Woopsie, thanks for the correction!
CanJam Singapore 2023 Impressions Thread (March 25-26, 2023)
- Thread starter AxelCloris
- Start date
It would be great to get some information about Elysian Acoustic Labs ANNIHILATOR 2023.
It is VERY hard to find some information about this IEM
Thanks
Torben
It is VERY hard to find some information about this IEM
Thanks
Torben
Heard the other day. Didn’t compare it side by side with the old one but the new ones feels like it’s a touch better with better extended treble and slightly more mids (like if there’s a number, 5%?). To me i wouldn’t buy 2023 if I already had an older pair - probably better off spending the money on your source or cables to fine tune.
If you haven’t heard of it ever, to me it’s A V shaped IEM that will be a bit bright for some people.
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If you are interested, I talked about Annihilator '23 and Diva '23 in my CanJam NYC impressions. If I understand correctly, Diva is also refreshed.
Hi
I don't own a older pair.
Do you know where to find information about the 2023 version and where to boy it?
Thanks and have a nice WE
Torben
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donkashyap
100+ Head-Fier
If you get time would love to know how the new R6 pro II stacks up to the RS6.Amazing experience today! Managed to try various IEMs - Fir Audio NE4 and Radon 6, UM Mest MK3, FitEar Air, Air 2, TG335, Titan, Accoustune HX2000MX MK2, Madoo Typ512, and Inear Black Bronze Small 2 Driver!
Surprisingly, my fave IEMs among all of them are the FitEar Air and FitEar TG335!
They pair well with my Hiby RS6 DAP.
I love them probably cause they are quite energetic (my DAP is slower sounding), less/suppressed highs (I am very sensitive to highs), bit warm, full bodied, well textured bass, and great mids!
Surely their bass is still not as amazing as Fir Audio kinetic bass technology, but I feel they are just enough for me.
I will still come tomorrow to do more audition and further comparisons!
Anyone had the chance to A/B the mest mk3 with mk2 or indigo ?
Yeah I'd be interested in some R6 Pro II and Zeta impressions too (I have the latter, will soon have the former, but keen to get a sense of what show visitors are saying).
Sure will try to do that and let u know!
Canjam SG 2023 show notes — Day one:
When I attended my first ever Canjam at SG 2019, I don’t think I had any idea it’d be another 4 years until I attended another one back home. How things have changed between now and then, and how I wish me today could walk up to me yesterday and slap me in the face for thinking the A12t I paid full retail for and received only a couple hours earlier the same day was any good. Anyways, without further ado, let us begin.
Symphonium Audio:
I stopped by here first to say hi to Ken and Chang, and I figured since I was already at the booth I may as well fulfill a few requests. First off is Meteor — surprisingly not-screwy sounding for a 4BA and it did have me fooled for a good 30 seconds, but the poor dynamics and slight treble roughness give it away. I’m not crazy about the bass boost or the midrange tone either, though I don’t find them disagreeable, they’re just not for me. But I hear fundamental potential behind the timbral correctness of the BAs, and ultimately I think the Meteor could be recommended in good faith to someone will to make concessions on ultimate tonal rightness. I would very much be interested in a Meteor that was tuned more towards a less intentionally colored sound, but as is the current product is very tolerable and in my eyes little else
As for the Triton, I wasn’t particularly taken by anything with it. It’s very okay, the tuning strikes me as more correct than the Meteor, but unlike the Meteor the whole thing is very stiff and unyielding, which is quite ironic given this is supposed to be a hybrid. Speaking of, I don’t really hear the DD in this setup. What I mean by that is that I hear an effort to cohesively integrate the timbre of the DD with the BAs in the midrange, but the result is that the whole thing sounds like plastic, which seems to me to be the wrong way to go about it. I don’t hate it, but I also don’t really see any reason to love it.
And at the top of this lineup is Helios, an IEM I’ve heard somewhat extensively before, but never written about. By the point I decided to re-listen to it today, I had already forgotten what it sounded like, but within the first few seconds of listening I immediately recognized everything about it. It’s a rather lean, sterile IEM with pretty shocking macrodynamics, but very stiff microdynamics. The midrange tuning, while bordering on shouty, is within tolerance for me, but more problematic in my eyes is the greater-than-insignificant treble roughness, indicating some degree of a lack of refinement. Maybe to someone at the infantile audiophile stage of seeking a “reference” sound this is perfect, but for me I cannot help but find it very cold and unengaging. But it’s not objectively terrible, it really just isn't musical enough for me.
Regarding Subtonic, I elected to save the Storm for later once again, and the Tempest was out of commission, so nothing from them today unfortunately.
FATfreq:
Oh my, this stuff is really bassy. Whether or not it’s good bass is very hit or miss; in the case of the Maestro SE for example, there’s just so much midbass that it threatens to bleed everywhere and heavily recesses the mids. The much lauded Grand Maestro rides a thin line between that and relative normalcy, though it also strikes me as considerably rounder and softer than the Maestro SE, even with the vocal switch active, which I personally find much preferable (though I doubt I’m even FATfreq’s target audience in the first place). The Maestro Mini on the other hand seems a lot more reined in — still very bassy, mind you, but not to the point where I feel like the mids cease to exist. The standard Maestro seems to be very much along the same lines as that, but surprisingly even less bassy. The main focus here is that very distinctive midrange tuning with mildly recessed upper mids and more 2k emphasis than 3k. Speaking of mids, I think I have a pretty good idea of whose target curve FATfreq are following here, but I will leave that for the reader to figure out. Last of all, the Scarlet Mini, apparently a prototype, appears to be pursuing the same route as the Grand Maestro with the vocal switch turned off at a lower pricepoint. To which I have to say, more power to them. I think it’s just nice that they’ve found a niche that they’re making the most out of.
64 Audio:
Oh oldest of flames, how I reminisce thee. At first blush it is extremely obvious what the U4s going after: everyone’s favorite U12t, now at a more readily stomachable pricepoint and with a DD. Sounds like a winning formula on paper, but there is a lack of refinement to the upper mids and treble of the U4s that really bothers me, and I don’t know how well executed the DD implementation really is. To me, it seems particularly jarring and I don’t hear any attempt being made to integrate the DD with the BAs whatsoever, and personally I would rather just live with the BAs in the U12t and U6t than constantly be screamed at by the U4s that I’m listening to a DD. As for my thoughts on the general midrange tuning of all 3, I found myself initially confused and somewhat repulsed, but my ears did acclimate after a few minutes and, while this sort of upper midrange recession is unquestionably colored, it’s not hard to see why so many people (including myself at one point in time) find it to be some sort of reference. Personally though, I couldn’t live with it, and I don’t miss my U12t all that much.
Plussound:
I wasn’t really even aware that Plussound made IEMs, but apparently this is their first one. Long story short, it’s not anything of note aside from the cool packaging it comes in. Very plasticky and grainy throughout with really odd mids. Better luck next time.
Elysian Acoustics:
It has been forever since I kept up with Elysian, and boy has their lineup totally changed. Now it’s just the same old Annihilator and the Diva which I haven’t heard until now. For the Diva, it’s very Elysian in the strong upper mid emphasis and great macrodynamics, and surprisingly un-Elysian in the considerably restrained bass. While the overall tonal balance isn’t offensive to me, I don’t find myself terribly fond of the overall timbre (very plasticky) and lack of general tactility. I don’t hate it, but I’m not in love with it either.
As for the Annihilator, it is just as Annihilator as its ever been. Razor thin lower mids, midbass emphasis and almost excessive upper treble extension. Its never been an inherently bad IEM, but it really is just too colored for my taste now. It was already verging on that when I first reviewed it however many years ago, but now it is firmly in that territory and then some.
There’s also the Gaea, which is some sort of collaboration with Effect Audio. Quite bassy, but surprisingly correct in the mids with some mild warmth. The timbre is nothing of particular note, beyond the bass not really sticking out to me as particularly incoherent. I don’t know what I expected from this one, but I find it pretty okay overall.
Lastly, there was a brand new tribrid prototype which, visually, is eerily reminiscent of the Annihilator. Sonically, I found it not dissimilar to the Gaea overall; which is to say that it’s quite midbassy, but beyond that the midrange sounds far less colored than the Annihilator we’ve come to know and love. I think it has some pretty strong potential for people who could never gel with the Annihilator’s tuning.
Vision Ears:
I cannot remember the last time I explored VE’s lineup, and therefore I cannot recall what exactly I have and haven’t heard beyond the obvious, but I can certainly try. Most certainly new is the VE7, which I find pretty agreeable overall. The timbre and microdynamics are not the best, but the overall tuning strikes me as tastefully colored and mostly correct, and it has great macrodynamics with a lot of forwardness and honesty. I don’t feel compelled to pull out my wallet and buy one, but I don’t think I can fault anyone who would. It’s nothing particularly exciting or groundbreaking, it’s just reasonably decent for an IEM.
The EXT, on the other hand, seems like a completely different philosophy entirely, being a tribrid. I don’t find it particularly coherent overall, and the timbre mismatch on this one is pretty blatant. The tuning seems considerably more “hi-fi” than the VE7 as well, with considerably thinner mids and a stronger bass shelf. I’m sure there are people who would be all over this sort of sound (maybe myself circa 2020), but today it just strikes me as artificial and overplayed.
I’m not really crazy about the Phönix either, and it reminded me of a lot of what I disliked about the Erlkönig — a very uninspired tuning with mediocre dynamics and overall poor engagement. It has no charm the way the VE7 has, despite both being full BA setups, and it leaves me cold and a little bored as a whole.
Lastly comes prototypes of an anniversary flagship for VE, referred to (and colored, surprise) as Red and Blue. I listened to Red first, and it’s not dissimilar to the VE7. It’s a little warmer, bassier, and more colored, but they share a very similar DNA which I can respect. Blue, on the other hand, is considerably brighter and leaner, and does sound a little more plasticky and artificial. I definitely prefer Red, and I do hope that’s what ends up coming out.
Project Red:
From one red to another, how fitting is that? I’d heard a previous prototype at Canjam NYC, but I really wasn't impressed. I declined to comment mostly because it was a prototype and I’d only heard it for a few minutes, but here at Canjam SG there’s a new V3 prototype. While not as dull sounding as the previous version, it’s still rather compressed, some soft sounding overall, and kind of unengaging. There’s something about this midrange and bass tuning that makes everything sound really rounded and ploddy, and I don’t think I’ve ever been really blown away by this target curve. At least not in recent memory.
Truthear:
I suppose it makes sense to go from the Project Red to the former Project Blue, or the Zero. To be concise, it sounds like a grainier, more plasticky, bassier, less refined, and slightly less dampened Project Red. I’m not crazy about either of these IEMs, and I don’t think I have any preference between them.
As for the Hexa, it’s just a whole boatload of nothing terribly exciting. The tuning is kind of upper mid forward with mild grain and some plasticky hard-edgedness. While this is a hybrid with a relatively restrained amount of bass, I don’t hear any major attempt to cohere it with the BAs either, and it just sounds ever so slightly disjointed and, I don’t know, kind of lazy. Very strong contender for the definition of milquetoast.
Acoustune:
I think the only time I ever liked any Acoustune was at the peak of my Z1R phase, and even then it was on the edge of tolerability for me. The HS2000MX goes careening right off a cliff when it comes to sounding sharp and metallic, and I have little more to say about it. The HS2000MX MK2 is not dissimilar, save being slightly leaner and maybe a hair less metallic. I don’t like either.
The HS1750Cu, while not as ragged up top as either of the HS2000s, sounds distant, lean, and simply unengaging. And finally, for the HS1790Ti. it’s mildly more upfront the HS1750Cu, but also more metallic and equally as undynamic. This one was a bust.
DITA:
Cutting right to the chase with this one: it’s warm-bright with pretty significant grain. I guess it’s kind of upfront and dynamic, but I don’t find it amazingly so. Too mixed a bag for me to take seriously
Towards the end of the show I really began to feel quite ill, while my hearing wasn’t impaired my energy and will to write completely plummeted. I was hoping to cover as many IEMs as possible today, but had to stop short of a couple ones after I tapped out DITA’s booth. There is a greater than insignificant chance I won’t show up to tomorrow, so se you when I see you and next time if I don’t.
When I attended my first ever Canjam at SG 2019, I don’t think I had any idea it’d be another 4 years until I attended another one back home. How things have changed between now and then, and how I wish me today could walk up to me yesterday and slap me in the face for thinking the A12t I paid full retail for and received only a couple hours earlier the same day was any good. Anyways, without further ado, let us begin.
Symphonium Audio:
I stopped by here first to say hi to Ken and Chang, and I figured since I was already at the booth I may as well fulfill a few requests. First off is Meteor — surprisingly not-screwy sounding for a 4BA and it did have me fooled for a good 30 seconds, but the poor dynamics and slight treble roughness give it away. I’m not crazy about the bass boost or the midrange tone either, though I don’t find them disagreeable, they’re just not for me. But I hear fundamental potential behind the timbral correctness of the BAs, and ultimately I think the Meteor could be recommended in good faith to someone will to make concessions on ultimate tonal rightness. I would very much be interested in a Meteor that was tuned more towards a less intentionally colored sound, but as is the current product is very tolerable and in my eyes little else
As for the Triton, I wasn’t particularly taken by anything with it. It’s very okay, the tuning strikes me as more correct than the Meteor, but unlike the Meteor the whole thing is very stiff and unyielding, which is quite ironic given this is supposed to be a hybrid. Speaking of, I don’t really hear the DD in this setup. What I mean by that is that I hear an effort to cohesively integrate the timbre of the DD with the BAs in the midrange, but the result is that the whole thing sounds like plastic, which seems to me to be the wrong way to go about it. I don’t hate it, but I also don’t really see any reason to love it.
And at the top of this lineup is Helios, an IEM I’ve heard somewhat extensively before, but never written about. By the point I decided to re-listen to it today, I had already forgotten what it sounded like, but within the first few seconds of listening I immediately recognized everything about it. It’s a rather lean, sterile IEM with pretty shocking macrodynamics, but very stiff microdynamics. The midrange tuning, while bordering on shouty, is within tolerance for me, but more problematic in my eyes is the greater-than-insignificant treble roughness, indicating some degree of a lack of refinement. Maybe to someone at the infantile audiophile stage of seeking a “reference” sound this is perfect, but for me I cannot help but find it very cold and unengaging. But it’s not objectively terrible, it really just isn't musical enough for me.
Regarding Subtonic, I elected to save the Storm for later once again, and the Tempest was out of commission, so nothing from them today unfortunately.
FATfreq:
Oh my, this stuff is really bassy. Whether or not it’s good bass is very hit or miss; in the case of the Maestro SE for example, there’s just so much midbass that it threatens to bleed everywhere and heavily recesses the mids. The much lauded Grand Maestro rides a thin line between that and relative normalcy, though it also strikes me as considerably rounder and softer than the Maestro SE, even with the vocal switch active, which I personally find much preferable (though I doubt I’m even FATfreq’s target audience in the first place). The Maestro Mini on the other hand seems a lot more reined in — still very bassy, mind you, but not to the point where I feel like the mids cease to exist. The standard Maestro seems to be very much along the same lines as that, but surprisingly even less bassy. The main focus here is that very distinctive midrange tuning with mildly recessed upper mids and more 2k emphasis than 3k. Speaking of mids, I think I have a pretty good idea of whose target curve FATfreq are following here, but I will leave that for the reader to figure out. Last of all, the Scarlet Mini, apparently a prototype, appears to be pursuing the same route as the Grand Maestro with the vocal switch turned off at a lower pricepoint. To which I have to say, more power to them. I think it’s just nice that they’ve found a niche that they’re making the most out of.
64 Audio:
Oh oldest of flames, how I reminisce thee. At first blush it is extremely obvious what the U4s going after: everyone’s favorite U12t, now at a more readily stomachable pricepoint and with a DD. Sounds like a winning formula on paper, but there is a lack of refinement to the upper mids and treble of the U4s that really bothers me, and I don’t know how well executed the DD implementation really is. To me, it seems particularly jarring and I don’t hear any attempt being made to integrate the DD with the BAs whatsoever, and personally I would rather just live with the BAs in the U12t and U6t than constantly be screamed at by the U4s that I’m listening to a DD. As for my thoughts on the general midrange tuning of all 3, I found myself initially confused and somewhat repulsed, but my ears did acclimate after a few minutes and, while this sort of upper midrange recession is unquestionably colored, it’s not hard to see why so many people (including myself at one point in time) find it to be some sort of reference. Personally though, I couldn’t live with it, and I don’t miss my U12t all that much.
Plussound:
I wasn’t really even aware that Plussound made IEMs, but apparently this is their first one. Long story short, it’s not anything of note aside from the cool packaging it comes in. Very plasticky and grainy throughout with really odd mids. Better luck next time.
Elysian Acoustics:
It has been forever since I kept up with Elysian, and boy has their lineup totally changed. Now it’s just the same old Annihilator and the Diva which I haven’t heard until now. For the Diva, it’s very Elysian in the strong upper mid emphasis and great macrodynamics, and surprisingly un-Elysian in the considerably restrained bass. While the overall tonal balance isn’t offensive to me, I don’t find myself terribly fond of the overall timbre (very plasticky) and lack of general tactility. I don’t hate it, but I’m not in love with it either.
As for the Annihilator, it is just as Annihilator as its ever been. Razor thin lower mids, midbass emphasis and almost excessive upper treble extension. Its never been an inherently bad IEM, but it really is just too colored for my taste now. It was already verging on that when I first reviewed it however many years ago, but now it is firmly in that territory and then some.
There’s also the Gaea, which is some sort of collaboration with Effect Audio. Quite bassy, but surprisingly correct in the mids with some mild warmth. The timbre is nothing of particular note, beyond the bass not really sticking out to me as particularly incoherent. I don’t know what I expected from this one, but I find it pretty okay overall.
Lastly, there was a brand new tribrid prototype which, visually, is eerily reminiscent of the Annihilator. Sonically, I found it not dissimilar to the Gaea overall; which is to say that it’s quite midbassy, but beyond that the midrange sounds far less colored than the Annihilator we’ve come to know and love. I think it has some pretty strong potential for people who could never gel with the Annihilator’s tuning.
Vision Ears:
I cannot remember the last time I explored VE’s lineup, and therefore I cannot recall what exactly I have and haven’t heard beyond the obvious, but I can certainly try. Most certainly new is the VE7, which I find pretty agreeable overall. The timbre and microdynamics are not the best, but the overall tuning strikes me as tastefully colored and mostly correct, and it has great macrodynamics with a lot of forwardness and honesty. I don’t feel compelled to pull out my wallet and buy one, but I don’t think I can fault anyone who would. It’s nothing particularly exciting or groundbreaking, it’s just reasonably decent for an IEM.
The EXT, on the other hand, seems like a completely different philosophy entirely, being a tribrid. I don’t find it particularly coherent overall, and the timbre mismatch on this one is pretty blatant. The tuning seems considerably more “hi-fi” than the VE7 as well, with considerably thinner mids and a stronger bass shelf. I’m sure there are people who would be all over this sort of sound (maybe myself circa 2020), but today it just strikes me as artificial and overplayed.
I’m not really crazy about the Phönix either, and it reminded me of a lot of what I disliked about the Erlkönig — a very uninspired tuning with mediocre dynamics and overall poor engagement. It has no charm the way the VE7 has, despite both being full BA setups, and it leaves me cold and a little bored as a whole.
Lastly comes prototypes of an anniversary flagship for VE, referred to (and colored, surprise) as Red and Blue. I listened to Red first, and it’s not dissimilar to the VE7. It’s a little warmer, bassier, and more colored, but they share a very similar DNA which I can respect. Blue, on the other hand, is considerably brighter and leaner, and does sound a little more plasticky and artificial. I definitely prefer Red, and I do hope that’s what ends up coming out.
Project Red:
From one red to another, how fitting is that? I’d heard a previous prototype at Canjam NYC, but I really wasn't impressed. I declined to comment mostly because it was a prototype and I’d only heard it for a few minutes, but here at Canjam SG there’s a new V3 prototype. While not as dull sounding as the previous version, it’s still rather compressed, some soft sounding overall, and kind of unengaging. There’s something about this midrange and bass tuning that makes everything sound really rounded and ploddy, and I don’t think I’ve ever been really blown away by this target curve. At least not in recent memory.
Truthear:
I suppose it makes sense to go from the Project Red to the former Project Blue, or the Zero. To be concise, it sounds like a grainier, more plasticky, bassier, less refined, and slightly less dampened Project Red. I’m not crazy about either of these IEMs, and I don’t think I have any preference between them.
As for the Hexa, it’s just a whole boatload of nothing terribly exciting. The tuning is kind of upper mid forward with mild grain and some plasticky hard-edgedness. While this is a hybrid with a relatively restrained amount of bass, I don’t hear any major attempt to cohere it with the BAs either, and it just sounds ever so slightly disjointed and, I don’t know, kind of lazy. Very strong contender for the definition of milquetoast.
Acoustune:
I think the only time I ever liked any Acoustune was at the peak of my Z1R phase, and even then it was on the edge of tolerability for me. The HS2000MX goes careening right off a cliff when it comes to sounding sharp and metallic, and I have little more to say about it. The HS2000MX MK2 is not dissimilar, save being slightly leaner and maybe a hair less metallic. I don’t like either.
The HS1750Cu, while not as ragged up top as either of the HS2000s, sounds distant, lean, and simply unengaging. And finally, for the HS1790Ti. it’s mildly more upfront the HS1750Cu, but also more metallic and equally as undynamic. This one was a bust.
DITA:
Cutting right to the chase with this one: it’s warm-bright with pretty significant grain. I guess it’s kind of upfront and dynamic, but I don’t find it amazingly so. Too mixed a bag for me to take seriously
Towards the end of the show I really began to feel quite ill, while my hearing wasn’t impaired my energy and will to write completely plummeted. I was hoping to cover as many IEMs as possible today, but had to stop short of a couple ones after I tapped out DITA’s booth. There is a greater than insignificant chance I won’t show up to tomorrow, so se you when I see you and next time if I don’t.
Yup they are
Finally, a brutally tough critic! Question: what do you like??
Not going to CamJam, but going to Singapore in a few weeks for a family vacation as the kids have a school break then. Can someone help me out with audio stores that offer a wide range of demos to try out, outside of the usual Zeppelin and Jaben? My wife doesn’t know I actually planned Singapore for this, but I’m going to plan my vacation around nearby audio shops that I can stop by for a quick listen on the way to multiple attractions.
Thank you!
Taken from the other Singapore Can Jam thread:
These are worthwhile shops to audition gear in Singapore:
1) Sam Audio
https://samaudiosg.com/
1 Rochor Canal Rd, #01-56 Sim Lim Square, Singapore 188504
Closed on Sunday
2) Zeppelin and Co
https://zeppelinandco.com/
1 Rochor Canal Rd, #02-78 Sim Lim Square, Singapore 188504
Closed on Saturday, Sunday, Monday
3) Jaben
https://store.jaben.com/
1 Coleman St, #01-25 The Adelphi, Singapore 179803
Closed on Sunday
4) Project Perfection
https://pp-distribution.com/
#04-44, The Adelphi, 1 Coleman St, Singapore 179803
Closed on Sunday and Monday
5) AV One
https://av1group.com.sg/
1 Coleman St, #01-01/10/21/22, #02-29 The Adelphi, Singapore 179803
Closed on Sunday
6) Stereo
https://www.stereo.com.sg/
68, #04-06 Orchard Rd, Plaza Singapura, 238839
Open daily
7) Connect IT
https://www.connect-it.com.sg/
313 Orchard Rd, B2 - 08 / 09 / 10 / 11, Singapore 238896
Open daily
8) Sony Store
https://www.wismaonline.com/store/sony-store/
435 Orchard Road, #03-01 and #03-01A Wisma Atria, 238877
Open daily
9) E1
https://sg.e1personalaudio.com/
545 Orchard Road, #05-10A Far East Shopping Centre, Singapore 238882
Open daily
10) TREOO
https://store.treoo.com/
50 Playfair Rd, #02-04 Noel Building, Singapore 367995
Closed on Sunday
11) Oardio
https://oardio.sg/
8 Burn Rd, #08-12 Trivex, Singapore 369977
Closed on Sunday and Monday
12) Effect Audio
https://www.effectaudio.com/
61 Ubi Rd 1, #03- 24 Oxley Bizhub, Singapore 408727
Closed on Saturday and Sunday
Yes it is very wise to not let the wife know about this!
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