RikudouGoku's Database (IEMs/Earbuds/Headphones Ranking list)

[Resolution]

@boredbuyingstuff

That’s for sure and I totally agree. If I was assembling the same system as yours I would probably do the same but as I decided for something much smaller / credit card sized / one cable setup / simpler / and cheaper a cable like Audioquest would be too much and even too thick for the Tone 2 Pro.

I completely agree. It’s only because I’ve invested so much in my sources that I’m thinking about the USB cable itself. Your rig is only as good as its weakest link.

If I didn’t have a $900.00 DAC, I wouldn’t care too much at all about the USB cable.

[boredbuyingstuff]

And unfortunately – or maybe fortunately for my wallet – Audioquest also doesn’t have any USB-C to USB-C.

I don’t think USB-C to USB-C is used at all in audio stuff. It’s more a computer “thing”.

[Resolution]

@Michael

GoldenSound
Great video!
I’ve actually been working on a very similar video myself, and wanted to make a couple constructive comments on the methodology.

The main thing is that audacity due to how it handles alignment isn’t a particularly ideal software for this. I initially tried using it, but even in control tests (where playback was done multiple times with all hardware the same, to check if variances occurred) there was significant variation. If using high sample rate this is less of an issue, but with 44.1khz content its quite important. Looking at some information on fourier transform you can see how visualisation of the samples alone without proper interpolation can often greatly mis-represent the actual waveform recorded.

I switched to DeltaWave, which is a tool designed specifically for digital audio comparisons. It has a few advantages including proper sub-sample alignment down to 1/1000th of a sample. As well as correction for long term clock drift and DC offset and gain offset (which is especially important when using an ADC with an analog pot like the focusrite). This allowed me to get MUCH more consistent results as well as in-depth views of spectrogram and null depth.

Clock drift is also a good reason to use a shorter piece of music instead of a longer one. With transients in particular, even the tiniest amount of clock drift or jitter in either the source or receiving ADC can show a difference in the compared/nulled result when actually it would not be there if long term clock drift was corrected. (In my testing for an upcoming video demonstrating DAC differences, even very high end dacs with low jitter, and additionally chord dacs specifically, can exhibit more than enough clock drift to throw off a null test after only 5-10sec)

Additionally, it would be very important to include a control test. Because if using your testing methodology, the same usb cable recorded twice, had variations as well, then that gives reason to believe that the differences shown might be due to other factors or run to run variation, rather than the USB cable

[Michael]

[TkSilver]

Epro horn tips are not as comfortable as the Tennmak turbo whirlwind widebore tips I just got. and sound really similar.

The CP155— well the package designer should be shot, but on to the tips. Not quite as open as a widebore and not as restricted at type E. Much more comfortable then the CP100. I can now understand why there are so many fans of spinfits. It is just too bad that all the other ones I have from various IEMs are all CP100s or I might have liked them sooner.

[Resolution]

@TkSilver

I can now understand why there are so many fans of spinfits.

[TkSilver]

It is subtle but I don’t exactly like what they do to the Oracle, but they are really really good on the Variatoins.

Welp looks like the last few hours of A/B testing of Variations and Oracle are going to need to be retested. I also freed up a pair of Final type E now which is always a good thing.

[luizgarcia]

Duuuuude, can you say that in english now??? lol

Just kidding, so, have you tried that methodology with a cheap usb cable vs a super expensive one? I am curious if the variances would be bigger than the ones found while testing the same cable multiple times.

[Resolution]

I believe he was quoting Golden Sound.

GoldenSound

[Michael]

Yeah, what Resolution said. I’m not qualified to be doing that kind of testing, lol.

[SHINIGAMI_DIAO]

So each is better?

[SHINIGAMI_DIAO]

Do you have the link for Tennmak turbo whirlwind widebore tips?

[TkSilver]

Here is the link to the set I bought but you can save like $3 if you don’t want the case as well. The case is actually not a bad size. They are cheap, in all honesty if the Azla earfit crystal fixes all the annoyances of the xelastec’s material then those are probably the best, but they are also 3x the price.

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Whirlwind-Earphone-Silicone-Carrying/dp/B0787VLNBG/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Tennmak+turbo&qid=1627826943&sr=8-1

@SHINIGAMI_DIAO

So each is better?

If you are asking about Final type E and Spinfit 145/155 (same thing just different sizes) then they are different from each other.
Type E is a really really good narrow bore tip and does a lot of what you would expect from one, raises the bass a bit and tames Treble peaks a bit.
The CP155 is not exactly narrow or wide but somewhere in between and is not reacting exactly like either on the variations. It is seeming to smooth out some of the sub bass so it is still a full sound just not as overpowering and shifting the the rise from the mids to the upper mids ever so slightly as to put it right in the area I love. On the Oracle it is messing with the balanced sound to the point that something sounds not exactly right, but for that one it is harder to put my finger on it.

[Rikudou_Goku]

[Strifeff7]

the epro not that good?
I guess I’ll buy the cheaper tennmak,

how about epro vs wide bore like azla ?

[nymz]

E pro horns are very good. Only. Complaint from me is the lenght. Hard to fit deep insertion iems.

My azlas are on the way so cant compare til next week.

[TkSilver]

I didn’t like the Epro horns as much as the Tennmak, but tips can be very personal so I can’t guarantee which you will like better. They both do about the same thing to the sound and the nozzle depth and bore width is about the same. The difference to me is the turbo uses these little silicone fan blade like protrusions between the bore and the silicone shell that feels like it supports the IEM more comfortably in the ear.

As far as Azla goes I have the xelastec and not the new crystal long stem. The xelastec is a thicker and stickier material that some hate. For me it only gets bothersome after a longer session. It also does about what you would expect from a wide bore tip. Maybe a bit more mid range as well due to the way the sound reflects off of the material it uses.

[Mr_Makua]

I agree, I would not use the ePro in deep fitting IEMs. They work nicely in shallow fit ones like my BL-03 though which is where they are being used right now.

[Rikudou_Goku]

Faaeal Iris 2.0:

Faaeal Iris Ancestor:

Faaeal Iris CE Gray:

K´s LBBS (Bell-LBS):

Yincrow RW-100:

Only took 6 weeks, yay.

[SHINIGAMI_DIAO]

Can I have the link for Azla Crystal