• Why use a PMP instead of a phone? >better DAC/AMP >more output power so it can drive higher impedance headphones >smaller sizes than phones for activities like exercise >physical buttons >headphone jacks >some people can't use smartphone at work/use dumbphones
• How to request advice: >Budget >Source (phone or PMPs) >Location >Kind (in-ears or earbuds) >Sound Signature (or genres you like, important!) >Past gear and your thoughts on them (important!)
/iemg/ IEM Hall of Fame: • Before you click the link below, remember to be wary of Chu because it has pos (piece of shit) QC (quality control), get Quarks or Aria SE instead • hackmd.io/@AyPeeEye/S1sNUVosu#Hall-of-Fame • Aria Snow Edition (Aria with better QC but different tuning) - 80$ • KZ ESX(Blon-03 with better soundstage but slightly worse timbre, also heavier) - 20$
It's a V-shaped treble cannon, if you don't want that ofc it'll sound "bad" retard
Yes I own both. Aria SE BTFOs Chu. Chu is so mediocre/poor that I prefer several cheap IEMs such as KZ EDA Balanced over them. I donut own Kato so I cannot first-hand tell you the "upgrade" that they represent. But as far as frequency response, Aria SE is like 95% similar to Kato. The more justifiable upgrade is Blessing2 because of the 1DD+4BA configuration
Hudson Long
man, what happened to that HBB iem. i forget the name now even it's been a while after it was supposedly soon(tm). the black & gold flecked one
Juan Rodriguez
The one that looked like some GSAUDIO g3da rebrand? idk. I wish that chinks dared to develop an in house sound besides copying harman.
Jacob Morris
ah here it is. 1 month ago, supposedly $35 set, no further info :/
Threadly reminder that >CCA CRA is superseded by KZ EDA Balanced >Moondrop Chu is superseded by 7Hz Zero >CX31993 is superseded by Apple dongle/Jcally JM10
Gabriel Price
reminder that anything kz shits out isn't worth buying
Michael Campbell
kek, based op
Asher Harris
I've been using Kato's for a few months now. They're okay. I really don't get the hype. I personally don't feel they justify the price. >inb4 someone accuses me of having poorfag ears or playing 128kbps mp3's ripped from kazaa
>Tbh there's literally 0 justification in spending more than 100 bucks on iem Yeah, I kind of agree. People will take issue with this statement but I honestly had more of a wow factor with a pair of kz-zsn pros that I got for 40 bucks vs 260 for the Kato's (kangaroo coins). I still can't quite figure out of it's the sound profile or not but there's no wow factor here for me. They sound "fine".
Leo White
this shitty meme was made by the same guerilla-marketing firm OP works for
I think Kato is just in that weird spot where it's barely an upgrade from the Aria since they're both 1DD, and while it is "better" you're probably better off saving up for the dusk if you want a noticeable upgrade
Jaxson Miller
Is the EB2S good or should I just pay the extra and go for the LBBS?
Colton Jones
Currently I'm using a cable from fdbro with some noname DAC. Out of all dongle-cables I tried so far this one influences the FR the least, has plenty of volume, doesn't hiss and doesn't clip. Its only problem is when you're playing sine tones near 20k above 25 volume it produces some crackling which is common for cheap DACs. Also it doesn't have a mic but the phone thinks it does and tries using it in phone calls, I solved it by making a magisk module to disable USB mics. I have another cable with noname DAC which was just worse in every way, a cable with a ESS DAC that I returned because it didn't work at all and ordered 3 more cables, two of which specify their DACs. I've seen a cable using cx31993 but since I already tried it in a dongle form and didn't like it I decided not to buy it. Overall they're mostly miss. When/if I upgrade my stereo system I'll make a cable out of my meizu hifi pro that I'm currently using as my PC DAC.
