[freeryder05]

Would love more impressions of the Storm, and the Unique Melody higher end offerings if anyone would like to share.

I have listened to STORM a bunch of times. I try not to listen too long just so I can save my wallet

So far, nothing really has come close to STORM in terms of detail retrieval or scalability. It sounds different on most sources and requires a stupid amount of power to run. THe treble is linear without too much peakiness. It can run bright and a bit lean, but the bass absolutely kicks in the subbass. A bit of a boost at 200 hz adds some warmth, but kinda messes with the timbre. Personally, I like Annihilator 2023 better because it isn't hard to drive. I am also not a producer so having a lot of bass and treble contrast is really nice for my time with music. Right now, it feels like Annihilator 2023 and STORM are at the top and then everything else has compromises I don't like.

I spent a fair bit of time at Musiktek booth getting to hear as much as I could. If I had to rank UM IEMS I would say it would be Mentor, Mest Mk3, French Duo, Amber Pearl.

Mentor had a lot of warmth and a much more unique presentation than anything else. I don't want to call it speaker like, but the treble was quite refined and crisp while the bass didn't slam super hard it had nice quality to it. The timbre of the mids was not super special to me, but certainly passable.

Mest Mk3 is the best value of UM IEMs. It's 90% of the technical IEM that all the other ones are at 1/8th the price or possibly even less. Crispy highs, easy mids and satisfying bass. If you're looking for an all rounder, this can do it all. It has some peakiness but I would sacrifice that for $1500 vs $4500.

French duo- felt lackluster in res. I don't think they were really doing anything extra compared to Mest and I just didn't really get it. Guitars had a bit of bluntness and something seemed off on the tuning.

Amber Pearl- Similair issues to the french duo, but didn't spend as much time with. I didn't really feel engaged and first impressions pushed me towards mentor which was cheaper anyway so this was an easy pass for me.

My biggest shock of the show was Icelabs Prismatica. It was only $899 and it reminded me a bit of 64audio IEMs. The bass was bloomy but also impactful, It's not as kicking as STORM, Crimson, Singularity or even Mest, but overall quite good. The treble was a bit spicy, but honestly I liked it. I was hoping for a bit more lower mid prescence, but I liked this set very much. Res was Mest levels and for half the price. My only issue is I thought the face plate of the regular edition was ugly. The special gold edition was nicer, but all of the cables has "mascots"

STEALTH EDIT: I tried Pilgrim and hated it. I think by the time I got to the show floow unit it was broken. Staging was super narrow and it was shouty, honky and thin. It was my biggest disappointment. I'm hoping it was actually broken so I can try to demo again. It had none of the Anni wow factor with all of the "flaws."

 

[Casey’sToneQuest]

I have listened to STORM a bunch of times. I try not to listen too long just so I can save my wallet

So far, nothing really has come close to STORM in terms of detail retrieval or scalability. It sounds different on most sources and requires a stupid amount of power to run. THe treble is linear without too much peakiness. It can run bright and a bit lean, but the bass absolutely kicks in the subbass. A bit of a boost at 200 hz adds some warmth, but kinda messes with the timbre. Personally, I like Annihilator 2023 better because it isn't hard to drive. I am also not a producer so having a lot of bass and treble contrast is really nice for my time with music. Right now, it feels like Annihilator 2023 and STORM are at the top and then everything else has compromises I don't like.

I spent a fair bit of time at Musiktek booth getting to hear as much as I could. If I had to rank UM IEMS I would say it would be Mentor, Mest Mk3, French Duo, Amber Pearl.

Mentor had a lot of warmth and a much more unique presentation than anything else. I don't want to call it speaker like, but the treble was quite refined and crisp while the bass didn't slam super hard it had nice quality to it. The timbre of the mids was not super special to me, but certainly passable.

Mest Mk3 is the best value of UM IEMs. It's 90% of the technical IEM that all the other ones are at 1/8th the price or possibly even less. Crispy highs, easy mids and satisfying bass. If you're looking for an all rounder, this can do it all. It has some peakiness but I would sacrifice that for $1500 vs $4500.

French duo- felt lackluster in res. I don't think they were really doing anything extra compared to Mest and I just didn't really get it. Guitars had a bit of bluntness and something seemed off on the tuning.

Amber Pearl- Similair issues to the french duo, but didn't spend as much time with. I didn't really feel engaged and first impressions pushed me towards mentor which was cheaper anyway so this was an easy pass for me.

My biggest shock of the show was Icelabs Prismatica. It was only $899 and it reminded me a bit of 64audio IEMs. The bass was bloomy but also impactful, It's not as kicking as STORM, Crimson, Singularity or even Mest, but overall quite good. The treble was a bit spicy, but honestly I liked it. I was hoping for a bit more lower mid prescence, but I liked this set very much. Res was Mest levels and for half the price. My only issue is I thought the face plate of the regular edition was ugly. The special gold edition was nicer, but all of the cables has "mascots"

STEALTH EDIT: I tried Pilgrim and hated it. I think by the time I got to the show floow unit it was broken. Staging was super narrow and it was shouty, honky and thin. It was my biggest disappointment. I'm hoping it was actually broken so I can try to demo again. It had none of the Anni wow factor with all of the "flaws."

Nice impressions! Hopefully the pilgrim was actually malfunctioning bc I was looking forward to that one!

Do you know where to even buy the prismatica? I’m not seeing anything when I Google search. I was considering getting the mest mkiii but now I’m intrigued about the ice lab

 

[freeryder05]

Nice impressions! Hopefully the pilgrim was actually malfunctioning bc I was looking forward to that one!

Do you know where to even buy the prismatica? I’m not seeing anything when I Google search. I was considering getting the mest mkiii but now I’m intrigued about the ice lab

No it's been driving me crazy. It was at the booth with flash acoustics but I can't find a website or even a facebook page!

@Casey’sToneQuest

https://www.tddisk.idv.tw/products/PRISMATICA

I FOUND IT. Althought I don't feel good purchasing from this site

 

[fidgeraldo]

(screams) AS A CITIZEN OF THE GREAT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, I FEEL ATTACKED.

Hahahaha...I can hear you here across the pond
Hey...you have a homie, well known Croat from Cleveland.

Cheers!

 

[dougms3]

No it's been driving me crazy. It was at the booth with flash acoustics but I can't find a website or even a facebook page!

@Casey’sToneQuest

https://www.tddisk.idv.tw/products/PRISMATICA

I FOUND IT. Althought I don't feel good purchasing from this site

I regret not getting one of their cables at the show.

It seems like most of the cables available are not mass produced. They're typical lineup consists of only 3 cables, the ultron, thanos, and blaze.

https://m.flashacoustics.com/

 

[karaokeroanoke]

Yes but considering Eletech pricing, that's practically giving it away!

believe me if I had the money I'd definitely do it lol but I'm a broke boi so I gotta target lower

Everyone saying Pilgrim is a mini-anni is making me hella excited for release, I only pray it's not this year cause if it is then FF Scarlet gets put on hold

 

[Casey’sToneQuest]

No it's been driving me crazy. It was at the booth with flash acoustics but I can't find a website or even a facebook page!

@Casey’sToneQuest

https://www.tddisk.idv.tw/products/PRISMATICA

I FOUND IT. Althought I don't feel good purchasing from this site

Nice thanks but yes haha I agree I would feel unsure buying there. I found a US site associated with Flash and sent them a message. I’ll let you know if they respond!

 

[G8torbyte]

Hey everyone, I just shared the:

Ask the Reviewers AMA from this NY Canjam to my YouTube just this morning. Took a bit to get the audio right, but I think it turned out ok.

Sorry for the wobbly video at times. I switched between camera resting on my knee, to holding it. Next time I'll bring a tripod.
Fun side note...by the end of the AMA my left ass-cheek was dead asleep

Thank you for recording. I wanted to catch that last seminar session but needed to leave before CanJam ended to get back to Jersey before too late.
At the end as they wrap up with their takes on what they liked it was nice to hear @GoldenSound mention the Auribus Acoustics Sierra.

I posed a question earlier here if anyone tried it but did not get any responses. During CanJam on Saturday with just a few minutes in non-ideal conditions it still impressed me with spaciousness and imaging. As I mentioned earlier the design is not that appealing to me but the 3D printing makes it super-light, 330g or so.

 

[skeeb23]

Thank you for recording. I wanted to catch the that last seminar session but needed to get back to Jersey before too late.
At the end as they wrap up with their takes on what they liked it was nice to hear @GoldenSound mention the Auribus Acoustics Sierra.

I posed a question earlier here if anyone tried it but did not get any responses. With just a few minutes in non-ideal conditions it still impressed me with spaciousness and imaging. As I mentioned earlier the design is not that appealing to me but the 3D printing makes it super-light, 330g or so.

Yes. That headphone was so good! Excellent tonal balance to my ear. I gave him (creator) a couple of thoughts on the fit for comfort adjustment, but yes, it was a very good listen.

 

[Click]

STEALTH EDIT: I tried Pilgrim and hated it. I think by the time I got to the show floow unit it was broken. Staging was super narrow and it was shouty, honky and thin. It was my biggest disappointment. I'm hoping it was actually broken so I can try to demo again. It had none of the Anni wow factor with all of the "flaws."

I don't get the hype over the Elysian prototype, nor the praise some people have given it. To me, it sounded terrible and I gave it back after just 1 song. Every IEM I demo'd at CJ I gave at least 2 tracks to get a good idea of how they sound, but not this thing. I too hope it's just a broken/faulty unit because it's not worth the alleged $400 asking price. It'd be hilarious if they charge $800 or $1,000+ for it.

Annihilator 2023 was incredible though. Really enjoyed that audition. I understood why it's so beloved after hearing it.

 

[karaokeroanoke]

All I know is I hope it does turn out good but honestly I think I might just jump Scarlet since I want Vari's Bass with an UP's Slam but I haven't decided on treble yet so I'm still floating looking for the one

 

[Niyologist]

I almost forgot to mention that I won the FiR Audio e10 Custom IEMs, and I'll be reviewing them after I finish the Spring Semester.

Maybe sooner.

 

[GarageBoy]

Who were the dudes with the 3D printed headphones?

 

[G8torbyte]

Who were the dudes with the 3D printed headphones?

The Sierra by Auribus Acoustics was at the Mimic Audio table. I think that was the only table I saw it at. I stopped there to try out the Tungsten and meet Ryan from Modhouse who was there with them. While I was waiting on a Tungsten they had the Sierra and Austrian Audio Composer on-hand. Can't remember what DAC or amp those were connected to but each were playing very nicely given each are open-backs under the noisy conditions. The Sierra was a pleasant surprise.

 

[Promee]

Hey CanJam attendees! I’m curious if any of you got to try out the Power Base for the Woo Audio Tube Mini. I haven’t been able to find any impressions on this anywhere on the interwebs, and no one has mentioned it on the Tube Mini thread. I’m especially curious if anyone who has been using the Mini can give an idea of whether it can justify its $299 price tag on top of the $499 dongle. Thanks!!