The irony is that in the end I ended up getting the E2000 as well because I wanted to use them for training and black felt the better choice.
Great impressions my friend!Hey, folks! ‘Wanted to drop by with some impressions from my latest visit to e-earphone Japan. Because I was in vacation mode, I didn’t write any of these impressions down on the spot, nor did I take any fancy photos. So, while I’ll always take the time to make sure my impressions are reliable no matter the brevity, I’d nevertheless recommend you take these with a grain of salt, considering I’m writing them from memory based on quick listens. Without further ado, here they are!
Final Audio A8000: These were the first ones I listened to as per @EagleWings request. But, unfortunately, I didn’t end up liking them all too much. While technical performance was good with the prerequisite amounts of definition, stereo separation and stage expansion, I did find its timbre a tad too light; insubstantial, at times. Vocals didn’t have the strongest foundation, because of a lack of presence around 1-2kHz. And, ultimately, I didn’t find the midrange full-bodied, vivid or dynamic enough to come off natural. This did end up tainting my experience as a whole, so I didn’t spend too much time on them before moving on. Personally, I found the fuller, warmer E4000 far more enjoyable. But, as always, your mileage may vary.
Campfire Andromeda Q4 and MW10: I then moved onto the Japan-exclusive Campfire Audio models. I was recommended the Q4 by @ranfan, and I did find it quite enjoyable. It had a fun, all-round signature not unlike the classic Lime Ears Aether, and it worked well with a variety of genres. Like the majority of Campfire’s efforts, it had great clarity, openness and definition, but without the brightness that - say - the Andromeda has, for example.
While I’d planned to initially, I didn’t end up purchasing it, because I found the two dips in its FR a hair too noticeable for my tastes. The first was at 4kHz, which gave vocals a tight, compact shape, and neutral positioning. It also gave the high-mids a slightly drier timbre. While you’d usually compensate for that neutrality by adding energy and articulation in the treble, the Q4’s was on the more forgiving side, which left lead instruments less punchy and present than I’d like.
Forgot to take a photo of them. Whoops.
That leniency up top came from the Q4’s second dip at 6kHz. In exchange for making basically all recordings sound great on these IEMs, it gave cymbals and hi-hats a slight case of diffuseness. S’s began to sound like F’s, for example. So, while I can certainly see tons of people enjoying this signature - especially those who love forgiving clarity, and don’t mind neutrally-positioned vocals - it didn’t gel with my preferences enough for me to spend on it.
Afterwards, I gave Campfire’s Andromeda MW10 a brief listen as well. While I don’t entirely remember what the OG sounded like, I found this variant rather bright in tone; almost incoherently so. Tonally, I quite preferred the Q4 over it.
intime Sora Light: Wow, talk about a surprise! The Sora had quite the extraordinary bass response; meaty, punchy, clear and dynamic; all in equal measure. It’s probably one of the mot pleasurable low-ends I’ve heard in recent memory, and a part of me wishes someone could take that DD and low-pass it to put in all IEMs.
qdc Fusion: Tonally, qdc’s hybrid Fusion - unexpectedly - became my favourite of the day. Despite its hybrid configuration, it wasn’t bass emphasised by any means. Rather, it had quite a neutral, balanced signature with qdc’s signature blend of midrange solidity and top-end sparkle. Though, I felt the top-end was more refined and silky on this model, which made it sound more linear and natural (and less balls-to-the-wall fun) than their Anole VX or Gemini, for example. The Fusion is a model I wish to revisit in the future, and I think it has great potential within the price range.
JH Audio Jimi: I was very pleasantly surprised to see JH Audio’s brand-new Jimi available to demo at e-earphone, and - upon listening to it - I found its signature equally as surprising. The Jimi was a thick, dark, gooey-sounding IEM with a very noticeable treble shelve. The in-ear dipped quite massively past 8kHz or so, which is what gave it its distinctly-coloured sound. The treble did extend quite capably - so cymbal tails and overtones were deftly resolved - and they’re super-cleanly refined as well without any sort of diffuseness, which is impressive. There certainly wasn’t any roll-of, per se, but those higher frequencies were relegated to the very, very back of the mix because of that strong upper-treble dip.
Its midrange was rather forward-sounding as well; fat, saturated and intimate. Combined with that top-end shelve not providing the greatest amount of headroom, you will get quite a warm, full-sounding and gluey soundscape with very little air between images or between layers. It’s a sig where everything sorta congealed into one cohesive mass, for better or for worse. So, if you found the Layla or EE Phantom already too dark for your tastes, the Jimi will be even more so. But, if you want a very forgiving, vocal-emphasised sound with a thick, dark tone, you’d most probably enjoy it.
Westone ES70: Finally, I got to hear the universal demo for Westone’s brand-new ES70, which became my 2nd favourite listen of the day. Like the Fusion, it had a well-balanced, neutral tonality, but it also sported greater extension, resolution and stereo separation. It’s definitely up there from a technical standpoint, and I could see its viability as a professional tool. From bottom-to-top, images sported great texture and nuance, and its top-end in particular straddled between smoothness and clarity really nicely. The only colouration I detected was a slightly recessed upper-midrange; between 3-4kHz. It’s the typical upper-mid dip used to boost definition and headroom. Female vocals and snare drums may not project as powerfully as they could, but it’s a well-implemented colouration at the end of the day that never perturbs or takes away.
Forgot to photo these as well. -_-
That’ll be it for today’s earphone round-up! If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be enjoying the rest of my Japan trip, and I should be back with new content on THL very soon.Cheers!
Shame the A8000 might not be quite there in terms of timbre, but I am still very curious about them. Hopefully more impressions will be available soon.
courtesy of the great guys at AudioPrimate, 
