[cr3ativ3]

Not ready to spend that money! Are you implying that only the Empyrean could compete with the Solaris?

Nooo it’s just an awesome headphone

 

[beholdclarity]

Not ready to spend that money! Are you implying that only the Empyrean could compete with the Solaris?

I haven’t compared them to any kind of totl headphones, but I transitioned from Bowers and Wilkins PX to their P9 flagship. First to Andromeda, then to the Solaris.

In my opinion there is no reason to shun IEMs. They have come a long way and portability and ease of use (no amp required for decent performance) are a real argument for them. I wouldn’t trade to cans at this point in time, especially not for the Solaris.
I’d say iem have reached a level of performance where it is only up to your personal preference. No innate superiority for headphones remains, other than, perhaps price. TOTL headphones may go for a bit less than comparable IEM, but I might be mistaken

 

[CreditingKarma]

I haven’t compared them to any kind of totl headphones, but I transitioned from Bowers and Wilkins PX to their P9 flagship. First to Andromeda, then to the Solaris.

In my opinion there is no reason to shun IEMs. They have come a long way and portability and ease of use (no amp required for decent performance) are a real argument for them. I wouldn’t trade to cans at this point in time, especially not for the Solaris.
I’d say iem have reached a level of performance where it is only up to your personal preference. No innate superiority for headphones remains, other than, perhaps price. TOTL headphones may go for a bit less than comparable IEM, but I might be mistaken

You could draw a comparison between the clears and the Solaris. I find them to have a similar sound signature.

In regards to totl headphones and price. The ab1266 and susvara are both $5k or higher msrp. I can say that the ab 1266 phi tc are much better than the Solaris or Khan. It is a different experience.

 

[MarkF786]

(a post of mine from the Sony IER-Z1R thread)

After a week of listening to the IER-Z1R through a variety of amplifiers I switched back to my Solaris tonight to compare. I was listening fairly casually, just using the dongle on my iPhone X and the Solaris sounded great and well balanced. I switched to the Z1R (on the dongle, mind you) and had to dramatically raise the volume - the Solaris are loud at 50% while the Z1R needed to be near 90% to achieve the same volume - and the balance of the sound was very uneven as compared to the Solaris.
I'm sure many of you are saying I should be using a better amplifier, which I have several choices of, but I appreciate that the Solaris are in the same league as the IER-Z1R even when using a less-than-extraordinary amp.

I'll have to give it some thought on if to send the IER-Z1R back to Amazon. They're definitely great IEMs when properly amplified, but I'm wondering if in the long run I'll be reaching for other favorites first (Solaris, Andromeda, EX1000, Xelento, even the SE846). Part of my wants to keep the IER-Z1R almost from a collector's perspective, but the other part of me thinks I could put the $2K to better use.

 

[fokta]

Someone said to me, if you like it, keep it, why let others tell u other wise, its ur impression and what ur experience...

#theSeparationQuest #autorosenModRonSolaris

@MarkF786
Nice story...

 

[DaKing]

Hey All,

When we were at the Munich High End show a few weeks ago I got to demo the AK Kann Cube. Using my Solaris it was the best I have heard, It really took the Solaris to the next level and I have been using every day. The amp in the Cube is a beast and it really made the Solaris sing. Also I found the UI to be unmatched. It a big DAP but its all business and to me I want the best sound possible in a device I can bring with me, this fit the bill. I immediately ordered 3 for my shop and begged my friends at AK to let me borrow the demo unit until my order showed up. In addition I tried with with Tidal and, dang it sounded amazing as well.

Heads up the AK Kann Cube is an amazing match with the Solaris. I do not sell AK anymore so I have no skin in the DAP market but I do want to promote players that we think are going to work best with our IEMs and this one is highly recommended.





Kann Cube + Solaris = smile on face.

Ken

Are you using the ALO Gold 16 Cable with this combo? That looks like getting close to end game

 

[Malevolent]

Aerosmith has never sounded this good.

 

[CreditingKarma]

Aerosmith has never sounded this good.

Are you running out of the CV5 without an iematch. I had tried this and found the hiss to be substantial. The sound is incredible though.

 

[fokta]

Yeah, I even try CV5 again, and find the hiss is consistent...

but if he can enjoy it... good for him...

 

[Malevolent]

@CreditingKarma @fokta

As someone who's a fan of portable stacks, I've become desensitised to hiss. The sound from the CV5 is acceptable in that regard. In return, you get a rich, warm sound that elevates the Solaris to a higher level, IMO.

 

[CreditingKarma]

@CreditingKarma @fokta

As someone who's a fan of portable stacks, I've become desensitised to hiss. The sound from the CV5 is acceptable in that regard. In return, you get a rich, warm sound that elevates the Solaris to a higher level, IMO.

I really like the CV5 it really makes my Khan shine if i use it with the solaris I end up using the iematch. I usually just enjoy the solaris direct out of my sp1000cu though. Interestingly enough I tried the CV5 with my AB-1266 Phi TC and it drove them. I needed to be on high output and nearly all the way up but it was serviceable. It really is a great portable solution.

 

[Rockwell75]

I've got a question for those who have heard a wide variety of TOTL IEMs. One of my favorite aspects of the Solaris is its spacious headstage and (I would say) holographic imagery. Is this something common to most high end IEMs or is it something that the Solaris in particular excels at?

 

[CreditingKarma]

I've got a question for those who have heard a wide variety of TOTL IEMs. One of my favorite aspects of the Solaris is its spacious headstage and (I would say) holographic imagery. Is this something common to most high end IEMs or is it something that the Solaris in particular excels at?

I have the Solaris and Khan I also owned the jh Roxanne. The Khan has an even better soundstage to me while the Roxanne was smaller while still pretty good. So from my experience with the three higher end iems can have a good soundstage. You just need to have realistic expectations. There was someone in this thread before that expected an iem to have a soundstage like a open back can. None of the iems I have heard come close to the soundstage of the any of my cans where the ab1266 is king.

 

[rutter]

That was me, and I do indeed expect value for my money or prices to reflect performance. Whereas switching to the HD650 from the Solaris was a relief I think the Sony IER-Z1R is comparable to it albeit I drive the HD650 with only a Magni. There are a bunch of blanket statements on this page that are false. No, iems do not compete against headphones very well despite the bizarre inability of headphone manufacturers to put well rounded headphones together, yes, soundstage in instances can be comparable. I hear that the FW10K is supposed to have a bigger soundstage than the IER-Z1R. It's a total mystery to me how people are impressed by the Solaris but there's no need to beat a dead horse. The IER-Z1R has issues of its own for the price, so I might finally put my money where my mouth is and try an HD820. Anyone who has the slightest interest in spacious headstages and holographic imagery should hear one of Sennheiser's HD8**s. And even with them I think people really exaggerate spatial qualities, but at the least hearing one of them would give some people proper perspective. There is no such thing as an expansive soundstage with the Solaris, IER-Z1R, etc.

 

[Rockwell75]

It's a total mystery to me how people are impressed by the Solaris

I've said this before but it always seemed to me that you were never able to get it to fit right as the issues you described when you had it were exactly the issues I had before I was able to get it to fit right. For the Solaris to shine it needs a deep insertion as well as a proper fit and full seal-- if you don't achieve this the sound will suffer dramatically. Disregarding the overarching issue of totl IEMs being overpriced in general the Solaris does offer quite a good value for the money as to get anything else close to it in the world of IEMs you have to spend quite a bit more money.