I received the Odin from audio46 on Fri. (Great customer service!)
I won't say much about its sonic characteristics now for fear of the new toy syndrome biasing my perception, but as of now I'm not just impressed/fully satisfied, I'm fairly blown away (and that's not so easy to do with me in regards to audio gear...or anything really haha). I absolutely can not stop listening to the Odin; going through hundreds of songs and dozens of albums to see how they render the music. I haven't yet found anything the Odins haven't mastered, even across dozens of genres/sub-genres.
I will say that while the Odins do sound great out of anything, they are picky with sources to truly bloom. I tried them out of the iBasso DX160 to start; great but not superb.
Then I went to my current desktop set up, first using the RME ADI-2 DAC FS IEM out (which, ftr, I don't find that great of a source either on the IEM or full sized headphone out: I use it mostly for when I'm watching youtube or other media on my computer); again great but not superb.
Then I tried my Gilmore Lite Mk2 which has been by far my favorite desktop amp for some time since it is slightly sweet/musical/warm while still powerful and resolving, and there...there was the magic that really showed what the Odin is truly capable of. Wow. I actually involuntarily exclaimed "Oh my!" like an old pearl clutching lady upon hearing the first few seconds on the first track I played through this combo.
Switching back and forth between the Gilmore Lite Mk2 and the iBasso DX160 has shown the limitations of the latter. It just can't compare. So, as I want to also use the Odin for when I'm reading/relaxing in bed, I have decided to invest in a 1k+ DAP (it never ends does it?!).
Reading around, I'm currently strongly considering the iBasso DX300 as it seems to have good synergy with the Odin and I like the amp card switching option (at least, if it's not just a gimmick: I haven't read up on that aspect with the DX220 to discern whether the amp card differences are significant or not; if anyone has an opinion feel free to enlighten me!). I'm also looking at the HiBy R8, Shanling M8, and Cayin N6ii.
So, for now, in sum, I'm not regretting spending this amount of money on a single IEM (and I really need to sell off my CFA Solaris and even the MEST now) as I was afraid I might be: the jump in SQ is real and worth it for me. I'm very glad I made this decision.
(I reserve the right to change/qualify my views above in time, but as I've stated many times before, I have never grown to love gear I was not at first--as in literally within seconds--at least impressed by, and gear that I was at least at first impressed by has not over time devolved in my estimation as "junk" even if it has become less good or impressive as I've scaled up. So, iow, I doubt that some months from now I will view the Odin as significantly less than what I do now: I still, in fact, am impressed by aspects of the CFA Solaris and especially the MEST even if I was aware of their significant SQ limitations right away. With the Odin I hear no significant SQ limitations).
