PrestonSturgesEnthusiast
Head-Fier
What are your impressions on the tia fourte blanc and STORM sub-basses?Second time going to Canjam SG. I had an absolute blast this year, much more stuff to try compared to last year.
Below are my quick impressions of various stuff I tried during the two days. My personal reference is:
Please take the impression with a grain of salt, as I listened to each IEM for 10-15 minutes only (except for a few).
- Source used at the show: Sony WM1Z
- Inear: Empire Ears Odin, Custom A12t, Campfire Solaris
- Headphone: Audeze LCD-5, LCD-X to Hugo TT2
Let's start.
Personal conclusion for me:
- Empire Ears' Project Raven. 1 Bone Conductor W10, 2 W9+, 5 BA & 4 Estats. A more evenly tuned Odin, with better bass, less forward upper midrange, more even mid to treble. Overall I would take this over the Odin anyday. Special shoutout to Jack for being super friendly!
- Empire Ears' Legend Evo. First time I tried this, and yeah it has a lot of bass, with excellent extension & rumble. Didn't feel suffocated like the last time I tried Legend X. The mid & high of the LE is still clear & doesn't get drowned out by the bass.
- FIR Audio’ Xenon 6. I once was close to blind-buying the Xenon 6, but still decided not to because of mixed reviews from people I trust. After listening to their entire line up today, I understand why. Very non-fatigue (read: non-exciting, non-moving) tuning, with a lot of bass & lower mids that seems to cloud the entire frequency response. Can certainly see the merit of this tuning, as one can really listen to it all day long, and it doesn't grab your attention. Key difference between this & the Legend Evo is the LE's is muscular, flexing, hits hard whereas this is fairly laidback.
- Krypton 5: After trying Xenon 6, I switched to Krypton 5. And wow, now I know why people love this. The sound is so lively, dynamic, exciting. I literally was tapping my feet constantly when I listened to this. Bass hits hard, mid & treble both seems decently forward. All contribute to a very musical experience.
- Radon 6: Vlad said Radon 6 is his most favorite in the line-up. It basically combines the Xenon 6's bass with Krypton 5's mid & highs. For me it's a Krypton 5 but one notch up everying, and quite a bit more treble (which hmmm actually makes the Billboard's pop way less listenable) => Tempted to get a Krypton 5 for myself after this experience.
- Elysian's Annihilator. Details, details, a lot of details, more than any other IEMs I have heard, maybe more than LCD-5 as well. Bright tunning, lack lower mids but upper-mid to treble is so amazing. The vocal in songs appear crystal-clear, it's like singers singing to your ears. It's too good that I got overwhelmed! Having said that, I can also foresee getting fatigue after 20 30 mins listening to this.
- Elysian's Prototype. I got so shocked when I listened to this. Polar-opposite to the Annihilator, with a lot of bass, ton of subbass while the rest of the spectrum remains clear. Think EE's LE but with softer bass & bass rumble.
- Elysian's DIVA. Well I listened to this right after the Annihilator, so it's easy to be underwhelmed. Yet, DIVA is a well tuned, balanced IEM with no part of the sound really jumped out on me.
- Subtonic's STORM. Best IEM I have ever heard. Bar none. Best of the show. A true reference signature WITHspeaker-like soundstage (rectangular, not spherical) AND exceptional dynamic (think Focal Clear / Utopia dynamic). Very well controlled bass, hits hard. Everything is good, nothing to fault, at all. For more praise, I can confirm this impression FC Construct's impression to be exactly what I heard. Massive respect to Subtonic for creating this. Special shoutout to Toranku for being super friendly!
- QDC Anole VX, 8SS. Balanced, neutral, very studio sound. Nothing jumped out on me but I can see myself owning one due to its pure reference signature (Sony IER M9 but supercharged).
- QDC Anole V14. Their new flagship. Plenty fun, plenty bass even in the default configuration. Still without any coloring.
- Vision Ears VE8. Tight solid bass. Very coherent, musical, liquid midrange. Upper mids / lower-treble is a bit shouty.
- Vision Ears Blue Prototype. A lot of bass that dominates the signature, but it didn't bleed into the mids, and the rest of the spectrum is still clear. No irritating peaks. The visceral impact of the bass is great, and can really move you. Downside is the bass is a bit bloated.
- Vision Ears Red Prototype. A more balanced signature compared to the Blue. With considerable brigher mid & treble, bass takes a step back but still hits hard. Treble can be bright at times. Still very engaging, even more so than the Blue. I have equal preference of both the Blue & Red.
- 64 Audio Tia Fourte Blanc. Sounded nothing like the Fourte. It's a bass canon, perhaps the best done bass canon for my ears. The rest of the FR still remain clear & the bass / rest of FR balanace is better than that of Vision Ears Blue. Very enjoyable.
- 64 Audio Tia Trio. Used to be my favorite in the 64audio family, but after listening to the Foute Blanc I don't know why I should bother about the Trio anymore.
- Sony IER-M9. I had owned M9 for 2 years then sold it to begin the high-end journey. Listened to it again today, and it was a very reliable sound, balanced, neutral, did nothing wrong, nothing exceptional. Will probably buy it again for permanent ownership as my reference.
- Effect Audio’s Code 23. Wow a very thick copper cable, created a deeper & more air for my Odin. Got one for special show price after 5 hours of fun negotiation & deliberation.
- Abyss 1266 Phi TC on Eleven Audio Stack + Hugo TT2. First time demoing this set-up properly. 1266 has a remarkably roomy, speaker like sound, with exceptional quality bass. Upper mid & treble is quite sharp and requires you to listen to strictly well recorded albums (Come Away With Me, Random Access Memory ...)
- DCS Lina Stack. Well, what can I say? Worth the money? I don't know, but the stack certainly sounds exceptional! The transparency, staging is unmatched, and it's very evident.
- ZMF Artrium Open on Cayin Tube Amp. Very analog sounding, maybe the most analog sounding inear / headphone I have ever heard.
- Dan Clark's Stealth & Expanse. They sounded “correct”, but nothing jumped out. I will need way more time to appreciate the combo.
- Inear ProMission X. Pleasant warm-neutral tuning. Very relaxed sounding. Would say it’s like Sony M9? I kept coming back to this after 2 Canjams.
Finally, I won the first giveaway ever in my life, a Vision Ears EVE20, which marked the end of an incredible Canjam! See everyone next year!
- Empire Ears’ house sound is about the flexing, powerful sound
- Each model of FiR has its own unique tuning, like nothing else in the market
- If only the STORM is same price as Odin I would get one for myself, right at the show.
Thanks!