Campfire - Solaris
Jun 5, 2020 at 1:12 PM Post #9,212 of 12,035
I preferred the OG over the U18T and U12T as well, 64 has a weirdly thin sound that I just can’t get over.

Many people I respect swear by 64's IEMs but I've yet to find one I really connect with personally. On the whole they're too analytic for my tastes. Solaris excels (for me) as it deftly skirts the line between musicality and analycity-- taking the best of both without too much of either. Fortunately there's enough great gear out there for everyone to find something that meets their needs. It seems to me that the CFA Ara will be much closer in spirit to the u12t than Solaris is...I'm looking forward to that comparison.
 
Jun 5, 2020 at 1:26 PM Post #9,213 of 12,035
That's not that surprising. The u12t is great but it's fundamentally a different sort of IEM than Solaris. They're both on the same tier of performance and whichever on prefers will depend on their own tastes and preferences.
100% agree with this.
Both great and top-tier, but for different reasons. To your additional point on 64A IEMs overall, I would agree the U12t is analytical, but not sure I would agree the Fourte Noir is (just my opinion).
 
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Jun 5, 2020 at 1:26 PM Post #9,214 of 12,035
That's not that surprising. The u12t is great but it's fundamentally a different sort of IEM than Solaris. They're both on the same tier of performance and whichever on prefers will depend on their own tastes and preferences.

I preferred the OG over the U18T and U12T as well, 64 has a weirdly thin sound that I just can’t get over.

thnx for ur opinions, i hear u12t get tons of praise for being a BA with DD-like performance, but i guess at the end of the day, a BA is still an anemic BA
 
Jun 5, 2020 at 1:29 PM Post #9,215 of 12,035
thnx for ur opinions, i hear u12t get tons of praise for being a BA with DD-like performance, but i guess at the end of the day, a BA is still an anemic BA

It's "BA DD like' in that it has a more natural decay than most BAs...but it still lacks the density and heft of a DD that no BA in my experience has been able to replicate.
 
Jun 5, 2020 at 1:29 PM Post #9,216 of 12,035
thnx for ur opinions, i hear u12t get tons of praise for being a BA with DD-like performance, but i guess at the end of the day, a BA is still an anemic BA
I wouldn't say anemic. Just different than DD bass; there are a lot of folks who prefer BA bass to DD bass. And the U12t has the best BA-bass I've heard.

edit - just to be clear, I generally prefer DD bass to BA bass, but there are times (driven mostly by either what I'm listening to or the mood I'm in to be frank) when I prefer BA bass and the U12t scratches that itch very nicely!
 
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Jun 5, 2020 at 1:34 PM Post #9,217 of 12,035
Here's something I posted somewhere else on the topic of Solaris/DD bass (in comparison to the Z1R):

"One of my favorite qualities of Solaris is the sense of air and space you get coupled with the density and texture of DD bass. It's a very nice balance overall and imho captures the best of a few possible worlds. Both Z1R and Solaris are hybrids but Z1R bass is pure DD whereas Solaris has a full range BA driver in its makeup. This means that Solaris has a dash of "BA timbre" in its bass response. Personally I feel that it is a plus. A hybrid, after all, is a mixture of two different driver types and Solaris does a great job merging the best qualities of the BA (tactility, articulation and speed of decay) with the density and muscularity of a DD. You get the best of both worlds. Solaris, for example, renders a TR808 bassline better than any other IEM I've heard.

Z1R on the other hand is pure DD and has a slower, perhaps more natural decay. Unfortunately (for me) in order to preserve the bass decay/response I think they allow parts of the lower mids to be recessed behind the bass. I remember with the Z1R feeling as though a section mids felted tucked behind a slight veil of bass. The Legend X does the same thing, though obviously much more dramatically...but the net effect is the same in that after sessions with both I find myself craving the air and space Solaris provides. It's a totally personal call."
 
Jun 5, 2020 at 1:51 PM Post #9,218 of 12,035
It's "BA DD like' in that it has a more natural decay than most BAs...but it still lacks the density and heft of a DD that no BA in my experience has been able to replicate.
agreed, and defintely matter of preference :)

i find BA to be like analyzing music with telescope, great detail and soundstage, at the expense of liveliness/energy
DDs feel like the opposite, unmatched liveliness, at the expense of detail, soundstage that BAs can produce

clearly these are generalizations, as there are exciting/musical BAs and dull/detailed DDs. but the best of each can't be touched by the other :)

speaking of DDs...i wuld love 2 see that Luna vs Solaris comparison, Luna is so fascinating
 
Jun 5, 2020 at 1:53 PM Post #9,219 of 12,035
i find BA to be like analyzing music with telescope

Yes it dissects it with a skalpel-- the u12t is by design a stage monitor so this is what it excels at. Emotional engagement is secondary.
 
Jun 5, 2020 at 2:42 PM Post #9,220 of 12,035
Many people I respect swear by 64's IEMs but I've yet to find one I really connect with personally. On the whole they're too analytic for my tastes. Solaris excels (for me) as it deftly skirts the line between musicality and analycity-- taking the best of both without too much of either. Fortunately there's enough great gear out there for everyone to find something that meets their needs. It seems to me that the CFA Ara will be much closer in spirit to the u12t than Solaris is...I'm looking forward to that comparison.

Only one that was decent was the N8, have you demoed those before?
 
Jun 5, 2020 at 2:45 PM Post #9,221 of 12,035
Only one that was decent was the N8, have you demoed those before?

No the N8 until recently has only been available as a custom. From what I've read it sounds like it would be redundant alongside my LX.
 
Jun 5, 2020 at 2:59 PM Post #9,222 of 12,035
No the N8 until recently has only been available as a custom. From what I've read it sounds like it would be redundant alongside my LX.
I didn't know the N8 was available in a universal?
 
Jun 5, 2020 at 3:01 PM Post #9,223 of 12,035
Jun 5, 2020 at 3:40 PM Post #9,225 of 12,035

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