Brand New : Tralucent Audio Ref.1 Too & original Ref.1
Aug 26, 2014 at 5:28 PM Post #1,591 of 4,426
  ^In the event my previous post came off as obnoxious, I feel the need to expand. This will likely be my last post on the subject, unless I'm responding to something else.
 
 
I really don't believe in burn in. I've had enough neurology courses to understand the power of the brain, so I feel that "burn in" is more or less a symptom of the brain adjusting and compensating for certain areas of sound. For instance, I remember how bass-light and sibilant my GR07 sounded when I upgraded from the SE-215. It was jarring, and made me question what I had just spent my $150 ( a large sum for me at the time) on. People on the threads convinced me that I just needed time to let the drivers settle. 200 hours of burn in and listening later, I could hear the goodness everyone was talking about. Burn in was real! Then I went back to the SE215 for a week while my GR07 was sent for repairs in China. You can guess how my GR07 sounded when it came back...like crap once more. As for the Ref 1 and burn in, I'm pretty sure SoundFreaq commented that the Ref's drivers underwent extremely strenuous testing, and they came out without any problems. So why then, would normal music levels affect what they sound like so dramatically?
 
I don't doubt that the Ref 1 sounded better to you after a while. Hell, it started to for me until I really started A/B'ing with my other gear. That's when flaws begin to show.
 
For the record, I thought Gavin's updated 1plus2 fixed the harshness issue. The treble was smooth yet brilliant, and the lifted sub-bass made it perfect down there. The only issue was that the lower mids didn't have much body because of the V signature. The Ref 1 still doesn't fix it because most of the emphasis is in the upper midrange, which creates another localized V shape between the large mid-bass bump and the large upper midrange spike.
 
I don't tend to wax poetic about IEMs. Only the Piano Forte VIII has made me do that, so I apologize (not really) if my impressions come off as matter of fact. It's my scientific background that requires I write the way I do. Throughout this whole thread, I don't think I had seen one concrete set of impressions that made me understand what the signature of the Ref 1 is. SoundFreaq's thoughts, as beautiful as they are, were as solid as pixie dust when it came to trying to know anything about the Ref, other than it sounds nothing like the 1plus2. It wasn't until I heard them myself that I went.."Oh." Really, the only reason I was interested in hearing these was because Gavin made them.

I think you have reported what you have perceived in impression of the Ref.1 and everyone has their fair space here to express their opinions.  No need to get everyone's agreement on what you perceived.
 
My reference to my impressions on the Ref.1 are the two home systems (one sold and one current) that I owned and you may find it in my profile (of the current).  I'd say Ref.1 is awesome for what it can do within such a small unit.
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 6:45 PM Post #1,592 of 4,426
  ^In the event my previous post came off as obnoxious, I feel the need to expand. This will likely be my last post on the subject, unless I'm responding to something else.
 
 
I really don't believe in burn in. I've had enough neurology courses to understand the power of the brain, so I feel that "burn in" is more or less a symptom of the brain adjusting and compensating for certain areas of sound. For instance, I remember how bass-light and sibilant my GR07 sounded when I upgraded from the SE-215. It was jarring, and made me question what I had just spent my $150 ( a large sum for me at the time) on. People on the threads convinced me that I just needed time to let the drivers settle. 200 hours of burn in and listening later, I could hear the goodness everyone was talking about. Burn in was real! Then I went back to the SE215 for a week while my GR07 was sent for repairs in China. You can guess how my GR07 sounded when it came back...like crap once more. As for the Ref 1 and burn in, I'm pretty sure SoundFreaq commented that the Ref's drivers underwent extremely strenuous testing, and they came out without any problems. So why then, would normal music levels affect what they sound like so dramatically?
 
I don't doubt that the Ref 1 sounded better to you after a while. Hell, it started to for me until I really started A/B'ing with my other gear. That's when flaws begin to show.
 
For the record, I thought Gavin's updated 1plus2 fixed the harshness issue. The treble was smooth yet brilliant, and the lifted sub-bass made it perfect down there. The only issue was that the lower mids didn't have much body because of the V signature. The Ref 1 still doesn't fix it because most of the emphasis is in the upper midrange, which creates another localized V shape between the large mid-bass bump and the large upper midrange spike.
 
I don't tend to wax poetic about IEMs. Only the Piano Forte VIII has made me do that, so I apologize (not really) if my impressions come off as matter of fact. It's my scientific background that requires I write the way I do. Throughout this whole thread, I don't think I had seen one concrete set of impressions that made me understand what the signature of the Ref 1 is. SoundFreaq's thoughts, as beautiful as they are, were as solid as pixie dust when it came to trying to know anything about the Ref, other than it sounds nothing like the 1plus2. It wasn't until I heard them myself that I went.."Oh." Really, the only reason I was interested in hearing these was because Gavin made them.

Actually this post came across as far more obnoxious than your previous one.
 
 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 7:48 PM Post #1,593 of 4,426
I think you have reported what you have perceived in impression of the Ref.1 and everyone has their fair space here to express their opinions.  No need to get everyone's agreement on what you perceived.

My reference to my impressions on the Ref.1 are the two home systems (one sold and one current) that I owned and you may find it in my profile (of the current).  I'd say Ref.1 is awesome for what it can do within such a small unit.


I believe it is imperative for us to keep an eye on the things eke doesn't like because of the taste difference. It is good to have different opinions.
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 8:02 PM Post #1,594 of 4,426
My two major issues with the Ref.1 were similar to what Eke observed... I always heard a soundstage which was weirdly sort of stretched thin yet wide horizontally (not much height to speak of, and not much depth). Definitely impressively wide, but it never caused me to feel very connected to the music or recording spaces. The other thing was the strange honky tone to the midrange and vocals. Listening to something as wonderfully natural sounding as the LAB 1 just shines a spotlight on these things, to my ears. Even the Dita Answer has a more 3D and natural portrayal of space.
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 8:15 PM Post #1,595 of 4,426
It has been interesting reading the last couple of pages and i would thank Eke very much for posting his well thought out and very objectively descriptive impressions of the sound. These are the sorts of posts which are very useful in trying to decide which sets to buy.
 
Thanks Eke. 
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 8:23 PM Post #1,596 of 4,426
Anakchan's review highlights similar features as Eke's, except Anak likes them and Eke does not. It's good to see some consistency accompanied by different personal preferences as Cosmic Holy points out. I found Eke's comments helpful as well.
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 8:51 PM Post #1,597 of 4,426
Guys...how much warmer are the Ref1 compared to the 1plus2 (with uber)? I honestly think the latter is just perfect in this regard, anything warmer will in essense make the sound just muddy, congested and lose clarity.

Can anyone who has heard both chime in? Thanks lads
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 8:59 PM Post #1,598 of 4,426
  Anakchan's review highlights similar features as Eke's, except Anak likes them and Eke does not. It's good to see some consistency accompanied by different personal preferences as Cosmic Holy points out. I found Eke's comments helpful as well.

 
To save having to search for AnakChan's review: 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/tralucent-audio-ref-1/reviews/11061
 
Aug 27, 2014 at 2:49 AM Post #1,599 of 4,426
^In the event my previous post came off as obnoxious, I feel the need to expand. This will likely be my last post on the subject, unless I'm responding to something else.


SoundFreaq's thoughts, as beautiful as they are, were as solid as pixie dust when it came to trying to know anything about the Ref, other than it sounds nothing like the 1plus2. .

 


So when you are speaking to an audience about a brand new IEM, a basis for comparison must be set. 1p2 was the overwhelmingly obvious choice. Things are much different now.

And I was very specific to iterate that I would not go into details about the sound, only give an idea, a feeling of what it was like - since I had a prototype, and not the final version, which I knew to be different. I did not want to mislead.

So I am glad my writing not only met my personal criteria, to a tee, but was perceived exactly as intended. I'm sorry you were looking for something else in it, which was not ever stated nor intended to be.
 
Aug 27, 2014 at 5:00 AM Post #1,600 of 4,426
Burn in for me is deffintly real, whether it's a load of nonsense doesn't really matter, if it's only my brain adjusting then that's cool, for my belief system I think it's down to burn in, I suppose brain and burn in believers will reach the same results anyway :D. I'll go on to say that generally what you are hearing (perception of bass, soundstage, mid bass etc) is due to the fit and tips being used, I find a somewhat shallow fit, not inserted too deeply, gives a better tone in clarity and 3d effect. Listening to your ref 1 or any other iem each day may sound slightly different every time , due to the slight difference in angle and fit each time you put them in. I've been experimenting over the past few days how I should get close to perfect insertion without having to worry if I'm wearing them inproperly.

Maybe Gavin can provide a definitive guide on how to wear them perfectly? I have slight OCD aswell.
 
Aug 27, 2014 at 8:09 AM Post #1,601 of 4,426
Burn in for me is deffintly real, whether it's a load of nonsense doesn't really matter, if it's only my brain adjusting then that's cool, for my belief system I think it's down to burn in, I suppose brain and burn in believers will reach the same results anyway
biggrin.gif

 
I was skeptical about burn in until I got 1plus2 and now Ref 1. With my Ref 1 I first listened to them for about an hour as soon as I got them out of the box. Then I let them burn in for 5 days without touching them. After that the SQ was definitely different -  more clear - as if someone removed some type of filter. So this is certainly not the case where my brain got used to them over time - I did not touch them at all and perceived this very noticeable difference listening to the exact same music. Same happened when I initially got my 1plus2.
By the way, here is an interesting article on burn-in controversy that seems objective in the sense that it considers both points of view:
 
http://www.tested.com/tech/accessories/459117-science-and-myth-burning-headphones/
 
Aug 27, 2014 at 10:51 AM Post #1,602 of 4,426
   
I was skeptical about burn in until I got 1plus2 and now Ref 1. With my Ref 1 I first listened to them for about an hour as soon as I got them out of the box. Then I let them burn in for 5 days without touching them. After that the SQ was definitely different -  more clear - as if someone removed some type of filter. So this is certainly not the case where my brain got used to them over time - I did not touch them at all and perceived this very noticeable difference listening to the exact same music. Same happened when I initially got my 1plus2.
By the way, here is an interesting article on burn-in controversy that seems objective in the sense that it considers both points of view:
 
http://www.tested.com/tech/accessories/459117-science-and-myth-burning-headphones/

Especially for a set up that consists of dynamic & BA drivers and each has its own mechanical characteristic (like the diaphragm of the dynamic driver and its suspension) and the initial burn in would loosen up the original tightness and result a different performance after certain hours of work (burn in).
 
Aug 28, 2014 at 12:12 PM Post #1,603 of 4,426
I was skeptical about burn in until I got 1plus2 and now Ref 1. With my Ref 1 I first listened to them for about an hour as soon as I got them out of the box. Then I let them burn in for 5 days without touching them. After that the SQ was definitely different -  more clear - as if someone removed some type of filter. So this is certainly not the case where my brain got used to them over time - I did not touch them at all and perceived this very noticeable difference listening to the exact same music. Same happened when I initially got my 1plus2.
By the way, here is an interesting article on burn-in controversy that seems objective in the sense that it considers both points of view:

http://www.tested.com/tech/accessories/459117-science-and-myth-burning-headphones/


Great article, further convinces me of burn in. Although I'll agree that it may only be evident on certain types of iem/headphones (which flymetothemoon describes below)

Especially for a set up that consists of dynamic & BA drivers and each has its own mechanical characteristic (like the diaphragm of the dynamic driver and its suspension) and the initial burn in would loosen up the original tightness and result a different performance after certain hours of work (burn in).


I only wish I had the know how to conduct tests myself. My ref 1's sound nothing like how they were out of the box, or even 30 hours ago, I've easily clocked in 100+ hours. I mentioned in a previous post my favourite part is the mids! but oh boy when you have a real heavy bass track and the sub just oozes into my chest like I'm in a night club, the ref 1's are FAST hitting, bloody awesome.
 
Aug 28, 2014 at 1:25 PM Post #1,604 of 4,426
2 :D[/quote

Mim,ive missed that,i am about to send mine to Gavin for repair,the right one went without any notice:grin:
No bass , only super quiet trebly sound.
What happened to yours?
Thx
 
Aug 28, 2014 at 9:56 PM Post #1,605 of 4,426
Great article, further convinces me of burn in. Although I'll agree that it may only be evident on certain types of iem/headphones (which flymetothemoon describes below)
I only wish I had the know how to conduct tests myself. My ref 1's sound nothing like how they were out of the box, or even 30 hours ago, I've easily clocked in 100+ hours. I mentioned in a previous post my favourite part is the mids! but oh boy when you have a real heavy bass track and the sub just oozes into my chest like I'm in a night club, the ref 1's are FAST hitting, bloody awesome.

Glad that you are enjoying your new Ref.1
 

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