That cable looks amazing

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I have so many praises about these IEMs that I don't even know how to start and write a completely logical impression, but I will try, also I'm not a native speaker, so sorry in advance for possible mistakes

My IEM trip so far: Tanchjm Hana 2021 -> 7hz Timeless -> Moondrop Variations, after owning the latter for 6 months, I also had a chance to own and listen to Moondrop Chu and Campfire Atlas(honestly, for their 900$ price tag, they don't come even close to Variations for almost x2 for the price)

From memory, when I put them in my ears and played the first songs, I was just laying down on my bed with a facial expression something like: 'yeah, that's it, that is what I was looking for in this hobby for the whole 1.5years of my journey, all my previous headphones and IEMs were failed attempts, in searching for this sound’

First, I think Variations is a bit genre-dependent, and something like metal or hard rock doesn't sound that good, but man, when I play on them 'NewJeans - Ditto' or actually any NewJeans song or any Red Velvet song or any IU song or any Billie Eilish song, everything sounds heavenly. Female vocals are just amazing, State-of-Art, they shine, they sound like angels from heaven, it's level of HD600 definitely vocal-wise, always smooth, well-extended and never harsh, shouty or sibilant, just pure euphoria, don't know what to say more.

Separation, 'soundstage', and detail retrieval, everything is here, the sound is just so clean and deep boosted sub-bass too, I just don't have complaints

Listening through Qudelix-5K + Tripowin Zonie Blue cable + AZLA SednaEarFit Crystal SS size, they do Variations justice, for me this IEM is very tip-dependent due to big nozzle. After Azla eartips, Variations with something like Moondrop Spring Tips sounded dead & unmotivated, while on AZLA ear tips natural and lively and wonderful, everything is crystal clear

Overall I can recommend to anyone whose ‘guilty pleasure' is EDM/kpop, but only with female vocals. In general all pop music, edm, rap/hip-hop sound wonderful on Variations, metal and hard rock not so much

Variations is good, very good, for the price the best for me definitely, very close to end game material for somebody with similar music preferences, I still don't have any desire to upgrade and sell them, because they are just so great, they shine, but never offense you, everything sounds smooth, energetic, engaging, beautiful, amazing, lifelike, lovely, wonderful, natural, and that's it, I'm done, hope my stream of thoughts was enjoyable to read, strongly recommend at least to try them

I'm so damn close to my endgame but there's always something to go "no this isn't it". I'm happy with my headphones but it's my DAC/AMP.

Started off with an iFi Zen stack and it worked great with my PS5 and laptop... While I was at my desk. Turns out I barely use my desk and more lying in bed so most of the time it'd be unused.

Those went out and in came the FiiO BTR7. Again, worked great with my PS5 and laptop while letting me use my phone as well but the battery life was kinda crappy for my usage. Was always charging it and I was always worried about running out of charge when going outside.

That went out and now I have a FiiO M11 Plus. Battery - good, sound - good, now it stores all my music in one convenient place so all good now right? WRONG. It has massive lag in USB DAC mode and doesn't even work with my PS5 so I can't use it for gaming. Bought a FiiO K3 so I could use my headphones with my PS5 cause of it. A DAP is along the lines of what's endgame for me but it just needs the right software.

One day, I'll find the right endgame...

No, I'm already done.

I have KZ and TRN iems which I suppose the same as your choice.

Based on my flair, no.😎

Kidding go try the Edition XS or Arya or Meze 109 Pro or DT 1990 or bla bla many others out there

Are there other decent headphones on the market besides HD 600 series? I'm not a fan of claustrophobic soundstage and veiled midrange.

Well, I think it's true, at least that amp sounds good but I gonna try balanced output of Zen Dac which is real.

Damn, that sticker provides +30% to soundstage and +50 mW of power ;) I've connected SH8s exactly for these reasons.

Deezer HiFi more than enough. I can't hear difference between flac file from hard drive and streaming.

I bought B-Stock item and it still literally like new besides ear pads of course.

It's all about addiction to one single pair headphones. I've been finding exactly "that" sound last half of year and noticed that Sundara doesn't provoke me for fresh emotions. Some youtubers say you need a second pair to refresh feelings but I don't know.

Porta Pro makes me happy, sp that's my end-game. Unless I find someone that makes meevern more happy some day. ^^

I honestly am speechless, aside from being able to communicate my state.

Mine have been on the fence for some time, I ordered mine around 2019 IIRC. If I bump a connector (randomly) one side goes dead. Sounds good, headband and ear cup fit is awesome, sadly their QA is crap. I'm eyeing Neumann nd30's or nd20's right now.

I recently bought an LD systems PA for sound stuff so can't drop any funds on that so far.

My favorite headphones for pure music enjoyment are the Denon AH-D7200, Grado SR60i, AKG K240DF and the AKG K712 Pro.

I have the Sennheiser HD 800, Meze Empyrean, Dan Clark Audio Expanse, HiFiMan Ananda and Grado GS3000e. While they are all good at something and do provide a good listening experience, they are either solely focused on analytical listening or are good at a very specific thing.

If you don't like the treble on the Fostex, then try the Denon headphones. They are made using the same Foster Denki base which is used by Fostex but they are not as treble intensive. Go with the Denon AH-D5200 as it's the closest to the TH900mk2 (slightly less V-shaped but still bassy). The AH-D7200 is more relaxed in the treble and has a slightly recessed ear-gain region making it very non-fatiguing. The AH-D9200 is like the TH900mk2 but without the bass-boost, so you will probably not like it.

Thanks for that going to try the things you mentioned. Yea it was Shenzhen audio on Amazon but I don’t know if it’s the same company. In any case, I don’t really see a button to contact the seller so I guess I’ll try the shenzhen audio website and see what happens. If nothing happens after a while I’ll try asking Amazon like you mentioned.

Stax L700mk2

Whenever I buy from China/Japan/Korea/Asia/etc. I sadly don't expect warranty/returns/etc. even if the company is well-reviewed by regular consumers too. It's one of those things that unfortunately happens way too often and so as much as possible I buy from Amazon (well, when it comes to IEMs I have no option but to buy from China unless I want to wait several weeks/months for it to be stocked in Amazon) and then talk to the customer service people there if I encounter problems.

IIRC Amazon will sometimes say they will give you a full refund even if you're past warranty/returns, though this depends on your account history (amount of spending/returns/etc.) or something like that.

Basically just open up the support chat even if it's been several months or a year or so since your purchase of the IEM/product, and then ask the customer service representative from Amazon if you can return the item, they'll usually do the process for you.

Wait a minute, did you buy from the ShenzhenAudio/etc. storefront on Amazon, you can talk to Moondrop/ShenzhenAudio/etc. there instead too but if they are still not responding after a week, just go with actual Amazon customer service.

Keep in mind that this out of return period warranty process is like dependent on your history with Amazon. As in you'll probably be able to do that if you spend a lot of money on Amazon and don't return that much or at all.

Like some of us get offered this: even if it's beyond 30 days or outside the October to January (some people apparently demo a lot of IEMs/headphones/etc. around this time as it's 4 months of free trial with the product, lol, but I don't recommend you do that as they will block your account if you do it often) extended holiday return period, Amazon will accept the return and just refund you what you paid.

Just try if it's available for your account, this is through the chat system by the way, and these days they made it so hard to find live chat support, lol. Anyway, some people also call to Amazon to complain, but for now just try the chat as it's pretty quick and automated there too.

For the customer service, some of the customer service reps will often be on the Discord servers, Facebook groups, and so on, and you can get in touch with them quicker there. A lot of them know each other and so they can help you reach the Moondrop people.

They will probably ask you to do return shipping to China but don't bother as it may get lost/et cetera, lol.

A lot of companies will go in circles just to deny you a proper new pair and so ya pretty much expect no warranties/etc. when buying from China/outside of your country.

Here's a bit more about ordering from AliExpress/Chinese companies in general: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/zav570/is_hifigo_a_scam/iynrt65/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/uwk248/should_i_order_shuoer_s12s_from_conceptkart_or/i9t7zo0/

More specific to European customers ordering from AliExpress, but goes sorta in depth about express international shipping, customs fees, delivery procedures, et cetera: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/xky24f/americans_and_europeans_ordering_high_end_iems/ipgtsuk

Here's a bit more info on AliExpress shipping times: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/uw4uq1/earbud_advice/i9q7fql/

Use parcelsapp.com and 17track.net to check your package progress. Usually it'll be a week before it actually leaves China by the airport and then the rest of the time is just waiting for your country's customs and the national/local mail delivery service.

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> I've created a dragon in my head

In a way, yes. The reason this happens is because human minds are always, always trying to equalize with their environment. So if you get used to something, your brain will basically invent things it wishes it had because it got used to what it heard.

Best way to fix that; listen to worse gear for a bit, then wow yourself all over again.

I keep a pair of 6XX specifically so I can go back to my Ananda and go, "Man, literally everything is better, damn these things sound so fuckin' good."

Keeps me sane.

Gradors2e Hd650 Hd660s Ie800

What's your source? Hopefully not Spotify...

On the upper end you just move the back chamber modes lower into the midrange.
On the lower end you get more bass extension.

With the space gained you can fit more resonators and damping material, so there ais more room for improvement.