Bluebear
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2013
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I'm not going to buy a $1,300 cable without listening to it first. Or is there a money back guarantee on it? If there is one with a one week return period, then that's something I would consider. But to buy 3k worth of earphones/cable having to trust Tralucent fanboys is a huge risk. $1,000 is one thing, but 3x times that I need guarantees. So I'll have to demo it first with and without the uber cable. By then I'll probably pick up the k10. I rather risk nearly 2k than 3k and they have outstanding customer service. I haven't heard either way on Tralucent, but I'm sure it can't be bad like JH. I have already demo'd the universal roxxanne and I thought for the money, it should have been better especially when it was paired with an ak240 and hugo. I really want to try the ref 1 because I like dynamic drivers and I believe hybrids are the way to go for at least my ears, but I'm not going to gamble buying it without listening to it. Even if people say that it has more value because it's not a CIEM, out of that 3k, how much could one realistically get back? I am pretty sure I would lose at least 300 to 500 owning it for just a week or two.
Will it be available to demo at CES? I can wait til next CES.
The 1plus2 is already very outstanding without the uBer cable. I do not think Tralucent will ever go put up a booth at any audio shows for people to demo since it is still a rather small-scale company in terms of its operative production compared to bigger companies like JH, Westone, UM, UE, Sennheiser, etc. I get the feeling that it is operating on an even smaller scale than Noble Audio. But the good thing about operating at a small scale is that Gavin can focus all his resources and time on making his products really good instead of pushing out multiple incremental IEMs which are not really game-changing. Just look at JH and the mess it got itself into with the Roxanne being unable to keep up to the demand compared to Noble Audio's smaller scale of operation with excellent customer service support.
Since you are hesitant on pulling the trigger on something which you cannot demo firsthand yourself, the only alternative I can think of next is to try other cheaper IEMs with similar sound signatures and extrapolate from there. The Sony EX-1000 and AKG's K3003 are the closest two IEMs with similar sound signature to 1plus2, albeit not exactly the same and definitely not on the same performance tier as 1plus2. Then if you find that you like the airy and wide soundstage type of SQ, you can then consider if you want to take the plunge and get the 1plus2 with stock cable for its better SQ performance. You do not have to jump straight into getting the uBer cable because it is more like the ultimate upgrade for 1plus2 further down the road if you think it is the one IEM that you love the most.
As for the Ref. 1, I have not heard it myself yet so I cannot comment on it or recommend a similar sounding alternative IEM for you to check out. All I know is that those who have received theirs all said that it offers a much fuller sound signature than 1plus2 but still retains the airy and wide soundstage characteristic. If that is true to the word, then I am quite certain it is really good based on what I know of 1plus2. We are not here to force you to buy Tralucent's products, but more trying to give people a better idea what we have heard/know. Ultimately, everyone has different SQ preference so I am sure there are people out there who may not like the Tralucent's signature but prefer a more bassy and thick SQ.