holsen
Headphoneus Supremus
Burn in has definitely helped these. When I go back and forth between the Xelento 2 (X2) and my EJ07Ms and my Fusions, on immediate listen the mids are a bit scooped out in comparison but my ears adjust very quickly to it. Diana Krall is a great artist to listen to the female vocals and I've been critically listening for the the last hour to "Black Crow" and "Temptation" and there is no question in my mind or to my ears that the vocals have come forward and treble has extended.My friend had a listening session with the 2nd gen and he wasnt impressed. He said that you can get a similar performance with a chifi iems at 1/3 of the price.
I think he was bit too critical for them and it was in an audio shop so they probably werent burned in yet. He also prefers more neutral sound, more towards harman target.
Im also harman fan after having the Monarch Mk2 and decided to go with the Dunu SA6 Ultra.
I love full and realistic mids, expecially vocals and this wasnt great on the OG version for me. It improved quite significantly with spin fits 100+ but the lack of body is still there and i even prefer the Hook X or Kinera Nanna for vocal oriented music.
Would be great to see the graphs but i just couldnt find any.
I'm now playing with Cables. I've got 4 EA cables in front of me and they do shift the sound but it's subtle. Right now I've got the new Cleopatra II attached. It's a $1000 pure silver litz cable which takes a touch of the weight out of the bass while keeping the layering and definition - this serves to elevate the mids in the overall soundscape and I hear a touch of more airiness in the treble, but honestly not $1000 bucks worth. I wouldn't even know how to quantify that. I've also played with the EA Cadmus, Ares S and Eros S The Xelento cable is very thin and I've been trying to prove to myself that it's a "choke point" yet I cannot prove that. Other cables do make a subtle shift based on their properties and I do prefer the sound of the X2 with the Cleo II cable but it's not a massive shift in sound and the ultra thin stock cable is really comfortable, portable and tangle free.
We all have to know what we want as a total package. Sound, ergonomics, aesthetics, etc. I've got a couple of CIEMs that are astoundingly good but they're large so I tend to only use them around the house and I've other universals that I consider sensational but the hole in my collection was a small, diminutive earphone I could travel and sleep with that doesn't compromise. For me Xelento has filled that gap.
Enjoy those SA6 Us!