Disclaimer:
a. I am in no way affiliated with Fiio
b. The X1 audition was a part of a world tour audition.
c. There is no monetary or in kind gain due to the audition.
 
With the disclaimer out of the way, I will focus on the device performance with 2 considerations:
1. Look and feel, functionality
2. Device performance with various earphones/headphones
 
1. Look and feel, functionality
I have not owned a Fiio DAP in the past. I do own a couple of Fiio headphone amps and can easily summarize that all of Fiio products are build very well. They feel solid and provide trouble free performance for a long time.
 
Build
The X1 is lightweight but is very sturdy. It can sit very comfortably in your pocket without troubling you or itself!
The silicone case provided along with the player provides a skeptic of additional protection to the device in the event of a fall. I didnt want to test a fall as the device is in the process of multiple auditions by others.
 
Functionality
A DAP merits evaluation of its usability along with the quality of playback equally. One will spend a long time with the user interface and functionality, building muscle memory of the various functions, in order to reduce interaction with the device as much as possible (I know this sounds contradictory, but one wants to mainly listen to music from a DAP rather than play with the UI).
 
The center wheel reminds you of the old iPod Classic that a lot of us have loved in the past. This one has a very tactile feedback with tiny and reassuring click when rotated. There is a little bit of a gap between the wheel and backing, which can be a comfortable nesting place for lint/dust etc.
In the iPod classic, the wheel played the role of the main selector when not playing music, and doubled as the volume control when playing music. The wheel on the Fiio X1 acts as a selector when playing music as well. For someone who is familiar with the navigation of the iPod Classic, this will take a bit of getting used to. Personally, I prefer the wheel to be more useful with additional functionality, as it feels very well built.
 
I do have a bit of a nitpick in this section and then we can get to the parts where the X1 shines. When playing music, if I want to skip a track, or pause/hold, I need to use the power button to switch on the display (power save) and then perform the necessary action. I think this will need to be managed better, as I would like to make those choices without having to start up the display. 
 
Which then takes me to the display review. User interface can be switched to 2 different skins - Vertical strips or semi circular sections. The wheel controls navigation across the various menu items. The Forward and Reverse buttons can also be used for the same. Volume control is on the side of the device, like in a mobile phone, below the power button. The power button does the usual display sleep when pressed once, and power down with a long press.
 
Battery performance 
The battery performed decently during playback, with a drain dependent on the headphone/earphone being driven. Standby seemed to drain the battery, a little more than my standby expectation. I am not sure if it because of a beta firmware; I believe this could be a software problem, rather than a weak battery.
 
Now onto the best part.
 
2. Device performance with various earphones/headphones
I tried the DAP with various headphones - ATH A900, Fostex T50rp, AKG k240 Sextett, Panasonic HTF-600s and ATH M50. The device comfortably drove almost all the headphones well.
 
The AKG is a little power hungry due to the higher impedence - the DAP was able to drive it with a high volume setting. A headphone amp was required to power it sufficiently, but the DAP was able to do a much better job compared to my other sources.
 
The X1 has an intimate sound and is not as airy and has an intimate sound stage, but with good separation. The sound from most devices was a little bright on bass, but with very good fidelity.
 
Then I tried the device with multiple earphones- Shure SE530, Sony XBA 3, JVC FXD80, MEElectronics A151, A161p, Astrotec AX35, Apple Earpod earphones to name a few. And I had a revelation. 
While the player was very good with the dynamics and nanotube coated micro drivers, it had a special effect on the BA earphones - specifically XBA 3 and the A151; the player complemented the characteristics of the BA earphones so well that I was in heaven. Below is some of my observations and analysis (I could be wrong and YMMV).
 
 
 
Paired with Sony XBA 3
The Sony XBA 3 has a bit of a love hate relationship. As well understood at Head-fi, the XBA 3 is a phenomenal performer with a jarring defect - Metallic treble grating. On certain tracks which are hot on treble, there is a resonant grating feel to the treble which is a very uncomfortable experience. Especially at high volumes. I tried the XBA 3 on the device after trying some of the larger headphones. As a result, the volume level was a little high. 
 
When I hit play on the Metallica - Black album, I was in for a great surprise! Instead of the grating treble, I heard a very velvety, involved sound that straight put a smile on my face.
The X1 + XBA 3 felt like a match made in heaven. The harsh treble was subdued and the bass felt right. Very right. I then played a mixed playlist of hip hop, prog rock, game music. Everything sounded so wonderful. The sound was very slightly outside the head, intimate and velvetty. Very clear, like the way music ought to be listened to. I have very rarely felt this with the XBA 3. I have felt this before on a Beosound 3 + SE530 before. Never on the XBA 3. The X1 made want to listen to the XBA 3 all the time. So those who are stuck with the XBA 3, do get the X1 in order to fall in love with the XBA 3!
 
Paired with A151
The A151 has been a favorite of mine ever since I got them. While I dont listen to them regularly, I often return to them for a clean sound (although slightly dark). With the X1, the A151 felt like home, and I had a fabulous time with this combination. The X1 seemed to provide the much missed bass emphasis while not muddling the overall sound signature of the A151. Another combination made in heaven!
 
Analysis
I then sat down and tried to understand what could be the reason the X1 matched so well with the XBA 3 and the A151. Here is my theory.
 
With the XBA 3, the harsh upper treble was slightly subdued, providing for a very rich listening experience, sans the harshness. 
With the A151, the slight bass emphasis gave the A151 a refreshing punch to the bass frequencies, adding to its rich treble and mids.
 
Recommendation
If you have a tight budget, need to start loving your XBA 3 again, or get more out of your BAs, and quality of sound is a definite must, then go ahead and buy the X1 when it becomes available. For all others, go ahead and buy the X1. The quality and sound really gives you a very compelling price point.
 
Highly Recommended!

Thanks to Concept Kart for organising this review tour of 2 dacamp dongles. Audiocular is Concept Kart's own brand and is their first foray under the brand. Wishing them the very best in bringing excellent products under the umbrella!

TP20 Pro and TP30 Pro are balanced and single ended dacamp dongles that are affordable and provide excellent features in a tight budget. The review is from a very neutral standpoint and has absolutely no influence in any way from Concept Kart. All opinions are mine only.

Specifications

The TP20 Pro dacamp comes with dual independent Cirrus Logic dac chipsets (CS43131), supporting 3.5mm (SE) and 4.4mm (Bal) ports on the output section, while taking a usb c input. It supports 32 bit/384khz PCM, DSD256 decoding as well as MQA decoding.

The TP30 Pro comes with dual ESS ES9038Q2M chipsets that has a 3.5mm (SE) and 4.4mm (Bal) output with a similar usb c input. The dac decodes 32 bit/768khz PCM, DSD512 decoding as well as MQA decoding.

Both dacamps have an option of USB C or Lightning cables, for use with appropriate input sources.

There are minor differences in terms of THD, sensitivity, SNR, dynamic range parameters, while providing a similar output impedance of 32 ohms. The TP20 Pro has a green LED while the TP30 pro has a red LED indicator when they are powered on.

Package and build

The devices come in identical carboard packages with the corresponding usb-c to usb-c or lightning cable nestled in foam, while the dacamps are nearly identical in terms of dimensions.

The TP20 Pro is a black brick, while the TP30 Pro is a golden brick (or biscuit!). Both look solid with metal construction that looks like it can take a lot of abuse. Both weigh a bit and give a feeling of solid metal mass.

The input and output ports are near identical on both units, with the output ports switching order in comparison to the other.

The TP20 pro comes with a gain switch as well as volume buttons that control the source volume nicely. The TP20 pro also has a Play/pause button that pauses and resumes play on the source (Even on a windows laptop!).

The TP30 pro does not have the gain switch or the pause/play button, but has a similar volume control buttons.

Screen printing on the cases of both dacamps are similar, with the logo on one side, and the name and chipset capabilities on the other side.

Both units came with identical cables.

Sound profile

With impressive output power specs on both units (2Vrms - single ended, and 4 Vrms on balanced), there is plenty of juice to drive iems with ease. I was able to drive KZ PR1 Pro and CCA PLA13 to ear shattering levels on both dacs.

Tuning

TP20 Pro - The TP20 Pro has a slightly more pronounced bass, of the two. Details are good, lots of head room without any distortion experienced at any level. The mids are pushed slightly back in comparison with the TP30 pro, more due to slightly bassiser output.

TP30 Pro - The TP30 Pro is slightly more neutral sounding of the two. The mids are a touch more clearer, with excellent treble detail. The bass is more rounded than the TP20 pro, that has a bit more oomph. The typical sabre glare is mostly avoided, and the sound is very clean.

Conclusions

Coming at excellent price points, both dongles offer very high value in terms of features and excellent sound. The only probably qualm is that both are on the chunkier side. This could auger well as the metal builds inspire confidence in terms of longevity. Standard usb c input means the most common failure point of dac dongles is well addressed.
The TP20 Pro is an easy recommendation for those looking for a fun sounding dongle, while the more detail oriented and technical audience will enjoy the TP30 Pro more. Well done, Concept Kart / Audiocular!

Thanks to AG and Canpur for the CP622B review unit.

As always I dont have nor expect incentives of any kind for the review and all opinions are mine.

Overview

Canpur have been making waves in the high end iem segment with stunning iems. The CP622B (herein referred to as 622) are no exception.

The iems are fairly large sized with a stunning faceplate. The iems sport 2 pin connectors and the review units shipped with a 4.4 balanced cable with some
really fancy splitter and connector components.

The iems also came in a rectangular faux leather case with a microfibre cloth and a pick to clean the iems with. The tips are of 2 types - black and white with an orange
sleeve inside.

The iems themselves are resin based and carry impressive tech - 6BA + 2EST + 2BC per side, explaining the need for large shells.

Fit
The shells being fairly large sized, and with wings, have a little bit of an issue with small ears (like I do). I was able to get a good fit with the small sized tips and used the same for the review.
The cables, with their memory wire helped to hold the iems in place, but do have a little bit of tug and cause sensitivity around the ears over time

Sound and Driveability

Inspite of all the drivers in the iem, they are very easy to drive at only 10ohms. This results in being able to be driven by anything from a mobile phone upwards.

The combination of drivers provide the iems to drive most genres with authority. They are quite detail oriented, with the deep rumble of the BC drivers.

Bass - They have strong bass thanks to the Bone conduction driver pair per side. This gives it an immense rumble and slam. On some tracks they rumble the brains out.
Bassheads, this one is for you!

Mids - The mids are present in greater extent when compared to other V shaped iems. These do have a slightly pushed back mids but only slightly.

Treble - With the multiple EST drivers, the treble is fast and very detail oriented, providing a lot of technical cues, be it imaging or stage. There is quite a bit of air to
make the iems sound spacious too. There is no congestion inspite of all the details being thrown around.

Conclusions
Canpur CP622B is a TOTL offering and does well with almost all genre. Start saving up!

Thanks to Hifigo (https://hifigo.com/products/kinera-urd-1) and gadgetgod (https://www.head-fi.org/members/gadgetgod.528602/) for organising the review tour of the Kinera Imperial Urd.

The Urd comes with the following specifications

• 2 Sonions EST + 2 Titanium Crystal Diaphragm Coaxial DD + 1 Kinera Customize 11021 BA
• Impedance: 20 ohm
• Sensitivity: 107db±2db
• Frequency Response: 5Hz-50kHz
• Modular 6N OCC + OCC with Silver Plated + OCC with Gold Plated Cable

BUILD AND ACCESSORIES​

The review unit came in a blue canvas case with adequate space for the iems and the adapters. The unit also came with excellent cables with replaceable connectors, with the selection of 2.5, 3. and 4.4mm terminations. The cable is nice and soft with low to no microphonics. The cables terminate in a 2-pin connection into the iems. The units came with a selection of 2 silicon tips and a cleaning brush.

FIT​

The Urd shell is on the bigger side. When worn, it does jutt out of the ears, looking a bit comical. The blue shade on the shell is beautiful and has a very nice shimmer in the light. It looks very nice overall. I was afraid of the fit of the iems, as I have small ears. The Urd had absolutely no problems with the fit, thanks to its medium sized nozzles. The nozzles are slightly long and help with the comfort. There was no pain experienced despite long listening sessions.

SOURCE - SONY CD WALKMAN (D-NF420)​

I dug opened my vintage Sony CD Walkman and put a battery in it. And the damn thing worked beautifully after a decade and a half of non-use! Sony take a bow! The sound output from the Walkman is incredible and gave me a very good reason to break out my old CDs collecting dust. Hence, for this review I use my CD collection, so no links, sorry!

TRACK SELECTION​

Pink Floyd - Time (Dark side of the Moon)
The Clocks at the start have the same wake up impact, as I heard it for the first time. The clocks are positioned super accurately, with the westminster chime finishing the clock part. The beginning of the next section with the deep guitar and percussions is absolutely enveloping. I could be standing right in the middle of a concert! Guitars are placed left and right, with the Gilmour in the center and the drums are layered at the back. The backing vocals are also coming from the back of the singer. The distortion guitar can be literally felt. I havent felt this much connection with the music in iems, apart from the EX1000, Qdc Gemini and the z1r. I just want to close my eyes and just immerse in the music. Stage width is good, as well as the depth. The height is average with this track. All details are present, vocals are brilliant. The grittiness in the voice is very nice.

Eric Clapton - Unplugged - Tears in Heaven
The Urd does something magical with strings. What a match with the acoustic guitars on this track. Each pluck with its nuances, brushes, can be heard very cleary. I have a front row seat in the audience with this track, very close to the stage. The space is very good, with Clapton sometimes hitting the highs with a bit of energy. Layering is spot on, as is the imaging. The soft female backing vocals comes across very delicately, complementing Clapton's vocals. When the audience roars and claps, is when you are brought back to the stage. The immersion is unreal. I want to listen to more tracks. Will come back later for more reviews!

Carmina Burana - O Fortuna (from the OST of The Doors)
I next picked up the OST of The Doors movie (it is what it is!), and track 10 is O Fortuna. This is one song to play during Ragnarok/Judgement Day kind of scenarios. And boy does the Urd do justice to the track. The chorus starts off grandly, proceeding to the light movement, building up to its crescendo, with the large drums kicking in like cannon fire. And it feels like it. The tension build up is incredible. If you have a huge task that you need to accomplish, or face a serious hill climb, I recommend the O Fortuna track, especially from the Urd. The sense of balance is very good. It sounds like a very good pair of full sized headphones. The cymbal strikes at the end of the track, feel real with its recoil. Very nice!

The Best of Bob Marley & the Wailers - Is this Love
One of my all time favorite tracks, the song is so groovy right through. The guitars sound so crisp and in place, with cow bells used on both sides of the stage, with Marley's voice at dead centre. The drumsticks on the cowbells sound real and pointed. Again, I just want to close my eyes and listen. There is a lot of instruments, trumpets, tuba etc in the background, that meld with Marley crooning out the belter track. Thoroughly immersive again.

Deep Purple 30: Very best of - Child in Time (25th anniversary remaster)
Another of my all time favorite tracks, one of the magical ones to get lost in for a long time (especially on the Live in Tokyo album). The vocals are in front, with the moog/synth on the right. The cymbal strikes again feel real.. like really real. The building crescendo with the howling/screaming, makes you want to join in. This track has one of the best guitar solos of all times, with incredible improvs in every live play. The guitar is slightly left off centre. Even in the faster sections, there is no muddiness. Incredible EST implementation here. I think the best of CD mastering has a little bit of mastering issue with treble peaks for a little bit of the guitar solo. Even with the slight glare in the mastering, the music is very cohesive and comes together very well.

Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing (Money for Nothing - West germany print)
This is one of the better mastered albums around. The main guitar, rhythms guitar, cymbals, vocals, everything is so beautifully rendered. There is enough space between the instruments, with excellent articulation, speed and timbre. Difficult to listen without keeping my eyes closed. This is definitely an iem made for listening to music in its entireity. With Knopfler's main guitar bang centre of the stage, the other instruments are spread around, with a front of the stage presentation. Personal concerts galore! The drums, when coming front, sound very realistic among the other instruments. Bass guitar is heard through the track in cohesion again!

P.S:
I wanted to put in more review tracks, but damn, the Urd just wants me to close my eyes and listen. So thats what I will do!

COMPARISONS​

Mangird Tea
The Teas are priced slightly lower than the Urd, but with a different configuration from the Urd. In the stock form, the bass is harder hitting, and the treble has traces of sibilance. The Urd, on the other had, has a slightly lesser bass impact, with almost a DF neutral bass response. The treble is also a little more forgiving than the Tea.

BGVP DM8
The DM8 is an all BA (8 drivers per side) unit, that does things quite well. The bass has a slight BA timbre, but is compensated for with good fitting tips. All other areas are very good, with excellent articulation of treble and slightly laidback mids. The biggest sore point on the DM8 for me is the fit. The nozzles are massive. The Urd in comparison has no such issues and sits very well in my ears, with no discomfort for long term listening sessions.

QDC Gemini
I am comparing Fiats with Ferraris here, but hear me out. The QDC Gemini is the best balanced iems that are not single DD, that I have put in my ears. It is supremely comfortable and easy to drive. The balance in sound is the best I have heard, full stop. The Urd, comes quite close to reproducing the balance, with a slightly lesser amount of detail. The balance is in the same ballpark. Both immerse you in the music very well. (Single DDs are my choice of poison and the better ones are exceptional, with better immersion and organic tonality)

CONCLUSIONS​

The Urd is not your analytical monster, or the defining benchmark for detail. However, it does convey all the details in the music in a very cohesive and balanced manner. It is, for me, a thoroughly enjoyable iem, that makes you enjoy the music. I thoroughly enjoyed the iems and found them to be a lot more enjoyable than a few other iems I have heard in the recent past. I will highly recommend them if you are after magical string reproduction, vocals and realistic tonality.

Background
I do own/have owned discrete(ish) devices (R2R dacs, Sapphire discrete amp etc) and loved the analog sound out. I primarily use iems and headphones and have done a fair share of opamp and tube rolling on dacs and amps.

I had read up a lot of blogs about discrete opamps, and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I had also read a lot of reviews calling out that the discrete opamps have more noise due to the design than tightly packed single die IC opamps. In order to satisfy this itch, I ordered the Sparkos dual discrete opamps from the manufacurer site directly. A couple of weeks later, I received it in a simple but well protected packaging.

Disclaimer: All devices mentioned in the review were purchased by me, and dont have any influence or compensation of any kind from anyone else.



Platform
I am partial towards my old Xduoo XD05 (original version), as it provides me an excellent platform to test out different opamps, while supporting high bitrates, while also providing a powerful amp section.
The XD05 with the LM 6172 was my preferred dacamp of choice, with the Hifiman Arya being the transducer to validate the chain.

I had to use another dip switch to provide some height to the opamp DIP on the board, (hack, yes, but easier than having to move the capacitors out to make space. This worked well, btw). Once the second dip adapter was added, I was able to install the Sparkos with no further issues.

What did the Sparkos do?
I had to put the amp on high gain, keep the bass on low (to prevent a Protect being triggered).

The LM6172 made the soundstage spacious with good sparkle on the treble. It made an otherwise ordinary dacamp to a fantastic dacamp. This is easily my favorite recommendation over bursons (v5i or v6).

In comes the sparkos. In terms of drivability, the sparkos offered the same output levels as the LM6172. However, what it added was magical. There was a very analogy sound from the amp. The lows were nicely rendered with a little bit of smoothness over the clinical sound from the LM6172.
The mids got a lot of support and male and female vocals sounded full and rich.
String instruments were more lifelike (slightly less treble than the 6172, but more real). The plucks felt real, the violin felt emotional in a way that the LM6172 hasnt.

The soundstage was very similar to the LM 6172. Wide open with a lot of air. This is incredibly close to the R2R sound. All the talk about noise being added to the stage goes through the window. Noise is still sound, and some of it added to the "Patina". The music became more lifelike. What is not to like about this..

And then the realization sunk in. I cant close the case of the xduoo as the opamp projects out from the dimensions of the case. Well.. I guess you cant have em all.

Comparisons with Orange Dual Discrete Opamps
I had ordered the Orange dual discrete opamps and coincidentally, received the Orange on the same day as the Sparkos. This made comparisons much more easier! Talk about luck.
(https://orangeamps.com/product/op-amp/)


The Orange layout is more vertical than horizontal. (Pics will be updated later today). This allowed me to plug the Orange straight into the primary DIP socket.

In terms of sound, the Orange has a more active treble (sizzly), and a slightly better soundstage.

Both opamps are brand new and havent been used for more than an hour in total. I will update back once I have used them for sufficient time.

Comparisons with NewClassD Dual Discrete Opamps Ultimate Edition (2021 version)

I had ordered the NewClassD 2021 edition from Lars (https://www.newclassd.com/index.php?page=125&hv=1) and had an excellent turnaround! Thanks Lars!

The NewClassD is the largest among the opamps that I have tested, dwarfing the Orange even. It also has LEDs on to indicate operation. Again, I havent used the opamp for more than 5 hrs (similar to the other opamps).

Overall, the NewClassD is a lot more V shaped, with emphasized bass with a lot of detail in the upper mids and treble sections. As a result, the mids are pushed back a bit. The stage is as wide as the other 2 opamps, with lower current draw ( the XD05 did not go into protect mode even on very high volumes with high gain and high bass). This was promised as per the update from Lars, and it does hold out the promise well.

The notes are very rich and organic, with excellent heft. Layering is excellent too, with equal performance from all 3 opamps.

Conclusions

I will recommend the discrete opamps for someone that has a platform that supports opamp rolling and is looking for an analog sound on the cheap (in comparison to a discrete amp or an R2R dac).

My personal preference, and this is quite subjective to the device and music used.
Sparkos > NewClassD > Orange, by very slight margins.

Thanks to gadgetgod for the review unit of the Questyle CMA18.

Questyle is well known for quality audio products for a while now. The CMA18 is a portable dac amp that sounds like the swiss army knife of portable audio products.

Package and Build
The CMA18 comes in a fairly large carboard box, with foam inserts for the dacamp and accessories. The dacamp itself is a sight to look at on opening the box.

The large transparent window showcases the circuitboard with all the components on display. The size of the dacamp is about 3x the size of the M15 dongle.
While the unit itself isnt heavy, I wonder how the transparent top will take a fall from a considerable distange. This is one of my main worries of transparent units.

The accessories that come with is a very good selection. Lightning cable (for apple devices), usb-c cable for android and windows alike, toslink cable, adapters. wow this will fit almost all use cases

Features

The dacamp supports ios, android and desktop (linux/mac/windows) out of the box thanks to the xmos USB decoder.
It support the following inputs - USB, optical, bluetooth
Output - USB out, bluetooth (LDAC, aptx), 3.5mm SE, 4.4mm balanced and lineout on both outputs.

The volume is controllable via volume rockers on the side, and from the source device.

With support for multiple codecs (BT, DSD512 Native, PCM768 etc) the device can run in so many configurations.

Sound

Boasting a 2W x 2 power output with the current mode amplification, the device can drive a lot of hard to drive iems and headphones with ease.

I tried a lot of headphones including HD650, Fostext T50rp mk3 and a selection of iems to determine its ability to drive. Aside from the T50rp, the CMA18 was able to drive all the devices thrown at it with ease.

The DAC duties are performed by a well implemented AK4493 chipset. The characteristic house sound questyle - clear all through while being musical at the same time is the tuning here too.

The dacamp itself does not add color to the sound in a perceptible way. However, with excellent clean power, the CMA18 sounds dynamic with a large stage (again depending on the transducers being driven).

Boasting a 10hr battery and 60hr idle time, this will keep the music flowing through the day.

Another feature that I didnt test out but am very impressed with is the analog line in on both the 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced connectors. This enables usage of the device for recording from analog sources.

While playing back, the device does get a bit warm. So they may not be exactly pocketable over a little bit of time, but play a suberb role on the desk.

Conclusions
The CMA18 is a no brainer device for those looking to drive hard to drive gear, or even for recording analog audio with very good fidelity. This device is a veritable swiss army knife of the portable audio world.
Well done again, Questyle !

Thanks to Amin Karimpour for organising the VE8 tour.

Disclaimer : The VE8 is part of the Vision Ears review tour. The opinions expressed are solely mine. There are no exchange of gifts or cash in lieu of the reviews.

Since Vision Ears is well known, I will cut right to the chase.

When I approached the iem, I was expecting a detail monster, with a very analytical sound. I expected a top of the line iem to be near reference tuning.

And then I put the VE8 in the ear.

And it hurt a bit (A little about it later).

I started off listening to my standard list of reference tracks, bubbles, lady labyrith, vivaldi etc, I found that the tuning was not reference at all. I was ready to give up on the iem. And then I switched to pop. Specifically, the King of Pop. And behold, VE8 came out in all its glory. This is an iem that will have purists say "All I wanna say is that they dont really care about us!". The VE8 is a definite Thriller. With Pop, this is Dangerous.

And then I recalibrated my brains to look at what Vision Ears have done with the VE8. They have taken the route of going full on Pop. R&B and Hip Hop sound so much fun on these. Oh and then I used it to watch a re-run of Thor:Ragnarok! An the VE8 delivered in spades.

Having been through this roller coaster of experience, I think it will be pointless to go through the standard reference approach. I understand why other reviews have been short about the iem.

Sound
These are mildy V shaped. There is definite bass presence, and you can make out the BA timbre on these. However, they are present in excellent quantity. There is a resonance of the bassy sound in the background, makling them very fun when listening to pop, hip hop and R&B genre very much. This exact quality provides the rumble of Thor or the rage of Hulk come through to the fore. Thanos sounds so much more menacing now.

I listened to vocal tracks and they dont dissapoint either. The male and female vocals are well presented, and are very nicely enjoyable. MJ grooves and grooves on, on these.

On the treble front is where there is a little bit of a nitpick. Considering the overall SQ tuning of the iem, the treble is quite nice. However, on some tracks there is a hint of sibilance. On fast tracks especially with a lot of instruments, the VE8 is defeated on the faster sections. The instruments become a little blurry, separation takes a backseat.

The soundstage is wide, with excellent imaging. However, the trademark issue that I encountered in other VE iems (EVE20 and VE6XC) is continued here, with respect to stage depth. While the depth is better than either EVE20 or VE6XC, it is still shallow. I have some theories about this, based on the full acrylic shell based construction, but will ignore it for now.

On movies, explosions, background scores, vehicles, gunfire etc are excellently represented. I will recommend users to try this with movies. This adds so much to the fun factor.

Fit
This is one area that VE8 does fall short for me. The stock tips shipped were the Spin Fits. Those tips cause a vaccum to build up on insert and gets painful. I quickly switched over to Final audio tips and things were significantly helped.
The iem is clearly not ideal for small ears. They caused physical pain when used for more than 30 mins for me. (I have small ears). It might fit larger ears better. Please try the fit before splurging on the iem.

Cable and build
The cable initially looked frail. However,it proved to be quite strong. It reminded me very much of the old Westone 3 cables. No microphonics or tangling with the stock cable. The 2 pin arrangement allows for plenty of experimentation with aftermarket cables (as expected).

The iem itself is very light, with a full acrylic build. It looks beautiful with multiple color options available.

Verdict
Fun iem, that lets you indulge in your guilty pleasures and have you dancing along! If only it was not as expensive!

Thanks to Concept Kart (https://conceptkart.com) for the review tour. ​

​

The unit arrived in the iem case with what looks like a silver and copper hybrid cable, with the typical qdc tips (spinfits cp100 I think). It is available at the Concept Kart site (https://conceptkart.com/.../qdc-anole-vx-standard-wired-iem)

FIT AND BUILD​

The QDC Anole VX is built like a piece of jewellery. Lots of silver specles in a clear shell, that looks very nice when worn. It brings in the bling very well. Those looking for an understated appearance, use masking tape
The shell is very nicely sized and shaped. It is very light weight and fits comfortably for me, carrying forward the good fit trend across the QDC lineup.
The review unit came with the CP100 (like?) tips in the M size. It fits me well again, and is the preferred choise of tips for the QDC range.
The cable is soft and pliable, with gold plated 2 pin connector at the earpiece end. It came with the standard 3.5mm SE termination.
The VX comes with 10 BA drivers with the crossovers expertly tuned by the engineering team and is the highlight. The VX was the previous flagship of QDC and has its name origins in the VX gas which is a very powerful nerve poison used in the military.

TUNEABILITY​

The Anole VX features 3 switches for the Low, Mids and High frequency emphasis and work to enhance the respective areas. The switches work well and allow for various combinations to tweak the sound. I preferred to keep them off for the rest of the review (purely personal sound preference, as the switches do impact the sound well)
Out of the box, the iem is almost W shaped, with near perfect mids. There is bass as well as treble extension as expected from a former TOTL.

DRIVEABILITY​

The VX is a fairly easy to drive iem, but requires a little bit more drive than say the Gemini.

SOURCE​

People who have been reading my reviews know that I prefer a lot of portable and accessible options for selection of source. Since the iem does not require much power to drive, I selected the LG V30+ with Tidal and the AK PEE51 dac with Qobuz, Tidal and Youtube Premium as sources.
Sensitivity : 110-113dB SPL/mW
Frequency response :10Hz-20000Hz
Impedance:15-19Ω
Track selection
I used the following tracks for this review.
TR1> Ecstasy of Gold from The Good Bad and Ugly - Yo-Yo Ma (https://tidal.com/browse/track/18016422)
This track has some very fast violin/cello reproducing the legendary Good Bad and Ugly's Ecstasy of Gold, with additional embellishments from violin, trumpet etc, with a light percussion track. This is a busy track with a lot of transitions, instruments and space.
Impressions - The AnoleVX aced the speed test. Right from the word go, the violin stands out in front, with the other instruments layered at the back. The space is wide in front. The timbre of the violin comes through authoritatively. The AnoleVX breezes through the track, handling speed and transients effortlessly. There is a little bit of a bass support that makes the iem feel a bit warmish. The trumpets are layered in the center, a little behind the violin.
TR2> Why so Serious - Hans Zimmer - The Dark Knight OST (https://tidal.com/browse/track/1855831)
This is one track that keeps getting more and more intense, with a decently paced build up, the metallic droning sets this mood for the track from the workd go, with clock like sound and shepard's frequencies adding to tension.
Impressions - The droning starts from the beginning, increasing in frequency through the first minute. The droning has a lot of texture, and puts the listener in a state of suspence. The violins then take theme forward with a a more bassier plucked string, with a chorus of instruments translating the urgency in the track. The clock ticks like percussion and the thumping chorus then envelopes the user. Following it is more bassy metallic droning/drumming, with a lot of detail pickup in the AnoleVX. Incredible resolution. There is a bass rumble at near infrasonic frequencies from 3:29. The rumble is felt. No need for fancy bone conduction drivers or anything else. This is addicting. The subbass is in the background, with some more sticks on a metal tube of some sort, some foot steps and metallic sawing, before the percussion again comes back with the bass. So much happening, and the Anole presents the details wonderfully. The fantastic score by Hans Zimmer, makes you as tense as watching the movie, and is presented with all the details in a wonderful manner. I thoroughly enjoyed this track on the iems. There is speed, decay, very minor details (minor welding like sounds around the 6:40 mark, until about 7:13. You know the ominus and full blown chorus is coming. What a buildup by Hans! The bangs feel like gunshots proper, and feels like it. The clock ticks around the extreme left and right of the listener towards the end of the track indicates the soundspace and width! What a track! Take a bow Sir Hans, and Qdc
TR3> Speak to me & Breathe(Live in Gdansk) - David Gilmour - (https://open.qobuz.com/track/47026334, https://open.qobuz.com/track/47026335)
This is a track that opens the Live in Gdansk performance by David Gilmour. These tracks put you right in the centre of a phenomenal live performance by Gilmour and the band, playing the ever popular PF numbers.
Impressions - Right from the first claps to the roar of the crowd puts you right at the centre of the stadium. The energy and noise can be felt and positioned very well. This then transistions into the songs themselves, with Gilmour at the centre right of the stage. The drums and chorus are layered behind, with a wide presentation. Full marks to QDC!
TR4> Gaddar - Bloodywood (https://open.qobuz.com/track/133134251)
This is an intense heavy metal (nu-metal) track from the debut album by Bloodywood. This features heavy distortion, lots of screaming and energy. I use this track to test the ability to handle lots of instruments, brightness handling and cohesion of the iems. The benchmark for listening to this track is through the IER-Z1R. Most other iems and headphones sound a bit bright with this track.
Impressions - For this track, I enabled the bass boost on the iem. The iem feels a bit bright, due to its treble extension. The distortion guitars do sound a little faded on the treble, and having a lot of brightness on the track. Detail retrieval is very good, and a lot of the drum percussion coming through strong. I have found a few single DD iems or ones with DD handle this track a little better than most all BA iems. There is no sibilance however.

COMPARISONS​

Vs QDC Gemini
The QDC Gemini has been my reference for a perfectly implemented iem. The Anole VX, especially with all the switches off, sounds very similar to the Gemini. The fit is near identical too. The Anole has a slight extension and detail retrieval, when compared to the Gemini. The AnoleVX feels like a nice improvement in those areas. The switch on the Gemini allowed for adjustment to the sound without removal of the iems from the ears. The VX requires a supplied tool (behind the cleaning brush) to make signature changes.
Vs Sony IER-Z1R
The Z1R is tonally very different when compared to the AnoleVX. It sounds like a headphone with insane scaleup with amping (and requires amping). The AnoleVX is relatively easier to drive and does almost all frequencies right, on well recorded high bitrate songs. It does show out a poor track or source very quickly. The Z1R makes even poorly recorded tracks fairly well and is a lot more forgiving.
Vs Vision Ears VE7
The Vision Ears VE7 is the best comparable iems in the VE stable around the same pricepoint as the QDC. Both iems share the tonality, speed, cohesion and clarity near equally. One area where the QDC edges out the VE7 is the layering and stage, where there is a lot more depth cues than the VE7. I will be happy with both iems in my collection . Nothing much to differentiate the two well made and well fitting iems.
Vs 64Audio Nio
The Nio is a fantastic offering at a slightly lower list price than the QDC. It comes with tunable Apex modules instead of switches, with the M20 module sounding the best and most fun. The Nio is a more V shaped iem, with excellent subbass and V signature. The detail retrieval and extension of the Anole is better than the Nio, with Nio adding in a lot of fun factor without losing out on either resolution or soundstage.

CONCLUSION​

QDC Anole VX is one of the best resolving iems, with a very coherent sound. It has great air and space representation on an all BA iem. Some of the very best, if you provide it quality sound.

Burson - Supercharger - A quick review

Thanks to Burson audio and Bhavneet Matharoo for the review unit of the Supercharger.

The Supercharger is a power adapter that provides clean power from noisy power sources.

Build and package : The supercharger comes in a nice box, with the super charger, and 3 adapters for the various power plug configurations across the world (australia, europe, US). Functionaly and securing the items in the box, as can be seen from the image.


The build quality is good quality ABS plastic and weighs in slightly more than most laptop chargers.


How does it perform
My office power supply comes from a power backup that is extremely noisy. When I connect any audio device (dac or amp), or even charge the laptop. noise creeps into the iems/ headphones. This is the normal state of affairs.
In the Supercharger world, the noise is near completely eliminated, almost like someone closed a very well padded door. The current delivered to the amp is very clean, and the device performs very well, thanks to the super charger.

Whom will I recommend it to - Anyone with poor grounding, noisy power supply and those willing to upgrade the power source of their dac/amp (24V 3A VDC), they are in for a treat with the Burson Supercharger!

Disclaimer : I am reviewing the Tanchjim Tanya as part of the Hifigo review tour. The opinions are purely mine and dont involve any cash or kind compensation
(https://hifigo.com/products/tanchjim-tanya-7mm-dynamic-hifi-earbuds)

Package and Cable
The very excellently priced Tanya comes in a simple box with extra set of tips and a velvetty cloth pouch, something that much higher priced iems dont offer.
The cable is very familiar looking, I think they were the same on some of the KZ iems with an added 2 pin connector.
They do have a little bit of microphonics, and wind noise does carry through. A shirt clip or around the ear wear will minimize the noise.

At this price, I dont expect any manufacturer to offer replaceable cables, and neither does Tanchjim


Sound

Source : Hiby R5, Lusya Fever Dac > Quickstep Corda playing Tidal Masters.

The Tanya features a single DD in an aluminium body with a fairly prominent vent at the back. The vent allows the drivers to breathe and offer a fairly wide stage. Starting with Tunak Tunak Tun of Daler Mehendi, the vocals came through prominently, taking me back to the 1990s. The sound was very familiar, with lean low end, but excellent everything else. Made me want to listen to older music where vocals and the rest of the instruments were more prominent than bass.

There was a wave of mastering in the 90s in India, called Jhankar Beats, which involved slightly wider and brighter instruments. The Tanya brings out the best from that era! Very nostalgic! Very few iems capture an era of sound/music. One among such an attempt was the Piano Forte by Final Audio Design. Tanya is an excellent attempt at the same!

A minor non destructive mod will be to close the vent with tape, to increase the bass slightly. Makes the iem a bit warmer while sacrificing some of the stage width.

I will skip standard tracks for this review and try to include tracks that are very familiar to India, but virtually unknown outside.

Starting off, a classic 90s track from DDLJ (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) - called Tujhe Dekha to (https://tidal.com/browse/track/85419905), where the nasal male vocals by the every popular Kumar Sanu, more than matched by the Indian nightingale - Lata Mangeshkar, transported me to listening to the soundtrack on tape and on TV/radios.

While not the 90s, the KANK (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) was an excellently scored movie song with powerful singing and excellent mastering. The Mitwa track has very soothing but upbeat quality that is conveyed very well by the Tanya (https://tidal.com/browse/track/2855462). The instruments are well placed and vocals are again centrestage! The tabla coming to the fore in the middle of the track is rendered very well again.

Next, over to my favorite pick me up track called Zinda from Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. This is an energy filled song that never fails to pick me up. On the Tanya, the vocals are a little laid back. With the vent mod, this track brings all the energy back and make you want to get up and go get it!

Conclusion
For the price ofa large pizza, the Tanya is capable of taking you back in time and wonderfully so!

Eminent Ears - Ruby​

Thanks to Pulkit Dreamzz for the review tour of the Eminent Ears Ruby.
Eminent Ears is a relatively new group of enthusiasts from Hong Kong who came together to try their hand at putting together a prototype iem, and liked it enough to present it at the global scale. And Ruby is the culmination of refining the prototype, and is the flagship (well it is their only iem!).

Build and Package​

Oh boy does it look fantastic. The faceplate looks literally like a bunch of ruby gems were embedded in.

The iems are 1 DD + 4 BA + 4 EST drives in a fairly lightweight 3d printed resin shell. The nozzles are slightly above average in size, and fit fairly decently for most ears.

The package consists of a fantastic looking cable with a very nice strain relief, and 4.4 terminated SPC litz cables. The iems ends are connected with a 2 pin connector.

The overall package looks high quality, with gold colored borders on the box opening to 2 spectacular gem like iems nestled in foam. There is a carry case, and a selection of 2 types of siliconne tips and a nicely embossed microfibre cleaning cloth. The case is a nice and compact cuboid faux leather thingy that serves the purpose well.

Source and pairing​

The iems clock a 60ohm impedance figure, and require a little bit of power to shine. But provide power and they do shine very well. I tested them with the trusty Lotoo PAW S1 on high gain,
farfield ATE and a volume of 62, playing music from my YT premium and Qobuz playlists to enjoy music. I paired them with the JVC Spiral Dots Pro tips for the review.

Sound Impressions​

Overall, with the stock cable and the Vortex Lavinia cables, the iems have a V shaped profile, that borders on W with decent support for the mids.

Bass : 4/5 - The bass is quite well done, but not planar like quick. There is good rumble and decay, to provide for some tactility. There is decent rumble and slam in the lower ends, but is just shy of basshead requirements

Mids : 3.75/5 - Vocals are well rendered, albeight a touch recessed. There is good support for male and female vocals, and sound coherent overall. There is hardly any bleed from the lower end into the mids.

Treble : 4/5 - The treble is very well extended and carry a lot of energy. There is a hint of sibilance on some tracks, nothing ear shattering. Trebleheads will love it for sure.

Stage : The sound stage is fairly wide but not very tall. Large room feel mostly. Imaging is good too with the instruments placed well.

Conclusions​

The Eminent Ears Ruby is certainly eye catching and aesthetically pleasing. The sound matches the looks too and sound very nice and coherent. Well done Eminent Ears!

Thanks to AG community and Penon for the tour unit of the ISN H60 (https://penonaudio.com/ISN-Audio-H60.html).

OVERVIEW​

The ISN brand has been around for a while now (5+ years) with some well received iems in the past. Most noteably the D02 and the H40.

I still own the D02 and when compared to the older sibling the H60 is very very similar in the looks department. It is slightly larger in size (very slightly),
with a all resin construction, as opposed to the older one sporting a metal nozzle.

The H60 utilizes a 2 pin connector, which is a very good move (considering the D02 was mmcx). The unit came in a blue carboard box housing the iem amid foam inserts.
A nice well made pleather case, in a slightly darker shade of blue does the protection duties.

The box also contained a selection of 3 types of silicon tips in 3 sizes each - Red, Green, Grey - I prefered the Red from a sound perspective. All 3 are soft, without being grippy,
but with a sturdy nozzle. The red tips sound the most balanced, with the green and grey being a bit more V sounding (YMMV).

The resin nozzles are a bit large, but the soft tips take care of comfort very well, even for my small ears.

The H60, unike the D02, does not sport a tuning switch - which is a good thing in my personal humble opinion. Lesser decisions is always a good thing.

The cable that came with a OCC Copper with what looks like 4 cores, with a nice protective sheath and terminated in 4.4 balanced connection.

Nitpick : From a pairing perspective, I felt a SPC cable would be a much better match sonically.

TECH​

While I didnt come across much literature in terms of construction at least at Head-Fi, it is quite apparent that the main driver units (DD) are premade dual drivers with 2 diaphragm opposing each other (Isobaric likely).
The 4 BA drivers do excellent duties in the mids and treble ranges

SOUND PROFILE​

The house sound of ISN audio is slight pronounced V shape with a slightly forward mid than traditional V sound. This gives enough weightage to the mids, while keeping things fun at the same time.

From a driveability perspective, the H60 drives fairly easily, running off dongles with a full sound.

Due to the dual diaphragm config, the bass is solid and rumbly. There is enough thump and slam on the tracks. With the copper cables though, the bass does get a bit more excited and bleeds into the mids slightly.
I switched to a Letshouer SPC cable and the bass tightened well, while air was added to the treble well.

There is also a nice resonance in the bass sections, that gives a roomy sound and lots of atmosphere.

From a scoring perspective, the H60 stands as follows.
Bass - 4/5
Mids - 3.75/5
Treble - 4/5
Imaging - 4/5
Stage - Large room

CONCLUSIONS​

At the asking price, I believe the H60 continues to offer high value similar to its older sibilings. It is an easy recommendation in the mid budget pricepoint. I thoroughly enjoyed it for the coherent and fun signature and continuing the D02's house sound and pushing it up by many notches.
Well done ISN Audio

Thanks to Amin Karimpour for organising the VE8 tour.

Disclaimer : The VE7 is part of the Vision Ears review tour. The opinions expressed are solely mine. There are no exchange of gifts or cash in lieu of the reviews.

As a part of the Vision Ears review tour, I received the VE7. And it was instant love with the sound. More on that in a short while.

I thought I will start with the easiest and shortest of the review sections, mostly nitpicks and then get to the good parts very soon.

Source I used them with the Hiby R5 mk2, LG V30+, iPhone 5s, Korg dac/amp and xduoo xd05 with LM4562
These drive easily with all gear and dont require amping. Sensitivity is very good

Fit: I do have relatively small ears. The VE7 follows the same shell design of the VE6XC, VE8 et al. And I did have issues with respect to pain in the ears on longer term listen. As the nozzles are quite short, in order to get a good fit, I need to push the IEMs into the concha, and that causes pain over a little while. This is the only nitpick i have with the iem, and while it is serious enough, I was looking for all opportunities to use it to listen to music, as it was that good! - 3.5/5

Build & Looks: All acrylic shell (filled) made the iems very lightweight, but strong in build. The colors dazzled in the sun and any other kind of light that was around in the environment. Even when not listening to the iems, I was tempted to just keep looking at its beautiful build. The blue shell was iridescent and had beautiful hues in different angles. One of them is highlighted in one of the pics. 4.5/5

The cables are standard across the range, and built well. They are very reminiscent of the Westone 3 cables and look sturdy enough for the job.

Sound: Now coming to the best part of the iem. Among all the VE iems that I have auditioned (EVE20, VE6XC, VE8, VE7), this has been the most complete package, well worthy of its drool worthy pricetag. And deservedly so.

Bass is fast, with good detail and control. While the quantity of bass is slightly short of a basshead demand, it is very pleasing in quality and is very well controlled. I could not sense bleed into the mids, while incorporating the rumble from the subbass.

The mids are very well represented, both male and female vocals. Clapton sounds lifelike and in front of you in the Layla (Mtv Unplugged) track, with all details and background audience sounds.

The Wall has some outstanding test tracks. One of my favourite test track here is "In the flesh" - there is a heartbeat through most of the track. On the VE7, this can be felt. There is a secondary/tertiary rumble and dissipation after the second heartbeat, and this can be felt. Similarly, the bomber aircraft noises towards the end has you looking for cover. Simply outstanding.

The treble is excellent. Cymbals sound realistic with good decay. Feels real. I havent heard sibilance with this iem, even on poor tracks. Guitars sound very real, string plucks are very well represented.

Speed is excellent. I use the Janine Jenson's Vivaldi - Adagio Presto as the test track where there are super fast sections. The VE7 did not get muddy (all the other VE iems did lose out the detail), and each draw of the violin bow was clear and detailed. Lady Labryinth by Einaudi had all the strings equally identified.

The stage depth is shallow. There is 3d space, but is not a stadium like feel. It is more like a slightly large room, however with excellent imaging and separation.
4.5/5

Fun factor While most iems are measured on the basis of reference audio tracks, there is definite merit in considering how well the iems are usable in real-world usage including games, movies etc. Aside from the fit considerations, these are fantastic for both gaming as well as movies, making them a true allrounder.

Conclusion I am keeping the review short, as there isnt much to write about and compare. These are absolutely fantastic iems, that I will recommend over many other TOTLs, considering how much of an allrounder these are. Vision Ears, take a bow! If money is not a concern, and the fit works, I will whole-heartedly recommend these over a lot of other iems (I dont recommend many iems, btw!). VE.. Well Done!

Thanks to Henry and Michael Browne for organising the India tour of the Astral Acoustics cables (https://www.astralacousticscables.com).

Astral Acoustics are based out of Hong Kong and have plenty of exotic cables (and materials) including silver, gold, palladium etc. Their cables are very nicely build and look the part of premium range of cables. A lot of the cables cost around the same or lower than other exotic cable makers (pw audio, effect audio). Since the review is for multiple cables, I will add cable reviews to this post as and when I have a listen to them. I will not mention the list prices here. I am neither compensated for in cash or kind for the reviews, as usual. I do make cables myself and can understand differences that cables make for iems and fairly sensitive headphones. YMMV.

In the review chain, I was handed off the Mercury and the Milky Way cables. Initially, it was very difficult to make out the difference between the two as they look identical. However, after a little bit of usage, I can identify them with eyes closed, by touch and by hearing along. For cable skeptics, here is a short summary I would like to provide regarding my opinion about the same.

My opinion about cables in general

There is a fairly developed science called metallurgy and material science, which looks at materials in general and for specific usages. The metal composition in cables, for example, provide for minor variations in sensitive drivers, aka iems, some headphones etc. In my books there are 2 general types of cables - Good cables, and bad cables. Bad cables dont transmit current across the frequency range as well as the good cables do. Also the iem/headphone performance depends on how the prototype was tuned (and eventually the economics of manufacturing). This trickles down into the manufactured products wherein iems and headphones come with poor/bad cables. I am specifically looking at marquee brands such as Sennheiser, Campfire Audio, Vision Ears etc, whose stock cables are generally poor from an electrical conductivity/SQ performance for their drivers. A lot of those are benefitted from aftermarket cables.

I dont want to do a lecture on materials and the electronics here, as they are quite difficult to measure precisely with cheap equipment. Instead, I can easily rely on my ears on how the cables work with the iems or headphones. Which brings me to the process of review.

Review process

I like to do my reviews on single driver iems or headphones, to reduce the impact of complex arrangement of driver types and cross overs, giving me a simpler way to try and understand the synergy.

Henceforth, for the series review, I will use the 7Hz Salnotes Zero (single DD) and KZ PR1 Pro (single planar) iems to do the review, as the cables are 2 pin, with 4.4mm balanced terminations. The Left - Right indicators on the cables are done cleverly with the Astral Logo pointing to the outside of the connector. Similar to PW on the UM Mest (go figure)!

This also brings me to the point about the source, as the impact or what is perceived of the cables can vary based on the source. I am using my trusty iBasso DC04 balanced dac dongle, playing from a wide variety of tracks from tidal, youtube, flac, CD etc. I also do comparisons with other iems (where I mention them specifically in the review).

The Review

1) Mercury - The Mercury cables are a beautiful silver looking cable, that are made of Silver plated copper wires (SPC), braided in 8? core bundles. The Cables are fairly tough, and slightly stiff. They are about 34g in weight overall, with gold plated 4.4 connectors.


Sound impressions - It does feel to write about sound impressions about cables, but here goes. The Mercury is definitely V shaped and in a huge manner. The mids take a bit of the backseat, but with a lot of body and slam to the bass. My Mangird Tea turned into a bass monster with the Mercury! The treble is definitely high on energy too. And very significantly. There is no microphonics from the cables, even though they are slightly stiffer than other cables in my inventory (PW mest cables, Letshoer HBB Chimera, Linsoul hybrid etc).
In comparison to other SPC cables in my collection, the Mercury sounded a bit more V shaped than the others. The treble was bright and peaky on the Tea, as well as on the Zero. The PR1 Pro already was a bit bright like the HE400i, but the mercury added very solid bottom end along with treble energy aka return of the KZ treble!

Since I dont have the other SPC cables from Astral, I will update back the ratings once I have listened to the others.

Looks - 4.5
Flexibility - 3.5
Weight - 3.5
Bass - 5
Mids - 3
Treble - 4.5 (half point docked for brightness)


2) Milky Way - The Milky Way is a limited edition Silver cable that looks identical to the Mercury. The comparison ends there. The Milky Way (MW here onwards) is a soft pliable 8? core cable that looks and feels special. The cable itself is very flexible and carries no microphonics whatsoever. They are a light 24g.



Sound impressions - The Milky Way brings about a sense of detail, intimacy and tonality upgrade to both the Zero and the PR1 Pro. On the Zero, the treble is enhanced with more detail, without sounding grating. Even with the PR1, the sound is full and with no trace of the treble spike as with the mercury. The sound is richer, fuller with more details across the spectrum. The bass is there, without becoming basshead level, the mids are pronounced and the treble is exquisitely done. I will put my neck on the line and claim that this is the single best cable I have used till date.

Looks -5 (there is a sheen that the silver brings that makes it look special)
Flexibility - 5 (very soft yet sturdy - Very similar to PW1950s in terms of pliability)
Weight - 4
Bass - 4
Mids - 5
Treble - 5 (No sibilance, exceptional details)

3) JUPITER​

The Jupiter is a very interesting cable in terms of materials. It uses a 6 core design with 4 copeer and 2 SPC configuration. Weighing in at about 31g, it is decently pliable and looks stunning. The material selection is very interesting (also see cues on the site for more poetic descriptions).


Sound impressions
The Jupiter has a gooey warm presence, similar to summer. It does not increase slam like what Mercury does. Instead, it creates a warm stage for the iems to deliver. As a result, sharp sounding iems, like the PR1 Pro, get a warm base. The warmth makes the iems a lot more enjoyable. I didnt like it too much on the Zero, as it made the bass a bit muddy. With the PR1 Pro, it is a match made in heaven. The 2 strands of SPC, keep the treble involved without rolloff, and creating a nice soundstage too. Overall, an excellent choice for treble heavy iems to provide much needed balance, without the treble taking a backseat.

Looks -5 (beautiful looking, reminding me of Takumi's colors)
Flexibility - 4 (Pliable and nice)
Weight - 4
Bass - 4 (everything is warmer!)
Mids - 4
Treble - 4 (No sibilance, good details)

4) ECLIPSE​

The Eclipse is a flagship silver litz cable that looks similar to the mercury and the Milky Way. The Mercury is a little bit heavier, but the eclipse is light, and very similar in construction to the Milky Way. It is nicely pliable and soft while being sturdy at the same time.

Sound impressions
The Eclipse has the characteristics of a well made pure silver cable. There is excellent representation across all the frequencies, although it is a touch behind the Milky Way. There is a magical resolution and space across the spectrum with the Milky Way. Aside from that, the Eclipse is a definite flagship grade cable. The bass is present as is the mids. What is definitely going to tempt audiophiles with the Eclipse is the airyness and extension in the treble areas. Splendidly extended. Ofcouse, this is assuming that the iem drivers are capable of utilizing the extension to present the soundscape.

Looks -4.5
Flexibility - 4.5 (Pliable and nice)
Weight - 4.5
Bass - 4
Mids - 4
Treble - 4.5 (No sibilance, good details)

5) REFERENCE SILVER​

The Reference Silver is another flagship grade silver litz cable that looks similar to the mercury and the Milky Way. The Ref cable is light, and very similar in construction to the Milky Way. It is nicely pliable and soft while being sturdy at the same time.

Sound impressions
The Reference silver is another flagship grade silver cable that has a lot of personality. It goes neck and neck against the Eclipse, but with a slight bit of restraint at the top and bottom end. This is noticeable when compared side by side. However, the restraint provides the Reference Silver its name, and characteristics. Everything is very balanced with the Zero as well as the PR1. The resolution is good, but a touch lesser than the Eclipse. The bass similarly is a tiny bit restrained. The stage is wide with very good imaging, thanks to the treble extension without any sibilance or brightness.

Looks -4.5
Flexibility - 4.5 (Pliable and nice)
Weight - 4.5
Bass - 4
Mids - 4
Treble - 4 (No sibilance, good details)

6) VOYAGER​

The Voyager is an entry level copper cable that is the odd one out of the whole range in the audition, with a paracord sleeve on the cable braiding. The paracord reminds me very much of the UM Mest cables (or the Effect Audio cables). The cable comes with a neck cinch, that helps avoid microphonics fairly well. A shirt clip is still recommended to keep out the odd brushing of the shirt.


Sound impressions
The cable, provides good amount of mid energy with vocals being pushed a notch forward, in a nice way. The typical copper low end forwardness is still present, without sacrificing too much of the treble. Top end extension is sufficient for most listening. Overall a very good set of cables.
Looks -3.5
Flexibility - 4.5 (Pliable and nice)
Weight - 4.5
Bass - 4
Mids - 4 (strength area)
Treble - 3.5 (No sibilance, good details)

CONCLUSIONS​

Excellent cables with very good build quality! This concludes the Astral Acoustics tour! Excellent cables sonically well done, with enough body and weight that makes them look fantastic too. Thank you Henry Tik and Michael Browne for organising the tour!

Disclaimer : I auditioned the EVE 20 as part of the VE review tour. The opinions are solely mine and is not in exchage for compensation in monetary value or kind.

A soothing balm over the madness that is the pandemic!

I was fortunate to be part of Vision Ears' review tour featuring the EVE20 and the VX6C (in another post later). I will talk about my impressions of the EVE20. There is much that has already been said about the iem, and I will add another to the list.

TLDR : VE EVE 20 is a multi-BA IEM that is still relevant in the realm of 10+ driver iems and holds out on its own well.

Packaging and accessories : The iem came as part of the review tour and was not in the retail packaging, in order to not attract too much custom duties and to keep the shipping package small.

The iem came with a set of spin fits tips and cable ties, in a nice purple metal case, similar to the UM, JH Audio. Very sturdy that protects the iem from any impact whatsoever.

Form and Fit : (4.5/5)

The IEM is all acrylic shell that is very lightweight and does an excellent job in terms of fit. The nozzle is medium sized with decent length. It allows for a decent insert depth, which allows for very good filtering of outside noise. The spin-fits do a great job at providing a comfortable fit. This will easily stay in place for even the most rigorous of activities, indoors or outdoors.

With clear acrylic being filled near completely in the shell, a drop or 2 will not crack the shell. So this will be a sturdy companion for a long time. While it may be outlasted by all metal housing, the acrylic decision allows for very high amount of comfort when worn. +1 for acrylic!

The cable feels a little slim, but is of excellent quality. There is very little microphonics and does not pull the iems from the ears when worn! Job well done.

Sound: (4.3/5)

As with all iems, the fit defines the sound profile of the iem. There can be a significant difference in how it sounds, based on the fit. Some prefer to wear the iems loose, which allows for bigger stage, lesser bass impact and richer treble. A close fit brings in the bass that is tight and detailed, with the stage getting a little more intimate.

Bass : (4/5) - I tip rolled an used a inverse starline. This provided for an excellent fit and brought body into the bass. The bass was tight and detailed. Not much of subbass, but you could feel the impact on a lot of tracks. Laterelus (Tool) had its subbass rumble felt beginning around the 0:30 mark, going into the 1:00. Lovely, tight bass.

Mids : (4/5) - Vocals and cello sounded wonderful with the EVE. With a presentation that is intimate, you could share the stage with the singer. Wonderful evening with Van Morrison sharing stage here.

Treble (4.3/5) - The string instruments were very detailed and present, with a lot of micro details coming forth, including guitar string slides feeling real.

Stage : The sound stage is wide. The instrument placing was excellent. What the EVE missed was the depth and layering. The stage was flat and intimate wth the positioing very accurate. I did miss the depth of the instruments, with a few of them playing in the face (guitars, violins). This does not take away the detail and presentation of the sound. Very accurate and enjoyable. I would have preferred a little more depth in the stage though.

Comparisons
AK & JH Roxanne 2 - The closest that the EVE20 compares to is the JH Roxanne 2. TheEVE20 was able to match the tonality of the 12BA very well. The stringed instruments sounded excellent and was a joy to listen to. Where the Roxanne beat the EVE was in the soundstage depth and layering. The Roxanne was able to place the instruments at a depth in Einaudi's Live version of Lady Labyrinth, with slightly better micro detail retrieval. The compromise with the roxanne is the size and weight of the iem, so it is a fair draw in this case.

Summary : An excellent iem with a very fair asking price for an excellent level of performance! While it is a limited production iem, the engineers have produced an iem that matches well with competition having higher number of drivers!

Quloos - MUB1 - Quick Impressions​

Thanks to Concept Kart (https://conceptkart.com/products/quloos-mub1-bluetooth-portable-usb-dac-amp) and gadgetgod for the tour unit of the Quloos MUB1 portable dacamp.

As always, the views expressed in the review are mine only and are not influenced or compensated in any way by any one.

BUILD​

The review unit has been going around for a while now, and it has stood up to the abuse very well, so full marks for the build of the unit.

I have tried Quloos QA390 earlier (QA390 is a all in one desktop music player/DAP that can power the most demanding of headphones without any additional devices.
I havent tested them with Susvara, but everything else I threw at it, it drove it wonderfully!) and had the impression of a very beautifully balanced sound, with
excellent technicalities as well as balanced sound.

Hence the MUB1 also comes with those sort of expectations. The review unit came with a transparent silicone cover and nothing else. The unit has a small LCD (maybe monochrome led?)
display that is quite minimal in terms of readout.

The device has 2 USB C ports, one for charging only, and the other that does dual duty of charging as well as receiving digital data.

There is a 3.5mm output jack as well as a 4.4mm balanced out. The device also has a spdif/optical out, for DDC purposes. As the device also has a built in
femtosecond clock, this is a very good option for clean input to more sensitive devices.

The input is also BT enabled, for streaming from a source bt device such as a phone or streamer, and similar to the usecase of the BTR devices from FIIO.

USAGE/POWER IN THE REALWORLD​

To test the gain options (Low, Medium, High, Super), I tried mutliple transducers - sensitive iems, single DDs that scale, planars that are hard to drive, headphones that test the amp sections
and the MUB1 was able to drive them well.

For sensitive iems (some older micro drivers and BA iems), in the Low Gain mode, there was no hissing, excellent sound without noise in the background

* Single DDs were able to use the gain (High) very well, with excellent performance.

* Planars were driven well with top performance.

* Hard to drive headphones (vintage Sennheisers HD650) were driver very well in the Super gain mode.

Filters actually make a difference, similar to the QA390. NOS mode is very true to the original mastering, while fast and slow rolloff filters were very usable and produced perceptible change in the sound.
Fast rolloff provided for very quick decay, while there was adequate sustain with the slow rolloff filters, making the sound more analog.

COMPARISONS WITH QUESTYLE CMA18​

The CMA 18 in comparison, provides similar options, but run hotter. However, the CMA18 has an additional ADC mode which allows for recording audio.
Both have excellent performance overall and offer true high end value to discerning audiophiles looking for portable options.

CONCLUSION​

The MUB1 is an excellent portable dacamp that provides high end sound in a portable form. The device didnt heat up after a lot of usage even in a hot 38 celcius environment.

Thanks to my dear friend Srinivas Vignesh, I had the good fortune of auditioning and listening to the Aroma Jewel over the week. I received the stock cable, tips and the round case for the listen.

Over the last couple of days, I have been listening to the Jewel on a variety of sources and cables. Below is a summary of my experience overall.

Build and accessories

The Jewel is an all resin build and is fairly lightweight. Packing a large number of drivers and also at the kidney replacing cost of the iems, I babied them for all the time that I was in possesion of the iems.

The shell is a beautiful transparent blue resin through which the drivers can be seen. The crossover board seems well hidden behind the faceplate. The faceplate has shimmery blue specks in the faceplate with Aroma and Jewel as part of the faceplate with a layer of transparent epoxy on the faceplate. Overall, looks amazing!

The Aroma Jewel is no IER-Z1R in terms of package and accessories. The iems come with what looks like a 4 core silver cable with a Y splitter with Aroma engraved on it. There is a selection of 3 tip sizes, and a leatherette carry case similar to other ones that other chi-fi manufacturers like dunu provide. And we are done.

Source, tips and cable pairing

I wanted to try the iems out with my standard reference sources (dac dongles to be precise, namely - Lusya Fever dac and the iBasso DC04), that I use on a daily basis. I will use other sources on another occasion and update back.

I used Flacs, CDs and streaming platforms such as Qobuz, YT and Spotify to try out a variety of sources and see how the iems perform with poor and excellent bitrate.

I went back and forth between the stock cable (2 pin) and the Letshuoer Chimera, utilizing the 4.4mm balanced terminations in both cables.

I used the stock tips, Spinfits CP800 and KZ Starlines, with Starlines providing max comfort and deepest bass of the selection. The sound is very dependent, as expected, on the tip selection. I used the KZ starlines for most of the review.

Overall Sound Impressions

Bass
The Aroma Jewel is an incredible sounding iem pair. With the right tips (Starlines for me) and the Chimera (SPC), the bass is incredible. I have not heard such bone rattling bass in any other iem, that also sounds very clean at the same time. There is rumble, slam and also super quick decay where required from the track.

Mids
The Chimera cables do enhance the top and bottom ends significantly, with the vocals taking a slight step back from the front. Howerver, what does come through is very composed, nuanced and detailed with excellent portrayal of the singer's emotions. With the stock cables, the Bass and treble take a step back and let the mids even out in the spectrum. The nuances come through a little more up front and are very enjoyable.

Treble
The EST drivers do a terrific job of the treble, providing incredible space, accurate imaging and separation. This is with either cables that I tried it with. The staging, is large, 3D and extends on both axes very well.

Sensitivity
It doesnt take too much to drive the iems very loud. They take about half the power of a modern planar iem to make them super loud.

The instruments sound natural with excellent decay and reverb characteristics. There is an added sense of reverb in a lot of tracks that make the iems sound like speakers with a lot of tracks.

Technicality
One word, brilliant. There is no loss of detail, muddiness anywhere on the spectrum. There are no bleeds across the frequency ranges either. On some tracks there is an added air/reverb that feels a bit out of place though, or maybe a case of user burn in required.

Reference tracks
Travis Scott - The Plan (From the motion picture TENET) (Source : )
Right from the start, the bass track is felt deeply, with visceral impact. The vocals nestled within the track also comes through cleanly, with the bass providing the rhythm almost throughout. The backing instruments are a distant second to the bass and vocals in the middle. There are spatial cues throughout, to almost feel the instruments properly placed. There is no muddiness whatsoever.

Echoes - Pink Floyd (Source Sony Discman + CD)
The track is a masterpiece from PF that has everything in it - vocals, instruments, layering.. The piercing ping at the start, the slow guitars, the spactial cues from the start, is magical. The bass guitar's warmth feels like sitting beside the fireplace, richly enveloping the listener, while the nylon strings convey a beautiful and meloncholic progression. The vocals sound full, with the feeling of sitting in front of a vintage Klipsch or Focal stereo speakers. This track is like meditation with the Jewels.

Rangapura Vihara - Agam (Srouce : )
This track is a test track that I used to test hot treble, due to compression/bitrate. There is a bit of saturation on the vocal sections around 2:00 mark, when the singer hits the high notes. On most iems, this sticks out like a sore thumb. On the Jewel, the harshness is contained significantly and the highs are well managed, and the rest of the track comes together with all sorts of symphony, rock, operatic singing blended in beautifully. The Jewel brings together the track very well (especially with the stock cables).

Janine Jansen - Vivaldi Four Seasons (Source : Tidal Masters)
This track I use to test speed and decay as a certain section of the tracks get very fast, with multiple violins, violas and cellos keeping the attack high. The Jewel had no issues conveying the speed without muddiness and movement of the bow across the string was well placed and detailed, proving beyond doubt the iems' technical chops.

Comparisons

Aroma Musical Box Yao - This is a unit that I owned for a long time and was Aroma's flagship for a while, before being superseeded. The Yao shares the nozzle size and overall shell size with the Jewel. The Yao was is a 12 driver iem, packing a solid punch and technical chops, and the Jewel seems to be a refined version of the same. They are more similar than different. The Yao is a warm iem too, with excellent technicalities. The Jewel does a one up on the Yao with a more punchy and rumbling bass than the Yao. In terms of resolution too, the Jewel takes a step ahead of the Yao, bringing out a little more of the micro details across. The Yao did have a little bit of bass bleed that is taken care of well by the Jewel. The Jewel is the new king, straight and simple!

Vision Ears Phonix
The VE Phonix is one below the totl (Erlkonig), and has all the technical chops from a near TOTL. The fit is supremely comfortable and is light. However, when compared the Jewel, it has a smaller stage and a more reigned in bass. The treble is fast and the mids are good too. However, the Jewel bests it in sheer scale of the sound.

I havent heard too many of the multi kilobuck iems, and hence wont compare the Jewel with any of the other much lower priced iems as they are not on the same planet.

Conclusions
The Aroma Jewel is a true jewel among iems, with a price to match. My biggest gripe has been the nozzle size, but this is due to my small ear canals. Another gripe is the accessories that could have been provided along with the iems, especially at the price that it comes at. The sound is very large and capable and can be used across most genre easily. As they respond to cable and tip rolling, everyone who buy the iems can match their preference of cables an tips. Thumbs up all the way!

Thanks to @gadgetgod for the loaner unit of the Camelot and Lancelot to try and participate in the quest for the Grail!

Nostalgia Audio is a well received iem maker with presence in much of the Asia Pacific countries. The Camelot and Lancelot are derived from
the Arthurian legend, with Camelot being the flagship iem and the Lancelot being a flagship cable that pairs well with the Camelot.

Build and Package

The packages of the Camelot and Lancelot are very nicely done with ink illustrations of the Camelot castle with the Excalibur in the centre of the picture of the Camelot box and
the illustration of Sir Lancelot on a his horse hurrying towards a burning castle in the background.

These could easily be the cover of a leather finished book or a table top game, top quality box. Sliding out the box drawers from both the boxes brings out very similar by very well done
leather like round cases housing the cables (stock Avalon in the Camelot box, and the Lancelot respectively). The iems look very nice in through the window on the cover of the box.

Both boxes have foam to protect the main packages. The Camelot came with a collection of eartips and a cleaning brush to complete the package.

The Camelot is 3d printed, with each side carrying 10 drivers - 2 DD, 4 BA and 4 EST drivers per ear! and understandably the shells are big. These are comparable in size to the vintage JH Audio Roxanne 2,
but with very little weight in comparison. The nozzles are of good length to allow for deep insert. However, I am at a slight disadvantage due to smaller ear canals, but were able to get a good fit with the
JVC spinfits that I used for the review.

The stock cable - Avalon is a braided cable in black paracord, and seems to be well built. Sonically, the Lancelot perform better, also granted that it is a flagship (Signature series). The Lancelot is "25AWG Gold Silver Alloy and Gold plated Silver in the core, wrapped by our specially designed silk with Graphene and Oil".
Exotic materials, that I have not come across in this configuration before this audition.

Driveability and Source​

The iems (with the Lancelot for the rest of the review), are easy to drive, inspite of the number of drivers, running in plenty loud on the Lotoo PAW S1 at 38 on High gain, or a 65 in Low gain.

The dac dongle is the usual test fixture, and helps evaluate iems with as close as possible to identical source setup. I used a combination of YT Premium and Qobuz to listen to music on the iems.

Sound Impressions​

The Camelot is a warmly tuned W shaped frequency response, with excellent balance across the spectrum. There is good quality bass, well done vocals and excellent details on the treble ends.

Bass - 4.5/5 : While the tuning of the iems are warm, the bass is very good quality, with the right amount of decay on the bottom end to make for an engaging listen without any bleed.
Mids - 4/5 : Vocals come across quite nuanced, with a little more support for male vocals due to the warmish tuning. This is not to say that female vocals are not well represented. They are good to listen to too, but the iems prefer male vocals a touch more.
Treble - 4.25/5 : The treble details are excellent thanks to the EST driver array on each side. There is no harshness in the treble, no signs of sibilance at any time.

Imaging - Imaging is very good, with very good instrument placement.
Staging - The staging is above average, and wide around the the ear. Stage depth is a bit shallow. The iem places the listener right in front of the stage, with a stunning wall of sound in the face. You get front row seats for free!
I would have preferred a little more air and a slightly middle of the theatre seating (nitpicks mostly)!

Comparisons​

The closest I could compare the Camelot with iems in similar price bracket and capabilities in the recent past would have to be the Craft Ears Omnium.
Both iems are excellent top of the line sounding and have thier minor differences in terms of presentation - the camelot is right in front of the stage, and the Omnium with a slightly in the middle listening experience.
I would have preferred a little more air in the Camelot, and a little more mid presence in the Omnium. However, would be more than happy to have either in my collection!

Thanks to Conceptkart (https://conceptkart.com/) for the iems for the review units. The views expressed are my own and am not compensated in any way for the same.

OVERVIEW​

Purple (https://conceptkart.com/products/intuaura-xue-qingpurple-iem).
These are selling well in the local markets of the maker, and for good reasons (YMMV).
The review units came as iem units only and a couple of cables, so I will not review the package or cables.
The iems are resin based and are fairly lightweight. The iems are single driver (DD) units and as a result, are very cohesive as expected.

IMPRESSIONS​

The flagship of the Intuaura stable (atleast on ConceptKart) offers a purple shell as the name suggests. It sports a nicely done shell that fits very
comfortably and is usable over long sessions. Armed with a Japanese LCP driver from Fujimori, they sit very snugly and lightly.

Sound impressions - The Purple is the find of the year for me, with a beautiful balance across the spectrum, very reminiscent of the QDC Gemini (YMMV).
All areas of the spectrum are well represented and near perfectly balanced interms of quality and quantity. The bass hits well with all the textures,
vocals are a delight and the treble extends superbly with excellent texture and imaging. The stage is above average and the imaging is very nicely layered.
There is no harshness in any of the registers. More people should atleast try this iem.

CONCLUSIONS​

I havent done any comparisons here, or reference tracks. The Purple is a definite recommendation from me, taking all the good things of the Aful Performer 8 and pushing it to a 12.
I havent been this much impressed with the tuning of an iem after the QDC Gemini. And that is very high praise indeed. Near perfect for me. Highly recommended

Letshuoer Cadenza 4 - Quick Impressions
Thanks to gadgetgod and Letshuoer for the review tour of the Cadenza 4, the baby brother of the flagship Cadenza 12.
As always, the opinions are my own and are not incentivised in any way.

OVERVIEW​

Letshuoer has been making very well tuned iems for a long time now. Starting from the well received (among one of the earliest EST implementations) Tape, Letshuoer has come a long way in terms of iem offerings both from quality and quantity (of drivers).

The Cadenza 4 (https://letshuoer.net/products/letshuoer-cadenza4-wired-iem-hifi-earphones-in-ear-monitor) is a 4 driver hybrid with 1 Beryllium coated 10mm dynamic driver, paired with 3 BA drivers (2 from Knowles and 1 from Sonion).

The sound tubes are 50 micrometer engineering marvels, according to the product literature.

PACKAGE AND BUILD​

The package was quite fun and reminded me very much of the Sony Z1r, with 2 layers of packaging.

The top part opened with a magnetic closing cardboard flap with the iems nestled in foam. The second layer slid out like the IER Z1r case with the following contents.

The lower drawer contained most prominently, the 3 modular connectors of the cables (3.5, 2.5 and 4.4). Nestled in the round rubberized plastic case
was the cables. Nicely done.

The cables are silvery 4 core cables with a very nice splitter and a transparent cinch. The shell body looks like strong plastic (ABS?) with a shiny metal faceplate.

The iems take 2 pin connectors, the 2 pin connector on the stock cables is nice again, with a flat profile.

The iems come with a set of 6 sizes of silicon tips. Overall very nice package.

SOUND AND IMPRESSIONS​

The iems take a bit of power to drive, but are not too demanding. Paired with a Lotoo Paw S1 (as the lowest denominator for good quality sound while keeping the pricepoint right),
the iems drive well off the High gain mode at about 50 volume.

Overall the sound is a nice W signature, with good note weight/body. The bass is sufficiently strong without any bleed, mids are right there in the middle without any push back.
The treble sounds good too with a lot of detail retrieval and air. There is no sibilance that I noticed on test tracks, but there is a bit of sparkle.

They do sound slightly dark, but combined with the air and decay, they make listening to prog rock sound very atmospheric (Pink Floyd - High Hopes).

Due to an excellent fit, passive noise isolation is good and the iems can be worn for a long time without discomfort.

Speed is very good and this results in excellent attack and decay (Alien Weaponry - Kai Tangata)

Who is this for - anyone looking for an excellent balanced sound, with a good fit for small - medium ears and upwards.
Who is this not for - Bassheads

CONCLUSIONS​

This may be one of my favorites in mid-budget this year!