal or lower sensitivity (occasionally too loud at lowest volume during night/sleep)
- Open to different sound signatures, doesn’t have to match BL-03
- Preferably under, say $500
So I know you do post photos of size comparisons for different IEMs, which is great, but the database doesn’t have a column for shell size or anything like that, so I’m not really sure what my options are.
Here is a lesson they are learning, your fans will take a chance once, but usually not twice. The ASX sold well in the first couple of weeks, part as it was new and exciting, part due to promotional pricing. I am sure the 13 units sold from KZ Official Store is not what they expected.
That size comparison was just a one time thing with that post.
If you want something small like the 03, I would recommend bullet style. But unfortunately I dont know many bullet style iems that are really good. There is the Tanchjim Darling thats pretty recent, but I dont have it and it might be a bit risky with its treble.
The Sony XBA-N3 is the upgrade to the 03 if you want something similar.
EDIT: You might find some luck with the Intime iems.
https://intime-acoustic.jp/?mode=cate&cbid=2230321&csid=1&sort=n
But they are more sensitive than the 03 so…
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And it is not like they are experimenting rn, the 2 all BA sets last year werent particularly a big hit either.
If I remember correctly, most people preffered the cheaper hybrid KZ ZAX.
Just chi-fi…
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Oh, forgot about the jvc fdx1. If you are in the US it might be another candidate.
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@luizgarcia hey if you still got the OH10, you should try the DIY foam mod.
Solves the occasional harsh treble for me.
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