Anyone had ears on Zempire ZE51B?
The EM10 really impressed yesterday with just how detailed and “correct” it sounded. Now to compare it to it’s little brother. Is it worth triple/quadruple the price?
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More detail, better separation. These may be the most resolving transducers I have ever heard, and that’s just running them off an original Chord Mojo. This may just be me mistakingly claiming “most detailed” because of the excellent image separation, but that is the way my brain is interpreting the information. It is also could be because the EM10 is tuned very closely to Harmon IE 2019, that there’s no FR artefacts distracting me, and so my mind is more focussed on the good, rather than the imperfect.
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I have never found it so easy to follow instruments. Again, could just be how Harman the EM10 is, but the SM4 is pretty damn Harman and I haven’t found it to be the same.
The EM10 resolves room reverb very well, too. Very natural decay. I used early Rage Against the Machine tracks to test this.
My only complaint so fair is I’d like a tiny bit more mid bass for some tracks to help bass guitars be even better defined and kick drums have a little more weight. I’d EQ it in but EQAPO doesn’t seem to work with Qobuz or Tidal!
Qobuz > SU-1 > Mojo > EM10
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Current IEM Rotation:
I’ve foam-modded the Legato to be a “Fatfreq Scarlet-mini-mini” of sorts, also the MP145 in a similar fashion, but not as strong in the bass. They’re the designated “fun” IEMs for the lower-fidelity stuff in my music collection.
S12 2024 is my favorite of the “S12” family. Very detail-forward, almost strident sounding but surprisingly tasteful? I really like it for electronic music.
Mega5EST with the thick/small bore silicone tips is probably the most “all”, all-rounder I’ve experienced (I dare say like Sus), which is surprising since I usually have gripe-or-two with everything that comes across my desk. Find myself breaking it out pretty often even though it’s not the most technical set.
IER-Z1R has only been around for a couple weeks, but it’s the most headphone-like of my collection for staging. Really squashes any potential interest in trying to venture back into closed-back headphones. Doesn’t have the boomy sub-bass that most basshead sets have, but it’s elevated in a very visceral/slammy way that’s very tastefully done.
AMT-16 with tuning filters is still very hard to beat for the mids, and the 8SL, the priciest of them, gets UTWS5 bluetooth-duty 
. What can I say, it’s been my tried-and-tested match that’s still going strong.
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How would you say the 145 compares to the S12 in terms of instrument separation, sound stage, and bass response?
The S12 2024 I find has markedly better extension into the sub-bass and more sparkle up top, comparatively a more “v-shaped” kind of signature. Stage-width is almost identical. Instrument separation I find is better on the S12, even with the MP145 on the, more treble-emphasized, silver filter.
The S12, even with this latest tuning change, is still fatiguing over long sessions, so the MP145 is better for that. I think the main benefit of the MP145 is the screw-on filters, since you can shove foams in there in a non-destructive way and get stupid amounts of bass out of them.
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I’ve been really liking my S12 2024s. Couldn’t pass up on a deal to get a serial number that matched my birthday for $120 on an unopened set and they’ve been fantastic so far. Really nice changes they made over the older models.
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Recently got an A&K SE300 DAP and I’ve been trying my JVC HA-FDX1 and FLC 8S IEMs with various tips in different AMP/DAC modes to see what sounds best. I had previously been using Comply foam tips on both sets of IEMs because they fit the best in my giant ear holes without falling out, and I found they sounded the best with my LG V30.
However, they sound pretty bad using the SE300, so I switched back to the included Spiral Dot+ tips that came with the JVC. After trying each size and different insertion techniques, I’ve found that the largest SD+ tips work the best for my ears AND they sound the best (possibly because they work the best for my ears). I have no complaints about those at all.
However, the FLC 8S are being very difficult. They sounded harsh and with a major glare/fog using the largest SD+ tips, so I went through the various sizes and found that weirdly enough, the second smallest size worked and sounded the best of those tips, but they still sounded off, like it was a major V signature as well as the glare/fog. But the biggest issue is that with the 8S is that the SD+ tips cause a weird suction issue and even the slightest movements cause the tips to mush a bit, causing weirdness with sound as well as getting sucked deeper into my ears. It’s not comfortable and it doesn’t happen with the JVCs.
Switching to the 8S stock silicone tips (whitish clear), the suction issue is lessened dramatically with the largest tips AND they sound markedly better, but slight jaw movements are still causing the IEMs to shift and the tips to suck in a little bit.
…am I doing something wrong? It’s really weird that it’s only happening with these and not the JVC. It’s extremely uncomfortable, too.
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hello guys!
I’m new in the iems journey and i would like to tips roll with my fir M5 to see if i can have a better sound from them.
So i would like to know if anyone has an idea of the 5 “principal” eartips to own as a base to tips roll.
Atm I have the azla xelastec ones but i find them too sticky.
I’m thinking of buying either the spinfit cp100+ ones or the final type-E tips.
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Everyone hears differently and of course have different ear canals. I personally use the Eletech Baroque tips on my M5s and absolutely love the comfort of these. I have tried several others and always come back to these. Bloom audio is the place to get them.
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ty a lot 
No problem, I have owned the M5 for quite some time and it is still one of my faves. The Baroque does not mess with the sound at all and I find is way more comfortable than any other tips I have used which is a LOT!
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I recently order some different tips tonplay around so here are some I found good.
- AZLA SednaEarfit Series not xelastic but normal or light they come as short and long as well and in general my go to.
- Final e tips. Mosty for very deep inserts
- Divinius velvet. Those are very interesting and I got them just today.
- Spinfit w1.
- Tangzu sancai
- Dunu s&s
I have now few sets of ieam each different design and fit so havingnsome variety is kind of necessary
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nice eartips collection 
it gives me a good idea on what to try after the eletech baroque ty
I have pretty much gone all Divinus and Eletech for my tips. The fit and comfort far out paces others I find.
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Dude… I can’t believe I just listen to music 8PM until 4:30 AM. I guess that’s how much I enjoy my 1st day with the Nautilus iem.
I think its a really good iem for the price. 1st day impression is it has a hard-hitting bass (you can feel a good amount of bass impact in your head), a clear sounding mids for its price point (nowhere near as clear as DCA Stealth or Mysphere 3.2, but clarity is a step up from something like the Supernova iem), and its bright sounding highs without being too spicy to my ears. I used narrow tips like the Final audio type e eartips and the effect audio eros S II cable (only because its a less stiffer cable than the stock one).
I think the best part is that it’s pretty power-hungry for an iem. I noticed it when I plugged the Nautilus iem to my HiBy R8ii and I actually had to go to median gain around 55 which is the similar to some of my current headphones. Because of that, I am able to use more of my equipment and hear the Nautilus iem become more refined as I move up in equipment. Scaling goes from: B4B 21 DAC + Allnic HPA-5000XL > B4B 21 DAC + Schiit Midgard / B4B 21 DAC + Midgard preamp + Magni Piety amp > Hiby R8ii DAP + Magni Piety amp > Hiby R8ii DAP.
Schiit Midgard is tied with the Midgard preamp + Magni Piety amp because the Midgard alone is a little thinner sounding, but I can articulate vocals a little better on it. Midgard preamp + Magni Piety amp is like the best of both worlds of full body midrange from the Magni Piety and the clean clarity from the Midgard. But its not all of the details on the Midgard as I hear this combo is a little more veil sounding compare to just a standalone Midgard. Then when I go down more in the chain, its just more loss in details and a little loss on clarity.
Going up to the Allnic HPA-5000XL is where it gets interesting. It’s the most full sounding in my setup yet still retains all the details. Bass impact hits a little harder and I really like how snare drums sound on this setup. Instrumental separates a little more and soundstage becomes a little more wider and the sound is a little more out of my head. Vocals on this amp are just the most organic sounding out of all of my amps I tried so far which is not surprising. The most surprising part is the Nautilus is close to the volume knob where I would put my Onkyo A800 (sensitivity 100db/1mW) or ATH-W10VTG (sensitivity 100 dB/mW) headphones at. For those headphones I would put maybe 10 o clock, but I would usually put it near 9 o clock for casual listening. I don’t really see the sensitivity spec on the Jomo Audio website, but if I had to guess the Nautilus iem sensitivity, I probably want to say around 104db maybe? I do hear a little bit of a noise floor, but it seems to go away when music is playing and then it will come back when nothing is playing. I order an iFi iEMatch to experiment with it more in the future to see if I can get a black background, but it won’t come till next week. I don’t really have the output impedance information of the Allnic HPA-5000XL. But if it sounds good, I guess I will leave it at that. The Nautilus iem is an 11 ohm iem so something with less than 2 ohm output impedance is recommended.
Overall, this item is pretty dope and I am looking forward to hearing it more. I kinda ruin my Nautilus experience already by listening it on my Allnic HPA-5000XL amp because that pretty much dull my experience on my lesser amps. Those equipment are still good, but man the Allnic HPA-5000XL makes things sound extra special on it.
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The R8ii is something that interested me but I hoped to not buy, because I’m trying to be sensible with my portable set-up …but since my newly acquired Cadenza 12 doesn’t sound right on my Hiby R4 but sounds incredible with everything else, I have to ask, how do you rate the R8ii? Firstly as a standalone DAC, secondly as a DAP?
The biggest appeal to the HiBy R8ii to me is the battery life as my previous DAP was the Cayin N7 and that DAP burn battery pretty quickly on max oversampling. Another appeal is I like a DAP that can work as a good line out so I can use it as a regular DAC going to a headphone amp when I bring my gears over to friends place which the HiBy R8ii was pretty good on.
This is from memory as I did not A/B the Cayin N7 because the Cayin N7 broke on me and I wanted to try a new DAP anyway which is the HiBy R8ii. In terms of technicality, both the Cayin N7 and HiBy R8ii felt more similar than different to me. If I had to nitpick from memory, mids are more pleasing on the R8ii while bass hits more satisfying on the Cayin N7. Things like details, clarity, and soundstage felt too similar to tell apart from memory.
The reason I bring up the Cayin N7 is because it’s price similar to the HiBy R8ii at $2000 MSRP. If I have to rate the HiBy R8ii, it sounds like a good $2000 DAP with better battery life and faster android as apps load better. I think the LPGT is still my favorite DAP from memory and I am really tempted to buy the newer model which is the GT2, but streaming is just too important on the go.
If you don’t like the R4, you’ll probably won’t like the R8ii as people said those 2 DAP sounds very similar. I never heard the R4 myself, but it’s probably a safe assumption to make.
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Thanks for your thoughts.
I love my R4. However, my Cadenza 12 shows the R4’s transient response to be rounded and thus sound soft. This Cadenza 12 sounds incredible on everything, apart from the R4. The R4 sounds great with everything I put on it, apart from the Cadenza 12. I can’t imagine the R8ii having the same issue as the R4 at that price but I guess that’s just me being hopeful.
I need my TOTL IEM to sound good on my DAP. I’d just find another IEM if it didn’t sound so good on everything else… Oh man, this hobby.
This chain was blowing my mind yesterday - the instrument separation was incredible. It just sounded so damn “correct”.
Qobuz > SU-1 > Comet+ > Taurus II > Cadenza 12