[tienbasse]

Whoah what an attitude. You're "hissing" like a cat! Haha. You sure it was you that was hissing and not the iems themselves?

I was just trying to answer politely. If people find it too "offensive" I will edit, its not a war, just a discussion.

 

[Larethio]

I was just trying to answer politely. If people find it too "offensive" I will edit, its not a war, just a discussion.

Lighten up brother I was just joking around

 

[twister6]

 

  I'm still trying to digest a statement above that Adel U3 is more exciting than Zeus, while listening from N5 which is known for hissing artifact even with some of the average impedance/sensitivity IEMs.  I only experienced Zeus-R and U6 and U12, but... hey, I guess we hear things differently

 

I wasn't aware that the N5 was prone to hissing, I'd appreciate some links on the matter. And I'll probably go back to test it again with 2 other DAPs if this can help some of you justifying the huge financial plunge.
While I'm sure I'd appreciate using a Mojo, I'm not interested in carrying an amp around and the EU price for it is just ridiculous.
 
And again, nowhere did I say that Zeus R was sounding bad, I just don't find it exciting.
I wish people would read CAREFULLY: there's a difference between technical capabilities and enjoyment, and this difference varies from people to people.
Is the Zeus R capable ? Yes, with a hiss-free source.
Is it enjoyable for me? No, as most pure BA-based IEMs that I have tried (not all of them though).
 
In the Adel range, I tried U3, U4, U8 and U12. Same comment applies. While the U12 is certainly the most capable (and balanced, along with the flat U4), it's not exciting to me. The "old" U3 (it is one of the very first models in the range) had this pleasant bass and treble, that I also find in Fidue A83. Guess I prefer flattened V signatures. For me, a current issue when people add more BA drivers to strenghten the mids, they tend to tend to tune the bass down to avoid bleeding (typically Fidue A91 vs A83), and I lose the excitement (which doesn't mean that A91 is bad, it sounds very good). It is just me of course, others may be more focused on details or separation to get pleased.
 
I'll give it another try this week-end, when I spend more time with the CAH 8.2.

 
Calm down, bud, nobody is trying to attack you

  We all come here to share our subjective opinion, where there is no such thing as right or wrong because we all hear things differently.  Plus, sometimes the same term in describing a sound could mean a different thing to different people, and I'm glad you explained your point of view!
 
I personally never heard the original Zeus, only Zeus-R which I'm intimately familiar with, so when I hear people saying that Zeus is better than Zeus-R because it's more mid-centric while Z-R is more balanced, I draw a conclusion that original one won't be my cup of tea.  Just my personal opinion, doesn't mean one is better than the other.  All a matter of personal taste.
 
Regarding hissing and sources, you can read my review of Zeus-R where I covered how I hear the pair up with different sources and also read my other reviews of DAPs (though some might be a bit out of date), all could be found HERE.  Btw, I'm not saying Zeus-R only exhibits some hissing with N5, it does to a varying degree (from subtle to a more noticeable) with different sources, and with some it's silent.  Based on the testing of i5 I'm doing now, I find background hissing noise more attenuated in comparison to N5 with sensitive IEMs/CIEMs.  Keep in mind, it's not just a function of a source with its output impedance value and head-amp implementation, but also the impedance and sensitivity of IEMs.  One fantastic solution is to use iFi iEMatch - its basically a high quality dual setting impedance adapter that fixes hissing problem

 

[NaiveSound]

I found Zeus 14 to be more exiting, with more emotion and better vocals over thr R, but that is not flat response or balanced in any way, it is beautifully colored. With that said the R variant is superior in linearity and of course each are better for different tracks.

Cayin 5 does not do these iems justice.

I find mojo is decent with about a (3.5 out of 10) on the hiss, while many other Daps had increased hiss.

I find the R to have slightly less hiss

But both to be amazing. Of course significantly more exiting than a laid back boomish k10

 

[tienbasse]

I found Zeus 14 to be more exiting, with more emotion and better vocals over thr R, but that is not flat response or balanced in any way, it is beautifully colored. With that said the R variant is superior in linearity and of course each are better for different tracks.

Cayin 5 does not do these iems justice.

I find mojo is decent with about a (3.5 out of 10) on the hiss, while many other Daps had increased hiss.

I find the R to have slightly less hiss

But both to be amazing. Of course significantly more exiting than a laid back boomish k10

I gave the Zeus R another chance with other DAPs and they're hissing less indeed. But I can't get used to this flat signature, it's very detailed but lacks this organic/warm sound that I love.
My attraction to the CAH 8.2 certainly confirms this.

 

[NaiveSound]

I gave the Zeus R another chance with other DAPs and they're hissing less indeed. But I can't get used to this flat signature, it's very detailed but lacks this organic/warm sound that I love.
My attraction to the CAH 8.2 certainly confirms this.

Give a shot to the Zeus 14, not flat, just amazing and beats all in vocals and overall emotion.

 

[tienbasse]

Give a shot to the Zeus 14, not flat, just amazing and beats all in vocals and overall emotion.

Would be a huge hole in my wallet though.

I was politely asked to test them by the nice guys of MS in Singapore, but they weren't really in my price range (<1500$).

 

[Subhakar]

Zeus housing size might be smaller than usual in the new production with Adel tech?

 

[NaiveSound]

Out of the many strengths of Zeus XIV and R, what top strength is your number 1?

 

[Subhakar]

The new Zeus with Adel tech is of smaller housing size than the pre-Adel Zeus?

 

[bvng3540]

The new Zeus with Adel tech is of smaller housing size than the pre-Adel Zeus?

Per Jack the new Zeus ADEL will be 3D printed so the shell will be smaller

 

[Subhakar]

Per Jack the new Zeus ADEL will be 3D printed so the shell will be smaller

Any guesstimate % smaller? Thanks.

 

[flipper203]

How would you compare zeus r with the roxanes and the Oriolus?

 

[tunes]

Has anyone done a head-to-head comparison of the Zeus –R versus the JH audio Layla?

 

[Spamateur]

How would you compare zeus r with the roxanes and the Oriolus?

I know this is an old comment, but I found the Roxannes to be disappointing. I think they lacked in clarity and detail. I looked back through my postings to when I owned them (2 and a half years ago) and I described the tonality of the Roxannes as "thick, dark and intimate" which matches my memory of them. I also found them to have a bit of harshness with the treble depending on what tips were used (these were the universal fit). The Zeus-R is a tad warm with a slightly thicker than neutral tonality (enough to lend good body to the mids) but with excellent treble extension and detail without being fatiguing. They're enormously better than the Roxannes from my memory.