[MarkParity]

I've ordered some AZLA SednaEarfit Origin tips, should be with me tomorrow, I'll update with my comments when I've tried them.

 

[shonkhochil]

Just received the silicone tips for the ie40 pro and these are the best pairing for the ie900 among all tips ive tried.
Comfort is perfect, seal is perfect, it doesnt brake like with the original tips.
The sound is woderful! Is way more balanced, vocals came bit more forward and the trebles calmed down but all the clarity and detail retained.
Now the ie900 sound way more "normal" in tuning.
Thanx again guys!

Awesome!! Super glad to hear that.

 

[RIGATIO]

Experienced $100 vs. $1000 IEMs. Here are my thoughts.

Few days ago i acquired these from a retailer that offers no questions asked return policy and i was lacking IEM’s so gave these a try.

I find IE 100 to be great improvement over my pair of Airpods Pro 2. More refined, darker background which i really miss coming from Noise Cancelling pairs which even best of them has a hiss. Tight and controlled bass, clear mids and slight roll of at treble.

IE 900 after IE 100 blasts your face off with significant increase in clarity, more layered bass and definitive impact and slam. Slightly wonky mids which i like better on cheaper IEM, more sparkly treble but 0 fatigue.

My test tracks were;
Billie Jean, September (based on December), Hotel California, Veto and Breathe by Jax Jones.

Source: iFi iDSD Diablo with IE Match, Lightning dongle, Apple Music Lossles.

After switching back and forth i didn’t find any value in keeping IE 900. Despite being a clearly better IEM’s, i find myself reaching out to my HD 600 at home which are clearly better than these tiny IEM’s. For the 1/10th of value with better mids and comfort and no stupid cable connectors IE 100 was no brainer. Kept IE 100, returned the IE 900. Wish i was rich enough to have both.



Bonus picture above: I tried Astell Kern x Campfire Pathfinder above and it was leagues above any other IEM’s i’ve ever heard till this date. Fit, finish, package, cable etc. was entirely different experience made me wonder how their higher end models compare. Which i get to test at the end of May. If i’m shelling out $1K for IEM, i might spend $1.5K to get these instead which price is no concern after all…

Thanks for reading.

Ive had a brief listen with the Pathfinder and i didnt like it AT ALL. It was even worse than the Solaris OG. The midrange was off, similarly to the ie900 but the rest is leagues below the ie900- the bass on the ie900 is SUPERIOR and the trebles are smoother and more refined on the ie900 compared to a harsh, gritty and uneven trebles on the Pathfinder. Honestly, to my ears, CA just cant produce a good iem anymore. The Andromedas OG and 2 were their peak, everything else from them is a hot garbage.

 

[RIGATIO]

Guys are the ie600 harsher than the ie900 in the treble area?
For me the ie900 arent harsh at all and would like to know if the ie600 are similarly extended but smooth or their trebles arent as refined as on the ie900?
I have the ie200 and even tho on their graph, the trebles look bit less boosted than on the ie900, they are definitely more rough and sharp.

 

[shonkhochil]

Guys are the ie600 harsher than the ie900 in the treble area?
For me the ie900 arent harsh at all and would like to know if the ie600 are similarly extended but smooth or their trebles arent as refined as on the ie900?
I have the ie200 and even tho on their graph, the trebles look bit less boosted than on the ie900, they are definitely more rough and sharp.

Yep! At least to my hearing IE600 seemed sharper. I have returned it a long time ago. Decided to stay with IE900.

Thanks

 

[cfc7]

Yep! At least to my hearing IE600 seemed sharper. I have returned it a long time ago. Decided to stay with IE900.

Thanks

+1

 

[cfc7]

The Xelento 2s are definitely safer if the high tones of the ie900 bother you. The ie900 are more analytical and "cleaner" and there are moments when the trebles are rougher.
I went through the most problematic songs i know and there wasnt even one moment when Xelento didnt sound smooth and safe, even on high volumes.
The ie900 are very smooth too (smoother than the u12t for example), but their trebles are definitely boosted. On the other hand, these are the only set of this type that somehow never bothers me and im very sensitive to the uneven trebles. Their trebles have great quality and they manage to never push this goodness this one step further, where they would become sibilant.
Xelento 2 are warm, safe, very detailed but there will be shock for you when you switch from the ie900. You will have an impression of a very bassy and warm sound. At first they can appear as less separated and clean. But there is everything there but served in a different manner.
Xelento have this huge, concert-like sound with monstrous bass and all the details are more blended with the rest of the music but all is still there. Its like a huge wall of sound that surrounds your head.
Ie900 are cleaner, precise and they also create very good soundscape impression but more like you are in between sounds popping up around your head.
Xelento have definitely more midbass and they kick harder, with a very tight punch. Ie900's midbass isnt as powerful and is softer. Their main focus is on the subbas which is amazing- deep, insanely detailed and layered. Xelento have similar amount of subbass but is bit more rounded.

Nice comparison, even if I like the IE900, Xelento always tempted me considering the warm signature.

Which one would you pick for a deeper, more textured bass and more emotional vocals?

 

[RIGATIO]

Nice comparison, even if I like the IE900, Xelento always tempted me considering the warm signature.

Which one would you pick for a deeper, more textured bass and more emotional vocals?

To my ears, the ie900 have bit deeper and more textured subbas rumble but the Xelentos definitely dont lack in the bass department. They have more bass than the ie900 overall, similar amount of subbass but also more midbass, so your attention is redirected more towards sub/midbass as a whole, where the ie900 separates the bass from the mids more.
When it comes to the vocals, none of them are mid centric iem, so you will not get the same amount of liveliness and emotions in the mindrange as with the Monarch Mk2 for example (which has the best midrange ive ever heard on any iem and on most headphones).
But the Xelentos 2 are definitely more "emotional" than the ie900 due to their warmth, midbass punch and smoother detail. They dont focus on technicalities like the ie900 but they are at least as detailed as the ie900 but details arent their main focus. Xelento shows the music as a whole where the ie900 shows off with its precision and clarity.
When i listen to the ie900, my main pleasure comes from their liveliness, microdetails and overall balance which even if its not the best, somehow works like a charm and they sound very neutral to my ears.
Xelentos are able to hit this emotional string with almost every music.
The soundstage impression (as the stage in the iems doesnt exists) is also presented differently.
The ie900 seems wider and very separated at first but they cant create this convincing illusion of real openness. Like they are very spacious and wide but still their sound doesnt entirely play in real space around me. But all this is still very addictive and very airy.
Xelentos sound closer but when the reverberations or the sounds from the background start playing, im really convinced that they come from the real space around me.
But the soundstage wouldnt be my main criteria when chosing between them.
The choice is very hard as they are quite different but technically on the same level.