Audeze new planar IEMs

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by mrweirdude, Sep 1, 2016.

  1. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    I tried them at a show (after wiping them down with antiseptic swabs!) and had the same problem, on the pair whose flimsy and weird ear hooks hadn't snapped. They seemed to lack isolation, and it was really hard to get a decent seal. Maybe if I had a few sizes of Spiral Dots handy, I could could have managed it.. Still, they were weird, but not in a good way.
     
  2. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    I didn't really have an issue getting a good seal, but the fit is a bit weird. It's a bit like KSC75s hovering over your ears. The STAX IEMs were more ergonomic for me.
    Aren't they mostly open? Isn't that the point?
    Lol, that actually descibes it pretty well. I thought the STAX IEMs at least sounded good (unlike the iSine10 that I heard).

    I generally put open IEMs in one class with earbuds because they don't isolate. The SR-003 would be my top pick in that category.
     
  3. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    To be honest, I'm not sure what the point is- maybe that they hurt the head less than the full-sized Audeze stuff, but that's all I have.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2017
  4. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    I definitely need the clips. I don't think you can get the spiral dots on that nozzle, it's really large.

    I agree, weird is an excellent word. If it doesn't get better this week, they are going back.
     
  5. mulolomu

    mulolomu New

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    I've tried the isine i10, and they definitely need a lot of juice to sound properly...using my smartphone, they sound extremely thin and lack of body, touch metallic and non existent sub bass. But when using my hifiman hm901s, they sounded better, but...they are still pretty far from the audeze house sound that I've known before...everything is just "okay" and nothing special in my opinion...with that bulky size and no isolation, thats big no go for me.
     
  6. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    I don't think I tried them amped now that I think about it. I'm not certain. My schiit modi came yesterday as well and I was messing with that, but I don't recall if I hooked the iSine's up to it. I dont think I did. I'll try then Monday with my Valhalla 2-modi stack. I'll also try with my mojo and rha dacamp l1... See if it gets any better. Quite a few of us seem to agree... Nothing special.
     
  7. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    I listened through whatever Audeze had set up (I forget) and then when their Tidal setup ran out of ze wifis, plugged them into my Mojo. I tried both models, and didn't get anywhere.
     
  8. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    I'm thinking these were a mistake... I'm definitely disappointed at this point. Maybe that will change this week. If not, at least they can be returned.
     
  9. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    Ok, so I spent some more time with these yesterday. I plan on doing some direct comparisons with my other IEMs. They sound good, but to my ears are nothing special. I'm going to compare them with my ibasso it03 and a few other IEMs. Probably my Sony EX800st and tralucent Ref 1.

    I forgot to add, I was able to get my spiral dots to fit, surprisingly it was easy. Guess the nozzles aren't as big as I thought. I didn't listen with the spiral dots yesterday at all. I just tried today, and I noticed an immediate improvement in the sound. I like what I'm hearing now. More coming later.
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2017
  10. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    Ok, after spending some additional time with them today, I like them. Getting a good seal, as is always the case, is paramount for iems. I definitely like what I'm hearing. I did some abing vs the Ibasso it03. Using my Cowon S-modi multi bit (optical in)-Valhalla 2.

    I was definitely impressed with what I heard. Of course, first thing I'll mention is the bass. It was non existent without a good seal, but now it has a presence. It's not a huge presence, but it is there and sounds really good. There is a decent sub bass rumble and extension. Mid bass is not too present but it is there, without any bleed.

    Mids are really good. Definitely not recessed. Very balanced.

    Treble extension is good too. I haven't heard any painful peaks yet, but it extends fairly well.

    Overall, they are very balanced.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2017
  11. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Yeah, I had to goatse my Spiral Dots a bit to make them fit the Martians too- they always seem to look smaller and have more give than you expect. I'm not surprised they were the tips that you could finally get to seal- I find them really well-behaved. Wish I'd had some on hand when I tried these weird things, the tips Audeze had available were nonsense.
     
  12. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    Agreed. The tips included are absolutely horrific. If someone buys these that doesn't have experience with iems, they are going to be extremely disappointed, to say the least.
     
  13. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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  14. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Good stuff. I'm glad you managed to get a seal with the dots, and it made them sound passable. Clearly they did not rock your world, though, as you're letting them get away :)
     
  15. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    Lol. They are actually pretty good. I'm curious as to what others think though. I was going to return them but once I had proper seal, they are keepers.
     
  16. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Good stuff. I feel a bit cheated that I just got to fight with the flimsy (broken) ear hooks and terrible tips, and never heard them working properly, now :)
     
  17. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    Definitely try and get a proper listen, you might like them.
     
  18. jacq

    jacq Top 3 poster - friend

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    Hello folks, thanks @Untouchable for providing the iSine20. Here's my small-ish review, I used an iPhone 7 > iSine20. I can probably switch to the DP-X1 later if someone really wants me to though I can't imagine it being wildly different... ><. Anyway:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    The case is pretty sweet and you can fit the plastic thing on top though it doesn't close very snugly... lol.


    First thing I really liked about the iSine 20 is the bass. It’s very clean while maintaining deep extension. I really like these for EDM and I think it kind of reminds me of the more recent Audeze EL8’s. It kind of houses that sound. Unlike their LCD counterparts, they do not suffer from the irregular treble while having bass that’s slightly more tamed. The mids do no faults for me, just slightly lacking in detail but it’s acceptable. The treble is a bit thin and a little bit forward, which reminds me of the STAX SR002 IEMs that I’ve heard before. Overall, they’re great, they remind me of some full sized headphones in which they give you a good sense of air that I definitely find lacking in IEMs.

    [​IMG]
    I like the look, they look like earrings.

    My biggest question though is about where to use these… I feel like they would’ve been great if they were actually portable but they have some issues I’m just at odds with. They’re kind of heavy on the ears with the cable being a bit too big as well. The bore is kind of big which sucks for people like me with small ear canals as there are no ear tips(yet) that would accommodate these. And worse of all, they’re open. I don’t think this would be a bad alternative as office or desk earphones as they would probably fall off when using them as portables… But they are open so you’re likely going to disturb the people around you if you work in a cubicle farm of sorts. Or hear the hum of an airplane or the bus while you’re listening to them while commuting.

    [​IMG]
    Fat bore with my fat hand lol.

    I don’t know, I don’t totally understand the reasoning behind them, perhaps it’s a way for Audeze to showcase what’s possible for earphones but I just can’t see it being used in any (of MY) real world scenarios. Maybe this is the beginning of open earphones for home use? I can kind of understand if someone’s against using any transportable/portable setup that has too many parts to it. But for now, my opinion stands. Why audeze, why?

    TLDR: I like them; I like the sound of them a lot despite of them being baller expensive but why… I mean at least make them closed? :( I have very mixed feelings about them.
     
  19. kapanak

    kapanak Canucklehead - Friend

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    Lovely photos and great first impressions! Wish every review had closeup photos like that :)

    With respect to the open earphone category, it was quite prominent years ago, and even today, there are some (STAX ones come to mind right now). Your point stands regardless. With the price point of these Audeze in-ears, where and why would one use these instead of an IEM or an open headphones... The usage with VR shown in CES was an interesting but extremely niche application though.

    Still wouldn't mind owning one XD
     
  20. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    Thanks @Warrior and @jacq, I appreciate hearing about these and maybe I'll hear them, but to jacq's point, I can't really see a use for them. I know some people seem to do a lot of iem library listening, but for me, commuting is the starting point of my iem time.

    I'd like to hear the STAX earphones sometime, though! Just for fun, more than anything else.

    Remember those FAD dynamic driver iems that had no eartips, the brassy metal nozzle just sat in your ear canal with no seal? If I'm not hallucinating it, I heard them at a meet when a Japanese dealer was in town, they were like all midrange!
     

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