[jsmiller58]

found this https://penonaudio.com/accessories/earphone-case/shozy-aluminum-case.html for all who want this kind of case for the fearless.

Look really nice, but why not go for Pelican 1010 or 1020 cases? I have several of these, even a 1040 for larger gear...

 

[cr3ativ3]

The undecidable Dilemma that I find myself in is deciding to go S8 in spending $539 cuz if I'm going to do it I'm going to want it to look like carbon fiber so there's an additional $50. Then having to return the q1 DAC / amp because I already spent too much money on the S8. And using them off just my Note 8 alone and it not being good enough. Whereas originally I ordered the dm6 and was going to run off my Note 8 and the DAC / amp. For literally less than half the money.

yeah .. dont spend all your money in this hobby...
maybe the dm6 or s6 rui +dac is the better way for you as s8 alone...
the dm6 is very good too!

 

[Chaossquared84]

I am deep in the audio lifestyle. Have built speakers before. Was going to go to school to become an audio engineer and try and work doing home theater. Life threw a curve ball and took me away from what I wanted. I know you spend the majority of your money on what the sound comes out of first. I still just worry is it worth double the money and to run off my phone with some paid music player app.

 

[Chaossquared84]

Since I don't know how to do a picture attemp 2.

 

[cr3ativ3]

I am deep in the audio lifestyle. Have built speakers before. Was going to go to school to become an audio engineer and try and work doing home theater. Life threw a curve ball and took me away from what I wanted. I know you spend the majority of your money on what the sound comes out of first. I still just worry is it worth double the money and to run off my phone with some paid music player app.

For me... simple no. Only Phone .. is 1. not loud enough ( for me ) 2. really not the same level as a good dap with balanced out..when i take my Legend X and listen trough my iphone or my QP2R its sounds like its not the same iem.

 

[mr.karmalicious]

DAC + S6 is probably the way to go. If you do go with S8, grab an apple USB C dongle to use with your note 8; it's better than the built-in DAC and is $9 shipped. Not to say anything of power, but in terms of fidelity it punches at a level 10x its price.

 

[jsmiller58]

I am deep in the audio lifestyle. Have built speakers before. Was going to go to school to become an audio engineer and try and work doing home theater. Life threw a curve ball and took me away from what I wanted. I know you spend the majority of your money on what the sound comes out of first. I still just worry is it worth double the money and to run off my phone with some paid music player app.

I have the DM6 and the S8F. Is the S8F better than the DM6? To me, yes. Is it 2x better? Not even close. If I had not been introduced to the S8F I would have been very happy with the DM6. I don't know about the S8, but my LG v30 sounds great with my IEMs - I have a couple of portable DAC/amps, but for convenience I often skip using them.

Again, not terribly helpful, I know, but would add don't go chasing the best when good enough really is good enough. If money is tight, stick with the good enough solution. Sounds like DM6 off of either your phone or DAC/amp, to me anyway...

 

[Chaossquared84]

One thought that seems to be kind of the winning situation is to stick with the dm6 get the copper cable get a halfway decent dap let the dm6 burn in and then kind of see where my ears fall with an I am since this is going to be my dipping my toe into the IEM world.

 

[mr.karmalicious]

One thought that seems to be kind of the winning situation is to stick with the dm6 get the copper cable get a halfway decent dap let the dm6 burn in and then kind of see where my ears fall with an I am since this is going to be my dipping my toe into the IEM world.

Of course--very surprisingly, ahem--people in the DM6 thread who were **** all over the stock cable are trying it again months later and being like, "wow, this is fine! I can barely [re: can't] tell a difference between this and my copper cable I've been using." People here are really reluctant to acknowledge the fact that the brain exists and is very plastic in terms of sense interpretation. Your call, regardless!

@jsmiller58 the V30 is decidedly great especially for a phone, it has a Sabre DAC and can do 24/96 and all that. The ES100 also uses the Sabre, though it has two of them so it can do balanced output or series unbalanced output.

 

[Chaossquared84]

Why I am feeling like need to go Dm6 with a dap bc of my Note 8 which isn't a v30. Then get the s8f/p or what comes out that is better when I have another $539.

 

[jnsaudiophile]

TOTL phones and some of the more expensive variants are all just sidegrades. What they offer are a difference in sound signature that you may prefer over the other. This is why most reviews are long subjective dives into the pieces of sound they hear and what to take away from that sound. There are compromises even in the TOTL earphones but it is more pronounced in the mainstream lineup, there's ones built specfically for bass, v-shape, harman. There's plenty of different kinds of sounds and find a sound that you prefer instead of worrying about if you got value out of the phone you have versus what's out there. I purchased my first 500+ earphones in the S8pro but I know it is going to give me what I look for, granularity of the details, textures, a bit of a soundstage, presence. I don't really care for a thumping bass so I know I wont be looking for that. Mind you this is off what others have said about the S8pro/S8f, I haven't actually auditioned them in real life but I'm just going by what people have said about it. Enjoy what you have, there wont be huge differences going to 500+ from 200+ phones. It is in the $200 below and then going to $500+ that you can objectively tell there's a difference.

I went from: vsonic gr07 -> jvc ha fxz200 -> kz zs6 -> zs10 -> bgvp dmg -> s8pro (soon!), I figured out what I wanted in the sound signature with the zs6, I want details and separation so I went for the s8pro.

tl;dr: find a sound you like and enjoy what you have.

 

[courierdriver]

Why I am feeling like need to go Dm6 with a dap bc of my Note 8 which isn't a v30. Then get the s8f/p or what comes out that is better when I have another $539.

Personally, I'd stick with the Note 8 plus Q1MK2 and DM6. The dac/amp is really good, and I'm using it with my Galaxy S8+ and Kanas Pro. Save your money until you have enough to comfortably get Fearless S8 plus a bit extra. You can always sell your DM6 later if you want. In the meanwhile, I'd be happy with what I have for a while and get to know the DM6 and enjoy it with the Q1MK2. It really is a great dac/amp and it's got a balanced output. You'd have to spend alot more to get a dap with balanced out and tbh, the UI on a phone is much quicker and better with less lag than even some of the best daps out there. Just my 2 cents...

 

[perfecious]

Fearless Audio S8 Freedom vs. S8 Pro:



They are very close, with the Pro having boosted bass (could be caused by seal difference, but I trust HBB, so it's probably not that), which to me doesn't make sense, because it was supposed to be more neutral/reference. They are both V-shaped, with the Pro having slightly more polite treble (in the problematic 6-8kHz region). I am working on compensations for the Harman target, but I have to "fix" a few things, that have to do with the graphs (linear vs. logarithmic), which is trowing a wrench in my wheel currently, so give me a few more days to take care of that, after which I will make "compensated" versions of the graphs.

 

[warriorpoet]

That's so far off the Fearless graph it's confusing...

 

[manukmanohar]

Fearless Audio S8 Freedom vs. S8 Pro:



They are very close, with the Pro having boosted bass (could be caused by seal difference, but I trust HBB, so it's probably not that), which to me doesn't make sense, because it was supposed to be more neutral/reference. They are both V-shaped, with the Pro having slightly more polite treble (in the problematic 6-8kHz region). I am working on compensations for the Harman target, but I have to "fix" a few things, that have to do with the graphs (linear vs. logarithmic), which is trowing a wrench in my wheel currently, so give me a few more days to take care of that, after which I will make "compensated" versions of the graphs.

Thanks for this comparison. Would love to see the harman compensated graph as well.

The S8 Pro frequency response curve was a surprise, especially with (as you mentioned) , it being even bassier. Even more confused with the namings, because the freq curve of S6 Rui and S8 Pro seem similar.

But there is an S6 Pro also. Shouldn't S6 Pro and S8 Pro have been more reference tuned. SMH. Will have to wait for HBB's comparison , i guess. (between S8Free and S8 Pro)