IEMGazette

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Article format

Post date (dd/mm/yyyy)
Editor notes/descriptions
Picture

Post

Replies

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IEMGazette Archive

The IEMGazette archive can be found here. The archive contents and organization/structure are all laid out in the "[IEMGazette Archive Organization and Rules]" file.

It currently contains the following:

• Monthly issues of the IEMGazette in three formats (PNG, PDF, TXT)
• squig.link / HypeTheSonics measurement scrape
• Gear pictures
• Measurements (picture and/or file)
• Size comparison database pictures
• And more...

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IEM size database project

A project for somewhat standardized pictures of IEMs is currently ongoing. Many issues still have to be ironed out; stay tuned!
Pictures can be found in the archive, for which differentt IEMs are noted in this database.

The rules so far are as follow:

• Include a solid reference for size, ideally a ruler. other references, such as an apple dongle, a usb c termination, and/or eartips are possible alternatives/add-ons
• The iems have to be "naked", with no eartips or cables attached (ok for reference). For multiple iems, align them properly, and use the same positions/angles
• Show two important sides: the faceplate size, and the depth of the iem, the latter also showcasing the nozzle size and angle
• Ensure the photo angle is as vertical as possible to eliminate possible dimension skewing
• Leave a decent margin around the photographed items
• Use a grid paper as the background if possible, and specify the grid size

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Music Editorial

Everything music in /iemg/.

Anyone that wants to "review", give impressions, or simply recommend (or not) a newly released album/single is welcome to. After a loose and brief quality check, it will be added to the gazette; only 3 posts will be kept at all times. A lossless download of the album/single is a possible future feature. The album image links to the YouTube release if available.

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Museum Music - Edward Skeletrix / Im A Monster - 01/01/2024

05/10/2024

Technically two posts but who cares.

Steers away from Skeletrix Language, and feels the most strange with jarring transitions, awkward song structures, and weird production. It is rather polarizing, but I'm in love with it.
Favorite part is the whole sequence from God Made You A Monster to Killing Over Likes which covers all of the previous points and more.

It's good, closer to Skeletrix Language in terms of production and musical form. Feels more fleshed out and "out there" in terms of experimentation. Favorite track is Real One, great production and vocal inflection variety here.

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The New Sound - Geordie Greep - 04/10/2024

08/10/2024

Only some real music. Gazettezo put this in there not a perfect album but almost certainly AOTY comparing it to what else we've gotten this year.

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Imaginal Disk - Magdalena Bay - 23/08/2024

23/09/2024

I'll keep it short. Don't normally listen to *pop but this was surprisingly not terrible. The songs are different enough to keep it engaging but stay on theme.
Album is Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay.
>She Looked Like Me
Probably the worst song of the album. That overbaring bass thump at ~0:55 and another time towards the end just ruins it for me.
>Killing Time
The song that prompted a review. Superb opening, should have been the opening track. Would have been nice if they kept the energy going but instead it goes into true blue interlude.
>Death and Romance
Stereotypical repetitive pop song. Album certainly picks up after here though with some bangers.
I think they should have just dropped tracks 1 and 3-5 and had a normal length album with all around decent tracks. The lyrics aren't particularly inspiring and the vocalist (at least in this album) has the range of a teaspoon so they would have to do something reasonably different in their other albums to keep me interested (first time listening to them). Also the music is nice but most tracks don't really have the depth that would keep me listening when I'm not preoccupied. There was one track near the start that needs crossfeed on IEMs, I can't remember which one though and the infringement isn't present in any other songs.

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January 2025 Issue

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Tanchjim Mino Asano Tanch Edition Review

08/01/2025

Tanchjim Mino anime version + goodies

I ordered from aliexpress/hifigo store and it came with a pin, postcard, acrylic stand and a pack of stickers inside the box.

As for the pos itself it sounds alright, about 5dB too bright in the upper mids and treble. It's also got that low fi bluetooth crunch in the upper treble, but that's with my desktop's built in bluetooth and god knows what codec. Build feels light and plasticky but comfort is good.

Graphs, Tanchjim with the godly channel matching as usual. Not sure what's happening below 30hz, gonna just chalk it up to BT weirdness. The app also comes with a 5 band PEQ. I use the following:
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain 5 dB Q 0.3
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 4000 Hz Gain -3 dB Q 0.6
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 5500 Hz Gain -4 dB Q 2
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 8500 Hz Gain 3 dB Q 1
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 10200 Hz Gain -4 dB Q 5

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KZ EDC Pro Stealth Revision

06/01/2025

Here are the promised pics for the two EDC Pro samples I have. Top row is the old version (purchased early November), the bottom the new version (mid December).

I won't go into the details, but the main differences are: the filter is different as shown by the striation/grain and the driver basket/housing is different as shown by the different wiring and color/size of the magnet containment.

As for measurements, these were taken fresh out of the box, so no filter clogging or other issues should be present. Either the driver is different, which would explain the shift in resonant frequency between the two samples, or the filters are different enough to warrant this change.

Does this matter? Not really, the difference is relatively high-Q and small enough as to where I doubt most people will notice it. This silent revision is arguably quite harmless, and I still hold these very highly as per my previous review of them.
If there's demand, I am willing to remove the filters and measure them, but I will not open them up to check the diaphragm and voice coil unless I plan on getting more samples (which I probably will do).

Yet again, I forgot the pic.

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TRN MT5 Measurements (n=3)

06/01/2025

Got around to measuring my third sample of the TRN MT5 (top portion).
Biggest letdown of the three, noticeable channel imbalance in the bass. The difference above 3 khz is also noticeable but only for the wideband change; the high-Q difference at 5 khz not so much, at least not consistently so. Hard to say if it's placebo or not.
Quite disappointed with this, I retract any recommendations I have made previously. While the imbalance isn't horrible in the grand scheme of things, the standard for channel matching has moved on and these do not meet it.

The bottom graph shows my attempt at fixing one of the sides (purple). The front vent is blocked with a piece of tape, after which a small incision was made to tame the sub bass without losing on the gained mid bass. For the 3-8 khz range, a 300 mesh filter brings the right side close enough to where I would deem the channel matching as acceptable.

Here's the squig version for those that are more used to that format
Also please ignore the 90 hz, I don't give a fuck!

I'll start doing the EDC Pro revision posts, having a hard time getting a clear pic of the filter grain.

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HiBy Yves Impressions

06/01/2025

I bought a Hiby R1 and it came with these Yves IEMs, they sound like complete shit and very tinny.
These cheap Sony "Comfortable Fit" headphones(MDR-EX15LP) sound better than the Yves.
I'm wonder out of the two other IEMs which have better sound. I don't really understand how these charts work.

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Nici HiFI-20 cable (Red Moon Frost Plume) Impressions

05/01/2025

Nici HiFI-20 cable (Red Moon Frost Plume) is pretty good, thick but still supple and flexible. Slowly starting to realize that 2 core cables are starting to become my favorite cable configuration, tied with 8 core ones.
100% sure that Nici is just another ivipQ/Zisin/ XINHS store.

Aful Explorer has the same thing but in silver color and straight plug. The thickness makes them tangle free.

They're very good, the I3 MK3 also uses the same style but in white, also relatively cheap to buy it separately

>not purple
This has to be deliberate for selling purple cables'

looks good. Glad people are on the 2 core I've kinda known it as my favorite for years

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7Hz x Crinacle Salnotes Zero:2 Review

05/01/2025

My mini review of the zero 2. I dont know what I expected but for $30 theyre pretty much that. I dont really like the bass tuning on them. Also the left one seems to come out of my ear easily. idk if thats because my ears weirdly shaped or something but yeah. i think i would choose something else as my first iem if i were to choose again
>idk if thats because my ears weirdly shaped or something but yeah. i think i would choose something else as my first iem if i were to choose again
The included eartips suck. Funnily enough, Zero was my very first IEM. Still remember the flashy red tips blue shell McDonald toy. What a joyful experience...

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FATfreq x HBB Deuce Impressions

05/01/2025

Speaking of pos, Fatfreq Deuce is actually decent. Probably the best NGGAR collab yet.
Despite NGGAR seething at them

I don't like them that much, I feel like the bass is wooly somehow. Using EQ to boost bass in other IEMs sounds cleaner to me. Somehow they're my most comfortable pos so I wish I liked them more, they fit like a glove in my ears.

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Too Many IEM Impressions

04/01/2025

Make it stop...

Mass pos impressions blogpost (STORM edition):

>Ziigaat X Jay's Audio Estrella
Nice U-shape, tight detailed bass with lots of crisp treble reminiscent of summit-fi sets. It’s like a mini-Symphonium Crimson. Slightly better treble extension than the Tea Pro. Equally resolving male and female vocals. Tonality is okay but flute instruments like the Chinese Dizi sound overly energetic. Others irl found the treble too hot, but I had no issues (I used Pentaconn AL tips). Impressive set, I think the Estrella competes very well against similar U-shape pos like the Mangird Tea Pro and Hype 4. 10/10.

>Linsoul x HBB Jupiter
Bass is full, warm and enveloping, very similar to the Nightjar Singularity. The low-end of the Jupiter is executed well and agreeable. But the rest of the FR are completely borked. Very dull treble which causes piano, wind and string instruments to sound off. Timbre is so wrong that snare drums sound like fucking maracas. Are the EST drivers broken or was this tuning intentional? 1/10.

>7hz Timeless II
Comes with 4 tuning nozzles, it was a bitch to change em so I only auditioned the golden ones. The wide-bore nozzle is incredibly sibilant and shouty, with tons of planar zing. Not listenable.

The small-bore nozzle makes the pos sound warmer and a thicker noteweight, basically identical to the S12 2024. This nozzle also nearly eliminated all issues of planar timbre. Given that the S12 2024 exists the Timeless II is technically overpriced, but the Timeless II is also the least metallic sounding planar yet. 7/10.

>Ice Labs Spectrumica
Warm neutral with peaky treble. Sub-bass is lacking but mid-bass is highly resolving, leagues better than the Singularity. Honestly the Spectrumica has the best mid-bass I’ve ever heard, and it is quite the male vocals specialist too. But treble is slightly hot and needs refinement. The thick lower-mids also makes bass guitar sound sickening sweet. It is tasteful coloration though. 8.5/10.

>Subtonic STORM
Reference neutral, with a slight brightness due to the lack of physicality in the sub-bass. The entire frequency response is equally resolving, with TOTL separation and imaging. There’s even some semblance of soundstage, with distinct areas of spaciousness (must be some driver fuckery from using 7 BAs). By all accounts this is a very technical set, but it is academically neutral, boring even, like listening to studio monitors. TOTL everything but plagued by anemic sub-bass and treble that lacks sparkle/extension. 9/10.

>Symphonium X Elise Audio Europa
Basically the Crimson with a tad smoother treble. Just refer to Crimson impressions. Europa is a better generalist. 9/10.

>Symphonium Titan
Bassy V, with some shoutiness. Bass has good depth and decay, but only at high volumes. A less resolving Crimson with heavier noteweight, it’s a downgrade but I guess the Titan is also cheaper. 7/10.

>Soranik MEMS-3S 2025
Bright neutral. At high volume there’s a slight metallic zinginess akin to planar timbre. I don’t get the point of this meme driver which requires you to lug around a separate amplifier. The Timeless II which I heard earlier in the day is just as resolving and “technically capable” as this $2500 pos. Sound itself is 7/10 like Timeless, but this entire setup is gimmicky and HBB shilling it leaves a sour taste in my mouth so 1/10.

Moar storm pics, launch edition on the left, relaunch edition on the right. The launch edition is handpainted so the faceplate is more glossy.

Storm paired with sonnet morpheus and ahb2 benchmark, quite the experience

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iBasso DX340 File Support

03/01/2025

Addendum for my dx340 debacle:
Mango Player/MangoOS can't read .ogg or .opus files. Took me an entire afternoon to figure out why UAPP was scanning more songs than the stock player.

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BGVP Pentaconn Clone Tips Impressions

02/01/2025

>BGVP Pentaconn clone tips
What's difficult is that the case is too difficult to open.
It's like a drawer, but the lid slides! (I thought it would slide, but it didn't, so it took me a while)

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KZ Zenith Impressions

01/01/2025

Ok I actually like the new direction KZ is going, these new metal pos are really good. I don't think I can call myself a KZ hater anymore unless they start spamming the market again with trash edc pro/edx shell driver swaps. There are still stealth revision concerns but if they continue like this they will regain trust.

>generic 1dd
kz set the bar so low that reaching the average is now praise worthy, what a thing of beauty

Gotta give credit where is due, it's rare to see KZ doing something new (other than the shell), and the driver is anything but generic.
I'd retract my statement when KZ inevitably revise it with a EDC lite driver lmao.

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Kefine Klean Channel Imbalance (Clogging & Condensation)

01/01/2025

Got the Kleans and on their second week he Right Earpiece began losing volume. Put it back in the case with silica gel per recommendations but the loss starts again after several minutes of use. I'm going to return them unless any vets have insight on preventing this spontaneous supposed 'Condensation' issue

Many replies later...

Kefine Klean Kleans
Of anybody is prowling the archive for guidance in the future take heed. The oft recommended Kefine Klean Metal construction attracts condensation like how a lens fogs up and will dampen the sound in one earpiece. I don't believe this design flaw is common knowledge so Buyer Beware.