solstice15
I occasionally get asked about my impressions of certain headphones (mainly IEMs) I've owned, so I've decided to add them to my profile page...in what amounts to stream of consciousness format.
I listen to primarily to trance (~65% of my music), rap (15%), Pop, Metal, Whatever's Catchy (10%), classical chamber music and concertos (10%)
I've been progressing through the hobby as my means have progressed since high school, slowly for the past 13 years
The two factors that have always signified a new "tier/level" of headphone (eg. HD650 --> HD800) to my ears have been Resolution/Detail and to a lesser degree something that's a bit harder to put a word on as I'm not as well versed as most in audiophile lingo: weight/presence/visceral feeling of notes across the spectrum.
I'm pretty treble sensitive and absolutely hate sibilance.
Over-Ear
Focal Utopia: By far the best headphone I've heard. Before I got these, I'd been spent a couple years of satisfaction with my combo of LCD-3, HD800, and TH900 wondering if I could ever hear anything better. These are in a different class, they do everything (with the exception soundstage width) better than anything I've heard to this point, much better. With respect to soundstage, I disagree with what seems to be the majority opinion. It's not as wide as the HD800, but nothing I've heard is, I think it's wide enough. Also, the added detail, speed, and spatial resolution in a lot cases plays tricks on my mind and makes the soundstage sound immense (particularly with trance and metal), it's primarily with lower BPM rap that I feel the stage closes in to its baseline. I was living in a thin walled apartment when I first got these, and there were several instances where I snatched them off my head because I thought was accidentally playing through my speakers.
Sony MDR-Z1R: I had these for 2-3 years and I don't think I ever really bonded with them. This is probably because I got them after the Utopias and my usage case for closed backs ended when I moved into a solo apartment. That said, they are the best closed backs I've heard, but apart from from poppy songs with female vocals (the upper mids/lower treble had a euphonic/colored quality that was pleasing at times) I never found myself grabbing these instead of the Utopias. From a resolution/detail and visceral perspective these were better than everything below and therefore, to my ears, better overall despite me not gelling with them.
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Audeze LCD-3 - smooth, lush, weighty, makes anything sound epic; can make "Oops I did it again" give me goosebumps...Could listen for hours if the damn headband wasn't slowly putting a dent in my skull. More resolving (slightly) and visceral than anything below and therefore better, to my ears
-------------------------
Sennheiser HD800 - Holy soundstage...the most resolving of it's era, as far as what I'd heard, stays coherent no matter what you throw at it BPM wise, almost as good as the Utopia in this respect. I still keep them around for classical and acapellas even though they've been bested significantly for most of what I listen to.
Fostex TH900 - Fun, V shaped signature done with detail/resolution that puts them at this level. For my genres I usually preferred these to the HD800, but the Treble was fatiguing so I could only listen to them for an hour at a time, if that.
Beyerdynamic T1 - Incredibly smooth and non-fatiguing, but overall a bit dull, very safe, like the volvo of this tier. Never got a rise out of me, but it's objectively (resolution/detail etc..) a quality headphone.
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Hifiman HE-500 - Not really relevant in this day and age, put they hold a special place in my heart as they were the first headphone I heard "airy" treble with, which I believe is one of the basic things that set more TOTL level headphones apart from the quality but middle of the road (eg HD650) headphones at that time (~2013)
Can't really provide reliable impressions below this as it's been years
---------------------------------
IEMs
My Noble K10s took me through the senior years of medical school and my first year of residency while, unbeknownst to me, the TOTL IEM scene expanded greatly. Before the recent explosion of TOTL IEMs, I felt IEMs were always a compromise, but now in addition to the convenience they are in a lot of cases a preference.
Vision Ears US Tour Impressions (EVE, VE8, Elysium)
I tried the Eve first. It was a fairly impressive all arounder for it's pricepoint, but the resolution is a step below current totl offerings, understandably.
Next I tried the VE8 and was immediately impressed. Comparing to the U18t, which I think is a good reference point, the VE8 was more engaging and musical. The mids/vocals were forward without being shouty, easy highs with no harshness/sibilance, and mid/sub bass were greater in quantity and impact without being sloppy. Resolution and detail retrieval were on par with current totl offerings, but not quite at the level of the U18t.
Finally I tried the Elysium. I was initially confused and thought they were malfunctioning. They demanded a lot more juice and I could've sworn there was some channel mismatch which either with time resolved itself, I got used to, or simply didn't exist. In any case, I set them down after an hour unimpressed and went back to the VE8. In retrospect, I think my initial impression may have been due to listening fatigue, because I was immediately sold when I listened to them again the next day with fresh ears.
They have all the detail and resolution of the U18t with greater texture/body across the spectrum, especially the mids. I thought the bass was plentiful and more visceral and present compared to the U18t. Overall this was a musical/fun signature that meshed very well with my varied test playlist (mostly trance/rap with some pop, rock, metal, and classical) and recent favorites. I have no idea how, but they seemed to change with each track, being what they needed to be for that particular track. The VE8 and U18t both sounded somewhat dull in comparison, great, but missing something that the Elysium has.
I also intermittently listened to my Trio's. They are my bass specialist at this point, and predictably mopped the floor with the others in the bass category. They're my high class bass heavy/easy listening iem's, but not what I use for all around/critical listening.
64 Audio Tia Trio: For my genres, these are these the best IEMs I've heard thus far. They are very easy and non-fatiguing to listen to, which I think can mask their brilliance if you haven't spent enough time with them. The easy listening is due to a few things: 0 Sibilance, 0 Harshness in the treble, Comfortable relatively smaller profile for a universal IEM, coherent signature, overall slightly warmer than neutral. These have absolute TOTL (as far as what I've heard so far) resolution and detail, remaining coherent no matter what I throw at them, including 140 bpm multilayered trance songs. In this same vein, the highs are wonderful (not something a say commonly as a treble sensitive person), sparkly and euphonic when they should be, pacey/analytical when they should be, I've found myself getting lost in cymbal and rapid snare hit lines in rap songs where I didn't previously notice them at all. On the other in of the spectrum, the bass is also executed extremely well (important for my genres), visceral slam and impact in situations that call for it (who knew Avril Lavigne's Sk8er Boi has a recurring subbass hit?!), tight with quick decay in others (fast songs driven by a midbass line...a lot of my collection). Overall the bass is definitely north of neutral in a very satisfying way, but the aforementioned highs and serviceable mids ensure that everything stays incredibly coherent. The soundstage is another highlight, fairly wide, on par with the Tia Fourte.
QDC Anole VX: Just got these a couple weeks ago, so I'm still figuring them out (especially with the switches...and I had to rush order an alternate cable as the stock one was painful due to excessive memory component), but so far they sound amazing. On initial listen the thing that stuck out the most was the clarity. It's a bit uncanny, because the other IEMs I've heard are in no way distorted, but these just sound clearer. They have top level resolution/detail and the mids are a highlight, great for male and female vocals, slightly forward without being shouty or harsh. The bass is not as impactful as the Trio's or IER-Z1R (both DD), but is in no way anemic and more than satisfies my needs. Plenty of sub and midbass, handles speedy staccato bass extremely well, better than the aforementioned. The treble is done well (caveat: I've been listening mostly with the treble switch up), a bit more air compared to the trio, but less sparkle, non-fatiguing and without sibilance even with the switch up. That said I prefer the Trio treble as it's more fun, this is more clinical/referencey. I tried the mid switch up and I felt it brought vocals into shouty territory, I haven't tried the bass switch, as I found the bass to be enough at baseline, I've mostly been listening with the treble switch up as I feel it adds to the air and sparkle without perceivable drawbacks. Overall still figuring them out, but they're different enough from the Trio's and seem to complement each other well, so I think I'll keep both for the time being.
Sony IER Z1R: When first got these I was immediately impressed. Within an hour of listening I was ready to list my Trios for sale, but as time went by I found myself preferring the Trios. It was very close and I'm still not 100% sure why I prefer the Trio, but I do. The bass is tuned similar to the Trios with a bit more body on the Z1R and a bit more texture and versatility with the Trio. Mids were rich, slightly coloring and adding gravitas to the vocals. The highs were ok, appropriately airy/sparkly for an IEM in this class, but nothing to write home about. The resolution and detail is TOTL, but just a touch below the Trio/Fourte and Anole.
64 Audio Tia Fourte: I feel like I wasn't the target audience for this IEM. Resolution and detail are absolute TOTL, but the Trios, in my opinion, match the Fourte in this regard. The soundstage was impressive, but also in my opinion matched by the Trio. The bass is not anemic, but not as visceral or fun to listen to compared to the Trio. The mids were appropriate for level. The treble was a bit hot, no sibilance and not too fatiguing, but not as pleasant to listen to as the Trio, it felt like if I listened too close I might get stung by the treble bees. Admittedly, the Trios might've spoiled my impression here, as every time I had these with me at work or away, I found myself wishing I'd brought the Trios instead. Objectively, they are an amazing IEM, just perhaps not so much for my particular taste.
Massdrop x Empire Ears Zeus: From a resolution/detail perspective alone, I feel these belong in the same category as the above, but the treble was just painful. I tried different tips, volumes, etc..but I couldn't tame it. I feel like this may be my treble sensitivity coming into play as I don't recall any of the reviews I read prior to buying mentioning particularly unpleasant treble.
---------------------
Noble K10U: These were my daily driver for a few years prior to being awoken to more contemporary IEMs. They suited my preferences pretty well. Bass north of neutral, top class resolution at the time (outclassed nowadays). But, slightly hot treble, so they did get fatiguing after a few hours on a plane for instance. I sold my original set, but then bought the Massdrop version on sale for nostalgia and to have something quality to share with loved ones occasionally. Massdrop version sounds exactly the same.
Noble Encore: Similar to the K10 but a bit more referency and a bit less fun
Noble Katana: Slightly more resolution/detail compared to the above, less satisfying bass, boring for my genres
-----------------------
Heir Audio 8: The first time I heard airy treble with an IEM, solid bass, slightly forward mids, no sibilance or treble harshness. I have fond memories of this one, they're now on somewhat permanent loan to a good friend.
Shure SE846: Impressive bass for an IEM at the time of release, impressive resolution/detail for an IEM at the time of release
I listen to primarily to trance (~65% of my music), rap (15%), Pop, Metal, Whatever's Catchy (10%), classical chamber music and concertos (10%)
I've been progressing through the hobby as my means have progressed since high school, slowly for the past 13 years
The two factors that have always signified a new "tier/level" of headphone (eg. HD650 --> HD800) to my ears have been Resolution/Detail and to a lesser degree something that's a bit harder to put a word on as I'm not as well versed as most in audiophile lingo: weight/presence/visceral feeling of notes across the spectrum.
I'm pretty treble sensitive and absolutely hate sibilance.
Over-Ear
Focal Utopia: By far the best headphone I've heard. Before I got these, I'd been spent a couple years of satisfaction with my combo of LCD-3, HD800, and TH900 wondering if I could ever hear anything better. These are in a different class, they do everything (with the exception soundstage width) better than anything I've heard to this point, much better. With respect to soundstage, I disagree with what seems to be the majority opinion. It's not as wide as the HD800, but nothing I've heard is, I think it's wide enough. Also, the added detail, speed, and spatial resolution in a lot cases plays tricks on my mind and makes the soundstage sound immense (particularly with trance and metal), it's primarily with lower BPM rap that I feel the stage closes in to its baseline. I was living in a thin walled apartment when I first got these, and there were several instances where I snatched them off my head because I thought was accidentally playing through my speakers.
Sony MDR-Z1R: I had these for 2-3 years and I don't think I ever really bonded with them. This is probably because I got them after the Utopias and my usage case for closed backs ended when I moved into a solo apartment. That said, they are the best closed backs I've heard, but apart from from poppy songs with female vocals (the upper mids/lower treble had a euphonic/colored quality that was pleasing at times) I never found myself grabbing these instead of the Utopias. From a resolution/detail and visceral perspective these were better than everything below and therefore, to my ears, better overall despite me not gelling with them.
-------------------------
Audeze LCD-3 - smooth, lush, weighty, makes anything sound epic; can make "Oops I did it again" give me goosebumps...Could listen for hours if the damn headband wasn't slowly putting a dent in my skull. More resolving (slightly) and visceral than anything below and therefore better, to my ears
-------------------------
Sennheiser HD800 - Holy soundstage...the most resolving of it's era, as far as what I'd heard, stays coherent no matter what you throw at it BPM wise, almost as good as the Utopia in this respect. I still keep them around for classical and acapellas even though they've been bested significantly for most of what I listen to.
Fostex TH900 - Fun, V shaped signature done with detail/resolution that puts them at this level. For my genres I usually preferred these to the HD800, but the Treble was fatiguing so I could only listen to them for an hour at a time, if that.
Beyerdynamic T1 - Incredibly smooth and non-fatiguing, but overall a bit dull, very safe, like the volvo of this tier. Never got a rise out of me, but it's objectively (resolution/detail etc..) a quality headphone.
-------------------------
Hifiman HE-500 - Not really relevant in this day and age, put they hold a special place in my heart as they were the first headphone I heard "airy" treble with, which I believe is one of the basic things that set more TOTL level headphones apart from the quality but middle of the road (eg HD650) headphones at that time (~2013)
Can't really provide reliable impressions below this as it's been years
---------------------------------
IEMs
My Noble K10s took me through the senior years of medical school and my first year of residency while, unbeknownst to me, the TOTL IEM scene expanded greatly. Before the recent explosion of TOTL IEMs, I felt IEMs were always a compromise, but now in addition to the convenience they are in a lot of cases a preference.
Vision Ears US Tour Impressions (EVE, VE8, Elysium)
I tried the Eve first. It was a fairly impressive all arounder for it's pricepoint, but the resolution is a step below current totl offerings, understandably.
Next I tried the VE8 and was immediately impressed. Comparing to the U18t, which I think is a good reference point, the VE8 was more engaging and musical. The mids/vocals were forward without being shouty, easy highs with no harshness/sibilance, and mid/sub bass were greater in quantity and impact without being sloppy. Resolution and detail retrieval were on par with current totl offerings, but not quite at the level of the U18t.
Finally I tried the Elysium. I was initially confused and thought they were malfunctioning. They demanded a lot more juice and I could've sworn there was some channel mismatch which either with time resolved itself, I got used to, or simply didn't exist. In any case, I set them down after an hour unimpressed and went back to the VE8. In retrospect, I think my initial impression may have been due to listening fatigue, because I was immediately sold when I listened to them again the next day with fresh ears.
They have all the detail and resolution of the U18t with greater texture/body across the spectrum, especially the mids. I thought the bass was plentiful and more visceral and present compared to the U18t. Overall this was a musical/fun signature that meshed very well with my varied test playlist (mostly trance/rap with some pop, rock, metal, and classical) and recent favorites. I have no idea how, but they seemed to change with each track, being what they needed to be for that particular track. The VE8 and U18t both sounded somewhat dull in comparison, great, but missing something that the Elysium has.
I also intermittently listened to my Trio's. They are my bass specialist at this point, and predictably mopped the floor with the others in the bass category. They're my high class bass heavy/easy listening iem's, but not what I use for all around/critical listening.
64 Audio Tia Trio: For my genres, these are these the best IEMs I've heard thus far. They are very easy and non-fatiguing to listen to, which I think can mask their brilliance if you haven't spent enough time with them. The easy listening is due to a few things: 0 Sibilance, 0 Harshness in the treble, Comfortable relatively smaller profile for a universal IEM, coherent signature, overall slightly warmer than neutral. These have absolute TOTL (as far as what I've heard so far) resolution and detail, remaining coherent no matter what I throw at them, including 140 bpm multilayered trance songs. In this same vein, the highs are wonderful (not something a say commonly as a treble sensitive person), sparkly and euphonic when they should be, pacey/analytical when they should be, I've found myself getting lost in cymbal and rapid snare hit lines in rap songs where I didn't previously notice them at all. On the other in of the spectrum, the bass is also executed extremely well (important for my genres), visceral slam and impact in situations that call for it (who knew Avril Lavigne's Sk8er Boi has a recurring subbass hit?!), tight with quick decay in others (fast songs driven by a midbass line...a lot of my collection). Overall the bass is definitely north of neutral in a very satisfying way, but the aforementioned highs and serviceable mids ensure that everything stays incredibly coherent. The soundstage is another highlight, fairly wide, on par with the Tia Fourte.
QDC Anole VX: Just got these a couple weeks ago, so I'm still figuring them out (especially with the switches...and I had to rush order an alternate cable as the stock one was painful due to excessive memory component), but so far they sound amazing. On initial listen the thing that stuck out the most was the clarity. It's a bit uncanny, because the other IEMs I've heard are in no way distorted, but these just sound clearer. They have top level resolution/detail and the mids are a highlight, great for male and female vocals, slightly forward without being shouty or harsh. The bass is not as impactful as the Trio's or IER-Z1R (both DD), but is in no way anemic and more than satisfies my needs. Plenty of sub and midbass, handles speedy staccato bass extremely well, better than the aforementioned. The treble is done well (caveat: I've been listening mostly with the treble switch up), a bit more air compared to the trio, but less sparkle, non-fatiguing and without sibilance even with the switch up. That said I prefer the Trio treble as it's more fun, this is more clinical/referencey. I tried the mid switch up and I felt it brought vocals into shouty territory, I haven't tried the bass switch, as I found the bass to be enough at baseline, I've mostly been listening with the treble switch up as I feel it adds to the air and sparkle without perceivable drawbacks. Overall still figuring them out, but they're different enough from the Trio's and seem to complement each other well, so I think I'll keep both for the time being.
Sony IER Z1R: When first got these I was immediately impressed. Within an hour of listening I was ready to list my Trios for sale, but as time went by I found myself preferring the Trios. It was very close and I'm still not 100% sure why I prefer the Trio, but I do. The bass is tuned similar to the Trios with a bit more body on the Z1R and a bit more texture and versatility with the Trio. Mids were rich, slightly coloring and adding gravitas to the vocals. The highs were ok, appropriately airy/sparkly for an IEM in this class, but nothing to write home about. The resolution and detail is TOTL, but just a touch below the Trio/Fourte and Anole.
64 Audio Tia Fourte: I feel like I wasn't the target audience for this IEM. Resolution and detail are absolute TOTL, but the Trios, in my opinion, match the Fourte in this regard. The soundstage was impressive, but also in my opinion matched by the Trio. The bass is not anemic, but not as visceral or fun to listen to compared to the Trio. The mids were appropriate for level. The treble was a bit hot, no sibilance and not too fatiguing, but not as pleasant to listen to as the Trio, it felt like if I listened too close I might get stung by the treble bees. Admittedly, the Trios might've spoiled my impression here, as every time I had these with me at work or away, I found myself wishing I'd brought the Trios instead. Objectively, they are an amazing IEM, just perhaps not so much for my particular taste.
Massdrop x Empire Ears Zeus: From a resolution/detail perspective alone, I feel these belong in the same category as the above, but the treble was just painful. I tried different tips, volumes, etc..but I couldn't tame it. I feel like this may be my treble sensitivity coming into play as I don't recall any of the reviews I read prior to buying mentioning particularly unpleasant treble.
---------------------
Noble K10U: These were my daily driver for a few years prior to being awoken to more contemporary IEMs. They suited my preferences pretty well. Bass north of neutral, top class resolution at the time (outclassed nowadays). But, slightly hot treble, so they did get fatiguing after a few hours on a plane for instance. I sold my original set, but then bought the Massdrop version on sale for nostalgia and to have something quality to share with loved ones occasionally. Massdrop version sounds exactly the same.
Noble Encore: Similar to the K10 but a bit more referency and a bit less fun
Noble Katana: Slightly more resolution/detail compared to the above, less satisfying bass, boring for my genres
-----------------------
Heir Audio 8: The first time I heard airy treble with an IEM, solid bass, slightly forward mids, no sibilance or treble harshness. I have fond memories of this one, they're now on somewhat permanent loan to a good friend.
Shure SE846: Impressive bass for an IEM at the time of release, impressive resolution/detail for an IEM at the time of release
- Headphone Inventory
- Focal Utopia, Fostex THX00, Ultrasone Pro 900, PSB M4U1
Aroma Audio Jewel, Empire Ears Legend X CIEM (In progress), Heir Audio 8.0, Noble Savant, Westone 4r, UE900, Sennheiser IE80, Westone 3, UE Triple Fi 10
Past: 64 Audio Tia Trio, Empire Ears Legend X SE, Empire Ears Odin, Vision Ears Elysium, 64 Audio U18t, QDC Anole VX-S, Sony IER-Z1R, Sony MDR-Z1R, 64 Audio Tia Fourte, Noble K10UA, Massdrop x Noble K10, Massdrop x Empire Ears Zeus, Noble Kaiser Encore, Fostex TH900, Audeze LCD-3F, Audeze LCD-2.2F, Shure SE846, Sennheiser HD 800, Beyerdynamic T1, HiFiMAN HE-500, Fostex TH600, Sennheiser HD555, Sennheiser HD650, Audio Technica ATH-AD900, Sennheiser IE800, Tralucent 1plus2, Noble Katana
- Headphone Amp Inventory
- Woo Audio WA7
Astell&Kern SP1000m
Past:
Black Schiit Lyr and Bifrost
Chord Mojo
Astell&Kern SR-15
Signature
Current Headphones: Audeze CRBN, ZMF Verite Closed Ltd Stabilized Maple, Focal Utopia, Fostex THX00, PSB M4U1, Ultrasone Pro 900
Current IEMs: Empire Ears Raven, Aroma Audio Jewel, Empire Ears Legend X CIEM, Heir Audio 8.0, Noble Savant, Westone 4r, UE900, Sennheiser IE80, Westone 3, UE Triple Fi 10
DAC/AMPs: HeadAmp GS-X Mini, Mjolnir Audio KGSSHV, Denafrips Pontus II, Shanling M9, Cayin RU7
Cables: Eletech Ode to Laura, Eletech Raphael, PWAudio August Fun
Current IEMs: Empire Ears Raven, Aroma Audio Jewel, Empire Ears Legend X CIEM, Heir Audio 8.0, Noble Savant, Westone 4r, UE900, Sennheiser IE80, Westone 3, UE Triple Fi 10
DAC/AMPs: HeadAmp GS-X Mini, Mjolnir Audio KGSSHV, Denafrips Pontus II, Shanling M9, Cayin RU7
Cables: Eletech Ode to Laura, Eletech Raphael, PWAudio August Fun
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