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

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

  1. lagadu

    lagadu Facebook Friend

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    Well, I'm hoping for some IEM recommendations, which is an area I've little experience in. Right now I own the Fiio FH5, what I like about them is that they have a sub-bass boost but unboosted mid-bass, I very much appreciate how textured and rumbly the bass in general is. Treble is a little laid back which I also like. What I don't like about them is how they're not very slamming and, most importantly, the upper mids are a little too shouty for my taste, I wish they were less prominent and more in line with the rest of the midrange.

    In other words, I like the sub-bass ONLY boost, and non-shouty mids; I'm not fond of V shapes either. From reading around I suspect the UERR might be up my alley but I haven't had a chance to try them.

    Usually I use them with a Shanling UP4.

    Is there anything up to, lets say $1000 (including used) that might fit me?
     
  2. EagleWings

    EagleWings Friend

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    UERR is not going to have the sub-bass boost nor will it slam hard.

    - Moondrop S8 will have the boost in the sub-bass, but it also has a forward upper-mids.
    - Sennheiser IE800S is another good option which fits your description. But I don't like its tone in the midrange. But I've seen many who don't seem to have a problem with its tone.
    - 64Audio's U12t might also fit your description, but is a bit above your budget. But none of these 3 will slam hard.
    - EE Legend X will slam hard and is boosted in the sub-bass, but its bass boost extends a little into the mid-bass too, which creates a bloated bass. It will also be a bit above your budget, but fits your description otherwise.
    - My overall vote goes to the u12t.

    I am sure there are other candidates under $1000. But these are the ones that came to my mind.
     
  3. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    While the UERR is more relaxed in upper mids, I don’t think it’s bass will be anywhere near what you are looking for.

    I haven’t heard any of the Fiio iems, so I can only go by Crinacle’s measurements. The FH5 seems to have a reasonable upper mid level, so it seems you need something considered laid back there.

    From your description it seems the OG Solaris would be up your alley but over your budget.

    On the cheap side, the old classic Sony MDR 7550 came to mind. And while verifying measurements, it seems the Sony N3 measurements might be the ticket but I’ve never heard it.

    If you’ve not aware, you can use Crinacle’s iem measurement comparison tool to try and find some iems that do the things different from the FH5 you want. I’d use that as a base to create a list, then start asking around for subjective comparisons of the FH5.
    Here is the link to his tool: https://crinacle.com/graphs/iems/graphtool/
     
  4. lagadu

    lagadu Facebook Friend

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    @EagleWings Yeah, a bloated midbass is a big no-no in my book. Unfortunately 64 audio is pretty rare in Europe but I travel a lot so I'll keep an eye out next time I'm near one of the stores that distributes them for an auditioning.
    @shotgunshane I wasn't aware of his comparison tool, thank you! I'll go give the Solaris an auditioning sometime, maybe I'll be convinced to spend the little extra. In the meantime I might just buy the xba-n3, it's cheap enough that I can resell at little loss if I'm not convinced.

    Based on the tool, the Thieaudio Clairvoyance/Monarch might also be worth a try, though I doubt I'll ever find them available for auditioning.

    Thank you for the suggestions everyone!
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2020
  5. limesoft

    limesoft Friend

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    Anyone played with the Fiio FH3? Seems to be gathering bit of a hype. I managed to find some measurements - it seems like it's got bit of a peak at 8khz and I've very sensitive to wonky treble, but...
     
  6. limesoft

    limesoft Friend

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    I got the FH3: Excellent fast and plentiful bass, quite smooth transition to the mids - no complaints here at all. Things start going tits up in the treble - some localised peaks around 6khz, 8khz and resonance at around 12khz; the peaks are not massive, but I'm also finding it tough to eq them out for some reason, making for a tiring slightly etched treble listen.. For this reason I will say save few more dollars and get the JVC fdx1 from massdrop which offers a superior, more coherent and truer to source sound.

    Oh well, another one bites the dust unless I figure something out with eq and foam mod. Shame as I think these have good potential and are "almost" there.. Yet again my GAS overpowered my fetish for measurements.
     
  7. limesoft

    limesoft Friend

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    * Sony IERM7 have a nice deep reaching bass, smooth mids and treble - overall neutral/smooth with a pure tone. They need quite a bit of power by the way. IERM9 seems to have more treble which I dislike.

    * U12t is above your price range and need a smooth relaxing source, but will probably meet your sound requirements.
     
  8. Claud

    Claud Living the ORFAS dream

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    Moondrop Blessing 2. Harmon curve tuned IEM.

    EDIT: How come no love for a $300 IEM that sounds like a $2000 one? It's my current favorite with Penon GS849 cable. My other fav is my CA Solaris SE with the new Penon OSG cable.
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2020
  9. pgs_audio

    pgs_audio New

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    Did you ever listen the planar IEM? If so, which ones?
     
  10. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    I believe the only planar iem I’ve heard is the Audeze iSine20. The version I heard was without the lightning cable which has corrective EQ/DSP. Unfortunately with the regular cable, the frequency response was pretty bad, to the point it sounded broken. Many say the lightning cable EQ/DSP makes it a pretty good iem but as I said, I never got to hear that version.
     
  11. tommytakis

    tommytakis MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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  12. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    I haven’t tried them yet but we’ve had some brief talk of them here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/iem-tip-rolling-tip-advice-thread.9423/

    If they are anything like the old Aurisonics Sure Seal tips, they should stick in place like glue and not move around.
     
  13. pgs_audio

    pgs_audio New

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    Wow! You’ve been listening to so many headphones! Of all this could you mark your favorite headphones?
    We’re currently working on a planar IEM project. Maybe you’d be interested to hear them, evaluate and write an interesting review?
     
  14. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    Sure, shoot me a PM and we’ll work out the details.

    I gravitate more neutral tuning in general. Here are some of my current favorites:
    Solaris, Andromeda, Ara, ProPhile 8, UERM, Starfield, FDX1 and Nair.
     
  15. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    Gaudio Nair added to the list.
    Review located here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...iden-reviews-impressions-and-discussion.9908/
     
  16. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    I'm on a Dunu Luna loaner tour over on HF and I thought I'd give my SBAF family the first look on my impressions before I post them over there:

    The Luna tour unit arrived at the same time I also had a Solaris 2020 loaner on hand. Perfect timing for a TOTL shootout.

    Dunu Luna vs Campfire Audio Solaris 2020
    • Luna is absolutely tiny; unlike most iems, it’s titanium alloy shell does little to help with isolation; it’s really up to the tips alone.
    • Solaris 2020 reduced fit is superior to the Solaris OG. Much more comfortable fit long term.
    • That said, Luna fit is superior to Solaris 2020. It’s smaller, touches less of the ear and is easier to just forget about it.
    • Both models have similar cable construction with their twisted design.
    • The Dunu cable is a little thicker but has much less memory and is more pliable compared to the stiffer Campfire smoky super litz.
    • The OG Solaris super litz cable got hard and memory laden over time and I have to wonder if the same fate lies in wait for the 2020 smoky super litz. I’d choose the Dunu cable for ergonomics any day of the week. Plus you get the amazing modular plug system.
    • Solaris comes with a nice and functional cork case; Luna comes with a small carry purse. Lol, it’s a clutch and all it’s missing is some Louis Vuitton logos to finish the look!

    Source: Modius>THX 789
    Dunu Luna with Final E tips; Solaris 2020 with Ortofon tips

    I’m just gonna say it: Dunu Luna bass is one of my favorites I’ve heard in an IEM. Natural, realistic and superb, believable impact. Perhaps it rolls off the sub bass just a bit too soon; I would like a hair more rumble personally. I really wish I could compare with my all time favorite bass, the Sony EX1000 but it’s that good to make me want to compare with the Sony legend.

    Solaris 2020 bass is no slouch itself. It has very good linearity without obvious bias towards one end of the bass or the other. That said, Solaris 2020 sub bass rumble is noticeably more present and is slightly more satisfying with electronic music (Egyptian Lover - To 1985 rumbles fantastically). However, next to the Luna bass, it just doesn’t sound as natural and real once we move away from electronic music. Solaris 2020 bass has a sense of haze down low compared to the Luna bass. Perhaps this is simply due to more sub bass presence or perhaps there is more to it, but Luna bass just sounds really clean.

    Male vocals seem to carry similar weight between the two models, with Solaris 2020 placing them much more forward, due to its middle midrange bump. Moving to female vocals the differences are more apparent. Solaris 2020 female vocals seem a bit deeper sounding with more noticeable sibilance, and again more forward. Even if Solaris 2020 sounds more forward with female vocals, Luna has more traditional energy due to its greater upper midrange presence. Both have really good clarity overall.

    The increased upper midrange presence of Luna extends into lower treble. Rock guitars sound very forward, clear and with lots of bite. At lower volumes it can be very enjoyable but at higher volumes the upper mid/lower treble emphasis, that peaks between 4-5k, starts to obscure and mask treble timbre and resolution. Conversely the Solaris 2020 has more body to its rock guitars while maintaining decent bite (certainly more-so than OG Solaris). And while the upper midrange transition into lower treble is smoother, less elevated, Solaris 2020 does have a sizable lower to mid treble peak around 8K that’s makes it’s presentation much brighter and puts a metallic sheen over everything (something the OG Solaris never did).

    Interestingly both models present significant problems here for me. Luna treble timbre is blunted and oddly nasally or scooped sounding up top and lacking air. Whereas the Solaris 2020 may have a more realistic treble timbre, it is verging on and often spilling over into, too bright when the peak comes into play. Timbre can go from fairly realistic to having a heavy metallic sheen applied to everything.

    Staging is presented pretty differently as well. Solaris 2020 mostly keeps the unique staging qualities of the OG and it sounds both more forward, taller and wider than Luna. While Luna sounds comparatively smaller, it equals Solaris in depth, layering and resolution as a whole, while sounding somewhat further away overall from the listener.

    Luna can go toe to toe with the best out there. Whether or not it works for you will come down to preferences, ear geometry and simply what matters more to you. As far as TOTL iems go, Luna can present a compelling package. For myself and my personal opinions, Luna and Solaris 2020 are pushing past what I would consider spending for IEM nowadays and each has a treble issue that just doesn't work for me. If money is no object, then certainly Luna cannot be overlooked as its bass performance is lasting and memorable in sea of in-ears across more than a decade of listening.
     
  17. Rockwell

    Rockwell Friend

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    Great read...thanks! I would love a direct comparison between the Solaris OG and 2020 if you ever have the time. I have the SE version and from what I've been reading it sounds like something of a mid-point between those two.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    There really isn't a huge difference between OG and 2020 Solaris. The fit is much better on the 2020. The sound soundstage, detail, dynamics are the same. The difference is that the OG has slightly laid-back upper mids / lower highs, sort of like how the Focal Clears. The 2020 has lifted this region along with the lower-mid highs which didn't need a lift. I'm just splitting hairs, but it is slightly bright up top now in low/mid highs instead of slightly laid-back in the upper presence region.

    I could run Solaris OG on almost anything, including neutralish or more incisive solid-state amps, iFi BL Micro, iPhone, etc. With Solaris 2020, I went specifically with the xDuoo with OP627 opamps to darken the sound. It was perfect with this combo.

    Some imperfect data here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...laris-2020-mini-review-and-measurements.9370/
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2020
  19. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    yes, they stick in for sure!
    need to be CAREFUL on removal- more than once had the sedna tips become disconnected from the AirPods Pro, leaving the silicone stuck directly in the ear. removable with a tweezer.

    try to break the seal and remove slowly instead of quickly yanking AirPods with Xelastec out of each ear.
     
  20. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    Pretty much what @purr1n said. The 2020 feels like it elevated everything over 2k up to the 8-9k treble peak. Most of this increase is welcomed for a bit better instrument timbre and clarity in these ranges, however the increase in the main treble peak is just a little too much for me personally to live with. It's not a painful or piercing issue, rather it brings out the slightly metallic sheen I hear on the OG and brings it to a more annoying level with some of my music. I suppose it's a trade off, the improved clarity of the 2020 also keeps it from verging into overly warm, which the OG can do from time to time.

    I suppose I'm being pick but hey, these are really expensive IEMs. And I'm pretty picky about treble in general, as it can easily make or break and IEM's performance, as least as far as I'm concerned. This is why after hearing so many very good, and more expensive IEMs, I still really enjoy and reach for OG Andromeda and it's fantastic treble presentation.

    I kinda feel like OG Solaris vocals are placed a little more forward than the 2020. It might be the slightly more 1k presence measurements show, or it could be the psychoacoustic effect of the OG's less upper mid/lower treble presence as well. All the other technicalities are pretty much the same, with the 2020 being much more comfortable in its new smaller size.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2020

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