I know it goes without saying, but people I don't respect artistically, who have embraced LLMs/AI to some degree or another and lost touch with reality, and are very much a part of the problem aren't a huge loss for me. Not having them in my life only enriches me.
Seeing all of the inane arguments recently about the D2D stuff has really just reaffirmed by decision from a while back to step back from most indie author spaces and just focus on me.
So many of these people are utterly fucking delusional and it is super evident why these spaces degrade.
There's stuff that's sorta meh and inexpensive that with some EQ can be mind-blowing.
Like the Koss KSC75s are a mediocre and weird headphone. Put them on a headband and EQ them, though, and they're absolutely amazing.
Oh man. The OG are so good. Just a really smooth v-shaped sound.
Maybe I'm just wistful because they were my first 'nice' IEMs that I bought and they legitimately blew my mind at the time, but I still use them on occasion.
I'm not super big on the tuning switch gimmicks, if I'm real here. I'd rather manually EQ stuff myself, but that's how my brain works, I suppose.
The OP24 having 2DDs and 4BAs for $50 is pretty wild, and 2DD/2BA for the 22. I dunno. HBB loved the OP24, as did a few other reviewers.
Like the OG Cadenza is a really solid, warmer v-shaped tuning. It's gonna sound good to almost everyone.
They released it years ago and it sorta pre-dated that whole fad. They sold so many and I think they tried to get ahead of the curve with the follow-up and I'm not sure it's great!
Especially when you consider they included a bass tubing system to improve bass response, but then tuned it so the bass response was a helluva lot less impactful.
Feels like they tried to tune it like a Softears set or something. It's fine, though. Just not $50 fine.
The build quality is better than virtually anything else at the price range with metal shells and a really, really good dynamic driver. They're also super comfortable and come with a really fantastic cable (Kiwi Ears Terras).
But the tuning is... weird? Recessed sub-bass and bass, relaxed treble.
But then I saw that the P7s were $150 with discounts, so I just got both thinking "hey, it's the cost of one set!"
I don't regret that decision.
I'm trying to be restrained, waiting for the next big sale. Eyeing the Xenns Top Pros or Yu9 Que.
Oh man, there's a couple of huge sales on AliExpress a year, and the discounts are downright insane.
So, the Aful Performer 5+2 retail for $240. I knew I wanted them, but was worried about spending that money. During the 11.11 sale, I saw the Aful Explorer (usually $110) for $70 and bought 'em.
Wearing some with the Kiwi Ears Cadenza 2s right now and I'm not sure how I feel about them lol.
Foams tend to make it sound more cramped and I don't know why I picked this set, which already sounds cramped.
I've had a few sets that include like a single set of foam tips and I always try them and then rip them off and lose them.
The mediums in those don't seal for me at all. I literally just bought a pack the other day with some large in there to see how I feel about them.
You know, the JCally does 32bit/384khz for like $18 or whatever.
The Apple dongle is technically powerful enough with 2vrms, but only does 24bit/48khz.
Octave is basically a VERY similar device to the CrinEar Protocol MAX, which is $90. Uses the same guts, minus a different DAC chip.
I've sorta just tacked on new tips to any Amazon order I make and need to get to a trigger for next day delivery or whatever.
Then I've gotten specific ones via AliExpress.
The same with cables. Oh god, the cables. I've found I really like Tripowin Zonies.
I've found that I need different sizes all the time depending on the IEM or whatever and it makes buying tips harder.
Like Dunu S&S? I use an XL.
Divinus Velvet? ML.
Kbear 07? M+ (which is the same as the ML, just in between med and large).
Liquid silicones? Probably an L.
For the player it's really a matter of if you have offline files or not tbh.
I ripped a lot of my CDs and have a ton of Bandcamp purchases, so I've got like 500gb of FLAC files, so it makes sense.
I gave one of the boys my Echo Mini. It's a neat device for $55 or whatever.
It's hard because I'll find tips I like and then buy a few packs and realize I like another more.
Like the Tangzu HE Sonic Galaxy are the most comfortable, but only wide bore which boosts treble and I don't like that.
Tips are always evolving. I really like softer ones like liquid silicone or whatever.
I've tried plenty of higher end ones like Spinfit W1s, Divinus Velvets and a few others.
My current go tos remain Divinus Velvets, Nicehck C04s, Dunu S&S and the cheap but reliable Kbear 07s.
It's not gonna be hugely different from the Apple dongle tbh. I got the Octave on sale for $40 and it's just basic quality of life stuff. Physical controls for volume, play/pause and changing the gain. I have to like magsafe it to the back of my phone, though.
It's still overkill.
I've got Sennheiser HD 6XXs that I use and they require a fair bit of power. Not that I use them outside of the house anyway. I also own like every fucking Koss headphone lol. They're so good and cheap.
I owned a Fiio K11 R2R previously but I sold it because the headphone stage had really bad signal to noise ratio for the 1/4" jack.
I mostly use the Octave or the JCally. The JCally handles just about anything except for power hungry headphones.
That's a complicated answer.
For my phone I own a Jcally JM6 Pro, a Moondrop Dawn Pro and a Nicehck Octave.
I also own a few digital audio players. Fiio Echo Mini, Shanling M1 Plus and the HiBy R4. The R4 is awesome. Also huge.
On my desktop I'm using a Fosi ZD3 DAC and Topping A50 III amp.
Also, I'm proud of you, Murph. You don't have any KZ junk. Most people fall into the KZ hole and never get out. Then they break. And the cables are trash. And the tips are trash. And they're tuned awfully.
I tend to like bassier/warmer sets, and the Aful Explorer is my go-to a lot of the time, although the Juzear Defiant is really great at $100 or so.
Are you like me and prefer IEMs over actual headphones? I've got a bunch, but don't use them anywhere near as much as in ears.
I dunno if you sniff graphs or not, but I fucking hate the Waner 2's lower treble so much. My ears can't handle 2.5k peaks.
graph.hangout.audio/iem/5128/?sh...
I have the Truthear Hexas and, frankly, they're very, very good.
I feel like if you like the Waner 2, you might like the Hexa a lot. It's "neutral bright," which I consider the Waner 2 to be some form of that. I really wanna get the Pure, but I can just EQ the Hexa and it's similar enough.
I've been trying to get Jason to just buy a cheap set and he keeps hemming and hawing but has like $1600 bookshelf speakers and says he'd never use IEMs.
I don't think people get how good they sound.
Have you tried any of the nicer sets at all?
Oh man the Chu 2 is so damned tiny. I gave mine to my wife.
My favorite cheap sets are still probably the Kiwi Ears Cadenza or the (lol) GK Kunten.
Are you using a portable DAC now or still the C cables? I get into the weeds with source gear and stuff sometimes.
Oh man, which one do you like better?
I have the Waner 2 and the lower treble pinna notch is a bit aggressive for me.
I haven't tried the Elua but have the Zero 2's, which are some of my favorites still.
Even more interesting is that a lot of these "what gives, guys" are the same folks who get mealy-mouthed when it comes to talk about LLMs/AI, and refuse to take a strong stance on them.
You know what I mean. The people who dabble with AI and are nervous about doing it, but still do it.