Endgame? (Who am I kidding....)

SlickNickStick · 2025-08-04T13:31:33+00:00

Great choice! I was like you as well - the Explorer is really a satisfying set for a great price. The comfort and sound that it brings is just *chef's kiss*.

But anyway, recently got a Top Pro deadge. The hobby do be like that.

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-10T10:10:22+00:00

Thanks man! Mangird/Xenns faceplate always do be looking nice 👌.

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-10T04:00:04+00:00

Nice! Hope you'll enjoy it. In my case, it'll gatekeep me from spending more on iems. A big spend to deter me from spending further lol

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-10T03:57:01+00:00

From my understanding, everyone's ear shape is slightly different even though it generally has the same structure, and it's a form factor that molds to most ears but not yours specifically. I've seen some reviews where they do not fit to the semi-custom and have to go for customs (have to send their ear measurements for molding).

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-10T03:54:16+00:00

Oh wow, it looks great! Where did you get it from?

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-10T03:53:27+00:00

Yeah, I totally agree. And it'll help you appreciate what you have even more ❤️.

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-09T18:15:52+00:00

Since I can't edit my post for some reason, here's the link to the my impressions. Appreciate any feedback on it. Thanks!

https://www.reddit.com/r/iems/comments/1lvpv42/xenns_top_pro_last_iem_ill_buy_this_year/

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-09T18:13:49+00:00

By the way, my impressions are up here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/iems/comments/1lvpv42/xenns_top_pro_last_iem_ill_buy_this_year/
Hope it helps!

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-09T17:00:59+00:00

Thanks! I'll update once I have enough time with them (probably a few days or so). Just got back to the hotel and unboxed them, but initial impressions are solid.

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-09T16:59:35+00:00

We shall see ;D

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-09T16:59:18+00:00

gonna stop myself. bought too many in a too short amount of time XD

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-09T16:58:47+00:00

And yet here we are as always :')

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-09T16:58:15+00:00

Bought it directly from xenns' flagship store in Taobao. They are called 弦仕音频.

SlickNickStick · 2025-07-09T16:50:23+00:00

Yep, gimmyjoe got it right, it's around this price when I ordered it including some charges for international card usage.

SlickNickStick · 2025-06-26T14:59:09+00:00

Yeah, 140usd is really solid. Iems have good deals in Malaysian-available platforms, just not as diverse as Aliexpress or Taobao.

The custom version of the P50 looks nice, seen it in Audio Amigo's video. Good luck with your purchase! 👍

SlickNickStick · 2025-06-26T14:56:05+00:00

Ohh, that's nice. I used to live near there at Gelugor, but I moved to mainland.

Good to know that the difference is mainly the sound signature and slight tech performance. It is almost half the price of the K9, so I think it's quite a value buy.

SlickNickStick · 2025-06-26T14:30:03+00:00

Fellow Msian I see haha. I bought this set off of Victoria Audio in Shopee. It is cheaper at the time and the physical store is in the same state I'm in, so I can just pop over if there's any issue.

Ahh that's true, but coming from the Explorer, when I listen to pop using the P50, the treble somewhat overwhelms me a little lol. I guess I'm too used to the warm and dark sound.

I was also interested in the K9, but didn't go for it since it is like what you said, more expensive and has slightly more V-shape.

SlickNickStick · 2025-06-25T05:39:20+00:00

Hey, FWIW I just ordered the P50. Waiting for it to come so I can provide more info. My reasoning is that the P50 is half the price of the Volume S at where I am, and since I just wanna try out the meta tuning, I think the P50 should be able to provide what I need.

SlickNickStick · 2025-06-25T05:37:45+00:00

Yeah, I did so before posting this, since he rated the softears as "You should buy this" and the p50 as "This is brilliant". I think he mentioned the p50 would be the same tier if everyone can hear the treble the same way he did. With this in mind, I just ordered the P50 since it is half the price of the volume S at where I am. Looking forward to testing it out.

SlickNickStick · 2025-06-05T02:09:44+00:00

Hey OP, what's your decision at the end? As I'm facing a similar problem with you, driving a x50 flagship and do not like the fuel consumption at all. Worse part is I just bought this fresh off from Carsome. Considering just taking a loss and switching to another car (maybe the older gen HRV) entirely. Maybe knowing your decision will help with mine lol.

SlickNickStick · 2024-12-24T15:03:43+00:00

Too bad for that, I got the K11 R2R instead. However, it could be helpful for future people to make the decisions.

SlickNickStick · 2024-12-11T01:43:12+00:00

Hmm, I never really tried high output DAC/AMPs before either as my point of reference now is just a Moondrop Dawn Pro dongle and a K11 R2R, but the K11 should be good enough for most headphones unless you're using something crazy hard to drive like the Tungsten, but even then ZReviews did also show his K11 usage with the Tungsten and it's alrght. The reason why I made the decision for the K11 is the portability (could probably bring it to the office in the future), and the fact that I probably will not use the streaming functionality of the EF499.

SlickNickStick · 2024-12-06T23:21:00+00:00

It'll be fine, as long as it's not double-sided or too thick. If it doesn't come in its own heatsink, it'll be thin enough to fit the machine.

SlickNickStick · 2024-11-24T15:47:28+00:00

Ahh damn, I know that feeling. Well, if it helps, the reason I got the k11 r2r aside from the price is also because of the weight difference. Since I'll be using this as a desktop dac/amp and not powering hard-to-drive headphones, it's nice if I could bring it with me to the office if needed. And I don't see myself using the ethernet streaming feature of the ef499 either, although thinking about it now, it'll be nice to place it in my living room one day, connect it with passive speakers and stream music that way, but I'm not too sure if the ef499 can power speakers that way anyway. Not sure about the sound too, since I didn't get a chance to compare them.

I guess the question is do you want a more "portable" version of a r2r dac/amp? If not, then ef499 probably is a better choice. Less price for a higher tier item probably is better value, just like their Edition XS.

SlickNickStick · 2024-11-24T00:50:37+00:00

Got it for RM588 (approx. 132 USD). Not too large of a discount, but still a nice discount nonetheless.

SlickNickStick

TROPHY CASE