[koenoe]

I'm still in the canjam impressions thread, right?

I was wondering the same

 

[BKJarvis]

I disagree with everything you wrote after the word “Right.”

IEMS: EVO / Traillii / Indigo / Odin / Z1R / Monarch mkii / Custom LX / VE8 / Isabellae / IE900 / IER-M9 / Monarch OG / 3DT / B2 Dusk / BL03 / BLA8 / APP / XM4 / XM3 / FHE (new) / NIO (new)

Is this the order you would ranked the IEMs you own?

 

[twister6]

Btw, after 4 years of CanJams and seeing this psychedelic carpet in Broadway Ballroom of Marriott Marquis:

they finally replaced it with... this?!

 

[Cactopus]

They finally replaced it with... this?!

To be fair I do like the new one a bit more, but not sure if it's the photo but the carpet look unwashed for 3 years or sth

 

[chesebert]

I often feel that EQ'ing headphones kind of 'neuters' them, meaning that EQ can correct the things that I don't like but also dulls the things that I like about a headphone.

There is no perfect headphone, period! They are all flawed and require EQ to sound correct. Headphones are linear devices and take EQ very well - no phase error. You are missing out if you don't EQ them. Bob Katz did a session with Tyll on EQ and it is well worth a read/listen.

Rant: it was such a disservice to the headphone community that stereophile took down innerfidelity website. what a waste.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I often feel that EQ'ing headphones kind of 'neuters' them, meaning that EQ can correct the things that I don't like but also dulls the things that I like about a headphone.

This is more true than the other statements about EQ. When you EQ, you lose the character of the headphone as designed by the manufacturer. The best example of this is the ZMF Verite Closed. It has an funky tuning that does not sound great with everything. You need to get the pads right and the amp. For me, tubes work the best. Then, you get to hear the euphonic sound intentionally designed by Zack. I love it. You can then EQ the VC to Harman and it sounds great, like a reference headphone, but you lose all of the magic designed into that headphone.

If you have a good ear, you can EQ slight mods to correct for problems you specifically might have due to your ear anatomy. For instance, some people have sensitivity to elevated upper mids, reducing it at the right center frequency and Q value can take the edge or glare off of it to someone with such sensitivity and that could be the difference in loving and hating a specific headphone or IEM. The EE Legend EVO is a great example of this.

I completely disagree with those people who EQ everything to Harman. They are literally trying to make all of their headphones sound the same. They won’t completely because tuning is but one aspect of sound presented by a headphone. But again, you lose the intention of the manufacturer and you end up dumbing down your collection by EQ out its character.

 

[m8o]

Woo Audio listen to almost all the setup except the WA8.

Funnily, to me the WA-8 was what I listened to the most as it was a surprising revelation (Listened to mostly with the Ether Flow C v1.1) I liked it better than the WA-11 ( I know, tubes vs. SS). As a WA-22 owner I didn't think I had need for the WA-8, and never gave it a chance. But now having heard it, it's likely the next thing I'll eventually buy; especially as I can take it with me on 1 week to 2 month trips.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I listened to all 3 plus the indigo. My ranking was indigo, mest 2, mest, then Mext. Really wanted to like the mext more but it's just missing a little of everything. Still a great set and I would have purchased it without hesitation if the other sets weren't there to compare. The mest 2 to my ears had a larger sound stage, improved detail and a cleaner low end transition into the mids. Taking to the guys at the both Mext is the only one that doesn't use in house bone conductor. It's how they got the cost down but to my ears the quality of the low end took a small hit.

I have owned 3 (Indigo, OG, MEXT) of the 4 and heard the 4th (mkii). I would rank them in the same order you have. I think the MEXT is a complementary IEM for this family of IEMS. If you own one of the other 3, the MEXT will be the bossier little brother to complement it. It’s not as highly resolving and lacks the clarity of the others, but it has decent bass and presents bone conduction imaging.

The one I would add to this list is the Red Halo. I loved that IEM. It is an upgrade to the Indigo with an over the top price.

 

[aaf evo]

I have owned 3 (Indigo, OG, MEXT) of the 4 and heard the 4th (mkii). I would rank them in the same order you have. I think the MEXT is a complementary IEM for this family of IEMS. If you own one of the other 3, the MEXT will be the bossier little brother to complement it. It’s not as highly resolving and lacks the clarity of the others, but it has decent bass and presents bone conduction imaging.

The one I would add to this list is the Red Halo. I loved that IEM. It is an upgrade to the Indigo with an over the top price.

How does the RH bass compare to Indigo? I didn’t like the Mason FS sub bass at all. It was too flat and just didn’t have enough emphasis for me.

 

[PopZeus]

Oooh been looking for an upgrade to the 99 Classics. The 109 looks very intriguing. I like it when the companies preview prototypes at these shows.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Funnily, to me the WA-8 was what I listened to the most as it was a surprising revelation (Listened to mostly with the Ether Flow C v1.1) I liked it better than the WA-11 ( I know, tubes vs. SS). As a WA-22 owner I didn't think I had need for the WA-8, and never gave it a chance. But now having heard it, it's likely the next thing I'll eventually buy; especially as I can take it with me on 1 week to 2 month trips.

I agree. I own a WA8. It surprised me when I first heard it. It is far better than any of the hybrid tube amps or the amps with tube timbre. The WA8 is a real tube amp with a lush tubey sound. It does wonders for full sized headphones by expanding the sound stage and giving them lush bass. So, the HD800S gets the biggest upgrade in sound from this transformation.

IEMs are hit or miss. The Empire Ears Odin is my favorite. When I pair the Odin with Hiby RS6 + WA8, the bass is so well extended and rich in detail and elevated over its solid state prevention that you get a whole new IEM out of it and it is glorious. Same effect happened with the Fir KR5 which is why I will be adding it to my collection in the near future. On the other hand, the Vision Ears EXT sounded horrrible with it. So, it is hit or miss, but the hits are home runs.

 

[prtuc2]

Funnily, to me the WA-8 was what I listened to the most as it was a surprising revelation (Listened to mostly with the Ether Flow C v1.1) I liked it better than the WA-11 ( I know, tubes vs. SS). As a WA-22 owner I didn't think I had need for the WA-8, and never gave it a chance. But now having heard it, it's likely the next thing I'll eventually buy; especially as I can take it with me on 1 week to 2 month trips.

Actually Mike from Woo Audio was talking to someone else in the room who asked him how to swap the tunes, I learned something about the WA8, according to Mike it is a portable amp runs off battery that last about 4 hours and he said not to place the amp inside back pack. The amp requires ventilation. Only reason I didn't try was the setup for WA8 was pairing with a headphone I never saw, the headphone reminds me of my old walkman I probably giving it a bad impression.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

How does the RH bass compare to Indigo? I didn’t like the Mason FS sub bass at all. It was too flat and just didn’t have enough emphasis for me.

Much better. Great depth, width and texture. I would like to A/B test it against the W9+ woofers of Empire Ears. I didn’t have time to do it, but it was good enough to make me want to compare them. The improved bass response is one of the key improvements of the Red Halo over the Indigo and it isn’t dynamic driver bass. Then, you add that superb imaging and clarity of the Indigo and you have magic. Please, please buy it so I can buy it off of you when you are done with it. The price is ridiculous.

The Fabled Sound really didn’t work for me at all. It had at least 2 major problems with it for my preferences. Subpar bass as you have pointed out and no magical imaging like with the Indigo making it sound veiled in comparison. It was so off the mark for me, I didn’t even get past 3 tracks.

Think MEST OG => Indigo. Fabled Sound => Red Halo.

They learned from the first product and upgraded the drivers and tuning while keeping the original DNA of the OG.

 

[aaf evo]

Much better. Great depth, width and texture. I would like to A/B test it against the W9+ woofers of Empire Ears. I didn’t have time to do it, but it was good enough to make me want to compare them. The improved bass response is one of the key improvements of the Red Halo over the Indigo. Then, you add that magical imaging and clarity of the Indigo and you have magic. Please, please buy it so I can buy it off of you when you are done with it. The price is ridiculous.

The Fabled Sound really didn’t work for me at all. It had at least 2 major problems with it for my preferences. Subpar bass as you have pointed out and no magical imaging like with the Indigo making it sound veiled in comparison. It was so off the mark for me, I didn’t even get past 3 tracks.

Think MEST OG => Indigo. Fabled Sound => Red Halo.

They learned from the first product and upgraded the drivers and tuning while keeping the original DNA of the OG.

Damnnnnn that sounds nice.

And nope, I’ll wait till there’s a lesser premium version and a CIEM.

They only made 20 RH and 20 RH FE.

 

[BKJarvis]

Oooh been looking for an upgrade to the 99 Classics. The 109 looks very intriguing. I like it when the companies preview prototypes at these shows.

I currently have the 99 classics and the 109 was an upgrade in everyway. Going cost about $700 though.