Best 'Bang for your buck' IEM - Poll

[USER]

Maybe the bass is excessively elevated in the IEM then. You played with the switches too or no?

Edit: I went ahead and purchased a coupler and measured these myself. Please see this post for more accurate information that can be used for EQ purposes:

Best 'Bang for your buck' IEM - Poll

Speaking of 7Hz x Crinacle Zero: 2 in the context of best bang for your buck: If you think the new Moondrop x Crinacle DUSK is the improved version you may want to check out the Artti R2 for 1/9th the price! **For me** the slight bump between 4-6kHz (which you can control with tips) makes the...

audiosciencereview.com

Like I mentioned, I think it is. File analysis shows that the issues I have are in the area with the bump. At the very least this is an issue for my ears.

I tried the switches and they work as they should, which is neat. I have no use for the bass boosts and I haven't tried the treble ones. However, I'd rather EQ. I appreciate the clever engineering as it is a nice touch. More, it seems that the most balanced results are with the switches all turned on/up.

I have settled on this. The green is my EQ result. This is a bit tricky as the measurements don't show good channel matching in one area and so I am using the average.

Channel matching is off mainly between 150-1000Hz. Not sure if that's measurement error or not. But this doesn't seem to be an egregiously audible problem and so perhaps the average is working. Would love to see more measurements.

I have to say that, at least with the OEM tips, these seem to leak more sound than the Truthear Zeroes, to the point that other people can tell what you are hearing.

 

[markanini]

I always test the switches before adding EQ personally, but each to their own.

 

[USER]

I always test the switches before adding EQ personally, but each to their own.

Based upon the measurements I have seen the switches don't affect the only areas of interest to me, 60-150Hz and 3-7kHz. I'm fairly sure I am better off with "stock."

 

[markanini]

Based on your impression I'd start with treble bosot switches up, and bass switches down.
But to me it's mostly that the switches are a point of failure so I tend to test their proper function and evaluate the subjective response at the same time.

 

[muza_1]

For me all switches on sound more neutral with a bit of a bass bump which I don't mind (I prefer the bump around 80Hz rather than 200Hz which is more prevalent) but I tried various switch combinations and like the 1010 it lowers the treble and a bit of bass, I am treble sensitive so this combination makes the presentation more relaxed (bass seem better defined with the small reduction) if not as neutral it works well for long listening sessions or outdoors.

 

[USER]

For me all switches on sound more neutral with a bit of a bass bump which I don't mind (I prefer the bump around 80Hz rather than 200Hz which is more prevalent) but I tried various switch combinations and like the 1010 it lowers the treble and a bit of bass, I am treble sensitive so this combination makes the presentation more relaxed (bass seem better defined with the small reduction) if not as neutral it works well for long listening sessions or outdoors.

After a couple of days with these IEMs and switching between EQs and stock, I noticed that in the neutral, all switches on setting the highs are a little accentuated with the stock option. These are things that are better picked up through comparison than by simply listening, which I don't trust for value judgements. It's subtle and doesn't sound "wrong" per se, but I think I like it better tamed a tiny bit. Perhaps we are noticing the same thing. However I don't see this in the measurements I found, which are messy if scrutinized closely. (I am a person that doesn't think Harman is by definition bright but I do think it points to limits and I don't like anything beyond it, which is the main reason I love the curve as it helps define things for me.)

I wish some of these graphs would let you zoom in. At this point I find the standard view unhelpful as it is zoomed out too much. However the measurements that matched most closely were the following:

Again, nothing too crazy for me. But I don't fully trust these measurements because they are made with cheap, knock-off third party couplers that are not dependable

But then I had an idea: all of these reviewers also measured the Truthear Zero Red. And so I picked out the results that most closely matched Amir's results and came up with a conversion filter for each reviewer. I know that this is not a dependable method, but I don't have any other recourse until a professional measures these. Even then, we now know there is a more precise set-up than the one used here based on Sean Olive's recent findings, at least for the extremes, which likely wouldn't really help here. Anyways, these were the results:

What's interesting is that the results are actually even more closely matched! Perhaps the method actually helps a little! And this does show why I would hear a little "sparkle." It is noticeable with the R.E.M. track I posted.

Are these results closer to the actual FR? This could certainly help explain both what I am hearing now and why you prefer to bring down the treble a little bit, which now seems like the right call. It could also help explain why that small hump at 80Hz bothered me more than it seemed like it should. If these results are closer to reality it's cool that you were able to do that by ear. I could not without instant EQ comparison as changing the switches takes too long and we are talking about small differences. But again, this is an experiment so don't take this as anything final.

It would be great to have these measured here.

 

[mc.god]

I wish some of these graphs would let you zoom in. At this point I find the standard view unhelpful as it is zoomed out too much. However the measurements that matched most closely were the following:

You can zoom a specific region in squiglink in the upper control bar

 

[IAtaman]

Did anyone try any of the Aful Performers yet?

 

[mc.god]

Did anyone try any of the Aful Performers yet?

Performer 5 got my attention since its similarities with 7Hz Sonus that i like a lot

https://hbb.squig.link/?share=Aful_New,7hz_Sonus

but the price is too much beyond what I'd ever pay, Sonus remains my endgame.

 

[CedarX]

but the price is too much beyond what I'd ever pay,

Same here… Aful seems to have interesting products, but they are on the pricy side. And their marketing stuff triggers my BS-meter too many times—see Aful description of the USB cable included in their SnowyNight dongle for example…

I would also like to hear comments on their Performer 5 and MagicOne IEMs, but doubt they’ll qualify as “best bang for your buck”.

 

[muza_1]

After a couple of days with these IEMs and switching between EQs and stock, I noticed that in the neutral, all switches on setting the highs are a little accentuated with the stock option. These are things that are better picked up through comparison than by simply listening, which I don't trust for value judgements. It's subtle and doesn't sound "wrong" per se, but I think I like it better tamed a tiny bit. Perhaps we are noticing the same thing. However I don't see this in the measurements I found, which are messy if scrutinized closely. (I am a person that doesn't think Harman is by definition bright but I do think it points to limits and I don't like anything beyond it, which is the main reason I love the curve as it helps define things for me.)

View attachment 358957
I wish some of these graphs would let you zoom in. At this point I find the standard view unhelpful as it is zoomed out too much. However the measurements that matched most closely were the following:
View attachment 358958
Again, nothing too crazy for me. But I don't fully trust these measurements because they are made with cheap, knock-off third party couplers that are not dependable

But then I had an idea: all of these reviewers also measured the Truthear Zero Red. And so I picked out the results that most closely matched Amir's results and came up with a conversion filter for each reviewer. I know that this is not a dependable method, but I don't have any other recourse until a professional measures these. Even then, we now know there is a more precise set-up than the one used here based on Sean Olive's recent findings, at least for the extremes, which likely wouldn't really help here. Anyways, these were the results:
View attachment 358960
What's interesting is that the results are actually even more closely matched! Perhaps the method actually helps a little! And this does show why I would hear a little "sparkle." It is noticeable with the R.E.M. track I posted.

Are these results closer to the actual FR? This could certainly help explain both what I am hearing now and why you prefer to bring down the treble a little bit, which now seems like the right call. If these results are closer to reality it's cool that you were able to do that by ear. I could not without instant EQ comparison as changing the switches takes too long. But again, this is an experiment so don't take this as anything final.

It would be great to have these measured here.

I also don't think the measurements are really accurate (non was taken with an original calibrated coupler) but they mostly agree with each other at least on the shape of the curve, some things like the bass bump vary quite a bit between measurements (there is also unit to unit variation), I tried to correct the amount by ear based on the measurements with a PK at 80Hz, Q 0.7 and around -1.5db and it sound much cleaner (1010 Switch config.).

The treble it was done by ear just experimenting with the switches (with all switches on it also sounds right but after a time is a bit fatiguing). I am really sensitive to treble and I like it almost at the limit of when it starts being much, no matter the IEM or measurements I end up doing it by ear the measurements not always agree with what I hear, it cost me a lot of experimentation and equalization to a lot of different targets before I realized it was just the treble what was bothering me.

 

[IAtaman]

Performer 5 got my attention since its similarities with 7Hz Sonus that i like a lot

https://hbb.squig.link/?share=Aful_New,7hz_Sonus

but the price is too much beyond what I'd ever pay, Sonus remains my endgame.

Same here… Aful seems to have interesting products, but they are on the pricy side. And their marketing stuff triggers my BS-meter too many times—see Aful description of the USB cable included in their SnowyNight dongle for example…

I would also like to hear comments on their Performer 5 and MagicOne IEMs, but doubt they’ll qualify as “best bang for your buck”.

Performer 5 seems to graph really well for my taste - Harman IE with a little less 3-5K. Not unlike IE200, which is my current favourite.

I did not know about 7Hz Sonus, but that also graphs quite nicely indeed. I also like the look of the red one

 

[IAtaman]

Performer 5 seems to graph really well for my taste - Harman IE with a little less 3-5K. Not unlike IE200, which is my current favourite.

I did not know about 7Hz Sonus, but that also graphs quite nicely indeed. I also like the look of the red one

Speak of the devil The magic of modern supply chains.

 

[IAtaman]

Speak of the devil The magic of modern supply chains.

View attachment 359085

Have been listening to Sonus for a few hours now (box is easier to open) and wow, these are really nice. They deserve their own thread I think. @mc.god thank you for the suggestion. I'd need to spend a few more days with it probably, but so far, I am really enjoying it without EQ, which is something I rarely do.

 

[Jimbob54]

Have been listening to Sonus for a few hours now (box is easier to open) and wow, these are really nice. They deserve their own thread I think. @mc.god thank you for the suggestion. I'd need to spend a few more days with it probably, but so far, I am really enjoying it without EQ, which is something I rarely do.

Just jumped on the Sonus hype train. Let you know my thoughts when they arrive on the slow boat.

 

[mc.god]

Have been listening to Sonus for a few hours now (box is easier to open) and wow, these are really nice. They deserve their own thread I think. @mc.god thank you for the suggestion. I'd need to spend a few more days with it probably, but so far, I am really enjoying it without EQ, which is something I rarely do.

Really happy you enjoy them like I do, they deserve credit. If you like the genre try with GoGo Penguin, they give me bliss.

 

[InfiniteJester]

I just got the EW200 and I'm really loving them with EQ.

They are at 31€ over AliExpress.

I think that they are excellent and very hard to beat for the price.

 

[MitchGtz]

I think that the Kiwi Ears Cadenza is incredibly great for the money. Just under 100, I’m a fan of Giz’-Letshouer Galileo, what has a range I wasn't expecting to hear in that price range.

 

[gatorengineer64]

Is it time to reset this thread with new offerings

 

[USER]

The treble it was done by ear just experimenting with the switches (with all switches on it also sounds right but after a time is a bit fatiguing). I am really sensitive to treble and I like it almost at the limit of when it starts being much, no matter the IEM or measurements I end up doing it by ear the measurements not always agree with what I hear, it cost me a lot of experimentation and equalization to a lot of different targets before I realized it was just the treble what was bothering me.

If you are sensitive to treble no matter the IEM, try Moondrop Spring Tips. They reduce the highs a little compared to foam and silicone. They works well on the Trios and are more comfortable for me than the regular foam tips. They seem like a good match with these IEMs in particular as I am now much more confident the highs are a bit boosted and the measurements are closer to the result in green:

See these measurements for the tip effect. I believe the stock tips that come with the Trios are the Mistips.

Here are some results based on the Novas.