This is the official thread to talk about Crin’s latest collab IEM the Salnotes Dioko:
Linsoul were kind enough to send one along for us to check out, so here are the measurements done on the GRAS RA0402 (should not be directly compared to 0045 equivalents as the RA0402 dampens the coupler resonance).
Edit: it’s likely our unit doesn’t have the correct filters, so I’ve reached out to see if Linsoul can send those along and I’ll update this post once we get them.
Channel matching is… only okay on this unit, but I don’t notice anything major subjectively so it’s probably good enough.
Harmonic distortion is fairly wild in the treble when you crank it - but it’s low order (2nd and 3rd) so this isn’t something I think we should be too worried about. I would care if it were 4th or 5th, but that’s not the case here. I recently had it demonstrated to me just how insignificant low order harmonic distortion is, and I expect this to be within the auditory masking window - especially when played at normal volumes, as it all but goes away there:
For more information on why low order harmonic distortion doesn’t really matter all that much, watch this video here.
Here’s the comparison with the Timeless:
I admittedly haven’t followed the drama regarding the filters and so this is just the result I have from this unit. If someone can fill me in on what the story is there please do, but generally speaking what I’m hearing here is really solid for the price.
The Dioko is very similar to the Timeless with the same, if not slightly more pronounced issue in the treble around 8-9khz (although not really exacerbated due to the relative balance), but it also improves the sub-bass distinctness, which was one of my few complaints with the Timeless. It’s still a bit zingy in the treble for my taste overall, but apart from that it’s pretty darn great.
So… generally thumbs up from me on this one for the price?
Edit: After further listen with more tracks, it’s definitely got too much mid and upper treble for my liking. The upper treble lift seems to reduce the effect of the consonant peak, but it ends up sound a bit unnatural. So, if you’re going to EQ anything with this one, I’d downshelf the treble starting at 8khz and just knock 3dB off.
Edit2: @crinacle has informed me that it’s likely our unit doesn’t have the correct filters, so I’ve reached out to see if Linsoul can send those along and I’ll update this post once we get them. I’ll refrain from doing any full review of it until we get that in. Also adding a note at the top of this page.