I borrowed this IEM from a friend mostly because I was bored of the things I owned and wanted to try something different. The Miyabi comes in a quaint little box that houses just the IEMs, tips and cable. There’s a little pouch and wrapping strap as well. A small package that reflects the minimalist nature of this IEM. From a visual perspective, I do not like the look of this IEM. Looks are very personal and some people may love it. I think it looks like very cheap plastic and the cable feeling extra cheap doesn’t really help either. The shape...

If you’re like me, you’ve never heard the name Icelabs. They seem to be a relatively unknown brand with very little online presence. I looked for a website, a facebook page or even an instagram post, but really didn’t find much. I have been around the hobby for a long time so I figured I had heard of the more relevant players in the game, but IEM makers sprout like weeds. I walked down the Canjam aisle and saw a booth for Icelabs / Flash Acoustics. I figured I’d see what the brand was all about. I sat down and was struck by each cable having a...

I have had a few disasters buying CIEMs. I have bought some CIEMs that just sound awful, like the UERR which has 0 bass and 0 treble. The texture is bland and has never heard of dynamics. The Hidition Viento B was much better, but the only let down worse than the bass was the customer service. I bought the Kiwi Ears CIEM as an experiment. In the world of CIEMs, it is absurdly cheap at $399. The build time is also insanely fast at about 20 days. This is where my positives of this IEM end. I wanted to see if Kiwi Ears had good production quality on...

The word neutral gets thrown around a lot in this hobby. Neutral has a lot of preconceived definitions,but the I don’t think many people agree on what neutral is. I would say that the Dunu Mirai is the best neutral IEM I have heard south of $5200. People who first get into audiophilia started with super V shaped KZ, Skullcandy or supermarket IEMs / Buds. They decided to research a bit and end up looking for something called “neutral.” I definitely understand the idea of trying to find something “neutral”, but it often comes at the expense of fun. I...

I was sent the Dunu Falcon Ultra directly from Dunu in exchange for an honest review of their new upgraded version of the Dunu Falcon, Falcon Pro, Falcon C etc. From here on out, the opinions expressed are my own and have not been forced from me using forms of duress or torture. I appreciate Dunu for sending me this unit and letting me experience this IEM and express my honest thoughts. Now that I have been reviewing for a little while, and mostly review things that I am interested in, this is the first time I was being sent a product and listening...

I recently got my hands on the Elysian Annihilator 2023. I want to thank my friend for letting me test them, measure them and compare them tomy personal pair of Annihilator 2021s. Elysian needs no introduction. The Annihilator quickly jumped to the top of many reviewers charts for the best treble response in an IEM. It is incisive, natural and never piercing. Many reviewers have praised the Annihilator for impressive detail retrieval, treble response and clarity. Its biggest downside is bass, but I think this is mostly nitpicking a top 3 IEM in the...

I was sent this unit as a member of the audio46 A5000 tour! This was the first time I was included on a review tour and it’s exciting for me to try this IEM. I have not been paid, bribed, drugged or accosted for a good review. I was only given a product in exchange for an honest review. Now that the boring stuff is out of the way we are going to get to the A5000. I did most of my listening tests price and configuration blind. I just wanted to see where it would go and how it would sound to me just out of the box. I have updated some of my sources...

I’m not sure why, but I have been putting off this review for a really long time. I have had the Helios now for about 4 months. I would say without much hesitation that this is a feat of audio engineering. With that said, this is 100% not a 5 star IEM. It has faults that make it an IEM I avoid for a few reasons. First thing first, I want to go on a fun side journey. For an IEM, Helios is pretty tough to drive. It sounds fine off most of the dongles I used but I had way more fun running it off of my tube amp or high gain on my RS6. I would call...

Sources - Hiby RS6, Questyle M15, Apple Dongle, IHA1 Tube Amp and Q5k. Spotify for listening. The IE900 is one of the IEMs I have dreamed of trying almost all year. The big issue with almost all IEMs is fit. It’s the biggest deal breaker and can make or break an experience listening to music. Back when I got into this hobby, Shure was a brand that made well regarded IEMs, but the key to the success was the fit. The sounds really came second. As IEM technology moved forward, we went to humongous multi driver sets that threw comfort to the wind. The...

Preface: I have had this IEM for a few weeks and I have really struggled to give it a rating. There are two main reasons I struggled with it; this is a technical champion with tuning that is just NOT for me. So this left me in the conundrum: how do I review something objectively and give it a rating that it deserves? I decided that I would give it a 3.5 because I would never listen to the Gaea by choice. Sources used: I listened mostly with either an Apple Dongle and Spotify or My Questyle M15 and Spotify. I listened with local flacs, but I...

I have had high hopes for the Mest Mkii for a long time for a few reasons. I love CIEMs. The fit is better, the isolation is better and usually I find the sound to be more consistent over listening sessions. For a CIEM, the price of the Mest Mkii (from here referred to as mkii) is honestly a pretty good deal. Sadly, I don't have the CIEM so I will be reviewing this unit as the universal I currently own. This was my audition to buy the CIEM and I will detail below why it will not be my next choice. (Please enjoy whoopie's face in the background as I...

Simp for Symphonium Reviews are pretty new for me. I have been enjoying my time in the audio scene now for a few years, but like many people my time spiked up during the pandemic. A lot of time alone means a lot of time with headphones, speakers or other forms or hobbies to keep yourself busy. My first good IEM was the JVC FDX1, but after a bout of channel imbalance I decided to move on. I moved on, a lot. I have tried about 40-60 IEMs since 2020 and now have had 3 pairs of CIEMs and have some...

I just pulled these out of my desk drawer. They in fact sound like crap. I do find that the staging is pretty good. It has some gimmicks with directional, but it sounds like the music is being played in a sound proof room and I'm listening through the wall.

The U12t is considered to be at the pinnacle of IEMs. It has some of the best bass in an IEM I have ever heard, as well as some unique imaging abilities that are almost uncanny in its wide presentation. I had the U12t for about 6 months before buying my A12t. The A12t is advertised to be the custom version of the same IEM featuring the same driver count tuning and technical ability. I was not totally sure what to expect based on unit variation within the community, especially with CIEMs. Many say the tuning is darker while others say the build...

So I have been around these parts for a bit and may be a bit older than most of the people here, but I remember being wowed by the idea of a planar IEM and still am. We are seeing new ones popup that finally fix the major issue with every planar IEM before it: tuning. So if new planar IEMs like Timeless, S12, Rapthook Go, and I'm sure 10 more have come out since I wrote this, have good tuning and image well, why iSine? The iSine is an interesting IEM. It uses Audeze's planar diaphragm packed into a smaller chassis and then they put an IEM nozzle on...

These headphones are extremely expensive! I bought these before I really understood the most important part of headphones, comfort. If I can't wear my headphones, why should I have ever bought them? I thought that the active noise cancelling module and the sound quality would make up for the comfort in the long run. I was wrong, I find these headphones extremely uncomfortable. I have very perky ears and on ear headphones just crush them. After about an hour I need a break to try and let my ears stop hurting.   I hate that I hate these headphones. I...

Pros:   Comfortable: Coming from a few different buds and a few different IEMs these felt like a dream to wear for more than 4 hours at a time. That's my biggest complaint with headphones and IEMs is the fatigue that comes with wearing them for long periods of time. The around the ear shape shifts the weight from the canal to the back of the ear, making them infinitely more comfortable. Because I have two different sized canals, I had to use to different tips on each side. It does help in recognizing which way to put them in :).    Clean Sound...