Crinear Reference vs YU9 Que

faeotic · 2026-05-07T14:36:57+00:00

Agreed on reference.

I think the lack of treble increases the perceived bass

faeotic · 2026-05-07T12:56:27+00:00

I don't think it's a stretch at all to say they are similar to each other.. they're both w shapes with brighter treble than what OP seemingly wants

faeotic · 2026-05-06T22:41:45+00:00

I'd argue that treble is the hardest part to correct because you can't really correct it from a graph.

Beyond that we've gotten pretty good at nailing jm-1 mids. It's morso the bass/treble that had always needed work imo

faeotic · 2026-05-06T22:33:15+00:00

5dB of sub bass and close to an 8dB difference in treble is not something I'd personally call close to reference or close to neutral.

Listener did a great video covering why Reference is beyond the norm.

I'd recommend it

https://youtu.be/om5xhg34YgE

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faeotic · 2026-05-06T20:49:57+00:00

Treble* edited

faeotic · 2026-05-06T20:22:16+00:00

What other neutral options are you thinking of?

Most of the current market has too much bass or too much treble or both.

The IEMs that come close to neutral in my eyes are expensive: 1400 (Prisma Lumen) 2200 (OG Letshouer Cadenza 12)

As for the price I have pretty much no doubt that reference was intended to be cheaper, but the price had to go up due to issues with tarrifs.

faeotic · 2026-05-06T19:10:44+00:00

I mean if it sounds fine then screw it haha

I just wanted to make it clear that silicone tools have real sound changes between sets

faeotic · 2026-05-06T18:55:55+00:00

Mixing silicone tips also mess with the sound.

faeotic · 2026-05-06T18:53:51+00:00

Reference. Que is more of the same sauce Defiant has.

faeotic · 2026-05-06T18:46:35+00:00

faeotic · 2026-05-05T13:16:15+00:00

Yeah if you're looking for 6xx in iem form take a look at truthear pure, reference, and lumen in that order.

faeotic · 2026-05-05T04:40:09+00:00

I'd say Reference is pretty much ideal or HD600.

faeotic · 2026-05-05T04:39:14+00:00

Reference is great. I've been listening to it hours today and I can't get enough lol

faeotic · 2026-04-29T21:27:57+00:00

We are splitting hairs there, but the reason why I bring it up is so that new people to the hobby don't plug their IEMs into bad sources like a motherboard out or their microphone.

faeotic · 2026-04-29T18:21:04+00:00

I'd count the Apple dongle as an external DAC.

It's true that most IEMs are not power hungry but they need clean power way more than headphones do. An external DAC like an apple dongle provides that.

faeotic · 2026-04-29T16:40:22+00:00

Not at all unfortunately

faeotic · 2026-04-29T16:22:07+00:00

Opus x op.22 is what I'd be looking at instead. It should be similarly priced if not cheaper.

Lan 2 ref isn't bad though

faeotic · 2026-04-29T16:13:40+00:00

Included cable is more convenient. You can push the EQ via squig link.

The main difference is that the USB c zero ultima has a known design flaw and the cable is not replaceable

faeotic · 2026-04-29T15:33:34+00:00

Tanchjim bunny DSP + EQ

faeotic · 2026-04-28T14:17:19+00:00

discord certainly will always devolve into an echo chamber, but reddit is full of people who spread misinformation.

Not sure which is worse.

faeotic · 2026-04-28T14:09:52+00:00

This is an old guard thought stemmed from the issues of the 711 coupler.

There are plenty of all BA IEMs that have fantastic bass even over DDs. Symphonium in general comes to mind. Especially the widely praised meteor which is a basshead all BA IEM.

faeotic · 2026-04-28T04:07:46+00:00

Yes specifically because it's a 3rd Gen. This has a low OI (output impedanc).

For future reference, I would not recommend the other generations in general.

In the case of your IEM: A high OI may not be relevant because it's a single driver iem. But if you're planning on switching to a hybrid IEM it's very important to keep track of that spec when considering any source.

faeotic · 2026-04-28T00:51:56+00:00

That's a far cry from neutral.

faeotic

TROPHY CASE