[Jalo]

Since I have both the Vega and Andro and I frequently switch them around and since many here are still wanting to know the different between the two, I notice another different quality between the two. With Vega I find it tends to command participation in the music mentally, I get drawn into the music more frequently whereas with the Andro I can just be enjoying the same wonderful music more as an observer. It is almost like at a dance floor you get pulled into the actual dancing with the Vega whereas with the Andro you can just remain at the sideline and enjoy the same beautiful dancing. Both are highly enjoyable but the experience is very different depending on your mood. Sometimes I felt the Vega is more fun but is more tiring. So sometimes at the end of the day when I am mentally tired I may just want to listen to the Andro.

 

[fzman]

Since I have both the Vega and Andro and I frequently switch them around and since many here are still wanting to know the different between the two, I notice another different quality between the two. With Vega I find it tends to command participation in the music mentally, I get drawn into the music more frequently whereas with the Andro I can just be enjoying the same wonderful music more as an observer. It is almost like at a dance floor you get pulled into the actual dancing with the Vega whereas with the Andro you can just remain at the sideline and enjoy the same beautiful dancing. Both are highly enjoyable but the experience is very different depending on your mood. Sometimes I felt the Vega is more fun but is more tiring. So sometimes at the end of the day when I am mentally tired I may just want to listen to the Andro.

 
I had a brief listen to the Andro at RMAF, courtesy of Moedawg140.  I was not wowed, but I don't take that all that seriously given show conditions, etc. etc.  That said, The Vega has me on a path to thin the herd, and sell off many other iems.  The Vegas are challenging, and not forgiving, but for me, at least, they give me a realism that I have not found elsewhere. I am more sensitive to time/phase response than many others on Head-Fi, from what I can tell, and as a single driver iem, the Vega has a huge advantage in that department--time and timbral coherence. It's more like when Freddie Mercury overdubbed his own voice to build up a "choir", than having a group of different voices singing together... 
 
I enjoy other iems as well, and can 'rock out' with a variety of different rigs.  I get what you are saying about commanding attention and drawing you in.  It's much like walking past an oopen door, hearing some music, and being drawn into the room to listen from a better vantage point.  For me, this attention-grabbing is really important, and is as much about me as it is about the Vega.  At the end of the day, stereo is something of an illusion, and whatever works best for you, is, in a very real sense, the best.

 

[mscott58]

Since I have both the Vega and Andro and I frequently switch them around and since many here are still wanting to know the different between the two, I notice another different quality between the two. With Vega I find it tends to command participation in the music mentally, I get drawn into the music more frequently whereas with the Andro I can just be enjoying the same wonderful music more as an observer. It is almost like at a dance floor you get pulled into the actual dancing with the Vega whereas with the Andro you can just remain at the sideline and enjoy the same beautiful dancing. Both are highly enjoyable but the experience is very different depending on your mood. Sometimes I felt the Vega is more fun but is more tiring. So sometimes at the end of the day when I am mentally tired I may just want to listen to the Andro.

Very well said and I fully agree. Cheers

 

[Insidious Meme]

Met up with Ken at a function yesterday, and listened a little to the Vega and Dorado. Not knowing any sort of burn in or not, I felt the Vegas had a bit more bass than the Dorado, and the Dorado had a somewhat V shaped freq response. I preferred the Dorado but I still preferred the Andromeda (which I own) more than either with its more balanced sound through my DAPs. I also preferred the gunmetal headphones to the copper colored ones that he brought. We talked a little about the business, and some interesting developments on his end. Thanks Ken for bringing out wonderful products.

 

[Jalo]

I had a brief listen to the Andro at RMAF, courtesy of Moedawg140.  I was not wowed, but I don't take that all that seriously given show conditions, etc. etc.  That said, The Vega has me on a path to thin the herd, and sell off many other iems.  The Vegas are challenging, and not forgiving, but for me, at least, they give me a realism that I have not found elsewhere. I am more sensitive to time/phase response than many others on Head-Fi, from what I can tell, and as a single driver iem, the Vega has a huge advantage in that department--time and timbral coherence. It's more like when Freddie Mercury overdubbed his own voice to build up a "choir", than having a group of different voices singing together... 

I enjoy other iems as well, and can 'rock out' with a variety of different rigs.  I get what you are saying about commanding attention and drawing you in.  It's much like walking past an oopen door, hearing some music, and being drawn into the room to listen from a better vantage point.  For me, this attention-grabbing is really important, and is as much about me as it is about the Vega.  At the end of the day, stereo is something of an illusion, and whatever works best for you, is, in a very real sense, the best.

I appreciate the above thoughts, I am very intrigue when you say you are "sensitive to time/phrase response" and that "they give you a realism". I am a neuroscientist and am doing some brainwave research at present with different emotional states and I can tell you each and every emotional states exist in a space define discretely by time/phrase/and frequency. In fact, my next project is to identify brain states when we listen to the same piece of music, for instance, Beethovan 5th. I think realism can be replicated when our brain states approach the same brain states as when we listen to the live music. To the extend that an iem is capable of recreating such three dimensional complicate brainwave state, realism can be the result of it and I think the Vega is able to do that better over many others.

With regard to your brief audition with the Andro at RMAF, the old timers here on headfi used to have an unwritten rule about giving impression or review and that is we want to use a piece of new equipment at least for three to four months such that we are sure of the sound characteristic prior to offering impression. The problem with show audition or brief audition is that besides noisy environment, unfamiliar musical materials, and other idiosyncratic distraction, brief audition usually is just too brief such that one has never expose to the full range of sound characteristic of a specific phone. For instance, even when I listen to the Andro now on some new materials, there are instances on certain passages I never knew the Andro could do that and that is a revelation of what the Andro can do. So in a brief audition even if you can do it in a sound proof room, you are just not expose to enough variation of what a phone can do and thus not able to give a proper valuation of the capability of the phone.

Also for instance when Audio123 audition the Vega briefly, I believe he speaks his mind honestly, but all he can capture in that brief audition is that the bass is huge and the treble is grainy. He hasn't hear what the Vega can produce under all kinds of demands. However, when I own and listened to the Vega actively and discriminantly for over 100 hours, I can tell the nuisances and whether the bass and the graininess is inherent in the music or whether it is a effect of the recording/mastering etc. Realism also means a person has attended enough live performances or that a person plays a certain instruments such that there is a brain copy of what a real performance is like when compare to the auditioned sound. All music is doing is to create a state of mind and feel in a person and all we are doing is to chase after that certain state of mind such that we can satisfy that certain emotional need inside each of us. And as not all music with each moment in a piece can create that state, we keep chasing sometime with better equipment.

 

[deafdoorknob]

I appreciate the above thoughts, I am very intrigue when you say you are "sensitive to time/phrase response" and that "they give you a realism". I am a neuroscientist and am doing some brainwave research at present with different emotional states and I can tell you each and every emotional states exist in a space define discretely by time/phrase/and frequency. In fact, my next project is to identify brain states when we listen to the same piece of music, for instance, Beethovan 5th. I think realism can be replicated when our brain states approach the same brain states as when we listen to the live music. To the extend that an iem is capable of recreating such three dimensional complicate brainwave state, realism can be the result of it and I think the Vega is able to do that better over many others.

With regard to your brief audition with the Andro at RMAF, the old timers here on headfi used to have an unwritten rule about giving impression or review and that is we want to use a piece of new equipment at least for three to four months such that we are sure of the sound characteristic prior to offering impression. The problem with show audition or brief audition is that besides noisy environment, unfamiliar musical materials, and other idiosyncratic distraction, brief audition usually is just too brief such that one has never expose to the full range of sound characteristic of a specific phone. For instance, even when I listen to the Andro now on some new materials, there are instances on certain passages I never knew the Andro could do that and that is a revelation of what the Andro can do. So in a brief audition even if you can do it in a sound proof room, you are just not expose to enough variation of what a phone can do and thus not able to give a proper valuation of the capability of the phone.

Also for instance when Audio123 audition the Vega briefly, I believe he speaks his mind honestly, but all he can capture in that brief audition is that the bass is huge and the treble is grainy. He hasn't hear what the Vega can produce under all kinds of demands. However, when I own and listened to the Vega actively and discriminantly for over 100 hours, I can tell the nuisances and whether the bass and the graininess is inherent in the music or whether it is a effect of the recording/mastering etc. Realism also means a person has attended enough live performances or that a person plays a certain instruments such that there is a brain copy of what a real performance is like when compare to the auditioned sound. All music is doing is to create a state of mind and feel in a person and all we are doing is to chase after that certain state of mind such that we can satisfy that certain emotional need inside each of us. And as not all music with each moment in a piece can create that state, we keep chasing sometime with better equipment.

this article must be right up your alley then!

http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1204&context=research_conference

 

[Jalo]

this article must be right up your alley then!

http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1204&context=research_conference

Thanks for the reference and yes I am aware of most of the concepts discussed in the article. What is really fascinating is the recent spurred of neurotechnology advances that are not utilised in previous neuroscience research. What is available previously for brain imaging involves MRI, PET scan, fMRI etc, but they do not reveal minute and quantitative changes of brain functions. Imagine while Ken is tuning the Vega to a certain sound signature and if he has the brainwave matrix of live sound of Carneigie Hall he will be able to replicate the live sound as we hear it. No I am not talking about DSP existed in many daps (rock, cathedral, classical etc) I am talking about to replicate the brainwave of a live sound matrix as a person hears it in vivo. You cannot get any closer than recreating the brainwave matrix of a live performance in an audio setup because that is where the real thing happens.

 

[Septimus]

I'm thinking about getting the Lyra ll, Jupiter or maybe even a dorado if there are some nice black friday sales.
I would probably combine them with a fiio x5ll.
Could somebody tell me if the jupiter/dorado are worth the higher price or if the lyra ll is good as a start?
I like an a little warmer signature but i'm nowhere near being a basshead i think.

 

[seamon]

Can anyone compare the Vega to the Noble K10 and/or to 64 audio A12

 

[kino lau]

  Can anyone compare the Vega to the Noble K10 and/or to 64 audio A12

 

  Can anyone compare the Vega to the Noble K10 and/or to 64 audio A12

You can find many answers to questions simply by using the Seach This Thread at the top of the page. http://www.head-fi.org/newsearch/?search=K10&resultSortingPreference=recency&byuser=&output=posts&sdate=0&newer=1&type=all&containingthread%5B0%5D=823337&advanced=1

 

[ExpatinJapan]

@ExpatinJapan, thank you very much for your impressions!
 
Could you please compare Akazakura which you own (if i remember correctly) to Vega and Andromeda?
 
How do they compare when handling acoustic instruments, mainly piano, strings, guitar? I find that lone piano sounds, like in Vangelis' Piano In The Empty Room, is quite possibly THE test for the acoustic reproduction and single piano sound simultaneously test the ADSR of the earphone.
 
Would be great to hear your comments!

Sorry I dont own akasakura (thats rudi)

 

[Jalo]

Can anyone compare the Vega to the Noble K10 and/or to 64 audio A12

I can't say much about the K10 as I only listened to it briefly but I did own the U12. The U12 has a very nice full body low and mid frequency, the only wish I had with the U12 is a better treble. The treble frequency runs out too early making the phone a bit too warm or dark for me. It's like you are not playing with a full deck of cards. The Vega's bass has that organic, rumbling, and live like quality in addition to just being tight and clean. That is the difference between the dynamic and BA driver. If you like a very warm sound, the U12 will be fine. The U12 has a very transparent sound also but the Vega is a little more engaging.

 

[warrior1975]

I owned the K10s until I received the Vegas. Vegas prompted me to sell the Nobles. I prefer the bass of the Vegas by a wide margin. I also like how the mids sounded and I feel it has better treble and more separation. Vegas are pretty much my number 3 or 4 favorites out of my stable.

I've said it many times (my apologies to those that have heard this), I prefer my Tralucent iems (Ref 1 Too and Plus 5) over the Vegas. I've had my two favorite Sonys out on loaner (ex800st and ex1000), so I've yet to compare the 2,so not sure which I prefer yet. The ex1000 is probably closer in sound sig than the ex800st, but the ex800st (taped vent) is normally my number 3,and I'll probably prefer that over the Vegas (as crazy as that sounds). OTOH, I'm think I'll like the Vegas over the ex1000. I definitely prefer the Vegas over my Sony Z5.

Keep in minded, I am a huge basshead and I EQ everything. Usually just adding bass, but some tweaks to lower mid bass, and some tweaks in the higher frequencies.

* I also purchased the Reference 8 cable. My Vegas are out on loan, along with the Reference 8 cable so I won't be able to do any additional comparisons, probably for 4-6 weeks.

 

[Jalo]

I owned the K10s until I received the Vegas. Vegas prompted me to sell the Nobles. I prefer the bass of the Vegas by a wide margin. I also like how the mids sounded and I feel it has better treble and more separation. Vegas are pretty much my number 3 or 4 favorites out of my stable.

I've said it many times (my apologies to those that have heard this), I prefer my Tralucent iems (Ref 1 Too and Plus 5) over the Vegas. I've had my two favorite Sonys out on loaner (ex800st and ex1000), so I've yet to compare the 2,so not sure which I prefer yet. The ex1000 is probably closer in sound sig than the ex800st, but the ex800st (taped vent) is normally my number 3,and I'll probably prefer that over the Vegas (as crazy as that sounds). OTOH, I'm think I'll like the Vegas over the ex1000. I definitely prefer the Vegas over my Sony Z5.

Keep in minded, I am a huge basshead and I EQ everything. Usually just adding bass, but some tweaks to lower mid bass, and some tweaks in the higher frequencies.

* I also purchased the Reference 8 cable. My Vegas are out on loan, along with the Reference 8 cable so I won't be able to do any additional comparisons, probably for 4-6 weeks.

I am surprised that the Tralucent has more bass than the Vega. I have to listen to them again next time when I see Gavin. From memory, the Vega is smoother, more coherent and organic. Did you get the Tralucent's cable also? The one the uses .9999 gold in the metal?

 

[warrior1975]

Really? The Ref 1 and the Ref 1 Too has significantly more bass. The Plus 5 is similar in bass levels, but has much thicker mids, while still not sounding congested.

I have two, the stock silver gold (or is it gold silver?? Lol), and the uBer Too. On that Note, it isn't an ideal comparison. Also, I did try them both with the Whiplash cable (modular setup) so I did try to keep a fair comparison in that regard.

Which Tralucent are you referring to? If it's the 1p2 I could see you coming up with the Vegas having more bass, but again, it's been a couple of years since I owned the 1P2, so I can't speak with any certainty on that comparison.