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

Same here bro ,good to be back. Hope all is well with you brother.

 

Brooko just did a pretty extensive review here: https://www.headphone-earphone.reviews/2018/07/23/fiio-fh5-hybrid-iem-review/

 

Now that the Hifi Walker A1 have finally become available in the US, it was time for a short writeup on these great budget IEMs:
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/hifi-walker-a1-modded.6689/

 

@Brooko is one of the best reviewers on Head-Fi IMHO...thx for sharing this.

 

FH5 is very vocal forward - almost to the extent that it gets fatiguing after a while. Good build and shape. If you knock back the 2 kHz section a little, its a really nice IEM (especially for the price)

 

Would appreciate if I can get some pointers. After making a mistake with Oriveti New Primacy (uncoherent; treble sticks out over warm bass, driver flex), I'm hoping my next attempt will be better. I'm out for a reasonably priced neutral tonality (hd 650, smooth neutral, not bright ) daily banger IEM. Is the Brainwavz B400 the one?

If I compare graphs with the Andromeda which i would say is neutral and smooth, perhaps a touch mids shy (with comply), I can see more uneven frequency in the B400. Someone who's used both (and enjoys the Andromedas out of 1.5 oi source), can they share their point of view on how they compare tonally?

The Andro has that peak around 8k which requires comply to tame, but once tamed it is very coherent , smooth and neutral... The peaks in the B400 do worry me a bit however.. Will someone who loves the Andromeda find the B400 crappy and jarring concerning frequency response? Another option is Campfire Orion which I read is quite neutral, but I'd rather try something a bit cheaper for now.

Top is B400, bottom is Andro.

 

I've enjoyed the b400 really a lot but in the end I've sold them because I prefer the Low End of the Dinamic Drivers a lot more.
Give 'em a try if you're looking for a full BA iem, these arw really enjoyable mate.

 

I found them bass and treble light. Great fit but the stem is narrow making tip rolling difficult. Killer price though. Andromeda is truly special but fit for me not so good.

 

Neutralish and underwhelming can be good - that's how i found the HD650 at first and now it's my favourite headphone. Headphones that were super impressive on first listen turned out to be fatiguing or annoying over long term listen.

Another IEM that's entered my radar is the Creative Aurvana Trio. Reviews seem to point to neutralish-warm presentation.. it hasn't been mentioned here.

 

I've had the HFM RE600S for a month or two, and I find that it resembles my hd6xx tonally, and am enjoying it quite a bit. It is not as resolving as most totl iems, and a little rolled off at both ends (also a bit like the Senns), but for $100.00, like the Senns at $200.00, it's perfect for me and what I used it for. In the long run comfort, a lack of negatives, and good value make me a happy camper. Moreso than a combination of superlatives and problems.

 

I used RE600 as my beater IEMs for a few years. No real sins of commission but the weaksauce cable is definitely a negative as it’s super flimsy and not replaceable.

 

Agreed on these points, I've enjoyed my pair for a few years now...I think it is the IEM I've had the longest now. I tend to grab these when I need max comfort and want to listen for an extra long period as they've rather non-fatiguing overall. I get the best results with Spiral Dot tips. Regarding the cable, it's subpar at best and prone to failure....not sure about the latest versions as people have said it's better now. Some time back I had recabled my pair ( https://imgur.com/a/1v9kE ) by re-terminating with a UERM cable and they've proven to be quite durable since then.

 

X2 on the super flimsy RE600 cable. I owned tons of IEMs and hardly ever had cable issues. However, the RE600 cable managed to break twice within a year, which makes it my personal all-time low in cable build quality. I've stopped buying HiFiMAN IEMs since.

That said, they can be recabled by Vesper Audio:
https://vesperaudio.com/gallery/43-fixed-cable-recables?brand=86

They even do MMCX connectors:
https://vesperaudio.com/gallery/39-detachable-cables?brand=86

 

My daily driver is the Stagediver SD2 and that to my ears sounds pretty similar to the HD650. It's has a similar tonality: smooth and warmish neutral. Similar to the HD650 it's weakness is a slightly loose bass response. Reasons why this is my daily driver: superb isolation and fit, replaceable filters, replaceable cables and a sound I can listen to all day.

 

Thanks for the links. May look into this when the time comes. Couldn't find pricing, but i suspect it might cost more than the iems, which would make me out. Having owned HFM products before, my approach was to pay Amazon an extra $3 to extend the warranty for an extra two years which I am normally loathe to do, but in the end, eh, hundred bucks.

 

Back when I asked them, prices ranged from $80 to $130, depending on cable model.

But for my part, I decided against recabling, cut the original cable short and used the RE600 with a BT-receiver.

 

I got the B400 and the Creative Aurvana Trio. Aurvana Trios are for the bin, it's v shaped, sucked out mids, too much treble, too much bass. Oh well more cash down the drain

B400 - they meet my do no harm standards, no peaks or crazy dips thank god. They are close to HD650 in some ways. I wish for touch more sub bass and highs, but unbelievably they sound smooth and neutralish-warm, with a touch more vivid upper mids. Not bad at all for a neutral do no harm presentation