IEM general discussion thread

Oh, wait. DD vs BA smack talk.

 

I've been on the lookout for the ideal IEM to complement my CA Andros with stronger bass and a relatively more fun sound for rock and metal music. I'll primarily use them with my WM1A (balanced or SE) and iPhone (with dongle).

So far I've managed to track down 3 candidates in my area:

Oriolus Mk2
Sony XBA-Z5
Noble K10UA (not sure if this has my aimed sound judging from the reviews, never had a chance to hear them)

I'm gravitating towards the Z5. What do you guys think?

 

Forget about the Z5. Get EX1000 from Japan.

 

I like the CA Vega for bass and rock over my Andros, and am just testing the CA Equinox, which has great bass (ported 10mm DLC drivers!) and the benefits of a shallower fit CIEM. I used to have the K10s as my go-to reference, but CA has kicked them off the list for me, which I am somewhat sad about as they're gorgeous ear-candy.

 

I like the z5 more than the ex1k. The ex1k is too shrill for me and I like the bass of the z5 a lot more. The ex1k required a lot of fiddling with the eq when I owned them. The ex1k is more transparent for sure and the soundstage felt further back compared to the other that felt like you were in the front 3 rows. I just didn't like them for 80s rock and metal compared to the other which I liked a lot more with metal after a cable and tip swap. The sub bass is incredible listening to Metallica white album on the z5. Both do not fit my ears as much as I would like. The ek1k is very neutral and can have really painful highs to my ears and is more of a reference type of sound. The z5 is much more musical and sounds better with metal to me imho.

 

Anybody tried the MEE Audio M6 2018? Stupidly elevated bass but with pretty good timbre, and the rest of the range doesn't seem too out of line (to the extent that I can hear it through the bloody bass, at least).

Thinking that for $20 and some time spent modding these might not be too bad. Unless somebody tells me I'd be wasting my time, I'll play around and report back...

 

Hi there,
I have been a happy owner of um martian for quite a while based on shotgunshanes recommendations... Wish to upgrade further. What u suggest considering I love its sound sig except more detailed sound maybe?

 

Hi folks, I got the chance to demo the Sony M9 (with the Sony hybrid tips irrc) at the local Sony center. Out of 1Z, they sounded pretty much like my Andro (SpinFit +metal dust cover on the big nozzle+CA ref 8), perhaps a tab less warm.

Treble sparkles were easy to spot on female vocal tracks, resolution was in the same ballpark as Andro, and they also delivered an airy presentation and wide soundstage. I think Andro still has the edge on transient, but M9 is not far behind. For me, they differ from Andro mostly in subbass. Andro has more subbass, which gives more rumbles to the bass; while M9 has less subbass and tigher bass. Personally I would prefer the more linear, tighter bass of M9, as sometimes the lowend blooming on Andro from 1Z is annoying to me.

Overall I think they are quite close, might just differ more in source matching, ear fit, price etc. Oh wait I have already spent the extra on ref 8, oh well.

 

Sorry I forgot to mention the Ref8 is the balanced 2.5mm one, so I used the balanced output of 1Z with a MEE adapter with Ref8. The M9 use a Sony 4.4 cable thus the bal. out as well. Might listen to AndroLitz/M9 back to back once I stop by the shop again.

 

Love how they ignore the ER4S showing what 1 BA can do. That you need multi-BA just to get great sound from a BA driver, also don't why they bring up there hearing aid stuff. When the BA's used in headphones are made for music.

 

Not yet, but have them ordered. But I have the KZ ZS10 and I like them more than the edc3 that I have sold already.

 

I'm looking for a new IEM or CIEM. For CIEM, use UE5 when I travel or will be in less than "ideal" environments as they have a very "easy" sound signature to my ears and I can listen to these for a very very long time without fatigue, etc. Use UERR because UERM was discontinued (I have very early ones that could not be remolded due to soft silicone shell) and UERR was the closest I could get. For IEM, have Westone2 but don't really use them much now.

So far, at the top of my list, I have the Unique Melody Legacy (Singapore exclusive) and Campfire Andromeda. However, I am very hesitant to buy anything from UM right now due to past issues they had with quality and service (granted this is from a few years ago and for all I know it's better now) and IMO the price is a bit high. Andromeda doesn't fit my ears well (see my post #1873 in Andromeda thread). 2 different sounds but they're what I like so far. I have tried the entire UE lineup except for the UE Live, some JHA, most of the Unique Melody lineup, a few from Noble, several from qdc (didn't like any of them) and one from 64 audio (too expensive IMO).

**have to go for now, to be continued later**

 

Been out of the IEM game for a while as universals aggravated my ears, but am looking into options for customs. What might my options be for neutral'ish customs? Thanks

 

Looking at the Campfire Audio lineup, I'm thinking about putting my foot in with some new ones unless a stellar deal comes up with Andromedas.

So I'm looking for something that isn't super picky with sources and sounds similar to the HD600/650. I've read that is the Orion v2, but I can't figure out is that the CK or what @KenBall ? Should I be considering something else in their lineup?

 

@fp627 You could try and email Ken about custom tips for your andromeda's, they seem to be working on them and there are some out in the wild atm, it would be cheaper than buying a new iem,

 

You could check out the new comets those are fairly similar to the Orions, they have bit more bass but the Orions have better vocals to me but I can't properly articulate how things sound. There is also a pair of Orions for sale on cam, they are the CK version but you should ask for some pictures.

 

Thank you so much!