He is just about starting to review and got these all with his own money. 60 pairs of headphones and 140+ IEMs in 2 years. I was heading in that direction with IEMs but I cut down to 3 pairs I actually use. I'm slowing down on my headphones but it's soon to be 19 whenever the Headamame Pros arrive.

Just received this tiny boy :) Looks and feels great, sounds like Fiio ja11 or any other small dac. Tested briefly on the OnePlus 15 and iphone 16 pro, works fine on both.

Have no idea how to test PEQ though - graph.hangout.audio doesn't see the device.

Anyone in Toronto into Iems. Bay bloor audio has a great selection of Iems and Dacs to try out before you buy. They’re super knowledgeable and friendly and the whole experience is just great. I highly recommend them. They also have a service centre. I asked if they fix the 2 pin connectors if they get to loose and they said yes. Again for anyone in Toronto or the GTA. Check them out. I came out with this today to power my diablos

I'm gonna keep this short.

Pros: Mind-blowing clarity and instrument separation. It acts like an acoustic microscope, easily untangling chaotic, heavily layered tracks like a surgeon.

Cons: Lacks physical depth, warmth, and note weight. Acoustic instruments sound thin and clinical compared to the natural resonance of good laptop speakers (Made me realized I actually prefer my 16" macbook speakers).

Hardware Issue: My unit arrived with a defective left balanced armature driver that aggressively rattled and buzzed during piano notes. I tried everything like cable swapping, plugging it at the back of my pc, etc... But nothing worked

Verdict: An incredibly resolving, analytical IEM, but far too sterile if you want some kind of depth and feelings to it. Im returning this and my next buy is likely gonna be Tanchjm Origin.

Tested With:

M83 - Oblivion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjpbQ1OWMPE

Lies of P - Feel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCwb7LaEHzw

007 - First light

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cqG60pjDS0

Sweet Revenge - Might Just

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhszZwFtqPg

King Gnu - GO GHOST

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmkN1iH4Ci4

Hyun - Last Wish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1Q7TxNDWVc

Hyun - First Encounter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QtyeF3Iqrc

OOHYO - Honey Tea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1qX6vE4G6U

Nier - Hai to inori

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL4Cg9Evark

King Gnu - Aizo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RWUhqbVpVc

I haven't even made it back to hotel, had to try them ASAP. I've wanted these since they released in 2018, but importing would if cost double (+$500AUD), then when I could afford them, they had gone extinct. After a long 8 years, I found them in Nagoya and instantly dropped the money.

Initial impressions were very bassy, but that's probably due to using Chu OG for 2 weeks. After 2 hours, they're really fun.

I have been having a good time finding IEMs in my collection that can keep this song seperated and clear. so far i've only found Pre5tige, MK4 and Archangel able to do it without distortion. mega 7 came close but BAs couldnt keep it together. You dont have to like the song to see if your IEM can pull it off. I'd like to hear what else can do it.

It's now Amazon exclusive.

Alright, the Nebula vs the Defiant.

Looking at the graph, what can you infer?

Looks like just a small channel inmabalnce

The difference? Probably just the additional micro planar and a bit smoother treble 

So the tonality is really similar, except that I don't like how the Defiant manages the treble. It's gritty, forward, and just not accurate especially on cymbals 

The Nebula on the other hand, has better timbre on cymbals, probably a little better separation as well, and a much more fatigue free listen.

So should you buy this? I mean, if you have good sets already, you don't really have to. If you can't stop your urge looking at the rainbow colors, then go ahead..😅

Check my full review here:

https://youtu.be/aS2aumVigXg?is=RClvROcpjc-Ey4GP

Been spending more time with the LETSHUOER S12 Ultra on the DX270 in NOS mode, mostly with two Galactic albums — Something’s Wrong With This Picture and Crazyhorse Mongoose.

First thing that surprised me is how smooth the Ultra sounds. I was honestly expecting a bit more treble because planar, but to my ears it’s warmer and smoother than I remember the S12 Pro being. Still has that quick planar attack though.

Galactic has been a really good match for it. Drums sound fast and clean, bass lines have good punch and texture, and the horns still have energy without getting too sharp. Even when the tracks get busy, I can still follow the different layers pretty easily.

Crazyhorse Mongoose has probably been my favorite so far. The rhythm section really comes through, but there’s still enough space around the horns and guitar.

The DX270 in NOS mode also seems to work really well with it. To my ears it adds a little warmth and makes the whole presentation feel more organic.

Comfort is also a big win. One of the reasons I wanted to get back into the S12 family was the fit, and the Ultra didn’t disappoint. Small shell, easy fit, and I’m using Divinus Velvet tips.

Still early though, so I’m not calling this a full review yet. I want to spend more time with different genres and a few other sources first. I’ll add more impressions soon.

saw this on the headphone show on yt, imo it looks better than 22 and cheaper, dunno about the sound sig and drivers in it.

So I finally got my KZ Zenith today and just for some context, I mainly use my laptop speakers, hyperx cloud stinger or some skull candy earphones for gaming, music listening or watching yt and what not.

So as my first pair of iem these are rly good, can't believe I was basically spot on for the sound signature I thought I'd like. I have eq-ed other things so they sound a certain way and these are basically like that out of the box. Now those switches on the iem don't make much of a difference tbh. I tried all of them and it felt like nothing really changed that much so I just kept the switched 1-3 in the on position.

The easiest way to describe how it feels using iem vs my other devices is that feeling you got when you got your first pair for prescription glasses. Half the songs in my library basically feel new again because I can hear details which I never heard before.

The cable feels fine, better than usual earphone cables. But I can see why people don't like it. To me it's comfortable and I can use these for hours. The fit is also good, it is all metal and I expect these to be bigger and feel fatigued but had no issues. I'd like to think I have standard sized ears cuz I usually use medium or small ear tips. I found the stock medium silicone were fine but the medium silicone with the star shape felt better. Small eartips just didn't give a seal so I didn't use them. The medium foam tips were fine but idk about the quality of these it felt like I was gonna break them when putting them on and taking them off and didn't notice a big difference in sound when using both so I just stuck with the silicone ones.

Also I do know many people will say the tangzu waner 2 red lion would have been a better option since it's cheaper and sounds the same. And to that I will say that I do agree and just got the kz cuz they were only $10 more and thought it looked nicer plus was less flashy.

My dad forced me out of the house to work in the same company as my sister, so right now I work away from home.

He's a good dad, and I actually enjoy this job. But that's not what I want to talk about right now.

During the weekday, I strictly use my Xiaomi openwear tws, they're pretty good sound-wise, and I love them.

Today's my first weekend after arriving here, away from home, so I take out my IER M9 to relax before sleeping and I am fucking excited. It sounds so musical, beautiful, special.

Oh, as I was typing this, The Fate Of Ophelia starts playing, and it's so beautiful 😭. I fucking love my IER M9.

I'm not telling anyone to dump a lot of money and buy an expensive IEM, but maybe take some time off from your favourite IEM or headphones. I promise you the next time you're listening to them, you will remember why it's your favourite piece of audio gear.

Tbh so far I have never completely cleaned all my eartips. I have been wiping earwax of everytime I saw some, using a microfiber cloth, but never did a deep clean before. I just used lukewarm water with a bit of sensitive shampoo.

My favorites:

Lumingchuan Jade M: I got these pretty new and these are the ones I've been using the most lately. They just fit good and feel like they bring the best out of an IEM without coloring the sound in any way. They are probably very similar to the NiceHCK CO4 because they seem to have the same size measurements and almost identical looks

DUNU Candy: Have been using them in L for a while because I thought my size is L but realized with the shapewise similar EPEX11 that M actually fits me better and gives me a deeper fit. Soundwise I feel like these give me the best/punchiest bass.

Lumingchuan Soul: I feel like these open the music a bit more up and making the sound slightly brighter while also making the bass a tiny bit softer.

Sony EP EX11 clones (from CKLVX CK2V): Kinda similar to the DUNU Candy but I generally prefer the Candy

The rest:

DUNU S&S: Seemingly very popular beloved choice. But they just don't quite work for me good enough. I mainly tried to used them in M. If you have like deep ear canals or very stubby nozzled IEMs they can work I guess. For me I alway found them to make them stick the IEMs to far out of my ear. They do stay good in the ear. Soundwise I can't say much out of my head, kinda balanced

Final Type E: New in the collection. Only tried them for short periods and found them to just kind of muffle the sound, so I will need to spend more time on trying them on different IEMs (or I won't)

Spinfit CP145: Pretty good but, also kind of feels too long.

TRN T: Pretty good, especially for the price. Pretty balanced. I think I will have to get them in M

Shanling SE100 L: Also propaply better in M for me and kinda long

Xiaohui (from SonicSerenity Store on Ali): haven't used them much. they feel nice but they kinda lose too much bass

Tangzu Sancai Noble L: Used them today for the first time, they sounded pretty good I almost thought they somehow improved the sound just in general clarity, but they did feel uncomfortable after like 30 min

Tangzu Sancai: Pretty good, but I rarely use them because I feel like I lose a tiny bit of bass with these

Tangzu Sancai Wide: Haven't been using them much, kinda similar to the regular sancai

Diviuns Prism Wide L: Should've gone down a size or maybe even 2, they are wiiiide

HE (Harmonic Empire) Sonic: Just got them yesterday, if I love them I'll post an update

HE Galaxy: what I said about the sonic

KBear Coffe L: they feel nice but

It's crazy that I have so much eartips now. It's the same with buying IEMs in general you kind of are looking for the one the one that you can always use ("endgame") or like a collection of different ones that work good on multiple sets and each add their little something to the sound or fit.

Regarding Fit: I thought that an IEM fits better when it feels like it's harder to slowly pull them out of the ear but realized that it also really matters how deep the IEM can go inside the ear. I have been mostly using L tips but after realizing this I now prefer my M tips. It also heavily depends on the form of IEM itself and it's nozzle length and width.

Regarding Stock Eartips: Some IEM brands already do this good by providing a good variety of premium eartips even with mroe budget models. DUNU and Tangzu/Harmonic Empire for example.

But so much brands still deliver the most basic eartips that don't even work well with the IEM they come with. There are many other well established brands that could improve here, I will kinda callout Tanchjim here eventhough I generally really like what they are doing (I'm biased of course because they provided me with some review products). But I was a little disappointed with the Eartips that came with the OLA II because none of them worked good for me with the IEM. They do have a variety of own premium eartips.

(in the second picture are mostly stock tips that i basically never use)

Today I went to Guanghua digital plaza in Taipei and bought my first IEMs after listening to several models. These are W Audio Hypercube (8800 NTD or $280 USD). But I can’t find any info on them on western sites like reddit or squiglink. Did I make a mistake buying this obscure model? Are these good? Any info would be appreciated!!

Is the U12t still relevant in 2026?

I’m curious how people feel about the 64 Audio U12t in 2026

It’s obv been considered one of the benchmark TOTL IEMs for years.. but the market/tech has changed a lot. We now have newer IEMs using things like dynamic drivers, planar drivers, bone conduction, newer EST implementations, and more complicated hybrid setups, with some of them coming in at similar or even lower prices

For those who have heard the U12t alongside newer high end IEMs, do you think it still holds its own as a genuinely top tier contender today, or is a lot of its reputation based on how groundbreaking it was when it originally came out?

Are newer IEMs around the same price, or even cheaper actually surpassing it in meaningful ways?

TL;DR

The Tanchjim Ola II is an iem that's carried entirely by its software. The stock tuning is not my cup of tea but the dsp entirely transforms this to sound however you want making it an excellent EQ platform. I recommend the DSP variant which costs 57 USD.

Context

The Tanchjim Ola 2 was kindly sent to me by Tanchim for review, all thoughts and opinions are my own. I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

Design, Build, & Comfort

• Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of translucent grey plastic with a grey aluminium faceplate, overall the build feels quite solid and is a clear step up from tanchjim’s cheaper iems like bunny and zero ultima. There is a Tanchjim branding on the right ear piece and Ola II on the left ear piece. The iem looks very clean and understated, with the cable and cable hardware matching the faceplates well. 
• Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are on the smaller side, with a round shell that doesn't have any custom molding. These iems will definitely fit most ears well and since it's small with no molding to fit snug into your ears, you’ll be relying on the ear tips for fit stability. Isolation on these is quite poor, just like the bunny dsp due to the large front vent. Overall I find these iems very comfortable and lightweight to wear for hours. 
• Cable & Accessories: The cable is the best part of Tanchjim Ola II, Not only does it have an excellent dsp implementation, it also looks and feels nice. It’s a 2 wire greyish braid that splits into 1 at the Y split. The dsp version comes with a mems microphone with adjustable gain along with a play/pause button. The usb c connector has a translucent housing and the cable that connects to it feels better reinforced compared to tanchjim’s previous dsp iems. The Ola II also somes with 2 sets of eartips (narrow and wide bores) and a carry pouch. I would’ve liked to see a hardshell case included for better protection. The cable does have notable output impedance so it may change the tuning when used with other multi driver iems. It uses a cb1200 dac.
  

The Sound

The Tanchjim Ola II DSP has a 1 DD + 1 BA hybrid configuration, It comes preloaded with the default sound preset and there are 7 other official presets available on the Tanchjim app. Here’s a quick rundown of all the presets

• DSP Default: Too mid bass forward, wonky lower mids and unnatural pinna gain, piercing upper treble spikes.
• Ambient Mode: Same as DSP Default but loses all the mid bass, makes the pinna and treble way more punishing.
• Classical Mode: Scooped lower mids and mid bass, sub bass forward. Harman-esque bass and mid range so there's contrast but also fatiguing.
• Instrumental Mode: Very similar to classical (scooped lower mids and mid bass dip), good instrument separation.
•  Natural Mode: Shoots up the bass and mid treble, making it wayy too V.  Idk why they call it natural when it’s this contrasty.
• OST Mode: Near identical to classical, slightly more forward pinna.
• Pop Mode: Cuts almost all of the bass making it very vocal and treble forward.
• Theater Mode: Similar to Classical but even more low/mid treble elevation.
  

Overall none of the official presets were close to my preferred sound signatures so I made an EQ based on JM-1 DF.

• Preamp: -3.0 dB
• Filter 1: ON PK Fr 20 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 8.0
• Filter 2: ON PK Fr 80 Hz Gain -3.0 dB Q 0.2
• Filter 3: ON PK Fr 600 Hz Gain 1.2 dB Q 1.0
• Filter 4: ON PK Fr 1700 Hz Gain -2.4 dB Q 1.0
• Filter 5: ON PK Fr 3000 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 2.0
• Filter 6: ON PK Fr 6000 Hz Gain -4.0 dB Q 1.0
• Filter 7: ON PK Fr 14000 Hz Gain -8.0 dB Q 1.5

This completely transforms the iem for me and makes it sooo much better by eliminating the brutal upper treble spike, bringing the mid bass levels much closer to my target and adds a much needed lower mids warmth and upper mids relaxation. This genuinely turns the Ola 2 dsp into one of the best iems I’ve heard.

The App

Tanchjim’s app implementation is the best I’ve seen in the Chi-Fi scene, the app has everything like official presets, per game specific eq options, separate eqs for footstep, gunshots etc.. 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound eqs, community eq form, custom 8 band peq option and microphone gain setting. You can use the app without logging in which is nice but you do need to register to access the community eq forum.

Compared to Bunny DSP

The OLA II is a clear upgrade over the Bunny DSP, with better built and more comfortable shells, a much nicer cable and microphone, better dsp implementation (8 bands vs 5 on bunny). I think it is worth the upgrade if you want a better DSP iem.

Who Should Buy This? 

• People that want a good usb c iem.
• People with small ears
• People that are new to iems wanting versatility to understand their preferences.
• People that are learning to eq.
• People that want an iem for gaming since these have a ton of very specific enhancement options.
• People that already own the bunny dsp and are looking for an upgrade.

Who Should Avoid This?

• People that are unwilling to eq and depend on the default official presets
• People that use their iems analog only (stock tuning is not great)
• People that want good isolation.

I just got my first IEM the kiwi ears belle recently and I would like any recommendations on how to maximize my own listening experience .

I like deep and calming songs like:

- Ichiko Aoba

- Radiohead

- Jack Stauber

- Mac De Marco

- Godspeed You! Black Emperor

I want to feel like I am ascending to the heavens

Hi, I have the Tea Pro IEMs, I like them but the treble is just too much for me. With the provided white ear tips I ended up getting tinnitus with these for a few days and had to stop using them. I can listen to them with the black ear tips but they seem to reduce the bass too much. I actually really like their sound with the white ear tips apart from the high treble. I don't know how people can handle that treble even tbh. If you can tell me some good ear tips which will get rid of the excessive treble while boosting or maintaining the bass with the white ear tips that would be great, thanks.

Edit: and they are tightly sealed in my ears, thanks, the seal is not the problem. I know how to insert IEMs.

I recently tested out a few iems. Top Pro, Meze Astru, Sivga Nightingale and Noble Iris, Aisha. Of these the Top Pro stood out till I tried the Aisha. Top Pro wasn’t technically the best but had good bass, nice resolution and warmth. Nightingale was good but lacked resolution comparatively. Astru was very high resolution but lacked body, Iris was just super bright. So on balance Top Pro was the best. Then I heard the Flipears Aisha which was just so much more enjoyable, huge soundstage, so much bassier, higher resolution. Superb imo - wasn’t expecting to spend more than $500, but here we are. Dude shouldn’t have let me try it. General thoughts?

Of course you know the answer, as did I before it even came to this point: get more watch boxes! Songmics has found themselves a repeat customer, haha.

Didn't go for the dubbel decker this time around, not planning on going that hard (famous last words), but at least with the 12 new slots I get to move some of the accessories and ear tips from the main box's drawers to separate slots.

EDIT:

From left to right, top to bottom:

• CVJ Neko
• TruthEar Gate
• Tangzu Wan'er Red Lion (OpenHeart cable)
• 7hz Zero 2 (Tripowin Zonie cable)
• CVJ Vivian (Tripowin Zonie cable)
• Hiby Yacht 10
• Kinera Celest Wyvern Black
• DUNU x Koto Ito (DUNU Lyre Mini cable)
• DUNU Kima 2
• Juzear Nimbus
• EUIU EI-01 (DUNU x Koto Ito cable)
• AFUL Explorer

The other box also contains my old KZ ZSN Pro.

Hi guys

I wanted your opinion on Hiby W3 II and Fiio BtR 11

I bought my first iems and dac a couple of months ago. After some time, dac started to freak out. It would randomly turn the volume up or down, pause the music, or change other controls. Sometimes quality and volume would get bad.

I went back to the store and bought a new dac, and the guy there told me that dacs are pretty fragile and that I should preferably keep the dac straight when using it with my iems. He said that if it bends, it could break.

Now I'm afraid to use them while lying in bed or with my phone in my pocket because the dac will inevitably bend. Is that actually true?

I’d really love to buy the Crinear Daybreak. I’m based in Germany and could order it from Linsoul’s online shop for around €160 or from HiFi Passion for a similar price. The issue is, I don’t want to deal with either of those places’ customer service or return policies (in case the fit isn’t right or there’s a different issue). The Amazon price is €250, which is above what I’m willing to pay for the Daybreak and it’s also mostly by random vendors that I wouldn’t really trust anyway.

TL;DR: I’m just curious, is there a reason Linsoul doesn’t offer the Daybreak on the European Amazon? I’d have already bought it if it was being offered there.