Alambic Ears - Impressions thread - Mentawai, Mavericks, Mundaka, Noosa

[deanorthk]

Some news about your test ?

Hi

Two weeks of testing, first with my Woo Audio WA8 eclipse, then with the Ifi Audio Go bar gold version.

Source: iphone 11 pro max, qobuz premium -> forza audio USB -> Woo Audio WA8 Eclipse -> Noosa
Iphone pro max, qobuz premium -> Go bar gold

The tracks used :

Tetra - le banquet : omg those bass. Easy to read, impactfull o_O
In Mourning - Colossus : That's one track that I know almost perfectly. Nothing to report as it is as great as with my Fostex TH900MK2/Ifi Audio iDSD pro signature
Kalendra - Borders : great song, the background noises are really there, and the scene is almost as with the TH900
Be'Lakor - Valence : here quite different than with the TH900. A bit more high frequencies forward, but still, nothing aggressive of fatiguing.
Samantha CRAIN - paint : One of my all time favorite track to test all my systems, hifi in my room, headphone and so on. The massive drum impact is there, and the decay is perfect, the notes are laaaaaaaaaasting as they should. the voice of samantha Cran is perfect.
Borknagar - Up North: Voices are a bit backward compare to what i'm used to, but this song can easely sound like a mess, since it's very fast paced, with a lot of informations. But nope, it's "readable", and makes you want to move, which is I guess a very good point^^
Swallow The Sun - All Hallow's Grieve : it sound marvellous, as this song is marvellous. And there Go Bar and WA8 are sharing a commun pleasure factor
RY X - Berlin : a song that is all about the vocals, and they are perfectly there.
Wolfheart - The Flood : That song is one of my favorite song, maybe because the "wall of sound" is there. When the guitars are coming, you can hear that blast, that impact, that hit you. And yet, there are no brightness there.

So, despite the hard task (I had to send my silicon ear inprint to the builder of the Noosa, no STL files ) but even so, they are , for my very first customs, a perfect match. No pain from the ears, even after 1 hour of constant listening.

As they are my very first in ears ever, and my very first custom made, I must say. I'm stunned. I never would have thought such tiny stuff could delivered that sound.

 

[Eric21]

Good to read you. I only have universal fit because of my small ears holes.

Currently Aldo is created some iem with the live music feeling.
I use mentawai and

I have this sensation of live music each time with a full presentation of all musicians, a pretty separation between voices and instruments.

I tested with jazz trio like Avishai Cohen, brad meldau. Voices with Katie melhua, Gainsbourg, Alela Diane (pirate’s gospel). And some different rock bands like audioslave, Korn, Radiohead, System of a Down, RATM…
And piano with encore from Tokyo from Keith J or the nocturne de Chopin by Pollini.
And edm with C2C, prodigy…

In every cases, that’s a beautiful experience.

Did you try with another cable ? I have a better experience with code 51 or silver cables. Stock cable is great too.

 

[deanorthk]

Good to read you. I only have universal fit because of my small ears holes.

I have this sensation of live music each time with a full presentation of all musicians, a pretty separation between voices and instruments.

I tested with jazz trio like Avishai Cohen, brad meldau. Voices with Katie melhua, Gainsbourg, Alela Diane (pirate’s gospel). And some different rock bands like audioslave, Korn, Radiohead, System of a Down, RATM…
And piano with encore from Tokyo from Keith J or the nocturne de Chopin by Pollini.
And edm with C2C, prodigy…

In every cases, that’s a beautiful experience.

Did you try with another cable ? I have a better experience with code 51 or silver cables. Stock cable is great too.

about the cables, no, because the stock one seems to be of very good quality, and contrary to my fostex TH900 mK2, for whom I did get a Forza black cable that totally solved the sometimes too bright tones, with the noosa, the only thing that did make it too bright was when I tested it directly on my iphone without any dac.
it was spectacular with Metallica - Nothing else matters, the cymbals especially where soo bright. It's the remastered version, that I don't know so much compared to the original black album, but still, that brightness kinda went away with the Go Bar (and totally with the WA8 of course)

 

[DaveStarWalker]

Hi all,

I've been enjoying the Mentawai for the past few days. I think it's safe to say I've found my IEM soulmate. It ticks all my boxes. It has one of the most refined bass presentations I've heard - it's well thought out and brilliantly executed. Proprietary DD on the low, low end of the bass and Sonion BAs on the mid low. I'm hearing subbass texture where I normally just expect bloom. The tuning ensures a very natural and organic sound, something that the BA bass on Traillii never delivered for me. Vocals were too wispy for me on Traillii and instruments, especially percussive instruments, were lacking some material weight but not so here. There's body and a warm romance to female vocals but with a degree of transparency, akin to what I remember of Traillii but with greater presence to keep things grounded. Sonion EST treble is on full show here. It needed a few hours-days to settle but I find it to have a very natural extension and with a great balance of definition and air. Overall tonality does fall on the warmer side - which is where I prefer it! Soundstage is not the biggest I've heard (Traillii takes that one), but its got great height and depth to imaging that makes up for it, as does its great resolution and ability to handle busy tracks.

I haven't managed to find a genre that the Mentawai doesn't work for. Its very versatile. I have landed on Xelastec tips and a UPOCC cable that fits the tuning well, in my opinion. Xelastecs isolate the best and capture as much of the bass detail and subbass extension as possible - which is where most of my enjoyment lies.

I couldn't be happier with the purchase - it's a bargain at the price Fred is currently producing it for and competes in the £2k+ territory. Fit and finish are great. These are some of the prettiest IEMs I have ever seen and I feel quite lucky to call them my own. The unboxing experience is quite impressive for a one-man band, theres a nice solid box, a carry case, extra tips and filters. The included cable is of great quality. From start to finish Fred was contactable and would report progress within minutes of my emailing him.

Feel free to check out the pictures below:

Spoiler: Mentawai

Completely agree,

My own review is on the go.

Two pics, yesterday, at my office :

More to come, but I can say it is one of my best listening session ever.

These are the first tribrids I listened to that are completely homogenous (drivers signatures, timbres, tonality). This is seamless.

This particular point is non-negotiable with me, as my others uiems...

Here the cable is a Rhapsodio Graphene and a PlusSound PPH Adapter. Cable rolling = best results.

Amazing resolution and definition (alone with the Final A8000, all bandwith too), holography, very realistic tones and timbres, balanced bandwith, very energetic and dynamic (intense side : all the better). Home Run.

 

[ian91]

Completely agree,

My own review is on the go.

Two pics, yesterday, at my office :



More to come, but I can say it is one of my best listening session ever.

These are the first tribrids I listened to that are completely homogenous (drivers signatures, timbres, tonality). This is seamless.

This particular point is non-negotiable with me, as my others uiems...

Here the cable is a Rhapsodio Graphene and a PlusSound PPH Adapter. Cable rolling = best results.

Amazing resolution and definition (alone with the Final A8000, all bandwith too), holography, very realistic tones and timbres, balanced bandwith, very energetic and dynamic (intense side : all the better). Home Run.

Beautiful set! Was your Mentawai produced before or after the introduction of the new circuity?

 

[DaveStarWalker]

Better pic, at home

Beautiful set! Was your Mentawai produced before or after the introduction of the new circuity?

As I know it was before

And this is the version with the vent (bass reflex system, so to speak) behind the dynamic driver, but without the decompression venting system (to avoid listening over pressure and driver flex) near the cannula (located in the front side of the faceplate : last version).

No problems for me. As my fit and seal are perfect with the canal works gel cat's paws

 

[ian91]

Better pic, at home



As I know it was before

Ok!
That cable matches up well with your faceplates! I'm looking forward to reading your review.

 

[DaveStarWalker]

Ok!
That cable matches up well with your faceplates! I'm looking forward to reading your review.

My pleasure.

And sound wise (the most important), it is incredibly good... Really. Perfect ergonomics too.

Awesome match, every criteria.

 

[ian91]

My pleasure.

And sound wise, it is incredibly good... Really.

Awesome match.

I tried to find it on their site but couldn't see it. Do you have a link?

 

[DaveStarWalker]

I tried to find it on their site but couldn't see it. Do you have a link?

Here it is

https://www.alambic-ears.com/produits-et-services

Oups. French only. Dirty breed (I am a Parisian guy )

 

[ian91]

Here it is

https://www.alambic-ears.com/produits-et-services

Sorry, I meant the link to the Rhapsodio graphene cable!

 

[DaveStarWalker]

Sorry, I meant the link to the Rhapsodio graphene cable!

Ah ok, okay

https://www.mestudiobiz.com/zh-hant/products/rsd-graphene

It remains a rare cable, even in the Rhapsodio offer.

 

[DaveStarWalker]

A review. The only one I know :

https://www.spill.hk/headphones/Rhapsodio-Graphene-review/

 

[ian91]

A review. The only one I know :

https://www.spill.hk/headphones/Rhapsodio-Graphene-review/

Looks like a great cable. Did you purchase from HK?

 

[DaveStarWalker]

Looks like a great cable. Did you purchase from HK?

No,

It was a second hand, from my friend Magicguy.

We were at an audio exhibition. He owns a lot of elite cables. Then it was the real deal to listen to a lot of different top cables :

- Code 51
- 1960
- another EA cable but I have forget the name. A rare cable...
- OC Studio Frozen (excellent), a real very good surprise

And this Rhapsodio Graphene (it was brand new : just 10 hours of listening sessions ! ). I was persuasive for an immediate buyout.

However, I looked into it : the asian website - https://www.mestudiobiz.com/zh-hant/products/rsd-graphene - can deliver easily, anywhere in the world.

I was looking for a real elite cable for my Aure Ringo's. So I used these uiems to do my evaluations thus, at this audio exhibition.

Absolute crush with this Graphene cable (I was a little... disappointed... by the other cables - especially the most expensive ones - except for the OC Studio Frozen)... This last the better so far with my Ringo's... alone with the Aaw Aoraki mk7. I feel this one is still a better match than the Graphene with the Ringo's... So these one are using the Aoraki mk7 since different trials. But it was tough to decide.

However it was easy with the Mentawai, cause this Rhapsodio Graphene is just... perfect. No other word : perfect match. Everything. At the contrary, the Aoraki is less good for the instance... And with my Aure Elixir, the perfect cable is the Penon Totem.
All is about synergies in this hobby...