. Anyway I am looking forward to joining the club!
Not really. Driving them loud does not equal driving them well, to their full potential. Mine sound OK with BTR5, better with Hip DAC 2 and best with my desktop setup, Burson Soloist 3XP. Always balanced, of course.
True, I can drive them loud enough with my BT20S pro, but it just doesn't have the same bass quality as pairing the Timeless with my tube amp. Doesn't necessarily means more bass tho. At the end of the day, even directly paired up with smartphone, the sound is still very good.
Not more bass but better controlled. This is a planar and therefore scales really well with better amplification.
Do you mean high output impedance of tube amp results in better control? It is surprising for me
I don't do tubes, so can't tell you.Do you mean high output impedance of tube amp results in better control? It is surprising for me
Doesn't necessarily have to be tube amp. It just happened that I am using tube amp for my desktop.Do you mean high output impedance of tube amp results in better control? It is surprising for me
He states they require power. They don't.. Not saying they won't enjoy it but they work and sound very good out of normal sources in my experience.
Here's my take on the Timeless:
- It's a good set, but I don't love it.
- The fit is not as weird as you might fear by the look of it. The circular outer is a a facade, with the bulk of the IEM not as large / round as the IEM may seem. That said, fit security is not great -- but for me, not much worse than a lot of 1xDD IEMs.
- Tuning I describe as a mild V tune, mostly from the bass emphasis. It's a bit bassy for my tastes, but the excellent treble extension keeps it from sounding too congested and boxy. Generally it's a pleasant tune that should work for a lot of people.
- I find the bass a bit soft in attack, especially listening head to head with a couple of similarly-tuned IEMs, Tanchjim Hana21 and Moondrop KATO.
- I did find Timeless a tad sibilant for me.
- For me, if I'm looking for this sound signature at this price, I think Hana21 and KATO are a lot more engaging. Hana21 has standout staging and imaging that's a lot of fun, while KATO has a stronger sense of definition and sharpness on both treble and bass attack. Timeless is a good set, and if you absolutely must have a planar driver, it's pretty uniquely positioned. But for ~$200 with this sound signature, it's not my favorite.
Here's my FR measurement: https://squig.link/?share=Super_Review_Target,7Hz_Timeless
And, uh, I'll just leave this here...
From what I understand RE: the Soloist 2, it's a tentative name. I got sent an early engineering sample via Aoshida Audio, no box, no details about the IEM (it's not even branded). But it sounded pretty decent. Turns out it also uses a 14.8mm planar driver... and measures a lot like the Timeless.Great review!
What is the Soloist 2?
I managed to order a pair of the Timeless at the price that was promised to @holsen so I am looking forward to comparing it to other sets in the same price range, like the KATO and Thieaudio L4, as well as some in the next tier up like the Oracle and Fearless S8F….
Don't let it concern you. It's not even noticeable. I'm fairly sensitive to treble and the Timeless is actually surprisingly mellow. Detailed highs, but not piercing.
