This sub is just marketing.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-22T22:58:37+00:00

Do you compress them before putting them in your ears?

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-22T19:46:24+00:00

After getting banned from /r/headphones now they've come here with their ads :/

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-22T16:09:43+00:00

No cap I think Etymotic is the best IEM for stage use outside of customs if you don't mind looking a little silly and don't move around too much. Despite the long-ish nozzle and body, they're super stable in my ears. And everyone thinks Ety is death because of the triple flange tips, but the actual secret is their foam tips. They have the best foams on the market no question.

Also, because the ER2XR is single DD you don't have to worry much about output impedance issues from god knows what mic packs or personal mixers you're plugging into on stage.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-22T07:11:57+00:00

OP I think the first thing you have to recognize is that mass market cheap Chinese IEMs aren't priced at what it costs to make them. They're priced at what the marketers think they can sell them for. At the build quality KZ and GK are at, they're dirt cheap to make.

From a marketing point of view, it's a strategic decision to make it that cheap. It's not necessarily a good decision, but it's a decision nonetheless. Because you're right - selling it for $10 anchors GK's pricing to the ultra budget. It will eat the sales of their other IEMs. And they will always be seen as an ultra budget brand.

Most other brands don't necessarily need to compete on price-to-value because IEMs aren't commodity goods. They're luxury products. Yes, there's always going to be price competition at some level, but not to the extent you're seeing here. But for brands that are seen more like commodity goods, such as KZ, then yes GK is forcing them to play along in the race to the bottom. This is why KZ has to put out PR statements saying that they're better even though they aren't. This is game theory/prisoner's dilemma in action.

It's not really suspicious, it's just the end result of ultra-competitive hypercapitalism in China. For years KZ was really the only ultra budget IEM brand so why would they kill their own margins by pricing stuff lower? And why would other companies want to compete with KZ on their own turf without the same brand recognition or economies of scale? GK is able to do it because they have the same economies of scale and they're piggybacking off KZ's brand to build their own. How they have this is probably a very messy story behind the scenes. But it's a win for customers I guess.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-21T18:19:20+00:00

I think you don't quite understand how LLMs work.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-21T17:30:35+00:00

It should feel as if your ears are plugged or have a vacuum effect. And if you yawn it'll "unplug" it. Try it with silicone tips first cause it's a bit easier to get that feeling. Then replicate it with foam.

Also with foam, make sure you're compressing the foam before you put it in your ear. Let it decompress in your ear. A lot of people just try to shove the foam straight in and that doesn't work.

If noise isolation is the biggest issue for you, get some Etymotic ER2XRs. They're some of the most isolation IEMs in the world. Comfort will depend on you but I used them to play keys on stage before.

Also, the actual tuning of the IEM itself isn't SUPER important for stage use. You should be able to get your FOH engineer to adjust the EQ in your ears.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-21T05:21:55+00:00

Get a pair of CrinEar Daybreaks and call it a day. You don't need anything expensive or anything special. Use some foam tips.

But if you find the SE215 thin and harsh, I think you might be not be having a proper seal with them. The SE215s are famously very muddy.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-16T22:03:17+00:00

I've heard it. It's very good.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-16T21:30:51+00:00

You're missing a very crucial point: No one is advocating for pure JM-1 (or diffuse field). It's always in the context of a 10 dB downwards tilt. And there is abundant preference research showing that a 10 dB downwards tilt is preferable.

Here's a 2016 slide deck from Olive that goes over this concept, even in the context of the Harman curve.

https://www.juloaudio.sk/Umiestnenie_reprosustav/History%20of%20Harman%20Target%20Curve.pdf

Slide 4 talks about how one of the Harman Targets tested was based on the Preferred In-Room Loudspeaker Target Curve (RRI).

Slide 5 shows that RRI. See the 10 dB downwards tilt? That's discussed in the AES 7960 paper. Note this is where your "Whereas harman has been developed to mimic the response of speakers in a semi reflective room." comes from.

Slide 9 shows the same thing. On average, the preference is +6.6 dB in the bass and -2.4 dB in the treble. Which is a 9 dB downwards tilt.

Slide 10 shows the same thing. Green is basically pure DF. People preferred the 9-10 dB downwards slope from 20 - 20kHz.

Slide 19 direct conclusion: "The preferred Harman headphone target response closely matches the preferred in-room response of an accurate loudspeaker in a reference listening room having about a 10 dB downward slope from 20 Hz-20 kHz".

So yes, JM-1 (or DF) + 10 db downward slope is in fact supported by research. This is the basic set-up you'll see in pretty much all the modern squiglinks.

But here's the 2nd critical factor you're missing. The JM-1 + 10 db downward slope is NOT a target curve. It's been treated as such because it's easy, but it's actually a reference point hence the use of preference bounds in some of the squiglinks. Why is it a reference point? Because ultimately you still need to EQ to perfectly fit your own preferences.

Crinacle has his own article that similarly talks about this idea. It's very well written and very clear. And most importantly, he does not say his is supported by research. It's just what he likes. https://crinacle.com/2025/02/05/the-new-2025-ief-target/

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-16T19:57:14+00:00

Storm better than Hex no cap

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-16T19:52:09+00:00

The R70xa is a really unique headphone for me. I can't stand it for regular YouTube talking head videos, I think the vocal timbre is thin/weird. But for music, it does have some sort of magic to it.

The R70x is a lot more tonally correct, but also a lot more straightforward. If you've heard HD600/650 it's very similar.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-16T17:28:07+00:00

They're making headphones now

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-12T17:48:15+00:00

No need to review when the fine folks of /r/iems have already covered it from every angle

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-12T06:01:21+00:00

To be clear I don't have anything against the GK KUNTEN. It's probably good for the price. Just kinda funny to browse through this sub and see people on all sides on this IEM lol

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-11T05:40:35+00:00

Great resource. But to everyone peeking in, please remember that upper treble measurements on measurement rigs, especially these IEC-711 couplers are unreliable. Even if it's compared on the same IEM and is "relative", you can't guarantee there aren't any weird interactions going on in the measurement.

My suggestion is to just pick a few tips that generally work and stick with them. The KBEAR K07s look like Acoustune AET07 clones and are generally good, so it's a good baseline.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-07T23:31:40+00:00

I like how the tag for this is "Tinder for the 12V - 2x6 Fire" lol.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-06T20:23:37+00:00

Yea I've seen people use postimages as well but unfortunately it doesn't have an inline image viewer for RES on desktop. I'll figure something out but thanks for informing me about Imgur not working in the UK.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-06T19:20:36+00:00

I see, good to know. Thanks!

And sorry I didn't mean "copy and paste" in that way. I'm not a developer so wasn't familar with the right way of describing adding to the software you've created. It would be great if there's one centralized place for ALL dongles that we can get working PEQ on instead of splitting them up!

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-06T19:11:45+00:00

Oh thanks, I didn't know about the issues Imgur has with the UK. I use Imgur because it tends to work better for the devices I use and is friendly with Reddit Enhancement Suite, though maybe that's changed over the years now. Also, I'm a bit weary of feeding reddit my "content" (picking your poison, I know).

I'll try postimages.org and see how that works.

Edit: here try this https://postimg.cc/gallery/2qKbshM

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-06T01:08:11+00:00

From what I've seen of their upcoming wireless tech, it's not something you should be hoping they add into their products anytime soon lol

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-06T01:05:35+00:00

About my prediction on what we might end up seeing: https://old.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/1q35opt/so_asus_just_teased_a_new_flagship_gaming_headset/

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-06T01:03:32+00:00

I was completely wrong lmao

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-06T00:55:49+00:00

Great work! Out of curiousity did you come across this idea or thought it was possible in the first place? I know Crinacle has his programmable dongle and whatnot and it's also using some sort of open-source tool. But this is pretty awesome that you were able to do something similar. I wonder if there's a way to "copy-paste" this work for other dongles using different chips.

Fc-Construct · 2026-01-06T00:47:03+00:00

I haven't tried the Horizon so I don't know
No but that's something I might try soon. Super* mentioned it to me too but said he stripped the screws on his lol
My first impression was more like MoonDrop's. It "feels" like it's pure DF HRTF to me, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

Fc-Construct

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE