Hi Caigin.Do bear in mind that for every keyboard warrior who feels he has to charge into battle to defend his chosen clan there are probably a hundred who read a post and think "fair enough" but don't bother to post.
Regarding the Savant, there was a huge fuss on the Noble thread when it was discovered that there are only a couple of drivers in there. I don't quite get the problem. I buy my gear for how it sounds. I don't really care if there is only one unicorn fart inside my K10's. (There isn't, I checked,my K10's are translucent!)
I think that keeping the driver count secret was a genuine attempt by Noble to counter the "driver warz" mentality and get people to judge them on sound alone. This rather backfired but as Noble say, they zig where others zag.
I take your point about form factor but that's all to do with Noble's business decisions IMHO.
I'm interested to read what you say about the Pleune D. You really reckon it is that good?
That Dignis case looks the nuts BTW.
Enjoy your music.
Exactly it's Noble's right. It's their business decision. And just like Astell & Kern, when it seems I get a feeling of cash cow milking, I'll voice my concern. How much can I expect to pay for an AK with finally good battery? 10K ? Ridiculous.
My personal philosophy/rationale when it comes to headfi is this:
If I plan to use outside, it has to be
A: portable, easily pocketable.
B: gotta have good isolation, I ain't gonna cause myself deafness by increasing volume to cope with outside noise/talking. I like listening to lower volume and still have the outside cutoff, that's why I prefer CIEMs.
C: no leaking. I abhor when I hear earbud users in public transports from 5m across. I don't want to be disrespectful myself (hence why I don't take my Fiio EX-1 outside and keep it for sleep+workouts at home).
If I'm at home, A B C is not as important anymore. Speakers all the way, and if I don't want to annoy those in the house I go headphone.
Headphones lose out in outside scenario. Great SQ but too big, where do you put them when you don't use them? I can't leave them on my neck, not with my current double chin, it's discomforting (working on getting rid of it). Open back gives a preferred sound but leak as hell. On ears can be pocketable but still will bulge in my coat/jacket and can still be damaged/broken. Plus headcans cause too much unnecessary attention. I like to keep a lower profile when I wear expensive gear.
This leads back to my main point of contention when I try to place the Savant on my usage behavior. It's got good sound but I can't put them deep enough due to the shell body. Even with my spinfits I keep losing fit and seal (bass leaking). I don't know if it's due to the shell size/ innards ratio, but I'm not content with the isolation. I still can hear people talking over my music
Paying 2x for SLA custom fit to hope to fix those issue? Sorry no way Jose.I'll post on the Plenue D thread once I get some free time. I really like that tiny gem.
Agree 100% on the driver wars thing. I didn't even know much about this until I noticed a trend on many IEM manufacturers websites where there were a range of IEM's, all classified according to how many drivers there were. I guess this is in part motivated by the general modern business practice regarding promotion/placement of products; always new and improved, some new technology or function or 'bigger and better' (or smaller and better lol). There's no use railing against it; it is what it is and we mostly all have bought into it, or at least find ourselves influenced by it, willingly or otherwise. And obviously, it works. Very well.
So manufacturers, especially small niche companies trying to make a living doing something they love can hardly be blamed for participating in this strategy, especially since the consumers all seem to buy into it or desire it too
On a more 'on topic' note, my main dispute (and the thing which inflamed this whole debate in the first place) is with the use of the phrase 'overhyped'.
Cagin is an excellent and valuable poster on Head-Fi (and I think met you bridfly at London CanJam on reception, but I could be mistaken; too many people and faces lol); I absolutely defend his right to express opinions, including those that are against the tide.
Loads of people have bought/listened to the DP-X1 and been delighted with it. Others haven't been, and bear in mind that the reason for satisfaction or otherwise may be based on a host of factors beyond that of sound quality alone (aesthetics, build quality, UI, funtionality etc).
My point is, if 100 users express happiness *overall* with the DP-X1 (niggles and concerns allowed for), but 20 others for any/all of the reasons above dislike it, does it make it overhyped?
If anyone says a product is "overhyped", it can come across as very arrogant or prescriptive, precisely because it's natural implication is to suggest that anyone who likes the prodcut has been fooled or is fooling themselves. This goes both ways of course. If 100 people dislike a product and 20 love it, neither experience should invalidate the experience of the other side.
Instead of talking about 'hype', why not just focus on simply whether you (meaning whoever is posting) like or dislike it and why?
Doing this in a way that makes allowance for other people's differing opinions and experiences makes for a positive and more informative thread.
I think on the whole, this DP-X1 thread has done that rather well. The only thing that derails matters is dogmatic "my truth is right, therefore yours must be mistaken/delusional" kinds of statements.
Good post. And I find it weird that the Wiz likes to tap into the K10 being #1 ciem rated when a critique arises. Not any other of the Noble lineup. Kaiser 10 has had the highest amount of BAs inside at the time no? Anyways, if it was as easy as just jamming BAs in there, we'd all also be subscribed to the thread about that Thai ciem company that has their flagship with 16 in it. And last time I checked, that thread didn't even exist yet. I don't judge an iem just by the SQ of its FR. Soundstage, separation, details of the spacial volume rendered by the decay, and I feel like the number of bores and drivers have a relation to that. I'd love to be explained otherwise. I'm all for learning, but till then, my Zeus XIV keeps stomping.
edit: I've said my piece about the Savant. Enoughfrom me, moving on
Not as simple as comparing mAh. The X7 has the desktop chip ES9018S and not 2x mobile version ES9018K2M. It's more power hungry.
Quote:
An easy mistake to make, no worries!
I thought you were all talking about an (over ear) headphone, so I wasn't really paying much attention lol
Then I clicked on the link to find a rather gorgeous looking set of IEMs!
Can anyone tell me a bit more about them? Were they designed with the DP-X1 in mind? Are they balanced or SE?
Intended sound signature? BA or Hybrid or what?
Number of drivers?
Yeah looking at the pics and the Onkyo page it's safe to say it isn't balanced. Its TRRS termination is for in-line microphone.
@ MQA:
I'm quite eager to get MQA working with the DP-X1. Just on the prospect of saving space on the cards. I'm hopeful it will spread out more and more amongst recording artists.
I've asked in Yaima's kickstarter for their 2nd album if they'd consider it, though I've also said I'd be more than content if they offered FLAC 24bit for downloading.
I wish for the USB DAC feature more than MQA. Curious how my Onkyo would fare against my aging Soundblaster X-FI card.
