Completly forgot I had that lol. It’s still inside the box. Only took out MH755 
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Really debating getting myself the Hiby R5 Saber 
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Just throwing in my two cents.
In terms of detail and resolution, the Variations is definitely one of the most resolving IEMs out there. Among all the IEMs I’ve tried, the only ones that edge it out are much more expensive: Unique Melody MEST MK1/2, 64Audio U12t, QDC Anole VX.
Part of that is due to it‘s excellent treble extension, but the midrange and bass are equally as detailed. Bass Texture and Detail is a big strength of the Variations.
Another part of this is the overall tuning being very clean. The Variations is a very clear sounding IEM. The UM MEST is one of the other IEMs that come to my mind in that regard.
The ThieAudio Oracle is a very clear sounding IEM as well with beautiful timbre, but not quite as detailed.
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Thanks for your input <3
One thing that I liked better with the Blessing 2 compared to the timeless was its bass punch (after EQ). The timeless base was plentiful, but pale in comparison. I guess I don’t know about top tier bass (since nymz said, that the bass on the Variations is not great), but I would imagine the bass not to be worse on the Variations than on the Blessing. And at the very least it is there without the need for EQ.
I had the chance to listen to the U12t some months ago… I can’t remember details, but the major thing was: I didn’t like it. For me personally the 7hz timeless is simply and plainly the better IEM. The U12t sounded too warm/laidback/dark/whateveryouwannacallit. It didn’t matter to me what qualities it may had otherwise, because of the end of the day, I didn’t enjoy the U12t. That is exactly why I am gravitating towards the Variations.
The MEST seems to be something, I could enjoy and may even be potentially my endgame. I would buy it, if I ever got the chance to try it without spending 1.5k$ and ending up liking it a lot. That is also the reason I didn’t even look into the Anole VX 
The major deterrent that keeps me from buying the Variations at this point, is the fact that I like the 7hz timeless so much.
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Not something I ever expected to hear, but hey, Mest seems like your endgame for sure 
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The thing about the Variations (and the Monarch MK1) is that it does Bass different than most other IEMs.
When other IEMs have a Frequency Response with a Bass Boost (be it V-Shaped, U-Shaped, Neutral with Bass Boost etc.) they usually boost the mid-bass and sub-bass. So the Bass shelf is present over the entirety of the bass band. This leads to a coherent and smooth bass presence no matter what kind of bass a track incorporates.
Therein lies a pitfall however. Mid-bass is usually more present in quantity overall when it comes to music compared to Sub-bass. One genre that usually incorporates a lot of sub-bass is electronic music. So it is much harder to tune a „proper“ or „tasteful“ amount of mid-bass compared to sub-bass. Have too much and you risk it bleeding into the midrange, coloring vocals and instruments present in the lower midrange, being too „boomy“ or „muddening“ the sound. Have too little and you risk missing proper Bass impact and feel, noteweight and proper sound of vocals and instruments in the lower midrange.
The Variations having a bass-boost pretty much exclusive to the sub-bass has two disadvantages; 1) some might miss the impact and quantity of mid-bass usually accompanied by a bass boost and 2) may feel like male vocals and lower midrange instruments lack body and/or presence. Now these two disadvantages are not that notable and/or significant to me, but they are there and my observations seem to align with the general consensus here.
Now to the advantages, and there are quite a few:
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Sub-bass is excellent on the Variations; in impact, quantity, and quality. Bass Texture and detail are great, resolution all around incredible.
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Mid-bass, while maybe lacking in quantity for some, still carries the excellent technicalities of the sub-bass.
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Due to the kind of the bass boost being in the sub-bass, there is no bleed or coloration into the mid-bass. One of the reasons this set is so clean. Bass is very well separated while still sounding coherent in relation to the other frequencies.
…so yeah, in my opinion, the Bass on the Variations is both excellent and maybe not. The Sub-bass definitely is, and the mid-bass is either fine or lacking (in quantity) given your taste, library and HRTF.
Cheers 
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Can you give Amazon music appa whirl. I find if I open other music apps, when I use the Amazon music from then on the physical play,pause, next track etc don’t work on the app. I have to reinstall the app and not open any other media players e.g. Tidal, youtube, for the physical buttons to work… All other music apps work fine as far as I know. I have a regular non-Saber r5. I emailed Hiby more than once but never got any response. I wonder if I am the only one with this problem. Thanks!
You got it from Stars picker audio by any chance? 
As I said on my disclaimer, I cant install any apps atm 
I’m in touch with support and I’m trying to figure out a way.
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Yea.
Maybe I’ll buy again on CNY hopefully for a bit cheaper than that😂.
I see the nx7 is approx 170€. Would you say it is worth it if I already own, let’s say, a qudelix 5K? As you said, the qudelix can be transformed into a glorified BT DAC paired with the nx7. But I wonder if the improved sound would justify the price and added inconvenience. 
Oh, and thank you very much for your great feedback on all these gear! 
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Thanks!
Let me get Q5k first, should be here this week (in reality, should have been delivered already).
The main reason is power. But if you aren’t runing anything that needs that much power, Q5k is still the best given it has BT and PEQ, for that price 
Topping NX7, XD-05, Gryphon, etc, are made to power anything you can think of but more demanding open backs like HE600SE while being portable. 1.4w is no joke 
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I knew it haha! Yeah I’m currently looking around for DAPs now. No time to visit their place to demo some units and iems lately.
Red Ape is pretty good as well if you know about them. Their after sales customer services is pretty good like Stars picker audio and I happened to live nearby their shop.
Could you go on with this R5 vs M3x as far as you remember M3x? I have really nice offer on the table for M3x and I think I could get around the power difference (as M3x should in theory have enough b juice for Sundara which is my end goal for headphones) if that is the major difference.
Hiby is almost 150$ more expensive for me ATM and I heard some software + battery life problems are quite common in this DAP, so I am leaning towards Shanling
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M3X has better baterry life, a volume knob and slight bigger screen. Hiby is better in anything else…
I love M3X but its SQ and power leaves something to be desired.
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Offer is gone luckily for me. I don’t cry, as I really (REALLY) don’t need another DAP.
On top of that I sold my K371 and Meles today. I think I won’t cry for them as well, as they got close to no use and it is clear by now (
) that Shuoer S12 would turn out to be THE killer set.
Also it would be interesting to see this collab Seeaudio X Crinacle Project Midnight (it is no yume, but bravery probably though) if it is in nice price range <200$.
In the meantime I felt in love more and more with HE400i set. Omg this planar precise hit is something else for me. Wondering how much of an upgrade would Sundara be…
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Man, I‘m really torn on either getting the Hiby R3 Pro or R5 Saber…
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