Expensive for me right now, but interested because I love treble. Never had trouble with Grados (in fact the Prestige X series sounds fine but seems to be afraid of treble extension now to appease the "too sibilant!" audiophile masses. It does sound good, and Grado-like, but something is missing.)
How do they compare to Jupiter? Are the upper mids similar, or is it the low mids that are recessed instead (did not find any graph because I read the thread a bit too quickly)?
Expensive for me right now, but interested because I love treble. Never had trouble with Grados (in fact the Prestige X series sounds fine but seems to be afraid of treble extension now to appease the "too sibilant!" audiophile masses. It does sound good, and Grado-like, but something is missing.)
How do they compare to Jupiter? Are the upper mids similar, or is it the low mids that are recessed instead (did not find any graph because I read the thread a bit too quickly)?
I’d definitely say I prefer Grado X sound to E sound, but as far as how these sound, they’re definitely treble forward neutral ish. Mids are a bit recessed, but not in a bad way. Definitely just feels like counter-clockwise rotated harmon target for over ear headphones. I was listening a lot more today and they’re absolutely extremely energetic. Almost to the point of being harsh, but not in a bad way per say. Everything just has a raw energy when I listen through it. Some stuff is definitely too bright for me, We the Kings’ eponymous album was a little treble hot through them, and Star Wars Ep1 soundtrack’s “Augie’s Great Municipal Band/End Credits” was very very bright in the initial brass fanfare. The main theme in the end credits and Duel of the Fates were both excellent though. Modern Country was a mixed bag, some felt a bit hot and some felt great.
Expensive for me right now, but interested because I love treble. Never had trouble with Grados (in fact the Prestige X series sounds fine but seems to be afraid of treble extension now to appease the "too sibilant!" audiophile masses. It does sound good, and Grado-like, but something is missing.)
That Smoky Litz cable really works well with the Saber, I really think it should come with the Saber instead.
After a few weeks of burning this thing in, I’m hearing more mid-bass and a bit more sub-bass. Vocals are now kind of engaging, not recessed like I initially heard it.
Overall: nice and engaging sound, intimate soundstage but that’s alright with me.
After a solid week of listening, I returned mine. The sound is good, but it’s a bit harsh and there are very very specific genres, even artists within genres, that these sounds good to me with. When they’re good, they’re amazing, but because of the slightly edgy nature, they are deeply unpleasant when not. Obviously these are less than half the price of andros, but, like someone said, it’s not hard to find andros used in this price ballpark. I ended up buying a pair of open box instead, and it was like a sigh of relief. So my search for CFA iems that are good for me at the more energy level tier continues.
After a solid week of listening, I returned mine. The sound is good, but it’s a bit harsh and there are very very specific genres, even artists within genres, that these sounds good to me with. When they’re good, they’re amazing, but because of the slightly edgy nature, they are deeply unpleasant when not. Obviously these are less than half the price of andros, but, like someone said, it’s not hard to find andros used in this price ballpark. I ended up buying a pair of open box instead, and it was like a sigh of relief. So my search for CFA iems that are good for me at the more energy level tier continues.
Yeah. I think you you had a large collection of iems you’d be able to to justify these more (assuming the same listening preferences and hearing), since they’re kind of a specialty sound for me, like having a specific knife for a single type of meal. But I’m looking more for an all purpose chef’s knife, so it’s not for me.
This "harshness" intrigues me, but again do not have the funds to justify the purchase right now. I usually am not put off by elevated treble, though exaggerated upper mids can often make otherwise good treble less clear.
This "harshness" intrigues me, but again do not have the funds to justify the purchase right now. I usually am not put off by elevated treble, though exaggerated upper mids can often make otherwise good treble less clear.
I’m not a big fancy audio descriptor type guy, but to me (people can certain tell me I’m nuts), these can sound like turning an overdrive pedal up a bit too much on a guitar. Great for certain genres or if you vibe with the effect, but when I’m listening to an already hot recording or want a more clean sound, it’s unwelcome. Doesn’t seem to effect jazz or some classical, but bright horn passages can go from being just bright to being a bit piercing/super metallic, and on a mellow guitar track like FM Static’s “Tonight”, the nice round guitar sound picks up a bit of an edge.
I'm finding these to be killer with Rock/Metal, which is what I was hoping for. I get the "Grado" comparisons in that it's a lively, slightly colored, treble-energy tuning. In practice these hit me like a DT880 tone meets a pre-X era Grado tuning. If you like the thought of that.... you'll love these. If you're a bit 'Mmmm' or just '?'....probably a a pass for you.
Where I'm loving these is its gear that brings vocals/guitar forward in rock/metal......and they are generally forgiving of poor or highly compressed mixes. There are a lot of real spiffy IEM's out there that can play rock/metal....but the majority follow the popular Bass - Neutral tuning approach. So man, has this been an era to appreciate drum work blobby low-mid distortion. Vocal/lead guitar....a lot of times either recessed or kinda' flat. Not Saber! Also an era of awesome detail/technicalities...which is usually the bees knees except when you when fire up rock/metal and your kilobuck IEM promptly tells you just how crappy whatever DR5 mix you are listening to is. Not Saber!
I don't find these particularly V shaped , recessed in the mids to any great degree. To my battered ears it more just walks down from High to Bass in terms of highlighted frequency. Bass votes present and sub-bass played hooky.....Mid-High and Treble have both captured all your bases and sent you up the bomb.
It's magical ear candy with traditional/thrash/power metal/related. Saber works with Doom/Death/Black/Tech....it just sort of applies a "thrash" filter. The lean/aggressive signature lightens the body and tone in those genres...and honestly you'd want a darker, low-mid-neutral tuned IEM on hand to really get the sonic atmosphere intended when desired. But...the Saber really highlights guitar and vocal work that often is lost in the grime....while dancing over poor mixes.
Misc: Male Vocals > Femal Vocals in general. Your toes will tap with everything, it's got energy in the signature for sure. It's fast as hell. It's bright, have no illusions.....but honestly not overly sibilant or an ear-pick (away from the hottest of mixes). You may not like what it's doing....but it's not a treble murder-box.
Outside of rock/metal.....I'm not sure what these would be considered an 'A' player on. Can they play Jazz and Classical? Sure.....cause' everything decent can play Jazz and Classical. But it's still a bit bright.....and it doesn't have the technicities to really bring an extra 'wow' factor (they aren't bad at all for the $400-$500 level...just not the calling card of the IEM). So much in modern music is mixed and ready for sonic love in the neutral-bass/bass-heavy spectrum.....and the Saber is not a fellow for that game.
So a $450 IEM that plays one genre really well, and even in that genre gets a bid odd with the darker/heavier side. So why make these? Well......
1. Lots of people listen to rock and metal.
2. There is lack of IEM's tailored to those genres, especially as you move beyond budget ranges looking for more. Note...yes, lots of solid choices for a darker, bass-neutral sound....but not treble/mid-high/snappy signature.
3. Looking for some energy/sparkle with rock/metal....see the suggestions out there right? Andromeda, Roxanne, Monarch I/II, Clairvoyance, Symphonium, U12t, Solaris, etc. All of these are significantly more expensive than the Saber and from a technical side will be more than happy to let you know how crappy the mix is you are listening to. So instead of listening to Tomb Mold in bed, you put on the "Fresh Jazz" playlist on Amazon HD for the millionth time so you can feel good about the $1,000 you spent (I have half of the IEM's I listed....I love them all but not one is overall 'more fun' than the Saber with metal). But you can use your $200 Timeless for that and all you really wanted was to be listening to Tomb Mold and not have cymbal hits that sounds like "Tschzxxxschh" and drums hits that sound like a bird flying into a window pushed in your face as a cruel reminder of DR5 horrors.
Yes, it's a niche...but they made just a thousand and I bet there's at least a thousand rock/metal fans out there that will dig these. I'm one for sure....and salute Campfire for reaching out with love to a sonic signature/genre preference that doesn't get prominent love.
But you can use your $200 Timeless for that and all you really wanted was to be listening to Tomb Mold and not have cymbal hits that sounds like "Tschzxxxschh" and drums hits that sound like a bird flying into a window pushed in your face as a cruel reminder of DR5 horrors.
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