What IEMs do you own?

[XaviMartinez55]

Just got the Tangzu Wan’er SG (version 1, I know V2 is already out)

2 things that it does VERY well.

By far the most sensitive of the ones I have tried so far.

- sounds way louder than the Zero II at same volume setting.

- This means it’s the best sounding of the cheap ones I am buying, at LOW VOLUME. It retains the engagement and eq curve.

- Which means it gets the award to the less painful on long listening sessions. It’s really easy on the ears.

What’s most important…… needs no EQ and after 5 min I was enjoying Steely Dan,s “Aja” without paying any attention to the sound of the iems.

 

[XaviMartinez55]

Update:

Shipped back the Trio (better than the Castor Pro indeed !!, but narrower soundstage, and a bit too shouty for me).

Received and shipped back the Kinera Celest Ignitex Beast.......has less bass than the Wyvern Abyss, and elevated treble, but in a weird way.....there's 8 kHz to 10 kHz content, but emptiness around 6 kHz and 12 kHz....very weird signature, Wyvern Abyss sounds more coherent.

Also shipped back the Zero II. Good tuning, but for casual listening and gym use I am liking more the Wan'er SG. besides, the Zero II refused to stay in place while working out...

Just ordered the Artti T10 and (for the heck of it) the standard Zero.

 

[Jimbob54]

I have just taken delivery of a pair of Ziigaat Odyssey.

Very, very nice tuning to my ears . Great set. Probably worthy of the hype at this early stage.

 

[Somafunk]

Update:

Shipped back the Trio (better than the Castor Pro indeed !!, but narrower soundstage, and a bit too shouty for me).

Received and shipped back the Kinera Celest Ignitex Beast.......has less bass than the Wyvern Abyss, and elevated treble, but in a weird way.....there's 8 kHz to 10 kHz content, but emptiness around 6 kHz and 12 kHz....very weird signature, Wyvern Abyss sounds more coherent.

Also shipped back the Zero II. Good tuning, but for casual listening and gym use I am liking more the Wan'er SG. besides, the Zero II refused to stay in place while working out...

Just ordered the Artti T10 and (for the heck of it) the standard Zero.

So you’ve ordered a bunch of cheap iem’s and tried them out with their supplied eartips, didn’t like them so sent them back?

I pity the store that has to deal with returns like this

 

[drewdawg999]

I have just taken delivery of a pair of Ziigaat Odyssey.

Very, very nice tuning to my ears . Great set. Probably worthy of the hype at this early stage.

I too have recently acquired the Odyssey, and oh my, something about the tuning takes you on an eargasmic journey that is intoxicating and magical. Everything is so clean and balanced with the right amount of sub-bass and rhythmic snap. I have my Punch which is still my favorite, but the Odyssey is a wonderful complement. I guess there's no real endgame when I love buying the little buggers so much.

 

[XaviMartinez55]

So you’ve ordered a bunch of cheap iem’s and tried them out with their supplied eartips, didn’t like them so sent them back?

I pity the store that has to deal with returns like this

Yes, that’s exactly what I did.

 

[Jimbob54]

I have to report that the Ziigaat Odyssey is a very fine sounding IEM- for these ears the hype is real- had them a coiuple of weeks now and not fet the need to EQ which is very rare. Normally at this point I am tweaking the low end and the 1-4k area as something niggles me usually. These are Goldilocks IEM for me. If its ever on a decent sale it would be a blind buy unless you know you need lots more upper mids/ lower treble than these.

 

[mc.god]

I have to report that the Ziigaat Odyssey is a very fine sounding IEM- for these ears the hype is real- had them a coiuple of weeks now and not fet the need to EQ which is very rare. Normally at this point I am tweaking the low end and the 1-4k area as something niggles me usually. These are Goldilocks IEM for me. If its ever on a decent sale it would be a blind buy unless you know you need lots more upper mids/ lower treble than these.

View attachment 439536

They indeed seem appealing, and graph a tad smoother KE4 that also got many praises.

In the meantime I wonder if anyone got their hands on one of this

Myer Sliivo SLA3

it's graph is intriguing me

 

[RayDunzl]

I have a pair of buds that came with my phone, if that counts.

Used them to see what they were like, when i discovered the phone had an FM radio, and uses the cable as an antenna. That's about all.

I guess I don't do anything where I think they would be useful.

 

[mc.god]

I have to report that the Ziigaat Odyssey is a very fine sounding IEM- for these ears the hype is real- had them a coiuple of weeks now and not fet the need to EQ which is very rare. Normally at this point I am tweaking the low end and the 1-4k area as something niggles me usually. These are Goldilocks IEM for me. If its ever on a decent sale it would be a blind buy unless you know you need lots more upper mids/ lower treble than these.

View attachment 439536

Ziigaat did it again still more balanced (maybe too much?)

intriguing...

 

[Jimbob54]

Ziigaat did it again still more balanced (maybe too much?)

View attachment 440767

intriguing...

They've another one , name escapes me , coming out too . They tend to release contrasting pairs begins with A and isn't arete or Arcadia

That lush just looks maybe a little too flattened but they wisely chop that 3k peak off on both of those . The odyssey can certainly take some volume because of that flattened peak . Arguably needs to be played loud for same reason

 

[mc.god]

They've another one , name escapes me , coming out too . They tend to release contrasting pairs begins with A and isn't arete or Arcadia

That lush just looks maybe a little too flattened but they wisely chop that 3k peak off on both of those . The odyssey can certainly take some volume because of that flattened peak . Arguably needs to be played loud for same reason

I just tried to eq Zero:Red to Lush to make an idea and, as predictable from my preferences, it's really too relaxed for me, snares hit lose most of the snappiness i like to hear, and I really can't bear high playback levels that could benefit much from this type of signature.

 

[Oldson]

currently i have only 2 iems...
salnotes zero 2 and topping hane.
i have been thinking of trying a much more expensive set, but not convinced its worth it.
how important are all the different driver types and configurations?
all i have learned so far is that dynamic is generally better for bass response.

 

[markanini]

currently i have only 2 iems...
salnotes zero 2 and topping hane.
i have been thinking of trying a much more expensive set, but not convinced its worth it.
how important are all the different driver types and configurations?
all i have learned so far is that dynamic is generally better for bass response.

What I personally noticed from trying a hybrid like the Hexa wasn’t really about the usual marketing points. One thing I liked was that a simple 1DD+2BA hybrid can still be pretty small, almost as small as a single-DD set. So the fit worked well for me. The main plus I think is that it doesn’t use a porous filters that eventually get clogged with moisture or debris. It uses Knowles dampers instead, which are much easier to find and replace. Sound-wise I found the lower treble to be smoother compared to the 1DD IEMs I’ve used, which makes long sessions less tiring to my ears. Also, swapping dampers lets you tweak the sound a bit. Not a huge thing if you have EQ, but it's neat to have that option.

 

[Jimbob54]

I just tried to eq Zero:Red to Lush to make an idea and, as predictable from my preferences, it's really too relaxed for me, snares hit lose most of the snappiness i like to hear, and I really can't bear high playback levels that could benefit much from this type of signature.

The odyssey is as relaxed as I want to get and the Lush is an Odyssey on sedation . The O is great but needs a tiny bit more upper mids at lower volume .

The danger of these meta adjacent flatter tunings is louder listening which isn't going to end well.

 

[Honken]

The main plus I think is that it doesn’t use a porous filters that eventually get clogged with moisture or debris. It uses Knowles dampers instead, which are much easier to find and replace.

Indeed.

Initially I disliked these Knowles filters as they tend to very quickly get clogged up in my experience. But they are, as you say, standard and you can buy replacements. I've managed to clog up the filters of most of my favorite IEMs at this point, using both traditional filter style and Knowles style, and cleaning the former style of filters with isopropyl alcohol only works some of the time.

Having IEMs with "standard" Knowles filters makes getting hold of replacements of the filters a lot easier, even if this style of filters in turn do clog up quicker than more traditional ones. Replacing the filter in an IEM using a "traditional" filter often involves buying a new IEM. But, replacing Knowles style of filters is finicky to put it mildly.

In summary, I guess that I'd rather buy a pack of Knowles filters than a new >$200 IEM. But an IEM like the Gate doesn't cost that much more than a set of filters. So meh.

 

[Roland68]

Indeed.

Initially I disliked these Knowles filters as they tend to very quickly get clogged up in my experience. But they are, as you say, standard and you can buy replacements. I've managed to clog up the filters of most of my favorite IEMs at this point, using both traditional filter style and Knowles style, and cleaning the former style of filters with isopropyl alcohol only works some of the time.

Having IEMs with "standard" Knowles filters makes getting hold of replacements of the filters a lot easier, even if this style of filters in turn do clog up quicker than more traditional ones. Replacing the filter in an IEM using a "traditional" filter often involves buying a new IEM. But, replacing Knowles style of filters is finicky to put it mildly.

In summary, I guess that I'd rather buy a pack of Knowles filters than a new >$200 IEM. But an IEM like the Gate doesn't cost that much more than a set of filters. So meh.

Isopropyl alcohol or distilled water with dish soap are the way to go (under no circumstances should you use anything else), but a gentle ultrasonic bath with these two ingredients will amplify the cleaning effect many times over. Ultrasonic baths are inexpensive and have a wide range of uses.

 

[XaviMartinez55]

I just got the EDC pro and the Kefine Klean.

The EDC Pro is surprisingly good for the price. I just bout it out of curiosity and paid $5 for it, which is less than a coffee at Starbucks..........

Tuning is more than correct and other than the small metallic peak I perceive at around 8-9 kHz, there's nothing you can say. If I'd be pushed to keep it as my only iem, I guess after some brain burning It'd be acceptable. I expected much worse.

The Kefine Klean.......well, this will take some brain burning. Nice bass, nice mids but (to me) a bit shouty treble. I tried the black nozzle and to me it's just straight unusable. I used a set of Tri Clarions (what a purchase !!). I read that the treble is inoffensive...well, not to me. Even with EQ it's difficult.

My Artti T10 is way more enjoyable...... more bass / body, and the treble is much smoother.....and the Wan'er SG still gets the award for most inoffensive iem for long listening sessions. These two are not going anywhere.

I'll give the Klean a few hours of burn in (not that I really believe in this....but let's try)

Next week I'm receiving the KZ Saga.

 

[muza_1]

I recently gave away all the IEMs that I no longer used and kept this ones.

7Hz Zero:2, this one I like and use them on the go, they are close in tuning to my daily driver the Zenith.
Kefine Delci, this one doesn't work for me, harsh and unnatural treble, but because is very comfortable I've been trying some mods, if nothing works I going to give it away.
KZ Zenith (daily driver), PRX*, ZVX Pro, Saga (both versions), Vader Balanced, of all the KZ sets I had this are the ones I like more.
Moondrop Chu 2, bass is a bit bloated but I like it.
TRN Orca, treble is a bit elevated but I like the tuning (paint started chipping so I removed it, lower part is reflective silver face plate looks like dull tin, I gave it a brushed look).
Truthear Zero, Zero: RED, Hola, GATe, both Zero can cause me tinnitus flare-ups on occasion (design/fitting issues?) but I kept them (both Zero) for quick comparisons (and a bit for sentimental reasons they restarted my interest in IEMs) and the GATe although a bit shouty I kept because I just got it.

*The PRX and Jcally JM20 MAX dongle should arrive in a few days, I'm curious about the PRX it looks good on paper.


The ZVX Pro arrived a few days ago and in comparison to the Zenith the ZVX Pro at first sounded more clear, crisp and less bloated but in the end and in long term use they are a bit sharp on vocals and treble is elevated, the Zenith sounds full bodied, relaxed and more natural to me.

Also I tried and returned the Artti T10, I really can't say how it was sound-wise I used it just for a short time, they were very uncomfortable and getting a good seal was an ordeal, I ended ordering the PRX (I'm trying to scale down and I don't really need another IEM but order it because it was at a very good price $28 tax included).

The Orca naked (dropped them while polishing and the connectors got a bit banged up).

 

[XaviMartinez55]

Whenever I manage to sell the Klean ,I’ll buy the Zenith. I wanted to, but all known reviewers unanimously rated it “meh” so that push me back.

Seeing how any extra treble really messes up my tinnitus, I am down to the Zenith and the Artti R1.

I would give the T10 another chance….. I use medium Tri Clarions and fit is perfect. It does have a bit of a 200 Hz bump (which I fix with eq, and adding some 800 Hz to 2 kHz). Sound wise it is the best I have tried so far - I haven’t tried any >$100 either.