Massdrop Plus IEM

Discussion in 'IEM Measurements' started by purr1n, Oct 6, 2017.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I'll post photos later today. Left them at home. Will also post preview measurements in a bit. Going to keep this short in bullet points. And you guys should know that when I don't have much to say, it's probably pretty good.
    • Compact size reminiscent of the early Heir audio IEMs. Remember them? Probably not. Well opposite to the trend of these humongous IEMs made for the Rock or the Hulk. Or maybe the Lt. Uhura with earpiece look is en vogue. I dunno. Just funny seeing skinny Asian dudes with bigass red IEMs sticking out of their ears. Thank goodness these buck the trend.
    • What do you get when you add some low and sub bass to the UERM and attach the HD650 highs after the UERM mids.
    • Doesn't have the separation and depth layering of the UERM. Doesn't have the transients and clarity of the Andromeda. But close enough given how the other things described are so right. Doesn't cost over $1000.
     
  2. Vansen

    Vansen Gear Master (retiring)

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    I'm listening to the Massdrop Plus as I type this up and will be writing something more complete here in the future.

    These are the most comfortable universal IEMs I've ever worn. Massdrop has a custom mold of my ears from a couple of years ago and I called them up to ask if the based the shell design from my impressions. Christian simply laughed at this question and told me "no," but my need to ask it speaks volumes here. Everyone's ear is shaped a little bit differently, so your mileage may vary.

    I've been listing to these next to CA Andromeda, CA Orion, JH13 original, and the AAW W900 extensively over the past few weeks. My take on the Plus is that's it's the best thing you can get under $1k. Once you break or get close to the $1k mark on current offerings, the Andromedas are still king in my eyes.

    More to come from me this weekend, but I like them.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2017
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Only one channel because I did these last minute and also because I've been lazy. Or maybe I've gotten so sick of running measurements on every other revision since, oh shit, like August 8, 2016*. I wouldn't worry about channel matching because every successive candidate pair had almost perfect matching. But I will confirm with the production pair I have. Will post a full official set of measurements later tonight or this weekend. A bit more distortion than the TOTL stuff, but hey they are $299 instead of $1000+

    * I guess that makes the statement on Massdrop regarding "after a year of R&D" is true.

    Massdrop PLUS.png

    Massdrop PLUS HD.jpg

    Here's a very early revision for shits-n-giggles.
    The production tuning has come a long way since then.
    earlyPLUS.png
     
  4. Crinacle

    Crinacle Friend

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    Wow, can you overlay the ER4XR/SR on top? Looks like Massdrop managed to hit the DF bump quite well.
     
  5. FlySweep

    FlySweep Friend

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    [​IMG]
     
  6. Kunlun

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

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    It looks like the er4xr with enough armatures to actually pull it off.
     
  7. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

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    I tried to be a little useful..

    Massdrop Plus (Light/brighter green) overlaid with Andro:
    [​IMG]

    Massdrop Plus (Light/brighter green) overlaid with Orion:
    [​IMG]

    Massdrop Plus (Light/brighter green) overlaid with ER4SR:
    [​IMG]

    Massdrop Plus (Red) overlaid with ER4XR:
    [​IMG]

    All matched at 1k..

    EDIT: I woke up in the morning and realized I had swapped the orion and andro graphs. fixed now.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2017
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Massdrop PLUS IEM Frequency Response L + R
    Massdrop PLUS Frequency Response.png
     
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Massdrop PLUS IEM Distortion
    Massdrop PLUS L HD.jpg
    Massdrop PLUS R HD.jpg
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Massdrop PLUS impedance.png

    This gonna get bassy with higher source impedance.
     
  11. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    Is that distortion from 1k-2k any concern? It seems a bit much. The FR starts to rise back up around there. Crossover point?
     
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Nothing annoying. It's not compounded by any other factors. Just less clear and softer sounding compared to the TOTL stuff. My impressions were from Sony ZX2.
     
  13. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    Of my sources, the AK JR has the highest OI, I’m guessing around 3 ohms (I don’t believe in AK manufacturer specs). I don’t really care for the Plus on the JR. A little to warmed up for me. It sounds great on the Paw 5000 and modded AK120.

    The upper mid response produces great clarity to me. Where the distortion comes in to play is it’s transparencey. The Plus is clearer than the UERM but isn’t as transparent. I feel like this affects the sense of depth too.
     
  14. Dash

    Dash Friend

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    @Marvey , in your previous Orion discussion, I believe you mentioned just saving for the Andromeda. Is this good enough or does the Andromeda warrant the difference?
     
  15. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    A $900 Delta is huge. I suspect 97% of people would be happy with this + $600-900 in their pocket. The other 3% should get a TOTL.

    I'm buying one as my backup to complement the Noble X. The Andromedas really require me to use the ZX2 when I'm on the go to max out their potential and I don't always like taking that thing with me.
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    My advice has always to buy the best that you can and stick with it. Before the ZX2 and Andromeda combination, I had the Sony X and UERM ... for years. During this time, IEM dweebs on HF were jumping to JH to Heir to UM to Translucent to Analsonics to 1969 Ears to whatever. Too many brands to mention.

    I expect on sticking with the ZX2 and Andromeda for even longer because this combination does everything so right that I can't see it getting beat by much any time soon. Note that I am emphasizing synergy of parts: the portable music player and IEM are being thought of as one.

    If you feel that you have 85% certainly that the ZX2 and Andromeda is for you, then save up. If you are unsure, or are the type of person who likes to move on to the next best fashion, or simply likes to experience new things, or feel that you need more experience before dollar-cost-investing-to-zero on an expensive Andromeda and player combination, then might as well give this a shot.
     
  17. Azteca

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    I'd really been thinking about the UE4. Got me wondering. If it doesn't fit me I could always resell it. Hmm.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    It's been a while since I've had the UERM. You are right, there was always a slightly veil with UERM, but it picked up a lot of fine details with layers and depth.

    I'd prefer the Massdrop Plus with zero source impedance. ZX2 is too soft. I would suspect something super clean and ballsy like a Magni 3 to be a great match.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2017
  19. imackler

    imackler Key Lime Pie Infected Aberdeen Wings Spy

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    No! I was fearing this. I really didn't like the Noble X w the AK JR. Way too warm.

    What's the "budget" low OI device? I thought it may have been the warmer DAC of the AKJR (believing the specs about OI).
     
  20. Meatball

    Meatball New

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    Oh no, it look like a mass flop.
     

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