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ARTTI T10 - PLANAR IEM

Soandso

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ARRT T10 planar iem is inexpensive; I got one for $55 after another ASR member briefly mentioned them. Once I got beyond trying to finesse ear tips (have Dunu S&S tips on now) and trialed them with everything from North African drums, mandolin, xylophone, jazz and classic rock they satisfied me for my significant age related hearing loss as a planar iem for casual listening without EQ. Up to now my go-to iem is an etymotic (also an ASR informed decision) and initially I tried to similarly very deep insert the ARRT T10 but that didn’t work out (my 2 ear canals vary); 2 of the attached pictures are to show the moderately elongated nozzle angles. They are marked left and right for cables worn up and over the ear.

The ARRT T10 specifies it is a ‘dual-magnetic’ planar of 14.2mm and my impression is they mean the magnets are arrayed directly opposite each other across the diaphragm. An attached photo shows 2 common planar arrays, where one (labeled A) is staggered opposing magnets - not all planar iem marketed mention the magnetic array. We can see more magnets are required for opposing arrays and it also makes the magnetic fields more cohesive. My impression of ARRTI T10 is the notes are heard crisply even when multiple instruments are involved and localization of their staging comes across. I have full size modded planar headphones that are EQ-ed for my hearing loss I use at home for critical listening and these planar iem are for when out and about - when tested I was able to fall asleep on my back with the T10s in.

It’s 1kHz rating is 16.5 ohms with maximum 1.5% distortion, sensitivity is 96dB/mw and I already have a portable amplifier (another ASR pick) to use with it, although my cell phone can drive them. The body is a plastic polymer which makes them extremely light while they nest against your ear contours. I wore them on a long walk and they did not displace at all from where I put them with Dunu S&S ear tips on. There is a single tiny through hole in the body and another very short horizontal notch along one side, neither shown in the pictures - the exact purposes of which I refrain from speculating about. There Is a screen inside the nozzle, the nozzle has a lip and it’s bore aperture is average.
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Another one here. One of the best 52€ I spend on audio.

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I also own the ARTTI T10 now, they are very similar to the Timeless AE, the Treble (e.g. female voices) are less detailed compared to the MP145 - the T10 are really very good for value, but the MP145 are a league better and sound more classy!
like the Timeless AE, more for electronic fun music
 

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I also own the ARTTI T10 now, they are very similar to the Timeless AE, the Treble (e.g. female voices) are less detailed compared to the MP145 - the T10 are really very good for value, but the MP145 are a league better and sound more classy!
like the Timeless AE, more for electronic fun music
Timeless AE model on Aliexpress lists today for ~$250.
 
The ARRTI T10 stock cable where it goes over the ear is encased in a curved clear plastic sleeve. That sleeve adds rigidity and in my pair directs the inner cable rearwards from the ear and so the cable once past the ear crest doesn't start to drop downward.

For my ears (and eyeglasses) the excessively long plastic sleeve "pulled" the cable backward before gravity made the cable hang downward. And as I walked that transferred torque to the ear crest which in turn kept slightly displacing the ear piece impacting the seal in one of my anatomically difficult to seal ears. So I have modified the cable by cutting away the excessive length of the plastic sleeve end with a new pointed tip scalpel (like an X-acto razor blade).

I left untouched the length of the cable's plastic sleeve that goes over the ear apex and immediately beyond where the cable starts to incline downward. Then I made a single wrap of friction tape over the remaining plastic sleeve and went for a walk to assess the change. The weight of the friction tape and absence of a elongated plastic sleeve let the cable hang downward better behind the ear.

On one ear I removed some length of friction tape so the tape didn't start so high up behind the ear. In another adjustment I removed some friction tape so I could remove a bit more of the downward plastic sleeve length. Once satisfied the over ear cables were hanging down close behind the ears I single wrapped splicing tape atop the friction tape.

Here's how the modification to the over ear cable looks. The picture on the hook has the earpiece balanced forward from where it would sit over the ear crest and that is why the cable is cantilevered rearward past the spicing tape instead of hanging down. Second picture shows how the single layer of tape is a vertical wrap and the underlying friction tape is likewise a single vertical wrap - these aren't round and round wraps and so the taped cable sector feels smooth behind the ear. I'd say the tape behind the ear modification ends before the cable reaches the earlobe.
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I bought them for 126€. Which is double of what the ARTTI costs. But the MP145 is just excellent, in my opinion.
The current issue with the MP145 is the alleged modification of the design by the manufacturer. You read all the reviews, and you do not know what you are getting, and how your particular copy will sound.

Especially for anyone who does not have a measuring device, and needs to use measurements from readily available sources, to EQ their IEM, it is a bit of a nightmare. Cos your copy of the IEM, may not be the same as what others have measured.

This is the kind of thing that KZ and CCA have done in the past and got a lot of flak for it. On two recent occasions in MID 2024, I bought a CCA CRA and a KZ ZVX, and it was only after each purchase, in spite of all the research I did pre purchase, that I discovered my copy of each was a modified version of what had been reviewed, so as I read reviews now of these IEMs, or look at measurements, I have no idea what to think. Since my specific revised versions, have NOT been measured on any public sources, and neither reviewed.

Especially when a review compares IEM A vs other IEMs, this gives you a sense of direction, when shortlisting what to buy. Does not help when the manufacturer after rave reviews, begins to manipulate the market, ostensibly to increase profits, by silently changing the design.

I cannot reliably buy an MP145 today, cos I am not sure what to expect, cos what I will receive has no correlation with any publicly available measurements or reviews.
 
I received these today and after an initial out of the box listen, they've very good. Has anyone done any a/b'ing of the two different tips? One has a harder black plastic inner, the other regular softer silicone.
 
The ARRTI T10 stock cable where it goes over the ear is encased in a curved clear plastic sleeve. That sleeve adds rigidity and in my pair directs the inner cable rearwards from the ear and so the cable once past the ear crest doesn't start to drop downward.

For my ears (and eyeglasses) the excessively long plastic sleeve "pulled" the cable backward before gravity made the cable hang downward. And as I walked that transferred torque to the ear crest which in turn kept slightly displacing the ear piece impacting the seal in one of my anatomically difficult to seal ears. So I have modified the cable by cutting away the excessive length of the plastic sleeve end with a new pointed tip scalpel (like an X-acto razor blade).

I left untouched the length of the cable's plastic sleeve that goes over the ear apex and immediately beyond where the cable starts to incline downward. Then I made a single wrap of friction tape over the remaining plastic sleeve and went for a walk to assess the change. The weight of the friction tape and absence of a elongated plastic sleeve let the cable hang downward better behind the ear.

On one ear I removed some length of friction tape so the tape didn't start so high up behind the ear. In another adjustment I removed some friction tape so I could remove a bit more of the downward plastic sleeve length. Once satisfied the over ear cables were hanging down close behind the ears I single wrapped splicing tape atop the friction tape.

Here's how the modification to the over ear cable looks. The picture on the hook has the earpiece balanced forward from where it would sit over the ear crest and that is why the cable is cantilevered rearward past the spicing tape instead of hanging down. Second picture shows how the single layer of tape is a vertical wrap and the underlying friction tape is likewise a single vertical wrap - these aren't round and round wraps and so the taped cable sector feels smooth behind the ear. I'd say the tape behind the ear modification ends before the cable reaches the earlobe.
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I've had my own ARTTI T10 for about a week or so.

I also had a bit of an issue with getting the cable to fit well behind one ear. It also introduces some soreness, cos the woven cable still feels rough cos the plastic wrapping near the ear, allows the woven edges to still be felt near the surface.

I think I have gotten used to this, and the soreness behind the ears is healing.
 
My thoughts after about a week.

Wide, Slightly Dark, Brilliant, Smooth. Acoustic.

This is the most enjoyable and accurate IEM I have ever heard. If you put in the work, it provides such a realistic and analytical result, and even things like listening to Youtube videos, become so much more articulate and enjoyable, and intelligible, with this IEM. Highly recommended. Listening via a TempoTec Sonata BHD, which drives it with so much ease, with volume of the low gain set to max on the DAC, I still have 45dB headroom in the digital domain, on my laptop.

Pros :

1. Smooth and Extended Top End.
2. Very good transients
3. A bass region that is unforgettable - You get an exaggerated sense of cues like room reverb/artificial reverb, in a recording, coming from some other IEMs. GIves you the impression that you have a subwoofer in place - not overdone, a tight sub bass sound. (but it does not add bass, only emphasizes the bass in the audio, only if there is bass.)
4. Accurate Extended High frequencies - same thing, emphasizes them only if they exist in the audio, making them immediately audible, If they are there, you will hear them, with ease, and you will hear treble that will surprise you - like wow - is this how treble is supposed to sound? But only if its there. It is like an analytical tool, show you what is there, in a way that other IEMs may not.
5.Excellent transitions, from bass to mids, to highs. Everything sounds cohesive and organic, and non fatiguing.
6.Very Accurate and True, it shows you what is in the audio, and some music you revered my be exposed as not exactly as fantastic as you remember, and others will become even more fantastic as their better quality of recording and production/mastering is revealed. Good resolution, without getting into fatiguing territory. Solid Presentation. Many things which sounded brighter on another IEM, just sound so much smoother on this, the mid bass and mids are so seamless, natural, and nothing sticks out, in the entire frequency range, in other words this does very little to colour the audio. Sounds like a well tuned, bass solid, mids solid, and non fatiguing high end. Makes you appreciate the huge difference between tracks by different artists, and different tracks on the same album.
7. Very sensitive to volume. While it does very well at low volumes, for ambient listening in the background, it encourages you to volume match every track, manually, to bring each track to the a similar listening level, to get the best from it. This is not for the casual listener., This is for an accomplished listener who knows about the Fletcher Munsen hearing phenomena.
8. Great wide soundstage - Left to Right, for audio which is panned so - old school music like Miles Davis - Kind of Blue.
9. Amazing layering - of near and far instruments.
10. Positioning - easy to pinpoint where in the stereo field everything is.
11. Excellent value for money
12. Intimate - Fantastic intelligibility. Seemingly more accurate rendition of vocals. Very easy to hear what the singer is saying. e.g in rap vocals and all vocals.
13. Great separation of every element in the mix.
14. Superb Dynamics - things jump out at you, and surprise you. Lively.
15. Comes with excellent case and packaging
16. Comes with a really good looking cable, that should last another 500 years, and remain intact.
17. Looks like an IEM that will retain all of its original cosmetic quality, for the next 50 years
18. Sounds great from the get go, needs some burn in, sounds even better, with a bit of EQ to correct any minor excesses, gets even better. Takes to EQ very well.
19. An IEM you can listen to for hours and hours, once you get used to it.
20. If there is any harshness, its from the recording! not this IEM, which only portrays what is there. But it will show you every flaw, very accurate, do not buy unless you want to hear the truth. This is the real Truth Hear. Unfortunately it shows you which labels have gone the extra mile with their recordings and mixing and mastering, so a lot of good music, will not sound as good as we think it should, cos not enough effort has been put into the recording and mixing.!! Music still sounds great, but this IEM separates the men from the boys.
21 This is the kind of IEM that will force you to upgrade your listening sources, so you can hear the best version of each track you listen to. Differences between different editions of tracks on streaming media are revealed starkly.
22. This is the IEM for anyone wanting to move forward from the budget sub $30 category, without spending a fortune. Sound as good as IEM;s in the $100 to $200 range. A bargain, if you buy on sale.
23. Definitely a very good entry into the Planar Magnetic domain., for not too much money. The kind of thing you buy, and live with for a while, until you can afford things in the $150 to $2,000+ price bracket - if you can afford such. I have not personally heard any really expensive IEMs' but this sounds to me like the point of diminishing returns, where you need to spend 2 or 3 or 20 times more, to get any further incremental improvement (based on the various reviews I have read/listened to)

Cons :

1. Some may not like the look, I am far more interested in the sonics, so not an issue for me. The looks are classic to me. Have grown on me.
2. Some would complain that the shell is NOT metal. Not sure if this is a benefit or has anything negative about it.
2. Insufficient number and style of tips that come with the IEM, I had to use the tips that came with another IEM, to get a good fit
3. Very Very sensitive to sealing, insertion depth, and any lack of sealing. This IEM needs to be properly sealed.
4. Its nozzle is a bt short and also a bit larger than other IEM's so the shell tends to be right against the outer ear, which may take a bit of getting used to. Initial soreness, from the cable behind the ears, the need to have a good nozzle seal, and the shell rubbing against the outer ear, caused some initial soreness.
5. Getting this to sound right, is a delicate dance between choice of ear tips, placement i.e insertion depth, and volume/level management. Every slight change in any of these has a discernible impact on what you are hearing. Every millimeter change in size of ear tips or insertion depth and every dB or half dB change in volume, is immediately apparent. This is NOT an IEM for newbies, but anyone who will take the time to learn how to get it sounding its best, will be rewarded with the most engaging immersive, enjoyable music, that makes you want to listen to your favourite well produced music, over and over and over again. You MUST invest the time to EQ it properly, to extrude the best from it.
6. Having said all that, this has a fantastic balance of everything needed, but does not stray too much in any direction. So it needs a user who is patient to learn what natural sound is like, if you are transitioning from V shaped, Bright Etymotic style, or Bass Head presentation, This has a slight V, with emphasis on the Bass - but clean bass - NOT Bass like Beats by Dr Dre. This will be an education in listening, cos you will hear many things, you have never heard before, the separation will take a while to get used to. I think it will take about a month, to fully appreciate what is on offer here. It reminds me of old Hi fi speakers and how you need to put a bit of effort into placing them properly in the room, and set them up properly. This is the same. Takes effort to setup, but once that is done after about a week or two of gradual changes, you arrive at a place that is unique to this IEM - great accurate, non fatiguing and True sound, seamless connection, life like, from Bass to Treble, very cohesive, and natural sounding.
7. A lot of music will sound a bit dull and bland, and not as spectacular as when you heard them on other IEM's. But this IEM brings you closer to whatever the TRUTH is., with a definite emphasis on the bass. How some could want more bass than this, is mind blowing, This IEM does not lack in bass, in any way. Timing inaccuracies, frequency imbalances, room reverb in spoken word videos on Youtube, this IEM will reveal everything, more than many other IEMs.
8. Easy to insert them too deep, and it becomes a bit too bassy., so they are rather unforgiving IEMs, they need a bit more attention. Kind of reminds me of Italian sports cars or Porsches, never driven one, but I can imagine, the drivers of such cars need to be involved, cos they are a key component of the driving experience. Compared to a Lexus or a Toyota, which is great for everyone. So these are IEM's for those who know what they want.
9. It is definitely analytical, and tending towards balanced, slight V, and not for everyone.
 
I really enjoyed the entire unboxing experience, feels premium, nice case, cable, etc, durable looking product, and not having to worry about ARTTI changing the design after launch, which is a huge relief, so I can adjust EQ, based on what others have measured, since I do not have an IEM measuring kit.

It does make me want to favourably look at the other products from ARTTI (and LETSHUOER). ARTTI seems to be the budget line of LETSHUOER, but carries over much of the ethos of the mother brand.

I once bought a Toyota and loved it so much, it has been difficult to buy any other brand, and by and large the qualities I valued in the 1st Toyota, have carried over to every other that we have bought.
 
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I also had a bit of an issue with getting the cable to fit well behind one ear. It also introduces some soreness, cos the woven cable still feels rough cos the plastic wrapping near the ear, allows the woven edges to still be felt near the surface.
An ASR member elsewhere reported improved comfort after removing their over the ear iem's wire plastic sleeve. I have since done similar for my Artti T10s. Being a wearer of eye glasses find the subsequently reduced diameter and lack in rigidity of the over ear wires allows the wires to hug my ears more comfortably where my eye glasses' side bars pass by the ears alongside my head.

Here's a picture of the stripped wire junction. I left a very short length of plastic on each unit as a potential strain relief and also to avoid messing up the wires' insertion into it's end terminal. That little bit of plastic I left on does not end up alongside the ear, but rather kind of locates where the ear piece connector stands up in the cartilage notch immediately in front of upper ear lobe. I found curved cuticle scissors cutting the plastic away was the easiest way to carefully do this without puncturing the braided wires.
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An ASR member elsewhere reported improved comfort after removing their over the ear iem's wire plastic sleeve. I have since done similar for my Artti T10s. Being a wearer of eye glasses find the subsequently reduced diameter and lack in rigidity of the over ear wires allows the wires to hug my ears more comfortably where my eye glasses' side bars pass by the ears alongside my head.

Here's a picture of the stripped wire junction. I left a very short length of plastic on each unit as a potential strain relief and also to avoid messing up the wires' insertion into it's end terminal. That little bit of plastic I left on does not end up alongside the ear, but rather kind of locates where the ear piece connector stands up in the cartilage notch immediately in front of upper ear lobe. I found curved cuticle scissors cutting the plastic away was the easiest way to carefully do this without puncturing the braided wires.
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Bold move. Nice idea.
 
Listening via a TempoTec Sonata BHD, which drives it with so much ease, with volume of the low gain set to max on the DAC, I still have ... headroom .... Very sensitive to volume ... does very well at low volumes, for ambient listening in the background, it encourages you to volume match every track.... Superb Dynamics ...
... every dB or half dB change in volume, is immediately apparent ... take the time to learn how to get it sounding its best ....
With regards to Artti T10 amplification I looked at Amir's favorable review of the TempoTec Sonata. I do find a portable headphone amp improves these headphone' sound; although possibly in this case because you like them so much a higher price point (when new) amp would offer even better planar dynamic sound.

Planar magnetics I have seen described as "current hungry" and if memory serves me correctly current is especially relevant to low ohm rated headphones because at lower impedance there is more current draw. A headphone amp's design needs to supply current to maintain output voltage during a musical dynamic passage. Manufacturers don't specify their maximum current supply and different amp designs rated for the same power output can supply different maximum current.

As solderdude mentioned in the AS post "Thoughts on scoping planar magnetic headphones and amplifiers" maximum voltage is relevant since dynamic peaks can require 1.5 times more voltage than otherwise. In ASR post "Do planar magnetics really benefit from powerful headphone amps?" I see Solderdude making the point that it is the voltage swing you get from a headphone amp, not how much maximum power you put out, which delivers the current.

Furthermore solderdude points out (ibid: "Thoughts") that different headphones with the same ohm impedance can have different voltage efficiency. So that specs about ohm impedance at 1 kHz for 90 dB SPL is misleading - it is dB/mw (or dB/V) that matter. In this cited post solderdude links to a chart among which are 2 quality 16 ohm planar magnetics, Denon AH-D400 and Dan Clark Ether 2. The Denon is more efficient in terms of db/mw (or dB/V) and for 90 SPL requires 1.4 mA, whereas for the same 90 SPL the Dan Clark requires 3.9 mA.
 
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With regards to Artti T10 amplification I looked at Amir's favorable review of the TempoTec Sonata. I do find a portable headphone amp improves these headphone' sound; although possibly in this case because you like them so much a higher price point (when new) amp would offer even better planar dynamic sound.

Planar magnetics I have seen described as "current hungry" and if memory serves me correctly current is especially relevant to low ohm rated headphones because at lower impedance there is more current draw. A headphone amp's design needs to supply current to maintain output voltage during a musical dynamic passage. Manufacturers don't specify their maximum current supply and different amp designs rated for the same power output can supply different maximum current.

As solderdude mentioned in the AS post "Thoughts on scoping planar magnetic headphones and amplifiers" maximum voltage is relevant since dynamic peaks can require 1.5 times more voltage than otherwise. In ASR post "Do planar magnetics really benefit from powerful headphone amps?" I see Solderdude making the point that it is the voltage swing you get from a headphone amp, not how much maximum power you put out, which delivers the current.

Furthermore solderdude points out (ibid: "Thoughts") that different headphones with the same ohm impedance can have different voltage efficiency. So that specs about ohm impedance at 1 kHz for 90 dB SPL is misleading - it is dB/mw (or dB/V) that matter. In this cited post solderdude links to a chart among which are 2 quality 16 ohm planar magnetics, Denon AH-D400 and Dan Clark Ether 2. The Denon is more efficient in terms of db/mw (or dB/V) and for 90 SPL requires 1.4 mA, whereas for the same 90 SPL the Dan Clark requires 3.9 mA.

Comparing stuff like the Dan Clark Ether 2 to the T10, isn't a valid comparison in terms of amplification, no? The Ether 2 has chunky 71x45mm drivers, compared to the dinky 14.2mm in the T10
 
Comparing stuff like the Dan Clark Ether 2 to the T10, isn't a valid comparison in terms of amplification, no? The Ether 2 has chunky 71x45mm drivers, compared to the dinky 14.2mm in the T10
I was simply using a respected ASR poster's data to provide a specific example illustrating the fact there is disparate current draw among 16 ohm rated planar magnetics. It is my understanding that for even "dinky" planars it is immediate availability of current during dynamic content that makes for better sound of the louder note(s). And apparently some amps are more able to provide greater immediate current boosts.

Maybe more of Solderdude's data will illustrate the 16 ohm planar current paradigm of what can occur when we are listening at a specific volume and yet suddenly the music's dynamic range transitorily tries to raise some note's SPL. For 90 dB SPL the cited Denon wants 1.41 mA; while the cited DanClark (listed under "Mr.Speakers brand") wants 3.96 mA. For 105 dB SPL the Denon wants 8 mA; while the DanClark wants 22 mA. For 120 dB SPL the Denon wants 45mA; while the DanClark wants 126 mA. We don't have corresponding data for lower than 90 dB SPL however for every 15 dB SPL cited approximately 5.5 times greater current is needed to make that higher SPL sound good. And depending on the particular 16 ohm rated planar this example shows that even when comparing "non-dinky" designs it can require over 2.5 times the current in one to cleanly play the same SPL as the other.
 
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With regards to Artti T10 amplification I looked at Amir's favorable review of the TempoTec Sonata. I do find a portable headphone amp improves these headphone' sound; although possibly in this case because you like them so much a higher price point (when new) amp would offer even better planar dynamic sound.

Planar magnetics I have seen described as "current hungry" and if memory serves me correctly current is especially relevant to low ohm rated headphones because at lower impedance there is more current draw. A headphone amp's design needs to supply current to maintain output voltage during a musical dynamic passage. Manufacturers don't specify their maximum current supply and different amp designs rated for the same power output can supply different maximum current.

As solderdude mentioned in the AS post "Thoughts on scoping planar magnetic headphones and amplifiers" maximum voltage is relevant since dynamic peaks can require 1.5 times more voltage than otherwise. In ASR post "Do planar magnetics really benefit from powerful headphone amps?" I see Solderdude making the point that it is the voltage swing you get from a headphone amp, not how much maximum power you put out, which delivers the current.

Furthermore solderdude points out (ibid: "Thoughts") that different headphones with the same ohm impedance can have different voltage efficiency. So that specs about ohm impedance at 1 kHz for 90 dB SPL is misleading - it is dB/mw (or dB/V) that matter. In this cited post solderdude links to a chart among which are 2 quality 16 ohm planar magnetics, Denon AH-D400 and Dan Clark Ether 2. The Denon is more efficient in terms of db/mw (or dB/V) and for 90 SPL requires 1.4 mA, whereas for the same 90 SPL the Dan Clark requires 3.9 mA.
The specifications of the TempoTec Sonata BHD, are 100% identical to the specs of the TempoTec Sonata BHD Pro, which is the one reviewed by AmirM on ASR here :

The main differences, are NOT in the sonics, but in the casing, buttons, number of steps in the volume adjustment from the physical controls, a different driver for Windows, and the Pro version has MQA, which the non Pro version does not have.

Otherwise the technical specifications are 100% identical.


Therefore it has more, far more than enough power to drive typical IEM's, and that includes the Artti T10, especially as I'm running this with a balanced cable, which in theory at least doubles the amount of power to each earpiece.

Should I wish to, I could have used the two additional gain settings on the BHD, but have not felt the need to, cos on the lowest gain option, with the volume set to max on the dongle, I have to attenuate the audio on my Windows computer by at least 40dB, otherwise it's too loud for me. Typically my audio is hitting a peak of -45dB, and definitely no more than -40dB in the digital domain, and this is more than loud enough.

That translates to 40dB of headroom available to me, should I wish to play louder - which implies that the BHD is far more than sufficient. And should I choose to, I can go to one of the two higher gain settings on the BHD, which add at least another 6dB of gain(my estimate based on listening to the difference in gain), so in total, I have at least 46dB of headroom, above normal listening levels, when using the BHD and the T10. 46dB is a lot of available additional power. Definitely more than enough, should I ever need this. The BHD and the BHD Pro are equivalently rated @ 280 milliwatts into 32 Ohms and 4 VRMS, using the balanced outputs.

This is why I have not felt the need to seek or use a more powerful headphone amp. Thankfully I have anticipated this need and am fortunate to have bought a Sabaj A20h headphone amplifier (which is sadly no longer available cos its discontinued), which does 2 Watts @ 32 Ohms using the balanced outputs, should I ever need a more powerful headphone amp. The Sabaj was acquired to work with Over Ear Headphones, which have much larger physical drivers than one would find in an IEM, and therefore need more power to drive them. And would be overkill for an IEM like the T10.

By and large I think as a safety net, where possible running balanced, should provide far more than enough power to most IEM's, for even the listeners who like to listen loud(which is NOT advised).
 
I was simply using a respected ASR poster's data to provide a specific example illustrating the fact there is disparate current draw among 16 ohm rated planar magnetics. It is my understanding that for even "dinky" planars it is immediate availability of current during dynamic content that makes for better sound of the louder note(s). And apparently some amps are more able to provide greater immediate current boosts.

Maybe more of Solderdude's data will illustrate the 16 ohm planar current paradigm of what can occur when we are listening at a specific volume and yet suddenly the music's dynamic range transitorily tries to raise some note's SPL. For 90 dB SPL the cited Denon wants 1.41 mA; while the cited DanClark (listed under "Mr.Speakers brand") wants 3.96 mA. For 105 dB SPL the Denon wants 8 mA; while the DanClark wants 22 mA. For 120 dB SPL the Denon wants 45mA; while the DanClark wants 126 mA. We don't have corresponding data for lower than 90 dB SPL however for every 15 dB SPL cited approximately 5.5 times greater current is needed to make that higher SPL sound good. And depending on the particular 16 ohm rated planar this example shows that even when comparing "non-dinky" designs it can require over 2.5 times the current in one to cleanly play the same SPL as the other.
I do not have the knowledge or tools to measure the current draw of the pairing of the TempoTec Sonata BHD and the Artti T10. My physics knowledge is pretty old, and I have not used it for a while. But this I know, one of the hallmarks of the T10, with the BHD is the dynamics, which I had highlighted in my earlier review. Loud segments or increases in volume, jump out at me, more than on any other headphone or IEM, I have listened to, so subjectively, I have not detected any "compression" in the dynamics, or swings in frequency response, that would imply a constraint inthe audio.

Hopefully someone with an Artti T10 and the knowledge/tools, will someday measure the current draw and share this info with us.
 
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