The Black Star is a wonderful IEM that is versatile with many genres. The mid-range is where these shine - the bass and treble are exciting, yet not overly sharp/unnatural. They are pretty close to the Solaris I dreamt of - slightly less edgy, but holographic - great stereo imaging.

It kinda bums me out that a lot of people use these nice DAPs into another dongle. It was more common when the iPod had the 30-pin line-out, but I feel DAPs have improved from then - so why the dang dongles :D Also bums me that we are comparing dongles to DAPs. :(

Man... this and the Cayin N3Ultra are both really calling me.. Warren - I'm sure you've heard both :D

Any updates on 'The Gadget'? I keep thinking of stringed instruments in my head and the gadget always pops-up in my mind.

That is what I see with the ie900. The ie600 has a foam behind the grill and you can't see the driver or housing.

same :D

Gotcha. :)

Great points - Didn't realize the OI was that high on the M5U. I'd like a DAP with decent eq (g.eq or peq) and nothing 'gimped' on the SE / BAL. outputs. Are there any DAPs that is a full FPGA system for their DAC? Would be nice to have firmware options that could add features at later...

WOW! Awesome deal

Good questions. The N3U seems unique to me, in that it offers the tubes + simple interface + price. Does the similar priced Shanling M5U compete in sonic technicality or just priced with the 'extras' (Operating system, etc.)?

behind the nozzle and drivers. I can clearly see into the housing of the ie900, but not in the ie600

Are those the Drop X version? Cool to see them still getting use. I like how you have the tip flush with the nozzle. The shell design just never allowed them to sit in my ears right.

Are there any similar DAPs that I should be cross-shopping when looking at the N3Ultra? Main IEMs are IER-Z1R, IE900, LCD-i4, Campfire sensitive set. (OG Andro, etc.)

C'mon new day - let's get Bloom'n - "Todays prize...... A NEW CAR!"

Does anyone have side-by-side pictures of the IE600 and IE900 nozzles? My IE600 has foam behind, but the IE900 does not - is that normal?

I feel ya. Still with my JH13 FP and Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor customs. CIEMs were the only way to go back then if you wanted something above & beyond consumer grade audio. It'd be cool if I could send in my JH13 and get the internals upgraded.

The DC-Elite and DITA Project M stand out to me. I'll need to read up on them.

West Coasters understand "Siiiiiiiick bruh". What 1 product would you recommend in the $500-$1000 range - anything - what does Bloom say? How about the same for $0-500?

Did hisenior ever e-mail you a shipping update or did they just show up? Curious how these will differ from the AKG N5005 that is a 'big name' going with a somewhat similar tuning.

I had to reset a few passwords to get all 5. All I want is some candy that sometimes gets snuck into orders. :)

:wave: Campfire - please consider me if you decide to have review units of your headphones. I've been patient - it's been a couple minutes since the Cascade release. :pray:

I believe (my personal assumption) that the very first run of Andromeda's with the original machined hardware and more physical egdes/angles had different drivers somewhere in the design. There was something special about that model that I don't think my Snow White version fully is...

Campfire Audio isn't for you then. MANY special editions. Consumerism is high in headphonery.

The sound of the mechanical driver as air pressure on the front of the drivers builds and has nowhere to go on the back of the driver - so the driver makes interesting noises that people call "Flex".

With shorter tips, do you also get a deeper fit? Are they more tip dependent or depth? The Azla Sedna Max's are a pretty shallow fit, even the xlastic ones can get a deep fit with a more shallow + big bore tip.