[warrenpchi]

Meze Handcrafted bracelet I am partial to the copper one myself.

Totally tempting... but now I'm attached to the idea of a functional one.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I am a sucker for a beautiful headphone cable, and I love my Meze Elite, but I can’t imagine wearing a headphone cable bracelet! It goes to show that there really is a market for everything. Does the copper bracelet at least help with aching joints?

 

[04gto]

Does the copper bracelet at least help with aching joints?

I feel like for $50 it should! I feel like if you wanted it to help with aching joints, some placebo could certainly come into play.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Dear IEM companies, please don't do this! Thanks!

Which connector do you prefer?
I'm not an IEM guy, but all my IEMs are MMCX, always preferred that over 2 pin

 

[emdeevee]

Totally tempting... but now I'm attached to the idea of a functional one.

Bro, the interconnect! It's a natural!

 

[alota]

I am a sucker for a beautiful headphone cable, and I love my Meze Elite, but I can’t imagine wearing a headphone cable bracelet! It goes to show that there really is a market for everything. Does the copper bracelet at least help with aching joints?

the bracelet improves the headstage of your meze

 

[deep2285]

Bit late to the punch on my Day 1 impressions as I functionally passed out once I got home for the day.

Had a great first day yesterday, was super fun getting to talk and meet with some of yall during the show!

Noted things: I am quite the basshead. All listening was done through my Shanling M6 Pro AKM. Unless otherwise noted I found the universals quite uncomfortable, and I don't always get good seals owing to my ear anatomy.

FatFreq Scarlet:
Absolutely egregious bass cannon, so incredibly fun. Genuinely some of the best bass I've heard for just rocking out. Detail and texture aren't all there relative to other sets in the price range ($600 or so), but the bass is so incredibly well controlled for its extremely high level that it's a fair trade off imo.

Maestro SE:
The cleaner, better detailed cousin to the minis. Nothing too egregious in the bass department but still incredibly fun to listen to. The treble was able to fairly accurately get certain textures across and it did fairly well on some of my most demanding tracks.

Empire Ears Odin:
Definitely more resolving than the Maestro SE. Bass feels quite weak after listening to the FatFreq sets, though I think I get a worse seal off of Empire Ears universals. Not my thing, though I can somewhat understand the appeal.

Raven:
Stronger Separation than Odin. Stronger bass, more physical rumble. Just generally more "solid" or physical sounding than Odin. The physical sensation of the bass on certain songs was incredible. Almost all the way there on pulling nice texture out of the treble. The Raven did extremely well on some of the more demanding tracks I have. One of if not the favorite set I've heard.

Campfire Cascada:
Fairly bassy, doesn't seem to extend all the way down (nope, they do, just more impact focused than portraying that deep rumble). Fairly nice, though they feel a bit fatiguing on both ends of the spectrum. Isolate a lot better than other unis.

Supermoon:
Very deep fit. Incredibly detailed and good at pulling out texture. Can feel a bit too analytical and hot. Bass is good and tight but doesn't have much fun factor despite the somewhat elevated amount. They don't particularly do anything wrong, but I just feel kinda bored listening to them. For the price they are however, the detail they can pull is exceptional.

Bonneville:
Also a super deep fit, Jesus. Very fun and enjoyable set. Bass is better than Supermoon. Very well balanced (by my basshead standards), nothing particularly stood out though I do really enjoy just listening to them. (The borderline custom fit is probably helping a lot with the bass being this good). One of those sets where nothing stands out as being truly exceptional but I just absolutely love the experience of listening to them, almost a steal at their price.

64 Audio Volur:
Universal that's actually tolerable! Good ole 64 Audio Treble magic.

Trifecta:
Actually comfortable?? I think there's a peak somewhere bothering me. That bass lingers, very fun. Honestly just so odd, a very hard to describe set. I can understand why this one's so polarizing, nothing else like it.

Fir Electron:
another usableish uiem. Unique treble, solid bass. something feels a little bit off.
bass is deep and rumbly. Solid single DD, not particularly my thing though.

Viking Ragnar:
There's certainly treble there alright. Quite bass-light and sharp as far as my preferences go, though I could certainly see people who like brighter tunings enjoy it. Does extremely well on complex and demanding tracks, though can fall apart when asked to pull together texture across the full spectrum (the bass and treble don't always seem to connect nicely).

Elysian Annihilator 2023:
These hold their title for a reason. My god, do these sound way better amped off of my DAP than they did off of my Fiio BTR5 last year. Its also likely a preference for the 2023 than the 2021 model. Definitely a bit fatiguing. Bass genuinely works now. They do better at detail retrieval than any other set I tried in most cases, but do get a bit overwhelmed with two of my most difficult tracks.

Tia Trio:
Still got the treble magic and their unique solidity. Portrays texture like nothing else. Always been a personal favorite and they continue to be so.

Nostalgia Camelot:
Glittery? Treble. Solid bass, takes a backseat to the rest of the presentation. Actively shifts my focus towards the treble and vocals without it seeming super forward. Quite good at maintaining background details though you have to actively focus to notice them.

How about FATfreq Grand Maestro & FIR Audio XE6 for Bassheads??

 

[Alpexis]

Double Heli Chimera Cable​

Think this is worth a mention. Thanks to Chris at Mimic audio, I got quite a bit of time to carefully A/B this massive top of the line cable with my Norne pure copper cable. The difference is not subtle - immediately the sound feels “bigger”, the presentation becomes sharper, like wiping clean a fogged window.

I've been thinking about upgrading my susvara with this chimera cable. Worth the price? Did you hear it through xlr or speaker taps? Should I buy with xlr or speaker taps?

Unique Melody Amber Pearl​

This one gives me a big “wow” factor. Syrupy steroids. It’s a LOT warmer than Jewel (and all the other IEMs I tried), and while it’s usually not a good thing from my experience (see all the examples above), Amber Pearl is a big exception.

I want to start listening in bed, so looking for an iem+dap combo to complement my susvara chain. However the amber pearl costs $8k, which just doesn't seem good value... could add an abyss 1266 phi tc or x9000 to my hdphns collection for that amount of money. Which DAP did you hear it with? What's your take on this iem's value as a headphone connoisseur?

Awesome impressions btw. Truly enjoyed the read!

 

[Edric Li]

Meze Handcrafted bracelet I am partial to the copper one myself.

Make a bracelet/cable convertible and we're talking. Imaging being able to take multiple cables out by wearing them on your wrist.

 

[linshu1992]

Thanks for your kind words!

I've been thinking about upgrading my susvara with this chimera cable. Worth the price? Did you hear it through xlr or speaker taps? Should I buy with xlr or speaker taps?

I can never answer if something is "worth the price". I feel the size of improvement is similar to upgrading tubes on an amp (to ones with similar soundstage, signature but a few notches better quality). It is probably not as significant as going from $100 to $3000 amps (in general), but i can be convinced if it's like an upgrade of <$5k if playing in 10k range, with $1k being an easy buy, and $5k being "this is the last piece I need to build heaven"

I heard those through xlr output. If you use speaker taps, I don't know how the sound could be impacted if you, say, use an "off brand" speaker to xlr converter with xlr ended chimera connected to your susvara. If you want to preserve the flexibility of having xlr, maybe you can negotiate a bundle deal for a short chimera speaker to xlr adapter + chimera xlr cable?

I want to start listening in bed, so looking for an iem+dap combo to complement my susvara chain. However the amber pearl costs $8k, which just doesn't seem good value... could add an abyss 1266 phi tc or x9000 to my hdphns collection for that amount of money. Which DAP did you hear it with? What's your take on this iem's value as a headphone connoisseur?

I heard the amber on hugo2 and on someone else's dap. The difference was not enough for me to notice/remember. Amber's own signature stands out by itself. I actually don't think I've heard any headphones with signature similar to the amber so I can only go with gut. 8k is a surprise price. Considering the EE Odin retails at $3400, I'd say I expect amber to be $5~6k. I also want to note amber's signature is such a big departure from all the other IEMs I mentioned (if ALL the other iems are like 20% variance in terms of tuning, amber is like 60% different) so you may want to audition to make sure you like that tuning.

 

[briantrinh86]

Thanks for your kind words!


I can never answer if something is "worth the price". I feel the size of improvement is similar to upgrading tubes on an amp (to ones with similar soundstage, signature but a few notches better quality). It is probably not as significant as going from $100 to $3000 amps (in general), but i can be convinced if it's like an upgrade of <$5k if playing in 10k range, with $1k being an easy buy, and $5k being "this is the last piece I need to build heaven"

I heard those through xlr output. If you use speaker taps, I don't know how the sound could be impacted if you, say, use an "off brand" speaker to xlr converter with xlr ended chimera connected to your susvara. If you want to preserve the flexibility of having xlr, maybe you can negotiate a bundle deal for a short chimera speaker to xlr adapter + chimera xlr cable?


I heard the amber on hugo2 and on someone else's dap. The difference was not enough for me to notice/remember. Amber's own signature stands out by itself. I actually don't think I've heard any headphones with signature similar to the amber so I can only go with gut. 8k is a surprise price. Considering the EE Odin retails at $3400, I'd say I expect amber to be $5~6k. I also want to note amber's signature is such a big departure from all the other IEMs I mentioned (if ALL the other iems are like 20% variance in terms of tuning, amber is like 60% different) so you may want to audition to make sure you like that tuning.

@linshu1992 do u think amber+ n30le can match the performance with some totl like susvara with the good gears (holo stack) ?

 

[Gnofnaik]

Qudelix 5k has very low output power (240mW at 32 ohm per chamnel) , the Mojo 2 is surely better (600mW at 30ohm), but you should try them on a more powerful source to get the best from them.

I used my iFi Gryphon with balanced cable (1000mW per channel @32ohm) and I found them amazing, there's a huge difference if you use the right source.

Agree. I have Gaea and Qudelix 5k, also paired with mojo2 for some weeks. On 5K, Gaea need proper eq and I almost pushed the power to max to get the sound out. It sound really bad on mojo2, thin sound, bass is gone. For a second, I thought my Mojo2 was broken. But it sounds superb on Hugo2, WA8 and Gryphon.

 

[linshu1992]

@linshu1992 do u think amber+ n30le can match the performance with some totl like susvara with the good gears (holo stack) ?

No the presentation are totally different. I do not think they give you the same experience at all, just like headphones are not going to give the same presentation as totl speakers. A well driven susvara has much wider stage (of course), more holographic sound, better details, body, and sub-bass. It also has a very different tuning. To me, the tuning is at least where 50% of amber's attraction comes from, and Susvara is a completely different flavor. As for the performance gap, it's expected. Portability poses so much more constraints.

 

[CrocCap]

We need a Can Jam no fly list for people like this. The opportunity to try new gear and form your own opinions is beyond value, people like this can ruin the experience for everyone.

How dare people have a different opinion/experience than you

 

[emdeevee]

How dare people have a different opinion/experience than you

This was not a matter of differing opinions. No one is saying that.