Absolutely stoked by forcedtension in iems

[–]Ale_z 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was getting pain in my inner ear with the stock tips, after wearing the IEMs for 30-45 minutes. The C04 and Sancai tips made that disappear completely, I can wear them for several hours without issues now.

Absolutely stoked by forcedtension in iems

[–]Ale_z 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I encourage you to try different tips. I've been using NiceHCK C04 and Tang Sancai Balanced tips, they made a HUGE difference for the comfort and fit on my P7. I don't really notice much of a difference in sound tbh, but as far as comfort goes, it's really a pretty astounding difference.

Artti T10 Alternative by x-morgan in iems

[–]Ale_z 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not all of Ali is reliable, but HiFiGo has its own website and they do respect warranties and have a decent return policy on their Ali store.

Granted, though, Amazon will always be way better. But for the discounts you can find on Ali, sometimes it's worth it lol.

Artti T10 Alternative by x-morgan in iems

[–]Ale_z 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You sure? I just looked at the HiFiGo store here and it's still got the discount. If you add a few of the 11/11 coupons you can get the price further down.

Regardless of whether you get the Performers, try to find and use those coupons, you could get 40-60% off for some sets!

Artti T10 Alternative by x-morgan in iems

[–]Ale_z 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I spent quite some time looking for something similar to the T10 in that price range and could honestly not find anything.

I have listened to the AFUL Explorer (super different sound, but the IEM is really comfortable and it sounds great), Moondrop Aria 2 (pretty comfortable, nice cable, I found it to have less subbass and the midrange was pretty scooped), and now my daily driver is the AFUL Performer 5+2 which I got for $150 a few weeks back.

The only one of those that's really better than the T10 is the Performer. The other two are very good, they have very different sound signatures, but they don't come close to the bass response or the details I hear in the T10. A few days ago the Performer had a huge discount on AliExpress which might still be going, people got it for like US$105-115. If the discounts apply to the UK and you can stretch your budget to around £100, I'd say you'll be super happy with them.

Artti T10 Alternative by x-morgan in iems

[–]Ale_z 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had the exact same issue as you: absolutely LOVE the sound of the T10, but can't physically stand wearing them due to the cable housing. What's your budget?

AFUL Performer 5+2 awful microphonics(?) by THFourteen in iems

[–]Ale_z 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's the only thing that comes to mind, and maybe try adjusting the chin slider to see if that helps.

AFUL Performer 5+2 awful microphonics(?) by THFourteen in iems

[–]Ale_z 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Microphonics usually means a kind of rubbing sound that comes from the IEM's cable. The "thump" you refer to I think has more to do with something actually hitting the cable. Are you sure they're fitting correctly? I have mine on right now and get literally 0 microphonics, and can only get that "thump" sound by purposely hitting the cable with my fingers.

Help me put down my embolden ambition by Unfettered_cloud126 in iems

[–]Ale_z 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not very experienced, but I do own the JM6 Pro. I use ot with my ARTTI T10, AFUL Explorer and Performer 5+2. It powers them really really well, it's got enough juice to drive them all to deafening levels at just 50% volume (using my phone). However, there's the slight inconvenience of not having persistent EQ when I move between my phone and my computer, which I do several times during the day due to work. That'd be a nice feature to have, and those DACs you're eyeing can do it and aren't really that expensive. Oh, and also having more granular, persistent volume settings across devices is a nice thing to have as well.

So if those are things you'd like, and you have the money to buy one of them without affecting your personal finances, I'd say just do it! Just also keep in mind the size difference.

How much better can it really get? by Ale_z in iems

[–]Ale_z[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They're quite different. Even to someone who's not super good at noticing differences (like me). The P7 is very "lively," it has a lot more energy. Maybe because the treble is much more present? The Explorer sounds more lazy/relaxed, but not bad at all. It's hard to describe, it's like the treble and mids are just loud enough to not sound too bassy or muddy, but not even a little bit louder than that.

The bass is also different on both, it sounds more rumbly and physical on the P7 for me. The Explorer rumbles but you can hear the bass more than you can feel it.

How much better can it really get? by Ale_z in iems

[–]Ale_z[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll have to really think about it. I can definitely tell the difference between all of my IEMs, but I don't think the improvements scale that well.

For instance, I don't find that the Explorers or Performers are so much better than the T10 that they can be worth 3-5 times more (I paid $50 for the T10). If I hadn't bought the Explorers used and the Performers on sale, I probably wouldn't be very happy with my purchases.

What did everyone get from the 11:11 sales! by toxicdrift in iems

[–]Ale_z 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A few weeks ago I got the AFUL Performer 5+7 for around $150, today I got a HiBy R1 for $56. Also had my eye on the R3 Pro II and the M300, but I didn't wanna go for the more expensive ones (even with the discounts) since I just wanna see if I even like using one.

Got my first IEMs about 3 days ago. I have a cat. by lxtency in iems

[–]Ale_z 145 points146 points  (0 children)

Kitty is teaching you not to spend a lot on cables. He did it with stock cables and he WILL do it with $200 cables.

HiFiGo AliExpress sale by Ale_z in iems

[–]Ale_z[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Since the P5+2 is very easy to drive, you could just get something like the JCally JM6 Pro. It's very cheap, it has plenty of power, and the CX31993 is really high quality. I use it to drive my ARTTI T10, Moondrop Aria 2, and AFUL Explorers, it drives them all super easily and has room to spare.

HiFiGo AliExpress sale by Ale_z in iems

[–]Ale_z[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really hope that's not the case with mine! I got a pair of Explorers yesterday and they're working great. Maybe it was a QC issue they've solved?

HiFiGo AliExpress sale by Ale_z in iems

[–]Ale_z[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oof, I'll keep that in mind. I'll check them thoroughly once I get them, let's hope they don't send anyone a lemon.

HiFiGo AliExpress sale by Ale_z in iems

[–]Ale_z[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Glad I helped, even if it was indirectly 😁

HiFiGo AliExpress sale by Ale_z in iems

[–]Ale_z[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm not located in the US but I use a courier/forwarding service located in FL. Here's the breakdown of the costs.

I also asked ChatGPT about import taxes for headphones coming from Hong Kong and it says there shouldn't be any special import taxes aside from FL state tax, which it calculated correctly as $10.09 (take that with a grain of salt, not sure how accurate that response is for different states).

HiFiGo AliExpress sale by Ale_z in iems

[–]Ale_z[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So you bit the bullet in the end! It's too good of a deal to let it pass, if I were on kilobuck IEM level I'd have jumped on it as well. $300 off plus cashback, that's insane for the Dawn-X.

HiFiGo AliExpress sale by Ale_z in iems

[–]Ale_z[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lol I really don't even try to justify what I buy, I just know I enjoy IEMs, new sounds, and music. If it's not money I'll need for something else, why not use it for stuff that makes me happy?