The Zetian Wu and XSL X-one, my two most pretty sets.
In my short time actually getting to listen to the Zetian Wu’s, the technicalities have been clear and the tuning has been to my taste. I’ve also had the strangest issue with them, just putting it here in case anybody else experiences it. After any serious period of use >15 minutes, the left IEM starts to drastically decrease in volume until it’s inaudible. I assumed this was the condensation issue I’ve heard about with the arias, but even after removing the filter and opening the iem up, the problem got worse if anything. This last time I tried, it went from full volume to 0 in ~ 20 seconds. No idea what’s happening, any tips are appreciated. Can’t recommend them based on my QC experience, but they seem well-tuned enough.
The XSL X-one is a whole other bag of chips. Out of the box, the bass is boomy and boosted enough to veil anything these iems might have going for them. After completing Michael Bruce’s mod, that bass boost is tuned down to a reasonable degree, and its strong vocals are able to shine. I won’t go so far as to say they’re class-leading or the best I’ve heard, but for 40 something dollars they’re certainly interesting. They’re not particularly strong technically, and often I feel that the separation of instruments could be a lot better. I really can’t recommend these unless you plan on going through the effort of modding, as without it they’re certainly not worth it. They’re solid metal and built like a tank though, so if nothing else they’ve got the best build quality I’ve seen at any price point.
ever since my support fiasco with Zetian Wu I haven’t bought another set since that cost me like 120 and it basically just imploded. I might give the heyday edition a go when I want a change from my PR2