• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Your favorite IEMs?

pwjazz

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 21, 2018
Messages
507
Likes
746
A great tip I'm sure, but is it not a bit much to ask of the consumer? Maybe if everyone owned their own IEC 60318-4 coupler+calibrated mic to track the FR changes.

Oh, something else that might be of use to people ...

In my experience, finding and addressing the treble resonance that occurs on a lot of IEMs is one of the more important EQ exercises. Because of differences in anatomy and tips, the resonance occurs at different points for different people. On the VK4 with Xelastic tips, for me it's at around 8900 KHz. The best way to find where it occurs for you is by listening. Tools like resfinder can help with that.
 

D!sco

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2021
Messages
483
Likes
381
I have another glowing review for the Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk. They're my new favorite headphone. I can't wear them for more than a few hours, sadly, but their tone is impeccable and they play very deep, very clear, very easily. It's the first headphone I can really turn the volume down on and get a full experience. A revelation if you've never taken IEMs seriously yet. After a direct comparison between these and the standard Blessing 2's, I can confidently say that if price is no object, the Dusk is objectively better. However, the standard Blessing 2's go on sale to approximately $270 on amazon periodically. It's definitely a more approachable price and not enough is being lost to warrant FOMO.

Before then I bought, and still have my original Apple Airpods. I ruined a couple of screen covers during the summer with my face sweat after many, many 1hr+ calls, day after day. This led me to discover the greatest wearable invented. They sound as good as anything does connected through bluetooth with slightly less dynamic range. They do siri when you're too busy to touch the phone, and have a lot of small, well thought out features. They are 100% worth it. I'm probably going to sell mine used and upgrade to the pro sets for ANC.

Last, I just received a Fiio UTWS3 from Amazon. I only have one set of IEMs they can connect to, and I'm quite disappointed with the sound they put through the Blessing 2's. There's more sub bass extension than compared to the airpods, but the sound is lacking in definition. Even compared to my iphone's standard lightning to 3.5mm, there's a remarkable loss in music tracks when going wireless. While I still like the idea, unfortunately I can't recommend this at all for very high quality IEMs.
 

D!sco

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2021
Messages
483
Likes
381
Is that because they have a pressure point somewhere on your ear and it starts to hurt?
Yup. Trying the spinfits, which are better. Dekonis kill me, same as the stock mediums. I haven't tried them all yet. I'm also not sure I like the way IEM cables tug on my ears in general.
What do you recommend?
 

ascorbyl

Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
27
Likes
21
Yup. Trying the spinfits, which are better. Dekonis kill me, same as the stock mediums. I haven't tried them all yet. I'm also not sure I like the way IEM cables tug on my ears in general.
What do you recommend?
In what way does it hurt? Was hoping to pick up a pair of the Blessing2:Dusks when they go on sale.

I swear by the old Sony hybrid eartips (M size). But those are impossible to find now (at least without importing), I've been trying out the magenta-coloured (S) Spinfits and they are just okay. Not amazing, but they get the job done. I haven't felt like I needed to get something else at least.
 

RHO

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 20, 2020
Messages
1,182
Likes
1,087
Location
Belgium
In my experience the Spinfits change the sound signature too much compared to the stock tips. They make the Blessing 2 Dusk sound much leaner to my ears.
I think exit bore-size and length are important to get right when tip-rolling.
 

Human Bass

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Nov 25, 2018
Messages
653
Likes
660
I really fell in love with the Fiio FH3, the bass is perfect, powerful with no bloat and everything else smooth. Also the fit is great in my ears
 

brandall10

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2019
Messages
306
Likes
362
I love my Etymotics.. anyone heard the new one yet?

There's some initial impressions over on Head-fi, some fairly experienced folks (ie. who are known reviewers) have weighed in. It doesn't seem like an out-an-out new flagship but a different flavor. One in particular - who has experience with many multi-kilobuck CIEMS - still prefers the er2xr over it, although he was complimentary of it.

IME, it seems to be crossing into Moondrop territory, and at that price, maybe only worth it if you're an avowed ety fan who needs extreme passive iso.
 
Last edited:

brandall10

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2019
Messages
306
Likes
362
Not really what I was hoping for.

If you're referencing the new EVO I'm in the same boat. I found head-fi back in 2003 and the ER4 was something either you owned or aspired to own back in those days. It doesn't hold nearly that weight today, but it still is relevant as evidenced by this thread, and fact that it's been the Etymotic flagship since it was released nearly 3 decades ago had me thinking that the EVO would be something special rather than a sidegrade. If initial impressions generated more excitement it would have been an insta-purchase for me.
 
Last edited:

NeoZs99

Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2021
Messages
79
Likes
102
If you're referencing the new EVO I'm in the same boat. I found head-fi back in 2003 and the ER4 was something either you owned or aspired to own back in those days. It doesn't hold nearly that weight today, but it still is relevant as evidenced by this thread, and fact that it's been the Etymotic flagship since it was released nearly 3 decades ago had me thinking that the EVO would be something special rather than a sidegrade. If initial impressions generated more excitement it would have been an insta-purchase for me.
Tbf, I'm still very happy with the ER4 and which I've been using for years. Maybe Etymotic wanted to target a wider audience with these
 

brandall10

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2019
Messages
306
Likes
362
Tbf, I'm still very happy with the ER4 and which I've been using for years. Maybe Etymotic wanted to target a wider audience with these

For sure, but I feel like they got that w/ the ER2XR at like 1/5 the price (well, lately). $500 is enthusiast level.

I just feel like to offer something at nearly 2x the cost of ER4 series it has to be special in some way... maybe it's an unfair standard, but Etymotic has built that reputation. If these were say a true wireless option at this price, I could understand (heck I'd probably pay up to $1k for this in a TWS format if the packaging was roughly the same).
 
Last edited:

Earfonia

Active Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2019
Messages
278
Likes
398
Location
Singapore
1. TFZ King Pro : Very close to my personal balanced target with excellent clarity and very low THD.
2. TFZ Tx Bear Monica : Slightly more V shape tuning than King Pro, also with excellent detail and clarity, and with very low THD.
3. IKKO OH1 : Very close to my personal balanced target, slightly warmer than King Pro, detail and clarity slightly less when compared to King Pro.
4. AK T8iE Mk2 : Warm tuning excellent on vocal. Very low THD.
5. Fiio FH7 : Pleasant and fun sounding, tonality not as accurate as the King Pro (referring to my personal balanced target).
6. Audiosense T800 : More or less balanced tonality with slightly warm tuning. Nice bass and mids, sibilance dip at 7kHz a bit too low, but overall very good sound quality.
7. BLON BL-05S : More or less balanced tonality with relax and polite presentation. Dynamic doesn't sound as lively as I prefer but overall a solid budget IEM. Also very low THD, very impressive for the price.
 

Berwhale

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 29, 2019
Messages
3,933
Likes
4,922
Location
UK
Which EQ patterns do you use, those from AutoEQ?

I don't listen to them much, but it's this one: AutoEq/results/referenceaudioanalyzer/referenceaudioanalyzer_siec_harman_in-ear_2019v2/MEE Audio Pinnacle P1 at master · jaakkopasanen/AutoEq · GitHub

One of the nice things about PEACE is that I can store a URL for each profile that I use to tell me where I got the EQ:

1624554383286.png


If I right click on the profile, it opens the URL in my browser.
 

Fregly

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2018
Messages
336
Likes
264
I love my Etymotics.. anyone heard the new one yet?
Looks no better than other Etys only with a marginally different balance. They seem to be going after the more drivers are better audiophile market. I don't see the point of the Evo. Doesn't the xr series give the same for much less? And I am guessing 4sr and 2se are more transparent.
 

RHO

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 20, 2020
Messages
1,182
Likes
1,087
Location
Belgium
1. TFZ King Pro : Very close to my personal balanced target with excellent clarity and very low THD.
TFZ king pro is quite the bass-machine. Comparing it to the Blessing 2 Dusk, which is not bass-light:
graph(1).png
 

Earfonia

Active Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2019
Messages
278
Likes
398
Location
Singapore
TFZ king pro is quite the bass-machine. Comparing it to the Blessing 2 Dusk, which is not bass-light:View attachment 137209

Have you listened to King Pro? It is not bass heavy at all. Probably because the bass peak is more on the sub bass, not mid bass.

Here is my measurement:
TFZ King Pro - T2G - Monica - Essence.png


The mid bass is not as high as the sub bass. Bass sounds clean, no boomines or muddy in the low mids.
 

RHO

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 20, 2020
Messages
1,182
Likes
1,087
Location
Belgium
Have you listened to King Pro? It is not bass heavy at all. Probably because the bass peak is more on the sub bass, not mid bass.

Here is my measurement:
View attachment 137313

The mid bass is not as high as the sub bass. Bass sounds clean, no boomines or muddy in the low mids.
I have not listened to the King Pro, but I own the Blessing 2 Dusk (that's why I included in the graph I posted). The bass shelve on the King pro is quite a bit higher than on the B2D.
I'm not saying this is a bad thing. I like bass. :) But a shelve about 5dB more than the B2D should be plenty low end energy, knowing the B2D has already a nice amount of bass.
I still think the Kong Pro has a nice FR. Should be quite a bit of fun. :)
 
Top Bottom