Soranik IEMs Impressions and Discussion 2

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by rhythmdevils, Feb 24, 2021.

  1. tranhieu

    tranhieu MOT: Soranik

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    For a moment I did not realize any of those graphs. The treble was really pushed upward quite a fair bit!

    If you need anything feel free to DM me :)

    True, the ARA's snap and bite is really something of its own league. First time I've heard something that 'raw' sounding on an IEM, especially its bass.
     
  2. lcmusiclover

    lcmusiclover Friend

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    I received the Bastilles on Monday. Versailles to follow. I had to travel for work Monday night — enjoyed trading between them, but no serious assessment until tonight. I’m home now, comparing the Bros, as well as my IT07 and Volt, from my Hugo 2 driven by Cowon Plenue 2 Mk II via optical. Using the cables which came with the Soraniks as I don’t have two equally good alternates (and I didn’t want to cable-swap someone else’s IEMs anyway). Two sets plugged into H2 simultaneously — makes for easy A/B. The two Soraniks seem close to equal efficiency. They need a bit more volume from the H2 compared to the other two, which are close to each other.

    Battling Bros
    =========
    At first I wrote:

    ‘So far I have preferred the Signature over the Audiophile for most of the tracks on my ‘Favorites’ playlist’.

    But after listening to more tracks I think I will find the Audiophile’s subdued sub-bass disqualifying.

    ‘Calling’ from Bliss — first 2 minutes are instrumental and there’s some very low-pitched percussion and strings @ 90 seconds in. Pretty much missing from Audiophile but much more present from Signature. Also, the guitar (from track start) is very sweet from Audiophile, but there’s more ‘wooden guitar body’ from Signature.

    Headstage is somewhat narrow and front-to-back from Audiophile; wider, not as deep but more ‘natural-sounding’ from Signature.

    Signature, IT07, Volt
    ================
    After listening to ‘Calling’ on the Bros, I replaced Audiophile with IT07 to see how its sub-bass compared vs Signature. On that track, the lows were quite similar.

    So, once started down that road, I got serious about comparing Signature, IT07 & Volt.

    And the tl;dr is:

    3 very good IEMs with similar tunings, each of which could easily be my ‘favorite’ — depending on the track.

    While the presentations are close overall, they are different enough that each has its strengths:
    • Signature brings the music forward, especially female vocals, and somehow manages to make certain passages ‘extra-sweet’ if that makes sense. And on some other tracks it presents a wonderful headstage — not sure what turns this on and off.
    • IT07 has the most extended sub-bass and lots of treble energy — thus on some tracks vocals can seem a bit ‘back’
    • Volt has a somewhat relaxed warmer tone compared to the other two, which can be a relief on some tracks when the others get ‘demanding’
    I could come up with ‘track notes’ (as in ‘Calling’ above) such as: On ‘Waiting in Vain’, Annie Lennox’s voice is thinner/brighter from Signature and has more warmth from the other two. Or: Percussion which kicks in about 30 seconds into ‘Children of the Sun’ by Dead Can Dance is most impactful from IT07. Or ...

    But that would distort my basic assessment that these 3 IEMs all present the music I enjoy really well with small differences. To my ears, any appearance of judging them ‘better or worse’ can only be the product of personal preference or nit-picking.

    And the real proof of that is that, as I write this, I’ve been randomly switching between the three and frequently feel the need to look at the cable to figure out which one I’ve got in at the time. All three are very fine listens.
    During my 4+ hours of travel time I listened to the Bros and IT07 directly out of the Cowon. I also listened intermittently from the Cowon tonight. Nothing I heard affected my conclusions based on H2 listening.
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2021
  3. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Something I realized a while ago that I've been meaning to post here for some time.

    I listened to all of these iems without knowing what was inside them - BA, dynamic, Hybrid, etc. I heard what I called "BA timbre" in all of them. I heard this same exact timbre issue in all of the iems Soranik sent. But it turns out some of the models had no BA drivers in them. Yet they had this same timbre.

    So, this means this issue was not BA related. I'm posting this in part for Soranik in hopes they can figure out what is causing it. Because their iems are some of the most well tuned on the market and the Bastille has the best soundstage in any iem on the market AFAIK.

    I don't know what could cause a timbre issue in all of their iems. Could it be the plastic housing? The cable? The housing the drivers are in?

    The CA Soalris has much much much superior tonality, they sound very lifelike. Going to the Soraniks from the Solaris they sound like toys because of this pervasive plastic-y-ness. Cymbals on the Solaris sound metallic, cymbals on all the Soranik iems sound like plastic. But they have so much potential.

    I'm hoping Soranik can figure this out, because it's the only thing holding these back from being some of the best iems out there.
     
  4. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I've heard bad timbre BA's (on other non-Soriank IEM's) and I only heard just a touch with the Ion 4. The Ion 2 ans 2S very very smooth. I just found the mids a little too much recessed with that big dip at 5K.

    Just trying to point out that the plastic-y timbre was nost as much issue on the 2 and 2S @Panohm. You have something at add?
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2021
  5. tranhieu

    tranhieu MOT: Soranik

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    Thanks for the advice, if possible I would like to try the tracks you guys used to test that such 'BA timbre' is most audible. Some of us have different opinion/definition when it comes to sound description so hearing it in person is the fastest way.

    In any case, I reckon it's the upper mids - lower treble region that comes across as 'BA timbre'.
     
  6. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I’m not sure that would work be very useful, I hear it in all music. It’s a plastic-y timbre. I think listening to cymbals is the easiest way to hear it but it’s there throughout the spectrum.

    The frequency response of your Bastille iems is one of the best of all iems so I hope you can figure it out. I’m rooting for you guys.
     
  7. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    I think it is possible that our ears can tell when the reverberations of a material don't align with how we've heard that sound before.

    For instance - you know the sound of insects will never carry "weight" so it's always a light sound. Micro drivers lack force and sound light and fast. Like a F1 car.

    If they have a really well tuned DD that sounds light, it is possibly just a tiny driver or has "un-natural" attack/decay properties.

    I've never gotten along with Electostats and certain Planars because they move air in a way that I've never naturally experienced my music.... Unless it was a very very certain type of music that has no fundamental bass.
     
  8. tranhieu

    tranhieu MOT: Soranik

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    Technically most EST IEMs these days are not true Electrostatic at all. The EST drivers only add some fuzziness to the top end, whereas 98% what you hear is either BA or DD or both.

    If it sounds unnatural it’s the BA/DD setup that sounds so, not the EST.
     
  9. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    I have only heard the EST in the Noble Sultan and it sucked, but I understand the technical differences. I was referring to Stax, Sennheiser, Dan Clark, Sonoma.
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2021
  10. tranhieu

    tranhieu MOT: Soranik

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    Headphones wise it’s a whole different story, but yeah some models sound really off if you are not used to their signature. In most cases the diaphragm is not moving large enough air volume as compared to dynamic drivers.
     
  11. Augmentin

    Augmentin MOT - DUNU IEM Company

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    Apologies for the necromancy in advance, but thought people would appreciate this:

    [​IMG]

    This is the left channel on my custom-tuned Bastille that I commissioned them to do 18 months ago, measured on a GRAS RA0045 w/third-party prepolarized 1/2" pressure field mic (40AO equivalent). Treble will look odd because it's a CIEM mold and the GR0435/0434 sleeve (B&K DB2012 equivalent) is not adapted for this kind of measurement.

    I asked @tranhieu to go for a modified DF curve w/treble attenuation, but w/o hard targets.
     
  12. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I still have all the loaner Soranik iems, they can't go back to them right now because of COVID restrictions. If anyone is interested in buying one, I can get you a very good deal.
     
  13. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I want to add to my review of the ION 2S. I purchased the Soranik Ion 2S as a back-up pair, but they are fast becoming one on my main pair of IEM's. And I thank them for such a good deal and making such a great IEM.

    I did a bit of research on these, and there is SO little information out there. Best I can tell the ION series is an slight upgrade or Soranik's BMT that was also a DD + Magnetostatic. They were one of the first to do this, which the Shoeur Tape is also very similar. I even checked the graphs on Crinacle and you can see they are pretty close to the older BMT.

    Soranik - Shouer.PNG

    And yes, I use the Harman target, because it makes the most sense for IEM's to me. Not perfect, but it is close.

    Apparently they have to use a step-up transformer for the magnetosetic driver, because basically it is a small electrostatic tweeter.

    The thing that strikes me is this same weird dip between 3K and 8K that is centered around 5.5K or 6K. It is kind of what lends their tendency to sound distant and diffused in the upper mids. The top end reaches for some air, which is also what gives them great separation, width, and clarity. I did try some parametric EQ to kind of correct for this, but just made them way too forward. The FR was right and brought out more details in those high mids, but at the cost of being more fatiguing. Maybe not fixing them completely and just a DB push or or two might make be the trick. The extreme air of the top end can be somewhat out of place on some tracks as sometimes cymbals or bells might stick out, but never with harshness or bad sibilance, just kind of pushed up in the mix. It leads to amazing cymbal shimmer and just that stat high end details.

    The thing is that perfect FR is still next to impossible for any IEM or any headphone and in the end we have to live with the limitations. And if it bothers us too much, then fix with a bit of EQ. However, the thing you can't fix is the intangibles that you can't hardly measure. Like the timbre, or grainyness, and things like soundstage, width, depth, etc. I have hard time explaining it, but after trying a bunch of different IEM's, none of them had the same qualities, grain free, kind of buttery smooth, yet very textured and dynamic signature.

    Yes, there are other IEM's that are cheaper, more sensitive, and with better looking FR. However, the problem with BA's is their plastic timbre that I cannot stand. And the dynamics are either too way too boomy or have some other compromises somewhere that just feel disconnected. I mean, even Sennheiser's top teir IEM is a dynamic that has even more issues than most hybrids. Yes. Like I said, you live with the shortcomings and either sidegrade or upgrade, but I digress.

    Not So Great
    1. Low sensitivity - Because of the transformer and other things, these things need some voltage to drive. I measured exactly 16 ohms at the connector, but these seem to require even a bit more power than other IEM's.
    2. The mid dip - yes, it is there, but it is in an area that is not bad, and always better in FR to be below rather than pushed.
    3. The cable - It's a stock, cheap thin IEM cable. Easy upgrade.
    The Great
    1. Timbre and smoothness - unlike any IEM, including Timeless. Buttery smooth, yet detailed. Low end is also there an well controlled. The thing is great is that even at low volume, they can sound good.
    2. The width - Having good stereo width is really hard for IEM's and only a few felt like sounds were outside my head, and this one does that. I would not say as much on the ION 2, but certainly the ION 2S.
    3. The fit - really small, really lightweight. I wound up going to Spin Fits as the thinner provided silicone tips provided just don't have enough spring back to hold in place well.
    ; TLDR - these are small, have a good fit, sound decent and fairly detailed for an inexpensive IEM, but they may not be for everyone (but you can say that last part for just about every IEM).
     
  14. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    Resurrecting thread to name drop... Soranik ION 3 Pro.

    Crossoverless design with 1 dynamic, 1 magnetostatic(?) and 1 BA. Super sensitive. Has mechanism to relieve ear pressure and tune low-frequency sound.

    Recent Bay Area meet impressions say these are good and people were impressed, so I figure it's good enough to mention here now.
     
  15. tranhieu

    tranhieu MOT: Soranik

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    A photo of the mentioned unit, I really love how it finally turned out to be so I guess I might share it with everyone here. And yes, this iON-3 Pro is custom made for Bill-P.

    [​IMG]
     
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  16. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    Surely beautiful.
     
  17. tranhieu

    tranhieu MOT: Soranik

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    On the similar topic of wood shells, we just finished this Bastille Pro made of stabilized Buckeye burl, utilizing the wood sound chamber.

    Sound is phenomenal compared to the 3D printed acrylic shell I might say.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2022
  18. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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  19. tranhieu

    tranhieu MOT: Soranik

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    Perhaps the links below from our website might be able to help clarifying a bit.

    https://www.soranik.com/m-e-m-s-2/

    https://www.soranik.com/product/mems-2/

    Long story short, MEMS has been around for decades but never before has the tech has been applied for manufacturing speakers till now.

    There are a couple of companies/startups out there that are experimenting with this cutting-edge concept, and xMEMS/Usound are the most notable ones as we speak.
     
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  20. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    Thanks, sounds interesting! Specs don't state impedance and sensitivity though. Can these be driven from common portable sources, or do they require an extra amp?
     
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