Which little bird told you that?Don't forget itsfit Lab's Fusion as well, but something tells me it won't be itsfit's flagship for too much longer...
Also on the topic of TOTL without sky high prices, I want to call the NCM Bella out again. Nine driver hybrid (8ba, 1dd) and around $1k USD. Stellar sound quality with a solid low end punch, sparkly treble and a high level of craftsmanship. @thomaskr has a real winner with that IEM. A worthy consideration. I got one on loan and still want to buy one once I get my inventory into the single digits
-Collin-
Ehhh on the whole fair margins... even the biggest companies in the industry make a couple of million revenue at the very best and their labor costs are crazy. I think the current price point is probably the most optimal one that will ensure these companies don’t start trying to compromise on quality service etc to stay in businessFair point... a lot of people though consider TOTL in the 2-4K range... TOTL price (these days) vs TOTL performance
Still you’re right it would be nice to open TOTL to people who can’t afford them. ChiFi is surely helping people he cause as well.. curious about IEMs like Fearless Roland
My point was more along the lines of decently priced TOTL, eg with fair margins. Some (few) shops keep it real others (most) ust ride the trend...
I remember when TOTL peaked at 1K.
Luckily you also have great gear at decent prices like Meze 99 classics for headphones or ChiFi IEM at 2/300$ that get you 75% of the way. I loved IT01S at 200 for example and the Rhapsodio Orla is great at 300. But even Japanese Final E5000 was such a treat at 250. There is hope yet
Now headfi gear is far away from most people with low quality gear for sure... those people just go “what!?!” when you tell them about your gear price... they don’t even imagine the performance and enjoyability of hifi gear... they would be blown away... I have witnessed this several times...
Me: Hey look Dan posts something on head-fi, I should go and check it ou......
... it's all about decisions...
Still a better love story than Twilight.
Fully agreed. I used to listen to a variety of IEMs, now I’m mostly forcing myself to use anything else
I personally experience something completely new these days. It's called contentment
Like David is about to do i could easily sell all my gear and just keep the Elysium (with stock cable) and the VE8 (with Leo 2)...and my beloved SP1000m.
It doesn't matter what i throw @ the Elysium... it sounds just perfect for me. We've already passed the honeymoon period so i don't lie to myself when i say it's deep love without erotic ambitions. Hopefully this (erotic ambitions) won't ever happen.
The Elysium just shows up the perfect mix of everything to my ears. Just the right amount of bass combined with the sweetest, most natural sounding mids (so far) and a treble extension that doesn't leave me wanting anything more. What a sexy performance....
Also on the topic of TOTL without sky high prices, I want to call the NCM Bella out again. Nine driver hybrid (8ba, 1dd) and around $1k USD. Stellar sound quality with a solid low end punch, sparkly treble and a high level of craftsmanship. @thomaskr has a real winner with that IEM. A worthy consideration. I got one on loan and still want to buy one once I get my inventory into the single digits
-Collin-
Don't forget itsfit Lab's Fusion as well, but something tells me it won't be itsfit's flagship for too much longer...
Daniel is bad for our wallets
(Just kidding Daniel ).
Thanks!
And yeah for now it's circumstantial - I don't quite have a space in our apt that I can set up as a listening station without my wife throwing a shoe at me, and our daughter sometimes sleeps in our room, so I need to be able to listen in different rooms.
Our next move will have a place for a desktop setup for sure
PS: About the weight, I would just take it as a number until you try it. I had the Empyrean on loaner about 2 weeks ago, which is regarded as one of the most comfortable HPs out there, and while it was undoubtably lighter, I found the Auteur more comfortable overall, and unless you're planning on headbanging constantly while listening to music you will not likely notice them. And, they do also have the option to get it with the magnesium (lighter) chasis. Write up comparison on the below coming soon, but in short, I prefer the Auteur overall, but the Empyrean could be complementary in that it could be preferred with specific genres, but not as an all-rounder, IMO.
