Reviews by justsomesonyfan
Before I start, huge thanks to Nayparm for taking on this project and being patient with me and the issues that the r2r2000 presented, he did a fantastic job and was the only modder to accept changing the battery, he did an imppecable job and I cannot recommend him enough.
Introduction: Hifiman R2r2000 Black is an infamous dap known for it's imppecable SQ, tiny size, and horrendous everything else (UI, Battery).
Due to the battery mixed with my curiousity for nayparm mods, I've sent it to get modded, these are the results.
What's the mod? Well, I'll use a direct quote for this one: "There will hopefully be 3 batteries for a total of 9000mah"
"You have a total 11 film caps in use
The 4 x small rubicon film pmlcaps are 10uf each, the 4 x large vishay film are 0.1uf each for bypass. They are used in conjunction with the stock 4 x 141uf mlcc caps (141uf made of 3 x 47uf)
At power you have an additional 100uf Panasonic ultra low esr Poscap Tantalum polymer + a 100uf AudioNote Kaisei bypassed with a 0.1uf kemet smr film."
Was it worth it? Absolutely. The player lasts more than 4 hours now! hell, it lasts atleast 12 hours now, A huge jump.
Alright, now that the introduction is done lets begin with the most important part:
Sound: What's difference between the modded one and stock? to be honest, I can't tell, It's been long since I've heard the stock r2r2000, and I can't a/b or compare with memory because I simply don't have a solid reference point.
The sound of the r2r2000 Max is something that I didn't get in other players or dongles I've tried (UA Apollo Twin USB, n6ii e01, r01, e02, a01, ibasso dc01, cayin ru6, e1da 9038s v1), It's a sound that feels completely unprocessed and unfiltered, there is no "house sound", there's no unique signature, it just plays the music in the most authentic way I've personally heard, the only words I find to describe it's sound is "Vivid, Musical, Alive, Vibrant, Felt"
While the player to me has a lot of strong points, I think it's truly strongest point is the timbre, I'm not sure if it's the multibit chip, or the whole system, but the timbre on the r2r2000 max is the most realistic I've heard yet, it makes BA iems not have any BA timbre, if that makes sense.
Other strong points of the r2r2000 max are technicalities, detail retrieval, imaging, staging and texture. I was surprised when I compared it to something like the Apollo twin USB, and realizing that they're truly on the same league, just different tonalities and technologies (I'm not sure what chip the apollo twin is, but it is undoubtedly Delta Sigma), I'll go more indepth about the differences in the comparison section.
I think the only weakpoints I'd give the r2r2000 max is that it is a tad hard noticing the smaller details, while they're always there, it's very hard to focus when you get swept away by the musicality and just want to headbang to the main riff, for example.
Other than that, if you are a big fan of black backgrounds, then this may not be for you, and I'm not talking in terms of hissing.
The r2r2000 max hisses a bit with very sensitive iems, but that's not what I mean, the r2r2000 max doesn't have a black background, or a background at all, instead it makes the music feel limitless and unrestrained, maybe this is what people mean when they say transparent?
Drivability: The r2r2000 boasts 500mw@32ohms on balanced, which is plenty for iems, while I cannot comment on hard to drive headphones, the r2r2000 drives my dual planar single dd iems beautifully.
I've yet to find a pair of iems that doesn't pair well with the r2r2000.
As for hissing, I had the campfire audio solaris 2020 before the mod, and while it hissed, it wasn't anything too bad, about the same as cayin's n6ii.
A pair like the etymotic er4xr hissed the same it does with the Apollo Twin, just a tiny bit, Same goes for my plunge audio quad BA Iem.
Usability: The r2r2000 max, even though it has a very primitive UI, which can be a tad buggy at times, is all around a very comfortable player, tiny, barely weights anything, and can handle atleast 12 hours of playback with a full charge, so if you sorted your folders, don't use streaming and can handle some nostalgic UI, this fits the bill.
Build: R2r2000 max is made mainly of plastic with a glass back, compared to the stock, nayparm made a special back addition to be able to fit more components, the special back is made of plastic that's fairly similar and seems very sturdy.
Comparisons:
Universal Audio Apollo twin USB vs r2r2000 max: do note that I was using the 3.5mm from the r2r2000 max, and that the 4.4 does improve the sound.
Unlike the r2r2000 max, the apollo twin goes for the classic delta sigma sound, but unlike the daps I've tried it sounds far less processed and filtered, in a direct a/b it's still easy to tell, the apollo twin has a very black background as opposed to the r2r2000 max which doesn't have any sort of background, the sound is smoothed and gives everything a bit more space, however the staging itself remains the same.
The highs seemed to be more rolled off in the apollo twin, and the bass' presentation is more bloomy and takes a bigger sound, however it is not as felt, as dense, or as textured as the r2r2000 max.
In the beginning of massive attack's "angel", the apollo twin introduces the bass rather calmly, and gives it a more background sound, while the r2r2000 max pushes it in your face and almost forces you to feel it.
Later on in the track when the vocalist starts singing, apollo twin puts him in the back, surrounded by all the other instruments, while the r2r2000 max pushes the vocals upfront and make the singer take a much more intimate approach.
All throughout the song there are various sound effects in the background, which are more noticable on the apollo twin, this is where it's black background comes into play and helps details pop.
While the r2r2000 max doesn't have a black background, it still retains those details just as much, the difference is that they do not pop out the same way they do with the Apollo Twin.
Cayin N6ii r01 vs r2r2000 (stock): This one is interesting, as they're both r2r but one oversamples and one doesn't, I remember this comparison in particular even though it was a long while back.
I had a honeymoon phase with the n6ii r01, I very briefly a/b'd them, and decided I prefer the r01, however as time went on I stopped listening to music more and more, eventually a/b'd them again and realized how much I was missing.
The r01 never quite had the weight, sheer power and musicality the r2r2000 has, instead it goes for a much more calm and soft sound- everything is smoothed over, maybe too much, the staging is narrower too, and dymamics aren't as good.
I think what got me loving r01 at first is that I was able to notice small details more, however, as time went on I realized that this change did not come from sheer quality, but rather from the bigger details suffering and not showing their true strength, as if someone edited their opacity and put it on 60% instead of 100%.
in the end the reason I stopped listening to music when the r01 was my main player is that I simply wasn't excited enough to pick it up, while with the r2r2000 listening daily for atleast an hour Isn't uncommon.
I can't fault someone for prefering the r01, especially when the n6ii has all the other motherboards and android, versatility is much better. However if I had to pick 1 I'd pick the r2r2000 9/10 times.
In conclusion: If you don't mind the old UI, and don't use streaming, want to use a tiny device with desktop gear quality, the modded r2r2000 max may just be your favorite pick
Introduction: Hifiman R2r2000 Black is an infamous dap known for it's imppecable SQ, tiny size, and horrendous everything else (UI, Battery).
Due to the battery mixed with my curiousity for nayparm mods, I've sent it to get modded, these are the results.
What's the mod? Well, I'll use a direct quote for this one: "There will hopefully be 3 batteries for a total of 9000mah"
"You have a total 11 film caps in use
The 4 x small rubicon film pmlcaps are 10uf each, the 4 x large vishay film are 0.1uf each for bypass. They are used in conjunction with the stock 4 x 141uf mlcc caps (141uf made of 3 x 47uf)
At power you have an additional 100uf Panasonic ultra low esr Poscap Tantalum polymer + a 100uf AudioNote Kaisei bypassed with a 0.1uf kemet smr film."
Was it worth it? Absolutely. The player lasts more than 4 hours now! hell, it lasts atleast 12 hours now, A huge jump.
Alright, now that the introduction is done lets begin with the most important part:
Sound: What's difference between the modded one and stock? to be honest, I can't tell, It's been long since I've heard the stock r2r2000, and I can't a/b or compare with memory because I simply don't have a solid reference point.
The sound of the r2r2000 Max is something that I didn't get in other players or dongles I've tried (UA Apollo Twin USB, n6ii e01, r01, e02, a01, ibasso dc01, cayin ru6, e1da 9038s v1), It's a sound that feels completely unprocessed and unfiltered, there is no "house sound", there's no unique signature, it just plays the music in the most authentic way I've personally heard, the only words I find to describe it's sound is "Vivid, Musical, Alive, Vibrant, Felt"
While the player to me has a lot of strong points, I think it's truly strongest point is the timbre, I'm not sure if it's the multibit chip, or the whole system, but the timbre on the r2r2000 max is the most realistic I've heard yet, it makes BA iems not have any BA timbre, if that makes sense.
Other strong points of the r2r2000 max are technicalities, detail retrieval, imaging, staging and texture. I was surprised when I compared it to something like the Apollo twin USB, and realizing that they're truly on the same league, just different tonalities and technologies (I'm not sure what chip the apollo twin is, but it is undoubtedly Delta Sigma), I'll go more indepth about the differences in the comparison section.
I think the only weakpoints I'd give the r2r2000 max is that it is a tad hard noticing the smaller details, while they're always there, it's very hard to focus when you get swept away by the musicality and just want to headbang to the main riff, for example.
Other than that, if you are a big fan of black backgrounds, then this may not be for you, and I'm not talking in terms of hissing.
The r2r2000 max hisses a bit with very sensitive iems, but that's not what I mean, the r2r2000 max doesn't have a black background, or a background at all, instead it makes the music feel limitless and unrestrained, maybe this is what people mean when they say transparent?
Drivability: The r2r2000 boasts 500mw@32ohms on balanced, which is plenty for iems, while I cannot comment on hard to drive headphones, the r2r2000 drives my dual planar single dd iems beautifully.
I've yet to find a pair of iems that doesn't pair well with the r2r2000.
As for hissing, I had the campfire audio solaris 2020 before the mod, and while it hissed, it wasn't anything too bad, about the same as cayin's n6ii.
A pair like the etymotic er4xr hissed the same it does with the Apollo Twin, just a tiny bit, Same goes for my plunge audio quad BA Iem.
Usability: The r2r2000 max, even though it has a very primitive UI, which can be a tad buggy at times, is all around a very comfortable player, tiny, barely weights anything, and can handle atleast 12 hours of playback with a full charge, so if you sorted your folders, don't use streaming and can handle some nostalgic UI, this fits the bill.
Build: R2r2000 max is made mainly of plastic with a glass back, compared to the stock, nayparm made a special back addition to be able to fit more components, the special back is made of plastic that's fairly similar and seems very sturdy.
Comparisons:
Universal Audio Apollo twin USB vs r2r2000 max: do note that I was using the 3.5mm from the r2r2000 max, and that the 4.4 does improve the sound.
Unlike the r2r2000 max, the apollo twin goes for the classic delta sigma sound, but unlike the daps I've tried it sounds far less processed and filtered, in a direct a/b it's still easy to tell, the apollo twin has a very black background as opposed to the r2r2000 max which doesn't have any sort of background, the sound is smoothed and gives everything a bit more space, however the staging itself remains the same.
The highs seemed to be more rolled off in the apollo twin, and the bass' presentation is more bloomy and takes a bigger sound, however it is not as felt, as dense, or as textured as the r2r2000 max.
In the beginning of massive attack's "angel", the apollo twin introduces the bass rather calmly, and gives it a more background sound, while the r2r2000 max pushes it in your face and almost forces you to feel it.
Later on in the track when the vocalist starts singing, apollo twin puts him in the back, surrounded by all the other instruments, while the r2r2000 max pushes the vocals upfront and make the singer take a much more intimate approach.
All throughout the song there are various sound effects in the background, which are more noticable on the apollo twin, this is where it's black background comes into play and helps details pop.
While the r2r2000 max doesn't have a black background, it still retains those details just as much, the difference is that they do not pop out the same way they do with the Apollo Twin.
Cayin N6ii r01 vs r2r2000 (stock): This one is interesting, as they're both r2r but one oversamples and one doesn't, I remember this comparison in particular even though it was a long while back.
I had a honeymoon phase with the n6ii r01, I very briefly a/b'd them, and decided I prefer the r01, however as time went on I stopped listening to music more and more, eventually a/b'd them again and realized how much I was missing.
The r01 never quite had the weight, sheer power and musicality the r2r2000 has, instead it goes for a much more calm and soft sound- everything is smoothed over, maybe too much, the staging is narrower too, and dymamics aren't as good.
I think what got me loving r01 at first is that I was able to notice small details more, however, as time went on I realized that this change did not come from sheer quality, but rather from the bigger details suffering and not showing their true strength, as if someone edited their opacity and put it on 60% instead of 100%.
in the end the reason I stopped listening to music when the r01 was my main player is that I simply wasn't excited enough to pick it up, while with the r2r2000 listening daily for atleast an hour Isn't uncommon.
I can't fault someone for prefering the r01, especially when the n6ii has all the other motherboards and android, versatility is much better. However if I had to pick 1 I'd pick the r2r2000 9/10 times.
In conclusion: If you don't mind the old UI, and don't use streaming, want to use a tiny device with desktop gear quality, the modded r2r2000 max may just be your favorite pick
Small edit: personal reccomendation of mine would be to go for the 2ba option to boost highs, in my opinion the dark sound won't be for everyone but a dual ba can easily fix that tuning and turn it upside down.
First disclaimer: the plunge iems require a quality cable to sound at their best, a bad cable will definitely hinder this iem's quality, it's a make or break matter imo.
For this review i'll use the cema tianwaitian cable.
Second disclaimer: I'm very bad with professional iem terms and think that a lot of them are too vague and too subjective anyways, thus my review might not be very clear for everyone, feel free to ask questions in the comments below.
Before we get started quick heads up: this iem has both a 6mm DD and 14.3mm planar running full range crossoverless. You may proceed reading.
Unlike other reviews, I'll put the introduction at the very end to those who are interested in me and plunge and the whole process of making this frankenstein iem.
Lets get to the meat of this:
Plunge Audio's Signature Planar Magnetic Dynamic Driver Hybrid Wood Vented Custom iem Review: Jack of all trades, master of all.
Packaging: Very simple, comes with a pouch which has stickers and cleaning tools, and a plastic retainer with the name and phone of the owner on it which holds the iems and cable inside.
For obvious nodoxx reasons, I've censored my name and number.
Comfort: Look at this, does it look comfy?
If your answer is negative then I hate to break it to ya but these are sublime, lightweight and perfect custom fit, not much to say!
The iems are made of African Blackwood that has been precisely carved and sandpapered into the custom shape, then has been covered in 3 layers of stabilising materials and wax for the wood to last long and enter the ear smoothly.
Onto the sound-
Bass: I want to call it a basshead iem, but I can't, I really really want to tho. The bass is clearly emphasized, there's a small subbass boost, but it does not do it in a way which takes away from the mids or highs, at all.
I've heard a few iems in the past and it seems that there are 2 main types of bass- subwoofer type, monitor type. most of the iems i've heard were more monitor like, solaris se/og, ier m9, obravo cupid
then there were those who went for the woofer route, xba n3, ier z1r. ier z1r especially, I think most people that listen to it claim it's the best iem bass or atleast put it very highly.
While I appreciate both types, my personal preference leans more towards the woofer type, and while ier z1r did it well, there was a lack of finesse to it, to me it could've been tighter, i also found it's decay to be too slow.
This is where plunge comes in with a 70/30 bass, 70% woofer 30% monitor, or rather.. lets go even deeper into the woofer/monitor analogy, 4 types, loose woofer, tight woofer, loose monitor, tight monitor- if ier z1r is loose woofer, then the plunge is a tight woofer.
The plungies were made by Simon Fisk, a doublebass jazz player, and yet they absolutely excel at hiphop and electronics.. That should give a perspective on how much I appreciate the bass on this pair.
It cannot do wrong unless you're looking for some serious monster basshead iem which is all bass nothing else.
I'll also put the other iems in the analogy so if you own any of the pairs you'll be able to get a better image of the plunge bass.
Loose woofer- ier z1r
Tight woofer- plunge, xba n3
Loose monitor- ier m9, solaris og
Tight monitor- solaris SE
If I were to put the highlights of the bass in terms- highly textured, punchy, addictive, tight, big. this is a bass you will definitely feel when listening to music, and it will sway your attention if the track calls for it.
midrange: Same story when it comes to some of the terms, texture, addictive, big.
All of those still stay along for the mids.
I cannot call these mids thin at all, they're definitely on the thicker side.
The mids is where the planar takes over and yells "you wanted detail and speed, here you go"
Plunge Audio made me realize how outdated the BA drivers are when it comes to the midrange, now now, I haven't heard all the ba iems out there, and I'm sure some can definitely come close to the plungies, but not quite.
For midrange, the jump from ba to planar to me is the equivelant of the bass going from ba to a DD- you can try to imitate a dd with a bunch of BA drivers but it'll never be one.
One word stands out to me for planar mids- uncompressed: Think going from 128kbps to flac, going from phone output to a proper dap/dacamp.
When it comes to vocals both female and male vocals stand out, however I'd give the upper hand to the male vocals on this pair. voices are lush, well presented, prominent and pronounced, and definitely take the lead when they're present.
I definitely want to write something along the lines of: "oh instruments are a highlight on this pair" but I can't.
I can't because every part of this iem is a highlight, you don't get one without the other.
Midrange just like the bass is very felt, I don't really know how to explain this part. but me and simon tried going for wood to hopefully get exactly that effect, with as much resonance as possible. similar to a bone conduction, but not quite.
I will say that the wood with full contact custom iem is a success and adds to every frequency a sense of feeling it, if that makes any sense.
Highs: Dark, but present- the treble is all there, atleast the mid and high treble, when it comes to 5khz - 9khz it has a small recession when compared to the pinna gain but nothing that's a deal breaker.
The treble, it won't be upfront, nor will it be overshadowed.
I don't feel as if it's lacking, however- If one wants more treble adding a dual BA tweeter is always a possibility to get a brighter iem.
Update- I've sent the customs to get an upgrade, another 10mm planar driver, utilised to boost the high frequencies, the iem is no longer dark, is more V shaped now however retains everything in the review, only that now treble pops better to my liking
Now to the best part! What? You didn't think it could get better? well, let me introduce you to the
soundstage, seperation, presentation, and imaging:
THE highlight of the iem is how absurdly big it sounds, it's practically a headphone at this point.
the iems sound huge, huge and spacious.
hearing every tiny detail is an absolute piece of cake, everything is there and you'll be able to tell, but you won't get a monitorish/anemic/clinical sound at all.
Easily the most musical iem and audio product i've heard, ever.
The staging is 3d, very 3d, I wouldn't say it's the most balanced soundstage right now, but that's not because height and depth lack, rather because the width is just huge. it's genuinely bigger than my mdr 1am2, that's impressive man!
Putting it on paper, the plunge's width ends sound about 2-2.5 inches or 5-6cm far from each ear.
On top of that- the plunge custom is the first time i've heard sound coming from BEHIND my head.
The presentation is similar to the ier z1r on crack cocaine, sounds like the music surrounds you and plays as it wishes where ever it wishes, the band surrounds your head with instruments and music, however i won't go and exaggerate that it's just like being in the middle of a concert, there's a huge difference and personally i never liked those extremely over the top explanations for soundstage: "like being in a stadium" or "like being in a band rehearsal".
After all it's just an iem.. but not just an iem.
Compared to other iems it is definitely a few notches above in soundstage and everything that has to do with presentation.
Plunge breaks the walls (literally) of the soundstage by venting the back, and that makes all the difference, plug the vent and you get a normal iem that still outdoes the other iems i've tried, open the vent and the sound goes everywhere around your head.
Comparisons:
Small disclaimer: None of these iems can do what the plunge does and I genuinely have a hard time truly believing someone would prefer them over the plunge if s/he were to hear the plunge.
However there is a big price gap of almost double, priced at 4k CAD, or around 3k usd.
From memory ier z1r: The ier z1r's bass is looser, decay is slower, the plunge expands the soundstage in every axis more, mids are far thinner and less detailed, sound compressed, presentation is all around smaller, treble is much brighter, much more pronounced.
The ier z1r weigh much more and are far less comfortable.
Solaris SE/OG: This is the only iem I can see someone preferring over the plunge purely for the unique presentation, to me it always felt like when it comes to hearing the solaris everything was laid infront of me for me to gaze upon.
So solaris is definitely more linear and forward.
If we were to put them in over the top explanations, solaris is "being in middle to front row" while the plunge is "being with the band".
Other than that the solaris' bass is tighter but less textured, much less felt, mids sound more compressed, and less detailed, details feel much more pinpoint and smaller, highs are same as the mids.
Ier m9: No comparison. I've heard the ier m9 was the imaging king, and while it had great imaging, it has nothing on this.
I genuinely don't think m9 does anything better than the plungies.
Conclusion: If you want a seriously new experience in audio and want a unique custom all arounder iem that truly gets everything highlighted naturally without giving away balance, plunge audio is your go to.
Introduction: Who am I? A nobody really, just another person who likes audio a lot, and gives out his honest thoughts.
I've contacted Plunge Audio after hearing about it being an unknown obscure company, went to their site, saw their models, and got interested.
Got a pair of their highest model, contacted simon later on using facebook and we slowly but surely built a strong friendship on ideas and innovation.
When I first asked Simon about planars and mmcx he was very interested, we had a lot of ideas about iems it's development, at first we thought about a dd/planar/est combo, but the ests did not go well with the planar, trust me i've heard it.
Anyways, I don't remember if Simon had experience with planars before or not when it comes to iems, i can day that he absolutely found an understanding of the driver's sound and showed me just how well a planar can sound.
Simon himself in my honest opinion is a great person, he went very long lengths for me to be a pleased customer, he's very open minded, very spiritual and kind hearted at his core.
You can tell he does it for his passion and the experience of people and not for money, He puts heart into it.
I'd also reccomend checking out his music, he put on some very interesting albums out there.
Moving on with progress, making the iem itself took around a month or two I think at best? but figuring the iem, figuring what really works (since it was the first ever planar/dd full range crossoverless iem to come from plunge) I think it took about 6-8 months, including me getting 3 demos to hear the direction the iem is moving in and giving my thoughts on it.
First disclaimer: the plunge iems require a quality cable to sound at their best, a bad cable will definitely hinder this iem's quality, it's a make or break matter imo.
For this review i'll use the cema tianwaitian cable.
Second disclaimer: I'm very bad with professional iem terms and think that a lot of them are too vague and too subjective anyways, thus my review might not be very clear for everyone, feel free to ask questions in the comments below.
Before we get started quick heads up: this iem has both a 6mm DD and 14.3mm planar running full range crossoverless. You may proceed reading.
Unlike other reviews, I'll put the introduction at the very end to those who are interested in me and plunge and the whole process of making this frankenstein iem.
Lets get to the meat of this:
Plunge Audio's Signature Planar Magnetic Dynamic Driver Hybrid Wood Vented Custom iem Review: Jack of all trades, master of all.
Packaging: Very simple, comes with a pouch which has stickers and cleaning tools, and a plastic retainer with the name and phone of the owner on it which holds the iems and cable inside.
For obvious nodoxx reasons, I've censored my name and number.
Comfort: Look at this, does it look comfy?
If your answer is negative then I hate to break it to ya but these are sublime, lightweight and perfect custom fit, not much to say!
The iems are made of African Blackwood that has been precisely carved and sandpapered into the custom shape, then has been covered in 3 layers of stabilising materials and wax for the wood to last long and enter the ear smoothly.
Onto the sound-
Bass: I want to call it a basshead iem, but I can't, I really really want to tho. The bass is clearly emphasized, there's a small subbass boost, but it does not do it in a way which takes away from the mids or highs, at all.
I've heard a few iems in the past and it seems that there are 2 main types of bass- subwoofer type, monitor type. most of the iems i've heard were more monitor like, solaris se/og, ier m9, obravo cupid
then there were those who went for the woofer route, xba n3, ier z1r. ier z1r especially, I think most people that listen to it claim it's the best iem bass or atleast put it very highly.
While I appreciate both types, my personal preference leans more towards the woofer type, and while ier z1r did it well, there was a lack of finesse to it, to me it could've been tighter, i also found it's decay to be too slow.
This is where plunge comes in with a 70/30 bass, 70% woofer 30% monitor, or rather.. lets go even deeper into the woofer/monitor analogy, 4 types, loose woofer, tight woofer, loose monitor, tight monitor- if ier z1r is loose woofer, then the plunge is a tight woofer.
The plungies were made by Simon Fisk, a doublebass jazz player, and yet they absolutely excel at hiphop and electronics.. That should give a perspective on how much I appreciate the bass on this pair.
It cannot do wrong unless you're looking for some serious monster basshead iem which is all bass nothing else.
I'll also put the other iems in the analogy so if you own any of the pairs you'll be able to get a better image of the plunge bass.
Loose woofer- ier z1r
Tight woofer- plunge, xba n3
Loose monitor- ier m9, solaris og
Tight monitor- solaris SE
If I were to put the highlights of the bass in terms- highly textured, punchy, addictive, tight, big. this is a bass you will definitely feel when listening to music, and it will sway your attention if the track calls for it.
midrange: Same story when it comes to some of the terms, texture, addictive, big.
All of those still stay along for the mids.
I cannot call these mids thin at all, they're definitely on the thicker side.
The mids is where the planar takes over and yells "you wanted detail and speed, here you go"
Plunge Audio made me realize how outdated the BA drivers are when it comes to the midrange, now now, I haven't heard all the ba iems out there, and I'm sure some can definitely come close to the plungies, but not quite.
For midrange, the jump from ba to planar to me is the equivelant of the bass going from ba to a DD- you can try to imitate a dd with a bunch of BA drivers but it'll never be one.
One word stands out to me for planar mids- uncompressed: Think going from 128kbps to flac, going from phone output to a proper dap/dacamp.
When it comes to vocals both female and male vocals stand out, however I'd give the upper hand to the male vocals on this pair. voices are lush, well presented, prominent and pronounced, and definitely take the lead when they're present.
I definitely want to write something along the lines of: "oh instruments are a highlight on this pair" but I can't.
I can't because every part of this iem is a highlight, you don't get one without the other.
Midrange just like the bass is very felt, I don't really know how to explain this part. but me and simon tried going for wood to hopefully get exactly that effect, with as much resonance as possible. similar to a bone conduction, but not quite.
I will say that the wood with full contact custom iem is a success and adds to every frequency a sense of feeling it, if that makes any sense.
Highs: Dark, but present- the treble is all there, atleast the mid and high treble, when it comes to 5khz - 9khz it has a small recession when compared to the pinna gain but nothing that's a deal breaker.
The treble, it won't be upfront, nor will it be overshadowed.
I don't feel as if it's lacking, however- If one wants more treble adding a dual BA tweeter is always a possibility to get a brighter iem.
Update- I've sent the customs to get an upgrade, another 10mm planar driver, utilised to boost the high frequencies, the iem is no longer dark, is more V shaped now however retains everything in the review, only that now treble pops better to my liking
Now to the best part! What? You didn't think it could get better? well, let me introduce you to the
soundstage, seperation, presentation, and imaging:
THE highlight of the iem is how absurdly big it sounds, it's practically a headphone at this point.
the iems sound huge, huge and spacious.
hearing every tiny detail is an absolute piece of cake, everything is there and you'll be able to tell, but you won't get a monitorish/anemic/clinical sound at all.
Easily the most musical iem and audio product i've heard, ever.
The staging is 3d, very 3d, I wouldn't say it's the most balanced soundstage right now, but that's not because height and depth lack, rather because the width is just huge. it's genuinely bigger than my mdr 1am2, that's impressive man!
Putting it on paper, the plunge's width ends sound about 2-2.5 inches or 5-6cm far from each ear.
On top of that- the plunge custom is the first time i've heard sound coming from BEHIND my head.
The presentation is similar to the ier z1r on crack cocaine, sounds like the music surrounds you and plays as it wishes where ever it wishes, the band surrounds your head with instruments and music, however i won't go and exaggerate that it's just like being in the middle of a concert, there's a huge difference and personally i never liked those extremely over the top explanations for soundstage: "like being in a stadium" or "like being in a band rehearsal".
After all it's just an iem.. but not just an iem.
Compared to other iems it is definitely a few notches above in soundstage and everything that has to do with presentation.
Plunge breaks the walls (literally) of the soundstage by venting the back, and that makes all the difference, plug the vent and you get a normal iem that still outdoes the other iems i've tried, open the vent and the sound goes everywhere around your head.
Comparisons:
Small disclaimer: None of these iems can do what the plunge does and I genuinely have a hard time truly believing someone would prefer them over the plunge if s/he were to hear the plunge.
However there is a big price gap of almost double, priced at 4k CAD, or around 3k usd.
From memory ier z1r: The ier z1r's bass is looser, decay is slower, the plunge expands the soundstage in every axis more, mids are far thinner and less detailed, sound compressed, presentation is all around smaller, treble is much brighter, much more pronounced.
The ier z1r weigh much more and are far less comfortable.
Solaris SE/OG: This is the only iem I can see someone preferring over the plunge purely for the unique presentation, to me it always felt like when it comes to hearing the solaris everything was laid infront of me for me to gaze upon.
So solaris is definitely more linear and forward.
If we were to put them in over the top explanations, solaris is "being in middle to front row" while the plunge is "being with the band".
Other than that the solaris' bass is tighter but less textured, much less felt, mids sound more compressed, and less detailed, details feel much more pinpoint and smaller, highs are same as the mids.
Ier m9: No comparison. I've heard the ier m9 was the imaging king, and while it had great imaging, it has nothing on this.
I genuinely don't think m9 does anything better than the plungies.
Conclusion: If you want a seriously new experience in audio and want a unique custom all arounder iem that truly gets everything highlighted naturally without giving away balance, plunge audio is your go to.
Introduction: Who am I? A nobody really, just another person who likes audio a lot, and gives out his honest thoughts.
I've contacted Plunge Audio after hearing about it being an unknown obscure company, went to their site, saw their models, and got interested.
Got a pair of their highest model, contacted simon later on using facebook and we slowly but surely built a strong friendship on ideas and innovation.
When I first asked Simon about planars and mmcx he was very interested, we had a lot of ideas about iems it's development, at first we thought about a dd/planar/est combo, but the ests did not go well with the planar, trust me i've heard it.
Anyways, I don't remember if Simon had experience with planars before or not when it comes to iems, i can day that he absolutely found an understanding of the driver's sound and showed me just how well a planar can sound.
Simon himself in my honest opinion is a great person, he went very long lengths for me to be a pleased customer, he's very open minded, very spiritual and kind hearted at his core.
You can tell he does it for his passion and the experience of people and not for money, He puts heart into it.
I'd also reccomend checking out his music, he put on some very interesting albums out there.
Moving on with progress, making the iem itself took around a month or two I think at best? but figuring the iem, figuring what really works (since it was the first ever planar/dd full range crossoverless iem to come from plunge) I think it took about 6-8 months, including me getting 3 demos to hear the direction the iem is moving in and giving my thoughts on it.
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- Recent totl? not really, I can compare it to the mest, the ier z1r, and the solaris 2020, but only from memory, and I would take the signatures over all of them (same goes for the 4ba).
The only iem that can be of any interest is the ier z1r, it may sound cleaner because of the leaner, thinner, tuning which has far less lower mids.
- Yes and no: While I'm sure it is definitely possible, Plunge audio has gone universal only (and this is for the best) however you can always message them on social media about being interested, and see where they'll go with you, I'm sure they'll love working with you on the idea you have in mind, do know that it can be a long process.
- There's no actual limit to the price, but since plunge audio has gone universal their prices have went down dramatically, so I do not think you'll have a reason to shoot for paying high prices.
For example the 4ba is 800 CAD but I'd take it over the solaris 2020 anyday.
- Recent totl? not really, I can compare it to the mest, the ier z1r, and the solaris 2020, but only from memory, and I would take the signatures over all of them (same goes for the 4ba).
The only iem that can be of any interest is the ier z1r, it may sound cleaner because of the leaner, thinner, tuning which has far less lower mids.
- Yes and no: While I'm sure it is definitely possible, Plunge audio has gone universal only (and this is for the best) however you can always message them on social media about being interested, and see where they'll go with you, I'm sure they'll love working with you on the idea you have in mind, do know that it can be a long process.
- There's no actual limit to the price, but since plunge audio has gone universal their prices have went down dramatically, so I do not think you'll have a reason to shoot for paying high prices.
For example the 4ba is 800 CAD but I'd take it over the solaris 2020 anyday.
- No, the new plunge iems are not better in technicalities, but they come close, I do prefer the new model's tuning for every day listening because it works better on lower volumes, while the signatures work best in high volumes.
- I got another iem from them because I love them as a company and am always interested to hear what they have in store, along with this IEM having different purpose, having different drivers, and being a universal model.
- Yes, it is my best iem, but the upcoming 1dd 4ba might be a combination of the 4ba and the signatures, in theory there's a possibility, so I'll update on that.