[Jmop]

Looking forward to your impressions. Did you get that very dark green shell?

I did, will probably crack it tomorrow.

 

[ChrisOc]

She gave me back the IEMs...

...but kept the ring and said yes anyways!

Now she's having some kinda female pow-wow with her mom, sisters, and all manner of friends/colleagues over zoom. I can't even really make out what's being said between all the crying, giggling, and stuff, but I think it's all good!

Edit: And thanks for the well wishes fellas!

Congratulations, wishing you many happy years ahead.

 

[Jmop]

Alright you night owls (west coast here), have a teaser. Packaging is just lovely, I always liked removable foam inserts rather than glued in the box. This cable? Gorgeous, you’d think it were the main course. Couple bags of tips and a pretty darn nice little rugged case. These pieces are heavy what is this ceramic? Looks like it since there are a couple tiny chipped areas on one of em. Guess you can’t win em all. I’ll leave the eye candy shots for the official reviewers.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Alright you night owls (west coast here), have a teaser. Packaging is just lovely, I always liked removable foam inserts rather than glued in the box. This cable? Gorgeous, you’d think it were the main course. Couple bags of tips and a pretty darn nice little rugged case. These pieces are heavy what is this ceramic? Looks like it since there are a couple tiny chipped areas on one of em. Guess you can’t win em all. I’ll leave the eye candy shots for the official reviewers.

Congrats on your new shiny! The graph looks promising. Seems vocal focused without getting too peaky. Looking forward for your impression.

This kind of packaging and build quality would cost an insane amount in the past. This is a good time for audio fans.

 

[Jmop]

What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good graph, though that bass response could use a slightly more distinct shelf.

 

[Half Note]

Is it? I actually never tried it, I just assume most find it uncomfortable due to the flat inside and angled corners.

It's by far the most comfortable IEM I own, they disappear into your ear much better than any other design I tried. The classic resin + metal faceplates or full metal IEM end up weighing too much and become a bother and kinda painful. The A4000 are super light and the small size helps them never touching anything in your ear, the angles don't touch your inner ear at all.
It's actually better than my 300$+ and it's making me kinda mad ahah

 

[ChrisOc]

Alright, let's say I'm not disappointed by the technical performance for the money I spent on it which is £334 but I also don't think it is exceptional, just about right for the price point.

I pretty much bought it blind, just because of its good looks, Ikko's good reputation and the quite nice rebate there was for it on black friday. I didn't know what to expect and it turns out it's the warm set I had been looking for but failed to find in the Final E4000/5000, Toneking Lucifer and Thor Mjolnir.

I paid the almost the exact same amount for the Cayin Fantasy and that one feels significantly more technical, my most transparent and detailed set I would say but owing to its very aggressive treble is only suited for low volume listening. OH5 is a completely different beast, it's very warm vs the Fantasy's very controlled but still north of neutral bass so it's hard to compare really, Fantasy's got virtually no bass bleed at all whereas OH5 is quite the opposite.

OH5 is a very nicely tuned L-shaped set to my ears, bass being the dominant component followed by pleasant harmanish upper mids and then quite subdued but well extended treble. More bass would be too much, less upper mids would affect perceived clarity, and treble is just enough so it does not feel congested or lacking air. Very well done tuning.

I hope this helps somewhat.

Thank you for your OH5 impressions.

I have got a set of the OH5s in my cart, and I am seriously tempted, I may just put the money together and go for it.

In the meantime, I have rediscovered the Ikko foam tips, the doughnut shaped tips. Even though, generally, I am not a fan of foam tips, the covering they have does not give them the stuffed-in-your-ears feeling. They feel light and unintrusive, yet, to my ears they do wonders to musical notes, bigger bass and cleaner delivery right through the range.

 

[yaps66]

Where can I grab one of these boxes?

From Effect Audio. Good value for what they are. Recommended!

 

[bhazard]

Well would you look at that, a fantastic graph when a 10k dip is rectified. Excuse my sass.

I'm not following?
If you're expecting near perfection or no EQ necessary from the Aful Performer 5, that 10kHz dip makes it an audible non starter and people should look elsewhere for $220. Some reviewers aren't highlighting this, and some have.

Otherwise once you do handle it, it's a nice set and I'm happy with it.

 

[bhazard]

The Meaoes Eagle came in.
When I get a chance later, i'll listen to see if there are any differences between the stock and resent filters.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I think it will be more dependent on the nozzle length of IEMs. I just tried the Shuoer 12 pro and it has a shorter nozzle than most IEMs so the S&S tips dont work well. have to use Spiral dots on them in order to fit me. IEMS with medium to longer nozzles the S&S tips fit deeper and seals much better. So it will be more or less IEM dependent and your ear shapes.

For the IEMs that do work well with them, they are brilliant.

This is my take too. Shorter nozzles don’t work well with them.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

AFUL performer 5 I ordered from HifiGo takes forever to be delivered. Hope they use DHL Express (3days delivery to US) like Shenzhen Audio used to do for $200+ items. Well..at least it’s still trackable!

 

[Surf Monkey]

AFUL performer 5 I ordered from HifiGo takes forever to be delivered. Hope they use DHL like Shenzhen Audio used to do for $200+ items. Well..at least it’s still trackable!

Looks pretty fast to me. I’ve been waiting for a month for Kiiboom to ship me an Allure.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Looks pretty fast to me. I’ve been waiting for a month for Kiiboom to ship me an Allure.

It’s 14th day since they ship. Yea faster than 4px or aliexpress.

 

[Scubadevils]

Not sure if these have been mentioned here yet, a new dual dynamic driver from MA Audio and collaborating with Liquid Links cables. $1,390 so certainly not cheap, and while I didn’t have to sell any body parts to jump in, I did unfortunately have to sell one set, Softears Twilight.