Depends on what IEM/headphone you are comparing to.

Im going to get mine from a friend who receive Xiaomi delivery yesterday. Im not expecting miracle. Just wanna kill the hype.

Update 1:

Totally blew my expectation. I didn't expect it to be this bad, considering the rave review. It really prove my theory is correct. Maybe Mi3 is a bad companion. Going to try with Note 2 and Nokia 808 when I get home. I think I will try my go vibe v6 along to see if there's any improvement.

I'm beginning to wonder what sort of RM200 headphone people were comparing to. Those overpriced junk from Sony?

Update 2:

Plug it into my Mi3 but this time through GoVibe V6. Big improvement. However, I plugged in a N-years (I cant even remember) Mylar 1B and still gets better clarity. There is this strange veil that seem to affect the vocals. It just wont sing naturally. Using MiSoundEnhancer make it sounds too digital.

I can see why people like it. The instruments separation is pretty good, at least when its being amp'ed. You get lots of cymbal clarity playing on the outer sound field for example. I think the bass is really poor, when not amplified. If anything, it reminds me of the sound of Philips HP890. Very relaxing to listen as it has an awesome soundstage.

I think I will end my testing here. I think Xiaomi messed up somewhat with Piston2. Even their MiSoundEnhancer setting for Piston 2 proved it. You barely hear vocals clearly at all, when you are using it with Mi3, without any amplification. The size of the IEM also made it extremely uncomfortable, for me at least. The seal is pretty good, despite feeling it was a bit loose.

On a sidenote, I did tried it for 15minutes with my cousin's iPhone5. I think it powered it adequately and definitely sounds better than it was with Mi3. It was definitely better sounding than the radical iPhone5's earphone. I havent bought IEM/headphone for years, maybe nowadays even junk are priced over RM150. I dont know.. but I think Piston 2 is definitely hard to beat for RM100-150. Any higher, I think there should be choice.

This post has been edited by andrekua2: Aug 22 2014, 08:16 PM

I think serious audiophile (does not need to be high end) should just forget Piston2 and move on to other offering.

I dont think I can say Piston2 is worthwhile if SQ is what you are seeking. Its probably worth the money but definitely not something that extra-ordinary.

It's definitely not. Even the smooth groove that's kind to your fingers feel like really sharp edge when being rub against my ears.

The vocal sucks big time. I really don't know what junk did people bought for RM200 nowadays that piston2 actually sounds good to them?

Update:

I went ahead with the filter mod since I was unimpressed with the sound since the beginning.

The pros?

1. Bloaty bass almost all gone.
2. The veil is removed from the vocal. Clarity improve a lot.
3. Brighter sounding now

The bad?

1. Instrument separation which is unique is almost, if not totally gone.
2. Can be harsh sounding sometimes.


If you asked me, I prefer the sound now. The original sound is like you added a LME49720 opamp kinda sound. Now the effect is a lot less but I prefer it.

This post has been edited by andrekua2: Aug 24 2014, 10:54 AM


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Hahaha... Its really a hype.

Good, no doubt, but only because of the price.
There are plenty of options if you can pay full price. I didnt spent few hundreds or thousands on buying headphone but even so, I really felt it was so-so.

Samsung IEM is definitely very poor sounding.

Remove the foam and you will get clearer vocal and balanced bass

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The picture is borrowed from headfi.

But I have done it as well. It really remove the veil from the vocals, reduce the overpowering bass. You need to try it to experience the difference. Before mod, I think it sounds really bad.

Yeah, same here...

But I use needle to poke a hole and rip it out. I dont know why those guys in headfi use paper clips.

Oh... Sent that over and I sent you my unwanted modded Piston2

Need to mod. No mod really sounds like shit.

Just received Piston 3 and I can say this is definitely the better IEM. Piston2 sounds like shit. It is a lot more balanced.