The Utopia isn't the best at creating a large space, but they image as good as any dynamic driver. Trade-off's you can say. - I can live with both and do :D

A bass shelf on a the MR planar should be rewarding.

Surprisingly the most aesthetically pleasing product from HFM. $1,100 for the headphone alone is a serious draw. L700 comparisons should be taken seriously at this price. :D

I had some time with the Ara. From your descriptions - you might be better off with the Solaris family or maybe even Bonneville. The Fathoms sound like the ultimate Ara/Andromeda replacement where as the Emerald Sea is 'possibly' an evolution on the Andromeda family (I've never heard the Emerald...

Hope to see you soon - I'm excited for the end of June - I ordered on release day.

I still think the AI (Filter) technology is pretty impressive though. The MRI system is revolutionary, not sure if that patents comes along with the acquisition?

It is always annoying when you're constantly getting notifications when the product still is a month out. I hope someone creates a better thread when they are shipping -this thread is worthy of the recycler.

Love it! Mine would be: 1) Black Star 2) Solaris original 2) Andromeda Black 3) Andromeda first run 4) Andromeda White + Black screws 4) Super Moon 6) Atlas

Don't forget... Sorry acquired Audeze. Big implications there.

I know it voids warranty - but that blew my mind. I never really thought about playing the Frankenstein game with that shell design. MR Face on the raw Titanium / Damascus / stainless or even brass/copper

No, it does not. Only the supplied cable is wired correct. Too many different 'standards' for balanced cables. I swear I have an amp for 2.5mm balanced, 3.5mm, 4.4mm... none with the square that RSA was pushing. Glad that didn't stick.

Why in high gain? None of my IEM's get close to needing more than low. 40'ish on low gain is loud for me.

Booting is rather slow and not smooth for me. The animation is like loading a .gif on a 56.6k dial-up modem. It is responsive once up and running though.

So, I'm looking at the 64 Audio, FiR, and Jodi-Vac as an IEM maintenance tool. Anyone have a suggestions? I'm trying to stay around the ~100 range.

@iFi audio is on top of making updates and improvements to all their models - when are we going to see the GO pod 2? :D

DX180 dongle with the quad cirrus and a micro tube added for fun. Doubt USB can power that - one can dream.

...and Syn (amongst other Schiit Greatest Hits) and enjoyed the simplicity and sound of the Magni Unity. If I were to go back to the beginning... *sigh* The Syn could also be somebody's' fulltime system. I need more time hearing what affects/effects the tuning on the Syn is capable of...

Thank you Bloom - Shipped, Safe, Secure, and Skittled - Now to learn Android again. Currently scanning in my 1TB card and playing with settings. Any recommendations for applications? I saw Firefox being mentioned with uBlock or similar. I'd rather use Chrome - I'll check into plugins for that too.

When will the Cascades hit the warehouse? :D Are they being sold new anymore?? One of the headphones that kind of got away from me. The price was a bit much to swallow at time of release - not that they aren't worth it, just wasn't in the market for a closed back at the time.

You've got that right. The N5005 is very enjoyable - I'm running the mid-boost like quite a few here are. Just enough to keep it fun without getting too far off from a pleasant FR. Sounds like you got a great deal! Enjoy and forget. The N5005 gets rotation amongst some of the other top players...

IEMatch and GND Defender. They both do stuff. :D

Good morning Phil, We'll keep each other up to date on the OAE1 - I'm sure of it as we've been trying out similar headphones lately. I'm not going back and researching, but you might be right also on the x-feed. I had them for a while, but the HD800/HD650 just kind of kicked most dynamics out...

I've noticed there are quite a few folks from Arizona in here. Y'all need to make it to a meet-up Schiit has hooked us up with their Kit for quite a few meets now. "Us oldtime head-fi'ers" always love more tech-nerds to chat with. I'm sure most of the AZ crew is very savvy with electronics...

...you are putting a passive filter back in line if you use EQ. It doesn't 'sound' like the OAE1 is the most resolving headphone in the world (according to early reviews) - so I wouldn't pull *it* out just to get a tiny bit more resolution. Buy a different can at that point IMO (* "IF" there is...

I mean, you're not wrong - tonally they are kind of like a 009 with a very impressive bass presentation. Timbre is where I disagree. The HiFiMAN HE series and Stax 009 both have more clarity / resolution. The Composer is a quick DD driver, but it isn't as fast as the electrostatic and planar...