[subguy812]

Probably not too far off from Solaris OG vs. Z1R.

IMHO:

Solaris: Less v-shaped; more coherent across the FR; more presence in the mid-range, particularly lower mids; tighter, more controlled bass with touch of the "BA timbre"; better layering and separation of sounds
Z1R: More v-shaped, a little more bass impact, pure unalloyed delicious DD bass, though a bit "mushy", probably more extended up top, more upper mid presence, but recessed lower mids, a little disjointed between the highs and lows

In terms of things like detail, imaging and soundstage it's a bit of a wash

Given the size of the 2020 I would wager that the Solaris is a better bet if fit is likely to be a concern for you.

Good impressions

 

[BeerNuts]

1 Week Later Edit: REDACTED. Honestly out of the box and for the first few days the 2020 Solaris sounded terrible with my ZX300. So terrible I spent the next week chasing new DAPs and constant research. I set the ZX300 aside so sure of my findings and trying to make a new home in my FiiO M11 Pro. Nearly a week of listening later I picked the ZX300 back up just for one final compare with the FiiO M11 Pro. Damned if all of my initial problems were gone. They magically sounded great, no longer veiled, not lacking bass, everything was magically as expected. I start to A/B test them and really i can't find a major fault anymore. All i can attribute to the change is burn in, when campfire says give them 160hrs of play before any major decisions I highly recommend you listen and burn the damned things in. Ive never felt so stupid and wrong about something before. Seriously even if you don't believe in it just do it for the heck of it.

 

[Dsnuts]

Got a new Shanling M6 pro and it has plenty of power and is very good for sensitive IEMs. Not to mention it is by far the best sounding player Shanling has made. Plays extremely well with my Solaris and Andro S too.,

 

[subguy812]

Ive had a few more days with the 2020's so here is another little bit of first impressions.

Do not pair the 2020's with a Sony ZX300. It will work of course but its sorely lacking vs the OGs. The OG Solaris on the 4.4 balanced spring to life into a euphoric sound like you are feeding them their favorite food. Even Ken recommend the zx300 for Solaris. You swap out to the 2020's and they are just bored by the player. I won't say its bad because maybe some people would like the sound but the mids and highs are too much and too cold. You lose the warm buttery sound that the OGs were putting out. Bass reverbs are not as deep and smooth, certain drums are just lacking, deep long guitar rifts are shallow. Mids and highs are then too forward because the low end is missing. Ive heard mids like i never knew existed which is awesome and all but the songs on the whole are not great because they lost cohesion of sound. I am using the same earfit tips, and same PWAudio 5 copper cable on 4.4 on both.

The OGs and the zx300 on balanced gave you a stunning moment of this is why you pay $1500 for IEMs. I am not getting that at all with the 2020's. They are good but not euphoric good.

So, on to the hunt for a new dap to test all of this out. I grabbed a fiio m11 pro on amazon for easy return so I am going to see if that can open these up a little more tomorrow. That 5.5 Ohms difference between the OG and the 2020s is a heck of a difference it seems, and i didn't plan for it.

Does anyone have a mid-fi dap they can recommend to add to my testing list specifically with the 2020's? Everyone in here keeps saying get a SP1000 but I don't have 2k for a dap. The golds are so happy with a $350 used zx300 that i can't justify 2k just to make these new 2020's happy.

tl:dr The 2020's don't pair super well with a zx300.

The Kann Cube pairs well...I have cited the same findings..they are a bit harder to drive than the OG Solaris and in order to achieve the same air they need that power/volume. The Lotoo S1 is pairing fairly well at the moment and I am only using is currently with the S20 Ultra.

 

[gnahra]

Ive had a few more days with the 2020's so here is another little bit of first impressions.

Do not pair the 2020's with a Sony ZX300. It will work of course but its sorely lacking vs the OGs. The OG Solaris on the 4.4 balanced spring to life into a euphoric sound like you are feeding them their favorite food. Even Ken recommend the zx300 for Solaris. You swap out to the 2020's and they are just bored by the player. I won't say its bad because maybe some people would like the sound but the mids and highs are too much and too cold. You lose the warm buttery sound that the OGs were putting out. Bass reverbs are not as deep and smooth, certain drums are just lacking, deep long guitar rifts are shallow. Mids and highs are then too forward because the low end is missing. Ive heard mids like i never knew existed which is awesome and all but the songs on the whole are not great because they lost cohesion of sound. I am using the same earfit tips, and same PWAudio 5 copper cable on 4.4 on both.

The OGs and the zx300 on balanced gave you a stunning moment of this is why you pay $1500 for IEMs. I am not getting that at all with the 2020's. They are good but not euphoric good.

So, on to the hunt for a new dap to test all of this out. I grabbed a fiio m11 pro on amazon for easy return so I am going to see if that can open these up a little more tomorrow. That 5.5 Ohms difference between the OG and the 2020s is a heck of a difference it seems, and i didn't plan for it.

Does anyone have a mid-fi dap they can recommend to add to my testing list specifically with the 2020's? Everyone in here keeps saying get a SP1000 but I don't have 2k for a dap. The golds are so happy with a $350 used zx300 that i can't justify 2k just to make these new 2020's happy.

tl:dr The 2020's don't pair super well with a zx300.

FWIW, I have had no problems powering the 2020's with the DX220 w/AMP7...plenty of quality volume, turned to maybe 100 of 150 on the volume knob, low gain. I'm by no means a DAP expert, but I think the pair (DX227/2020) is excellent.

Edit: I have not tried with the stock DX220 amp, but would be happy to

 

[BeerNuts]

Got a new Shanling M6 pro and it has plenty of power and is very good for sensitive IEMs. Not to mention it is by far the best sounding player Shanling has made. Plays extremely well with my Solaris and Andro S too.,

Sadly the 2020's and normal Solaris seem to be very different in terms of drivability. I think we need daps specific to the 2020's now. Do you have the 2020s?

The Kann Cube pairs well...I have cited the same findings..they are a bit harder to drive than the OG Solaris and in order to achieve the same air they need that power/volume. The Lotoo S1 is pairing fairly well at the moment and I am only using is currently with the S20 Ultra.

I need something more portable than the cube, a zx300 to a cube is a massive difference. I live out of suitcase most of the time so I have a 1 iem 1 dap policy to stay mobile. The og solaris and the zx300 has been a dream (that slightly didn't fit). The Paw S1 would be awesome because its super small and cheap. I can hardly believe it would pair better than the zx300.

 

[subguy812]

Sadly the 2020's and normal Solaris seem to be very different in terms of drivability. I think we need daps specific to the 2020's now. Do you have the 2020s?



I need something more portable than the cube, a zx300 to a cube is a massive difference. I live out of suitcase most of the time so I have a 1 iem 1 dap policy to stay mobile. The og solaris and the zx300 has been a dream (that slightly didn't fit). The Paw S1 would be awesome because its super small and cheap. I can hardly believe it would pair better than the zx300.

Sorry I cannot compare but I throwing out some pairings I have had a positive experience with. I am listening to the S1 and Ultra as we speak. Grateful Dead, In The Dark. Sounds great. I am on the road presently sitting in my hotel with this pairing.

Edit: I kinda have my sights set on the A&K SR25...I haven't heard it but it looks promising

 

[fokta]

Got a new Shanling M6 pro and it has plenty of power and is very good for sensitive IEMs. Not to mention it is by far the best sounding player Shanling has made. Plays extremely well with my Solaris and Andro S too.,

NOICE.....

Have been tried M6... good job in Hiss dept.

the New Sony ZX500 is similar like ZX300...
But the new trend is WM1a With custom FW... hehehe

 

[cr3ativ3]

Ive had a few more days with the 2020's so here is another little bit of first impressions.

Do not pair the 2020's with a Sony ZX300. It will work of course but its sorely lacking vs the OGs. The OG Solaris on the 4.4 balanced spring to life into a euphoric sound like you are feeding them their favorite food. Even Ken recommend the zx300 for Solaris. You swap out to the 2020's and they are just bored by the player. I won't say its bad because maybe some people would like the sound but the mids and highs are too much and too cold. You lose the warm buttery sound that the OGs were putting out. Bass reverbs are not as deep and smooth, certain drums are just lacking, deep long guitar rifts are shallow. Mids and highs are then too forward because the low end is missing. Ive heard mids like i never knew existed which is awesome and all but the songs on the whole are not great because they lost cohesion of sound. I am using the same earfit tips, and same PWAudio 5 copper cable on 4.4 on both.

The OGs and the zx300 on balanced gave you a stunning moment of this is why you pay $1500 for IEMs. I am not getting that at all with the 2020's. They are good but not euphoric good.

So, on to the hunt for a new dap to test all of this out. I grabbed a fiio m11 pro on amazon for easy return so I am going to see if that can open these up a little more tomorrow. That 5.5 Ohms difference between the OG and the 2020s is a heck of a difference it seems, and i didn't plan for it.

Does anyone have a mid-fi dap they can recommend to add to my testing list specifically with the 2020's? Everyone in here keeps saying get a SP1000 but I don't have 2k for a dap. The golds are so happy with a $350 used zx300 that i can't justify 2k just to make these new 2020's happy.

tl:dr The 2020's don't pair super well with a zx300.

Cayin n6ii with e02 . Lots of power and incredible sound

 

[crazyeyes]

Cayin n6ii with e02 . Lots of power and incredible sound

I would really like to compare the Cayin N6ii with E02 with my FiiO M15. I would also like to hear the T01 as well.

 

[subguy812]

Cayin n6ii with e02 . Lots of power and incredible sound

I was told that pairing hisses.

 

[Rockwell75]

I was told that pairing hisses.

Next to no hiss out of E01, which is very similar to E02.

 

[cr3ativ3]

I was told that pairing hisses.

Common it’s Solaris .. it slightly hiss with near everything. There is slightly hiss yes, but it’s minimal

 

[cr3ativ3]

I would really like to compare the Cayin N6ii with E02 with my FiiO M15. I would also like to hear the T01 as well.

Same here .. would love to demo the m15 one day ..

 

[subguy812]

Common it’s Solaris .. it slightly hiss with near everything. There is slightly hiss yes, but it’s minimal

I am not good at hearing hiss, but the guy that told me that said he is sensitive to hiss