Ti_Leo

And here's the crazy thing: my Vali 2+ + Rekkr are connected to a Modi+, then PC, I was just watching MVs on YouTube and got shocked.

My MJ1 is paired with a Modius E and a HifiBerry Digi+ (?), so theoretically, the MJ1 system should be much better. But no, the MJ1 sound just boring, it's like just a nice powerful facade of sound, but there's not much "behind the wall" to find more.

What about Vali 2+ + MJ1/Rag1?

Oh... I leave these 3 systems in 3 different places, but yes... I can take Vali 2+ to the bigger boys, let's see if I can remember this

The current (BT) version, or the classic? IDK the current version, but I found the classic to not isolate so well.

Why is there a BT version... Never mind, I have the classic version, maybe "HD250 Linear II". The OG ear pads and foam of my unit disintegrated, so I put some generic leather pads in them. I guess that changed the sound and isolation quite a bit.

And one thing I found is that my unit might not cut off the whole spectrum of the sound that well, but my HD250 really did well on blocking chatting, which is what I need

So generally, according to few reviews I found, XS > V2 ~> OG ~ HE1000, sounds great, right? Well, 2nd-handed HE1000 is about 5k - 8k CNY / $700 - $1100 (different versions) in China, and Edition XS is at about 1200 CNY ($170) here, and it's in the same range of Ananda Stealth.

I kinda get it, but still, come to think of it...

And that pretty much sums up why I would no longer buy HFMs

Yea... I'm still buying but I won't recommend people buying HFM headphones within 2 years of their release.

But what if, HFM did the same "upgrade", but keep the MSRP firm, would most of its users still consider their headphones are OK(-ish)?

Wasn't the EC Super7 also one to chase after? or maybe that was for the HD800.

It's a complicated story... Since I'm in China, (used) EC and DNA stuff is hard to acquire. And I bought this used MJ1 unit for < $150 here...

EC amp should be really good, or to me: holy, pairing with HD6*0 and HD800. I really want to compare this with my EC ZDSE, but that amp is broken, sigh.

Same reasons I still love Focal Clear with MJ1. It was always a niche amp, but with the right pairings it still holds its own against current components.

Haha I've heard lean voiced gear that had note richness and vise versa, also just because something has macrodynamics doesn't mean it doesn't do micro well. BA sound is very much a distinctive thing, I thought I'd hate it but I didn't, but dynamics are just nice especially when well-amped with a good DAC. Also, does it seem like BAs don't seem to scale as much with powerful amps?

Here's some very subjective thoughts from me:

1. I don't believe cheap DD IEM could win on micro stuff, but I just didn't want to dive deep using BA, it's like I needed to open myself up, but it somehow hurts. And I do envy BA enjoyers.

2. Now you mentioned it, that EPZ is a chameleon. It sounds thin on my phone, but it was thick on Schiit Hel 2e(?)! UE ones didn't change that much.

3. But since I'm new in IEM game, I found that a pair of these could sound so unique to my ears, for 10 seconds, then my brain EQ kicked in, and the sound got somehow corrected, so anything sounded OK-ish and similar after a short period of time... I just don't know how people compare IEMs, you can't just use the first 5-second impression, right?

Need to go back in time.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G2-FPlvY58

Thank you for this beautiful song!!

My triggering point was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sogivGtsVM

I bought an amp that not only popped when I turned the volume knob but also generated electrical noise after that. I thought I fixed the problem by using WD-40 Contact Cleaner, and did some other things. Later I came back and the last chorus of this song was playing, it really served me well.

It is anecdotal what is considered acceptable in stereo systems these days.. GR-Research goes in-depth why this is and happens to be right. "Status quo" is dead for me. Sibilance was usually bad speaker components and tuning... + a crappy dac.

Somebody or something is watching you.

Nonononno... English is not my first language!!! Oh... it seems that I was correct... Phew

Yes! I googled. You are correct.

I wonder if its mate is called a barrel plug?

And... I googled it, it seems to be correct, at least google-able... Oh! It's called Coaxial power connector: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_power_connector Well that's much more professional...

But I bet it won't fall apart, like my stock Senn cable is doing!

Well, you need to put my clumsiness and laziness into the equation

Any more info on this headphone you could link to? How does it sound, regardless?

I think the headphone is only available in China, and I guess it only appears on Taobao (Amazon-like site), not even Ali Express.

I found myself getting worse comparing headphones so don't trust me on this. The sound is ok, the vocal could be a bit tinny, and I think there's some missing about lower-mids, treble can be a bit bright but definitely bearable. Bass is good, could use a bit more sub-bass but good enough.

The sq was compared to LCD-4 on Ragnarok, which is currently my favourite, so the bar is quite high. I can say I was just picking, as there's no major problem.

I'd describe it as better Hifiman house sound, a little bit of unevenness here and there but better than old Hifiman. Come to think of it, my night need to compare it to my modded HE6SE, I'll do this tomorrow.

It's like the typical round shape Hifiman is back: plasticky vocal, spikey treble, somehow artificial depth, but generally not as bad as before.

They are really comfortable to use. The there's this bass boost, like TH-X00 PH? But with definitely weaker sub-bass, so the bass can keep me happy but it can't bring violence and pain, not good enough.

They still have Hifiman's thin-string-of-sound effect, with the artificial depth, and snappy-ish speed, they could sound empty, but the boosted bass filled in some blank, so it's ok. But generally the sound just feels disjoint.

They are technically better than my modded SJY Moonlight, but Moonlight just sounds better as a whole fuller thing. And it can be leaky for Audivina?

Oh, and they look better in real life. But my question is: Why?

Just question yourself as to why you were reading random reports ;)

Without a common reference and descriptive language, SQ reports really are worthless

I'm China, people love using vague sentences here, acting as they are more "profound"

The only way I like the LCD-4 is with @rhythmdevils mods. It goes from “meh,” to “I want to buy one.”

@Vansen - yep, RD's version is absolutely my favorite headphone. It's the sole reason I've held on to my LCD-4.

I hope I can make these for you all soon. So frustrating. Beauty that cannot be is the worst!!

I'd say that the "suspension headband"? That both Hifiman and Audeze currently using are fine, and the latest ZMF and Meze (IIRC) headbands look even better.

But hey, guess who's been struggling with this on-head weight problem too? Apple.

I thought the weight would bother me, but it's been basically fine. I wear them for at most an hour to an hour and a half at a time, as I just listen in short sessions to pretty much all HPs. So, I can see them getting uncomfortable over longer periods. But I've not felt any discomfort for myself.

One thing I find myself is that I'm OK with heavy headphones, IF the headband is alright (not old Audeze ones ugh). I guess it's just me wearing headphones a lot and play VR games (mostly Beat Saber) sometimes, and I think these two actions helps with each other

Just what happened to me a week or so ago. And I checked a heap of things before getting to that damn plug.

What I don't understand it's that it sounded ok with YouTube speech content: it was only when I switched to music that it turned crap.

That's it. How did I wrote that much?

I'm a lonely man.

No, all good bro. But you might wanna create a thread on this instead.

@joch Thanks but... This comparison is based on two broken / modded amps, I don't think it's that valid? Besides, no one is really considering that €4000 amp, right?

It's like there are even more mounting clips on BT. Yep, I counted them, 12 vs 9 on normal ones. Maybe they went for better seal on BT, if taking off the pads were not a PITA...

Do the 9 clipped pads fit in the other? Because you can use other stuff to seal the pads better.

Nope, first look was like the arrangement of the clips were flipped upside down, but due to egg shape of them, I couldn't force the smaller end into the bigger end, then I found the numbers were then different.

Maybe it's the PCB, chips and batteries in BT made the mounting screw holes moved a bit, then some of the original clips hole were too close to some screw holes causing structure vulnerability, maybe?