IEM general discussion thread

7Hertz Timeless II

These came out late last year. I can't find any previous mention here, so a quick summary follows...
With a few minor reservations, I really liked the original Timeless. Changes in version II are:

• A fancy waffle texture on the faceplates;
• Very slightly deeper bodies (but otherwise the same dimensions, despite a supposed re-design of the enclosure);
• A single-crystal copper cable with 2-pin connectors (vs the orignals' MMCX) and swappable 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm SE plugs;
• Four swappable nozzles vs the fixed nozzle of the original
• A new, slightly larger driver and mounting system, which from the pictures looks to have a tighter packing of conductor traces on the diaphragms and different magnets.
• Specs indicate these are slightly easier to drive vs the originals (108 vs 104 dB/V), but in practice the difference is outweighed by emphases in different parts of the range (in character as well as level; nozzle-dependent, too). Impedance is roughly the same (~15 Ohms).

If the originals didn't fit you at all or if you didn't like the sound, these won't do you any additional favours. But if you liked the tonal balance, these new ones (with one set of tips) sound similar - with some extension/elevation at each end - and offer some technical improvements.

For me, the (small) timbral/technical downsides of the original were a disconnect between a somewhat soft, elevated mid- to upper bass and comparatively lean lower mids (Spiral Dots and warm sources helped); dynamic softness through the mids (a punchy source helped); and a slightly plasticky treble. With the new ones I went straight to Spiral Dots and the balanced output of the great little Earmen Sparrow dongle.

Listening initially with the 'turbine' nozzles (that look like the OG ones), the upper mids are recessed and the bass comes across too strong. Switching to the nozzles with the 'petal' aperture pattern gave a closer balance to the originals, but with the emphasis in the bass being lower down and the highs being somewhat more elevated as well as 'cleaner'. Here's a comparison of the originals vs those two nozzles on the V II, using a Dayton iMM-6 mic in a plastic tube with an attempt at compensating to an IEC711 response:



The bass-to-mids contrast seemed much reduced, the bass going low but coming across as 'faster', and there being more weight in the lower mids. Macrodynamics were heightened throughout the range, the 'clean' signature of the originals being retained but without the softness, and low-level detail retrieval being improved.

The other two nozzle pairs are odd, being dome-shaped with pinholes in the tops and slots (larger in the silver pair) in the sides (top 2 pairs in the photo below). These are supposedly "inspired by the concept of speaker phase plugs", and are supposed to improve high-frequency response, but to me what they mostly seemed to do was make staging and imaging weird, somehow artificially overexaggerating instrument separation in the mids.



They did have minor, slightly different, emphases through the upper mids and lower treble, and according to my measurements both gave a reduced response in the upper treble, but my ears are too old to confirm whether that's actually real up there...



...but whatever, the gold 'petal' nozzles went back on pretty quickly.

So in summary: these are worth a look. They improve on the OG in low-end tonal integration, dynamics, and mid and treble timbre, while for the most part retaining (nozzle-dependent) their tonal balance (actually somewhat exaggerating the U). They're also more forgiving of sources, still to me sounding best with something punchy but their improved macrodynamics leading to acceptable performance even straight out of a phone. To me only one of the 4 sets of nozzles is useful, but others might like the differences in tone or character produced by the alternatives.

Caveats: mainly, the fit. Even if they do make it inside your particular ears, judging from reports of the OG the big shells seem to lead to differences particularly in how the bass will be experienced. Also, they're not terrifically sensitive; driving them straight from a phone is marginal, you'll be better with a dongle that delivers decent power into lower impedances.