Xears N3i

[IDvsEGO]

Coming Soon!




Just kidding. I recently picked these up because of my clearing house of IEMs. My lawyer is paid for so this was my first experiment. I previously had the Hippo VBs and the Fischer Audio Eternas so that's my frame of reference and sound signature preference. Here are some initial impressions...

Fit/build thoughts - They are big. VB big. But they are a wood housing not metal. J cord is kinda awkward, but not too bad. decent cable with a cloth like covering. Not sure on cable noise since i have only listened in a stationary setting so far. I had to use the brain tickling double flange to get a good fit, but I should be able to fix that with my assortment of Sony tips at home. The nozzle is too big for my Shure Olives but I may decore one since I love them so. Been meaning to do that anyway. These are random thoughts but to sum it all up...I am pleased with the build quality and optimistic about a better fit. I historically have fitment issues with a new IEM for the first month but these dont feel hopeless

Sound - bass. yep, lots of bass. I turned it down some. I am reserving final judgement until I get the fit right, but if I turned the bass down, that says something. I am now running with a flat EQ and no bass boost on the clip+. I had several tracks that were very pleasing and some that sounded a bit muffled. The muffled sound was very reminiscent of the issue i had with the Klipsch s4 shifting in my ear so I am not blaming this on the sound sig at this point. I will say I am impressed at this point and pleased to have another IEM to get to know.

more organized thoughts to come in a few days. Let me know if anybody has any specific questions about them. Oh, and they are cheaper than VBs.

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[Confispect]

Congrats.

[IDvsEGO]

OK, revisiting these after some time spent...short version for people that dont read so good or are impatient...I like them. I consider them a reasonable alternative to the Hippo VB. Big bass without sacrificing all the rest too much. I thinkt hey are cheaper...I know I paid about $40 for a second hand pair. Thats half the price and I am not missing the VBs really, now that I have these. I still think the VBs go a little lower but can't A/B them since the VBs are gone now

longer story...I have fitment issues with any IEM I try. my ears are weird and a bit sensitive so it takes a while. The best fit I could get with the stock tips was using the double flanges, but wow these are huge when you add a double flange to that already big body. Plus multi flange tips bother my ears. I ended up putting my trusty shure olives on using my patent pending stretch and pull technique. This involves a pair of fine tip needle nose pliers and some brute strength. The Olives are amazingly resilient. I have stretched them to 3 times the normal size and they snap right back. The sony tips did alright but the opening is smaller and if I didnt get a good solid seal they would shift and I could tell a difference in the sound. Once that fiasco was settled I was able to use these exclusively for the last week. I enjoy them, they are what I usually like in an everyday set. Enough power int he bass to bump it up when I want some ear rumble but enough qaulity across the spectrum that they dont sound stupid when I tone it back for other genres. The cable is a bit annoying being the J shape. and the mic is in the way. the cloth cable is decent, doesnt introduce too much more noise and makes it way easier to untangle. I grabbed a spare cable clip and it makes it all much easier to deal with. Overall build quality seems good. housings are solid, cable isnt bad. I like it. If you need a bass oriented set and can get a set for $40, do it without a second thought.