[boomtube]

Looking forward to your impressions bro, please share.

If you're talking to me, I can put down some impressions when I get home...I'm @work on my phone. I've sold and traded a lot of gear lately, some traded/sales I regret. I definitely want to get another pair of Solar's...they're top dogs up there with the best.

 

[flymetothemoon]

What's the noticeable difference in sound between ref.1 and ref. 1 Too? I just picked up ref. 1 and they sound amazing...what's the difference between the 2?

To my knowledge, Ref1 was using a 3rd party Isobaric/k dynamic driver whereas the Ref.1 Too using in-house bass driver with the same Isobaric/k set up.
 
I have a very vague impression on the Ref.1 Too back to an audition in the final prototype stage that Gavin let me.   I've found the Ref.1 Too has stronger mid-bass while having a better balance across all spectrums whereas Ref.1 has a stronger sub bass.  
 
Hope this helps. 

 

[boomtube]

I totally regret selling my Solar's. Sound-stage goes to Ref. 1, but not by much. Ref. 1 and Solar both seem to shine with detailed/analytical DAP's and pure-silver cables. I'm listening to the Ref. 1's with the Calyx M and ALO CDM and it's incredible. 
 
The Ref. 1 that I got came with the Uber cable. The Uber cable is phenomenal, I've been using it with some of my other IEM's and it's added a new dimension to already awesome in ears.
 
Solar's can, as I recall, sound slightly thick and 'smokey' or 'cloudy' but not in a bad way, they also have great bass/sub-bass and it helps to feed them with perhaps one of the AK series of DAP's and a silver cable, to sharpen up some of the smoothness. 
 
The Solar's I had took a while to 'burn-in'...50 hrs. or so and I wasn't impressed, 100 hrs. they sounded a tad bit better...@ about 200 hr's they bloomed and sounded better than anything I had ever heard...I still scold myself for selling them and will for sure be looking for another pair.

 

[warrior1975]

You like solar over Ref 1? I've been extremely interested in the Solar but kind of forgot about it. Between the Vegas, wanting the new Sony headphones, and thinking about the solars... Oh, and empire ears Savage series... I may need a weekend job.

 

[boomtube]

You like solar over Ref 1? I've been extremely interested in the Solar but kind of forgot about it. Between the Vegas, wanting the new Sony headphones, and thinking about the solars... Oh, and empire ears Savage series... I may need a weekend job.

I don't mean to steer the the thread off course...if I was you,  I'd forget Solar & Savage...and cut straight to Zeus-R or XIV with ADEL. Then you can spend your fun money upgrading other gear.

 

[Sound Eq]

  I don't mean to steer the the thread off course...if I was you,  I'd forget Solar & Savage...and cut straight to Zeus-R or XIV with ADEL. Then you can spend your fun money upgrading other gear.

i do not regret selling any of my iems after owning the zeus r, but i have to say it and I know I am in the ref1 thread, if Gavin released a new iem that has the same bass as ref1 but added more weight to the mids and addressed the bit of peak that is in the high frequncies I doubt any iem would beat it
 
the ref1 has a stage unlike any iem out there no doubt, and you can feel music coming on you from all around, but my grips with ref1 was the mids and something in the highs sounded a bit metallic

 

[Sound Eq]

  I don't mean to steer the the thread off course...if I was you,  I'd forget Solar & Savage...and cut straight to Zeus-R or XIV with ADEL. Then you can spend your fun money upgrading other gear.

i too was interested in solar but forgot about it
 
do u own the zeus r, as I forgot what iem you own now or is your main daily driver?
 
I also owned the cowon s like you, I was surprised you sold it. I liked it but definitely was not worth an extra 1000 usd compared to p1
 
the ref1 is the second best iem I heard no doubt, first is the zeus r
 
ref1 no doubt has more bass, and a bigger wider soundstage unlike anything i heard compared to all iems I ever heard
the zeus r is totally different than ref1, its spot on in everything, it has less bass than ref1 that is for sure, but i never feel it lacks bass

 

[CraftyClown]

  I totally regret selling my Solar's. Sound-stage goes to Ref. 1, but not by much. Ref. 1 and Solar both seem to shine with detailed/analytical DAP's and pure-silver cables. I'm listening to the Ref. 1's with the Calyx M and ALO CDM and it's incredible. 
 
The Ref. 1 that I got came with the Uber cable. The Uber cable is phenomenal, I've been using it with some of my other IEM's and it's added a new dimension to already awesome in ears.
 
Solar's can, as I recall, sound slightly thick and 'smokey' or 'cloudy' but not in a bad way, they also have great bass/sub-bass and it helps to feed them with perhaps one of the AK series of DAP's and a silver cable, to sharpen up some of the smoothness. 
 
The Solar's I had took a while to 'burn-in'...50 hrs. or so and I wasn't impressed, 100 hrs. they sounded a tad bit better...@ about 200 hr's they bloomed and sounded better than anything I had ever heard...I still scold myself for selling them and will for sure be looking for another pair.

​Totally agree that both the Ref1 and Solar shine with detailed DAPs. They are both a complete joy with the QP1R.
 
Quite surprised you hear a bigger soundstage with the Ref1 though, as I am actually leaning the other way, but like you say, not by much.
 
I love the Ref1, but I think the Solar just inches it for me with slightly more refined bass and better treble extension.
 
That said, new toy syndrome is probably heavily at play here

 

[CraftyClown]

  i too was interested in solar but forgot about it
 
do u own the zeus r, as I forgot what iem you own now or is your main daily driver?
 
I also owned the cowon s like you, I was surprised you sold it. I liked it but definitely was not worth an extra 1000 usd compared to p1
 
the ref1 is the second best iem I heard no doubt, first is the zeus r
 
ref1 no doubt has more bass, and a bigger wider soundstage unlike anything i heard compared to all iems I ever heard
the zeus r is totally different than ref1, its spot on in everything, it has less bass than ref1 that is for sure, but i never feel it lacks bass

​I really want to hear the Zeus R. I don't think I've heard a bad word said about it, but at $2100 it's going to be a challenge sneaking a purchase like that past the other half  

 

[musicday]

 
i too was interested in solar but forgot about it

do u own the zeus r, as I forgot what iem you own now or is your main daily driver?

I also owned the cowon s like you, I was surprised you sold it. I liked it but definitely was not worth an extra 1000 usd compared to p1

the ref1 is the second best iem I heard no doubt, first is the zeus r

ref1 no doubt has more bass, and a bigger wider soundstage unlike anything i heard compared to all iems I ever heard
the zeus r is totally different than ref1, its spot on in everything, it has less bass than ref1 that is for sure, but i never feel it lacks bass

​I really want to hear the Zeus R. I don't think I've heard a bad word said about it, but at $2100 it's going to be a challenge sneaking a purchase like that past the other half  

But that is cheap compared to Plus5 with Uber Too cable at $3080.
I am considering to go for Campfire Audio Vega at $1299 if it sounds great with the Tera Player.

 

[CraftyClown]

But that is cheap compared to Plus5 with Uber Too cable at $3080.
I am considering to go for Campfire Audio Vega at $1299 if it sounds great with the Tera Player.

True, but that is including the cable too.
 
The top two on my list right now are Zeus R and the Prophile-8

 

[klove4252]

True, but that is including the cable too.

The top two on my list right now are Zeus R and the Prophile-8

I'm really interested to see how the Vega compares to the Ref 1. I preordered the Prophile 8 too, and I think it is one of the IEMs I have been most excited to try. It just seems so different, and every opinion I have heard on them is good.

I have the Zeus R, and I love the sound, but I have been listening to it a lot less recently. This might sound dumb, but I feel that it is so good at everything that it is almost not as much fun to listen to. Some other IEMs I own like the Oriolus MK2, Jomo Audio Genesis, Galaxy, and Tralucent 1.2 just have this uniqueness to them which I prefer.

 

[H20Fidelity]

For those interested in the new 1Plus2.2.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/tralucent-audio-1plus2-2/reviews/17110

 

[Kiats]

For those interested in the new 1Plus2.2.

http://www.head-fi.org/products/tralucent-audio-1plus2-2/reviews/17110

Great review, H20!

 

[CraftyClown]

Great review, H20!

 
Yup, nice little write up and a great reminder of Gavin's skill as a top end IEM maker