[JrOcinthepark]

Thanks for getting my hopes and yearns all jacked up will waiting for them to stop sitting in Compton, CA sorting center LOL

Ordered mine through the Artti store on Ali Express……. They messed up the delivery initially and then sent via DHL. Somehow arrived from China to US in three days. Shocking, I know.

 

[jbfps116]

I love the Trio. Love the Trio for my metal and harder and more complex music, but I must admit, haven't given them much eartime lately, as I've been seduced quite strongly by the ST7 and now by the Polaris (when listening to jazz and swing).

lol I’m also tempted by the ST7 with the fancy white and gold look… almost the same price as the Conch on Ali… but I gotta slow my roll. Besides AliExpress has been failing miserably unless I’m getting fake tracking info to cover for extended shipping times hahaha.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

The Conch is an incredible IEM. Personally, I believe it’s still the best value IEM you can get in 2024. I would even go so far as to say it’s probably the first IEM I’d recommend if someone asked me for a recommendation on their first earphone purchase in this hobby. It comes with a really solid modular cable (which, when bought alone, costs $15—I know this because I’ve purchased more than 5 of them), a high-quality metal case (sold separately for $8), a set of TRN T-Tips (one of my favorite tips, priced at $5), and 3 tuning nozzles (not sold separately, so I’m unsure of their individual cost, but I guess around $10).

When you add it all up, we’re already way above $35. And that’s without even considering the jewel that is the Conch itself. With its crystal-clear, dry, and lively presentation. It boasts one of the best trebles I’ve heard in this price bracket, and its precise and punchy bass, reminiscent of the ST7, further adds to its appeal.

Just to emphasize how much I value it; I’m currently replying to you while enjoying music with my Conch.

Fantastic news! I know you like the ST7, like I do, so this is very promising indeed.

 

[thaslaya]

I'm probably looking to spend up to $250, and I'm mainly concerned with sound and Bluetooth (size as well for non Bluetooth devices)

Would you mind suggesting a couple of decent BT devices, and non NY devices in that price range?

My vote would be for the iFi GO blu. A lovely small device that sounds great with BT but also can be used with usb-c as well.

Just went and bought me the TRN Conch. $22.00 with free shipping with the discounts, and these things come with 3 tuning nozzles and MODULAR CABLE! I pretty much bought it for the cable, so now, if they sound good, like the ST7, and I might get some use out of those nozzles with other IEMs, like the Simgots with the Himalaya, then I will be more than satisfied with this purchase. TRN ships fast too. Now I patiently wait for my Hydro.

Just going to shamelessly plug my own review of the Conch here

 

[baskingshark]

Dunu Zen Pro 2025

Seems accessories are new, but unsure if there is tuning change from the Zen Pro lineage.

https://www.facebook.com/DUNU.FANS/...wQoRtd1tSJQDGnbAngsCSkegGsQKYnkZJWKnF569ryeQl

Just got my KZ Vader High Resolution in.

This one is not for me.

I do not like the approach KZ went for with the boosted treble on this set. I feel like the midrange was completely neutered to give the illusion of increased resolution which it honestly doesn't sound much better than the Trio. I had to settle with the UP UP down down configuration, it was the only palatable option for me. There was no DAC or AMP configuration that I could find that had some kind of magic synergy to change my mind on keeping me interested in putting more time into it.

I think back to Paul Wasabi's review of this set and he compared it to the Moondrop LAN which it has a similar graph however, while I see the similarity, I think the LAN is most certainly the superior sounding set.

I'm going to let this one burn for awhile and come back to it another time.

Brace yourself—potentially controversial post ahead.

Yesterday, I was unprepared for what was about to unfold. It all began innocently enough: “I’m curious about how my ST7 sounds with its stock cable…” but it quickly escalated to a more profound question: “How can different cables alter IEMs sound so significantly?” and then, the perhaps a touch paranoid and blown out of proportion: “When we are talking about the same IEM on the forum, are we really talking about the same IEM? More precisely, how can we possibly be having the same experience?"

Consider this: Most of us end up pairing our IEMs (especially cheaper ones) with different cables, leading to considerably varied experiences. And that’s not even factoring DACs and tips into the equation.

Let’s focus on the ST7. During my tests, it transformed from a warm and relaxing presentation, with a good quantity of bass and a precise yet smooth treble (paired with my TRN RedChain) to an almost crystal-clear sound with just sufficient bass and a sharper and brighter treble (using the stock cable). The TRN T2 Pro found a middle ground, while the NiceHCK BlackCat and NiceHCK BlackInk offered entirely different experiences. And, absurdly, the differences were far from marginal—I’d likely mistake them for 4-5 distinct IEMs in a blind test.

The point of the post? I don't think there is one precisely, but potentially many. As for me, I will limit my conclusion to this:
Re-cabling an IEM it's a process that many of us do as a "due step", especially with cheaper IEMs. However, thanks to this newfound awareness of mine (in particular of the extent of said alteration) it's starting to feel more like an "analogue equalization" rather than an "effortless due step necessary to make an IEM show its full potential"

Also, I have a doubt, and I would be very thankful if some more experienced users on the forum could help me dissipate it: do companies design and tune their IEMs with their stock cable in mind, or is the IEMs tuning completely ‘unrelated’ to the cable they will later pair said IEMs with? I’m quite skeptical of this probability because it would make the stock cable a de facto fortuity, and the tuning of IEMs would be created based on an impossible ‘cableless’ experience. Furthermore, this will make the ‘vanilla’ experience of an IEM (with the stock cable) not differ from any other, so, as I said, a fortuity.

By the way, if you don’t believe cables alter sound, more power to you! Arguing is not the purpose of this post; I’m simply sharing my experience and thoughts, and I’m also curious to hear your opinions on the matter (and potentially clarify the abovementioned doubt of mine).

Would agree with @Hypops about the possibility of low impedance IEMs potentially being affected in the FR by high resistance cables.

I have tried kilobuck cables and also own a few $300 USD cables. Personally, I would rather spend at other areas in the audio chain first like eartips (which are way cheaper and show objective changes on FR), or perhaps even the source (can future proof the hobby for a few months with 1 purchase).

FWIW, I respect both cable believers and detractors, if cables make a big difference in sound, that's great, you have another toy in the audio chain to play with. If cables don't make a difference, good you save lots of money in this hobby. Win win!

There's a seller on AliExpress selling the Juzear Flame (pretty much the same IEM as the 41t) for like $80 less than everyone else so I obviously had to pick that up.

Also snagged the KZ Merga for $7, those stacked DDs piqued my interest.

I'm gonna have to actually start writing reviews... Ordering 9 IEMs over the course of a week isn't exactly sane unless I find more value in them than just listening to them

Achtung! It is not even the Summer Aliexpress sale or 11/11!

@PhonoPhi casually brought up something in passing that had me thinking. Anyone read any research about EST electromagnetics and how that could show an increased potential for brain cancer? Several big name musicians developed brain cancer. So many people worrying about their cell phones, and those typically aren't at your ear for hours at a time, while an EST driver could and would. Just interesting, because of the energy it emits.

Well, this is quite controversial whether these smaller devices can cause cancer, but in general, for electromagnetic waves, we have high energy radiation types - eg x-rays and gamma rays - which have sufficient energy to kick out electrons from an atom (and thus theoretically these may damage DNA with prolonged exposure, leading to cancer).

And then we have the lower energy ones at the other extreme, which are like power lines, smaller devices like audio gear, cell phones, computer monitors, WIFI etc, which are postulated by scientists to have too low energy to affect DNA.

You can read more about this here: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-...posure/extremely-low-frequency-radiation.html . These scientists claim most studies don't show cancer development in the lower energy exposure types in animals and humans, but as per all things, we might need decades of exposure to realize years down the road whether there is a legit risk to such energy waves.

For example, asbestos was touted as some miracle material used in ships, roofing, walls and burn-proof equipment for decades, and only many years later was it linked to cancer of the lung lining. By then it was too late for those exposed to such materials.

FWIW, if you are living in a city, we are exposed to tons of radio and WIFI/Bluetooth waves on a daily basis! So I would think a small IEM in the ears for sensible amounts of time isn't as bad exposure as all the other background electromagnetic waves going on.

As per all things, I think just use these devices in moderation.

You are pretty much done with the source game with Mojo 2. Maybe add a pure amp later if you want. I had excellent experience pairing Mojo2 with G5 in pure amp mode. However, the DX300 by itself sound the same as this Frankenstein creation, so I decided to skip the Mojo 2.

Another kickass dongle is L&P W4. Yes, at the core of it is just two CL DAC chips, but L&P has done something great with these so that they consume little battery and sound closer to DX300 and R6 Pro2 than, say, R3II and R4.

If you can find a discount one, it’s pretty much the end of the source game, IMHO: excellent sound, low battery consumption, stable connection. The KA17 might be as good, but you need to turn on the desktop mode to match the sound of W4, which kills battery. The M15 is also as good, but very loud for IEM use, so not convenient. The list goes on.

If one can’t/ don’t want to afford the W4, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Aful SnowyNight. Slightly less resolving than W4 at a big discount. The stock USB cable is so good that I bought extra from Hifigo for future uses.

I bought a 2nd hand Mojo 2 and love it as a portable and desktop DAC/AMP. Warm neutral in stock form, but there's EQ and crossfeed soundstage/DSP stuff to play with.

Only thing is it comes only in 3.5 mm, and there's still a lame micro-USB port in 2024. And the glowing ball buttons take a bit of getting used to.

My main beef with it, is it can't power very high impedance gear/low sensitivity transducers (I have some 80ish dB/mW sensitivity and 600 ohm gear). Yes, you can get adequate headroom, but the bass is flabby and one-noted with power hungry gear, so it needs to be daisy chained to an amp for such transducers. Otherwise, it is one of my main listening sources.

 

[Lycans]

You are pretty much done with the source game with Mojo 2. Maybe add a pure amp later if you want. I had excellent experience pairing Mojo2 with G5 in pure amp mode. However, the DX300 by itself sound the same as this Frankenstein creation, so I decided to skip the Mojo 2.

Another kickass dongle is L&P W4. Yes, at the core of it is just two CL DAC chips, but L&P has done something great with these so that they consume little battery and sound closer to DX300 and R6 Pro2 than, say, R3II and R4.

If you can find a discount one, it’s pretty much the end of the source game, IMHO: excellent sound, low battery consumption, stable connection. The KA17 might be as good, but you need to turn on the desktop mode to match the sound of W4, which kills battery. The M15 is also as good, but very loud for IEM use, so not convenient. The list goes on.

If one can’t/ don’t want to afford the W4, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Aful SnowyNight. Slightly less resolving than W4 at a big discount. The stock USB cable is so good that I bought extra from Hifigo for future uses.

Any thoughts on shanling H2/H5 or astell and kern hb1?

 

[o0genesis0o]

My main beef with it, is it can't power very high impedance gear/low sensitivity transducers (I have some 80ish dB/mW sensitivity and 600 ohm gear). Yes, you can get adequate headroom, but the bass is flabby and one-noted with power hungry gear

The Mojo has no amp, right? Driving directly from the DAC. I remember Ivan at E1DA makes a big deal about the advantage of that design of his DAC.

Anyhow, I much prefer Mojo with an amp, which ended up being too clunky. But that device feels much much nicer in hands than on internet photos. If I have unlimited funds, I want one too

 

[Lycans]

My vote would be for the iFi GO blu. A lovely small device that sounds great with BT but also can be used with usb-c as well.

Just going to shamelessly plug my own review of the Conch here

Thanks for the recommendation, there's so much out there to choose from.. I thought I was having it rough choosing IEMs

I think I can live with a slightly bigger device providing it can also do BT as well. Fiio q15, Shanling H5, astell and kern hb1 are the ones that I've seen so far that look interesting.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Any thoughts on shanling H2/H5 or astell and kern hb1?

I’m very curious about Shanling H series because they can play audio independently thanks to built in SD card and OS. However, the high output impedance is concerning to me, since I only use IEMs. Shanling themselves are quite confident about H5, pitching it against the likes of M6 Ultra, which is quite a good DAP.

No idea about HB1. I have never seen one in real life.

Tbh, I’m not that into source part of the audio chain. I got the DX300 to never have to think about sources again, and then Hifigo pulls me back to the game by inviting me to review the SnowyNight. And (dongle) madness returns

 

[Hypops]

The Mojo has no amp, right? Driving directly from the DAC. I remember Ivan at E1DA makes a big deal about the advantage of that design of his DAC.

Rob Watts has nuanced this description a bit. I don't remember (and frankly didn't totally understand) the exact nuance, but the long and short was that it does have an amp (as do most/all standalone DACs?), but it's a bare-bones circuit. It means that the Mojo 2 is essentially just a variable output DAC with 3.5mm headphone jacks for outputs instead of standard RCA/XLR outputs.

 

[saldsald]

I just received this together with A CABLE (actually last Friday) and the OG and I am not sure if I am supposed to show any pictures of it?
Anyway, let me take a listen first.

https://hifigo.com/products/effect-audio-x-elysian-acoustic-labs-pilgrim

 

[theintention]

I’m very curious about Shanling H series because they can play audio independently thanks to built in SD card and OS. However, the high output impedance is concerning to me, since I only use IEMs. Shanling themselves are quite confident about H5, pitching it against the likes of M6 Ultra, which is quite a good DAP.

No idea about HB1. I have never seen one in real life.

Tbh, I’m not that into source part of the audio chain. I got the DX300 to never have to think about sources again, and then Hifigo pulls me back to the game by inviting me to review the SnowyNight. And (dongle) madness returns

I am hoping that my R4 doesn’t combust like the rest but if it does, I’ll just keep saving for a kilobuck DAP. The DC-Elite has solved my need for anything else, desktop or portable since I live an EQ-free lifestyle haha.

 

[saldsald]

Brace yourself—potentially controversial post ahead.

Yesterday, I was unprepared for what was about to unfold. It all began innocently enough: “I’m curious about how my ST7 sounds with its stock cable…” but it quickly escalated to a more profound question: “How can different cables alter IEMs sound so significantly?” and then, the perhaps a touch paranoid and blown out of proportion: “When we are talking about the same IEM on the forum, are we really talking about the same IEM? More precisely, how can we possibly be having the same experience?"

Consider this: Most of us end up pairing our IEMs (especially cheaper ones) with different cables, leading to considerably varied experiences. And that’s not even factoring DACs and tips into the equation.

Let’s focus on the ST7. During my tests, it transformed from a warm and relaxing presentation, with a good quantity of bass and a precise yet smooth treble (paired with my TRN RedChain) to an almost crystal-clear sound with just sufficient bass and a sharper and brighter treble (using the stock cable). The TRN T2 Pro found a middle ground, while the NiceHCK BlackCat and NiceHCK BlackInk offered entirely different experiences. And, absurdly, the differences were far from marginal—I’d likely mistake them for 4-5 distinct IEMs in a blind test.

The point of the post? I don't think there is one precisely, but potentially many. As for me, I will limit my conclusion to this:
Re-cabling an IEM it's a process that many of us do as a "due step", especially with cheaper IEMs. However, thanks to this newfound awareness of mine (in particular of the extent of said alteration) it's starting to feel more like an "analogue equalization" rather than an "effortless due step necessary to make an IEM show its full potential"

Also, I have a doubt, and I would be very thankful if some more experienced users on the forum could help me dissipate it: do companies design and tune their IEMs with their stock cable in mind, or is the IEMs tuning completely ‘unrelated’ to the cable they will later pair said IEMs with? I’m quite skeptical of this probability because it would make the stock cable a de facto fortuity, and the tuning of IEMs would be created based on an impossible ‘cableless’ experience. Furthermore, this will make the ‘vanilla’ experience of an IEM (with the stock cable) not differ from any other, so, as I said, a fortuity.

By the way, if you don’t believe cables alter sound, more power to you! Arguing is not the purpose of this post; I’m simply sharing my experience and thoughts, and I’m also curious to hear your opinions on the matter (and potentially clarify the abovementioned doubt of mine).

That's why I think all reviews should be stuck to the OOTB experience with all the included accessories only (and even that we cannot isolate the variation in sources, DAP, desktop setup, etc.) or there should be another section with the reviewers' cables/tips, which, they are supposed to list down. Our brain is not a linear instrument and we tend to magnify things. Even a small subtle change, like 1% of sibilance we may perceive as a night and day difference.

 

[DynamicEars]

FiiO BTR7 no doubt, IMHO

BTR7 is value BT source with very good sound for the price class, KA17 also can be a good consideration if BT isn't really needed. I haven't try KA17 myself but some reviews mentioned the SQ is better than already very good BTR7

You are pretty much done with the source game with Mojo 2. Maybe add a pure amp later if you want. I had excellent experience pairing Mojo2 with G5 in pure amp mode. However, the DX300 by itself sound the same as this Frankenstein creation, so I decided to skip the Mojo 2.

Another kickass dongle is L&P W4. Yes, at the core of it is just two CL DAC chips, but L&P has done something great with these so that they consume little battery and sound closer to DX300 and R6 Pro2 than, say, R3II and R4.

If you can find a discount one, it’s pretty much the end of the source game, IMHO: excellent sound, low battery consumption, stable connection. The KA17 might be as good, but you need to turn on the desktop mode to match the sound of W4, which kills battery. The M15 is also as good, but very loud for IEM use, so not convenient. The list goes on.

If one can’t/ don’t want to afford the W4, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Aful SnowyNight. Slightly less resolving than W4 at a big discount. The stock USB cable is so good that I bought extra from Hifigo for future uses.

Have you try ibasso DC Elite? "Said" it is "better" than dx300 in SQ (not the power), and have great soundstage and imaging. I read also that some prefer Elite than W4 or hiby FC6 or A&K HC4. I'm curious myself and even gonna break my own oath about dongle being hassle if it sounded that good

 

[Surf Monkey]

BTR7 is value BT source with very good sound for the price class, KA17 also can be a good consideration if BT isn't really needed. I haven't try KA17 myself but some reviews mentioned the SQ is better than already very good BTR7

Have you try ibasso DC Elite? "Said" it is "better" than dx300 in SQ (not the power), and have great soundstage and imaging. I read also that some prefer Elite than W4 or hiby FC6 or A&K HC4. I'm curious myself and even gonna break my own oath about dongle being hassle if it sounded that good

The BTR 7 is a very good BT receiver. I find it works especially well for me when I use an AptX HD transmitter with my iPhone, so I imagine that devices with native AptX probably work even better.

For wired I strongly recommend the HiBy FC 4. It has both single ended and balanced output and it sounds better than any other dongle dac I’ve ever owned. It’s exceptionally clean, quiet and accurate.