Ok, I just got these bad boys yesterday so these are very early impression. Please look at my signature so you know where I'm coming from, preference wise.
Unboxing: After owning the Jupiter and the Andromeda, I was underwhelmed and pleasantly surprised at the same time. It seems that the quality of the case accompanying CA's TOTL IEM has been on the decline. The Jupiter had a gorgeous nubuck leather (something like that) case with a wool lining. Reminded me of a shearling coat. The Andromeda had a nice leather case with tanned leather. Nice but not as nice as the Jupiter's case. The Vega has a protein leather case and synthetic wool lining. I'm being nice when I say synthetic, BTW. I'm inclined to buy the Jupiter case from CA and just file this one to the side. Not even sure if the zipper tab is actually metal or just painted plastic. On a more positive note, the metal housings are beautiful. They are much nicer than the other CA IEMs in my opinion. I was very impressed until I noticed the plastic nozzles. Maybe they were required for tuning purposes or to meet a certain price point? I don't know. Not a deal breaker but slightly annoying. My real gripe was the poor finishing of said nozzles. Maybe my set is a one-off but I have edges of excess plastic at the end of the nozzle. For $1300, I'd rather not see that at all. I should note that it's not visible once the tips are installed. They also used to include a balanced 2.5mm cable. Not a deal breaker, either. Another positive is the included SpinFits. I wish more manufacturers would get on board with this! Comply and
On a more positive note, the metal housings are beautiful. They are much nicer than the other CA IEMs in my opinion. I was very impressed until I noticed the plastic nozzles. Maybe they were required for tuning purposes or to meet a certain price point? I don't know. Not a deal breaker but slightly annoying. My real gripe was the poor finishing of said nozzles. Maybe my set is a one-off but I have rough edges of excess plastic at the end of the nozzle. For $1300, I'd rather not see that at all. I should note that it's not visible once the tips are installed. The packaging used to include a balanced 2.5mm cable. Not a deal breaker but it was a nice touch. I really like that they've included SpinFits. I wish more manufacturers would get on board with this! Comply and Spinfits, done. Everything else included is the standard affair for CA products, to include their minimalistic but really nice packaging. Overall, not bad but not great, IMO.
Sound: Like I said before, these are very early impressions (i.e. an incoherent rant). That being said, they will likely change over time. I'm not that articulate when it comes to explaining what I hear so take this with a grain of salt. I should also note that I did a little bit of tip and cable rolling and prefer the UE 900 tips (added comfort and air) and the Fidue A91 and A83 cables (both add a little width from what I can tell). So far, I've only used my iPod Touch/Oppo HA-2 with FLAC and AAC files, mostly electronic and acoustic stuff.
First thoughts: "the bass is too much for me!
" It's literally vibrating my skull. Maybe not literally but yeah, the bass is legit. It's very strongly represented in just about every track I've listened to. The quality is exceptional but I could use a tad less quantity for my tastes. The rest of the range is nicely detailed and balanced well enough that I can't complain. The mids are resolving and present enough for me. The treble is nicely extended. Maybe just a tad too bright for my liking. The staging is intimate and the imaging is precise like others have stated. I've only noticed sibilance on known sibilant tracks so there's no issue there for me. The overall sound if very full-bodied and maybe the closest to full-sized cans that I've heard. They actually do remind of the Perhaps IElear, aside from the bass and open-back characteristics. However, I haven't done any A/B'ing yet. Sonically, these are
I've only noticed sibilance on known sibilant tracks so there's no issue there for me. The overall sound if very full-bodied and maybe the closest to full-sized cans that I've heard. They actually do remind me of the Elear in some ways, aside from the bass and open-back characteristics. However, I haven't done any A/B'ing yet so I wouldn't go so far as to say they can replace full-size cans. In regards to sound signature, these are the most unique IEMs I have at the moment. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about them just yet. For acoustic and bass-light music or spatial mixes, they are absolutely amazing. Other tracks can be hit or miss for me. I guess it just depends on the mix. When the stars align, these are jaw-dropping at other times, it's more of a "meh" feeling (compared to other TOTLs BTW). Clearly, more testing is needed.
I really need to hear these from a balanced source. That, along with the bass leak mod, might be all I need to be really happy with these. It would have been cool if CA had made the bass port tuneable, kinda like the FLC 8S. I'd also like to try another cable so if anyone has any cable suggestions for me, I'm all ears. Oh, and make no mistake about anything I've stated here, these are definitely TOTL status. It really is just a matter of preferences at this level. Based on everything I've listened to, they're competitively priced.
More to follow... I suppose
