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shotgunshane’s IEM (custom and universal) recommendations, favorites and classics

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by shotgunshane, Jun 7, 2016.

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  1. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    Campfire Audio Andromeda arrived last night. I'll be adding this gem to the list. So far I'd say it's a head and shoulders better performer than the Jupiter.
     
    shotgunshane, Jun 15, 2016
    #41
  2. manatworks

    manatworks Friend

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    gah, i still need to wait for another week to get mine , the wait is killing me : (
     
    manatworks, Jun 15, 2016
    #42
  3. Dreyka

    Dreyka Acquaintance

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    Try out the Fiio EX1 (Dunu Titan 1). I use Comply S-200 large tips and insert them as deep as I can without covering the vents. If you want to wear the cable over ear then you'll need to reverse the channels. The noise attenuation is not acceptable for me to use outdoors but they still have some.

    http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/DunuTitan1.pdf

    https://clarityfidelity.blogspot.com/2015/12/fiio-ex1-iem.html

    They need EQ but they're insanely detailed and have extremely low distortion unlike BA IEMs that are several times their price. I'm hearing stuff that gets masked by ambient noise on open headphones. Even the most resolving open headphones are going to be limited by ambient noise even in quiet environments.

    Clarity wise these are the best I've heard including vs ER4S. Sadly my UERM died before I bought these. Better than my HD800 except for general presentation that you get from an open headphone.
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2016
    Dreyka, Jun 16, 2016
    #43
  4. Pyotr

    Pyotr Acquaintance

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    Hey shotgunshane, I forgot to ask a while ago in the General IEM thread, but how was the extension on the Savanna? 4 had some major roll off at both ends and it'd be great if the Savanna had a bit more extension up top.
     
    Pyotr, Jun 16, 2016
    #44
  5. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    I borrowed a friends Tiran 1 for couple of weeks. Definitely a good value half in-ear. It was a little too bright/peaky for me personally but I was impressed with the drivers performance.

    I really can't say on extension for the Savannah; it was too quick of a demo. My instant impression was of hearing higher treble than before but that could just be unmasking from the removal of the 6k spike.
     
    shotgunshane, Jun 17, 2016
    #45
  6. thesanctified

    thesanctified New

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    How is the transparency on the UE4? I can't really find any impressions of it past 2010 and the market has seen considerable changes.
     
    thesanctified, Jun 22, 2016
    #46
  7. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    It's been a long while since I heard UE4 but I remember it being one of the more transparent dual BA drivers I've heard. I think there are some owners on SBAF that can probably comment. Might want to try the general advice thread too.
     
    shotgunshane, Jun 22, 2016
    #47
  8. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    Could you possibly compare the EE Cerberus directly to the Spartan? I mostly listen to female-fronted rock and pop bands.
     
    k4rstar, Jun 22, 2016
    #48
  9. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    Cerberus is more mid centric and doesn't extend as far in bass or treble. It's bass is punchy and more mid bass focused. Treble is polite but has decent presence.

    The Spartan will sound a little U shaped in comparison. It's bass focus is deeper and has a bit more sparkle and extension up top. The Spartan has more filled in upper mids, which I think give female vocals more energy and realism.

    The Cerberus is still a good all rounder and is more friendly to the higher output impedance smartphones. Spartan sounds best on less than 1 ohm and starts to warm up a little with the 3.2 of the iPhone 6s+. But it sounds great on the Dragonfly Red on the iPhone with CCK.

    Both are in the same size universal shells if you go that route. They are pretty small and sit flush in the ear.
     
    shotgunshane, Jun 22, 2016
    #49
  10. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    Thanks, I think the Spartan is a pretty safe choice for me then. I believe my phone (Galaxy S6) has <1ohm out so I should be good but I'm planning on purchasing a DAP soon anyway.
     
    k4rstar, Jun 22, 2016
    #50
  11. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    I found your summation of UERM similar to mine. What are your impressions of Andromeda after the first week?

    I don't want to crap SGS's thread to much, but it makes sense to answer here. UE4 is slightly less resolving than UERM with similar tonality. Treble is a little more polite, which makes it less fatiguing at the expense of some air. Soundstage is more intimate and a little less precise. UE4 sounds great out of anything, including an iphone. If I had my time again I would have stopped at UE4 and walked off into the sunset a happy man...
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2016
    jowls, Jun 22, 2016
    #51
  12. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    I haven't given it a ton of ear time; I've been sick and have some loaners I need to give ear time now that I'm well. I'll say this though, I think it bests the RR with a similarish sig. The Andromeda treble beats the RR hands down. It's just a little too boosted in deep bass with less than 1 ohm (works for on the go though), so I'm hoping to try a 2 ohm Sony or AK with it at some point.
     
    shotgunshane, Jun 22, 2016
    #52
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    UE4 is kind of like a UERM lite. A tiny bit less detailed with less layering and separation. Actually also a little bit more clarity / and/or easier to drive. UERM always needed a good amp section to push through that slight haze. I'd agree that this is something you can walk off with and be happy, especially considering the price.

    FWIW, I EQ'd a Jupiter to have the same output FR as the Andromeda from the ZX2. The Andromeda was still better in transient response, layering, separation, resolution, and bass quality. The Jupiter does sound awfully similar though - exactly same timbre - once EQ'd to be like Andromeda.

    From the impedance measurements, what I can glean is that the dual bass and treble drivers are probably hooked up in parallel on the Andromeda (and series on the Jupiter). The Andromeda just has an additional treble driver compared to Jupiter I believe.
     
    purr1n, Jun 22, 2016
    #53
  14. thesanctified

    thesanctified New

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    Thanks for the help. I have a portable dac/amp (dunno its output impedance unfortunately, but I suppose it'll be fine). I definitely wish I auditioned IEMs at Canjam, but I was looking for a TOTL circumaural back then. I live in Orange County, so I'll contact UE to see if I could demo the UERR and decide if it's worth it over the UE4.
     
    thesanctified, Jun 22, 2016
    #54
  15. ksat90

    ksat90 Acquaintance

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    I have the Titan 1 (the Fiio EX1 version), and the tips seem to make a bit of difference - the large bore black tip seem to make it more V-shaped.

    I read in a review somewhere that putting on bi, tri-flanges or spinfits seem to mellow it a little, and I can attest to using the spinfits to make it sound less peaky.

    To me it seems to beat most of my other earphones and headphones in detail retrieval and extension, though imaging sounds very left-right and lacks a centre component (crossfeed maybe?).
     
    ksat90, Jun 23, 2016
    #55
  16. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    Tri-flange tips, by basically giving you second bend fit, will definitely smooth out the frequency response, but at the cost of sacrificing the whole purpose of shallow fit comfort in a half in-ear.

    I'm just not a fan of spin fit tips. The internal design that allows it to bend and rotate acts a reverse horn and can potentially attenuate treble extension.
    [​IMG]
     
    shotgunshane, Jun 23, 2016
    #56
  17. Kunlun

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

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    Huh, I haven't taken to spin fit tips, but I thought of them as a kind of internal bi-flange. Could you explain a reverse horn? I'm not knowledgeable about speakers, but I thought a horn was used for bass in some old speaker designs, such as used by Klipsch.
     
    Kunlun, Jun 23, 2016
    #57
  18. Warrior

    Warrior RIP 2021

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    Horns are used for highs, IIRC. Spinfits are good, but if you don't have a good fit the sound is butchered worse than any other tip I've used.
     
    Warrior, Jun 23, 2016
    #58
  19. Kunlun

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

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    Kunlun, Jun 23, 2016
    #59
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    One thing to note is that the UERR customs have a little better bass quality than the universals which sound a bit slow and muddy. Thus is from Ravi.
     
    purr1n, Jun 23, 2016
    #60
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