[seamon]

Just swapped between Ref8 and the stock cable. To me the stock cable has better resolution and separation than Ref8. Ref8 has better soundstage width and more engaging to me.

Same but original cable was more engaging to me. Ref 8 has a bigger soundstage + a softer sound signature, takes out that crunch for me. Ref 8 makes the Solaris more Andromeda like

 

[czy6412]

Same but original cable was more engaging to me. Ref 8 has a bigger soundstage + a softer sound signature, takes out that crunch for me. Ref 8 makes the Solaris more Andromeda like

Ref 8 has more treble which fit my taste, but the treble is not as controlled as the stock cable so I will stick with the stock cable.

 

[sorrick]

Has anyone here used the Solaris with a desktop amp or a Hugo 2 with connected to a pc? Just wondering how much hiss there is and how it sounds with those types of amps. It seems like 98% of the people here with the solaris owns a dap or uses it with their phones and I'm the complete opposite as far as how I would use it.

I can try to weigh in on the Solaris and Hugo2 combo. On my Hugo2, which has quite noticable his with my EE phantoms, I get an audible hiss with my Solaris. However, it is much less than with my phantoms and on my particular unit, it seems to diminish once the hugo2 has warmed up. This is to say that the hiss is more prominant when the hugo2 is first turned on and it quiets down. Once it settles, the hiss goes to a level that is only barely audible without music playing and for me inaudible with any music playing. This is in contrast to the phantom, which, without an iematch, it sounds like there is white noise in the background even when music is playing. From experience, I know that the noise floor unit to unit can be different (I had a mojo that had audible hiss with phantoms and exchanged it for one without any audible hiss). But on my hugo2, even though the Solaris is equally sensitive in terms of volume level as my Phantom, the hiss is definitely less prominant. The Solaris sounds quite great with my hugo2 once music is playing. Hope that helps.

 

[seamon]

I can try to weigh in on the Solaris and Hugo2 combo. On my Hugo2, which has quite noticable his with my EE phantoms, I get an audible hiss with my Solaris. However, it is much less than with my phantoms and on my particular unit, it seems to diminish once the hugo2 has warmed up. This is to say that the hiss is more prominant when the hugo2 is first turned on and it quiets down. Once it settles, the hiss goes to a level that is only barely audible without music playing and for me inaudible with any music playing. This is in contrast to the phantom, which, without an iematch, it sounds like there is white noise in the background even when music is playing. From experience, I know that the noise floor unit to unit can be different (I had a mojo that had audible hiss with phantoms and exchanged it for one without any audible hiss). But on my hugo2, even though the Solaris is equally sensitive in terms of volume level as my Phantom, the hiss is definitely less prominant. The Solaris sounds quite great with my hugo2 once music is playing. Hope that helps.

Thoughts on Solaris vs LCD i4?

 

[sorrick]

Thoughts on Solaris vs LCD i4?

Reposting my comments from the i4 thread which includes brief comparisons of all my current items, including Solaris, to the i4s. I should preface this with the note that I absolutely love the i4s. They can compete on all levels with totl full size headphones and no other closed iems come close to them in terms of soundstage. They are a fickle earphone in the sense that it takes a lot of experimentation to get the right fit (if the eartubes are not aligned right, they sound more compressed and not everyone finds them comfortable initially), but onced you do, they are, in many ways, unparalleled in the world of earphones. My ideal signature in a closed iem for me would be what the i4s have, with perhaps a little bit more warmth. This also surely doesn't help, but now having the stable of the i4, Solaris, phantom, CL2, and Atlas, I truly have zero desire for any additional acquisitions (famous last words, but I have a feeling this will stick for quite a while). Most of my recent closed acquisitions have been teaching for achieving as close to what I get with the i4s, but with a bit more warmth. Each of the items I have capture key pieces of the i4 signature, but none of them are perfect analogues, and none of them really get to the same level of open soundstage that the i4s have because, well, they're not open.

The CL2s, once burned in, have a lot of the speed, detail, transparency, cohesiveness, and comfort I love about the the i4s, which are characteristic of planar drivers. They also capture one of the i4 x-factors that are really rare in iems, which is that sense of effortlessness that the i4s have that makes it seem like sound is just instantly, effortlessly conjured out of thin air, rather than coming from a driver less than an inch from your ear. This adds to their transparency and their ability to seemingly disappear. Their bass is similarly authoritative and deeeep when in the recording and their treble has a similar, somewhat laid back, but hyper-detailed sweetness of the i4. The CL2s, however, have much more energetic upper mids, which, especially before they are not fully burnt in, can slip into harshness. They also sound thicker than the i4.Though they have a decent soundstage, it is nowhere near as big or open as the i4. A warmer copper cable definitely helps the energetic upper mids. Getting an 8-wire copper cable also helps with the openness (doesn't need to be an expensive one--$30-40 **** or kinboofi 8 or 16 wire copper cable does it).

The Solaris may come closest to the i4s overall, but just a little bit warmer. They are definitely the most cohesive hybrid iem I've heard. They have a similar emphasis on subbass as the i4 and have similarly great extension, but decay is slower (not necessarily worse, just a different characteristically). Clarity,texture, layering, imaging, and space in between instruments is tip top, equaling the i4s. It also has some of the largest soundstage I've heard from a closed iem and all these things come together to give that same holographic quality the i4 has. Mids on the solaris are similarly silky smooth (but detailed) as the i4, although they are, to me, a little more forward.Where they differ is in the treble, with the solaris treble being more sparkly and energetic without ever slipping into harshness. They also don't have thateffortlessness that the i4s and CL2 have. They are pretty new (got them about two weeks ago), and I think the bass may still be changing (see below on my thoughts on atlas, which has a similar dynamic driver and required a lot of time to settle into their final sound).

The phantom is much warmer than the i4s across the spectrum and have a much thicker, more intimate sound with rounder notes. They do however, have excellent imaging and transparency and also have the holographic, 3-dimensional qualities of the i4. With the warmth, there is more of an emphasis down low, with great texture and speed characteristic of BA bass, but with a more organic decay and resonance than you typically get with most BAs. It’s not dynamic driver (or planar) bass, but it is fuller than most BA iems give you. Even with the warm presentation, they are fantastically linear across the spectrum (also fairly i4like). the Phantoms can, and do sound more lifelike in their timbre with many instruments, particularly cello, than any other iems I have heard, including thei4s. It is a colored, but very natural, organic sound.

The Atlas is a visceral, fun, big sounding iem. It, like the CL2, and the solaris, also requires a lot of time for their sound to settle (150 hrs plus). They produce a real physical wall of sound. Once burned in, they have a lovely, very cohesive, and, when in the music, very bassy signature. Like the phantom, I find it a very natural tuning with very well rounded notes, albeit weighted down low like a medicine ball. The bass doesn’t spill into the other sections, which is quite a trick. Mids are more neutrally placed and farther back than on Solaris, phantom, or cl2, but (once burned in) not recessed. Highs have a solid amount of air, have what i would call a sheen but not quite sparkle, but are not fatiguing at all for me. The Atlas is very forgiving and makes even poorly recorded/mastered music sound great. It is well detailed, but not hyper detailed. Because of its physicality, it is not a relaxing iem, but it is an addictive signature for when you want that extra grunt down low.

 

[deafdoorknob]

Saw that Solaris is back in stock yesterday just in time for thanksgiving, so impulse visited CA HQ in the afternoon to audition and potentially buy Solaris onsite. Though they must be super busy with all the last minute prep before Black Friday sale went online, the CA people are just as friendly and easy going as ever!
I ended up skipping Solaris but want to share a little impression on Solaris (burned-in demo ) vs Andro Green vs Andro White CK (my own ) vs Andro S all from ZX2 single end:

As I seldom post impressions at all, just a brief background of my preference and gear:

Longtime head-fier started in cassette walkman time ( DD9 anyone? ) with a brain burned-in to analogue sound . Very sensitive to sibilance/vocal harshness and yet a sucker for open sound with top-end shimmering; Prefers a slightly forward/larger than life vocal image in quiet passages but can't tolerate congestion and sub-par separation when music becomes complex; Between technical competence and cohesive presentation always go for the later. Usually lean towards a neutral warmish sound with dark background, a liquid fluid FR with no obvious peaks, a slightly elevated mid bass and upper-mid for enhanced realism without harshness. Listening to a wide spectrum of genre with Jazz / Jazz-rap / Indie-pop / Progressive Rock / Chamber classic leading the mix.
I'm a believer that if a piece of music is enjoyable in its melody and composition, equipment should deliver that joyfulness as immune to bit-rate as possible, good recording / mastering shall shines through via better file-gear combo, but good music shouldn't be ruined by gear at 320k. On that token I also believe proper portable synergy can be found at different price level and fidelity level with some coloration of sound, I often find OK sounding stuff at entry level, and just flat out offensive sounding gear in mid-tier or even 'TOTL'.
Currently using Andro white-CK and Fitear F111 as secondary when listening to pure vocal ( mainly indie pop/folk ); ZX2 as main source with Mojo-Poly and DFR for streaming and occasional fullsize headphone sessions. Had and sold Togo-334, Private-333, Calyx M, QP1R and AK120 in recent history.

Now onto the impressions:

First of all fit is a bit tricky. I have a medium sized ear that're OK with most JH product that are known for being oversized. Solaris is both large and favors deep insertion. I uses medium peeled Symbio-W on my Andro with perfect sound and comfort, but the shallow seal it forms on Solaris put too much leverage on the outer shell that seal won't maintain. I ended up trying with small foams and Final-Es which grant deeper insertion and proper seal, but also brings the rims of the nozzle ( end of the black housing ) against my ear canal, as that part is wider and ridged the fit isn't quite ideal.
With ~100pg read from here and some impressions from the forum that can't be named, I had very high hope of Solaris to be an Andro with more physicality, carries more weight in note and a bit more body in the mids as those are the only things lacking for me from Andro. Soundstage / immersion improvement would be icing on the cake as I love Andro's staging as is.
From ZX2 single-end, they're every bit of what's advertised, but in such a very different way from what I've imagined. IMHO, Solaris is not an enhanced Andro by any means, it is just a totally different sound, altogether. And as a side note this has been my experience with CA so far, their product line shares similar technical root that you can pick out, but swings drastically in terms of overall presentation style. To me there isn't a clear 'house sound' formed yet from CA ( vega - atlas - cascade branch aside ). I love the team, their business model and ethics, but an audition is recommended before buying as extrapolation from existing product doesn't really work well.
So what I mean by that: I would take Andro and enhance the physicality on a note-2-note, element-2-element basis, that each piece still hangs exactly where they're but with a stronger sense of presence via the flesh in the note. But Solaris isn't that, it is truly tuned towards a two channel system experience where now you're back in a room again, you feel the sound together with the room that's recorded in. With Andro I feel instrument and voice floating in an empty space of nothingness, with Solaris I feel the environment they're navigating through. In more than one way this is more true to life than Andro, but personally Andro best embodies the 'Campfire' experience with this sense of surreal-ness.
I applaud to the Solaris that I don't hear any disjoint from the DD-BA hybrid ( which I tends to pick up on every other hybrid ), and the immediate benefit it gains from Andro with its DD incorporation. It sounds healthy with no obvious flaw where Andro can't hide the weightless nature after the initial wow factor. If anything, I feel a slight lacking in micro-detail, Andro sure isn't technically better, it's just that Solaris brings that into attention.
After convinced that Solaris is indeed very nice but not my cup of tea, I went on to audition Andro-S and the OG green Andro together with my Andro White-CK to 'anchor' my hearing. And there I find out that my White-CK sound somewhere in between the Green and the SS, and that I just loved the Green Andro all along. JD told me that the White-CK share identical component as Green, but they did get feedback that there's some systematic sound difference just from the housing, and that's part of what motivates the SS initiative in the beginning.
At the end of the day, I ordered a new stock Green Andro with Ref.8 cable upgrade as part of the Black Friday promo. And I will be quietly waiting for CA's next release.

thoughts on Andro S v Solaris ? thx

 

[davidmolliere]

@sorrick Insightful impressions! We have so many IEMs in common it's eerie (well, I had to part with the CL2 and LCD i4 but still...) and fairly similar take on Solaris / CL2 / LCD i4 / Phantom. This makes your feedback on the Atlas all the more interesting to me

 

[odevans]

Just posted this in the wrong thread... mornings aren't a good time.

Any small-ish DAP recommendations for this? Likel getting a DX200, but I'd rather something smaller.

 

[davidmolliere]

Just posted this in the wrong thread... mornings aren't a good time.
Any small-ish DAP recommendations for this? Likel getting a DX200, but I'd rather something smaller.

Well as reported by a few here the Solaris pairs beautifully with the DX120 and that's my goto on the go right now, even as a former DX200 owner I do fell the DX120 is amazing value for money. It hits a sweet spot in terms of signature as well, I'd say somewhere in between AMP1 and AMP3, a musical reference DAP if you will with amazing power for the form factor.

 

[emptymt]

Saw that Solaris is back in stock yesterday just in time for thanksgiving, so impulse visited CA HQ in the afternoon to audition and potentially buy Solaris onsite. Though they must be super busy with all the last minute prep before Black Friday sale went online, the CA people are just as friendly and easy going as ever!
I ended up skipping Solaris but want to share a little impression on Solaris (burned-in demo ) vs Andro Green vs Andro White CK (my own ) vs Andro S all from ZX2 single end:

As I seldom post impressions at all, just a brief background of my preference and gear:

Longtime head-fier started in cassette walkman time ( DD9 anyone? ) with a brain burned-in to analogue sound . Very sensitive to sibilance/vocal harshness and yet a sucker for open sound with top-end shimmering; Prefers a slightly forward/larger than life vocal image in quiet passages but can't tolerate congestion and sub-par separation when music becomes complex; Between technical competence and cohesive presentation always go for the later. Usually lean towards a neutral warmish sound with dark background, a liquid fluid FR with no obvious peaks, a slightly elevated mid bass and upper-mid for enhanced realism without harshness. Listening to a wide spectrum of genre with Jazz / Jazz-rap / Indie-pop / Progressive Rock / Chamber classic leading the mix.
I'm a believer that if a piece of music is enjoyable in its melody and composition, equipment should deliver that joyfulness as immune to bit-rate as possible, good recording / mastering shall shines through via better file-gear combo, but good music shouldn't be ruined by gear at 320k. On that token I also believe proper portable synergy can be found at different price level and fidelity level with some coloration of sound, I often find OK sounding stuff at entry level, and just flat out offensive sounding gear in mid-tier or even 'TOTL'.
Currently using Andro white-CK and Fitear F111 as secondary when listening to pure vocal ( mainly indie pop/folk ); ZX2 as main source with Mojo-Poly and DFR for streaming and occasional fullsize headphone sessions. Had and sold Togo-334, Private-333, Calyx M, QP1R and AK120 in recent history.

Now onto the impressions:

First of all fit is a bit tricky. I have a medium sized ear that're OK with most JH product that are known for being oversized. Solaris is both large and favors deep insertion. I uses medium peeled Symbio-W on my Andro with perfect sound and comfort, but the shallow seal it forms on Solaris put too much leverage on the outer shell that seal won't maintain. I ended up trying with small foams and Final-Es which grant deeper insertion and proper seal, but also brings the rims of the nozzle ( end of the black housing ) against my ear canal, as that part is wider and ridged the fit isn't quite ideal.
With ~100pg read from here and some impressions from the forum that can't be named, I had very high hope of Solaris to be an Andro with more physicality, carries more weight in note and a bit more body in the mids as those are the only things lacking for me from Andro. Soundstage / immersion improvement would be icing on the cake as I love Andro's staging as is.
From ZX2 single-end, they're every bit of what's advertised, but in such a very different way from what I've imagined. IMHO, Solaris is not an enhanced Andro by any means, it is just a totally different sound, altogether. And as a side note this has been my experience with CA so far, their product line shares similar technical root that you can pick out, but swings drastically in terms of overall presentation style. To me there isn't a clear 'house sound' formed yet from CA ( vega - atlas - cascade branch aside ). I love the team, their business model and ethics, but an audition is recommended before buying as extrapolation from existing product doesn't really work well.
So what I mean by that: I would take Andro and enhance the physicality on a note-2-note, element-2-element basis, that each piece still hangs exactly where they're but with a stronger sense of presence via the flesh in the note. But Solaris isn't that, it is truly tuned towards a two channel system experience where now you're back in a room again, you feel the sound together with the room that's recorded in. With Andro I feel instrument and voice floating in an empty space of nothingness, with Solaris I feel the environment they're navigating through. In more than one way this is more true to life than Andro, but personally Andro best embodies the 'Campfire' experience with this sense of surreal-ness.
I applaud to the Solaris that I don't hear any disjoint from the DD-BA hybrid ( which I tends to pick up on every other hybrid ), and the immediate benefit it gains from Andro with its DD incorporation. It sounds healthy with no obvious flaw where Andro can't hide the weightless nature after the initial wow factor. If anything, I feel a slight lacking in micro-detail, Andro sure isn't technically better, it's just that Solaris brings that into attention.
After convinced that Solaris is indeed very nice but not my cup of tea, I went on to audition Andro-S and the OG green Andro together with my Andro White-CK to 'anchor' my hearing. And there I find out that my White-CK sound somewhere in between the Green and the SS, and that I just loved the Green Andro all along. JD told me that the White-CK share identical component as Green, but they did get feedback that there's some systematic sound difference just from the housing, and that's part of what motivates the SS initiative in the beginning.
At the end of the day, I ordered a new stock Green Andro with Ref.8 cable upgrade as part of the Black Friday promo. And I will be quietly waiting for CA's next release.

Another win for the green! Also my favorite color out of the bunch.

Nice Impression btw, it is always good to audition before buying.

 

[odevans]

Well as reported by a few here the Solaris pairs beautifully with the DX120 and that's my goto on the go right now, even as a former DX200 owner I do fell the DX120 is amazing value for money. It hits a sweet spot in terms of signature as well, I'd say somewhere in between AMP1 and AMP3, a musical reference DAP if you will with amazing power for the form factor.

Thanks for your reply, David.

DX120 looks good, especially the cheap price. The only issue is the lack of wifi. I'm here, there and everywhere at the moment, so being able to download from the web is high on the priority list. I suppose if it came down to it, I could download onto my phone then transfer to the dx120.

 

[davidmolliere]

Thanks for your reply, David. DX120 looks good, especially the cheap price. The only issue is the lack of wifi. I'm here, there and everywhere at the moment, so being able to download from the web is high on the priority list. I suppose if it came down to it, I could download onto my phone then transfer to the dx120.

Well then, FiiO M9 looks like a strong candidate if you want streaming capability with a small form factor and a cheap price... if you're willing to bet on QC issues being resolved...

 

[odevans]

Well then, FiiO M9 looks like a strong candidate if you want streaming capability with a small form factor and a cheap price... if you're willing to bet on QC issues being resolved...

Great, I'll have a look into it. A high price isn't a big issue, I'm reasonably happy going up to about £900, perhaps a bit more.

Thanks again.

 

[candlejack]

[...]want to share a little impression on Solaris (burned-in demo ) vs Andro Green vs Andro White CK (my own ) vs Andro S all from ZX2 single end. [...]
And there I find out that my White-CK sound somewhere in between the Green and the SS, and that I just loved the Green Andro all along. [...] At the end of the day, I ordered a new stock Green Andro with Ref.8 cable upgrade as part of the Black Friday promo. And I will be quietly waiting for CA's next release.

Was there really enough between the White and the Green to make you want to get the Green as well? I was also a bit surprised to see you chose the Green over the S, considering your remarks about preferring a more forward midrange. Care to elaborate on these points a bit?

 

[davidmolliere]

Great, I'll have a look into it. A high price isn't a big issue, I'm reasonably happy going up to about £900, perhaps a bit more.
Thanks again.

Well then it's quite a different story, DX200 would be a strong contender as well as FiiO X7 II, both with modular amp system are quite versatile.