Mest is more comfortable than the U12T. Sort of shapes to the outer ear better. U12T is more “fck you, I am a shape unlike your ear, deal with it”. Presses on parts of my outer ear, gets sore.
1 Like
I’m looking for some help on the next IEM’s to buy. My budget for each is $200 or so. I have a few “jack of all trades” models in this price range and now I’d like to buy a couple that are specifically great in at least one area.
Firstly, I’m looking for something that has great sub bass. I don’t want the rest to sound like garbage, but the other areas are less important as they will be genre-specific. I thought about the Ikko OH10.
Secondly, I’m looking for something that has great soundstage. I haven’t seen a lot of reviews that mention standouts in that aspect, so please point me in the right direction.
Thank you.
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Soundstage: Final Audio A4000
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Thank you. Reading the reviews on these, it looks like it’s just about perfect in that aspect.
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I recently got back into the IEM game.
Ordered the Blessing 2, Blessing 2 dusk and the Sennheiser IE 300
Just started trying out the Blessing 2 and can’t seem to wear them for more than a couple hours at a time without them hurting my ears.
The sound signature isn’t super enjoyable either. They’re clean, but not very exciting.
On the other hand, the Sennheiser IE 300 seems to be more my speed.
They’re smaller, lighter and way more fun. Though the cable is kinda gabbage.
I’m thinking of cancelling my order for the Dusk because of the comfort issues with the blessing 2, but I’m not sure. People are raving about the Dusk and I’m curious what the differences are.
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I have the Dusk and I REALLY like them (have never heard the OG), but I hope you find the right pair for you.
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Xelastec tips made a huge difference on the dusk for me. But they are large, and if that is the issue, it may not help.
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Also, I just looked at the graph on the ie300, and yeah, they look like bass monsters. want.
Definitely more boosted than dusk. I need to try these. Like right now. 
2 Likes
Hello hello, here’s another IEM review as I reach the end of my backlog.
Introduction
For today’s review, we’re going to be looking at a new brand to the IEM scene, SeeAudio. More specifically, this review will cover the SeeAudio Yume which is their entry-level model at $170 which sports a 1 DD + 2 BA configuration. What’s interesting about SeeAudio is that while they are a new company to the scene, I’ve heard rumours that they’re founded from ex-QDC employees. For those unfamiliar with QDC, they make some of the best TOTL IEMs on the planet, with the QDC VX being the most notable. At any rate, if there’s any truth to this rumour, it would certainly lend a semblance of credibility to their products compared to yet another random-name-generated ChiFi company.
Disclaimer: I received the SeeAudio Yume from Linsoul in exchange for this honest review. I have not been compensated in any other way.
What’s in the Box?
Following the footsteps of Moondrop, SeeAudio’s packaging has an unabashedly Japanese influence to it. I won’t comment further; I’ll let you decide what to think of it.
Inside the box are the IEMs, a carrying case with the cable inside, and 8 sets of tips: 4 silicon, 4 foams. Oh and you get some cute (?) stickers I guess. The tips are generic but I quite like the 2-pin cable. Its soft and pliable with little cable memory or noise.
The IEM itself is a standard affair. A blue/black ergonomic resin shell that’s comfortable in the ear. I will say the fit is quite tight and I get a really strong seal. It has an interesting faceplate design with its logo and embedded green speckles that glimmer beautifully when the light is just right.
Sound
As usual, I like to open with my first impressions before really diving into talking about how I feel about them after listening for over two weeks or so. Three things about the SeeAudio Yume stood out to me immediately at first glance. One: the tuning is an excellent balanced-neutral signature. Two: the staging is weak. Three: its technical performance is middling.
Unfortunately, it looks like the DD of the right unit of my Yume is dead. It doesn’t look like any other reviewers have this issue so I’ll chalk it up to bad luck. I’ll proceed with my review as normal keeping in mind that it will sound bassier in the left.
And yes, if you’re familiar with Antdroid’s target, the SeeAudio Yume does measure practically dead on except for the subbass. My own preferences line up very closely with Antdroid’s target so its no surprise I quite like the tuning of the Yume.
Bass
As a hybrid IEM, the Yume boasts a dynamic driver to handle its bass which is always greatly welcomed. Rather than a bass shelf popular with a number of tunings nowadays, the Yume goes for a downward sloping response starting from the subbass and gently landing in the low mids. This gives it a very clean midbass while maintaining subbass presence when called for. Quantity wise, the Yume falls within that Goldilocks zone of having just enough quantity to provide sufficient presence without being the centerpiece of the overall sound. Think Etymotic ER2XR’s bass slope except with more subbass from the 60 Hz mark down. I think that’s a pretty reasonable move lend more impact at the very low end.
Unfortunately, if you were looking for a thunderous rumble in the low end, the Yume doesn’t have that. Instead, it offers a rather textureless one-noted bass punch. Not that there are many IEMs (if any, really) with great bass in this price segment but still, the Yume’s bass does fall short against benchmarks like the Tin T4 and Moondrop Starfield. The bass of the Yume’s direct competitor in the Thieaudio Legacy 4 sounds a bit like a supercharged version of what the Yume offers thanks to the ostensibly better DD in the L4. That said, it’s hard to fault the Yume too much. The bass does what its supposed to: hit a well-crafted tuning target.
Mids
The tonal balance in the mids is extremely good. The low mids transition cleanly from the bass and possess the very slightest uplift that keeps it from sounding sterile or lean. The upper mids has about an ideal pinna peak of around 3 kHz and strikes superb balance of being forward but not shouty. Vocals are well positioned front and center. Instruments have a very slightly relaxed sound without embellishment. No complaints about the timbre either unless you want to be excessively picky about its BA nature. Despite throwing a number of tracks at the Yume, its tonality maintains rock solid no matter.
I’d go so far as to say that from a tuning perspective, its mids is probably among the best I’ve heard in an IEM, including the $1,400 Fearless Dawn x crinacle. But what the Yume lacks is the addictive quality that comes with the Dawn. It lacks the technical performance of the Dawn that really elevates that IEM from simply great tuning to a wholly enjoyable experience. While tuning of the mids in the Yume is about as good as you’ll get, it somehow fails to truly captivate me. I forget about it the moment I take them off. This isn’t a knock against the Yume necessarily: the vast, vast majority of gear I’ve heard have a similar problem regardless of price. It’s what separates IEMs that stand the test of time and those that don’t.
Treble
Like the rest of the IEM, the tuning of the treble is quite good though it does lean on the safe side. There’s decent treble energy throughout though it does start to dip out in the upper treble. Once again, no real complaints. It passes my treble test pretty easily; cymbals and hats sound nice and natural, limited only by the quality of the recording. The overall “feel” of its treble falls between the bright touch of the Legacy 4 and the soft, overly dampened treble of the Moondrop Starfield. The lack of peakiness makes the Yume a strong choice for those treble sensitive but has just enough sharpness to prevent it from sounding totally dead.
Presentation
From its outstanding performance in the tuning department, its technical prowess is downright “normal”. Its soundstage has a noticeably in-your-head feel. Imaging is your standard 3-blob affair with little height or depth. While I always like to say that almost all IEMs suffer from this problem to some degree, the Yume does lean into this problem just a little more than its contemporaries. On tracks with great stereo panning, the soundstage and imaging sounds unnatural on the Yume, like there’s a sense of a sort of artificial stretching of the stage rather than gentler, diffused sort of sound.
Admittedly, the resolution isn’t as bad as I thought it was initially. Though I wasn’t impressed at the start, now that I’ve spent a decent amount of time with it, its detail retrieval is better than the generic $50 range I would’ve initially put it in. But it’s still middling. I’d say that it falls short of the Tin T4 and Moondrop Starfield but is competitive with IEMs shy of that benchmark. As for instrument separation, at least the Yume does a solid job here. Instruments don’t feel like they’re tripping over each other competing for stage space.
Comparison to Thieaudio Legacy 4
The Legacy 4 comes in at $195 and in my review of it, I said that it represented a strong $200 benchmark. It’s a well rounded IEM that has both solid tuning and technical performance. The Yume chooses the approach of min-maxing. It’s easily the one of the best tuned IEM around regardless of price. But the presentation of its overall sound leaves a little something to be desired. Some combination of its weaknesses, be it the soundstage, the softer touch of its treble, its one-noted bass, etc. holds it back from being the new IEM to beat.
Personally, I’m not as enamoured by absolute tonal perfection. I find that as long as the tuning meets a general threshold of “good enough”, my focus shifts to an IEM’s technical performance and its overall presentation. As such, I’d rather take the Legacy 4 for its more complete nature than Yume’s master of one. The L4 has more “character” to it that tips the scales for me, if that makes sense.
Should You Buy It?
Yes. Despite prefering the L4, there absolutely is a place for the Yume. At $170, the SeeAudio Yume an easy top 5 or so recommendation for its price range and the best if tuning is everything you care about. If you never want to touch an EQ, nothing in the <$300 price range challenges it. To say it sets the benchmark for tonality in IEMs would be unfair to new contenders. And truth be told, I really don’t want every IEM to follow the Yume’s tuning. Variety is, after all, the spice of life. That said, while Yume may not be the spiciest IEM out there, it’ll serve as a great reference in the future to remind myself what an ideal tonality should sound like.
In conclusion, I’ll draw a possibly blasphemous analogy. I think of the Yume a bit like the HD600. It’s not exactly the best headphone in terms of technical performance. It has a small stage (intimate, if you want a nicer spin), the bass doesn’t really slam, and its treble is little smoothed over. But very very few headphones match its tonal performance and with no real competitors, the HD600 is my defacto recommendation in the mid-fi realm. In the same way, the Yume outdoes almost everyone else in the tuning department. Unfortunately, the IEM space is significantly more competitive than the headphone space and the Yume is going to need to fight for its market share. Still, hats off to SeeAudio. Their debut IEM to the most contested market space brings something more than worth talking about.
Written by Fc-Construct
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So far I’m liking them quite a bit.
Some initial impressions:
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Tip rolling saved these for me. I’m currently using a pair of double flanged tips that came with my RHA T20i, and that made all the difference in the world, which is funny because those tips don’t really work well on anything else. The stock tips on the IE 300 seem very high quality and look nice, but just don’t make a good seal at all. Even the included foam tips didn’t do that well.
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Comfort seems to be excellent so far. I’ve been wearing them off and on for upwards of 8 hours today and haven’t had any major problems yet.
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Sound signature: I think the IE300 has what I was looking for in an IEM. Detail retrieval and speed aren’t the absolute best I’ve heard, but they’re very good, and absolutely good enough to not get in the way of enjoying the music. And yes… The bass is great. It’s well controlled and doesn’t have too much bloom. I love it. (As I’m writing this, I just hit 4:21 on Wind Tempos by Porter Robinson and almost shat myself)
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Cons: Some tracks can be a bit sibilant and kind of fatiguing, but they’re few and far between. I’ll put an example here if I can remember or come across one.
The Cable isn’t great. It carries the signal to the IEM’s and isn’t so bad that I can’t fit them in my ears (this has happened before with some TRN’s) but it’s pretty microphonic, springy and uses the memory wire ear hooks rather than the loose wires or plastic hooks that I prefer.
They’re pretty pricy. I’m going to listen to them for a couple more days and then go back to the ER2XR to see which one I prefer.
Edit: I tried going back to the ER2XR today and have to say I vastly prefer the Sennheisers. The Etymotics aren’t nearly as exciting or engaging.
But so far my experience with them has been positive.
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Really great Review @Fc-Construct. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Alright, here are my initial impressions of the Sennheiser IE300 in comparison to the Moondrop Blessing 2 after a couple days of use. I will update this as I discover more about each IEM and hopefully develop it into a full review.
Hope you guys enjoy.
I’d like to start this review off by explaining a bit about myself. I’ve been an audio nerd for as long as I can remember, but only just recently started “getting into” the Hifi scene recently.
My experience with IEM’s ranges from the Skullcandy Ink’d back when I was a wee little lad all the way to my purchase and hasty return of the Campfire audio Vega, and a lot of stuff in between.
In this review, I’m going to attempt to express my personal opinion on the Moondrop Blessing 2 and Sennheiser IE300 as well as explore some observations that lead to the formation of said opinions.
Aight, if all that sounds groovy, then we can hop on over to the unboxing table.
Unboxing and presentation
Moondrop Blessing 2
The Moondrop Blessing 2 (B2) comes in an admittedly beautiful box with Anime Waifu Santa front and center, descending from the heavens to give the gift of Hifi to good weeaboos all around the globe.
Jokes aside, I appreciate the trend towards Anime art, and characters on boxes and manuals. I think it adds a level of personality and emotion to a product that is promising to give a personal and emotional experience. As someone who personifies inanimate objects probably more than he should (The laptop I’m writing this on is named Toast. It’s a long story, and no, I’m never getting rid of him) I feel more of a connection to things that try to be more than just things. I may be reading too much into the inclusion of artwork on boxes, but that’s just my take.
Sennheiser IE300
The IE300 is a piece of equipment, or rather, that’s what the packaging leads me to feel like. Instead of a slender St. Nick(ole) we get a picture of the earphones, some facts/marketing speak and nothing more.
The earphones are contained in a giant foam pillow (probably could’ve saved space and material but I’m not a packaging engineer) and alongside, under a paper flap you get the carrying case, some paperwork and the stock tips.
Build and comfort
Moondrop Blessing 2
This is by far the more interesting IEM to look at. The tubular sound channels and drivers are visible through the clear resin casing and the brushed metal faceplates are gorgeous.
To my understanding, the B2 body is manufactured using 3d printing, which would explain how they’re able to get such complicated geometry in something so small.
My problem with the B2 is the size. I don’t think they’re the biggest IEM’s out there, but they’re absolutely too big for me. I can wear them for an hour tops before needing to take them out due to ear soreness and discomfort.
Sennheiser IE300
Very utilitarian in construction. The body of the IEM is plastic (polycarbonate?) with a grey/speckled pattern that matches the equally grey included MMCX cable.
What’s important is the shape and size of the IE300. Where I was having trouble with the B2 making my ears sore, the IE300 almost disappears (almost). There are some times where I’ll want to take them out, but I’ve worn them almost constantly in the past couple days and haven’t gotten to any point where I needed to take them out.
The cable seems pretty bad at first, but once you get used to it, it’s not really that big a deal which is good considering the MMCX connectors on the earphones themselves are recessed and may not play nicely with most aftermarket cables. I haven’t tried any so I can’t say for certain, but be forewarned.
But how do they sound?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know that the B2 and B2 Dusk (Crinacle collab with Moondrop) have been getting quite a bit of hype recently. People are setting them as the new benchmark for IEM’s under $500 and I can see where they’re coming from. That said, objective performance is one thing. Subjective enjoyment is a separate thing entirely. For me, my ears and my sound related desires, the B2 was quite underwhelming. Let me explain…
Song: In a Sentimental Mood by Duke Ellington and John Coltrane – Streamed off of Qobuz Hi Res.
This is where the B2 shines, particularly in the technical performance. The saxophone, piano and bass all had a certain definite position and each was easily distinguishable from one another. This gave the soundstage a clearer image with more presence and overall felt more alive while the IE300 felt mushy and fuzzy in comparison.
Song: Es Rappelt Im Karton by Pixie Paris – Streamed off Deezer Hifi
Remember when I said the B2 felt more alive? Not anymore.
I think this is the differentiating factor between whether you’ll enjoy the B2 or the IE300 more, setting aside comfort and fit. If you listen to acoustic, traditionally “audiophile-y” recordings, you’re probably going to love the B2, and I’m sure that’s why a lot of the Hifi reviewers out there praise it so highly.
If you’re like me and the vast majority of your listening is EDM like Deadmau5, VGR, Savant etc… you will probably find the IE300 to be the more engaging listening experience.
I’ve found that my time with the B2 has been almost exclusively analytical. A sensible chuckle at a clever goof If you will. You know it’s funny and shall express your evaluation thusly…
Conversely, the IE300 has been a deep emotional experience that has once again shown me the joy of listening to music. A proverbial laughing fit while trying not to spray milk out your nose.
And I think that, like everything, it comes down to preference and music choices. (Again, setting aside fit and comfort)
If you’re a traditional “audiophile” and need something that give you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth while listening to high quality recordings of talented musicians playing real instruments, then you may get more out of the B2 than I did.
If you don’t mind sacrificing some information in order to feel and experience your music, then I suggest giving the IE300 a shot.
Else, get both, return which ever one doesn’t end up in your ears while you’re writing your review.
For me, the Germans hit this one out of the park with the IE300.
Some sidenotes:
- The stock tips on the IE300 suck (at least for me) so be sure to try other tips. The double-flanged tips that came with my RHA T20i worked a treat.
- Both sets of IEM’s were bought by me. I was in no way asked or influenced by either company to say anything positive or negative about either product.
- I still have yet to try the Blessing 2 Dusk. If I feel like it’s enough of a difference to warrant a re-evaluation then I will update this review accordingly.
- All listening was done through a FiiO BTR5 streaming LDAC audio from my phone using Qobuz and Deezer (Tidal can shove it)
Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out!
Updates and post-review opinions:
4/27/2021
I think the Blessing 2 may be growing on me. I just started using RHA double flange tips on them and that seems to have improved the fit and sound. I’m going to see how long I can keep them in my ears with these tips to evaluate comfort.
4/30/2021
Alright, Interesting news. For shins and wiggles, I tried the tips off my ~2016 era Skullcandy Ink’d and the B2 changed completely. Fit, Comfort and even sound quality are excellent now and I haven’t been able to stop listening. I still really like the IE300, but I’ve been carrying both everywhere, and have almost 100% of the time gravitated towards the B2. I think I was too quick to dismiss them and will remember this for future writeups.
With this said, the three main takeaway from this experience so far are as follows.
- Don’t just write up a review and come to a conclusion based on only a couple days of experience with a product. Even if you’re excited to tell people about it.
- Ear-tips are extremely important. I knew this. But I didn’t know it. I think it’s safe to say that a great IEM with the wrong tips will be worse than a lesser IEM with correct tips.
- Something I haven’t mentioned thus far actually… IEM’s seem to sound better out of my BTR5 than they do out of my Grace SDAC>FiiO A3, and with the BTR5, low gain sounds better than high gain on the B2. The SDAC/A3 combo has gotten me really far with my full-size over-ears but it just makes the B2 sound lifeless in comparison to the BTR5. I may have to re-evaluate my desktop setup…
13 Likes
Bless you. A review without any frickin’ numbers (except model numbers) to irritate the sensibilities. I don’t have a dog in this race. Not much of an IEM fan, although there are a few I get along with.
You’re right, the anime on the box covers wins marketing points over German blunt marketspeak and your choice of grey. And it is interesting to look at clear 3D printed details. But the size thing… that’s important. The big Blessings would probably fit my big fat old ears, and the Sennheiser might just go all the way in and create a rattle in my empty noggin for the rest of my life. Although their IE 40 Pro fits just fine.
Thanks for the review.
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Lol, that was one of the biggest deciding factors honestly. If the IE300 had the B2 sound signature, I probably wouldn’t mind. It’s so hard to find decently fitting IEM’s.
Glad you enjoyed it!
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Right on! How did you feel about bass slam?
It sounds like the dusk might be better than the original, but probably not better than the ie300 for you.
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IE300 has oodles of slam. I’d say it’s on the verge of being a bit too much, but not quite.
It rides that line very nicely in most situations.
I honestly probably jumped the gun with that review because I still feel like I need another week or two to average out my experience with both, but I’ll update it accordingly.
Writing these things is difficult. I have no idea how people like Resolve do it…
Must take a lot of practice.
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Really fab review @Panzer_Applehusky. For a thicko like me it was really easy to follow and to the point. I like you’re easy style and would like to see more of this type of writeup. Of course there is a need for the big reviews with numbers and charts. But a little bit of something different now and again is a pleasant change.
4 Likes
Rotate through tips. Some small xelastecs may help. With the euclid, it didn’t help because the IEM was so big it was irritating the outside of my ear. I just couldn’t fix that with tips.
My favorites are now cp145 which should work very well on the b2. Trying the sedna ear fit light and dekoni foam on my zen today.
Also, if b2 is growing on you, b2 dusk is likely to as well. Welcome to the dark side.
I actually just got the CP240 on the IE300 right now.
See that’s the thing. The pain is usually on the outside of my ear, and that’s no different with the B2, but the longer tips seem to make the body of the IEM sit out further which reduces interference with the cartilage.
I’m excited to try the Dusk out. Hopefully Shenzhenaudio ships them out soon.
Listening to the Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild OST right now and it sounds veerrry nice on the B2. I’m also timing how long I can keep them in my ears with the RHA tips. Up to a little over an hour and a half with only mild discomfort so far.
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You are my hero. Where is this?
The cp240 irritated the hell out of me. But I have other triple flange cheapos off amazon that aren’t as bad. The upside is they have been the best sound quality.
Good news, is you do often adapt. I likely could have gotten used to the Euclid. But I didn’t deem it better than my Zen.