[Crazeee]

Hi friends!

I dropped the ball… It’s official, I totally lost it for 2024 :



I bought the damn thing…
The last set of Rosenkranz Silver HB Ruthenium plated available. Other plating options will still be available though.
This unit also has an upgraded internal wiring with the flagship Rosenkranz HP 100 million/sol pure copper cable.
Really loving the sound out of these! Drum kicks never sounded as good!
Here they are equipped with a Beat Audio Billow cable, the tuning is V shaped I’d say.
I‘ll try other cables when I find the time see if I can find a better match. For the esthetics, I think the yellow cable works nicely with the black shells.
I’ll try giving a bit more detailed impressions when I find the time.

So, yeah… I’m starting the year pretty well, with this and CP622b custom… I’m gonna try to stop there for the coming months!!!


Also, I didn’t have time to go back to the store to compare my custom 622 with the universal version, but I went to another store to demo these :



The PMG Audio APX!

very nice set!
it’s actually much smaller than I would have expected by looking at the driver configuration and the pics shared so far.

Here are pics next to my custom 622 and 64Audio Noir :




‘here are roug impressions from a short demo through DC-Elite.
‘it’s a beautiful looking set.
Build quality is good but fairly average
Fit is pretty good too given the smaller size and the longer nozzle should work well with most ears.
The cable is nice but looks quite average to for a set at that price.

The sound:
‘This set is quite bright. It‘s in between Anni and Ragnar in terms of perceived tuning.
Very good sub bass quality, mid bass is a bit lesser in quantity but better quality than Anni and more quantity than Ragnar but I don’t think it’s better in quality. Midrange is leaner than Anni but a tad warmer than Ragnar and same goes for trebles.
Anni feels like it has a bit more treble extension
I still feel like Ragnar has the edge in raw resolving power as well as for the palpable attack of notes. APX feels a bit more like Anni in the transient representation and is more chillax in comparison to Ragnar.
APX soundstage and imaging are quite excellent. It’s not as wide as Ragnar’s but it has more depth and therefore feels a bit more realistic/natural to my ears. Positioning cues are also top notch.

Overall it feels like an excellent set if you enjoy neutral bright tuning and detail retrieval and nice sub bass. I can’t say I preferred it over Anni or Ragnar though, despite a significant price difference. Is it worth the price? Probably not (says the guy who just bought a $8000 single DD … ), but definitely could to some folks.

Cheers Coolers!

Julien.

Woa congrats on the Rosenkranz Silver HB purchase! Silver HB and APX are Definitely interesting sets that I am keen to try out. Just curious how P0 stack up with those new comers?

 

[Virtu Fortuna]

Could you kindly elaborate more on that please?

IIRC it's Tsuranagi but the wiring is using their silver concept cable

Yup

 

[mgsu]

I'm probably going to make myself very unpopular now. If that's the case, I can deal with it. As a person who has been involved in scientific research, I have learned to deal cope with something like this. I have also learned to question everything and to make sure of things that intuitively make little sense to me like the assumption made here that music played locally sounds better than streamed.

I've compared identical tracks of various qualities (from normal FLAC to Hi-Res 192kbps) both locally and with Tidal in streaming. I bought these tracks in Qobuz and also downloaded them through Tidal in master quality (FLAC of course, and please don't ask any further questions here, it's best to google). I played these files both locally on the DX320Max and N30 and again in the corresponding Tidal apps. I have compared everything meticulously and attentively.

The result? Everything sounds exactly the same! Guys, there are absolutely zero sonic differences, really nothing at all. I have done my best to convince myself that this is not the case. But I had to give up. I'm a purist myself and I want the best possible audio quality. However, my test proved to me personally that there is no difference in sound quality between local and streamed. Everything else is part of misbelief, or rather of "audiophile esoterism" - to give myself a nice expression of a headfier.

Feel free to ask for more test details if you like, I'll be happy to answer your questions. This test can be reproduced by anyone, you don't need anything special to carry it out yourself. But in view of my personal results, I see no reason that I discuss this any further unless something in my test was not executed correctly. For me, the fact is certain.

To percieve a difference between local playback (Neutron Player or UAPP) and Tidal App takes me about a couple of songs, maybe at worst 1 hour. About that time i feel that someting is wrong with the music.

This differences are hard to distinguish in fast AB testing by jumping instant from local playback to Tidal App.
The differences are not in the highs, mids, lows or details of the music.

Dont know which FW do you have on N30. If it is 1.3 then i fully understand why you cant hear any differences.

One can try Tidal App for a couple of days and then - at the end of the listening session - to switch to UAPP or Neutron Player. Then you realize how the music clicks in.
Better time domain characteristics (more analog and natural sounding, the music feels right, it is engaging/addictive, it makes you listen for hours and hours)

 

[rantng]

Ouch! When you write something like that, Raven doesn't give me much hope. Yes, still an early model, yet @Damz87 didn't sound that enthusiastic either.

I think the launch issues/delays have a lot to do with it. Had it released without any issues the Raven hype train could have been going bullet train speeds, but within those few months other TOTL IEMs have come out to compete with it. I think it speaks to how fast IEMs are being developed.

 

[phiemon]

To percieve a difference between local playback (Neutron Player or UAPP) and Tidal App takes me about a couple of songs, maybe at worst 1 hour. About that time i feel that someting is wrong with the music.

This differences are hard to distinguish in fast AB testing by jumping instant from local playback to Tidal App.
The differences are not in the highs, mids, lows or details of the music.

Dont know which FW do you have on N30. If it is 1.3 then i fully understand why you cant hear any differences.

One can try Tidal App for a couple of days and then - at the end of the listening session - to switch to UAPP or Neutron Player. Then you realize how the music clicks in.
Better time domain characteristics (more analog and natural sounding, the music feels right, it is engaging/addictive, it makes you listen for hours and hours)

I also tested it with the DX320Max: same result.

I am simply very pragmatic here: IF there is a difference that is only noticeable after a few hours or even days, it is simply not worth mentioning for me personally. I firmly believe - no, I am really convinced that there is zero difference. But as I said, everyone is welcome to believe it. After all, this hobby thrives on impressions that come from perceptions. But these impressions can also be easily influenced, for example by the psychological. If you feel more comfortable playing music locally because you think the quality is better, so be it, and I believe that you believe it and I respect it. Of course, this discourse also applies the other way around, so it also applies to me.

Speaking of which: the DX320Max is going back. I confirm my previous impressions of the comparison with the N30, nothing has changed.

 

[mgsu]

I strongly suspect that UAPP applies some kind of filter of its own that alters the original music quality. I read somewhere earlier that UAPP has its own USB driver. I have no idea whether this is true, it's not important for me either. Whether this is good or not is up to you. But if the music from the original source sounds exactly the same as the same music through the app, I'm happy. I don't like the idea of a change that deviates from the source.

There is no such filter in UAPP by default, unless you activated Morphit or Parametric EQ.

UAPP is bitperfect. If you know what bitperfect means, than there is no room for speculations.

 

[phiemon]

There is no such filter in UAPP by default, unless you activated Morphit or Parametric EQ.

UAPP is bitperfect. If you know what bitperfect means, than there is no room for speculations.

Tidal, Apple Music and Qobuz also work "bit perfect" in my tested devices. So theoretically there is no difference.

 

[mgsu]

I also tested it with the DX320Max: same result.

I am simply very pragmatic here: IF there is a difference that is only noticeable after a few hours or even days, it is simply not worth mentioning for me personally. I firmly believe - no, I am really convinced that there is zero difference. But as I said, everyone is welcome to believe it. After all, this hobby thrives on impressions that come from perceptions. But these impressions can also be easily influenced, for example by the psychological. If you feel more comfortable playing music locally because you think the quality is better, so be it, and I believe that you believe it and I respect it. Of course, this discourse also applies the other way around, so it also applies to me.

Speaking of which: the DX320Max is going back. I confirm my previous impressions of the comparison with the N30, nothing has changed.

Quite the opposite.
I like Tidal and Tidal Radio aka music suggestions so i play Tidal through UAPP.

we dint want you to convince for something. It is just my opinion. If you are happy with Tidal App, so be it.
I am not writing my finger wound because i want to convince you but because i was in the same boat as you.

 

[phiemon]

Quite the opposite.
I like Tidal and Tidal Radio aka music suggestions so i play Tidal through UAPP.

we dint want you to convince for something. It is just my opinion. If you are happy with Tidal App, so be it.
I am not writing my finger wound because i want to convince you but because i was in the same boat as you.

As I said, it's perfectly okay to have your own opinion. I respect your impressions and I have no intention of changing anyone's mind. That's what I wrote in my first post, I personally have no intention of discussing. It's really fine. I just wanted to provide information that I came up with myself. What you do with it now is up to you. I just thought someone might be interested.

 

[mgsu]

Tidal, Apple Music and Qobuz also work "bit perfect" in my tested devices. So theoretically there is no difference.

Have you measured it bit by bit

 

[phiemon]

Have you measured it bit by bit

Please don't take this personally, I also wrote it earlier, I don't want to discuss the topic, that wasn't my intention. Therefore, I will not address this any further. I hope you can understand and bear with me

 

[fejnomit]

Better time domain characteristics (more analog and natural sounding, the music feels right, it is engaging/addictive, it makes you listen for hours and hours)

Yes. Well described. This is what happens for me as well

 

[fejnomit]

I also tested it with the DX320Max: same result.

I am simply very pragmatic here: IF there is a difference that is only noticeable after a few hours or even days, it is simply not worth mentioning for me personally. I firmly believe - no, I am really convinced that there is zero difference. But as I said, everyone is welcome to believe it. After all, this hobby thrives on impressions that come from perceptions. But these impressions can also be easily influenced, for example by the psychological. If you feel more comfortable playing music locally because you think the quality is better, so be it, and I believe that you believe it and I respect it. Of course, this discourse also applies the other way around, so it also applies to me.

Speaking of which: the DX320Max is going back. I confirm my previous impressions of the comparison with the N30, nothing has changed.

I really hope you can see the unfairness of your argument here, though. I perceive X. You perceive Y. But as I am utterly convinced of X then Y must be "influenced." It's a two-way street. In other words, yours are "perceptions" too and your words could just as easily be used against you. Just be careful wielding the objectivity cudgel. Any way, as you say, happy to move on.

 

[phiemon]

I really hope you can see the unfairness of your argument here, though. I perceive X. You perceive Y. But as I am utterly convinced of X then Y must be "influenced." It's a two-way street. In other words, yours are "perceptions" too and your words could just as easily be used against you. Just be careful wielding the objectivity cudgel. Any way, as you say, happy to move on.

Hey, I agree with you and I said so explicitly in my post: "Of course, this discourse also applies the other way around, so it also applies to me." In addition, I never spoke of objectivity. I only wrote about "my impressions" and "my personal opinion" the whole time.

 

[mgsu]

Stumbled upon this track, there is so much going on.



https://tidal.com/track/114019982