@subguy812 Dream XLS is now available for purchase on Music Teck. How are those sound impressions coming along? Very, very curious
-Collin-
You know, I always wondered what was
really inside one of those gold Wonka Bars...
'Turns out it's one
fiiiiine-looking pair of IEMs.
I've been running them in for the past couple days, but initial impressions suggest a signature that's quite different from both the original Dream (if I remember it correctly)
and its contemporaries, such as Sennheiser's IE800S or FAudio's Major. While those IEMs typically possess a more v-shaped response, the XLS is the opposite. There's more of an emphasis on the midrange here, while the extremes remain neutral. If you had the original Dream on one end of the spectrum, and Custom Art's FIBAE 7 and Lime Ears' Aether R on the other, the XLS would probably lie somewhere in-between; vibrant and lightly rich with an emphasis on transparency. While perhaps not as full-bodied as the FIBAE 7 (especially along the low-mids) or as saturated as the Aether R, it does straddle the line beautifully between forwardness and airiness. More importantly, its timbre is now more uniform across the board, with similar amounts of body and warmth between the lows, mids and highs. To my ears, it results in a more natural tint of reference, whereas the original was closer to neutral with deviations along the lows and low-treble for dynamic contrast.
However, this tonal detour hasn't harmed technical performance at all. DITA's trademark cleanliness, definition and refinement are all there, and they've been raised over the original through superior top-end extension. Resolution is more effortless and stable, despite the light warmth those midrange notes now have. And, the stage - while perhaps not as noticeably airy because of the upper-midrange rise - sports greater background stability and precision to my ears. Instruments are closer to you, unlike the original, which tended to push instruments to the far reaches of the stage. But, there's still a lot of space behind them to resonate and breathe. And, that boost in extension extends (no pun intended) to the bass as well. On tracks like Pusha-T's
If You Know You Know, the lows sit a touch behind the lead vocal. But, weight and physicality are both there. It’s a very
only-appears-when-called-upon low-end, which I believe suits the transparent, near-field-reference-speaker signature the XLS is going for. The contra bass on David Benoit’s
Cast Your Fate To The Wind won’t suddenly have the rumble of an electric one. But, listen to the kick and toms on a track like Dirty Loops’
Work crap Out, and you'll get impact and sustain in spades.
I think this is where I should end my initial impressions, lest I spoil the rest of my
First Look article coming in the near future. 'Hope this helps you, Collin, though I can't necessarily say the same for your wallet.
