[normie610]

So a similar tonality as, say, an Erlkonig (setting 2)?

Minus Erlkonig’s mid-bass (which I’m not really fond of tbh) but huge plus on the sub-bass

 

[MATWIN94]

@MatW did you tried the classic Sedna ? Strong bass with good resolution and control .. and you of not done the single end cable which gives a slightly more laid back sound and the stage presentation a bit further back .. I’m listening to jazz, classic, rap and hard rock .. and I often keep up on the single end for rock.. if it makes sens

Just tried the ie 900 with my ARTURIA FUSE DAC/headphones amp .. awesome the stage get so much more headroom to breath .. much more separated also and organic..this iem definitely requires a strong amplifier to shine.. it must be stated here.. my AK SE200 is probably not powerful enough to get the best

 

[Tristy]

Just tried the ie 900 with my ARTURIA FUSE DAC/headphones amp .. awesome the stage get so much more headroom to breath .. much more separated also and organic..this iem definitely requires a strong amplifier to shine.. it must be stated here.. my AK SE200 is probably not powerful enough to get the best

The SE200 has 6vrms on tap from the balanced AKM output (the same as the SP2000) and it drives the Z1R pretty damn well… if the ie900 can’t be driven properly by it then that’s bad IEM design if you ask me.

 

[MATWIN94]

I think the threshold for « properly » may vary with people but I also considering the SE 200 in this result as a simple cobalt alone with a MacBook is simply better (with Audirvāna) ..

I must précise I’m referring to soundstage

 

[Infoseeker]

The SE200 has 6vrms on tap from the balanced AKM output (the same as the SP2000) and it drives the Z1R pretty damn well… if the ie900 can’t be driven properly by it then that’s bad IEM design if you ask me.

I personally feel, without EQ, you are depending on the better innate control/bass tilt presentation of the source/dap/etc to compensate for ie900. And none of this ties to the power output itself other than it being a correlation (and not causality) .

 

[Tristy]

I personally feel, without EQ, you are depending on the innate bass tilt presentation of the source/dap/et to compensate for things. And none of this ties to the power output itself other than it being an artifact.

The message I responded to mentioned specifically power and not source colouration.

 

[Infoseeker]

The message I responded to mentioned specifically power and not source colouration.

Oh I am just adding a tangent idea to the conversation. Not addressing you. Just you were the last person in the thread of this side-conversation.

 

[Tristy]

Oh I am just adding a tangent idea to the conversation. Not addressing you. Just you were the last person in the thread of this side-conversation.

Oh fair enough. I agree with what you said though about colouration having a big impact on our perception of a sources capabilities. I guess this is where synergy comes into play.

 

[nicnac2212]

I had the sony ier m9 for a month, it was the best ba earphone, but it almost felt like a fake dynamic driver or like a ba trying to imitate a good dynamic driver, it was detailed with good imaging but I felt like the iem was a little too safe, dull and boring at times, so does anyone know how the ie900 stacks up against luna,xls and a8000 and even the ier m9

 

[Infoseeker]

I had the sony ier m9 for a month, it was the best ba earphone, but it almost felt like a fake dynamic driver or like a ba trying to imitate a good dynamic driver, it was detailed with good imaging but I felt like the iem was a little too safe, dull and boring at times, so does anyone know how the ie900 stacks up against luna,xls and a8000 and even the ier m9

First of all I use both with EQ. Ie900 & Luna. But if I were to address this without EQ:

Luna is more intense on the notes in the lows & mids than the ie900. ie900 is more rounded in these areas. This truly mirrors the difference of the Focal Utopia and a Biodyna headphone.

Luna is too polite in treble bite and grit. And has more emphasis on last octave sizzle. Ie900 is literally an over-compensation in the other direction, lots of grit and less sizzle. Overall, the Luna comes out less fatiguing. But ie900 has the better compromise between the two.

Both iems push vocals forward. Ie900 is too polite in shoutiness and more tilted to deeper vocals. Luna is again the opposite tilt; more shouty between the too, but may be an over-compensation for some.

Luna slams intense and it's excursion happens so crazy fast, like you can feel like it is pre-ringing like behavior of a planar. Ie900 is slower in comparison and is more representative of a dynamic drivers impulse. SUBJECTIVE->: I feel the Luna doesn't get muddied by its bass due to this property, while ie900 needs a harman-like bass/mids tilt compensation to reduce its subtle muddiness. subjective-less confident: Also dac filters like minimum phase feel more obvious on the Luna (or I could just be convincing myself this).

More subjective:
With EQ, ie900 is amazing and addresses my issues. Without EQ, it will take some brain burn-in and redefining what you like.

With EQ, Luna is much more difficult to EQ to avoid making it peaky; cause you need to boost some treble things instead if just bringing things down. But after a long bout with EQ it also can be addressed by EQ. Without eq, I hope you like female vocals.

A8000 is just a Dynamic driver playing with BA properties. Great for complicated thrash metal only. Does so without getting congested, but also notes & overtones disappear too quickly. It's what people would call sterile. It is fatiguing, and not from note intensity like the Dunu Luna, but because it just both tonally peaky and shouty together. And it rolls off on the treble in a traditional single-dd way.

 

[gLer]

I thought I'd cross post my impressions of the Chord Hugo2 from the high-end IEM thread here because I mainly tested it with the IE 900.

TL;DR I don't think the IE 900 likes bright sources, and the H2 is a bright source, so make of that what you will, but if you have the H2 and/or IE 900 and are interested in how the two play together, you might find my reflections useful.

 

[Infoseeker]

I thought I'd cross post my impressions of the Chord Hugo2 from the high-end IEM thread here because I mainly tested it with the IE 900.

​

TL;DR I don't think the IE 900 likes bright sources, and the H2 is a bright source, so make of that what you will, but if you have the H2 and/or IE 900 and are interested in how the two play together, you might find my reflections useful.

Yeah Hugo 2 is pretty unforgiving in the upper-mids & treble. I use the Hugo2 with my specific desktop amp that compensates for that.

I can try the ie900 directly out of it.

Works great off my dx300max (SS) dap.

 

[nicnac2212]

Thanks infoseeker that was very informative but if you only had one high end dynamic driver iem to keep which would it be, I also wanted comparison to the moondrop illumination, xls. dunu zen and sennheiser ie300 if anyone has that because I personally can only afford the ie300 at this point but was thinking in the future to pick up the ie900, also infoseeker which iem do you prefer from an emotional point of view that makes you keep listening

 

[gLer]

Yeah Hugo 2 is pretty unforgiving in the treble. I use the Hugo2 with my specific desktop amp that compensates for that.

I can try the ie900 directly out of it.

Works great off my dx300max (SS) dap.

Would be glad to hear your impressions of the IE 900 out of H2.

 

[ahossam]

Any update on 3rd party cables for IE900?

Quote from IE900 QnA thread:

"Additionally, we're actively working with a number of 3rd party cable manufacturers to develop replacement cables to provide you with a choice. I'm currently using a cable by ONSO, which is awesome (and I hope it launches soon)."

I'm planning to get PWAudio August Fun cable for my IE900 but I don't now if the mmcx connector will fit IE900.