arijitroy2
Headphoneus Supremus
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Decided to sell my headphone and desktop setup, committing myself to iems for now! Makes more sense for me now!
flinkenick's 17 Flagship IEM Shootout Thread (and general high-end portable audio discussion)
My feedback on the Cayin N8 is online. Click on the pic !
Thanks for sharing. The N8 is absurdly out of my league price wise but, like you, I was quite enamored with the sound from the 3.5 transistor output when I demoed it with my Solaris last summer. I just ordered an E01 module for my n6ii and I'm excited to hear it as I've heard it described as a "mini N8".
I spent the last four days and nights with the Noble Khan. Thank you @SeeSax for sending her my way. Khan may be male but I prefer IEMs to be female in nature.
I posted the below Khan impressions in the Noble thread. But below my Khan impressions for this thread I added a lot of comparisons with other IEMs I know well. The comparisons were done with the song “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac.
My notes on Khan:
Warm with a caveat. Very present treble, very present deep chocolaty bass. Mildly recessed mids (maybe because the bass takes over a little of the low mids and the treble presence affects the upper mids
Bass and treble are the stars. Deep bass and so present of treble in an excellent way to me.
Unique timbre to me. Likable but different. Mids took a bit to get used to. What is funny is that after switching the Khan back and forth with a bunch of other IEMs that I know well, I would get confused of which one was in my ear. When it was Khan I kept getting that special feeling of “wow this is nice, I like it” and then I would check and fine out it was the Khan.
The bass and treble are addicting the more times you inject Khan into your body. The caveat of it being warm is that it is not a warmth that you sit back and relax with. It is a warmth that calls for your attention. She actually demands your attention in a very good way!
Very brief comparisons with other IEMs:
Hyla TE5T
Same configuration as Khan except Khan has 4 BA and TE5T has 2. So much less bass with TE5T but it has a wonderful sub bass. Treble is the exact same as Khan. Khan is warmer. TET5 is more forward. Mids are more forward with TE5T probably due to less mid bass and more sub bass. I really really enjoy the TE5T. It has the T in its name for treble but the sub bass on the TE5T is divine.
Noble Katana
Treble more present with Khan. Mids are the star with Kanata. Sub bass is the second star with Katana. Katana does not have the deep Khan bass. Khan is more warm. Katana is more analytical and cuts like a knife hence the name.
Itsfit Fusion
Wonderful mid bass with both but less than Khan. Vocals are more forward with Fusion in my opinion. Treble is probably as pronounced with Fusion but comes through less with vocals of Fusion being more forward.
AAW Canary
Canary is many more rows back. Canary is about smoothness and soundstage. Canary did not come to the party to fight. Just to chill and have a few drinks. Canary is Milk chocolaty. So opposite of fighting boy whisky drinking Khan. Canary is also hard to drive even more so than Khan.
NCM Bella V2
So much thinner sounding than Khan. Not in a bad way. Bella V2 is a super Coherent IEM. All is there 3D right in front of you with Bella V2. Less Bass than Khan but still very good. Treble sound earie close to Khan but Khan treble is more pronounced.
64Audio Trio
Trio has smoother everything. It also has a unique timbre especially with the mids. Less of everything than Khan. More relaxed but not as relaxed as Canary. Treble and bass are also the stars with Trio just more subdued than Khan.
Rhapsodio Zombie Mk2
Zombie has one 10mm full range carbon fiber DD and 2 EST for the super high treble.
Zombie Mk2 has the coolest mid bass I have ever heard. Not intense like LX but just 70’s analogue cool! Zombie does have more bass presence than Khan. Treble between Khan and Zombie are similar with Khan’s treble being a little more sparkly in a good way. Vocals are a tad more recessed with Zombie. Zombie takes more juice to drive than any other IEM I have tried. Zombie will be the coolest guy in the room but very difficult to understand. Most likely some past trauma in his life. Yes, I wrote above my IEMs are female but Zombie mk2 is actually male.
I posted the below Khan impressions in the Noble thread. But below my Khan impressions for this thread I added a lot of comparisons with other IEMs I know well. The comparisons were done with the song “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac.
My notes on Khan:
Warm with a caveat. Very present treble, very present deep chocolaty bass. Mildly recessed mids (maybe because the bass takes over a little of the low mids and the treble presence affects the upper mids
Bass and treble are the stars. Deep bass and so present of treble in an excellent way to me.
Unique timbre to me. Likable but different. Mids took a bit to get used to. What is funny is that after switching the Khan back and forth with a bunch of other IEMs that I know well, I would get confused of which one was in my ear. When it was Khan I kept getting that special feeling of “wow this is nice, I like it” and then I would check and fine out it was the Khan.
The bass and treble are addicting the more times you inject Khan into your body. The caveat of it being warm is that it is not a warmth that you sit back and relax with. It is a warmth that calls for your attention. She actually demands your attention in a very good way!
Very brief comparisons with other IEMs:
Hyla TE5T
Same configuration as Khan except Khan has 4 BA and TE5T has 2. So much less bass with TE5T but it has a wonderful sub bass. Treble is the exact same as Khan. Khan is warmer. TET5 is more forward. Mids are more forward with TE5T probably due to less mid bass and more sub bass. I really really enjoy the TE5T. It has the T in its name for treble but the sub bass on the TE5T is divine.
Noble Katana
Treble more present with Khan. Mids are the star with Kanata. Sub bass is the second star with Katana. Katana does not have the deep Khan bass. Khan is more warm. Katana is more analytical and cuts like a knife hence the name.
Itsfit Fusion
Wonderful mid bass with both but less than Khan. Vocals are more forward with Fusion in my opinion. Treble is probably as pronounced with Fusion but comes through less with vocals of Fusion being more forward.
AAW Canary
Canary is many more rows back. Canary is about smoothness and soundstage. Canary did not come to the party to fight. Just to chill and have a few drinks. Canary is Milk chocolaty. So opposite of fighting boy whisky drinking Khan. Canary is also hard to drive even more so than Khan.
NCM Bella V2
So much thinner sounding than Khan. Not in a bad way. Bella V2 is a super Coherent IEM. All is there 3D right in front of you with Bella V2. Less Bass than Khan but still very good. Treble sound earie close to Khan but Khan treble is more pronounced.
64Audio Trio
Trio has smoother everything. It also has a unique timbre especially with the mids. Less of everything than Khan. More relaxed but not as relaxed as Canary. Treble and bass are also the stars with Trio just more subdued than Khan.
Rhapsodio Zombie Mk2
Zombie has one 10mm full range carbon fiber DD and 2 EST for the super high treble.
Zombie Mk2 has the coolest mid bass I have ever heard. Not intense like LX but just 70’s analogue cool! Zombie does have more bass presence than Khan. Treble between Khan and Zombie are similar with Khan’s treble being a little more sparkly in a good way. Vocals are a tad more recessed with Zombie. Zombie takes more juice to drive than any other IEM I have tried. Zombie will be the coolest guy in the room but very difficult to understand. Most likely some past trauma in his life. Yes, I wrote above my IEMs are female but Zombie mk2 is actually male.
mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
Ambient Acoustics just announced a 24 driver per side beast
anyone getting to try that out? Can’t say I’m not curious
anyone getting to try that out? Can’t say I’m not curious
Didn't the MAD24 come out with the MAD16 quite some time ago? I remember auditioning both and not coming away particularly impressed...
mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
Maybe it did, I might just be late to the party
davidmolliere
Headphoneus Supremus
Yep I auditioned both but left me unmoved as well... of all the Ambient Models LAM7 is still the one I'd pick
MrLocoLuciano
500+ Head-Fier
it did come out quite a long time ago.
I currently have them at home.
They are both very good IEM with incredible technical abilities and great mids. Like on AM7, everything is done so easily and softly that there is no waouh effect.
I'll come back later for a complete feedback.
I have to admit that I love MAD16 so far.
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Similar impressions as @Deezel177 & @davidmolliere. Not impressed at all. Poor tuning and resolution.
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MrLocoLuciano
500+ Head-Fier
very strange...
When did you @audio123 and @Deezel177 listen to it? You should listen to the last version (maybe coming from that).
Poor tunning and resolution is not the exact terms I would use
In fact @davidmolliere published a table with his listening impression from one recent meeting, I remember reading an outstanding (or similar) in some colons for MAD16 or MAD24.
It was pretty obvious that they were not bad.... But can't find it
maybe David can help us on that.
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I heard it last year. Don't think there is any revised edition of the MAD24 that I know of. I will just say that the tuning is so bad that audiophiles who try from a distributor find them bad and the distributor does not want to carry the products. Of course, to each his/her own as we all have different preferences. Personally, it is not good for me.when did you @audio123 and @Deezel177 listen to it? You should listen to the last version (maybe coming from that).
Poor tunning and resolution is not the exact terms I would use
In fact @davidmolliere published a table with his listening impression from one recent meeting, I remember reading and outstanding (or similar) in some colons for MAD16 or MAD24.
It was pretty obvious that they were not bad.... But can't find it
maybe David can help us on that.
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MrLocoLuciano
500+ Head-Fier
I can only tell you what I hear...
and it's not exactly what you're saying, it is the least we can say
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Yea definitely
MrLocoLuciano
500+ Head-Fier
Preference about frequency response I understand.
The technical abilities of an in ear is not too much subject to going from very bad to very good, this is the strange part about it.
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Maybe it could be a revised edition that you have listened to but there is no announcement of a revised edition. I know quite a handful of people who have tried them and found them bad. On this thread alone, we have @Deezel177, @davidmolliere & me. Don't wanna debate over this already so let's move on but based off my audition, I will not recommend it.
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