[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

My "Discovery" of the day - KZ Merga arrived:

Just $13, not $1200, not even a Penon or Linsoul, but I hope that nice little discoveries are OK here too, right?

While the shells are all about cost-savings, they do not look that cheap. I really like that the letters are more subtly looking than in the package images.

Burning now, since original impressions are nice tuning, but tubby (many point out "BA timbre" as something detrimental (that I personally love), while many DDs feel "tubby" to me. It often subsides after some "burning" -15 mins or so, in my experience. I will give them a couple of hours before doing comparisons - one of the great fun aspects of this hobby to me.

" The earphones number 256?" - my daughter asked today inquisitively.
"No, just #142" - I replied humbly but confidently

I have the Polaris landing tomorrow along with my wife's Skims, so I'm looking forward to those. I have the Merga on the way, and should be landing about the same time as the ZS10 pro 2 and Hydro?

 

[o0genesis0o]

My "Discovery" of the day - KZ Merga arrived:

Just $13, not $1200, not even a Penon or Linsoul, but I hope that nice little discoveries are OK here too, right?

While the shells are all about cost-savings, they do not look that cheap. I really like that the letters are more subtly looking than in the package images.

Burning now, since original impressions are nice tuning, but tubby (many point out "BA timbre" as something detrimental (that I personally love), while many DDs feel "tubby" to me. It often subsides after some "burning" -15 mins or so, in my experience. I will give them a couple of hours before doing comparisons - one of the great fun aspects of this hobby to me.

" The earphones number 256?" - my daughter asked today inquisitively.
"No, just #142" - I replied humbly but confidently

“burning”? Who are you and what have you done to the real Phonophi?

 

[o0genesis0o]

Sitting on my screen porch of my beach cottage. Temp is a delightful 75. Hype 4s in my ears connected to Shanling M6 Ultra by a PW #10. It don’t get much better. Very little said about the Hype IEMs. I have the 2 and 4.
On the other hand, awaiting Aur Neon Pro, 7hz Aurora and………

I reviewed the hype2 a few months ago. The bass woofers are lovely. My only concern is that the face plates of the units have pealed off after a returning from a private review tours. Audiophiles baby their gear, so I blame ThieAudio build quality.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

I reviewed the hype2 a few months ago. The bass woofers are lovely. My only concern is that the face plates of the units have pealed off after a returning from a private review tours. Audiophiles baby their gear, so I blame ThieAudio build quality.

The Hype 2 are on sale right now, and I remember your review being very positive with the sound, and it made me scratch my chin. Amazon US has it for $30.00 off.

 

[Scubadevils]

I don't think the Bellos Audio X4 have been mentioned here yet, so I will do so now! The X4 has 1x DD plus 3x BA IEM and retails for $999, and from the guys behind Fir Audio.

A neutral, smooth, tuning with a nice touch of warmth - very impressive imaging in spite of that smooth tuning, nothing in-your-face but still easy to pinpoint in a large stage. They are incredibly comfortable, so coupled with the tuning allows for extended listening sessions with zero fatigue. An incredibly solid all-rounder that works with any genre, easy to drive, and very comfortable with excellent isolation.

Full review in the coming week or so.

 

[baskingshark]

Curious about that Aful Explorer right now for sure. I've got a Kefine Delci coming in just because I'm curious about that set.

FatFreq Maestro Mini/Maestro SE are on deck for a tour soon and I've been squirreling up to either pick up the Scarlet or the Maestro Mini as my upgraded basshead IEM over my Legato.

Also believe that Fatfreq has a collab going on that's in early stages with HBB so that absolutely on my list.

And then the Simgot Supermix 4 is 100% on my list.

And on the headphones side of things, just got a shipping notification from SJY Audio so I'm hyped for some planar goodness there.

The Explorer actually sounds similarly tonally to some of the Fatfreq gear, big sub-bass with relatively neutral mids and treble.

But of course, some of these higher-end Fatfreq stuff have better technicalities, which is expected for the price differential.

Let me just leave it here...
The latest addition to TRN Aquatic series: TRN Medusa (=Jellyfish)

The official price is yet to be announced. Personally, I'll probably end up buying it just for the design (let alone the fact that recently TRN is on fire - pun intended). The price should be announced in a week or so, I'll make sure to post it here as soon as it's available!

Don't look into Medusa's eyes!

Glue is cheap?

I managed to get Epoxy B7000 glue and fixed the shells by curing over 72 hours.

I mean if it were a cheap CHIFI, dodgy QC is not unexpected, but the Moondrop Variations is a $500 set, and there are numerous reports of the faceplate dropping off. In addition to Moondrop having paint peeling off shells of their IEMs. These issues have been prevalent for years and it hasn't been fixed as of 2024.

Suspect costs are cut at certain levels to maximize profit.

From the Once an Audiophile, Always an Audiophile Dept:

I work as the director of editorial for Penske Entertainment, which owns the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I'm working this month at the Speedway for the Indianapolis 500.

It's a fun job that I've done for nearly a quarter-century -- this is my 24th "500" -- but it's a LOT of work. Twenty straight 13-hour days this month.

Anyways, I was trudging up the steps to the fourth floor of the Media Center where I work all month the other morning, tired and cranky from fatigue and lack of coffee. Then I saw it -- a lone IEM tip sitting at base of one of the steps. Three days later, the tip was still there, but turned sideways.

Proof that an audiophile always is on the lookout, even when they're working their balls off and have little time to enjoy good sound or good banter about that sound!

Wow this is an audiophile's job - or rather, hobby hazard.

Haha when I go to malls or subways, I always check out what other users have in their ears.

> 90% are TWS stuff yeah, but once in a while we see a wired IEM (they are sadly mostly KZ pokemons or those budget cheapies bundled with a phone). But I've encountered users with Sony gear (some brave soul was using a EX1000 in a subway!), the usual Westone and Shure suspects, and I've even seen an RHA ceramic IEM. Saw a few Final audio gear, DUNU and Moondrop stuff too.

 

[SemperMalum]

Arrived and time to listen!

Hm, surprisingly, they don't sound like planar. I've been led astray.

 

[OceanOfLight]

Don't look into Medusa's eyes!

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Been latched on the teat of the ST7 since I got them pretty much, so right now, I'm driving the Simgot EA500LM, which is an IEM I love and prefer much more than the EW200 or even the EA1000. But instead of using one of my fancier or newer DAPS, I'm playing them thru my ancient Sansa Fuze, and the synergy for metal is FANTASTICO! Clear, concise, authoritative bass, and no sibilance. To me, thanks to the expanded stage, are so much better than these other two Simgots. Damn, I want the Supermix 4!

 

[Jmop]

All-time, my list would take far too long to list, as I've tried most likely over 200+ IEMs, but let me narrow it down to my top 10 that I've enjoyed and given large amounts of eartime, and not necessarily the most technical or pricey, both currently owned and those I've parted ways with for whatever reason or got to borrow and then give back. This makes my list a lot more manageable.

1. JH Audio Roxanne (owned and sold for move to Florida)
2. Dita Dream (borrowed and truly wow'd by this neutral marvel, which led me to buy the Dita Truth, which wasn't even close to this sound quality)
3. DUNU EST112 (owned and sold for Wu Zetian and Timeless)
4. Aur Audio Aure (still own)
5. Ultimate Ears TF10 (owned and sold)
6. Sennheiser IE800 (still own)/JVC HA-FX800 (the first IEM that so wow'd me with timbre and resolution, that it freaked me out!! The bass though was too intrusive-sold)
7. TRN ST7 (own)
8. Fischer Audio DB02 (owned and sold for Zero Audio Doppio and TTPod something or the other)
9. CCA Trio (own)
10. Sennheiser CX300ii (just the fun factor and they were my main squeeze for 3 years!)

Fischer Audio, now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time aha. Never owned the DB02 but I remember reading on it.
Some respectable ‘vintage’ earphones I’ve owned:

Hifiman re262/272
Audio Technica ck10
Vsonic vc1000 (same as gr01)

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

i really Fischer Audio, now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time aha. Never owned the DB02 but I remember reading on it.
Some respectable ‘vintage’ earphones I’ve owned:

Hifiman re262/272
Audio Technica ck10
Vsonic vc1000 (same as gr01)

Loved the Hifiman. Had the RE0 and RE-ZERO too. I really enjoyed the DB02. It was the first IEM I ever bought where I became AWARE of ultimate detail retrieval. It was the moment I went What?! What did I just hear (in a song I heard 1,000 times)?! The problem was that this was the first dual BA I ever purchased. I was coming off the TF10, which is a 3BA, but it has really good bass response, and before that, you're talking to the guy who lived with the Sennheiser CX300ii, the legendary V!! So I was used to big punchy bass! The bass of the DB02 was lightning quick, and resolving, but not anywhere near what I was used to, and at this time, I was being seduced in the Chinese IEM thread by several head-fi'ers to get the VSonic GR07 bass edition. Then I got an offer from an old headfier (IEM something or another) that pretty much was the same as what I paid for them. He really really wanted the DB02 for some reason, so I agreed, and used that money to buy the GR07BE. Fit stunk. Sold as well.

 

[Jmop]

Loved the Hifiman. Had the RE0 and RE-ZERO too. I really enjoyed the DB02. It was the first IEM I ever bought where I became AWARE of ultimate detail retrieval. It was the moment I went What?! What did I just hear (in a song I head 1,000 times)?! The problem was that this was the first dual BA I ever purchased. I was coming off the TF10, which is a 3BA, but it has really good bass response, and before that, you're talking to the guy who lived with the Sennheiser CX300ii, the legendary V!! So I was used to big punchy bass! The bass of the DB02 was lightning quick, and resolving, but not anywhere near what I was used to, and at this time, I was being seduced in the Chinese IEM thread by several head-fi'ers to get the VSonic GR07 bass edition. Then I got an offer from an old headfier (IEM something or another) that pretty much was the same as what I paid for them. He really really wanted the DB02 for some reason, so I agreed, and used that money to buy the GR07BE. Fit stink. Sold as well.

Haha, I almost bought the BE but nope, never heard any GR07 variant to this day, it would be too treble peaky for me anyway. Yeah I also heard the Hifiman Zero and RE00, just not the original, and the 600 as well.

 

[Hypops]

Me to my 95-year-old father on our daily FaceTime call: "Hey, Pop: I got another set of headphones!"
Pop to 58-year-old son: "Another one? Jesus, how many do you have? Aren't they all the same?"

My partner once made a similar comment when she saw all of my headphones out on my desk at the same time. My response: “And how many different black shirts, black pants, and black dresses do you own? Would you also say those are ‘all the same’?” She conceded the point, and now never questions when a new pair appears.

Either that, or she’s carefully and patiently crafting an even better comeback…

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Haha, I almost bought the BE but nope, never heard any GR07 variant to this day, it would be too treble peaky for me anyway. Yeah I also heard the Hifiman Zero and RE00, just not the original, and the 600 as well.

Oh I guarantee you, if you are treble sensitive, the GR07BE would NOT be for you! I'm not treble sensitive, or i'm treble tolerant, and besides the fit, the sibilance was too much for me. Say what you will about the Senns and the TF10 being crazy V's, but neither were ever sibilant.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Warlord! The former drummer for Fates Warning's first band, and an 80's progressive metal legend.

Yes, I have always been into Fates Warning since the early 1986 days, but I never knew of Warlord? Awaken the Guardian anyone?