I mean, you're not wrong - tonally they are kind of like a 009 with a very impressive bass presentation. Timbre is where I disagree. The HiFiMAN HE series and Stax 009 both have more clarity / resolution. The Composer is a quick DD driver, but it isn't as fast as the electrostatic and planar...

No logo? I just received mine - they are tough to get a good seal with the stock blue tips. I've switched to Xelastic 2 and solved my seal problem. Early impressions after listening to the Senn. IE900 most of the day - the Mega doesn't have the same technical chops, but it has an agreeable...

I'm possibly thinking of trying these on my LCD-R - @DekoniAudio any experimenting done on the -R ? They come stock with the new pleather pads without a screen.

I reported the post. Bunch of Bee Science. @Armament thank you for the helpful post. @cwoo, thank you for recognizing and keeping the ship straight.

The Black Star is a wonderful IEM that is versatile with many genres. The mid-range is where these shine - the bass and treble are exciting, yet not overly sharp/unnatural. They are pretty close to the Solaris I dreamt of - slightly less edgy, but holographic - great stereo imaging.

It kinda bums me out that a lot of people use these nice DAPs into another dongle. It was more common when the iPod had the 30-pin line-out, but I feel DAPs have improved from then - so why the dang dongles :D Also bums me that we are comparing dongles to DAPs. :(

Man... this and the Cayin N3Ultra are both really calling me.. Warren - I'm sure you've heard both :D

Any updates on 'The Gadget'? I keep thinking of stringed instruments in my head and the gadget always pops-up in my mind.

That is what I see with the ie900. The ie600 has a foam behind the grill and you can't see the driver or housing.

same :D

Gotcha. :)

Great points - Didn't realize the OI was that high on the M5U. I'd like a DAP with decent eq (g.eq or peq) and nothing 'gimped' on the SE / BAL. outputs. Are there any DAPs that is a full FPGA system for their DAC? Would be nice to have firmware options that could add features at later...

WOW! Awesome deal

Good questions. The N3U seems unique to me, in that it offers the tubes + simple interface + price. Does the similar priced Shanling M5U compete in sonic technicality or just priced with the 'extras' (Operating system, etc.)?

behind the nozzle and drivers. I can clearly see into the housing of the ie900, but not in the ie600