[Smirk 24]

I dont want to Anger People just to think about it.

I don’t think you’re making anyone think anything other than “they’re being annoying”

 

[DingDongMonster]

Of course Storm is better but how much better If you say it objective watched Like 10%? But can you compare to Variations too? Also can anybody make a Poweramp EQ Tuning of the Storm many thanks so everyone can try it Out on other iems If this iem is there taste. The EA 1000 is more fun Sounding and the storm more realistic Natural what i have heard hard to compare i believe the Variations or Sennheiser HD 600 will fit better to compare. Also If you Test 2 iems blindfolded will you guess WHO is Storm the more expensive If never Heard before? Most People See expensive and think this IS good because of price but its Made Up in their mind to Sound good because of highly expensive price otherwise its a waste of Money. Thats how Marketing psychology Works.

Sorry. I had one. The variations is a piece of turd. In general, I prefer not to run around calling things turd. The variations is an exception.

 

[dleblanc343]

I dont want to Anger People just to think about it.

I think it's fairly easy to hear a marked improvement in fidelity going from a Simgot EA1000 to kilobuck IEM's. Not all, but some picks out there are well above the 10% improvement range.

Having heard the Storm, I can say without question any single person who does a blind A/B would come away choosing Storm - it's a pretty simple concept, it sounds effortless and better by an order of magnitude.

I don't think you're ready for Storm, you should probably work you way up to better understand the diminishing returns. Check out Singularity or Crimson/ Titan - I think you'd come away just as impressed that they're all at least 10% better, and the value proposition shouldn't be as unsettling for you

 

[Tanalasta]

I dont want to Anger People just to think about it.

The first time I heard Storm I didn't know what it was. I didn't know how much it cost. I had been following headphones and hadn't been keeping up to date with TOTL IEM's.

But we have our 'reference' IEMs (and headphones) to compare to. The ever changing speaker set-up in a bespoke acoustically treated room at my audio dealer. And once I dialled my own correct tip fit ; it was instantly apparent Storm was amongst the top tier of things I have ever heard. (My first impression with the tip attached and incorrect fit for me was amateur and ashamedly needed correction).

Just as if I was tasting a wine blind, I would first form an impression "do I like it". Then analyse it systematically as to what I think it is and its quality. I was trained to form an overview through general observation before systematically analysing the information before me.

In the nicest possible way, we would like to help and welcome new-comers. 20+ years ago I thought Sony earbuds and my ER4-P were the best things I had ever heard. But the Storm thread is not your random snapchat/discord/reddit filled with uneducated youth slang. I have a tour unit of the EA1000 and currently am listening to the Mest3 out of a Hugo2. The incremental and even tuning/technical/structural differences are readily apparent.

The upper echelons of luxury consumer products rarely make sense to most. Back to the wine analogy, I recommend watching "Sour Grapes" where a chap with a stellar palate and flavour memory very much played to market psychology. It also becomes much more personalised. It fills a niche as a TOTL IEM that is literally the "greatest of all time" all-BA driver IEM. Trailii is perhaps the only similar tier BA-only IEM that I can think of and I would place it below Storm from a technical and bass implementation perspective.

I'm too tired to be writing this response. I have work to do. ... most of the time ... I just stop at the "do I like it". And storm is in the "yes I do" category.

As is the "ignore" button.

 

[BeowulfTheFoldin]

Of course Storm is better but how much better If you say it objective watched Like 10%? But can you compare to Variations too? Also can anybody make a Poweramp EQ Tuning of the Storm many thanks so everyone can try it Out on other iems If this iem is there taste. The EA 1000 is more fun Sounding and the storm more realistic Natural what i have heard hard to compare i believe the Variations or Sennheiser HD 600 will fit better to compare. Also If you Test 2 iems blindfolded will you guess WHO is Storm the more expensive If never Heard before? Most People See expensive and think this IS good because of price but its Made Up in their mind to Sound good because of highly expensive price otherwise its a waste of Money. Thats how Marketing psychology Works.

See were in an interesting inbetween price point for the hobby, in the below 1k range plenty of people call everything snake oil , in the above 10 k range alot of people will buy anything they've heard people say will improve sound quality. We are comfortably in the have money still discerning consumer range for our hobby as you can see from how bad ums been getting beat up for their mason pricing for what they offer.

 

[DingDongMonster]

See were in an interesting inbetween price point for the hobby, in the below 1k range plenty of people call everything snake oil , in the above 10 k range alot of people will buy anything they've heard people say will improve sound quality. We are comfortably in the have money still discerning consumer range for our hobby as you can see from how bad ums been getting beat up for their mason pricing for what they offer.

True. I have a recent experience. I bought a bunch of chifi. Spent a total of maybe $500 worth, trying to figure out what the fuss is about. It was as anyone can imagine, a total waste of money and ended up with a bunch of used IEMs that had no value. I saw a lad on reddit asking what $20 IEM he should purchase and DM'd him. Long story short. I sent him a bunch. It took a long time as Indian customs was a real pain. He just sent me a DM. He's really wowed and happy with the Dunu Titan S. His DM was in ALL CAPs. Which made me all excited and happy too.

Moral of the story. To the discerning pundit with the disposable income. The 5k IEM is not a waste of money, the $80 is. Put that unwanted IEM in the hands of another. It's an all caps experience.

 

[AxLvR]

Of course Storm is better but how much better If you say it objective watched Like 10%? But can you compare to Variations too? Also can anybody make a Poweramp EQ Tuning of the Storm many thanks so everyone can try it Out on other iems If this iem is there taste. The EA 1000 is more fun Sounding and the storm more realistic Natural what i have heard hard to compare i believe the Variations or Sennheiser HD 600 will fit better to compare. Also If you Test 2 iems blindfolded will you guess WHO is Storm the more expensive If never Heard before? Most People See expensive and think this IS good because of price but its Made Up in their mind to Sound good because of highly expensive price otherwise its a waste of Money. Thats how Marketing psychology Works.

I've tried the Simgot EA1000 a few times and I currently have STORM as my daily driver. Personally i don't have to do a blindfolded A/B test to hear the MASSIVE difference between them. Objectively, STORM has better Resolution, technicalities, detail retrievals, sound imaging, layering, separation, soundstage, dynamics, note weight, realism, natural timbre, vocal texture, bass texture, mids, snappy transients, decay, resonance, scaling ability, etc.... But do i think Simgot EA1000 is a bad IEM? nope. I thought it was one of the best IEMs for $100-200. When i first tried STORM in 2022, i didn't know the price, i only knew of the price after trying it for at least 30 minutes. Was it expensive? yes. But do I realise why it was expensive? most definitely. To this day i've never heard an IEM that has better tech than STORM. But better iems? maybe. But 'better' is a subjective word in this hobby. Everyone in this hobby has their own unique taste, listening ability and budget which then translate to their choice of gear, but of course not to say that people with better listening ability are better than others, certainly not. I often say to people who cant hear the difference between Airpods Pro and a $200 IEM, "You are blessed!" because they can simply buy an APP and be fully content with it. Unlike most people here who are both blessed and cursed in the pursuit of sound..

Every IEM is designed and developed a certain way. It has its own market, it has its own merits. Why do people buy $10k+ bottle of wine thats hundreds of years old? because it simply brings joy to them, we cant tell them "hey, this $100 wine tastes as good as your $10k wine, i bet if you are blindfolded, you cant tell which one's which" I think, it's only because they can in fact tell the difference is why they bought it in the first place, now whether that wine is good or not, that's up to them to decide, not us.

 

[FcConstruct]

I dont want to Anger People just to think about it.

I think what folks might be annoyed by is that your concerns of marketing psychology, price bias, ABX testing, placebo, etc etc etc. are all very old and tired topics of discussion. It's often the first thing that's brought up with every expensive, highly rated product. I think your concerns are valid but for the folks seriously looking at owning the Subtonic Storm (and not just talking about it on Head-Fi), it's already been taken into consideration so there's no need to beat a dead horse.

I understand where you're coming from, I really do. Unfortunately as with any sensory experience, words can never describe or convey the feeling of actually listening to something. For people who have heard the Storm and decided to buy it, they've decided that it's worth the $5,000. Personally, I was also skeptical of the Storm's performance before I heard it but having the Storm on my desk right now for a review, I can confidently say it's 2 steps above anything else I've heard.

 

[aaf evo]

Delivery day! Full retail packaging isn't ready yet (although as-is this beats out any other cable I’ve bought for accessories) but I've received the goods. The carrying case is lovely and feels like a very high quality leather.

The analogue tone mixed with high detail and image size/precision makes this cable quite enjoyable to pair with many IEMs. The ergonomics of it are also surprisingly good given its size and weight.

Happy camper here

Cross-posting/quoting my post from earlier from the WC thread. I received the Sovereign Symphony today... the way this entire chain images is addicting. It is spacious but full and stitched together. It feels like you can just reach out and grab everything. I find it incredibly immersive and engaging, and a worthy upgrade from the Mira 4W.

 

[Vocal Lover]

Anybody in Germany who has this iem?

 

[odusseus]

New Storm review by resolve

 

[DingDongMonster]

LOL. Can't afford the storm? Buy a Moondrop. It's almost the same thing. HAAAHAA. I love his EQs for the Audeze stuff. His reviews are both boring and hilarious at the same time.

 

[AxLvR]

New Storm review by resolve

Read the comments, it's hilarious

 

[DingDongMonster]

LOL

A few people were asking about the Storm vs Canpur 622B. I liked the Canpur the first time I tested it, almost bought it. The second time was a very different experience. It sounded incoherent and the bone conductor was too much, very fatiguing. Overall the tone was also not working for me. I think it's the source.

 

[Resolve]

Read the comments, it's hilarious

It's kind of like people being offended that sports cars... exist.


I mean, I agree that price tags are getting out of hand, but these are also luxury goods and people don't have to buy them. I would be perfectly happy with a Dusk DSP or a Megafest, or a u6t. Is it the same experience? No. And that's okay.