I like Moondrop Spring Tips as well but often use different sizes, for me, L on the right, M on the left. Depending on the IEM, some IEMs I do L both sides, some M both sides. I don't get unbalanced sound from using different size tips, the most important thing is to get a seal for consistent sound and if it takes different size tips that should be fine.

Seal test here to check if you have a seal, try to make sure you pass that with an even ear to ear 50Hz tone and then see if they are still unbalanced.

Secondary consideration would be to get similar insertion depth as that affects the upper frequencies, but this is much less audible anyway.

It's also possible Spring Tips just aren't for you, maybe you need to try something else. They work for me for most IEMs but I have some that they just don't work well with, I also like Azla Crystal, Xelastec (these mould to your ears with body heat, may help), and SpinFit, primarily CP100/+.

I use Equalizer APO on my computer, and Qudelix 5K for mobile. I also have a second Qudelix 5K connected to my bedside amp for Bluetooth input and EQ.

I don't tend to need to listen to all my headphones everywhere though anyway. I have quite a lot of different headphones, and some are better for some scenarios than others.

The LCD-X I bought knowing it needed EQ, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless they are going to EQ it. It's pretty heavy and one of the headphones I wouldn't pick so much for lying in bed, I tend to use IEMs in bed as they are a lot easier for that. I do have another headphone amp by the bed with the Qudelix so I can use whatever if I wanted to... but usually IEMs. If I am using an over-ear it's usually something smaller/lighter, like the R70X or HD650. But usually IEMs.

Most IEMs I don't EQ anyway, as they tend to be better tuned stock and I tend to just use them stock. There are a few that do need EQ, the Shure KSE1500 has an EQ built in to its DAC/energizer and I use that, the Audeze Euclid, I use the Qudelix. But the vast majority of my IEMs, I don't EQ at all.

There certainly are things that don't need EQ. I don't usually EQ the HD650, it's one of the few overears that is tonally near perfect stock and doesn't need it. I sometimes use that on a tube amp where the high output impedance adds bass/warmth. I'm certainly not EQ absolutely everything. But I would not have bought the LCD-X if I couldn't EQ it, because it sounds crap to me without EQ, and I could tell that from the reviews/graph before I got it, it sounds like it graphs, with muffled recessed upper mids.

K7 has a lot more power and more modern/better DAC as well. You'd have enough power with the K7 for 99% of headphones you might get in the future as well, it has 10-20x the power of the E10K.

I'd pass on the E10K, if you are looking at the E10K may as well just get a dongle like the Truthear Shio which is much more compact and portable and has both a better DAC and higher power (balanced) for the HD6XX- 4V vs 2.6V.

More from OP here

Cable makes no difference and particularly not on a planar with a totally flat impedance curve as this does. If you went from a single ended cable to balanced, it's possible the balanced output on your amp is better but it's because it gives you access to that then, not because of the cable construction.

The stock Hifiman cables are annoying, although I think they might be better now on the more recent HE1000V2s. I have replaced the cables on all my Hifimans with stuff that handles better. Sounds no different though.

Even with paper thin walls it shouldn't be audible in the next room, certainly not the point it would be irritating to them anyway. Maybe very faintly if you were listening loud and the other room was totally silent.

These are the EQ curves, not the frequency response of the headphone after EQ. So all of them, it's bringing up the upper mids substantially over stock. I just do it a bit less than Oratory or Resolve in my last one, my EQ is smoother/darker than Oratory's EQ. It's substantially less dark than the stock tonality which is much too dark.

How much exactly is personal preference, I found Oratory1990's Harman just a bit too much. I don't on most other headphones, I use his Harman presets extensively. But on this one, a bit too much. I found it just a bit better without quite as much of a boost. But exactly the level is personal preference, the bands I reduced by -2dB were the treble high shelf which raises everything over 1,800Hz and the presence/sharpness at 3,850Hz.

The one other headphone I brought Oratory's preset down in the upper mids was the HE6SEV2. Most of them I am good with his Harman preset as is in the upper mids, I usually just add a bit more air (his presets often cut the air, I usually leave this out).

The LCD-X is a lot punchier than than the Arya or HD800, and I think also even than the Clear, while also having much better sub-bass extension than the Clear.

Impedance isn't meaningful with an active BT headphone. It's 1,530Ω on the Bathys, but that's just the input impedance of the amp in the headphone. Very high impedance is normal in this case, it would be the same as measuring the impedance of the RCA input on an amp.

An incoming analog 3.5mm signal is digitized, the ANC and any other DSP performed, and it's fed through the internal DAC and amp at that point. The 3.5mm input takes a line level input, it doesn't need external amplification, that's in the headphone. Best quality, you'll get keeping it digital and using the USB C input rather than the 3.5mm, that is just there for compatibility/convenience, such as if you want to plug it into an in-flight entertainment system.

I have the Clear OG, HD800S and Arya Stealth (and for that matter the 6XX) as well, the LCD-X is a good complement IMO and has better bass than any of them, that's what I bought it for and it delivers on that. It's actually different.

For me, it's unlistenable without EQ, incredibly muffled, but EQ fixes it. It took a bit of tweaking, there may also be unit variance but Oratory1990's EQ pushes the upper mids too high for me, it's becomes a bit harsh.

I use a modified Oratory Harman EQ, just a bit less in the upper mids/lower treble. The overall shape of Oratory's EQ is similar to Resolve's EQ, it's fixing the same issues, just the shape and exact heights of some of the peaks are different, Resolve's EQ is a little less but also spikier. Mine is less again, Oratory1990's straight Harman EQ makes it too intense in the upper mids for me so I pull that back. With this it is distinctly darker than something like the HD800S or Arya but it's not totally muffled and veiled either.

I definitely would not buy this if you are not willing to EQ. Without EQ for me, it's flat out bad. If you are willing to EQ though, it's a great headphone.

Little Dot Mk3 is a OTL tube amp with tube output stage. Mk3 SE is a hybrid with solid state output. My understanding from Google, I don't own either (I have a TA-26).

I think that might well happen as they do end up very open.

• Azla Xelastec
• Azla Crystal
• Azla Crystal TWS (on the right)

SpinFit CP155 might be another option, they fit these nozzles very well, and would be my next choice after either Azla or Spring Tips (which I like a lot and use on most of my other IEMs).

It's possible if you super careful putting them on but IMO not worth it, I gave up on this 2 years ago and just leave them off. No issues.

You can look at the frequency response, it is ~10dB below Harman at 4kHz. That's pretty muffled to me.

Or compare with the HD6XX which you own. That, to me, is just about perfectly tuned in the mids. It is not the most technically proficient headphone in existence, but the mids tuning, for my preference, is on point. The LCD-X is WAY recessed, comparatively.

https://crinacle.com/graphs/headphones/graphtool/?share=Harman_AE_OE_2018_Target,HD650_S2_(2020)(fresh_pads),LCD-X(2021)

You can like this and find it warm, dark, relaxed, smooth, all this stuff. I find a -10dB chasm in the upper mids to sound muffled, and I correct it with EQ. It's a great headphone... after EQ.

Anyway, more just making the point you don't NEED to go to >$1,000 to get to "significant improvements". The Edition XS can be total end-game, I have several >$1,000 sets and it competes at that level despite costing much less. I'm not saying the LCD-X is bad either, I wouldn't have bought it if I thought it was bad. I bought it for the bass, and it delivered on that, it has the best bass of anything I have. But it needs EQ to fix the muffled upper mids, IMO.

Edition XS gets you there for under $500 (close to $300 in Asia). It's a better all rounder than the LCD-X IMO, and is much better tuned out of the box, particularly through the upper mids. LCD-X is very muffled sounding stock due to the upper mids recess. LCD-X is transformed with EQ though and does have slightly better bass (I'd say better than anything else I've heard), although the Edition XS is no slouch there either. Soundstage is also much better on the XS.

I have both and I enjoy both, but if I could only keep one it would be the Edition XS and it's not close. That it's so much cheaper is just the icing on the cake, for me it's a better headphone even if it was priced the same.

For a constant resistance as voltage increases current also increases proportionally (Ohm's law, I=V/R).

As current also increases proportionally, the increase in power is the square of the voltage increase.

It's also the square of the current increase, you can use that either.

But you can't have voltage increase with no current increase, they are linked. Unless there is a proportionate change in resistance with increasing voltage, which there isn't in headphones.

It's typically double the voltage, which is four times the power, unless there is some other current limit in the amp (which there often is).

4.4 (top) and 2.5 (bottom) in this picture are also balanced and double voltage.

He's talking about the 4-pin headphone output on the front. I think it depends on the type of the connector, to click satisfyingly it needs the notch on the top and not all do.

I have some connectors that sort of click satisfyingly but I also have at least one adapter (on the right) that is extremely unsatisfying, it just sort of goes in and there's no clear point at which it's fully in. The black one is OK and it is clear when it's finished pushing in but it doesn't "click". Only the middle one clicks.

I don't think I've ever seen 4-pin XLR headphone outputs with a physical release button. That's for the interconnects at the back.

ASR measured very high distortion on the Diana Phi and Abyss is a terrible snake oil company but I would not Amir's headphone measurements as gospel, he seems to routinely mess up the headphone measurements and won't take correction. According to Amir the Hifiman Ananda is also trash, a much more controversial opinion as more people have and love the Ananda and it doesn't sound like the distorted mess he measures it as.

Many subjective reviewers including good ones like Resolve have liked the Diana Phi (the predecessor), he has them in the top tier on his ranking list.

So I doubt they are quite as radically broken as Amir thinks they are.

That doesn't necessarily mean everyone likes them and thinks they are worth $4,500.

One issue though is the Phi vs TC. Wave Theory thinks they are overpriced and not worth it, he seems to think the TC is quite radically different to the Phi though (and worse). I get the impression from his review though he is basically saying they're not a $4,500 headphone, he doesn't think they are terrible, he even says they are "$2,000-$2,500 overpriced". So maybe even worth $2,000. Like, he's giving them a terrible review, but he's comparing to the Hifiman HE1000, which is a very good $2k (formerly $3k) headphone.

Ultimately, if YOU don't like them and CAN return them, I'd do it now. If you're spending that sort of money on a headphone, you want to love it. So get out now if you can.

If you can't return them, look at EQ. They look like they absolutely need EQ, they do have tonal issues. I have kilobuck and multi-kilobuck stuff that needs EQ, some stuff does. It's not a dealbreaker.

Amir measured them as the hardest to drive headphone he had yet measured at that point. They aren't quite HE6SE/Susvara level, he has measured harder to drive since but they are up that end of it, they are among the hardest to drive headphones.

250mW is what a powerful dongle does these days.

I have the Fiio FW5 with physical buttons and it's substantially more annoying than the Samsung or Sony buds I have with touch controls, they are simultaneously harder to deliberately press and easier to accidently press while pushing in. Physical buttons require more force, too, which tends to dislodge the buds. It's bad enough I don't use them on the Fiio while I use them on the Samsung and Sony all the time, and they pretty much "just work".

One thing I have found is the big brands (Samsung, Sony) do seem much better with the touch controls than Chi-Fi earbud makers. Once you know where the touch surface is and how to hold them (usually by the sides), I literally never trigger my Samsung or Sony buds putting them in or adjusting them.

Azla Xelastec. SpinFit CP155 also fit, I have them on the OG Blessing 2. They possibly do add more bass though, as /u/MrCatsoup says, this is good on the OG B2 but might be a bit much on the Variations.

If you read through the thread, it seems in the end that it was something else that "exploded" near the amp, as it has apparently no issues and no visible damage inside either. The previous generation of the L30 did have some issues, but they apparently did fix it in the II, and I believe it has DC protection so shouldn't blow up headphones at least.

Look at Chi-Fi, all of the performance without the corner cutting you get from stuff made in the US. Topping and Fiio have great options, I have a Topping A90 and Fiio K5 Pro myself.

The new Fiio K7 looks great for $199. I think it looks well worth it over the K5 Pro, balanced, much more power out of that output, much lower noise and distortion.

From Topping, the DX3 Pro+ for the same price loses the balanced but gains Bluetooth.

If you don't need the DAC portion, the Topping L30 II amp-only for $149 looks great, single ended only but 3.5W and it can even survive exploding and continue to work normally with no harm to amp or headphones.

His Truthear Zero collab was explicitly meant to be tuned to Harman, rather than IEF neutral.

> I have no interest in chi-fi

Says the R7DX/Sundara enjoyer