Having just purchased these (see What's in the box!), here are my initial impressions.
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They need break in, and do respond to an amp. Initial phone and PC output was quiet, V shaped, and sssssssuper ssssssibiant. Very breathy. After running them all night this improved, and they improved on an amp. This may be a function of the natural resonance of their long and narrow sound tubes. It’s as if all the high end gets blocked from outside so the relative sssssss volume increases in one’s ears.
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Both the small and large triple triple flange tips lasted about 30 seconds in my ears. Weird and loose with no bass, or just weird. The factory foam tips are fine, and allow one to adjust seating depth conventionally.
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These are isolation masters. Nothing I own outside of Sony ANCs comes close. Wind noise, vacuum cleaners, and speech fully disappear. All that remains are deep bass rumbles from the environment (e.g., trucks going by). As @LeCe, @pwjazz and @Torq touch on – they seem strongest as a compact air travel device (which is indeed why I bought them). I’d choose other products when isolation isn’t required.
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Yes, @Lalakai and @Jaethan, the cable is wildy microphonic. But, with these so is my cheek! They block so much noise that everything else can be heard.
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Chinese IEMs have become respectable regardless of price (2nd or 3rd generation Chinese products). The overall sound quality and presentation isn’t terribly different, but the Chinese tend to trade sssssssibilance for piercing fatigue. My first reaction was to think of KZ.