shotgunshane’s IEM (custom and universal) recommendations, favorites and classics

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by shotgunshane, Jun 7, 2016.

  1. limesoft

    limesoft Friend

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    Apparently there's bit of a difference between New and Old Primacy - the New is bit brighter, leaning towards neutral, many reviews say the New one is better. The problem is I've read mixed reports, some say it's smooth and forgiving, some that is can be a bit bright, the typical h**dfi neurotic opinions and little towards an objective measurement based point of view.

    In any case I will be getting it very soon, so I will share my opinion (compared to HD650 as reference).

    I'm also thinking of getting the Brainwavz B-400 as it's not a huge investment as reports are pointing towards it being neutral/warm balanced, but usually when things are too good to be true (price wise) they usually are.

    Maybe I shouldn't have sold my Andromedas.. I struggled with the comply tips and didn't feel comfortable carrying around such an expensive thing in my pocket, but the sound was fantastic
     
  2. Gleb Lev

    Gleb Lev New

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    Sorry for interrupting, but I have knida same choice (New Primacy V B400 V maybe some Chi-fi).

    I guess Pnew could be "bright" because of Zout of the source or individual characteristics of a listener.

    Two things that bother me in B400 after reading opinions at forums:
    1. Not great shells (SGS mentioned it)
    2. Bad extension in HF ("cropped" hi-hats etc.)
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2018
  3. joeexp

    joeexp Don't ship this man FD-X1 ever

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  4. limesoft

    limesoft Friend

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    I've been listening to the New Primacy for couple of days now.

    -1: It's U shaped I'd say (with comply and silicone single flange):extra sub bass, but bass, mids and upper mids are linear and somewhat downward sloping to my ears. Things start going tits up in the treble - 6khz has a peak of roughly 3-4db, then another peak at about 10khz. They sound smooth and sweet until some instrument or vocal hits those peaks. Some reviews referred to them having sparkly treble, but to me it is sibilant.. It's smooth and kinda sibilant at the same time with those tips. I hate sibilance (hugs HD650).

    -1: They have driver flex, I hate that popping in my ears when I try to get a solid seal. I'm surprised to hear it in expensive IEMs and it sucks ass.

    +1: Using double flange tips tames the upper treble a bit, or moves it further up, or both, not sure, but it helps in making it sound more "normal" and listenable. Still not ideal however.

    +1: The bass quality is the bee's knees. Don't think I've heard such a great bass in an IEM before - beats Andromeda, Sony MDR7550 and Pinnacle P1 in both quality and quantity. It's a little more than neutral, but It's textured, nuanced, dynamic, digs down to 20hz, it's superb and muscular.

    Other stuff is ok, staging, depth, isolation, cable quality, packaging etc etc.. I don't put too much focus on these items if the tonality is off for me, which it kind of is with the "sparkly" treble.. Perhaps the Brainwavz B400 will be more in line with my expectations for downward sloping neutral HD650 qualities.
     
  5. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    Deeper fit usually moves the peak a little further in FR and lower it in amplitude a bit. Driver flex is pretty normal for dynamics that don't have a huge back vent.

    Your description sounds similar to my old Primacy listening notes/memory. I never had sibilance issues and I found it perhaps warmer than what you perceive in the new model but bass was definitely very good and the strong point of the old Primacy.

    Interested to hear what you think of the B400.
     
  6. Gleb Lev

    Gleb Lev New

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    Maybe you should look at vsonic gr09 for warmish sound? Crinacle measured it and ranked it pretty high in his list.
    Maybe you will be lucky and find a demo pair in local audio stores.
     
  7. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    Driver flex has nothing to do with the price of IEMs, any dynamic driver that isn't front-vented will flex at some point, if you don't perform pressure equalization during insertion. If you just press or wiggle IEMs into your ear canal, they'll act like a piston compressing air between the diaphragm and your ear drum and cause the large DD diaphragm to crinkle as it reaches its maximum excursion.

    A better technique is to open your mouth a bit and pull the upper part of the ear upward and back, both of which will help to straighten your ear canal and leave some room for air to escape during insertion. Once you've reached the desired insertion depth, close your mouth and let go of your ear. The ear canal will revert to its natural shape and your tip will seal without excess air pressure between the diaphragm and ear drum. Even if you need to do some fine adjustment afterwards, it will only move a small amount of air and usually not cause driver flex. This requires a little practice to do properly, but once you get the hang of it, it shouldn't take longer than just pressing / wiggling IEMs straight in.

    As for the treble peaks, I usually don't recommend Spinfit tips, but considering the New Primacy's good treble extension, a little bit of reverse horn effect might just be the ticket to smooth them out. Or you could try the Ostry OS100 / OS200 tuning tips, which might also do the trick in your case.
     
  8. joeexp

    joeexp Don't ship this man FD-X1 ever

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    Driver Flex hasn't anything to do with price/quailty [Just been said.]. The Audeze LCDs have it. The Stax have it. ...
     
  9. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    Considering how good the Zero Audio Tenores sound, and after reading Nathan's review at Headfonia, I have high hopes for the new Zero Audio Carbo-I (ZH-DX240-CI). Just ordered a set from Japan, so it will probably be the end of the month before they get here.
    carbo-i.jpg
     
  10. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    Alpha & Delta D6: one of the rare species of DD IEMs that sound damn well balanced straight out of the box <3

    [​IMG]
     
  11. imackler

    imackler Key Lime Pie Infected Aberdeen Wings Spy

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    Looking forward to hearing more. I wouldn't mind a quality, balanced dynamic driver.
     
  12. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    Balanced, with superior extension above and below (no treble spikes and a touch extra subbass), and with mad extra detail retrieval, and we would have before us the excalibre of dynamic drivers.

    Not that I would ever call @KenBall The Lady of the Lake, but... I hope he delivers this some day.
     
  13. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    I have this one too but haven’t had a chance to do much listening yet. Does it get your seal of approval?
     
  14. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    It only came in yesterday, so I don't have a definitive opinion yet. But it checks a lot of boxes for me, good extension, no bass boom or bleed, no nasty treble peaks. Whoever tuned this has my full respect!

    I don't have much luck with the stock tips though, except for those pink-stemmed ones. Try spiral dots, if you have some at hand... these give me the best balance. Treble presence may be borderline for you, knowing your sensitivity in that regard. But I already like the Alpha & Delta D6 better than the Pinnacle P1, so we might have a new candidate there for your list.

    Oh, and don't throw away that twist tie, you'll need it for a DIY chin slider. The only design flaw I've noticed so far.
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2018
  15. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    @james444 I think I've seen you have positive impressions of several DDs recently. If you have a minute do you mind consolidating some impressions of your favorite DDs of the last couple of years?
     
  16. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    Well, the problem is that pretty much all of my recent favorites have been modded DDs. It's very rare for me to come across DDs that I like straight out of the box... hence my instant <3 for the A&D D6.

    Even the really expensive ones I've heard (Vega, Xelento, IE800S) have issues in my book, and of course I'm being pickier with $$$$ IEMs than with cheapos.

    The challenge I see for DD IEMs to rival BAs like the Andromedas and Prophile 8 in detail resolution (genuine detail, not faked by strategically placed treble spikes), it would require both top-notch drivers and precise tuning. Here are some thoughts on this I wrote to @shotgunshane two weeks ago:
     
  17. matique

    matique New

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    Have you tried the ibasso IT01 @james444? It's a sub $100 graphene DD. It's slightly V shaped but sounds great for the price. More bass than treble, more treble than mids. But with good clarity, they don't really overpower each other.
     
  18. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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  19. Gleb Lev

    Gleb Lev New

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    Its not slightly v-shaped. Its very v-shaped.
    And I think he replied to ibasso thread on hell-fi, said its not worth it.
     
  20. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    To be fair, slightly or very v-shaped is partly in the eye of the beholder, since it depends on the volume level you're listening at. I do in fact agree with the rest of his description ("More bass than treble, more treble than mids. But with good clarity, they don't really overpower each other").

    My post on Head-Fi wasn't to say it's a downright bad IEM, or not worth it. It's just not better in my book than any of the three other graphene DDs I own. That thread is just another example of the typical HF hype train I've grown tired of a long time ago.
     

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