I have had so many IEMs over the years and sold them all. I am always trying new things and as I only have one pair of ears, I found having many IEMs is just a waste of money. Having said that, the Dita Project M will be with me for a long, long time and if not forever. The quality, beauty, craft and performance for the price is just unbeatable. It proves that you don't need to spend an arm and a leg with multiple drivers configuration to get an amazing TOTL sound.

@ATunner70 - 100% agree, incredible IEM for comparatively low cost… hardly a day goes by without me listening!

Hi David. Best place to buy it in EU?

I would have to disagree with your conclusion. The HE-R9 is probably the worst mis-step that Hifiman has made in recent memory. The bloated, boomy bass that overwhelms everything else cannot be shrugged off. It colors everything and ruins any song that has prominent bass to begin with. Also, the build is mediocre and laughable if you consider the original retail price, but it is at least serviceable.

What the HE-R9 does have is potential. There's nothing wrong with the drivers. These can be used as a good starting point for anyone willing to spend the time to modify them. It took JM Audio eight tries to get something they think is worthwhile, so if you are going to keep the original cups, you've got your work cut out for you in modding, but that is part of the fun. I'd suggest going the route I took, which was removing those ridiculous, cavernous, echoey plastic cups and replacing them with wooden cups. Turning them into semi-open headphones lets the drivers have the air they need.

You are right, that the bass is too much and I also usually add a section to my reviews discussing simple 'Modifications' e.g. with the HE400SE I added a section with reference to some of the simple mod to tweak the treble region on that Hifiman.
But with this one, I did look at JM Audio and CustomCans but any modification looked difficult, time consuming and expensive. I think what those guys do is amazing but in this case, in my opinion, it would be better to just buy a different headphone. What I did find was very specific recordings (mainly live) worked well even with the boomy bass (or at least a simple bass reduction). So, it might be my nostalgia for a live gigs, maybe I used to stand too close to the speakers at gigs but for that particular 'fun' experience I thought it worked well. I do have friends who actually like 'boomy bass' and they also like quirky looking stuff hence why I thought I would mention it in the review.

Love the shot of the glow in the dark tips!

Awesome, but shouldn't one of the cons be its not available to buy?

I do not know if you should have to pay more for Dita Project M
or way, way less for the generality of its actually chifi (and not) competitors.

some wortds about soundstage depth and layering, which is what generally differentiates dac/amps soundwise besides tonality?

Honestly, I don't think I hear anything different between plugging my Zero:Red directly to my phone or listening to them through the BTE-222. Other than the volume getting louder, I think they sound identical. Or perhaps even slightly better ? Great Suggestion bro. I think I'll need more DAC/Amps so I can compare them. I'll definitely post an update once I got a new DAC/Amp.

Nice review...

@STRATEGIST thanks!

Beautiful review. Nice work.

Beautiful writeup and beautiful picture. The SD5 looks very interesting.

@AlekhyaD666 Indeed Man. Serious stuff.

I have Rhapsody.
If this IEM is 4.5 stars - most of other IEMs should be totally off the scale. Devalued/degrading reviewing of free samples (?) Is a big menace (??)
For HeadFi to remain any credible - the reviewers should be governed by the same rules as the "Members of the Trades".

This iem deserves 4,5 stars. Sounds correct and engaging with all of my music. There is nothing wrong, maybe some may want less bass. Notice that kz castor silver has 5 star here.

Yes, T10 is better tuned than most pricier planars.

I might get it later when the price drops...