.? You have to explain your joke to me?

Removing the stiff mesh glued in front of the driver makes wonders. More dynamic sounding. Also has an SDR module installed in the 800. Together - Less treble peak, more dynamic and organic sound.

I disagree. Modding is next level.

I've asked Cary. No problem running straight from taps. I use a Hifiman HE adapter to reduce tube noise. With silent tubes, running from the speaker taps takes every headphone to the next level in terms of dynamics. I think this is my favorite amplifier for headphones ever.

I use Spinfit CP145 or Azla Crystal. But we're all different

If you don't have at least 20 different types of tips lying around, you are not serious about IEMs 😅 :)

That's what makes it breaks the sound of IEMs, and some are more difficult to get right than others. Good you found the right tip for you 👍 :)

No, you misread me. Any balanced amp will sound better in balanced mode than in SE mode. That's inherent in the design. However, balanced amps is mostly a dual mono design, and you need twice the number of parts. Instead they could (and should imo) use the resources on better parts in SE mode...

I doubt they'll make it balanced. Balanced is bs anyways. Just more expensive. Give me a powerful unbalanced amp any day.

Not hot at all

I agree And don't let the volume control fool you. It's designed to be like it is.

Does a good job with HE-6

I talked to the guy He said Rebel Amp is going to move the production to the US bc of the war. Thus, in order to keep costs down, they work hard on simplifying the design. So the Rebel amp will come back with a different internal and probably external design.

That's sad. Glad you got one 👍

Congratulations! It's a great amp, I hope they have a new batch made.

Nice write up, thanks for sharing. The Cadenza, Orchestra Lite and Quintet seems to be the top 3 and I agree, all are fabulous. The Quartet is pretty good too, I might add. The tuning switches are actually very well implemented

I recently did a write-up / comparison between the Kiwi Ears Quintet and the Simgot EA2000. Hope somebody will find it interesting or useful :) https://www.headphoneer.com/kiwi-ears-quintet-vs-simgot-ea2000-comparison-review/

Impedance switches works differently on different headphones. I've experienced the same with other amps.

+15 dB bass shelf 😂

EQ has its place but I like to judge them by the way they sound by themselves. If they respond well to EQ, that's excellent. But comparing headphones after EQ is getting really complex

Ah, your talking about them EQ-ed.

It will certainly drive the LCD-X easily

Well, I personally prefer the LCD-X to the Clear but it's definitely not in the league of the Utopia

Sony 1000xm3? Lots of music sounds better on less expensive equipment

Thanks. I think this hint of "metallic timbre" is an issue with all Focal headphones. It really does not bother me. I find some pad swaps to beneficial, but there's always a trade off. I have never heard a perfect headphone, though, there's always trade-offs. That's what makes us keep exploring :)