I have a Linn LP12 and I’ve seen a few people use them but the company and most people say not to use a weight with it so I try not to mess around with mine.
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Sometime ago I posted here a question about headphones vs IEMs and got lots of helpful responses (thanks again!). I’ve decided that I’ll buy both and as my earphones died just yesterday I have to purchase IEMs right now. Here are my top candidates:
- Moondrop Blessing2 (the top one for quality/price)
- Oriolus Isabellae (well, it’s twice as expensive, is it worth it?)
- iBasso Audio AM05 (I honestly forgot why I picked those)
What’s your opinion on this? Or is there something else I should consider? As I stated before “I prefer a well balanced sound with well defined mids, detailed highs and clear, but not overwhelming bass”.
Also, as I’ll use them for calls too I need a mic-cable. Found this: TRIPOWIN C8 – Linsoul Audio. Is it any good?
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Call headphones.com and talk to them. Not only will they give good advice, they often have some returns or open box items. I was going to suggest Audeze LCDi3 I got a pair from them, but price in general seems to have gone up on them.
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Unfortunately I’m currently based in Japan, so that’s not an option.
Can’t go wrong with the first two. Never heard of the third. I’ll toss in the Tanchjim Oxygen as another contender based on your preference for well-defined mids.
I have those Tripowin cables. I have one each for mmcx, 2-pin, and qdc connector types. They’re great.
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Skype calls don’t work from Japan? Or are you concerned about duty?
Skype calls do work from Japan and yes, I’m concern about the duty, but also:
International Shipping
Due to our vendor agreements with the brands that we carry, we are unable to ship outside of the United States or Canada.
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That’s a darn shame. Unless you know someone who’s visiting from Japan.
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I would say the Blessing 2 is a good place to start. It has a DD driver, and while there isn’t as much bass quantity as something like the Dunu Falcon Pro or SA6, it’s more impactful and timbre-correct. If you would prefer more bass quantity, the Blessing 2 Dusk should fit the bill.
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Thank you for all the replies. Today I got my Blessing2 and my first impressions are very positive! I’m still getting familiar with the gear.
However I quickly realized one thing: if I don’t get the side tone working (which I probably won’t) then IEMs are not going to cut it for calls (even though I’ve ordered a mic cable already). They just provide too much isolation.
So far for the calls I was happy with Apple Earpods (wired ones with a jack) because they don’t provide any isolation (unlike IEMs). But I’m seeing on the internet lots of comments about their production/material quality drop. Do you confirm it? Do you know of any alternatives of similar quality and price? Thanks!
I’ll probably go with 1MORE EO320.
Long time listener, first time caller. Sadly my near fields and IEMs both died the same week (Focal Solo Be6 and UM Pro 50 respectively). Have solved the near field dilemma, now trying to solve the IEM. Been a musician for decades, mostly a bassist these days. I end up using IEMs occasionally on a gig, but mostly is for critically and enjoyable listening. Source is Apple lossless and hi-rez (sometimes with iFi hip dac). Since I’ve heard and played a lot of stuff live, I’m particularly interested in hearing nuance if I’m critically listening. But I’m also sensitive to upper mid/lower treble harshness. If I wince when hearing a snare hit or china crash that isn’t so good. As a bassist I appreciate bass but bloat is a no-no - I’ve spent years chasing a live sound that doesn’t have too much thickness around 150hz or so.
Because I needed something now and didn’t want to spend a ton, I picked up Satsumas as I like to support a semi-local company. They are ok but certainly lacking in some areas - eg Simon Phillips’ drums on various Hiromi albums push them into crapulence.
My heart says Andromeda 2020, my head says SA6, my budget says B2 Dusk. I may actually end up getting a combination of them as I wouldn’t want to drag out kilobuck IEMs for certain situations.
I know those are three totally different price ranges but figured folks here own one or more of those, might have insight.
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Welcome to the forums! Can’t go wrong with any of those three. Sounds like your need is immediate. You might also consider the Sennheiser IE 300. It’s form factor matches your late Westone, and it is shockingly good with Comply T-400 foam tips.
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I’m likewise sensitive to problems in the upper-mids and lower-treble, particularly with snare hits, so I can offer a couple of suggestions for you. First, beware of some dynamic driver IEMs: the Dunu Zen is too emphasized in this region, as is the Sennheiser IE 900 (I’ve not heard the IE 300). I’ve not heard it but my impression from reviews on forums is that the JVC HA-FDX1 IEMs (sold by Drop) likewise has some emphasis there.
A just-released pair of affordable IEMs that seems to be promising is the Moondrop Kato (a DD IEM, ca. $200). The Kato has received lots of praise on SBAF and one of the IEM aficionados on this forum, Precogvision, has some quick impressions of it here, which you might find worthwhile.
I’ve not heard the B2 Dusk. I found the Satsuma uneven in its frequency response and a little prickly at times.
The SA6 is a great pair of IEMs. The bass is excellent, it extends pretty deep but has a nice, hearty mid-bass presence that I’d say works well for bass guitars. I had no problems with its upper-mids/lower treble. I very much liked it and would consider buying it if I were in the market for IEMs in this price range. Its main drawback, for me, was an overly thick, weighty sound - and I should emphasize that I say this coming from my favorite IEMs, which are the Andromeda 2020, which provide a much lighter, more ethereal and nimble, fast, and responsive sound (even as they have plenty of mid-range emphasis).
Another excellent dynamic driver IEM that has nice mid-bass emphasis and is free from upper-mids/lower treble nasties is the Oriolus Isabellae. I prefer this over the SA6 for its tonality, timbre, and engaging qualities, although the SA6 bests it for technicalities and sub-bass extension. I’d recommend that you read one of our forum member’s review of it here on head-fi. I agree entirely with his take on the Isa.
The Andromeda 2020 is a wonderful pair of IEMs. It has the right combination, for me, of technicalities (resolution and speed, especially), and tonality and musicality. It also makes for a fatigue-free listen, and I love its incredibly open, spacious soundstage (for an IEM). It has six main limitations: first, it’s quite dark in its tuning. If you want more treble sparkle, get the original Andromeda, now called the “Classic” and available here. Second, it doesn’t have the best slam and macrodynamics (although this is mitigated with finding the right, synergistic pairing with DAPs and amps). Third, it places an emphasis on the mid-bass region and doesn’t extend very deeply into the sub-bass (which may not be an issue for you - as a bass player, you might like its tuning). Fourth, all of the Andromedas are very sensitive and can hiss from the wrong sources (I’ve not heard it on a hip dac). Fifth, the Andromedas are also reactive to differences in output impedance from sources: below an ohm, they get bassier and darker (there’s a risk of the 2020 getting too dark), above an ohm, they get brighter. Six, the soundstage is wider than it is deep.
One last suggestion: if you don’t mind buying used IEMs, the Campfire Audio Solaris is excellent and can now be had second-hand for $700, if not less. They were $1,500 when new (they now sell new for $1,300 here). Unlike the all-BA drivers of the SA6 and Andros, the Solaris is a hybrid combination of dynamic driver as well as BA ones. This means that it improves on the Andromeda 2020 in a couple of key ways: it has more slam and stronger macrodynamics; its bass response is better - faster, tighter, and it extends further down into the sub-bass region - but it’s not a bass-head pair of IEMs; instead, the bass is well integrated into the overall tuning; finally, the Solaris takes the lovely open, airy, and spacious soundstage of the Andromeda and adds more depth, making the overall soundstage more holographic. It also retains the speed and nimbleness of the Andromeda and adds more resolution (to my ears). Its tuning is closer to neutral, and it’s not dark like the Andro 2020.
The OG Solaris is not a perfect pair of IEMs, though. The shells are large, stick out quite far, and can be uncomfortable for many people. It’s too blingy. And it’s even more sensitive, I think, than the Andromeda, so beware of hiss. (Note: the Solaris 2020 solves the problem of shell size but has a different tuning and is too bright and fatiguing for me, including in the upper-mids and lower-treble regions).
If you opt for the Andromeda or Solaris and the hip dac doesn’t pair well with them, the Lotoo Paw S1 dongle synergizes exceptionally well with both, and it should be quite affordable now that Lotoo is releasing a new, updated version (I’ve not heard the new one).
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Of those I’d go with the SA6. In my opinion, the Andromeda doesn’t have enough upper mids, while the B2 Dusk might have just a touch too much for your tastes. The SA6 is a nice balance between the two, with a dip between 5 and 6KHz to prevent harsh sibilance.
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Welcome to the forum.
Any of the three you mentioned will work well for you.
Personally I would let apart the Andromeda (they sound artificial to my ears and it is a thing I really don’t stand. My ears differ from yours obviously), take a look at my wallet and decide accordingly.
Enjoy.
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thanks all for the input and a few new suspects. I’ll now obsessively read and re-read reviews because obsessive. It seems like the SA6 is a pretty safe choice, Andro is a bit more polarizing. More research and will order up something(s) tonight.
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Just to update - since I’m nuts I have the SA6 and Andro 2020 en route. Should have some impressions later this week. I will say I’ve warmed somewhat to the Satsuma, though it is source dependent. The xBass on the iFi helps a lot with the overall feel, it still struggles with certain drum tracks (nothing really to fix that).
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I have a brand new Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition for my living room. The Naim unit has an XLR input in addition to the 1/4" standard. My cables - which I paid a ton for - all terminate with a 1/4" plug, which is what I needed for my existing amps.
Two questions:
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Is it worth trying to get my headphones (Focal Utopia; ZMF VC; Sennheiser HD800S) to work with an XLR input? Will the sound quality improve to any degree?
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If so, will all the money I spent on cables be ruined by that last couple of inches of adapter such as: https://www.amazon.com/Devinal-Upgraded-Gold-Plated-Connector-Converter/dp/B095X6Q7LZ/ref=asc_df_B095X6Q7LZ?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80676785695792&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584276310991024&psc=1
I could certainly order a custom connector from ZMF, for example, but since my Focal cable is Silver/Copper and my ZMF has a Copper cable, what would I use for the adapter (or would I get different ones to go with the different cable types)?
Could use some advice!
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