These are really good… I am very surprised at how good they are for the cost. Highs are good and bass is good, mids are a lil sucked out but not horrible. They sound very analytical to me, I would compare them more in line with HD700 sound signature. Build quality is solid and the cable is on par with Campfire Audio cables, but is only about a meter long. I’m actually really liking these, @pwjazz kind of how you feel about your new IEMs. These punch way above their price class… I think they sound better than the Comets. I’ll do a more in depth dive into them hopefully soon, I’m kind of backlogged on doing these impressions…life always getting in the way of hobbies lol. Man! These are solid IEMs Bob Marley just came on and wow… If I didn’t know about Andromeda these would be my top pick for IEMs. Does anyone else have a pair of these? I would be interested in other people’s viewpoints.
Yup, I own these, KZ ZS6, Pinnacle PX, and Andromeda. I probably use my ZS6 the most, but T2 gets a lot of usage too. PX never gets used once I got the T2s. You should do the bass port mod on the T2s. It really makes the bass come alive without really giving anything up in the other sound qualities. I just throw a little piece of electrical tape over the front ports and they are good to go.
It’s always nice to find stuff that exceeds expectations! I’ve actually been enjoying the QT2 enough that I’ve sold my DT 1990. Now, before anyone tries to commit me to the loony bin, let me say that the QT2 is not technically as impressive as the DT 1990 and if all you care about is getting the absolute better sounding headphone, the DT 1990 is an easy winner. However, I already have and enjoy my EQ’d LCD2C as an audiophile-grade over the ear, with plenty of detail retrieval, low distortion and pretty decent imaging (though not quite as good as the DT 1990), and lately I find it more comfortable than the DT 1990 and find myself preferring its less bright signature. I do like having a naturally bright, dynamic driver that responds well to my tube amp as a complement to the LCD2C, which is the role that the DT 1990 used to fill. The QT2 can fill that that same role, plus I can take it with me everywhere, and it’s cheap, so it kicked the DT 1990 out of my lineup. When I want to do absolutely focused listening (usually in the evening), I reach for the LCD2C.
T2’s are my daily driver for mobile listening and I’ve enjoyed them more than any of the IEM’s I’ve owned in the past (LS200’s, P1, PX, MassDrop Plus). They aren’t any more detailed than any of my prior IEM’s but the one thing they accomplish is that they don’t have any glaring issues or fatiguing characteristics (looking at you MD+). I found the mid range to be fairly even in the mix. Pretty neutral to my ears in fact but with IEMs of course, YMMV. Funny thing is T2’s are the most comfortable for me than all of the others I’ve tried and I’d say it’s tied if not slightly better than the P1 for comfort. I have some CA Orions on the way and if those don’t wow me, then I’m settling on T2s…unless I get the chance to demo Andromeda.
Well I still need to A/B with the Andromeda, I just never seem to have time these days lol. That being said I think the Andromeda is better…$1000 better…that is tough. But I’m also new to the audiophile IEM world so take that for what it is.
Knowing your tastes, I think you you will definitely like Andromeda. It really is the best IEM I have ever heard. But I think diminishing returns is even more pronounced in IEMs than it is in headphones. For me, going from T2 to Andromeda represents a step increase of something like HD598 to HD650. The other thing to consider with expensive IEMs is how they fit into your own usage. I admit that I only got Andromeda because I’m curious to hear what everything sounds like and that was obviously something everyone hyped up. But I find I have so little use for it in my current lifestyle. If I am at home I will always choose my over-ears vs IEMs. I work in an open workspace so I don’t feel comfortable leaving expensive IEMs out on my desk, even just getting up briefly to use the restroom. If I am traveling, most my travels are backpacking in developing countries so I never take expensive belongings. Also, I feel like expensive IEMs like Andromeda are just really enjoyable for focused listening, but I never do critical listening with IEMs. I always just use IEMs as something I throw on for background music while I work or while I am trying to fall asleep on a plane. In those cases I would honestly not even notice the difference if I was listening to Andromeda or T2. So nowadays I go weeks without ever touching my Andromedas, then I’ll start to wonder why I even have them so I’ll throw them on for a couple hours and remember how great they are, decide I still like them, and then throw them back in their case and not touch them again for a few more weeks. As stupid as it is, I think at this point I sort of just like having them to say I have them more than I actually use them. But really, I enjoy my T2 and ZS6 so much that I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. I’m sort of just hanging onto the Andromedas for now because they are still great and I don’t really need the money. I’m also trying to see if my lifestyle changes and I’ll have room for them to get more usage.
Those look incredibly like an IEM by DQSM called the D2. Those were nice. Hybrid design, single DD and 2 BA drivers.
I had them in blue
Not my picture but just like that
I’m not saying the Chinese are known for copying things and putting them on the market cheaper (both of these are Chinese IEMs by an by)…but, that could be what happened there are enough cosmetic differences to say they are similar but not the same. The D2 has three drivers and the T2 has only two drivers in each IEM. Man after looking into the D2 there was a lot of drama involved with it and SBF/Head-fi etc… it seems as if a lot of people really liked the D2 too, shame they felt the need to pad reviews on it and get banned on some of those sites.
I feel very similar to you in regards to these and the Andros…but I do like to sit out on my front patio/porch/stoop whatever it is called and listen to my Andros and drink coffee before anyone else is up and about (I get some good views of the Mountains around me, and the valley to the north fills with fog some mornings creating a “ocean” effect which is really cool to watch). Or go on a walk with them through the trail system in my community, I wish I could do that while walking my daughter, but for safety reasons…well =)
The T2 is a great neutral headphone. I’m very surprised that it is as cheap as it is, and also downgraded from Massdrop + and Comets and am pretty happy with these as a closed back IEM. My daily driver at work is still the UM ME.1 but these get used more often that I would have thought.
I have the Massdrop Plus iem’s too and unfortunately aren’t that happy with them. They just don’t fit my sound profile. The fit is great and they’re comfortable but I was expecting a little more. There’s not enough treble for me so I am going to play around with a little equalising when I can be bothered. On the other hand the T2’s do seem to be getting a lot of praise and I have never tried Chi-Fi (I don’t really like the label) so I am intrigued. I may just get a pair.
For the price they are really hard to beat… I bought my pair purely because of all the hype and because on Massdrop they were pretty cheap. I am pleasantly surprised by them. Worth the entry cost even without the massdrop savings, but that is like just my opinion man
Thanks for bringing that up. I find that term derogatory, and dislike the implication that innovation and quality are strictly the reserve of western companies. China is an ancient country from whom the west inherited many innovations, and today they have many well educated, creative and entrepreneurial individuals capable of doing amazing things. They also have a ton of capital and deep manufacturing expertise.
When it comes to audio equipment, my favorite personal comparisons between China and the US are my Chinese Topping NX4 portable amp and my American Schiit Magni 3 desktop amp. I paid about the same amount of money for both. They both sound nice. The Topping also has a built in DAC and battery, plus USB and Apple lightning connectivity. The Topping case is nicely machined. The Magni is a little rough around the edges. My first Magni stopped working after about 15 minutes and had to be replaced. My second Magni has a sticky and scratchy volume pot and severe channel imbalance below 9 o’clock on the volume dial. The Topping’s volume dial works fine and has to be turned almost to the off position for me to notice any channel imbalance.
Granted, most of the Topping’s internals are Texas Instruments silicone, but I’m pretty sure that’s not made in the US anymore anyway!
Things you learn on a daily, I have always thought chi-fi was cheap fidelity…but now it has a whole and different meaning after your explanation. I don’t think that @prfallon69 meant it in the derogatory way. Reading his comment I took it he doesn’t like the chi-fi labeling of things…but I am not him. Either way I agree with you on it shouldn’t matter where something comes from as long as it is good, that should be all that matters. I’m a fan of quality, or experience. Nothing should be excluded based on origins.
there are enough cosmetic differences to say they are similar but not the same. The D2 has three drivers and the T2 has only two drivers in each IEM. Man after looking into the D2 there was a lot of drama involved with it and SBF/Head-fi etc… it seems as if a lot of people really liked the D2 too, shame they felt the need to pad reviews on it and get banned on some of those sites.
