^ Bugger. I’m based in Australia.
Happy to wait until February when I know I can afford to get a brand new pair though.
Here are my impressions from my first audition, song by song...
Pinch: RA Podcast (ID)
Profound bass attack & decay. The first thing I notice, like the whiskey notes on a good barrel-aged barleywine. It’s just as rich, full and intoxicating as the bass on my SE846s (current IEM) but more detailed and nuanced.
John 00 Fleming: “First Take Off”
Beneath its visceral, whomping kick drum is that bready CA midrange presentation that is a few steps up from but still reminiscent to that of the Jupiters.
Mystica: “Bliss”
Same again. Interestingly the bass doesn’t blow up the kickdrum of this old ‘90s trance classic like I thought - and hoped - it might. Clearly these guys know how to control bass and when to unleash it.(
Mike Oldfield: “Sentinel”
Piano sounds sweet but not cloyingly so (cue another barleywine reference...). Bass guitar warm, lush, palpably real. So too the vocal harmonies.
But where’s that reported treble sparkle? Oh right... Volume up!
Things really start shimmering. The heartbeat, the closest thing to actual percussion in this song (true to Oldfield style and form) pulsates.
In fact everything is pulsating...
Pink Floyd: “It’s What We Do”
Strapping myself in now. Wondering which one of my internal organs the pathology clinic next door would be happy to take so I can walk out of here with these puppies right now.
Where the Shure SE846s rushed this track the Vegas take another whiff and savour the intoxicating sweetness. The bass can be heard note for note. The guitars sing, sing, sing!
And I never thought the 846s’ timbre could be topped in terms of hi-hats.
Devin Townsend: “Hide Nowhere”
Okay, a vocal track. Townsend’s vocals are a touch recessed surrounded by those cold blue waves. I’m not liking this quite so much...
Machine Head: “Now We Die”
The violins ghost in with real authority and conviction. Seems the Vegas are better at handling straight up metal than prog. Every note of the bass can be heard, nay, felt! Drums on the other hand seem to be right at the back of the stage, and Robb Flynn’s vocals sound a touch dry and recessed.
Meshuggah: “The Paradoxical Spiral”
The mosquito-like guitar-laden opening promises much. Vocals don’t carry the same authority as I’d like. But most of what I listen to is free of vox so can happily overlook. Mids sound dry-bready again here.
Soundstage strikes me as similar but fuller than the 846s.
Clutch: “X-Ray Visions”
Most stoner rock sounds lacking with the 846s but the Vegas handles it with aplomb thanks to that aforementioned dryness. Texturally perfect and a metric **** tonne of detail to go with that metric **** tonne of bass! This barleywine just went all US style with a whopping late hop addition!*
Heiner Stadler: “Outer Rock”
Now I’m no jazz aficionado but this sounds great! The soundstage reaches for the sky while the details sparkle all around.
Akala: “Let It All Happen”
Time for some hip hop recorded with a live backing band. The intro kick drum marches in with sincere and powerful authority. Akala even sounds authoritative! Bass and high hats punch through with superior musicality to the 846s.
Dire Straits: “Sultans of Swing”
I should have put the 24 bitdepth version on. Listening carefully there are details I’ve never heard before on the periphery. . Air and spaciousness become apparent. Where the 846s put Dire Straits into a more studio like aesthetic while the Vegas places them somewhere dirtier, sweatier, south of London town.
At this point I’m wondering if the ambient air pressure in this building is having an effect as it often does on my hearing... Meanwhile every Dire Straits song sounds incredible! “You and Your Friend” has a real magic to it.
— Nary a trace of sibilance, even when the guitars begin whaling. In saying that the more I listen through my iPhone 7 the more I’m thinking these need the extra juice of an amp.
Bob Holroyd: “Autumn Leaves”
This morose chillout track is full of bass rolls, hi hats, piano, violins and intricate details - all of which pulsate, shine, shimmer and resonate. My heart almost stops and I feel as though my breath has been taken away.
Kay D: “Falling”
An airy, somber progressive trance piece that already sounds lush. I’m almost done here. Treble shimmers. I’m as spent as the exhaustion with life’s trials and tribulations the late bridge of this track speaks of.
So much sparkly detail!
Kamilo Sanclemente & Dabeat: “Cygnus”
Oh my that bass rumble! That towering soundstage. This is not big room trance but it has gone and thrown Above & Beyond and their wicked wicked EDM crossover ways from the booth! It’s stadium-esque! Huge !!
Now after 90 minutes I’m sampling the concluding tracks on FabricLive 91: Mixed by Special Request, which is a mix of modern jungle. I’m feeling a little fatigued.
A little drunk from all that barleywine perhaps. But my oh my, what a sensory indulgent experience! One heck of a ride! These are definitely on my shortlist.
* I generally dislike most US-style barleywines because of their astringency. Fellow craft beer nerds will know what I’m banging on about. I love a good English style barleywine or old ale, and if it’s spent time in whiskey barrels, so much the better.
Source: iPhone 7+
Most tracks are ALAC but some compressed AAC and mp3, minimum 320 kpbs.