[mvvRAZ]

I tried that. That Khan shaped hole in my pocket is the result.

Yeahhh, but when I get a “best in class” IEM i at least know that if I don’t like it, I don’t like that whole class. In a very twisted way I’m saving money here! don’t mess with my logic please I have so little to hang on to in this hobby

 

[KuroKitsu]

Yeahhh, but when I get a “best in class” IEM i at least know that if I don’t like it, I don’t like that whole class. In a very twisted way I’m saving money here! don’t mess with my logic please I have so little to hang on to in this hobby

Ofc not! Still have to live vicariously through you regarding full sized headphones. Though I'm leaning towards a third iem in my stable.

 

[Wyville]

Oh dear, I seem to have been remiss regarding pupdates. Sorry @proedros!

 

[mvvRAZ]

Ofc not! Still have to live vicariously through you regarding full sized headphones. Though I'm leaning towards a third iem in my stable.

Uuuu interesting! Any specific IEMs that you might be interested in?

I’m actually currently spending a few days with the Diana V2 and the ifi BL (out of the LPGT DAC but any half decent DAP should be fine here), and I can tell you the pairing is incredible. Once again a step closer to confirming that the 5000$ amplifier is not the #1 necessity

(Sorry I keep venting about that but I’ve gotten so annoyed with all these obscene amp and DAC recommendations when I clearly state that I’m not interested... I’ve resorted to saying I don’t have enough space on my desk for one )

 

[davidmolliere]

It's not the Diana (still have to hear this one) but I have been rekindling with headphones lately and I am extremely impressed by iBasso SR2 which holds insane value for money IMHO, but iBasso has always been a specialist of that... Vocals in particular are simply fantastic, waiting for Cayin C9 portable amp to get out to enjoy tubes on top but Hiby R8 does a fantastic job on its own already and the SR2 is easy to drive. Next time I spend for a flagship I might get something like Empyrean rather than an IEM...

 

[mvvRAZ]

It's not the Diana (still have to hear this one) but I have been rekindling with headphones lately and I am extremely impressed by iBasso SR2 which holds insane value for money IMHO, but iBasso has always been a specialist of that... Vocals in particular are simply fantastic, waiting for Cayin C9 portable amp to get out to enjoy tubes on top but Hiby R8 does a fantastic job on its own already and the SR2 is easy to drive. Next time I spend for a flagship I might get something like Empyrean rather than an IEM...

+1 for the cayin C9. I’m holding off getting the new idsd signature (and selling my BL) until I find out more about it. Seems like a super neat piece of gear and it looks subliminal

 

[Frankie D]

It's not the Diana (still have to hear this one) but I have been rekindling with headphones lately and I am extremely impressed by iBasso SR2 which holds insane value for money IMHO, but iBasso has always been a specialist of that... Vocals in particular are simply fantastic, waiting for Cayin C9 portable amp to get out to enjoy tubes on top but Hiby R8 does a fantastic job on its own already and the SR2 is easy to drive. Next time I spend for a flagship I might get something like Empyrean rather than an IEM...

I have been thinking about the Empyrean as well. Need to learn a bit more. Would love to audition it. I looked at some reviews of the Abyss 1266 Phi TC and they look like a pain to constantly adjust. I am also unsure how to connect two separate wires (one for each side ). If you all have any experience with them please let me know. Tks.

 

[mvvRAZ]

I have been thinking about the Empyrean as well. Need to learn a bit more. Would love to audition it. I looked at some reviews of the Abyss 1266 Phi TC and they look like a pain to constantly adjust. I am also unsure how to connect two separate wires (one for each side ). If you all have any experience with them please let me know. Tks.

You only need to do that if you want to connect the 1266 to the speaker section of your amp, but that’s also a little risky considering many of them are way overpowered for just about any pair of headphones. I’d recommend a decent HP amp instead personally

 

[Wyville]

I’m actually currently spending a few days with the Diana V2 and the ifi BL (out of the LPGT DAC but any half decent DAP should be fine here), and I can tell you the pairing is incredible. Once again a step closer to confirming that the 5000$ amplifier is not the #1 necessity

(Sorry I keep venting about that but I’ve gotten so annoyed with all these obscene amp and DAC recommendations when I clearly state that I’m not interested... I’ve resorted to saying I don’t have enough space on my desk for one )

I do think it is quite funny to see how much you spend on IEMs and headphones, and how at the same time you appear to try and save as much as possible (relatively speaking of course) on the source. From hearing how IEMs scale with a better source, even cheaper ones like the Final E4000, I would be more inclined to find my "end game" IEMs/headphones and pair those with the best source in terms of both synergy and performance. I do agree that it doesn't require the best gear to get a good idea of what certain IEMs/headphones sound like, as something much more affordable will likely be sufficient. However, in this hobby I think the word "sufficient" is about as alien to us as the word "content". So, for instance, if I were looking at the Diana V2 (instead of dreaming of one), I would also try to go as far with the source as I could and would ideally end up with the Dave. Although that also has something to do with the looks... Black Diana V2 + Black Dave...

 

[gLer]

I do think it is quite funny to see how much you spend on IEMs and headphones, and how at the same time you appear to try and save as much as possible (relatively speaking of course) on the source. From hearing how IEMs scale with a better source, even cheaper ones like the Final E4000, I would be more inclined to find my "end game" IEMs/headphones and pair those with the best source in terms of both synergy and performance. I do agree that it doesn't require the best gear to get a good idea of what certain IEMs/headphones sound like, as something much more affordable will likely be sufficient. However, in this hobby I think the word "sufficient" is about as alien to us as the word "content". So, for instance, if I were looking at the Diana V2 (instead of dreaming of one), I would also try to go as far with the source as I could and would ideally end up with the Dave. Although that also has something to do with the looks... Black Diana V2 + Black Dave...

That's exactly why I dropped out of the full size headphone game. The cost of scaling up the sources for full size cans makes a mockery of the 'modest' investment in a TOTL portable source. Not to mention that bigger is very often better when it comes to desktop sources, so you quickly outgrow your desk and have to move your gear to a rack. Oh the problems we have!

 

[Wyville]

That's exactly why I dropped out of the full size headphone game. The cost of scaling up the sources for full size cans makes a mockery of the 'modest' investment in a TOTL portable source. Not to mention that bigger is very often better when it comes to desktop sources, so you quickly outgrow your desk and have to move your gear to a rack. Oh the problems we have!

Yeah, it gets very expensive, very quickly. Luckily I am pretty much broke (puppies man... ) so I can worry about those expenses for another day. One thing though, I do have plenty of space reserved for desktop gear.

 

[Kerouac]

Yeah, it gets very expensive, very quickly. Luckily I am pretty much broke (puppies man... ) so I can worry about those expenses for another day. One thing though, I do have plenty of space reserved for desktop gear.

Well, this (bought used) desktop set-up (incl. the Denon headphones in the background) costed me even less than €1K

and I surely enjoy (so much fun) the heck out of it every day!

So, imho it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg at all. Of course I do realize that real totl sound comes at a (much) higher price, but the above basically fulfills all my listening needs atm

(btw, it's nice to see Barnies growth in your pics buddy)

 

[gLer]

I'm broke because the likes of you and Alex and Michael drove my bloodlust for TOTL IEMs. And now I'm saving up for a TOTL DAP too. Thanks for that, really.

PS. No regrets leaving the big stuff behind. Was fun while it lasted, but I don't for a minute miss all the fiddle and fuss with amps and DACs and power supplies and DDCs...

 

[toaster]

Oh dear, I seem to have been remiss regarding pupdates. Sorry @proedros!

Barneyyy!

aka: the "like" machine

 

[KuroKitsu]

Uuuu interesting! Any specific IEMs that you might be interested in?

I’m actually currently spending a few days with the Diana V2 and the ifi BL (out of the LPGT DAC but any half decent DAP should be fine here), and I can tell you the pairing is incredible. Once again a step closer to confirming that the 5000$ amplifier is not the #1 necessity

(Sorry I keep venting about that but I’ve gotten so annoyed with all these obscene amp and DAC recommendations when I clearly state that I’m not interested... I’ve resorted to saying I don’t have enough space on my desk for one )

In an ideal world, I'd have grabbed my third u12t and call it a day (That's how much I like the sound). But the metal shells and fit end up being a no no.

So I might be gravitating towards the Chifi arena and their acrylic semi-custom shells. Additionally, I've been wanting to get a BA + estat highs hybrid then a pure BA setup since I already have a DD + BA + EST in the form of MEST. But a pure BA is fine as well. There's a couple US shops where fit has been good on their unis and a couple I been meaning to try out that go used for pretty good prices.

Shortlist currently:
Andro 2020 (Demo'd)
ESR MK II (Delayed and price unknown, judging by SGD, it might be around $1600 CAD)
Layla (I want to hear their house sound, also that upper mid recession in the FR)
Lola (Crin says Elysium is slightly better, I wasn't wowed by Elysium though)
Artmagic ES12 (Around the price I'm guessing for ESR MKII)
VE8 Reshell (I really like the timbre)

I mean desk space is a premium for a desktop setup. Might as well get the best that fits. You really don't need to blow more than $600 USD for a good DAC/Amp