What are your IEM highs of the (2020) šŸ˜¬?

You cant go from SE to balanced, it can damage the amp.

You need a new cable with the 2.5mm balanced connector.

thanks as I feared, Fiio wants about $31 for the replacement, are there other good recā€™s?

Faaeal litz copper cable
Tri Through
Kbear Rhyme

I want to start this year with the Tia Trio for my iem high. Because WOW blows every other iem Iā€™ve used out of the water. And in technical abilities surpasses all my headphones and at the very least matches the lcd 2 and elex in terms of enjoyment in sound sig. I looove these and they really sound like what someone would assume a high end audio product sounds like! Just amazing!

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I really started with IEMs in 2020 so not too much experience. I have managed to collect quite a few models already.

My favourite, but somehow hard to manage (EQ, power) has been Tin P1. There is just something addictive in listening to them. I found myself grabbing them the most, hard for me even to explain why.

Second mostly picked pair in 2020 were fiio Fh3, possibly as an ā€œantitodeā€ to P1s :slight_smile: still needed quite a bit of EQ, but in opposite part of frequency range.

Thereā€™s been more, but havenā€™t find myself grabbing them too much like those 2.

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FH3 = the only iem that i can use for gaming. They have legit imaging and soundstage comparable to my tygr 3000r

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OK I pulled the trigger on FH3 upgrade over the EA1 , and ordered a BTR5, so now the hard question on the cable upgrade. Iā€™ve stayed away from the does cables make a SQ discussionā€¦ but I have a rather noob questionā€¦ the FH3 stock cable measures resistance of 0.49 and some of your recommendations measure significantly lower. So does that mean the volume will be higher on a BTB test, or there is really SQ differences within the spectrumā€¦ IE trying to decide on a balanced MMCX , silver vs copper. The FH3 doesnt quite have the sparkle at the top as the EA1. Its just smoother. with more imaging and space. So I was leaning to Silver, maybe TRN T3 (which measures well on your list) or NiceHCK LitzPS 4N Litz Pure Silver (which is just cheap). Harder than you think to find stuff in the US

BTW your work and passion for this hobby is just awesome. Thanks

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Yes, lower resistance = less power needed = more efficient = louder

Since you got the BTR5, I would highly recommend getting a balanced cable so you can utilize the amp to its full potential (70mw vs 240mw on balanced).

As for cable recs, my default recs are the faaeal litz copper, tri through or the Kbear rhyme. They are priced and measures similarly, so you can pick one of them based on looks.

The TRN T3 DOES measure really good for a pure silver cable (that is cheap as well) BUT TRN QC is horrible, so I dont rec them.

The LitzPS and the Kbear Limpid (same cable) dont measure that good in comparison to my 3 default recs.

personally, I am in the placebo camp when it comes to cables. So silver is brighter (because it is a brighter color) while copper is warmer lol. So if you fall into that camp, the Tri Through will be a good one for you with its silver color.

Thank you very much for your praise.

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Thats why true audiophiles should always go for mixed colors due to its superior neutral tonality.

lol, I havent found a silver/copper hybrid budget cable yet though. But theoretically that should be the best combo.

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ā€¦like silver plated copper and copperā€¦
But if its falsely advertised as silver and copper, the placebo effect should be there.

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yeah, but I want to find a pure silver and copper hybrid though. Not the fake kind with SPC/copper hybrid.

Happy to send you one from the UK to demo buddyā€¦Forza Hybrid MMCX if youā€™re interested, also happy to pay postage out :+1:

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I actually have 2 expensive cables (175 and 173 from hakuzens database: Resistance of cables; pics, comments, and links | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org )

But I am more interested in finding great budget cables rather than the expensive ones, but thanks for the offer.

No worries buddy :grinning:

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thanks for thatā€¦ Iā€™m tornā€¦ some seem to think silver (pure silver adds to top end brightness) not sure, I would like some science on this or measurements, cause like you I think its more the resistance of the cable than the materials. The resistance drives the volume which drives the perception of SQ. And with different IEM you might get different behavior to the additional power. The crossover of multiple drivers in the FH3 may be different at 25mW than at 80mW or 200mW. Maybe the BA are more efficient than the DD, etc. Thanks for the REC and discussion.

Yes, BAs are more efficient than DDs. They are also much more sensitive to resistance changes (cable and souces included), where the FR can change because of that.


source: Campfire Andromeda: Mini Review

So with BA iems, different cables DO affect the sound. But not because of the material, it is due to the resistance.

With DDs and hybrids, there wont be much change to the FR if any at all. So the perception of quality is probably due to the volume differences between cables with different resistances.

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+1. After all the critical listening Iā€™ve done comparing different types of cables and different cable materials, I agree I prefer a copper+silver hybrid cable over all others. Pure silver may exaggerate the technicalities of the IEM (soundstage + imaging) but lacks the body and weight a copper/silver hybrid cable has. But all cables and IEMs are different so results will always vary.

It is all subjective and personal preference.

Cable and IEM synergy is also a thing (pairing a certain cable with a certain IEM to balance out characteristics of each).

It would be a good idea to have a few different cables with various materials to try out with your IEMs to find your own personal preference.

Cables can, and do have an ultimate impact on sound as everything in your audio chain does no matter how insignificant it might be. Most shouldnā€™t care about any of this, but if youā€™re an audio freak trying to squeeze that final percentage of sound out of your equipment, everything matters.

Interesting that from 1 to 4K is not that much delta in this case.

could be that the BA used for the mids arent as sensitive as the bass/treble BA, so it doesnt change as much. But who knowsā€¦