[Deezel177]

Just got back from the Fujia-avic spring headphone festival show. See some pics at the end of my post. Great show!

https://www.fujiya-avic.jp/user_data/headphone_fes.php#

I just want to make people aware of how a custom slip over can change the over all sound of your IEM. A custom slip over for your universal IEM is a great idea, for comfort and better isolation. However I would like to caution everyone who has these that if they are not optimized for the shortest bore possible it will adversely affect the sound of your universal. I have been working on this here in the Campfire Lab and found that its a can be a nasty outcome. I addition I have seen some Solaris custom slip overs that I feel could have been made better - shorter sound bore-. The universal IEM slip over part needs to be modeled such that the IEM is positioned as far into the custom slip over as physically possible. If the universal IEM is pulled back the sound bore of the custom slip over will add length to the sound bore and your whole freq will be rolled off. See demonstration doc on a typical BA and the affect of a longer bore.



Disregard the black (no tube)
focus on the peaks at 5000 - 7000
the longer the tube = more roll off / pushed back

Ideally the slip over would not add any length to the sound bore into your ear or be minimal.

These are some I saw at the show last week and appeared to be a good build. I am not sure who all is making custom slip overs but just wanted to caution on this. Fit is so critical with the Solaris, I have seen people report definitive renderings that I think are not representational of the IEM due to inadequate tip fitting. If the sound bore is too long or your foam tip or silicone tip is not fitting well its not the Solaris's fault. I have never encountered a IEM where the fit has such a critical impact on the overall sound. Generally a deeper insertion on the Solaris is going to yield the best sound. I hope this helps.



Show pics.




Thank you,

KB

Great stuff, Ken! Congrats on all your new launches.

 

[B9Scrambler]

Some additional thoughts on the Solaris. This is one mean mother of an earphone.

Head-fi / The Contraptionist

​

 

[antdroid]

On the topic of the Solaris, I was having some minor comfort issues that I found a fix for and wanted to post in case anyone else was having similar issues.

I was able to get the best fit and seal with Spiral Dots, which usually work the best for me, but was getting some discomfort in the ear from the sharp edge around the lip where the steel nozzle meets the body (red arrow). It wasn't bad and wasn't immediately bothersome but I would start to notice it after about 30-60 minutes or so.



I took a smaller silicone tip and cut out the nozzle portion to make a dome shaped sleeve.



I put the sleeve over the steel nozzle so that it covered the sharp lip and then put the Spiral Dots on as usual and found this completely fixed the problem while still maintaining a great fit.



Not sure if anyone else has been having a similar issue, but if so hope this solution helps.

I use a double flange tip that covers the bore which helps with comfort for me. I posted a photo a little bit back and in my review.

 

[Rockwell75]

On the topic of the Solaris, I was having some minor comfort issues that I found a fix for and wanted to post in case anyone else was having similar issues.

I was able to get the best fit and seal with Spiral Dots, which usually work the best for me, but was getting some discomfort in the ear from the sharp edge around the lip where the steel nozzle meets the body (red arrow). It wasn't bad and wasn't immediately bothersome but I would start to notice it after about 30-60 minutes or so.



I took a smaller silicone tip and cut out the nozzle portion to make a dome shaped sleeve.



I put the sleeve over the steel nozzle so that it covered the sharp lip and then put the Spiral Dots on as usual and found this completely fixed the problem while still maintaining a great fit.



Not sure if anyone else has been having a similar issue, but if so hope this solution helps.

Neat idea. Spiral dots are my favorites too.

 

[beholdclarity]

Well, *** me sideways!

I have mentioned before that I am not particularly fond of the whole burn-in notion. This is mainly due to the fact that all reports have been to the better. Hardly ever to the worse.
So, yesterday I decided to give it a try with a 4h burn-in period with sine-sweeps after an additional 3-4 h of total listening. That makes just shy of 10h usage/ burn-in.

I thought I got kicked in the head when I tried the Solaris yesterday night. What I had described as impactful, visceral, guttural bass over extremely musical notes has, to my initial dismay, vanished O_O
What had happened? At first I was quite disappointed but then I remembered that the Solaris wasn't supposed to be the bass monster I had fallen in love with when I first tried them out. They were supposed to be balanced, musical, neutral and just slightly warm, according to many descriptions I've read.
After a brief period of disappointment I gave it another try. I re-evalueted my tip-choices but finally settled for the same tips I initially had (the CA stock standard silicone peels).
I also re-evaluated my choice of amplification, adjusting to the new character of the Solaris. I am now getting very detailed and clear results from the Q5 with the AM3A module.

Now, do not get me wrong.
The bass is still there and PLENTY of it. In fact, it is still very impactful and veeeery punchy in the low end of the bass region. The bass just isn't as exciting anymore as it initially was.
I believe this may very well be caused by a change in the response of the 10mm dynamic driver. Am I happy with that? Sort of. I was happy with the exciting mule I had and now I have to re-adjust mentally and get used to the new self of the Solaris.
However, I am very confident that the memory of that bass will fade and be soon replaced by the joy over a detailed, textured and much more controlled but still powerful bass.

(I'm comparing the Solaris to the Andromeda here, just for reference.)

 

[MN8372]

Loving the Solaris - not only from a technical perspective but the tonality really matches what I am looking for (I much prefer them to my Laylas and people complaining about the size of the Solaris really need to try a pair of universal Laylas...).

I compared them with my Utopias out of the SP1000M. I love my Utopias with my desktop rig but they are just too bright out of the SP1000M (the upper mid range has a digital hardness to them as well which is absent with the Solaris). The Solaris is the easier listen. It doesn’t have the same transparency, separation and detail as the Utopias and the bass lacks a bit of definition in comparison but otherwise its a better overall match for the SP1000M. It’s a different ballgame with the my desktop rig though which is almost designed to balance up the brightness of the Utopias (Lazuli Ref cable, R2R DAC, upsampling to DSD512 in HQPlayer etc, tube amp..).

It’s just the bass... it’s there in spades it’s just not as tight or as controlled as I would like. Maybe that will improve over time? Maybe my preference is the opposite of beholdclarity and that as they burn in the volume of bass will decline but it will become a bit tighter/more controlled? I’ve got about 50-60 hours on them so far.

 

[fokta]

Well, *** me sideways!

I have mentioned before that I am not particularly fond of the whole burn-in notion. This is mainly due to the fact that all reports have been to the better. Hardly ever to the worse.
So, yesterday I decided to give it a try with a 4h burn-in period with sine-sweeps after an additional 3-4 h of total listening. That makes just shy of 10h usage/ burn-in.

I thought I got kicked in the head when I tried the Solaris yesterday night. What I had described as impactful, visceral, guttural bass over extremely musical notes has, to my initial dismay, vanished O_O
What had happened? At first I was quite disappointed but then I remembered that the Solaris wasn't supposed to be the bass monster I had fallen in love with when I first tried them out. They were supposed to be balanced, musical, neutral and just slightly warm, according to many descriptions I've read.
After a brief period of disappointment I gave it another try. I re-evalueted my tip-choices but finally settled for the same tips I initially had (the CA stock standard silicone peels).
I also re-evaluated my choice of amplification, adjusting to the new character of the Solaris. I am now getting very detailed and clear results from the Q5 with the AM3A module.

Now, do not get me wrong.
The bass is still there and PLENTY of it. In fact, it is still very impactful and veeeery punchy in the low end of the bass region. The bass just isn't as exciting anymore as it initially was.
I believe this may very well be caused by a change in the response of the 10mm dynamic driver. Am I happy with that? Sort of. I was happy with the exciting mule I had and now I have to re-adjust mentally and get used to the new self of the Solaris.
However, I am very confident that the memory of that bass will fade and be soon replaced by the joy over a detailed, textured and much more controlled but still powerful bass.

(I'm comparing the Solaris to the Andromeda here, just for reference.)

any source different?
OI can be the cause of your looking. IMO.

 

[fokta]

Hehehe.. I lost my pouch (again), and this time for real... so Going to the CFA local agent, and buy for it.

Lucky, I was offered to try Shanling DAP... might just try it since already there.

M0

M0, was very small, if they can be pair to smartphone and can be smartwatch, do Notification, I will replace my smart watch with this. unfortunately, it can't do.
So Impression, was quite surprise that Solaris had very low HIss with it. Bass only punch, a lot of detail or resolution loss, well its common since the power lack from it. Soundstage and Holographic seems cant be resolve with M0... O yeah, this DAP is Warm...




M5S

Well the big Bro is different. It is Neutral more on Bright. quite cold pairing with SOLARIS, but the detail in High and Mid Frequency reminds me of QP1r. Almost no Hiss. Can't do Streaming apps, although the DAP have Wifi connection.
Solid build for the body.
If I remember right, M3 seems more good pairing with Solaris. but its my taste, IMO.

 

[beholdclarity]

any source different?
OI can be the cause of your looking. IMO.

Nothing changed, all equipment remained the same. I used the audio out of my MacBook for burn-in (don’t use it for music normally so my equipment wasn’t „burned-in either“)). Except, of course, my ears. Those are subject to daily change. So who knows...

 

[fokta]

Nothing changed, all equipment remained the same. I used the audio out of my MacBook for burn-in (don’t use it for music normally so my equipment wasn’t „burned-in either“)). Except, of course, my ears. Those are subject to daily change. So who knows...

Using different eartip? like foam...?

 

[Peter68]

Just curious, is there anybody here who actually prefers the sound of the Andromedas to the Solaris?

 

[fokta]

Just curious, is there anybody here who actually prefers the sound of the Andromedas to the Solaris?

well there's some if u go back in the middle pages.
but u are asking something that subjetive and preference to him/her self.

I see u are OG user... not S.

 

[Peter68]

well there's some if u go back in the middle pages.
but u are asking something that subjetive and preference to him/her self.

I see u are OG user... not S.

I would love to hear what the S sounds like, actually. But they seem pretty hard to get a hold of.

 

[fokta]

I would love to hear what the S sounds like, actually. But they seem pretty hard to get a hold of.

yeah, u should test ur self.
For me, I prefer Low from DD rather than BA. more dynamic.

Between OG and S, I prefer OG, not a mid centric Fan (prob the right word is The mid is more forward compare to OG) .
S is more sensitive to Hiss, similar like Solaris, which is more.
but wording can't represent ur own impressions... keep searching for S, and try Solaris.

 

[fokta]

My Endgame DAP alrd here (hopefully).


Still on Burn in phase.

So far from 10 hour burn in, my impression, Hiss is consider Unnoticeable with Solaris.
Interestingly, found that in Mango Android is more darker background then Mango OS...

Unfortunately my AMP8 seems defect, producing High pitch noise, even when u stop the song...