Short impression of few gears I managed to try at CJ Singapore 2024
1. UM Mason Soleil Tombe
Great looking iem but coming from Red Halo (RH), its rather disappointing. Its not an upgrade i wanted. Imaging is an improvement and treble is better controlled but it sounds muffled compared to RH. It also misses RH mid magic.
2. Fitear Creator, owned by @RonaldS86
Lovely iem with outstanding clean vocal. Very2 capable bass, huge soundstage and totl details.
It also feels very solid physically.
3. 7th Acoustics Asteria
Supernova on steroids. It still maintain Supernova safe tuning and sweet vocal but with bigger and punchier bass - and totl details.
4. Noble Apollo
Amazing wireless headphone and for me, it dethrones Bathys as the best bluetooth headphone. Comfortable, very good bass and excellent instrument separation. Not sure if its placebo effect, but it sounds slightly incoherent where bass and upper mid feels to come from diff direction. Tbh, it doesnt distract me enough to be able to enjoy it.
5. AVARA custom
Beautiful shell, simply piece of art! The owner, Alvon explained, its made from real wood and the process of making one takes 1 week.
6. Luxury Precision E7
Possibly the best R2R dap I’ve ever heard. It has that smooth laid back while still being detailed and snappy.
Its surprisingly heavy though. It’s not much lighter than Shanling M9+ that I have.
7. Symphonium Titan
Bassy iem tuned right. I really love the subbass quantity and bass texture - without muddying the mid. Treble is also sparkle enough but non offensive. Possibly the star of the show for me.
8. Melodic Artification Alter Ego
Beautiful iem from a new Chinese company. It offers 2x tuning: one is warm-neutral and another is warm warm. I prefer the later tuning. Tight and fast bass, spacious with nice mid.
9. Elysian Pilgrim Noir & OG
Og feels like a baby Anni. Tuned to be more neutral with slightly more forward upper mid but without being sibilance. It’s the best iem under $500 I’ve ever heard.
Noir is bassier and warmer - treble isnt as forward. Its more fun that og. Bass texture is definitely a step up from the og.
10. Subtonic Storm & Symp Sovereign 8w Combo
I’ve tried Sym Sov 8w proto before but the connectors were still 3d printed and too large - so I didnt manage to get good fit.
Now, with the final connectors, it fits alot better. It’s still a heavy cable (and expensive) but the sound improvement is amazing. It sounds grandeur, the soundstage clears up, imaging is more precise. Excellent companion to Storm.
11. ATH Narukami & W2022
Firstly, thanks
@RonaldS86 for asking me to come along - since I forgot to book one.
Its definitely the most expensive headphone setup I’ve ever tried at eye watering $100k (for amp + headphone).
The music played was the usual Hotel California which i listened plenty of times before (didnt we all do at one point in this hobby?).
The intro was crazy good - the guitar strum sounds so natural and vivid. When the vocal came in, it sounds so so sweet and natural. Soundstage is spacious. Tuning wise, its more mid focus and bass is slightly shy.
Next, I tried W2022 - unfortunately, i dont field it pairs well with the amp. Compared to Naru, its bass is more forward and punch hard but it sounds muffled and compressed.
While it was great to have opportuniy to try all of these gears, for me, the highlight was to meet many members here in person: @AxLvR,
@metaljem77,
@HiFiHawaii808,
@Deezel177 and others. It made my 1st CJ experience memorable