I've been thinking a lot lately about my preferences and how to pin them down to a concise description. I see so many reviews with the reviewers showing there preferred frequency graphs. So I picked 10 of my favourite iems ranging from sub $100 to $1k plus only to find many different sound signatures from Harmon 2019, nuetral balanced to basshead. I don't have a preferred frequency graph. My main preference is.. iems that give me goosebumps. That make my music pleasurable. I'm eclectic, I listen to many genres with over 50,000 tracks spread across many sources all with different dacs.
Being tied to one signature/frequency graph just isn't logical for me it's what album, iem, source combination plays music to give me the required emotional response.
I've got the shanling ME300 and Hiby Project Ace incoming what's new on the midfi horizon for everyone else?
Also Got my toe dipping in the flathead world arriving tomorrow, the LRey M0pro and Aurora. Exciting times! In the meantime enjoying the IMR Enigma and iBasso 3T-154 with my favourite buy of 2024 the Cayin N3Ultra
I've got the shanling ME300 and Hiby Project Ace incoming what's new on the midfi horizon for everyone else?
Also Got my toe dipping in the flathead world arriving tomorrow, the LRey M0pro and Aurora. Exciting times! In the meantime enjoying the IMR Enigma and iBasso 3T-154 with my favourite buy of 2024 the Cayin N3Ultra
I have a set of AuR Audio Aurora ordered to compliment my Neon Pro and Ascension.
The Aurora seem to be the least popular of the AuR line up but owners descriptions of the relative sound between the Aurora and the two AuR I already have seem to suggest that they might be a tuning that works for me or at least gives me a nice option in my small collection and rotation.
Listening to the IE600 today, I like them but am trying different tips to help fine tune the fit but came back to Velvets with a little spacer to push them out along the nozzle to get a deeper fit and thus a good seal.
I have a set of AuR Audio Aurora ordered to compliment my Neon Pro and Ascension.
The Aurora seem to be the least popular of the AuR line up but owners descriptions of the relative sound between the Aurora and the two AuR I already have seem to suggest that they might be a tuning that works for me or at least gives me a nice option in my small collection and rotation.
Listening to the IE600 today, I like them but am trying different tips to help fine tune the fit but came back to Velvets with a little spacer to push them out along the nozzle to get a deeper fit and thus a good seal.
That does seem like an odd decision. I have no doubt they would stand behind any issue but offering less than usual cover is obviously going to undermine confidence for some. I kind of figure that the IEM is probably the last thing that is going to have a problem related to the assembly or parts so I am not concerned but can see that for others it might be a deal breaker.
Edited to add: In terms of build quality, based on having two sets, they are very nice. I see no issue with them at all and the finish is very nice. I have seen online images of the assembly and it looks like Abel (designer and assembler) is a consummate craftsman, it looks like there is a lot of attention to detail put into the assembly.
That does seem like an odd decision. I have no doubt they would stand behind any issue but offering less than usual cover is obviously going to undermine confidence for some. I kind of figure that the IEM is probably the last thing that is going to have a problem related to the assembly or parts so I am not concerned but can see that for others it might be a deal breaker.
Edited to add: In terms of build quality, based on having two sets, they are very nice. I see no issue with them at all and the finish is very nice. I have seen online images of the assembly and it looks like Abel (designer and assembler) is a consummate craftsman, it looks like there is a lot of attention to detail put into the assembly.
I jumped on the Mega5EST hype train, and is waiting for those to arrive. Should be here within the next weeks, and I'm quite excited to find out if my ears hear them as a large improvement over what I already have. If they are significantly better, it might put an end to my hunt for a good set of closed back headphones, and I'll just end up using IEM'S instead.
Time will tell
I can only imagine the warning is precautionary, perhaps they have seen two pins come loose. I can’t imagine that myself unless someone went nuts with swapping manically but it doesn’t seem like something one would consider out of nowhere.
The two pin connectors they use are nice and firm with a smooth uniform insertion pressure/feel so they seem to be good quality, I don’t believe they are any more susceptible to issues than any other.
That said, I do think the whole cable and warranty thing is a little poorly thought out and excessive ass covering but that doesn’t seem like a reason to right them off without trying them.
I know the WC guys had some bad feelings towards AuR due to lack of tour units and some comments by Nicholas about voting for them in some poll but they are a really good product at competitive prices and good guys to deal with.
I know it is very subjective but I prefer both my AuR over the Solaris 2020 I bought sort of recently and enough to order a third AuR IEM. I am not a fanboy for any brand but I do feel they are worth a try.
I'm relatively new to Flatheads having abandoned the format with the apple buds years ago. Well time for reevaluation, these LRey DIY buds are phenomenal warm bassy analogue sound signature with that big speaker presentation feels like I'm listening to my vinyl on my living room setup. Just very satisfying. The Aurora super comfortable with amazing subbass bass and clear natural mids.
The W03 Pro are a slight step down with a slight haze over the mids giving a more "tube" like experience but still very satisfying plus the wood build is just beautiful and has mmcx so cable rolling a possibility.
With full-sized headphones I feel that adding EQ into the mid-fi segment can get you very special tunings that are very difficult to replicate as a whole package with any other headphone, has anyone here been taking mid-fi IEMs and messing with EQ to see if something great they own is actually even better? As I've been browsing IEM threads I feel that EQ isn't as discussed, I'm assuming it's due to the portability and how competitive the market is e.g. buy something with a different tuning instead of experimenting on your own.
My experience with this is the EMu-Teak, $500 U shape closed-back headphone with a decently balanced tuning to my ears. Not particularly detailed, soundstage isn't particularly wide, not great as resolving, but if you just want to kick back and listen to music they sound good and are ~400g so pretty light to wear too. They have Fostex 50mm drivers though, so with some added bass EQ like 8DB at 55hz and another 5DB at 120hz they manage to keep their character while approaching basshead territory. You end up with a light, comfortable closed back with elevated bass and a still-geat tuning that I have found extremely difficult to replicate or replace. You can do similar things with the Meze 109 Pro too, very special bass for an open-back.
With full-sized headphones I feel that adding EQ into the mid-fi segment can get you very special tunings that are very difficult to replicate as a whole package with any other headphone, has anyone here been taking mid-fi IEMs and messing with EQ to see if something great they own is actually even better? As I've been browsing IEM threads I feel that EQ isn't as discussed, I'm assuming it's due to the portability and how competitive the market is e.g. buy something with a different tuning instead of experimenting on your own.
My experience with this is the EMu-Teak, $500 U shape closed-back headphone with a decently balanced tuning to my ears. Not particularly detailed, soundstage isn't particularly wide, not great as resolving, but if you just want to kick back and listen to music they sound good and are ~400g so pretty light to wear too. They have Fostex 50mm drivers though, so with some added bass EQ like 8DB at 55hz and another 5DB at 120hz they manage to keep their character while approaching basshead territory. You end up with a light, comfortable closed back with elevated bass and a still-geat tuning that I have found extremely difficult to replicate or replace. You can do similar things with the Meze 109 Pro too, very special bass for an open-back.
I'm a relative newcomer to IEMs, but a longtime full-size headphone and speaker enthusiast who uses EQ extensively. I actually started a thread on this very subject: Is EQing IEMs a fool's errand? A few things I've learned on the subject:
1) There is a much steeper learning curve to EQing IEMs relative to headphones. Full-size headphones are easy; they're like clay and will readily take whatever shape you give them. But EQing IEMs is much more like EQing loudspeakers in terms of complexity. Thankfully with speakers, most of us can measure our room and speaker responses pretty easily (at least well enough to do basic correction). Tools like REW, miniDSP, and Dirac have made room correction ridiculously easy compared to just a decade ago. But with IEMs, while you can measure an isolated IEM unit no problem, you cannot easily measure your ear's response to it like you can with a speaker in a room. HRTF is central to IEM listening in ways it isn't for full-size headphones or speakers. Until we get better measurement tools and standards for IEMs, we're all just playing (or EQing) by ear. That's not easy without lots of practice. Much easier for most people just to find IEM tunings that work for them.
2) IEM enthusiasts take frequency response graphs very seriously. Most IEMs are valued primarily for their unique FR, so EQing would negate that. Why collect so many IEMs if you can just have a bunch of EQ profiles for a single, very tunable IEM instead?
3) Tips and overall fit are nearly impossible to get the same with every listening session. But those deviations in fit affect frequency response, often in very big ways. Unless you're comfortable making adjustments to your EQ profiles on the fly, you're not going to get the response you're looking for. It's a little like being a sound engineer during a live performance. Far more important to focus on fit than EQ.
My current stance on EQ with IEMs: I still use EQ, but I'm taking a *very* minimalist approach, focusing primarily on the pinna gain region. Nearly every other part of the frequency spectrum is just flavor, but that pinna gain slope is where an IEM lives or dies.
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