u/Mitchellmillennial

The idea of bone conduction is nothing new. With my prior experience using the KZ Vibe X i will be honest, my expectations for the The kiwi ears Étude was pretty low. I know thats not fair as the KZ vibe X is a pretty low budget, and crap IEM overall but i wasn't expecting the The kiwi ears Étude to impress me as much as they did. I think the tuning of the vibrational transducer of the The kiwi ears Étude was a bit better than the overall execution that KZ delivered in the Vibe X and the tuning aside from the vibrational transducer was actually quite pleasant. I found that the The kiwi ears Étude to have good detail retrieval in the mids and highs. The bass of the The kiwi ears Étude was quite pleasing as well. Its punchy, and relatively well controlled for a "basshead" IEM. My biggest qualm with the Etude was actually the included accessories. The cable felt like the same cheap cable that came with the Kiwi Ears Cadenza Gen 1 and the eartip solution was fine, although it only came with a S/M/L size for the eartips. In total, these are fun IEMs that I think a lot of people overlook because they are pigeonholed as a "bass head" IEM.

I've tested close to 50 different IEMs so far and 3 have really stood out to me as versatile and "good" sounding across a broad spectrum of music. They are the Aful Performer 5, Kinera Celeste Relentless, and the TRN Whale shark so the Daybreak had quite a bit of competition in order to win me over.

I went to Soundproof Bros in Bangkok, got to talk and hang out with some of the staff there and we chatted a bit about "New Meta" tuning. For comparison they also brought out the Kiwi Ears KA4 as a comparable "New Meta" tuned IEM. On first listen with my Echo Mini I felt like they needed a bit more punch in the low end and I asked the staff to randomly selected 3 DACs they felt would make them a bit punchier in presentation. I had no clue what the first 2 were as they both gave the Daybreak more low end but made it feel a bit too boomy/sloppy.

The third DAC they let me try was the Questyle M15 and that was all the convincing I needed. I find them to be great with an incredibly wide range of music from Eric Clapton/BB King, infected Mushrooms, Dr Dre, Bonobo, Casiopea, etc.

The Daybreak have now displaced the Aful Performer 5s in my current favorite "Top 3

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**Complete Stage 1 Performance Guide — 12,000+ km on a FBO engine. This engine is rated at 17.7hp at the crank stock, with these mods my bike put down 18.8 at the tire! On average there is a 10-15% drivetrain loss on bikes so you can do the math about how much more power you have over stock

I don't see much about performance modifications in this sub, and the only mods I've done to my bike have been performance-related. After more than 12,000 km, I wanted to put together a guide for everyone.

**A note on longevity first:** Stage 1 will have little to no impact on long-term engine life *as long as you keep up with regular maintenance*. Change your oil every ~1,500 km with a high-quality synthetic. I change my oil filter every 2 oil changes and always run synthetic.

**How I'm defining the stages:**

- **Stage 1** — every performance mod you can do *without opening the engine* (this guide)

- **Stage 2** — upgraded piston and cylinder

- **Stage 3** — full race build: removing weight, modifying the crankcase for a much longer stroke, etc.

**Exhaust**

Get a new header welded to your OEM muffler with a larger diameter, and have the stock muffler hollowed out so it's a straight-through, less restrictive setup. There's really no reason to run a stupid-loud small muffler on these bikes. This route is cheaper, keeps the factory appearance, is only slightly louder than stock, and is more than sufficient.

**Intake**

Skip the cone filter. Just order a larger, thick-walled silicone hose to connect your throttle body to the stock airbox. Enlarge the hole in the airbox to slightly smaller than your new intake tube, then use hot glue or a sealant to get a tight seal.

**Filter element**

The stock paper element is extremely restrictive. Two good replacement options: **K&N** or **DNA**. I went with K&N when I did my build, but knowing what I know now, DNA is the better option because you get a larger filter element.

**Airbox modification (a must)**

I significantly increased the airbox opening and removed the internal snorkel to improve airflow. Now it sounds great and the induction howl is awesome.

**Throttle body**

Be careful here — going too big results in jerky on/off throttle response. I suggest a **32mm** if you're running a 32mm header. It's an upgrade over factory, but the bike is still enjoyable and behaves almost like stock in traffic.

**ECU / Quick shifter**

Many tuners have now unlocked the factory Yamaha ECU, but my suggestion is to keep your stock ECU so you can return the bike to stock if you ever want to. At the moment, the only aftermarket option I'm aware of is the **BRT Juken 5++**. It's kind of a pain to tune because of how things are labeled, but upgrading the ECU means you can run a quick shifter.

Some people recommend a standalone quick shifter kit, but in my opinion that's unnecessary. The Juken 5++ already has an input for one — they just give you a cheap button-style shifter to mount on your handlebar. Instead, I bought the **Yamaha R15 OEM quick shifter**, a high-quality part that fits the chassis with no modification and upgrades the shift forks to a better piece. It has a simple two-wire connection you can splice into the BRT quick shifter harness that comes with the ECU.

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**Tuning notes**

The Juken 5++ lets you install a switch to toggle between 2 ECU profiles while the bike is running. My suggestion: have your tuner keep a slightly richer-than-stock AFR (but still leaner than stoich) under 5,500 rpm, and stoich up to redline. Highway gas mileage is virtually unchanged, city milage saw small drop with normal non spirited driving but you can run a factory map and a tuned map with this ECU.

I only raised my redline by 500 rpm, and I never actually take it there. On deceleration from redline down to ~6k rpm, I add a bit of extra fuel to cool the head and cylinder and to smooth out on/off throttle when I'm on track or riding hard. I've also lowered the fan-on temperature — if the bike is getting hot, it's usually because I'm stuck in traffic.

You can also add a Bluetooth module to connect and tune from your phone through the BRT app. I've played with quick shifter delay, off-throttle fuel enrichment, and timing to get some gurgles and pops on deceleration. In genwyif you know nothing about this have a tuner do it.

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Hopefully this was informative and helpful. It'd be great to get a sticky thread going for performance mods for this bike in the sub.

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Here is the TLDR To the KZ Vibe X after testing them for over a month and letting a friend who is a recording engineer give them a try and hearing his feedback.

The Good: They deliver on their promise of being a unique audio experience. They do a great job of recreating the sensation of being at a live concert or club and the kind of bass tingle you get in your ears when the bass hits. Everything else is a safe and fun. Mids staged in a way that feels a bit recessed but not bad. Highs and treble are safe and non fatiguing and overall the DD from the KZ Zenith does a fine job.

The Bad: The Vibe X claim to go down to 5hz frequency response and after letting an audio engineer friend give them a listen he brought something up that surprised me and totally shifted my perspective of these headphones. A lot of music isn't mixed and mastered to go down that low and because of the tuning you somethings get that thick, yummy, bass that they advertise but on other tracks its just not there. A great example of this is the track "Okay" by Shiba San. The first time I listened to that track with these IEMs i was shocked at how tactile lifelike the bass felt. Other tracks, even in the EDM genre, think Daft Punk, Justice, the KZ Vibe X was fine but nothing special or groundbreaking

https://preview.redd.it/fhdbvqw716ch1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=6ec88d6d808d5f6900dd8e864d013a60a4302f20

Disclaimer Fosi Sent them for me for a video review but I thought might as well do a tldr:

To start let, my preference and where I am coming from with IEMs. I have a broad collection and access to a ton of IEMs in my circle of friends, Simgot, Crinear, Dunu, Kiwi Ears, KZ, CCA, Roseselsa. My preference is something close to a "new meta" sound with a slight lift in the subbass and mid-bass, well defined mids that do a good job of separating vocals. I'm not overly treble sensitive the way others can be but I can occasionally find some IEMs that are treble centric to be a bit fatiguing.

Flac files used for testing: Casiopea, Tool, Muse, Daft Punk, Fred Again, Infected Mushroom, Bonobo, Dr. Dre, Primus, 50 Cent.

DACs Used: Fosi MD3, Kinera CD2, Snowsky Echo Mini (used as both a DAP & DAC)

Build & Design: nicely machine aluminum shell that is well contoured to fit in your ear, I find the shell design to be comfortable although they are a bit large laterally.

Included Accessories: This might be the secret to these IEMs, 3 sets of eartips and 2 sets of nozzles really let you tune them to your liking. The oback back/large vented design of these really seems to be sensitive to changes in nozzles and tips which I really like as it allows me to dial them in to my preference.

Sound: I went with the bass heavy black nozzles and started out with deep bass ear tips but later switched those out to bass ear tips. I found these to be an excellent all around IEM. I was worried that the snare drums on "Still Dre" might come off a bit harsh but with my particular set up i found bass to be satisfyingly thumpy, vocals were well separated and while some IEMs can make Snoop Dogs voice distance these did a good job of representing vocals for hiphop.

When listening to Casiopea Mint Jams album I found these to be extremely pleasurable and they felt incredibly airy, cymbal hits seemed to come from the sides of the stage with the synth and guitar coming in front and center. Surprisingly detailed for a single DD iem when listening to busy tracks it felt like all of the instruments were on a wide stage in front of me. Jazz guitars felt really organic and natural

Listening to "Rumble" by friend again the bass drop at the beginning has a lot of weight and atmosphere and the large imaging does a surprising job of delivering you that thumpy bass will still giving you a tremendous amount of detail in the low pitched vocal sample in the track. If I was only listening to electronic music I might change the eartips to the deep bass but I found that the deep bass tips could take the thick chunky bass and make it a bit muddy depending on the track.

Overall these reminded me a of an upgraded and premium version of the Kiwi Ears Chorus with better treble extension (if you look up the FRC these 2 iems are quite similar to you get to the upper mids). I really enjoyed customizing them to my preference and I think that if you're new to the world of IEMs and don't know what your preference is yet these are a fantastic option because they can be customized quite a bit and do a good job of being a well balanced jack of all trades. You can watch the video review here

https://preview.redd.it/rfhbfdgq06ch1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=15f74e9029f249e1e70d5e63bfffd0c0b8df6aad

Disclaimer Fosi Sent them for me for a video review but I thought might as well do a tldr:

To start let, my preference and where I am coming from with IEMs. I have a broad collection and access to a ton of IEMs in my circle of friends, Simgot, Crinear, Dunu, Kiwi Ears, KZ, CCA, Roseselsa. My preference is something close to a "new meta" sound with a slight lift in the subbass and mid-bass, well defined mids that do a good job of separating vocals. I'm not overly treble sensitive the way others can be but I can occasionally find some IEMs that are treble centric to be a bit fatiguing.

Flac files used for testing: Casiopea, Tool, Muse, Daft Punk, Fred Again, Infected Mushroom, Bonobo, Dr. Dre, Primus, 50 Cent.

DACs Used: Fosi MD3, Kinera CD2, Snowsky Echo Mini (used as both a DAP & DAC)

Build & Design: nicely machine aluminum shell that is well contoured to fit in your ear, I find the shell design to be comfortable although they are a bit large laterally.

Included Accessories: This might be the secret to these IEMs, 3 sets of eartips and 2 sets of nozzles really let you tune them to your liking. The oback back/large vented design of these really seems to be sensitive to changes in nozzles and tips which I really like as it allows me to dial them in to my preference.

Sound: I went with the bass heavy black nozzles and started out with deep bass ear tips but later switched those out to bass ear tips. I found these to be an excellent all around IEM. I was worried that the snare drums on "Still Dre" might come off a bit harsh but with my particular set up i found bass to be satisfyingly thumpy, vocals were well separated and while some IEMs can make Snoop Dogs voice distance these did a good job of representing vocals for hiphop.

When listening to Casiopea Mint Jams album I found these to be extremely pleasurable and they felt incredibly airy, cymbal hits seemed to come from the sides of the stage with the synth and guitar coming in front and center. Surprisingly detailed for a single DD iem when listening to busy tracks it felt like all of the instruments were on a wide stage in front of me. Jazz guitars felt really organic and natural

Listening to "Rumble" by friend again the bass drop at the beginning has a lot of weight and atmosphere and the large imaging does a surprising job of delivering you that thumpy bass will still giving you a tremendous amount of detail in the low pitched vocal sample in the track. If I was only listening to electronic music I might change the eartips to the deep bass but I found that the deep bass tips could take the thick chunky bass and make it a bit muddy depending on the track.

Overall these reminded me a of an upgraded and premium version of the Kiwi Ears Chorus with better treble extension (if you look up the FRC these 2 iems are quite similar to you get to the upper mids). I really enjoyed customizing them to my preference and I think that if you're new to the world of IEMs and don't know what your preference is yet these are a fantastic option because they can be customized quite a bit and do a good job of being a well balanced jack of all trades. You can watch the video review here

M1 Macbook Pro/ Resolve Studio (paid)

M1 Max, 64GB of RAM

Reference files are on external SSD

H265 From my A7Siii

Timeline is 1/2, Render Cache set to Smart

Timeline is a simple talking head YouTube Video with various B-Roll over top or multi cam with 2 h.265 source files

Performance before the update was buttery smooth even with render caching off. First stable 21 update was even worse, this new update has been a bit better but still its a stuttery juttery mess. Nearly impossible to use trim edit because of how laggy it is.

Edit 1: I forgot to add that i will occassionally get a clip that plays without audio, i will click the space bar to play timeline and have a 5-10 second delay along with other issues

Edit 2: I have tried these "fixes" and they have slightly helped but its still a laggy mess compared to Resolve 20