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Campfire - Solaris
May 24, 2019 at 8:01 AM Post #5,206 of 12,035
iBo0m said:
I know Hyla CE-5 and the bass is stunning, so te5-b seems to have the same sound tendency. From the description, they both seems to be alike (CE-5, TE5-B), so I can imagine what you’re talking about :).

It helps for sure, thanks! I also had Atlas which makes it better for me to get an idea. However, Atlas was also quite bass oriented IEMs, the punch was definitely there. Same case as CE-5, where the lows influenced negatively the other freq, imo. I’ve also noticed that you have EE Phantom, based on the opinions I’ve read (I also had a chance to listen to them) these could be quite close to Solaris? They also present great instruments separation and layering, wide open full sound to my ears. Also the bass is quite nice with a very solid texture.
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The phantom and Solaris are pretty different actually in terms of presentation. The phantom has a warmer, thicker, lusher, signature throughout, but particularly in the mids. The phantom has more mid-bass, but less sub-bass slam (the solaris’s dynamic driver wins here). The Solaris is airier throughout, but particularly in the treble, which is more sparkly and bright than the phantom, which has more laid back highs. Both scale phenomenally we’ll and can convey wide deep soundstage, but the Solaris has a larger soundstage overall, which is emphasized by its presentation, which puts you in the audience a few rows back, whereas the phantom feels more like you are in the recording studio with the band all around you. Both have great layering and instrument separation, but the Solaris’ airier presentation isolates each layer and instrument more compared to the lusher midrange. Their different signatures complement each other very well.
 
May 24, 2019 at 10:28 AM Post #5,207 of 12,035
Fotor_15587078887560.jpg
Solaris balanced and ZX300 each pushing 200 hours...a beautiful thing to behold.
 
May 24, 2019 at 5:28 PM Post #5,208 of 12,035
The work combo for today. I guess this will do in a pinch. :yum:
20190524_162546.jpg
 
May 24, 2019 at 10:14 PM Post #5,210 of 12,035
sorrick said:
The phantom and Solaris are pretty different actually in terms of presentation. The phantom has a warmer, thicker, lusher, signature throughout, but particularly in the mids. The phantom has more mid-bass, but less sub-bass slam (the solaris’s dynamic driver wins here). The Solaris is airier throughout, but particularly in the treble, which is more sparkly and bright than the phantom, which has more laid back highs. Both scale phenomenally we’ll and can convey wide deep soundstage, but the Solaris has a larger soundstage overall, which is emphasized by its presentation, which puts you in the audience a few rows back, whereas the phantom feels more like you are in the recording studio with the band all around you. Both have great layering and instrument separation, but the Solaris’ airier presentation isolates each layer and instrument more compared to the lusher midrange. Their different signatures complement each other very well.
Click to expand...
Great comparison! I also own both the Phantom and Solaris and I am in complete agreement.
 
May 24, 2019 at 10:49 PM Post #5,212 of 12,035
Gadys said:
Hello MN8372
I think about upgrade cable for Solaris from standard Litz cable . I have the same portable rig, like yours. What you opinion about Effect Audio Cleopatra?
Thank you
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Your message prompted me to go back and do another comparison.

To my ears, the Solaris sounds great with the stock cable. It really does (although the memory wire is a bit annoying).

But for me switching to the Cleo brings a noticeable improvement. Bass is punchier (this is really quite obvious). This is the biggest difference to me. Next biggest difference is increased transparency and separation. Treble is also a bit crisper with a touch more detail (but still no harshness).

Switching back to the stock cable its a bit like going from UHD to HD (ok that’s an exaggeration but hopefully you get what I am trying to say). The stock cable is maybe a bit too pleasant in comparison.

It’s hard to justify spending USD700 on a cable for an IEM. But I’m happy with the purchase. I look at the Solaris and Cleo as a “package”. Combined the cost is USD2200 which is still less than a lot of other flagship IEM’s out there.

One caveat - my stock cable is single ended but my Cleo is balanced. For all I know the changes could simply be the result of using a different output. I have no way of checking that sorry.
 
May 25, 2019 at 1:42 AM Post #5,213 of 12,035
sorrick said:
The phantom and Solaris are pretty different actually in terms of presentation. The phantom has a warmer, thicker, lusher, signature throughout, but particularly in the mids. The phantom has more mid-bass, but less sub-bass slam (the solaris’s dynamic driver wins here). The Solaris is airier throughout, but particularly in the treble, which is more sparkly and bright than the phantom, which has more laid back highs. Both scale phenomenally we’ll and can convey wide deep soundstage, but the Solaris has a larger soundstage overall, which is emphasized by its presentation, which puts you in the audience a few rows back, whereas the phantom feels more like you are in the recording studio with the band all around you. Both have great layering and instrument separation, but the Solaris’ airier presentation isolates each layer and instrument more compared to the lusher midrange. Their different signatures complement each other very well.
Click to expand...

It looks like my expectations were wrong. It’s not easy to tell just from the posts, but this quite clarify the Solaris experiences :)
 
May 25, 2019 at 2:09 AM Post #5,214 of 12,035
MN8372 said:
Your message prompted me to go back and do another comparison.

To my ears, the Solaris sounds great with the stock cable. It really does (although the memory wire is a bit annoying).

But for me switching to the Cleo brings a noticeable improvement. Bass is punchier (this is really quite obvious). This is the biggest difference to me. Next biggest difference is increased transparency and separation. Treble is also a bit crisper with a touch more detail (but still no harshness).

Switching back to the stock cable its a bit like going from UHD to HD (ok that’s an exaggeration but hopefully you get what I am trying to say). The stock cable is maybe a bit too pleasant in comparison.

It’s hard to justify spending USD700 on a cable for an IEM. But I’m happy with the purchase. I look at the Solaris and Cleo as a “package”. Combined the cost is USD2200 which is still less than a lot of other flagship IEM’s out there.

One caveat - my stock cable is single ended but my Cleo is balanced. For all I know the changes could simply be the result of using a different output. I have no way of checking that sorry.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much MN8372 for your detailed explanation.
This was very helpful for me.
Best regards
 
May 25, 2019 at 5:10 AM Post #5,217 of 12,035
So I’ve had the Solaris in for the past 5 days.

The Solaris out of the box was nice. Balanced spacious sound but compared to other flagship favourites lacked some of the transparency and precision.

At 50 hours it turned to crap, Bass was muddy and fat, stage closed in, transparency dropped a notch. Imaging could really be better too.

Now fast forward to over 100 hours, and boy, these things are really starting to shine. Flagship level resolution, Bass is much, much tighter and much more impactful. Stage has opened up noticeably, imaging more precise, space and air is better portrayed.

Ken says these guys need 2-300 hours to sound their best. Judging from what I’ve heard so far, I most certainly believe him and i’ll be running them in for the coming week.

These guys are absolutely beautiful sounding, and to all of you out there with the Solaris, please, please burn them in well, it’s a world of a difference.
 
May 25, 2019 at 3:14 PM Post #5,219 of 12,035
MN8372 said:
One caveat - my stock cable is single ended but my Cleo is balanced. For all I know the changes could simply be the result of using a different output. I have no way of checking that sorry.
Click to expand...

Actually you could use a simple bal->se adapter.
 
May 25, 2019 at 7:00 PM Post #5,220 of 12,035
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