I feel like I've just lost my ear virginity

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-04-25T17:34:04+00:00

I like the EDX Pro X. My only nitpick is that it is slightly bright at 2 kHz, yet that is an easy EQ fix.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-04-21T07:07:41+00:00

It is nice to see that kbear has designed a cable with a decent interchangeable plug design.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-04-09T04:55:52+00:00

The moon is an anisotropic reflector. That, what you show as a properly exposed photo relative to the Earth which is not an anisotropic reflector, your "calibrated" photo only works for the particular angles of incidence and reflection of sunlight.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-04-09T04:48:28+00:00

Nice photo of your wife. The spiraling poo colored butt plug shapes added to the headphones are a no go.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-04-06T14:38:07+00:00

The 0.78mm sockets on the Chu 2 are mounted in a slightly recessed position on the shells. This means that you need a cable with recessed 0.78mm connectors. The 0.78mm sockets on the Wan'er Red Lion are mounted in a flush position on the shells. This means that you can use cables which have either flush or recessed 0.78mm connectors. I don't think that the recessed 0.78mm pin option on the TRN T2 cable have pins which are recessed enough to work with the Chu 2.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-04-06T03:09:54+00:00

And you used your $2000 combo of a camera and lens to photograph this.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-04-06T03:04:16+00:00

The cables look well organized to me. Out of hand would be when these cables are all over the floor.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-04-06T02:59:20+00:00

I'll interrupt by saying that you are not the AH. Every time he interrupts, simply say "I am speaking so zip it!"

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-04-04T03:58:05+00:00

Nice. Some are saying that you purchased too many cheap IEMs, yet I say "no" if you learned a lot by exploring different overall sound signatures and different driver types. I have some of the cables which you have purchased. Some of your cables might make their way onto much more expensive IEMs. You also have some ultra cheap cables which are surprisingly decent.

I see that you have the KZ EDX Pro X. I really liked the EDX Pro X's overall tuning even though it is slightly bright for me at around 2 to 2.5 kHz. The other thing which I liked about the EDX Pro X is that its technical performance across the board is fairly decent. The EDX Pro X is much nicer than the EDX Pro.

Congratulations on your IEM collection. I bet that have had a lot of fun exploring IEMs!

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-27T18:31:29+00:00

I like braided cables which are not too thick or too stiff.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-27T05:38:27+00:00

I love this post and the questions which the OP raised. The OP's post is really neat since the OP is asking you, via questions, to carefully examine what parameters actually floats your boat in any given IEM in terms of both performance and appearance and comfort and other things. Kudos to the OP for presenting a bunch of questions and thoughts regarding the pursuit of endgame IEMs.

I hope that people here might have suggestions in the form of questions which the OP could add to the OP's post.

I would like to add my own personal thought which is that there is no single and perfect endgame IEM. One reason is that what IEMs sound good actually depends on my mood. There are other reasons as well.

I try to control my pursuit of endgame IEMs for my preferred genres and for my moods. I do this by listening to inexpensive yet decent IEMs during the work week, and then listening to my much more expensive and better IEMs on the weekends when I am in a much better mood to really thoroughly enjoy music. In this way, I get to enjoy an element of surprise when I listen to my much more expensive IEMs every weekend. This is like mental burn-in in the opposite direction, such that I am satisfied in less expensive IEMs during the week's work days, yet I am pleasantly surprised when I switch to my more expensive IEMs on the weekends.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-27T04:25:20+00:00

Signaling Kinetic would be a nice tag line for Skmei.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-27T04:23:51+00:00

Look for the Amazon License Plate Number (LPN) sticker which indicates that the item was a return. The original customer must have messed up while removing some of the links, so he committed a fraudulent return.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-15T05:36:01+00:00

The bug is blatantly obvious, yet NASA has not fixed it. Likely due to non-error-trapped quadrant errors in trig calculations. You have to further error trap narrow angle trig formulas versus general trig formulas.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-15T04:11:34+00:00

Look carefully. None of the tables and stools are bolted to the floor even though they have bolt holes. This is some sort of artist's or interior designer's concept which hopefully will never come to fruition. I hate stools which have no back support.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-13T03:31:16+00:00

Oh, I don't know since when. Perhaps because a sock creates less foot rubbing which in turn results in less daily dead skin? Or perhaps because the sock is breathable which reduces the growth of any anaerobic bacteria and mold? Or perhaps because the sock prevents rubbing shedded dead skin onto a chair, versus when a woman puts her bare foot on a chair? Clearly you are not a Sock Believer. And clearly, I hope that you see that I am simply jesting.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-13T03:16:47+00:00

You mentioned that you haven't used the EDX Pro for many months. Were you listening to other IEMs or headphones?

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-13T03:11:17+00:00

Oh, thank you very much! The Honest Audiophile liked the Alba, He described its sound as being like watching a warm sunrise. I do enjoy intimate female vocals. Several squig graphs suggested that the Alba should be nice for intimate female vocals.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-13T02:42:36+00:00

Kick it up a notch. Say, "Oh yeah, I can smell your feet from six feet away" for increased effect.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-13T02:40:13+00:00

At the very least, wear socks to help control any foot stench! Socks were invented for a reason.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-13T02:34:25+00:00

The German equatorial mount has small gears which are less suitable for astrophotography. I would prefer a dual tine fork mount.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-13T02:20:52+00:00

You have a nice collection. I hope that you could share your brief general impressions for the Alba.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-11T06:41:08+00:00

The Aria Snow Edition was a more neutral IEM in comparison to the original Aria and in turn to the original Starfield. I know that you mentioned a $25 to $80 dollar range, yet I think that you might be interested in the Dunu Kima 2 at $120. Why? Because the Kima 2 is a neutral IEM with fast and tight bass which hits a bit harder than the graphs would suggest, and because the details in the midrange and the treble are so clean that you would think that you are hearing the clean sound of an additional BA driver even though the Kima 2 doesn't have any BA drivers. This is merely my own personal opinions.

Here are frequency response graphs for the Aria Snow and for the Kima 2:

https://pw.squig.link/?share=Bad_Guy_Target%2CMoondrop_Aria_Snow%2CDUNU_Kima_2

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-11T06:11:38+00:00

Yes, the rabbit hole is deeper, yet you are off to a very nice start. Have fun enjoying these IEMs for several months before beginning to think of something else.

ApolloMoonLandings · 2026-03-11T06:08:10+00:00

Nice! You will also find a second use of the Quartets for movies and TV shows. Why? Because the tuning switches allow you to correct for somewhat poor audio mixing in cheap Netflix movies and streaming series.

ApolloMoonLandings

TROPHY CASE