At the very least, Crinacle is doing an immense favor for the hobby by providing measurements for us all to use, essentially carrying the torch that Tyll left off on. I can't think of anyone besides maybe RTings that provides as many measurements, but Crin at least provides measurements for more hobby-relevant models. In the event I don't get value from a review, I can at least gain something from my own interpretation the data he collects.
Indeed...I use that resource all the time and find it invaluable. It is an IMMENSE boon for people trying to find their way in this hobby.
I think many readers just get butthurt when a critic doesn't like what they already bought
This is absolutely true but it's a fundamentally human phenomenon, and a universal one at that. "Let him who has never gotten upset when someone criticized their favourite gear cast the first stone."
I like the Andromeda, but know many people who don't, and I think that's fair - they aren't really biased or paid shills to my knowledge at least, it's fair to criticize it. And if you put any weight in measurements, I can just see why many people wouldn't love Campfire's current lineup - very niche tunings. I have limited access to models to try, so when I have the chance to try something, I am always open to giving it a chance, but in the event that I have a choice between something that measures close to my preference and something that doesn't (which has happened), I think the choice is clear.
In my earlier posts referencing a grudge against CFA I'm not referring to the fact that there are (inevitably) some people who just don't connect with their gear-- this will always be true of any brand and any gear. I am referring instead to the continuous flow of anti-Campfire sentiment that has flowed, primarily out of Discord, in varying degrees since about the final stretch of 2018. I don't know precisely who, what or exactly why, but having spent much of 2019 there in a variety of servers this sentiment was tangible and unmistakable and quite often spoken of openly. And it wasn't just about their not liking their gear, it felt as though there was something deeper and more personal about it. Again, I don't pretend to know precisely who or how many or why this is a thing, and I suspect there may be a few different factors...but it's unmistakably there. I even almost fell victim to it once myself-- one summer after an extended couple weeks being bombarded by the drumbeat obbligato of disdain for Campfire and praise for Sony that was emanating from the place I bought a Z1R (I was thinking of it anyway and this pushed me over the line) and considered selling my Solaris...the spell eventually wore off and I did not end up doing that....but the influence and orientation was tangible. Another thing is that I interact with people who like different gear than me all the time, and I know that, even when I like something a lot more (or a lot less) than someone it's generally always possible to deduce from our relative impressions that we're describing the same piece of gear, and trace the disparity in opinion back to personal preferences. When I am not able to do this, when it sounds like they're talking about a fundamentally different piece of gear, I consider that a mystery and file it away in my file of things I don't understand, or don't know all the variables to. All of this added up leaves me unable to take some reviews/impressions of CFA gear at face value. For what it's worth at the end of the day I don't really care what guys like Animus (or anyone else really) says or thinks-- he can meme around in his own thread all he wants and if people enjoy it or derive benefit from it then great. In fact, as I've already indicated I'm sure much of the content he produces is of very high quality. But if someone is going to share his thoughts on CFA gear in a CFA thread as though they somehow represent some form of objective journalism, then I will present my perspective and let anyone who comes across it make up their own mind.
There are many review sites, but has Headfonics ever given a score below an 8/10? They baffle me every time. Maybe the Dorado is legitimately good to them but they might be the most suspicious review site on the internet.
To be quite honest I find any kind of summative grade or mark borderline useless and ultimately the most subjective part of an inherently subjective enterprise. What I'm really interested in is what someone says in depth about an IEM. Earlier in this thread I explained that people will gravitate to reviewers that they resonate with-- well Marcus from Headfonics is just such a one for me. He is someone whose reviews I have consistently resonated with as long as I've been in this hobby and I'll try and explain why. Since you brought him up I'll include Crinacle in this analogy as he is someone whose tastes and preferences are genrally quite different than my own. To illustrate my point I'll cite the reviews each person did for my current favorite IEM, the Vision Ears Elysium.
Following is much of the body of Crin's "Cliffs Notes" on the Elysium:
"The Elysium’s sound came as a total surprise to me, in that… well… there was treble. And not only that, it was actually pretty decent treble too, no weird spikes or dips that are all too common in EST implementations that ruin the tonality and timbre of hi-hats. The Elysium sounded… like a regular BA-tweeter IEM. And with my previous experiences with similar types of IEMs, that’s the greatest compliment I can give to it right now.
The Elysium has the interesting tuning choice of using the dynamic driver as a bandpassed midrange driver as opposed to the traditional woofer, much like the JH Lola. That means the Elysium uses BA woofers instead, and while you would think I would lambast it for being so since I’m a “BA bass” hater myself, it’s pretty alright. Definitely would’ve preferred a DD presentation, but I’ve heard worse. Cough Lola cough.
Technicalities and tonality are great and fall in line with what I’d expect out of a $2,000 IEM. But of course, this is Vision Ears. If you’ve already decided to buy one, I’m pretty sure “saving money” isn’t on your bucket list.
Anyways, to conclude. The Elysium is the IEM to show me that the Sonion ESTs do have a place in the market in that, when it is well-implemented, it can be just as good as the standard BA tweeter array. But at the price it’s more a luxury concept than anything concrete, but that’s simply how the market goes. You just need that one product to show everyone that no, this new-fangled toy driver can, in fact, do some great things. And it’s with the Elysium that I hope more companies would realise that EST hybrids are not doomed to a life of poor treble response and even poorer treble extension, and instead trickle down to similar implementations but for cheap."
All in all a pretty respectable review. He focuses primarily on the e-stat treble and the bass, and proceeds to give it an above average mark. Nowhere in this report is even a word on what is, to me, the utter standout feature of the Elysium, its midrange.
Following is an excerpt from Marcus' review of Ely on Head Fi:
"What the Elysium does have and possibly the best “have” I have heard to date is how it delivers on timbral richness and texture, especially in the vocals. The use of a dynamic driver for the mids is a complete masterstroke for me. It sounds pure, a shade to the euphonic side even but oh so incredibly refined and an absolute joy to listen to....
Just superb mids, the best I have heard on a custom hybrid electrostatic monitor to date. Hats off to Vision Ears for the HALC dynamic driver mids configuration. Instruments sound so natural, rich in texture and detail and incredibly solid in timbre and tone.
There is nothing lean about the Elysium mids delivery from the lower-mids instrumental note to the vivid yet smooth sounding vocal delivery. And it is the vocal delivery that will leap out from you from the minute you try them."
Here Marcus captures perfectly what I feel is the most enduring quality of the Elysium--its dynamic textured mids. I am not here to say one review is better than the other-- but they clearly speak to different preferences and ideals and one definitely resonates more with me and my preferences than the other-- but that's totally fine. There is enough great content and gear out there for everyone to find their own way and what is perfect for them.
Sure they share the same DAC but, still... More power on the ITM03 perhaps? Or the fact that the ITM03 is impedance adaptive? IDK but I find it excellent.
