Just when I thought it was safe to stop updating...
Last month I acquired an Empire Ears Legend X to fulfill my "endgame goal" of having on hand an IEM that delivers a balanced presentation (Solaris SE) and another that delivers a more fun and "basshead" presentation (Legend X). Fundamentally these two IEMs epitomize the two major pillars of my tastes. A couple weeks ago I had an opportunity to pick up universal Vision Ears VE8, thus completing my current “holy trinity” of TOTL IEMs. Yesterday I had the pleasure of connecting with
@SBranson for a “mini meet” during which I was able to spend a bit of time with his 64 Audio u12t. Following is an adjusted ranking and some thoughts as of today.
The order here is simply a representation of their relative positioning in my life at this moment-- some of them are "all rounders", others attain their position by doing a few things very very well, and others are ranked highly because they are so good at what they do, despite the fact that it doesn’t totally align with my preferences. What follows is in no way meant to convey any sort of absolute order of said IEMs' objective worth. IEMs, for me are more a "whole is greater than the sum of the parts" sort of deal. A superficial demo (~1 hour or less) will give you some idea of salient characteristics and certain technical features, but to really get a sense of where something fits in the grand scheme of things you need to spend some time with it. I am personally less interested in the individual characteristic components of an IEM's sound and much more interested in the overall gestalt it presents-- how everything fits together as a whole, which is often something that becomes apparent only after you've spent a good deal of time with them. In short: this is a work in progress.
1) Vision Ears VE8—I’ve only had this for a few days so it’s still the honeymoon phase. My only gripe so far is that I'm detecting a dash of sibilance here and there in some tracks-- s, sh and ch sounds sometimes have a dash too much emphasis. Now it's only in some tracks...in most tracks I don't notice this much at all but it has been a slight nitpick here and there. I'm not sure if this is 1) just how the VE8 sounds, 2) a problem with the recording that the VE8 is picking up or 3) something to do with the re-shelling process and the fact that the drivers in mine aren't totally optimized for the shells they are in. I noticed on Crinacle's site the graph for the VE8 uni has an 8k spike that is absent from the custom he measured, so maybe this is what I'm hearing. Consequently if I drop 8k by a couple DB o I don’t really notice it at all
All of that said...
The VE8 is a tremendous IEM that is way more similar to the Solaris than different. They both go for the same sort of balanced sound; they are both pretty smooth up top; they both fall decidedly on the “musical/engaging” in that they sacrifice a bit of pure detail and resolution for the sake of a more “fun and engaging sound”; they both excel at separation and imaging and lastly they both "stage" music in a similarly immersive way (as contrasted with something like the LX, where it feels as though you're sitting in the audience with all the sound coming towards you-- with Solaris, and with VE8, you feel like you're surrounded on all sides by the sound. In many respects I would say that of all the IEMs I've heard the VE8 would be the most natural upgrade to Solaris for someone who wants to go custom and is after a slightly more refined presentation of the same sort of balanced neutral-warm sound.
One thing I do prefer about Solaris is the bass texture and sense of vastness and space. VE8 bass is excellent, sufficiently extended and well textured...but Solaris has that DD element that simply can't be replicated by any BA setup. The most prominent aspect of the VE8 is with the midrange. I've always loved the instrumental timbre of Solaris but VE8 takes it to another level of naturalness and nuance-- things sound a dash more "real". Vocals are very slightly less forward than on Solaris SE, particularly male, but both male and female vocals sound more bodied and natural on VE8. Stage on VE8 is slightly more "intimate" but similarly laid out. The sound is more clear and nuanced-- I can hear more detail and separation on VE8. To my ears things sound slightly more "3 D". Take all of this with a grain of salt, however, as I don't think I really have the palette to accurately describe all the similarities/differences. But the VE8 does seem to take a lot of what I love about Solaris and refine it a wee bit.
2) Campfire Audio Solaris Special Edition -> This IEM best encapsulates everything I look for in a monitor-- natural, balanced, spacious, clear, impactful, dynamic bass, not to mention beautiful to look at. A subtle but clear step up from OG Solaris to my ears with improved clarity, more robust and forward vocals and cleaner bass. What the Solaris does better than any other IEM I have heard is provide coherent and well balanced signature within a fully rendered 3-d space combined with impeccable layering and separation-- it doesn't excel at any one thing FR wise, but it does "everything" better than most things I've heard (to my ears). I know many have cited "weirdness" in the upper midrange as an issue with Solaris...but I've never really detected it, much less been put off by it. And yes, there is a hint of the "BA texture" to the bass...but it's far and away a DD above all. What I really appreciate about this IEM more than anything is the perfect balance it brings to the spectrum-- there's just enough of everything and nothing is overwhelming...and this is something that stands out more and more as my hours on it wear on-- CFA has, imho, reached a "zen" level of balance with Solaris and done a peerless job of combining BA and DD drivers into a balanced "total package" IEM. Solaris might not be for everyone, but it's definitely for me.
3) 64 Audio u12t -> Ahh the mighty u12t. Ordinarily this section of my list is confined to IEMs I have owned and thus know well enough to confidently rank. Yesterday was my second demo of u12t and it clicked with me this time in a way that it didn’t last time and it helped me come to a greater understanding of my own tastes and preferences. The u12t is absolutely a top tier IEM...listening to it I was blown away by the detail, the staging, the precision...it really exposes everything in the recording you're listening to. This is an IEM for the analyst who values correctness and precision above all. I was able to listen to a song and individually isolate and analyze all the different layers and elements in the recording...the u12t is probably the best reference monitor I've ever heard. When I originally heard it I found the mid-range a bit diffuse, there were some upper peaks that were a bit much on a couple songs...but on the whole I found it a bit analytic for my tastes...though at the time I first heard it I didn't have a clear conception of what that meant, it was just how I felt. When I was listening to the u12t today I was in awe of it...such a great reference sound but with killer DD-like bass. Ultimately for me (and the way my mind works when I listen to music) with the level of detail in u12t I often found myself zoning out on all the different layers of a recording-- but I have a harder time viewing it as a unity...I'm not talking about a coherence problem or anything...just that u12t is so good at what it does that I just get lost in all the detail and “forget the forest for the trees” so to speak. Solaris, on the other hand, while nice and detailed, sacrifices a bit of that for a more musical sound...it's not as technically proficient in some respects, nor as tonally correct, but I have an easier time getting lost in the recording as a whole than I do with u12t. u12t is more correct but Solaris is more fun, immersive and engaging to my ears and sensibilities.
In brief: the u12t is I think better at what it is trying to accomplish than Solaris is, and for that I am ranking it very highly, but my personal listening preferences I veer towards the Solaris despite the fact that in many ways u12t is a better, more technically accomplished IEM. U12t is more intellectually satisfying, but Solaris is more emotionally involving (for me). So in a nutshell I will probably rank them side by side with caveats that your personal preferences, music tastes, etc. could lead one toward one or the other. If I could get Solaris bass , space and musicality with a dash of u12t stage and detail all combined with VE8 mids and treble I would stop chasing the unicorn.
4) Empire Ears Legend X -> Bass of the gods. The thundering yang to complement the ethereal yin of the Solaris. With the LX the whole signature is defined by the bass-- it's large, it's powerful and it's everywhere. Thankfully it's also very resolving and detailed so that the rest of the sound isn't drowned out in the bass. Nonetheless the bass is present and it dominates. The sheer quantity of bass makes the sound is a bit "closed in"...like you're in a club with the bass pounding...I wouldn't go so far as to say congested, as one of the great things about LX is that it somehow avoids this despite all the bass...it's why I would call it the ultimate "basshead audiophile" IEM. Yesterday I was coming home after the meet and thought to myself that I had spent so much time with Solaris and VE8 the preceding days that I'd neglected the LX, so I put them in for a bit and was reminded why and how much I still love them. They are not an IEM you can listen to "passively"-- they command your attention and are utterly captivating when you feel like getting rocked by vibrant and detailed low end. The key is that it's so refined and resolving. The CFA Atlas (which I also love) was described as having "get off the bus and crap yourself bass"... well by that metric the LX has "park your Mercedes and crap yourself bass". It's definitely a "guilty pleasure", but I'm ok with guilt and I love pleasure. Nonetheless, due to the robust low end on the LX it can be said to be lacking a bit of air, which I get from my #1 and #2 above. Thus the 3 are a perfect collection for me. The LX is akin to listening to music in a club-- a more confined space, with the thundering bass permeating everything, much like the oil in an olive. If the LX is like listening in a club the Solaris is like listening on a mountain top-- grounded in the bedrock of the powerful bass, but wide open up top, and to the left and right, so everything has room to breathe. Together they are a great 1-2 punch.
5)
QDC Anole VX --> Clear, resolving, balanced, impactful, detailed, well executed bass, stage deep AF...if anything a little too "analytical". It's very detailed and involving but it lacks the sheer sense of space as well as the beautifully natural timbre and DD bass that the Solaris provides. When I first heard this I was very impressed with its clarity, balance and detail. Some have described it as "boring" but I would disagree with that-- it's more for the analyst and less for those who need to be "swept off their feet". It's very vivid in some regions of the treble, to the point that certain instruments, like pianos, sound a little unnatural, and just ever so slightly fatiguing on poor recordings. Still a solid top tier IEM and one I was very grateful to have spent some time with.
5b)
Campfire Solaris OG --> See #1. I'm really splitting hairs here with #5, but since the VX did what no other IEM was able to do-- lure me away from Solaris for a bit. While I stand by my assessment of the improvements of the SE over the OG, I'm not entirely sure if Solaris SE winning me over again was a result of said improvements, or of the fact that I just was just missing the Solaris sound. In any case, here we are.
6)
Sony IER Z1R --> Natural timbre (about on par with Solaris for me), excellent treble and peerless bass texture and extension, but I found this to be a bit of a double-edged sword in that I wished there was more impact in the bass-- it's about on par with Solaris in terms of sub-bass impact and less than Solaris in mid bass impact to my ears. The recessed lower mids were one of the deal breakers for me here-- I listen to a lot of male vocals (Sinatra, Knopfler, Morissey) and I found them all a tad lacking...which I could have forgiven if there was more impact in that delicious bass. Ultimately the Z1R occupies a weird sort of "no man's land" for me in that it lacks the bass impact I crave in a "v shaped" monitor but its mids were too recessed to satisfy me as a balanced one. Also, to my ears there is strange disconnect between the upper and lower drivers and once I picked up on it it more-or-less signaled the death knell of my relationship with this IEM. I understand that this IEM game is constantly a game of give and take and that some sacrifices were made in coherence to preserve the purity of the bass, which may work for some but it didn't work for me. YMMV, and all that. I think it's still a great IEM, and I know it's beloved by many-- it just doesn't float my boat in the same way that the ones above do.
6)
Campfire Audio Atlas --> I'll always have a soft spot for the Atlas as it was basically my "gateway" to TOTL IEMs. Excellent bass impact, very clear and isolated, but a slight step below the LX in terms of refinement and not really an "all rounder." Still, if you had the money to spend and were after "crap yourself" bass cannon but didn't want to shell for the LX, this would get my vote in a heartbeat.
