[soundkist]

  I would not say it's "definitive" upgrade because the gap in this league is quite close, there is a small gap but not that night and day differences (not like something in low tier let's say JH13FP) but It's just better than Andromeda.  I'm talking about technical performance of the headphone not mentioning about the signature in which two of them are also different. Some might prefer one to another due to the signature and ignore the gap in technical performance, this example could be seen with HD800 and LCD2.

 
Thanks for your impressions/opinions--much appreciated!  I've had my eye on these for a while, so just trying to gather as much info on them as I can.  Compared against something I know well (Andromeda), is very helpful.

 

[seenoevil]

hi, want to try hums for a good price, but does it good iems for metal genres (like old paradise lost , COF) ?

 

[seenoevil]

received Hums today. It is very bright, but with good bass impact, technically the best armature iem i listen to date (um mason kaiser solar ) . tested on fio x5-3 dx200 opus 2 iphone 6s, so moved to multibit due to it calm highs.
also the cable is very very fat and too weighty, wish less price but with chaep cable.
Sorry for english)

 

[gearofwar]

received Hums today. It is very bright, but with good bass impact, technically the best armature iem i listen to date (um mason kaiser solar ) . tested on fio x5-3 dx200 opus 2 iphone 6s, so moved to multibit due to it calm highs.
also the cable is very very fat and too weighty, wish less price but with chaep cable.
Sorry for english)

You should give it at least 200 hours of burned-in

 

[seenoevil]

it is used, so burn-in will not help)

 

[gearofwar]

My Pristine is currently FS , sad to let it go.

 

[rskbug]

My Pristine is currently FS , sad to let it go.

Hmm, what happened? You were a die-hard pristine fan.

 

[gearofwar]

Hmm, what happened? You were a die-hard pristine fan.

Need fund for something else important

 

[gearofwar]

The thread seems to be dead. My Pristine is still kicking around in 2017.

 

[gearofwar]

The thread seems dead, here my comparison with 64 U18

For the past days I have been playing around with Hum Pristine v2 and 64 U18. While Tia fourte has very natural tone if not most, its treble even though extended the most, being harsh sometimes, didn't give it much easy listen compared to U18 (suggesting that Tia fourte should be used for good remastered tracks only) so eventually I stopped touching it after a while
M20 module is my most favorite part of U18. They key word "Balance, full and organic" . The best part of it would the layering capability and the overtone that i could hear from its upper mid.

So how does Hum Pristine vs 64 U18 M20? Pristine is a chameleon, it changes the sound signature on tracks even selecting the cable for it is quite challenge, sometimes it sounds harsh or just warm smooth and wonderful while U18 signature doesn't change with different music, it just makes everything feel immersive, layered and easy to listen to.

The first thing I notice when putting them on is resolution and transparency, they are on similar level, I can hear Pristine a bit clearer and more coherence but U18 has a bit higher resolution.

Low : U18 has a warm and fuller bass which rumbles more . Also it has a bit more depth and texture but Pristine's bass is more accurate, tighter, articulates more and hits a bit harder(expected from a ref-tuned iem).
Mid : The mid on Pristine is more forward while the mid U18 is even. Both have similar quality, natural tone and being emotional with Pristine a tad brighter and harsher in the upper mid though the harshness depends on tracks due to its revealing nature. The upper mid on U18 is more extended and smoother compared to Pristine. I do like the fact that vocal extended a bit more and has the lingering feeling after each note, this could give quite emotion sometimes.
High : Both have natural tonality and smooth but Pristine is brighter and harsher with poorly remastered tracks. On the other hand, U18 has more easy treble to listen to. Smooth, not overly warm, organic, laid back and extended. It's smoother not by all mean 100% though I can hear it being edgy sometimes. U18 it brings out detail a bit more in an effortless fashion.
Staging and imaging : U18 has better 3d dimensional staging with wider stage and better depth in case giving better sense of instrument placements. The biggest difference would be its layering capability is plain better than Pristine .It's not nice and day better but it's just noticeably better in everything. Nothing to expect here from limit of 2-drivers design and 18 ba with open ba is a bit overkill. I actually did a small comparison between U18 on Wm1a's balance and HD800 on mid-fi stack Bifrost/Valhalla, found that U18 has quite similar staging but fall short on Spatial cues and openness, already quite impressive for an iem.

This might not be a fair comparison since 2 of them are in different price bracket. If U18 is 89, I would give Pristine a 87 . The performance is not a big gap in Tier 1 ranking tbh but if you look at the asking price that would be another story.

 

[tfnvk]

hi guys, anyone can compare the hum pr to empire ears athena?

 

[JD16]

I bought my Pristines from gearofwar. They're my first CIEMs. Like everyone says they very clean & tight. I use them with my Fiio E18 Kunlun which has a bit colored/fun sound. Tried them with some of my neutral DAC/Amps but they sound too dry to be enjoyable. Love them.

 

[etoilebiscuit]

I bought my Pristines from gearofwar. They're my first CIEMs. Like everyone says they very clean & tight. I use them with my Fiio E18 Kunlun which has a bit colored/fun sound. Tried them with some of my neutral DAC/Amps but they sound too dry to be enjoyable. Love them.

You reshelled them through hum?

 

[JD16]

Yes got them reshelled through HUM for $200

 

[Amadeo Nospherathu]

Well, the topic seems dead, but the company is alive, though not mainstream. I haven't found a separate topic for Dolores, so I'll leave my review here.
https://porta.fi/hum-dolores-anti-mainstream-in-action/