What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (2024)

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from 3501 reviews

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (1)

Rajesh Srikar

Moondrop May

Pros:
Pretty looks
Good build quality
Excellent Bass Response
Soundstage Is Well Rounded

Cons:
Included eartips
Not satisfied with the DSP cable lots of noise and buggy app

Super fast delivery by audiostore received my package in just 1day

MOONDROP MAY DSP IEM With Type-C Plug

05/30/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (2)

Anup R

Faael Balanced cable

Thanks Audio Store for recommending FAAEL balanced cable for my IEM, I am enjoying every bit of it. Sound clarity and dynamics have certainly became a tad nicer. Having fun listening for long hours

FAAEAL Hibiscus 4 Core 5N OFC Litz Upgrade Cable for IEM

05/30/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (3)

Anil Surya

7HZ Salnotes Zero: My First IEM with perfect Balanced Sound

I'm just a new man to this Audiophile world.
Before buying to an IEM below Rs - 2000/-, verified lot of IEM earphones.
Finally stopped at 7HZ Salnotes Zero and ordered it from "TheAudioStore".

After listening songs from this IEM ear phones, just felt like I'm in a big home theatre.
What a craft piece it is.
A very good audio IEM pair engineered with the best sound.
No deep Bass, not much treble. Able to hear a clear voice in a song.
Just surprised with a big smile how they are giving this great IEM phones at this minimal price :) .

Before buying it viewed some comments like "dull bass and low mid bass notes while listening" from some users.
Still don't know why they commented like that ?

If they want to listen deep Bass or deep treble or any other specific note then why they're choosing IEM's. LoL.

There are lots of other earphone pairs available in market, can give deep Bass which are suppressing voice, treble and other instrument sounds.

For me 7HZ salnotes Zero is for the people who are to enjoy the each and every note in a Hi-Res song.

Started my Audiophile journey with the BEST 7HZ Salnotes Zero IEM. Hope this may lead to add more best devices in future.

Thanks to LINSOUL for crafting a great powered IEM, hats off to your research and engineering on this IEM.
Thanks to AudioStore for making this product available at lower price with comparing other available sources.

7HZ Salnotes Zero IEM

05/28/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (4)

Shreekant

Simgot EW200 - A Wonderful and capable IEM under 5 k

After a lot of contemplation and reading reviews about many IEMs in this price range, I settled for Simgot EW200 IEM under Rs 5k. I am happy that I did make a right choice. My observations are based on about 10-15 hours use with iphone 13 pro (wiith both apple dongle and also with Fiio Q1 DAC) and Tempotec V6 DAP. Played FLAC, WAV files from my downloads, lossfree apple music. Listened to variety of genres- Indian classical, Bollywood, Abba, Beetles, Fusion, apple top 100 , Instrumental etc.
Plus points
- Very clear notes and natural timbre. Instruments appear strongly as they should
-Imaging was beautiful when I played instrumental fusion by Bickram Ghosh. 6 drums with other accompaniments were played distinctly and clearly. One could visualise their location.
- Shifting from one to another side ear is flawless
- Good reproduction and dynamics for all genres

Improvements I would love
- Mids are little too bright for me, a little taming and rounding would be nice, I used EQ on my DAP to get what I like.
- The original tips lose the grip after some time. I replaced them with my Spinfit CP 100 + and problem was resolved to a great extent. The hard part of nozzle starts aching my left ear after an hour or so. Shape of nozzle and my ear do not seem to agree well. May be someday I will try foam or Spinfit W1 tips. (can Audiostore could suggest a right one ?)
Overall, it is a great value for money. It has a clarity more than my IMR splash of Red, which are 4 times pricier.
I am happy with this purchase and am using my SIMGOT EW 200 every day.
Thank you Audiostore team for a prompt despatch and adding joy to my life,

SIMGOT EW200 IEM

05/24/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (5)

Ashwin P

Review after a months use

First of all hats off to this site, the product delivery experience left me no complaints (I am always skeptical of ordering stuff using online services from new sites)

Now for the IEM in question:
After one month of use I have to say I'm head over heels for this, as it has surpassed my expectations in of an IEM in this price range, I have tried IEMs and Headphones ranging over 5k+ but this has clearly beaten them off the charts, the audio quality is clear and way more natural to what I prefer unlike many who have boosted bass range clearly out there to destroy your ears. I was surprised by the volume too, as the max output is pretty dang loud and a good thing is you can easily separate instruments from vocals that blend in if you focus enough on it, but I would still say it slightly lacks in dimensionality well figures from the structure and size you can't expect it to be able to produce that but I would say in this price range I'm more than satisfied with this IEM.

The only time I would go over to Chinese Jade Beauty over Anime Girl IEM :p

TangZu Wan'er S.G IEM With Mic

05/23/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (6)

R.K.

Highly recommended!

Xduoo XD05 Pro. -This chonky bad boi is more fun than finesse, on the default ESS dac & op-amps. It has a somewhat colored sound, in a good way. Emphasis is on sub-bass; mids are beautiful and treble is non-offensive but not rolled-off and certainly not fatiguing in any way. Very enjoyable overall. Explosive dynamics and thundering bass - ideal for genres such as classic rock and EDM. Popular pop songs also sounds awesome. Ability to replace the DAC and the op-amps is a fantastic value proposition. High-quality accessories galore. Quite powerful for driving full-size planars; massive battery. Nifty piece of gear which can be end-game for many not only because of sound quality but also because of its versatility (can change stock DAC to RoHM; AKM; stock op-amps to LME or Sparkos). Go for it!

xDuoo XD05 Pro Portable Wireless Balanced Modular DAC & Headphone Amplifier

05/12/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (7)

Shahid

Treat to the ears !!!

After much deliberation between hidiz MP 145 and this i went ahead with it...and oh boy !! What should I say...I was right all along ...I mean these are fun IEM, a treat to your ears !! The sub bass and the lush vocals for desi genre music ...one word ..perfect !!!!

AFUL Performer5 IEM

05/10/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (8)

Achin Batwara

Amazing Build Quality and Conversion

Using this since 8 months without any problem. Build is very sturdy. Recommended over wired DAC. I consider this as a long term investment.

AUDIOCULAR CX31993 Portable DAC Adapter

05/02/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (9)

Anirban Saha Choudhury

Combination of clarity and dynamics

I have been using this iem from last 2-3 months. First time I saw this iem from z reviews and after that my craving started.
The first trial was not good because it sounded muddy and suprresd but after 3 days continuous listening I found the real happiness.
This iem really maintains almost all aspects...good sub bass , nice mids and cleaner trable. Good dynamics and separation.
This iem is best in it's price segment and I have never regreted .
Keep in mind that the stock cable is good but with a good silver cable it shines.

SOFTEARS Twilight IEM

05/02/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (10)

H.K.

2nd Best Purchase from This store

Soft bass, high notes is well balanced. Vocals are curated well to bring the right texture of the audio. My 2nd purchase again was KZ as this one houses harman kardon tech which creates the best signature sound in the audio zone. Provided eq options helps to alter the frequency to our needs. And Yes, if i improved in reviewing about audio dynamics, credit goes to THE AUDIO STORE.

KZ Acoustics Castor IEM With Mic

05/01/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (11)

Yash

Great Eartips!

One of the best eartips in the market. Purchased it for my Blon BL03. The stock eartips does not fit well. After using these tips, the sound has improved a lot. These tips also provide great isolation. Would recomenned buying these tips. Thanks Audio Store.

SpinFit CP100 Plus Silicone Eartips

04/28/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (12)

Rajkumar Bayya

Its good. Audio quality is too good after using this Fosi audio Za3 amplifier . It is in good budget also with top quality.

Fosi Audio ZA3 Balanced Stereo Amplifier Home Audio 2CH Mono Amp With TPA3255 Chip

04/26/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (13)

Dipanjan Biswas

Getting back into the planar sound

I had owned both the HiFiMan Sundara and the Edition XS few years back - but as with all things audio - started to yearn for a different taste and so moved towards high impedance headphones and tube amplifiers - selling my HiFiMan headphones to buy new gears of interest :-) Recently felt the urge to get back into the planar sound. But didn't want to invest too much to start with - not being sure whether I'd find the experience as enjoyable as the first time. The 400SE fit the bill nicely and I'm glad to report that I've not regretted my decision one bit. Thanks TAS. Greatly enjoying the set. Pairing is critical though - started with the iFi Zen One Signature DAC + iFi Zen Can - but felt something was missing - switched to the Cayin RU6 and immediately got back the exquisite detail and imaging/instrument separation that planars are famous for.

HiFiMAN HE400se Over-Ear Planar Magnetic Headphone

04/15/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (14)

N.P.

Typical Sony in a premium outfit

My setup: Thieaudio Monarch MK3, paired with this Sony 707 unit, and music played from Apple Music.
Comparison with: my previous DAC/Amp Jcally AP98, Shanling M6 Ultra

Its been months since I've been using the 700 series portable music player of Sony's and finally got myself up to reviewing it.

So first question: why a DAP? For months, as I was using my AP98 dac/amp connected to my phone to listen to music, I came to realise a very obvious and quite irritating issue: the type-C connector is a nightmare when its wobbling in your pocket. It is not designed to stay tightly fixed. Mainly used for charging and data transfers, I don't think the engineers behind in ever factored the port being used to play music through an amp/dac. And when it is used to play music on-the-go, you'll reach a point when you'll constantly find it getting loose and disconnecting with your device. Especially if you listen to music while doing a lot of walking like I do. There's no point trying to listen to audiophile grade tunes when they are getting constantly disconnected. So, a change had to be made.

For those who don't know, a DAP is a full android environment in itself. Its basically if a phone was designed for one thing, and one thing only: to play music. You can download any android app on it (although it doesn't have a sim card), but you really shouldn't. These things chug a lot of battery to produce the sound that they need to. Slowing them down with other apps is not recommended.
Anyhow, how did this portable music player solve my issue? Well it has the typical 3.5mm audio jack, as well as the 4.4mm balanced output. Connect your IEM/headphone to them directly, and you say goodbye to any "loose" connections. Uninterrupted audiophile sound = happy audiophile.

So how is the device itself? Quite big actually. The length and width is similar to that of your phone, and its much thicker. Will need its own dedicated pocket. I had to do a bit of juggling of my pocket items when I got this, so that might annoy some people. After all pocket spaces are sacred, and this unit is going to force you to change your habit of what goes in which pocket.
So having had my pocket sanctity shredded, there is also another nitpick of how edgy the device is. You could literally use those metal-finished corners as a weapon. Apart from that I'd have also liked the buttons to be a bit more protruding, but thats fine. You don't usually change volume too much anyway.
So those slight negative bits out of the way, the device itself is very nice to hold. Has a gripping pad thingy on the back that makes it very good for my sweaty hands. The display is good, android environment is very operable. Its not your latest gaming mobile phone fast, but much better than old mobile phones.

Okay now that the boring bits are out, lets get to the real thing: Sound!

This is the first sony device that I've used, and now I absolutely get what the "Sony signature" means. Very musical. Very crystal. You'd expect such a signature to be more favouring towards the higher frequencies, but that's not the case. The device is actually slightly on the warmer side, but you can almost miss it because of how neutral the signature is.
Thanks to the Audio Store I've had the opportunity to try out lot of dac/amps & even DAPs, and this has without a doubt been the most neutral sounding unit I remember.

The resolution is brilliant. I mainly use the Monarch MK3s which are already known to be extremely detailed, but only after using this DAP did I feel that I was really starting to reveal the potential of the MK3s. In this department, its hands down better than the Shanling M6 & my old AP98.

The amplification might not be up to everybody's taste, even though this unit DOES have the High Gain option. You might have to turn the volume really up if you have something with very high impedance. Mainly talking about IEMs though, it should be able to play anything.

Where I feel that this player slightly lacks is the richness of sound. Sony has a very clear, detailed sound, but it can sound somewhat leaner, especially when compared to Shanling M6. Especially for someone like me who mostly listens to instrumental soundtracks. Even the little AP98 with high gain, and connected to a computer has a more voluminous sound. It is why I almost ended up picking the Shanling, but immense thanks to The Audio Store for letting me try the M6 unit for an entire day, after which I quickly realised that it was too bassy for me.

Overall I'm extremely happy with the purchase though. This is something I know I'll value for a very long time, even after I maybe try some other DAPs, because of how balanced the sound is. Sony's signature has grown on me, and I'm certain that some songs will only sound good to me now with this tuning.

Once again, big, big thanks to the Audio Store team for being patient & giving great advice for me to make the right decision.

Sony NW-ZX707 Walkman Hi-Res Portable Digital Music Player

04/13/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (15)

S.T.

Excellent planar sound that's fun and musical! Tin HiFi is classy as usual!

My sound preference- I like a balanced, musical, natural, and fun sound. I dislike a basshead sound as well as a neutral, dry, and clinical sound. I absolutely hate peaky, spicy, and treble-intense sound; cannot stand it for more than 10 seconds. I own a wide range of IEMs like 64 Audio Trio, Final A8000, ThieAudio Monarch MKII, 7Hz Salnotes Zero (v1), and many more in between.

Opening notes: I burned in the P1 Plus for about 8-10 hours and found that the sound (especially the treble) settled well after that. The overall sound became more balanced and mature without losing its planar flavor.

Tin HiFi packaging and unboxing is very simple and classy (less is more). The case that comes in the box is especially beautiful. The P1 Plus is a very very small IEM with a very very big sound! It is so small that I can comfortably use it while laying down on my side. There's no weight or pressure build-up even after 4-5 hours of continuous listening. I forget it's in my ear.

Chain: OnePlus 7 Pro -- iFi Hip Dac v1 -- Kinera Leyding cable 4.4 mm -- Tin Hifi P1 Plus -- SpinFit CP-100 ear tips.

The Chain mentioned above is pure bliss! This is as close to a reference, uncolored, and yet musical planar sound that one can get. Seriously, you need to hear this chain to believe how good it is! I was floored the moment I heard it and have been listening to it continuously since the past 3 days now. 'Pure planar sound' is the theme and this chain continuously reminds me of my Hifiman Ananda. The male and female vocals take a slightly forward center stage with a lovely body to them, the bass is very present, wonderfully pleasant, full-bodied, controlled, and yet it is decidedly fast and planar. It is more mid-bass focussed. The treble and air are to be heard to be believed. Every sound, supporting vocal, and squeak is heard. There is no sibilance and listening fatigue whatsoever on this chain (I know that all the reviews say the P1 Plus has a lean sound and is sibilant). The imaging is superb as is the layering. The Soundstage is very deep and wide. Instrument sounds are heard all over the area between far left to far right with good perceived depth. You absolutely must listen to this chain.

Additional notes: I strongly recommend upgrading to a good 4.4 mm balanced cable (not very expensive or anything but a good one; e.g. Kinera Leyding) and the 'SpinFit CP-100' or the 'Moondrop Spring Tips' ear tips to realize the true value of the P1 Plus. With the Spring Tips - you can go a size up. I usually use M size with all my ear tips but with Moondrop Sping Tips and this IEM, I use L and find it more comfortable while giving a better seal.

Many thanks to Pritam for recommending these to me. They're an invaluable part of my IEM collection.

Tin HiFi P1 Plus IEM

04/12/2024

What is a Sound Signature and Why is it Important for Audiophiles? (2024)
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