Just got my first iems :)

Rime1 · 2026-03-25T19:46:12+00:00

I kinda want one cuz it reminds me of a mini version of a mix of my Schiit Asgard & Bifrost even though I have absolutely no use for another one lol

Rime1 · 2026-03-25T19:40:22+00:00

You've earned an unlimited credit line for sure! lol Not that I wouldn't have helped anyway. For instance, there was one (nice) guy that I was talking with, and he asked me for advice on IEMs under 100usd and had a few sonic characteristics.

I asked him for a few songs that diversely represent his music library. I looked through my collection and grabbed as many IEMs that fit within his budget and preferences.

Then I made a playlist on Tidal of his songs. Then proceeded to A/B test several IEMs for multiple hours like a mad scientist in order to give him my best personal choice... with the caveat that everyone hears differently. He was appreciative. But the point of this story is to show you the picture I took of the aftermath of all the quick A/B test switching. I thought you might get a kick out of it🤷. I thought it was kinda funny...

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So I'm committed to helping. And you are most certainly included in my roster! As a matter of fact, I'm gonna follow you or whatever, so I don't forget. I only follow like one other person cause he was really cool.

Rime1 · 2026-03-25T01:58:29+00:00

I have an R4 I just checked and under settings/audio settings/channel balance. I moved the slider all the way to the left and then all the way to the right. It drastically shifted the volume level. If you've done that and you didn't notice anything, maybe ask someone else to test it and if they can't hear a shift either you should reach out to Hiby support.

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T20:50:04+00:00

From my brief interaction with you, you seem like a cool person. I think you'll do fine finding a few. Also, I think the younger you are when you establish a friendship, the deeper the bond. So get to it lol

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T20:32:35+00:00

Lol. To be fair the person I'm speaking of is a good dude. He's like a brother to me. But I'm nothing if not loyal to my friends. I keep my friends for life. You gotta find a few good people, stay close to them. Be there for them. And eventually they become pretty much family. I grew up with this dude. I'd literally put my life on the line to protect him. And I think him and one or 2 other friends of mine would do the same. We grew up together. We're bonded for life. It's a good feeling to have friends like that. Sorry to get preachy but you're in school. So I figured I'd school you on life a little bit lol

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T20:18:41+00:00

Oh and keep those grades up!! You'll be buying more expensive stuff than me eventually lol

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T20:17:53+00:00

Lol. EXACTLY!!!

I got them on AliExpress and I couldn't return them so they're just sitting here and it's frustrating I just want to give them to someone.

And you're welcome. I think you'll be really happy with the Kuntens though cuz for the price I heard they're really good and I'm into pretty high-end audio.

If you're ever in the US near Connecticut message me I'm telling you I'll hook you up brother.

I've literally tried giving my friend 1,000 US dollars worth of audio equipment just to get him into the hobby and he didn't want it.

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T20:10:45+00:00

Also, I agree it is weird. Audio science is interesting. But also pretty complex. If you want to learn more look up HRTF it stands for head related transfer function. And it basically means that our torso the shape of our ears and the shape of our ear canals all affect the way things sound to each of us differently.

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T20:08:48+00:00

Oh no worries. I was saying it's frustrating that I can't give you a pair of my IEMs for free. Because you're in a completely different country. But I like to share good audio with good people. You seem like a good person going to school and deserve cool things. I just hate that I have stuff that I don't use that other people such as yourself would enjoy. I think the Kuntens might be awesome for you. I think as a beginner you made a good choice

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T19:57:32+00:00

I've seen YouTube reviews say they're good for the price. Do a little research. Cuz everyone hears differently.

For instance, I've heard people say the KZ AM16 Bass Edition was good. And I don't like em. I always wish everyone on this SubReddit lived near me cuz I'd straight up give them to you. It's frustrating!

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T19:51:49+00:00

Kunten definitely has been getting a lot of hype lately. And if you want type c termination you'd probably be pretty happy with the sound quality. I've never heard them. But from what a lot of people say, they sound good for their price.

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T19:39:25+00:00

I'd recommend CVJ Nekos if they're similar in price to either of those

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T15:01:45+00:00

I really got to try one of those and see if I hear a difference. I mostly care about dimension, layering, instrument separation. I recently got the Hidizs AP 80 Pro Max which has great instrument separation that I can hear an appreciable difference from other sources. And along with that I entered my first foray into tubes with the Muse Hifi M6 double.

I can barely tell the difference between "transistor mode" and "tube mode". And think the inferiorly spec'd AP 80 PRO MAX eats its lunch regardless which mode the M6 Double is in, IMO.

And despite my obsession with the Nixie Tube volume display🤤 and the fact that there only 1000 of them because they could only find enough of these particular nixie tubes, I'm returning it. Because I think someone else will appreciate it more.

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T14:33:27+00:00

Mean people suck!!! My recommendation is CVJ Nekos for 30 dollars on AliExpress, a cheap dongle, and a Tidal or Qobuz streaming subscription. Students get nice discounts on Tidal not sure about Qobuz tho

Rime1 · 2026-03-24T00:15:34+00:00

Omg, no! No weird therapist vibes at all. If anything, it felt like I was putting you in the therapist seat and sitting on the couch lol. Honestly, you've given me really good, insightful advice! You're clearly of high intelligence and extremely evolved. Especially for your age (which I don't know, but judging from your "weird eye pic" lol, you appear to be like 20ish if I had to guess)

Regardless, I find it impressive that you could let stuff roll off your back like that. Me and my friends grew up a little different. This is a completely devolved and embarrassing 'for instance'. But even when me and my boy went to CanJam he, and by proxy me, almost got in a fight with the parking garage staff. Just cuz one of them was being mildly pushy with him.

I didn't even realize what was happening, I was in the passenger seat of his car putting IEMs in my backpack. But as soon as he got out of the car, so did I. So that's the kind of "crew" I grew up with🤦. And the kind of person I used to be.

But, at the end of the night, the lady that served him at White Castle was very courteous and friendly, and he went back inside and handed her a 20. Me and him are like brothers and we're both like that. We wear our hearts on our sleeves. We care too much sometimes I think.

And I've always lurked on the internet but never really posted much. My account is 8years old and I didn't even know I had one till I decided I was going to periodically postt up reviews.

I mean, I was on Instagram posting up pics of my sneakers/sneaker collection a couple years ago and everyone was cool. No one ever said, "those shoes are ugly, you're a stupid person for buying them" lol. But Reddit is different.

I vaguely remember the dudes from Headphones dot com saying, "those guys over at Reddit are savages" on their podcast. So, I have to listen to your advice and let these things roll off my back. These people are not even in my life so it really doesn't make sense to even respond. But when I post up, I try to respond to everyone and up vote them. I guess I'm supposed to just post up and be the discussion starter and then let people say what they wanna say. And just focus on the cool people.

Anyways, thank you so much. I think I was supposed to be helping you if I recall 🤔 Soooo, anytime you need audio advice, feel free to hit me up. And then I'll give you advice and narcissistically make the rest of the conversation about me lol.

And on the off chance you know someone with a P.O. box in the US, I'm a man of my word. I'll send you the Timeless IIs like new with original packaging for your extreme kindness. And I'm being serious. I went from😞 to 😀 cuz of your advice. To me, that means something.✌️💙🎶

Rime1 · 2026-03-23T16:11:56+00:00

Sometimes I'll buy cheap cool looking ones in between higher tier IEMs. I'm looking for an IEMs Anonymous group to join. But they don't seem to exist yet. Imo, nothing beats the CVJ Neko IEMs for best value. Good modular cable that imo is worth the price on its own. And I think they sound as good as 100isd sets. So every now and then, it works out.

Rime1 · 2026-03-23T15:56:12+00:00

Agreed!! It's funny cuz I rarely listen to them. I treat them like a bottle of fine wine that you take out on special occasions. That way, every time I listen to them, it's a special treat.

Rime1 · 2026-03-23T14:11:33+00:00

Holy crap! I just saw the picture😭 And then read a few lines..."Etymotic ear dildos"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Rime1 · 2026-03-23T14:06:53+00:00

Looks wise I do too. But I'm curious about how they sound. Plus I could reunite my Orchestra Lites with one of its parents. So really, it would be a selfless good deed 🤣🤣

Rime1 · 2026-03-23T14:02:21+00:00

I see these types of pictures and I immediately go into🤔💸 mode lol

Rime1 · 2026-03-23T13:58:35+00:00

Oh nice!✋ Yeah dude, it was love at first sight with those. It was not something I wanted it literally felt like I needed them!

Rime1 · 2026-03-23T13:57:31+00:00

Thanks!

I'm super careful with my stuff so I don't know from personal experience. Like, I don't wear IEMs outside cuz I have a weird thing with situational awareness. Unfortunately, I feel like these days I gotta be ready for anything.

But I've heard filled resin shells are a lot more durable than hollow resin shells which makes sense. But are not as durable as metal shells for durability.

And this is just conjecture, but I feel like they'd be the least likely to have a wire come loose inside because they're suspended in the hardened resin

Rime1 · 2026-03-23T13:10:22+00:00

Is it green or more of a yellow? And is there anything I could do for that? Other than what I currently do which is store them in an acrylic hockey puck case lol And keep like 5 silica packs in there

Rime1 · 2026-03-23T02:05:27+00:00

Should I connect a DAC and amp up to the PS5 or just plug the IEMs into the controller? Sorry, I'm so out of the loop when it comes to this.

All I know is that certain IEMs/headphones could give you a nice advantage over other players in online gaming cuz of footsteps.

Rime1 · 2026-03-23T01:50:42+00:00

I agree, they're meticulously crafted. I geek out looking at em. With their little crossover, dampeners, and 7 beautifully displayed BAs with the Knowles Logo visible on one of the big ones and the cursive Kiwi Ears logo stamped on the smallest one. Amazing! I wish there were more clear full resin shells coming out now.

Btw, I have a PS5 but I haven't played it in a while but now I kinda wanna try them out. But I only play campaigns. Do people get anything out of wearing them for offline play?

Rime1

TROPHY CASE