ARTTI T10 - PLANAR IEM

[Soandso]

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.

 

[Remior]

Another one here. One of the best 52€ I spend on audio.

 

[InfiniteJester]

1,5% distorsion at 1Hz and 96dB is high.

Compare with this excellent 14,5mm planar IEM: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/hidizs-mp145-iem-review.50068/

Which not only sounds delightful but it is made of metal and not cheap plastic.

 

[Soandso]

1,5% distorsion at 1Hz and 96dB is high.

Compare with this excellent 14,5mm planar IEM: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/hidizs-mp145-iem-review.50068/

Which not only sounds delightful but it is made of metal and not cheap plastic.

$150 says review link. Personally at 1kHz there's 3 decibels difference in hearing between my right and left ear.

 

[InfiniteJester]

$150 says review link. Personally at 1kHz there's 3 decibels difference in hearing between my right and left ear.

I bought them for 126€. Which is double of what the ARTTI costs. But the MP145 is just excellent, in my opinion.

 

[herr.jemine]

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

 

[Soandso]

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.

 

[Soandso]

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.

 

[OK1]

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.