General IEM & DAP Chat

[Marco79]

Hey guys, any suggestion (money no object) for IEMs for technical/prog metal like Opeth, Tool, The Ocean, etc?

 

Cheers!

[Bengineer]

4 minutes ago, Marco79 said:

Hey guys, any suggestion (money no object) for IEMs for technical/prog metal like Opeth, Tool, The Ocean, etc?

 

Cheers!

Trusty: U12T

Bit more V and excitement: Trio

High end: EE Odin

 

Mest MK2 was fun for prog too.

[Marco79]

On 05/10/2022 at 11:27 PM, Bengineer said:

Trusty: U12T

Bit more V and excitement: Trio

High end: EE Odin

 

Mest MK2 was fun for prog too.

Tried all of them and ended up getting the Mest. I literally loved them.

Didn't like the Odin at all, which surprised me, given all the amazing reviews and your advice...

 

[Bengineer]

Odin despite their look, took a while to impress. They grow.

 

Did you get to go try all those units somewhere? That's awesome.

[Marco79]

13 hours ago, Bengineer said:

Odin despite their look, took a while to impress. They grow.

 

Did you get to go try all those units somewhere? That's awesome.

Yep, minidisc in Sydney.

 

I just found the Odin really unexciting...

 

[Bengineer]

56 minutes ago, Marco79 said:

Yep, minidisc in Sydney.

 

I just found the Odin really unexciting...

 

Its more audiophile tubes than the Mest.

 

Mest has that bone conductor, gives an exciting sparkle.

Edited October 7, 2022 by Bengineer

[Jovan.s1987]

I have a pair of LZ A7 IEM's, have had them for about a year now, with minimal use. Before posting them in the Classifieds section, what do you guys think they are worth?

 

In excellent condition, come with all accessories & packaging.

[DrTobiasFunke]

On 12/10/2022 at 9:40 AM, Jovan.s1987 said:

what do you guys think they are worth?

Impossible to say with any certainty!  Especially with the amount of unique and boutique IEM's out there nowadays.

Someone explained to me a few years ago that the Crime Converters pricing policy was (approximately) to buy stuff at 1/3 RRP, and sell it at 2/3 RRP.

 

What you're selling is relatively new and still current, so if I was in your shoes I'd start at 60-75% RRP and test the waters.

 

[Bengineer]

Basically. So many boutique options out there now. Someone might give them a for @ $300. Maybe.

[Jovan.s1987]

Thanks guys.

 

I did post them a while ago on here in the Classifieds section, as well on FB Marketplace. Think I started at $300 & went down to $250, got no nibbles what so ever. Will give it another go.

[Bengineer]

49 minutes ago, Jovan.s1987 said:

Thanks guys.

 

I did post them a while ago on here in the Classifieds section, as well on FB Marketplace. Think I started at $300 & went down to $250, got no nibbles what so ever. Will give it another go.

Nobody knows about them. And sub $500 people are so spoilt for choice.

 

Hard sell.

[Dolphy]

Anyone here have a chance to listen to the SP3000?

I spent some time listening to them at Addicted to Audio (Newtown).  They sounded amazing. Everything about them was great. 

The price? $6600.00. It's way too rich for me. If only I'd won last week's PowerBall. 

The DAP is massive. About twice the thickness of my Note 20 Ultra but not as long. It's very heavy and honestly, I would not use it as a portable DAP. However, this would be a perfect as a home streamer. I'm surprised A&K haven't made a home streamer in the traditional form factor. 

I bought my SP1000M several years ago and it meets my current needs, I got a great deal on it. Which got me thinking, what is the highest you'd pay for a DAP. I can't see myself spending more than $2000. Especially with the current inflation and mortgage rates. I think I'd stick with the SP1000M for a couple of more years to come. 

[NeweyMatt]

10 hours ago, Dolphy said:

Which got me thinking, what is the highest you'd pay for a DAP.

I spent 2k on a HiBy RS6, which is just about all of the DAP i need. It’s size and weight are at the upper limit of what i’d consider to be pocketable while still sounding fantastic.  I really like the warm organic R2R DAC implementation, and it’s got plenty of juice for all of my IEMs, IER-Z1R included.  Only drawback is it’s battery life, I’m lucky to get 6 hours.  This is not a big deal to me, I would never use it for that long at a stretch anyway.

[Grumpy213]

Hi guys, I'm new here but I just tried the Campfire Trifectas and wow are they something else.

 

For the price of $5,000.00 what you get is something that is unlike anything else on the market. The bass response is in a word, overwhelming. I have never had bass like this in another IEM, it is to the point where I don't think I can listen to anything else but the bass. 

 

I am wondering if anyone else has had similar experience with the Trifectas.

[Bengineer]

If you only hear bass, maybe only 1 of the 3 drivers is working?

[Grumpy213]

No I can here other frequencies, but the bass driver is literally smothering them into submission. 

 

They sound like a warm hug that I can't get out of

[damz87]

13 minutes ago, Grumpy213 said:

Hi guys, I'm new here but I just tried the Campfire Trifectas and wow are they something else.

 

For the price of $5,000.00 what you get is something that is unlike anything else on the market. The bass response is in a word, overwhelming. I have never had bass like this in another IEM, it is to the point where I don't think I can listen to anything else but the bass. 

 

I am wondering if anyone else has had similar experience with the Trifectas.

Mah soul sistah 

[Bengineer]

12 minutes ago, Grumpy213 said:

No I can here other frequencies, but the bass driver is literally smothering them into submission. 

 

They sound like a warm hug that I can't get out of

S tier? Or crap and down in D tier like the FiR flagships?

[Grumpy213]

7 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

S tier? Or crap and down in D tier like the FiR flagships?

Yes it is indeed 19 on a scale of 26. 
 

Can’t speak on FiR my Rn6 got lost in the mail  

[Bill_F]

Howdy folks! Hoping for some nugz of wisdom before I post my Sennheiser IE900s for sale.

 

TL;DR: Love the IE900s, but they're a shallow-ish fit IEM and I can't get a seal despite extensive tip-rolling. Deep-insertion IEMs do fit me well. Should I sell the Sennheisers and confine my IEM life to the limited range of deep-fitting models out there?    

 

FULL-FAT VERSION

 

I've been rocking IEMs for a couple decades now, and while I haven't been through very many models, I've noted the following regarding ergonomics and my preferences. 

 

Go silicon or go home: I hate the tedium of compressing foam between my grody fingers, rushing to jam it into my ear before it expands, and having to hold my ear open like a fool for 20-30 seconds while it does so. Rinse and repeat whenever I need to take them out to hear or communicate, which is quite often. Plus, they usually sound muffled to me in comparison to silicon. Finally, silicon can be deep cleaned! 

 

Go deep or go home, part A - Etymotic ER series fit me well 

 

Deep insertion "canalphones" like the Etymotics (maybe Etys are the only members of this category?) fit & seal very well, but only with large triple-flange silicon tips to make these invasive bois go even deeper.

 

Q: Well, Bill, why not go back to your precious Etys if you love them so much?

A: I have experienced sound I like much better from other IEMs. I don't wanna go back, and you can't make me! They can sound very good indeed, but even the ER4XR needs a bass shelf, and I don't have many EQ options on the go.  

 

Go deep or go home, part B - Shure KSE 1200 fit me well... as well

 

While Shure IEMs have small-ish shells resting in the concha, like Etymotics, they've got super long and super narrow nozzles, so they also fit me well with large triple-flange silicon. Again, I don't like the fiddliness of foam. 

 

Q: Well, Bill, why not just use your Shures if you love them so much?

A: I'm not crash hot on carrying around their energiser. The KSEs are really more transportable than portable. 

 

Go deep or go home, part C - OG Campfire Solaris fit me not so well

 

I once owned the chonky, concha-resting Solaris with fat (~5mm), short nozzles. I could only manage to make it fit with, again, large triple-flange silicon tips. (Foamies were a joke for my ears.) The tri-flanges never worked very well though, given the notorious chonk of the Solaris. 

 

I guess I have to give up the Sennheiser IE900? 

 

And here I am with the Sennheiser, which I quite like and would love to keep. Thing is, though, it's not meant for deep insertion, with its concha-nestling shell and relatively stubby, 5mm nozzle.

 

Here's what I've tried so far:

 

• Stock tips: nope. 
• Large, flanged Spin Fits: nope. 
• Comply foamies--the fat, super-isolating type. Well, I can at least get a seal with them. But I strongly dislike foam tips, and these Complys sound like total butt to me. (No offense to anyone who loves them, of course--our ears and brains are different, etc.)
• Knowing that I need it deep, I've tried a vareity of two and three-flanged silicone tips in various sizes. Unfortunately, the only flanged tips for 5mm IEM nozzles that I can find come from not-so-reputable manufacturers. As you know, the quality of silicon and overall tip construction matter. (I find Shure-branded tips particuarly robust, and Etymotic ones never let me down.) As for my baggies of dodgy tips, most work just OK for a short while. Very quickly, though, the thin, cheapo wall on one of the flanges collapses near a bend in my inner ear bits. This, of course, breaks the seal and lets all DAT BASS escape.

 

I thought of ordering custom ear tips (Sennheiser themselves organise this in a Germany-only pilot program), but:

• I don't want to keep throwing money at this IEM when I know that other styles fit--I've spent way too much coddling these with tips, cables, etc.
• I've been burned on custom tips before. I got some for the old Etymotic ER4S back in the mid-2000s. Like a fool, I thought they would sound better than the stock triple flanges, but they sounded far, far worse. That was possibly my ignorance--not sure the ER4 series was meant for custom tips. 
• Some users of CIEMs report frequent seal breaks with minor movements. 

 

So, y'all reckon I should sell the Sennheisers and stick to IEM designs that I know fit me well, or do you have any other ideas I haven't thought of?

 

THANKS HEAPS!

 

~ Bill 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Bill_F

[DrTobiasFunke]

13 hours ago, Bill_F said:

So, y'all reckon I should sell the Sennheisers and stick to IEM designs that I know fit me well

Yep, I'm afraid so.

Loved your post, Bill! 

The search for audio nirvana is only partly about the sound.

Comfort is a HUGE  factor.

I've owned many IEM's and headphones that sounded amazing, but could never quite sit right on my head or in my ears.  And sometimes, I know it's just personal quirks of mine that are the issue.  I've found I like loose fitting headphones, rather than 'clampers'...

 

And unfortunately, it sounds to me that you're not likely to find a worthy solution to your IE900 situation.  

'If there's any doubt, then there is no doubt'. (De Niro's character in the film Ronin)

[Bill_F]

Thanks very much for your thoughtful, almost philosophical reply, Dr. Funke. It's just what I needed: some cold, hard truth instead of quixotic technological fixes.

 

I was perseverating over the details: "What about this tip?" "What about insertion technique?" "Maybe it's all in your head, you neurotic!" 

 

However, you're correct: anatomical realities + personal preferences will, in the the end, matter more than any abstract notion of "better sound." Pragmatism over idealism. 

 

Cheers, Ken.

[DrTobiasFunke]

44 minutes ago, Bill_F said:

"What about this tip?" "What about insertion technique?" "Maybe it's all in your head, you neurotic!" 

Oh yes...  I know that journey very well.  No matter how much I argue with it, reality always seems to win.

At the end of the day, we like what we like.

Sometimes I find it difficult to accept the choices that my body makes.

Case in point: I eventually sold my Utopias... and was surprised to discover my peaceful place with HD800S.  The comfort, the relaxed fit...  they are what I needed to feel truly fulfilled with my primo open-backs.

Getting rid of the Utopias was like going through a divorce - painful... sense of loss... questions were asked about the nature of reality and my place and worth in the world.

Then the HD800S came into my life, and I realised that life was not over.  I could love again.

1 hour ago, Bill_F said:

Thanks very much for your thoughtful, almost philosophical reply

You egged me on there, Bill!  Cheers mate.

[Bill_F]

1 hour ago, DrTobiasFunke said:

The comfort, the relaxed fit... 

 

Which proves your point that this is all hopelessly subjective: I dislike loose-fitting headphones.

[Bill_F]

1 hour ago, DrTobiasFunke said:

Getting rid of the Utopias was like going through a divorce - painful... sense of loss... questions were asked about the nature of reality and my place and worth in the world

 

Here's why StereoNet > Internet: whereas Internet threads invariably devolve into accusations of fascism, on StereoNet, we tackle tough existential questions in solidarity!