[ExpatinJapan]

What all daps have your tried with the 2020's that you like? I know you have quite the collection from the amazing photos you always take.

iBasso DX160, DX200/amp1, DX220 amp8EX (just changed back to stock for proper testing), Opus#2, FiiO M11 - trying to match the price points/performance.

edit: oops which do i like? Something with power, detail and clarity. A bit if body - not thin.
- say DX200 amp 8 or amp8EX or dx160. I need to get a balanced cable of the new superlitz also.

I need to add a few other daps into the mix to get a good spread.Adding say DX120 and DX150 (and an iphone) would give a nice spread of power and resolution.

I set up a comparison work place for Andromeda 2020, Ara, Andro V3 and Andro Gold to get quick impressions later (hopefully, children willing....dvd time or nap time...).
I will use stock Final Audio tips on them all.
Luckily they all share the same cable.

i did an earlier write up of Andro V1 vs Andro V3 - so the Andro 2020 article will eventually build on that.

I would like to add Andro MW10 to the mix but i loaned it out months ago to another reviewer - its meant to be returning soon - andro gold/mw10/ara/andro green will be the right mix. Plus I can finally wrap up my MW10 write up.

also do a Solaris 2020/ Ara/Andro 2020 comparison quick look. Basically i imagine it will fit like that.

a bit off/on topic...

Photo taken with an iphone SE. (as usual - wooden boards on the floor...filter added).

 

[ExpatinJapan]

My 2.5 years old daughter wanted to try the Solaris also but her ears are just to small for them but I did hold them next to hear ears and she did a big smile .a good sign I guess

its nice to see, the smaller monks fit her. And sometimes when i am listening she takes one iem out of my ear and listens also. I usually only listen when they busy with a dvd, sleeping or cooking with mom or something.

i taught her how to change the CDs on the home system. So thats nice to see.

digital its a bit hard for them to manage (cant read songs often).
With CDs just recognize the cover of the band they like.

 

[hkpants]

its nice to see, the smaller monks fit her. And sometimes when i am listening she takes one iem out of my ear and listens also. I usually only listen when they busy with a dvd, sleeping or cooking with mom or something.

i taught her how to change the CDs on the home system. So thats nice to see.

digital its a bit hard for them to manage (cant read songs often).
With CDs just recognize the cover of the band they like.

You're starting your kids down a dangerous road, my friend. Soon they'll be using their student loans to buy the latest and greatest IEMs haha.

 

[BeerNuts]

Small update on the zx300, i dug out the ifi iematch from my drawer and switched to the smokey litz that they came with. Playing on SE now with HG. The sound has vastly improved from what comes out of the 4.4 balance. LOL I am not sure i even know what direction is up anymore. I mean of course it removed the hiss which is to be expected. But setting the ifi to "high" it really brought more dynamics back to the music. Bass depth has been restored and they sound a lot like more what I am used to. I never really would have considered this i never use the iematch because my pairing was so perfect before. I have it just for planes and i thought it would really only remove hiss. But whatever its doing its changing the output to a power range the 2020's seem ok with. I was always worried that the iematch removed hiss but also affected the music in some way. I certainly didn't expect it to fix it.

Still excited to try the fiio m11 pro tomorrow but I may just have a worse case just carry the iematch all the time.

 

[hkpants]

Small update on the zx300, i dug out the ifi iematch from my drawer and switched to the smokey litz that they came with. Playing on SE now with HG. The sound has vastly improved from what comes out of the 4.4 balance. LOL I am not sure i even know what direction is up anymore. I mean of course it removed the hiss which is to be expected. But setting the ifi to "high" it really brought more dynamics back to the music. Bass depth has been restored and they sound a lot like more what I am used to. I never really would have considered this i never use the iematch because my pairing was so perfect before. I have it just for planes and i thought it would really only remove hiss. But whatever its doing its changing the output to a power range the 2020's seem ok with. I was always worried that the iematch removed hiss but also affected the music in some way. I certainly didn't expect it to fix it.

Still excited to try the fiio m11 pro tomorrow but I may just have a worse case just carry the iematch all the time.

Output impedance will majorly affect the sound of sensitive IEMs, especially the Solaris. Idk what the zx300 OI is but the IEMatch IO is around 1, which is great.

 

[fokta]

Still excited to try the fiio m11 pro tomorrow but I may just have a worse case just carry the iematch all the time.

Adapter impedance is a thing I always bring along when Solaris in main gear.

M11 pro handle Hiss much better then M11... via OG...
it will be informative for me to know from you how 2020 pair with M11 Pro..

 

[BeerNuts]

Output impedance will majorly affect the sound of sensitive IEMs, especially the Solaris. Idk what the zx300 OI is but the IEMatch IO is around 1, which is great.

I didn't find that it helped my OG Solaris at all other than not killing me if I plunged them into a plane or my Vr headset. I basically bought it a year ago because said to get one and it sat in a drawer 98% of the time. It had no benefit over the OG straight into the 4.4 of the zx300. It wasn't worth the quality loss to use my phone or other sources when i had the zx300 nearby. It is very weird to be in the opposite position suddenly. My OG silver litz cable has never been used a year later. Now I am on the factory cable and the iematch.

Specs from iematch's site. Also their marketing really only says stuff about volume levels and hiss. They really should advertise the impedance switching a bit more.

Input Impedance: > 16 Ohm

Output Impedance: < 2.5 Ohms (High-Sensitivity) < 1 Ohms (Ultra-Sensitivity)

Compatible Headphone impedance: 16 Ohm to 600 Ohm rated impedance 12.5 Ohm minimum impedance

 

[CL14715]

Adapter impedance is a thing I always bring along when Solaris in main gear.

M11 pro handle Hiss much better then M11... via OG...
it will be informative for me to know from you how 2020 pair with M11 Pro..

The 2020 barely hiss at all on M11 Pro

 

[broopa]

I don't hear any hiss on the Plenue 2 with the 2020. But it doesn't have the 4.4 balanced.

 

[DunkFealer]

To be honest, I don't really hear much hiss out of the 4.4mm of my ZX300 with Solaris 2020---at least not any additional hiss over the noise floor of most recordings. Maybe when I put on the most pristine of records (something like Steely Dan) I may be hearing something? However, in almost all other scenarios there's just hiss in the recording that would overpower that.

 

[crazyeyes]

So I have had a bit of time to do some listening with my DHC Clone Silver cable and compared to the DHC Copper cable I have. I find that the the Clone Silver adds more clarity and resolution to the sound. The bass is still present but might not be quite as weighty as with the copper cable but by no means is it anemic, it is actually tighter and more detailed than the copper cable. The mids have a bit more clarity to them. I also get a better sense of separation with the Clone Silver. It is easier to pick out the different instruments while you could hear them on the copper cable they have extra sense of clarity to them and make themselves more present than with the copper cable. The highs also have a bit more sparkle to them with the DHC Clone Silver cable. Overall I am very happy with the DHC Clone Silver cable. I can definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking to upgrade the sound of their Solaris.

 

[M3NTAL]

@subguy812 and @Rockwell75 - have either of you tried out a properly amp'd & eq'd LCD-i4? From some of the stuff I've read from both of you, I believe the i4 would be a nice addition to your collections. I overall prefer it over the Solaris when the systems are equally fleshed out to maximize each monitor. I still need to hear the Legend X for that experience. It sounds like it would be different than anything I've heard thus-far.

 

[Rockwell75]

@subguy812 and @Rockwell75 - have either of you tried out a properly amp'd & eq'd LCD-i4? From some of the stuff I've read from both of you, I believe the i4 would be a nice addition to your collections. I overall prefer it over the Solaris when the systems are equally fleshed out to maximize each monitor. I still need to hear the Legend X for that experience. It sounds like it would be different than anything I've heard thus-far.

I've heard lots of great things about the LCDi4. The only drawback for me is the lack of isolation, which is of particular importance for me. I feel I could only really do it justice at home if that's the case why not just get a proper set of open back headphones. I would love the opportunity to try it out though,

 

[IAMTHEEGGMAN]

Hi all.

Today I've gone to my local shop to audition the new 2020 and compare them against the SE, thanks to zococity.es for being the only one in the city to support this hobby.

The test has been made from my Hugo 2, using a broke in SE with about 150h of usage and I guess a non fully broke in 2020 unit.

Package: Similar content to the SE. The pouch beeing smaller is more usable. Still I prefer a third party hard case.

Aesthetics: Smaller, looks like a normal iem, if you pretend to go outside would be something to consider. SE scream how expensive they are every time you look at them.

Comfort: I had no issues with SE, so to me, the comfort is the same. If you had comfort issues with OG and SE, maybe you won't have them with 2020.

Sound: Ok, first things first. If you have a SE and really like their sound signature, 2020 are not better, they are a slightly different approach to hi-fi, SE have a something like more reference tunning, while 2020 are more fun to listen to.
The main difference is than 2020 have a thicker sound, which translates in a slight decrease in soundstage, depth and sense of separation. But I want to insist, slight. One thing of note, with 2020 when you listen to a bass heavy music, like Massive Attack, they really hit hard, don't leave you with this sensation of "yes, good base, it's ok, nice, so controlled". They kick your guts. In the opposite direction, songs like Pit of consciousness from Jinjer, sounds quite dark, but What, they should be in drop c lol. Killing in the name of from Rage Against sounds aggressive with a lot of slam. More instrumental passages like Who's gonna love us from Other lives, are where you can detect some of the consequences of the thicker sound I commented before.

After 3 hours of listening I still had a lot of doubts about which one I should get... I was still in the returning window, so I was free to choose.

Finally I let my wallet to choose... If I can't take a firm decision after 3 hours this means I'll be well served with any of them. Both iems are great, SE are amazing, but 2020 too and 500€ of difference have been crucial to take the decision.

Time to break in the 2020 at home.

Hope this helps to someone.


P.S.: The driver flex I had with SE remains with 2020. Hiss is similar.

 

[M3NTAL]

I've heard lots of great things about the LCDi4. The only drawback for me is the lack of isolation, which is of particular importance for me. I feel I could only really do it justice at home if that's the case why not just get a proper set of open back headphones. I would love the opportunity to try it out though,

Completely fair and valid points! I'm on the same journey as you then currently. Trying to find a traditional IEM to bridge that gap. The Solaris was really good, but it wasn't what I really wanted. The bass of the Solaris reminds me too much of the Atlas. The timbre is just off for me personal take on natural.