Test Tracks
My music list for IEM testing.Test Tracks
Fall in the Dark - Shibayan Records ft. Yanagi Nagi
Usage: For testing distortion, bass response and transient response.Preferred Gear for the Track: Heart MirrorComments: The iem should be able to remain undistorted toward the whole song. You should clearlyYami no Kanata e (Beyond the Darkness) - Nanosizemir (Rewrite OST - Track 20)
Usage: For testing bass response and timbre quality of brass instrumentsPreferred Gear for the Track: CCA C12 Comments: The iem should be able to catch the bass line covering the startingHysteresis - Treow feat Nagi Yanagi
Usage: Forwardness of the vocals, deepness of the bass.Preferred Gear for the Track: Heart MirrorComments: The iem should be able to reach the lowest tone of the song.Anata wa Succulent (Succulent You) - Nagi Yanagi (natte Album)
Usage: Tightness of the bass, clarity of vocalsPreferred Gear for the Track: Heart MirrorComments: The first minute of the song will bombard you with punchy bass,the bass shouldn't mess or cover up the mid and treble region.Hane no Yurikago (Feather's Cradle) - Nanosizemir (Summer Pockets OST - Disc 2)
Usage: For testing sound stage, shoutiness and complexity.Preferred Gear for the Track: Heart MirrorComments: The violin solo should have enough depth, it should sound like the violinist is in front of you 1 meter away.The violin solo will also determine the shoutiness of an iem (how the upper midrange and lower treble peaks)Growing Up - Macklemore feat Ed Sheeran
Usage: For testing the warmness and coldness of the stage, authenticity of vocals, timbre of instruments.Preferred Gear for the Track: Blon BL-03Comments: The whole song should sound like you're in a studio with the singer and the band.It shouldn't sound analytical, the proper tone and timbre of the instruments should be captured.Instincts - Nanosizemir (Rewrite S2 Ending Song)
Usage: For testing the complexity, bass response and treble quality.Preferred Gear for the Track: Heart MirrorComments: I prefer this song to be played with a little warmth.The Flowers that Play at Night - YURiKA (Summer Pockets OST - Disc 2)
Usage: For testing soundstage and the authentic rendering of the vocals. Preferred Gear for the Track: Heart MirrorComments: The singer's voice before the chorus part should sound like she is singing to you.Are you looking for ways to improve the sound quality of your OPPOTY, then fear not I'm here to list various mods that will unlock your OPPOTY's powers.
1. Reversing the Starline Tips
The first tip for having a good playback on your oppoty is to change the tips. As we all know the stock tips are garbage and need to be flamed right away. Also the nozzle is so short that its hard to achieve deep insertion. I have tried many tips before like Spinfits CP100, CP145, Trn tips and KZ starline tips, however all of them is not that sticky nor comfortable, it also thins the midrange and reduce the sub bass (CP145) of the oppoty. Since, I don't have that much of a choice, I stick first with my CP145, however I also seek some suggestion in the audioreview group in Facebook, and fortunately I found some article made by the tuner of TRN BA5 that suggesting to reverse the kz starline tips. I tried to do his mod and the difference with my oppoty is night and day. The midrange thickens, the sub-bass increased, and the comfort is superb (bonus: its also sticky too). The tuner I mentioned also made a video on how to do the mod, you can just search in Youtube, "reverse kz starline tips" the first video is the one he made.
2. Changing the Cable to 8-Core OFC
Changing the cable is not that needed to say at least, but it's still a requirement if you want your oppoty to be durable. But in my experience, changing the cable to 8-core improves the midrange a little bit, it kinda lushes it in a way. However if you don't have that budget it's okay to use the stock cable, but you need to remove the plastic hook to achieve deep insertion. And don't worry about cable breakage if you remove the plastic hook, the plastic hook is not glued in the connector.
3. Removing the Mesh Grill (Optional)
This will add clarity and detail to your oppoty, however I don't recommend this mod since it will remove the unique characteristic of the oppoty which is the warm soundstage. To do this mod gently remove the grill placed on the top of the oppoty's nozzle, you can use a needle to remove the grill. And also remember that this mod is irreversible you can return the grill back if you're not contended with the mod. You can leave the nozzle without the grill (which I don't recommend) or you can buy a 4 mm mesh grill in shopee which cost 50 pesos.