Just received the DHC Symbiote SE today and so far I am absolutely BLOWN away by the craftsmanship from Peter's cables. I see absolutely no imperfections and despite the Symbiote SE being a bit heavier than the stock Westone cables used on my UM CIEMs, they are indeed very comfortable. No need for memory wires or anything, just rests nicely on the ears and no strain at all. They just sit still very comfortably. I have the Symbiote SE with the DHC Peptide cryo type 2 litz in a 4-wire round with a right angled Oyaide gold plug; quite literally the exact same one shown on the Symbiote SE's page (I am told that the picture on the site is MY cable). Also I am told this is the first SOLD Symbiote SE? Please correct me Peter if I'm wrong and GG is trolling me. For now it's difficult to give impressions as the cables are literally brand new and have roughly 1 hour of use as we speak. I believe in cable burn-in so my observations will change as time progressed.
Right away after switching from the Westone cable to the Symbiote SE, static is gone... WUT?! This was really surprising and extremely beneficial because my UM CIEMs are VERY sensitive and almost every source and amp makes a lot of static noise in the background, but now the Symbiote SE reduced this by roughly 30-40% from estimation? The noise is reduced immensely compared to the Westone cable and a Silver cable I tried at Girls Generation's house. Really like the outcome of that there. After many times switching back and forth, the bass is really nice. As we speak, the Westone has a bit more impact than the DHC, but the DHC is literally so much more well controlled compared to the Westone cable. The texture is further improved and, dare I say it, I think the bass reaches further down now. The one comment I can say that reflects on the entire sonic characteristics with the DHC Symbiote SE is, it sounds clear now. I remember my UM SCL3X for being extremely detailed and "clean" sounding, but after listening to the DHC Symbiote SE, it took it up to '11! Almost makes the Westone sound a bit muffled in direct comparison. My UM has prominent Mids and not as, and just as prominent treble. Hard to comment on the Mids and Treble right now as this is a Pre-Burn-in review, but I hear noticeable improvements here and there. Doesn't seem to be any more Treble energy, but the treble does sound clearer. Hi-hats and cymbals sound even more splashy and crisp, but not by much. Just significant enough for me to notice, but nothing massive here. Mids were already amazing on the UM, but now with the DHC Symbiote SE, it sounds almost natural now. Hard to explain. Even though my UM is for Mids emphasis, it sounds almost natural sounding now; almost like Mariah Carey's voice sounds like this. I remember the SCL3X being almost shouty at times with certain songs, like Mariah Carey, but now it sounds NATURAL. It didn't bring anything down, but made vocals sound sort of effortless now. Soundstage seems unchanged.
Disclaimer: I am only reporting what I hear from my ears and as no one has my exact CIEM, no one is able to
prove that my observations are false.
But I lie to you not people, I think these cables once again brought life back into my SCL3X CIEM. The moment I auditioned the Symbiote SE at my Vancouver Head-Fi meet with my SCL3X by the user Girls Generation, I haven't touched my SCL3X ever since because that was the moment I wanted the DHC Symbiote SE... Now I see a bright future with the SCL3X once again.
I will give a proper review once I get 200+ hours for these wonderful cables. Thank you SO much Peter. Now, about my Vintage AKG K141 challenge