[AxLvR]

Hey guys, may I know where i can browse AE's full iem line-up? is there any website or instagram page perhaps?
Thanks in advance

 

[DaveStarWalker]

Hey guys, may I know where i can browse AE's full iem line-up? is there any website or instagram page perhaps?
Thanks in advance

here :

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

But stay in french langage, because there is a bug in english ^_^

Google trad is your friend. ^^

 

[AxLvR]

here :

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

But stay in french langage, because there is a bug in english ^_^

Google trad is your friend. ^^

awesome! thanks!

 

[ian91]

In this period of reflection, I have come across your thread, and thanks to your comments, I have begun to consider the Mentawai as that possible TOTL that I am looking for. If you have continued reading this far, I would like to describe what I am looking for, and if in your honest opinion, the Mentawai would cover it. It is very difficult for me to save for this hobby and I would like to play it safe (having a little girl, in addition to the mortgage and energy costs, does not allow me to save much in these times). In short, what I am looking for in this TOTL IEM is:

• I love to feel the texture of the percussions: in that sense I have the Serial as a reference. I haven't heard any BA basses, and maybe I'm wrong, but I think that's where I would lose the most. I like a natural percussion, with the natural reverberation, that you feel the hand or the stick bouncing on the drum.
• I like the midrange of the Penon tuning. I like the Volts a lot, but I find them a bit lax and lacking in detail. The Yanyin Moonlight in that aspect seem better to me, with a lot of air in the treble, but perhaps with the midrange a bit advanced for my taste.
• I like to notice the separation of instruments, identify them in the scene. That in a clean jazz recording, for example, you can determine where each sound comes from, and even hear the pulsation of the strings of a double bass, or the brushes caressing a drum, but that in more energetic passages of metal, post-rock or even electronics, do not mix the instruments or textures when there are many on stage, turning it into chaos.
• I like a real scene, neither too wide and unreal, nor the instruments on the face. I like to have the feeling that the instruments are around me, to feel in the center when I close my eyes, that the stereo sensation is not just left/right.

I don't know if I'm asking too much. Would the Mentawai meet these characteristics? If so, I'd consider them highly in my purchase over the Penon Impact, which I'm still waiting for more impressions from other head-fiers.

Good to see you in this thread too - we've mostly crossed paths on the Penon side of things! The Mentawai absolutely fits those criteria. Namely, the stage is wholly natural. It isn't stretched or amorphous, but coherent and with clear serparation and placement. It's not the widest staging I have heard and it's more of a 'party-in-your-head' (or atleast on the outskirts of the earline) and I believe Traillii was quite a bit wider. Part of this presentation is owed to its tasteful eargain and presence which brings forward vocals & instrument fundamentals. The bass and the treble is emphasised perfectly around this. There is a slight scoop in the uppermids/lower treble (ala Traillii) that absolutely kills the prospect of shout/sibilance (in my experience) but still offers bite and note definition. As @DaveStarWalker notes, you can increase the volume and you see an effortless increase in dynamism across the full range and without blowing your eardrums with vocal sibilance. The DD takes care of the weighty subbass rumble and then it glides into a BA midbass/lowmid lift with clarity and texturing. It makes for a dramatic rendering of percussion and sounds TOTL on my go-to test tracks. The BA/EST top gives you a naturally airy treble and a detailed decay of cymbals. Probably the best BA/EST treble I have heard in fact.

Can you clarify what you mean by the 'advanced' midrange?

The Yanyin Moonlight in that aspect seem better to me, alot of air in the treble, but perhaps with the midrange a bit advanced for my taste.

 

[DaveStarWalker]

Completely agreed @ian91 , perfect description (same feelings, exactly the same),

and :

"advanced mids" = an inversed "V" as I have understood. "Mid centric" signature (like the Zeus for example). Prominent mids... etc.

 

[ian91]

Completely agreed @ian91 , perfect description (same feelings, exactly the same),

and :

"advanced mids" = an inversed "V" as I have understood. "Mid centric" signature (like the Zeus for example). Prominent mids... etc.

I thought that might be what they were describing but I just wanted to check. @BrokenHill, if the Moonlight is too mid-forward then I suspect the Mentawai will be too. Having said that, you also like the Penon Serial which has a similar midrange tuning to the Mentawai but Mentawai has a smoother, more extended treble.

Regarding the BA vs DD bass there are pros and cons to both in my opinion. I would share your concern that if you're only used to DD bass that moving to the BA bass may be too much of a shift. BA bass can never move the air that a DD will but it does sometimes offer better texturing.

 

[DaveStarWalker]

I thought that might be what they were describing but I just wanted to check. @BrokenHill, if the Moonlight is too mid-forward then I suspect the Mentawai will be too. Having said that, you also like the Penon Serial which has a similar midrange tuning to the Mentawai but with a smoother, more extended treble.

Regarding the BA vs DD bass there are pros and cons to both in my opinion. I would share your concern that if you're only used to DD bass that moving to the BA bass may be too much of a shift. BA bass can never move the air that a DD will but it does sometimes offer better texturing.

Hum, I will not discribe the Mentaway as "mid foward", but yes, the mids are present, and crystal clear. A lot of bite too.

Mentawai = "W" tuning, but in a very subtle elegant manner. It's masterfully done.

 

[ian91]

Hum, I will not discribe the Mentaway as "mid foward", but yes, the mids are present, and crystal clear. A lot of bite too.

Mentawai = "W" tuning, but in a very subtle elegant manner. It's masterfully done.

Yep! It's very well balanced overall and I would imagine, going on FR alone, it has better balancing than the Moonlight owed to a greater midbass presence.

 

[BrokenHill]

Hello.

@DaveStarWalker , @deanorthk , @ian91 Thank you very much everyone for your answers. I'm sure they will help me decide in the next few days.

Good to see you in this thread too - we've mostly crossed paths on the Penon side of things!

Nice to chat with you. I think I have also read some of your reviews of the TGX. I have the Serratus and if I wasn't saving up for these I would have gotten the Ripples for sure.

Can you clarify what you mean by the 'advanced' midrange?

Sorry if I have not been clear on this point. I love Moonlight, they do almost everything well, but that "almost" is that the voices, especially female (mids to upper-mids) are a bit advanced. They overlap the rest of the instrumentation a bit, for my taste. In instrumental songs you don't notice this so much. They are quite balanced, but that area stands out and is above the bass and treble. It is a W profile but sometimes with passages of strong voices, it looks like an inverted V as @DaveStarWalker says. I know that on the curve, in terms of upper-mids, the Serial resembles the Moonlight, but when listening, the perception is different. Let's see if I can clear it up. As for the mids, something between the Volt and the Moonlight, a less relaxed profile and with more detail than the Volts, and with more treble extension, I think it would be ideal. In that sense, the profile of the Traillii, or now the Impact, I think I would nail it, that's why I have these doubts.

 

[ian91]

Hello.

@DaveStarWalker , @deanorthk , @ian91 Thank you very much everyone for your answers. I'm sure they will help me tell me in the next few days.



Nice to chat with you. I think I have also read some of your reviews of the TGX. I have the Serratus and if I wasn't saving up for these I would have gotten the Ripples for sure.



Sorry if I have not been clear on this point. I love Moonlight, they do almost everything well, but that "almost" is that the voices, especially female (mids to upper-mids) are a bit advanced. They overlap the rest of the instrumentation a bit, for my taste. In instrumental songs you don't notice this so much. They are quite balanced, but that area stands out and is above the bass and treble. It is a W profile but sometimes with passages of strong voices, it looks like an inverted V as @DaveStarWalker says. I know that on the curve, in terms of upper-mids, the Serial resembles the Moonlight, but when listening, the perception is different. Let's see if I can clear it up. As for the mids, something between the Volt and the Moonlight, a less relaxed profile and with more detail than the Volts, and with more treble extension, I think it would be ideal. In that sense, the profile of the Traillii, or now the Impact, I think I would nail it, that's why I have these doubts.

I understand you. So it's more of an issue with vocal forwardness. Well the Mentawai controls female vocals fine. They are far from shrill, more on the romantic and embodied side of things for female vocals than other sets I have. Again, because of a sensible ear gain profile beyond 2kHz. Interestingly, I see the Ripples and Mentawai sharing many things in common, it would have been a good reference point to compare with the Mentawai if you had one! Serratus is quite different to the Mentawai (not least because of the flat head, single driver presentation but because of the tuning philosophy).

 

[ian91]

I recently found this tasteful, experimental jazz album with lots of percussion and horns in it.

This track on the Mentawai has some of the most incredible atmosphere and low end horn replay ever. Deep, atmospheric, realistic, dimensional, textured replay. You can feel the impact of the bass drums. The shape of the room can even be inferred from how the low horns occupy the soundstage...it's all conveyed musically but honestly.

 

[deanorthk]

I recently found this tasteful, experimental jazz album with lots of percussion and horns in it.

This track on the Mentawai has some of the most incredible atmosphere and low end horn replay ever. Deep, atmospheric, realistic, dimensional, textured replay. You can feel the impact of the bass drums. The shape of the room can even be inferred from how the low horns occupy the soundstage...it's all conveyed musically but honestly.

Ik this artist share the same first name as mine, Stephan, so going to listen to it right now, thanks @ian91

 

[DaveStarWalker]

Hello.

@DaveStarWalker , @deanorthk , @ian91 Thank you very much everyone for your answers. I'm sure they will help me decide in the next few days.



Nice to chat with you. I think I have also read some of your reviews of the TGX. I have the Serratus and if I wasn't saving up for these I would have gotten the Ripples for sure.



Sorry if I have not been clear on this point. I love Moonlight, they do almost everything well, but that "almost" is that the voices, especially female (mids to upper-mids) are a bit advanced. They overlap the rest of the instrumentation a bit, for my taste. In instrumental songs you don't notice this so much. They are quite balanced, but that area stands out and is above the bass and treble. It is a W profile but sometimes with passages of strong voices, it looks like an inverted V as @DaveStarWalker says. I know that on the curve, in terms of upper-mids, the Serial resembles the Moonlight, but when listening, the perception is different. Let's see if I can clear it up. As for the mids, something between the Volt and the Moonlight, a less relaxed profile and with more detail than the Volts, and with more treble extension, I think it would be ideal. In that sense, the profile of the Traillii, or now the Impact, I think I would nail it, that's why I have these doubts.

Ok,

Exactly, I was thinking about you while I was listening my tunes in the Parisian underground, and yes : the male voices, low pitched, as well as female, high pitched, are treated with an impeccable balance.

Also, 2 other key terms that came to me :

articulation and readability.

Complexe tracks are easily rendered.

 

[ian91]

Ok,

Exactly, I was thinking about you while I was listening my tunes in the Parisian underground, and yes : the male voices, low pitched, as well as female, high pitched, are treated with an impeccable balance.

Also, 2 other key terms that came to me :

articulation and readability.

Complexe tracks are easily rendered.

I haven't found a track that it struggles with. I typically choose Infected Mushroom for quick, layered tracks with plenty of dynamic swing to test IEMs technically and the Mentawai handles every track I put through it.

 

[BrokenHill]

I recently found this tasteful, experimental jazz album with lots of percussion and horns in it.

This track on the Mentawai has some of the most incredible atmosphere and low end horn replay ever. Deep, atmospheric, realistic, dimensional, textured replay. You can feel the impact of the bass drums. The shape of the room can even be inferred from how the low horns occupy the soundstage...it's all conveyed musically but honestly.

A very representative recommendation, thanks for the discovery. It sounds great with my Moonlights, but it doesn't go as low or as textured as you describe, so it sounds like I'm missing something. Tomorrow I will try with other IEM.