[seamon]

I thought measurements didn't mean anything to you? Either way I would definitely rec getting a pair in your ears to try it.

When did I ever say Measurements didn't mean anything to me? You probably confused some other poster for me. I am highly considering just buying one when they release.

 

[candlejack]

I spent twelve hours ski touring solo today for Christmas. Solaris playing my top 100 played songs.

Great company on my trek, and no listening fatigue (can’t say the same for the rest of my body). I’ve done the same sort of trip with Vega, but I find the treble sparkle tiring. Solaris was rock solid the whole time.

Recommended.

Didn't you get massive condensation on the nozzle? What were you wearing over your ears?

 

[candlejack]

All 3 are Flawless. I don't recon anything wrong with any one.
Flawless == Not having any glaring flaws.
Flawless =/= Perfect.

It's good that you offered this clarification. But you'd better use a different term. The dictionary disagrees with you and states that perfect is a synonym for flawless.

 

[seamon]

It's good that you offered this clarification. But you'd better use a different term. The dictionary disagrees with you and states that perfect is a synonym for flawless.

I stopped using this term long ago and I have been offering this clarification from the very beginning and I only used Flawless here because the person I quoted asked me what FLAWLESS is.

 

[Carlsan]

Have you try the RHA CL2? I think @Kitechaser said it’s better than the Solaris.

I own and listen to both. They have a different enough flavor that I enjoy both depending on the mood.
Solaris is more analytical and gives a bigger SQ, both wider and deeper. The CL2 has a great sound that doesn't quite demand your attention like the Solaris, so it's perfect for ambient music and background at work, while still giving me details, the bass extension I like, and enjoyable tremble.
With both earphones one needs the proper fit, meaning the eartips that work for you.
I get a good seal on both and have no fit problems with either, as some have reported having fit problems. I should add that with both earphones, one needs more time than trying out a demo unit to get them to fit and sound their best.

 

[Lookout57]

Wait, so you're saying cables can bring that lower line in the graph back in place with the upper line?

What I'm saying is different cables will effect what you can hear. Some cables will increase bass response, others will increase the high end response and others are more neutral.

My opinion is that frequency response graphs are only good for showing what a device is capable of. Measuring response is dependent on a lot of variables in the test chain that can effect the outcome. They shouldn't be regarded as canon.

If you look at a highly regarded high end audio publication like Stereophile you will see that they only measure a device under test until after they have done their listening tests. This is to see if anything stands out during measurement that could explain their observations during the listening tests. They did have cases where a device didn't sound right, the measurements showed anomalies and the manufacturer replaced the device as it was defective.

Look at some of their most highly regarded components you won't see perfect frequency response graphs. It's these imperfections that provide a device it's sound signature. I remembering reading where any engineer was designing an amplifier and strived to get that perfect response graph. But when he listened to it, it sounded like crap. Once he scrapped that goal he came up with a great sounding amplifier.

What I look for in reviews is what other equipment did they use, what were the source files, what types of music and what did they hear. Then based on that I can make my decision if that is something I would like. I don't care how they measure, it's how do they sound. A perfect example of this is the Sony MDR-Z1R. It's measurements aren't the greatest, but boy do they sound great. Very musical and like listening to full sized high end speakers. If you go and read what Sony and Campfire were striving for when they were designing the MDR-Z1R and the Solaris you would read that they both were striving for the speaker experience. I think they both very very successful in meeting that design goal.

In the end what you should trust is what you hear as everyone hears differently.

 

[Carlsan]

Adding to everything that has been said, running balanced on certain devices can really effect the SQ. The complete chain can have an impact on sound.
A reviewer who is testing gear single ended will, in most cases, hear it differently than I would using balanced DAPs. There is no way around it, this hobby can be expensive, and if you only invest in the earphone and not the complete chain then you will be short changing the gear, or at least in most cases.
Even stuff that sounds great out of a phones or cheap daps still sound even better out of great and better gear.

Audeze got around all this above by using the lightning cable for iPhone. The lighting cable serves as a small headphone amp/dac that really improves the sound coming out of the iPhone, therefore making it that people who only own a phone can enjoy the full potential of their iSine series. I do not own an iPhone so I will forever be disadvantaged, but that is another story.

 

[davidmolliere]

Have you try the RHA CL2? I think @Kitechaser said it’s better than the Solaris.

Not sure @Kitechaser has auditioned the Solaris yet...
I owned the CL2 for a while, and did some A/B before selling the CL2. Better means nothing for me in absolute terms. They’re different.

The CL2 has faster bass, thanks to its planar and brighter mids with less lower mids and more upper mids that can get harsh at times as I wrote in my CL2 review, it has more upper treble presence (and thus more air) but much less lower treble than the Solaris. The CL2 is also thinner, it doesn’t have the weight and body of the Solaris, nor the grandiose soundstage and the exciting yet smooth treble. The Solaris has much fuller lower mids, not overdone but the CL2 lower mids is lean so compared to it that’s quite a difference. The CL2 has the edge on transients with blazing fast transients, not quite up there with electrostats like the KSE but still miles ahead of dynamic and even BA drivers. The CL2 has a linear naturalness that is something special. The Solaris is highly engaging and smooth which is a killer combination for me.

The CL2 will shine with good mastering, the Solaris will shine with everything being more versatile but less transparent to the recording. Depending on what you’re looking for and your priorities one my be “better” than the other.

 

[papa_mia]

What I'm saying is different cables will effect what you can hear. Some cables will increase bass response, others will increase the high end response and others are more neutral.

My opinion is that frequency response graphs are only good for showing what a device is capable of. Measuring response is dependent on a lot of variables in the test chain that can effect the outcome. They shouldn't be regarded as canon.

If you look at a highly regarded high end audio publication like Stereophile you will see that they only measure a device under test until after they have done their listening tests. This is to see if anything stands out during measurement that could explain their observations during the listening tests. They did have cases where a device didn't sound right, the measurements showed anomalies and the manufacturer replaced the device as it was defective.

Look at some of their most highly regarded components you won't see perfect frequency response graphs. It's these imperfections that provide a device it's sound signature. I remembering reading where any engineer was designing an amplifier and strived to get that perfect response graph. But when he listened to it, it sounded like crap. Once he scrapped that goal he came up with a great sounding amplifier.

What I look for in reviews is what other equipment did they use, what were the source files, what types of music and what did they hear. Then based on that I can make my decision if that is something I would like. I don't care how they measure, it's how do they sound. A perfect example of this is the Sony MDR-Z1R. It's measurements aren't the greatest, but boy do they sound great. Very musical and like listening to full sized high end speakers. If you go and read what Sony and Campfire were striving for when they were designing the MDR-Z1R and the Solaris you would read that they both were striving for the speaker experience. I think they both very very successful in meeting that design goal.

In the end what you should trust is what you hear as everyone hears differently.

So cables do fix afew dbs of bass channel imbalance, right?
Can I quote you on this?

 

[Kitechaser]

Adding to everything that has been said, running balanced on certain devices can really effect the SQ. The complete chain can have an impact on sound.
A reviewer who is testing gear single ended will, in most cases, hear it differently than I would using balanced DAPs. There is no way around it, this hobby can be expensive, and if you only invest in the earphone and not the complete chain then you will be short changing the gear, or at least in most cases.
Even stuff that sounds great out of a phones or cheap daps still sound even better out of great and better gear.

Audeze got around all this above by using the lightning cable for iPhone. The lighting cable serves as a small headphone amp/dac that really improves the sound coming out of the iPhone, therefore making it that people who only own a phone can enjoy the full potential of their iSine series. I do not own an iPhone so I will forever be disadvantaged, but that is another story.

To add to that, there is synergy even between that chain that can affect the end result significantly.
Take for example the CL2, of all the Sony Daps, it sounds the best on WM1A, then the ZX300, and last on the WM1Z (to my ears and others I pointed it out to). You would never expect that result, but until you have tried them all you wouldn't know.
As far as @davidmolliere said about harshness, yes the mids sound harsh on tracks that have been victims of volume leveling and compression. Some would call it a fault of the iem, I would blame the sound engineer.
This hobby is too subjective for anyone to go parading around claiming to hold the ultimate objective truth.
No graph can capture the full picture. Music is almost a living thing, imagine deciding whether you wanna date a girl just by looking at an x-ray.
This is not far from that.

 

[AlbertoSoares]

Hello, I was looking to buy some tips for my Solaris from Comply but I could not find the model in their website.

Can anyone let me know which tips I should buy from Comply that fit the Solaris? I could not find this info on this thread.

Thanks

 

[Kitechaser]

Hello, I was looking to buy some tips for my Solaris from Comply but I could not find the model in their website.

Can anyone let me know which tips I should buy from Comply that fit the Solaris? I could not find this info on this thread.

Thanks

Size 400

 

[kingkikapu]

Didn't you get massive condensation on the nozzle? What were you wearing over your ears?

Not that I noticed.

I wore nothing over my ears when I’m skinning. Just a trucker hat and sunglasses. Way too hot with a toque. Overall no complaints with Solaris on the tour other than if you pull your hood over your head the shells extend out a bit more than other models out there.

 

[kingkikapu]

Re balanced: I find balanced quality vs unbalanced is very dependent on the implementation.

I had an xdp-300r running balanced playing dsd files and I couldn’t really tell the difference. Might have been a bit worse imo.

Horses for courses

 

[jeffreyw311]

Absolutely, cable type (copper, silver plated copper, copper/silver hybrid, silver), number of wires and other construction details effect the sound.

An example of this was the difference I heard between the Campfire SXC 8 and the Effect Audio Eros II+ 8 wire. Going from a silver plated copper to a copper/silver hybrid made a hug difference in the bass response. It also opened up the soundstage even more.

So I would recommend cable rolling to find the combo that you like best.

Absolutely not, cables cannot fix channel imbalance. I'm willing to accept the idea that cables that influence sound on very sensitive IEMs, especially since cables made by companies like Linum have shown to not have insignificant impedances, but channel imbalance is channel imbalance. Unless the cables are defective, the cable is going to impact the frequency range by roughly the same amount. The channel imbalance will still exist.

The question of whether or not a few dB of channel imbalance is really a problem is a valid one. But that statement - that cables can compensate for poor channel imbalance - is kind of mental sorry.

Audeze got around all this above by using the lightning cable for iPhone. The lighting cable serves as a small headphone amp/dac that really improves the sound coming out of the iPhone, therefore making it that people who only own a phone can enjoy the full potential of their iSine series. I do not own an iPhone so I will forever be disadvantaged, but that is another story.

The Cipher cable works because it has a DSP module that can apply heavy EQ to correct the timbre and tonality. The amp and DAC modules of the Cipher cable is, for the most part, irrelevant to improving the iSINE 10 and 20 and are probably actually pretty average compared to a lot of hi-fi . For all intents and purposes, you can emulate the Cipher cable's results if you have a good idea on how your DAP's EQ settings behave or are willing to use Audeze's Reveal VST plugin with your PC's music player of choice.