[ian91]

Interesting reading peoples lists.

For the high flyers that might not frequent the budget threads, and given I'm seeing the BL03 mentioned alot, I've just got the new A8, which is a slightly more generous bass tuning, with the timbre retained from 03 and with better technicalities.

I would add that I've done a quick filter mod to make it better than stock.

Just a small PSA to check out my impressions in the blon thread if interested.

 

[Damz87]

Interesting reading peoples lists.

For the high flyers that might not frequent the budget threads, and given I'm seeing the BL03 mentioned alot, I've just got the new A8, which is a slightly more generous bass tuning, with the timbre retained from 03 and with better technicalities.

I would add that I've done a quick filter mod to make it better than stock.

Just a small PSA to check out my impressions in the blon thread if interested.

Oooh, thanks, I’ll check the blon thread might have to try to the A8. The technicalities were my main issue with 03 and why I preferred 05s.

I’m also considering the Moondrop Aria. But A8’s design is way cooler imo lol

 

[hshock76]

Did some shopping and ended up with these 2. The N6ii TI does sound very good. Whether it’s better than the P6 Pro is up in the air. The L&P does have noticeably more bass while the Cayin sounds more neutral as highlighted by @aaf evo.

This trip back to SG is getting expensive. 2 SP2Ks, Aeneid and a Thummim waiting for me in US.

Finally auditioned the Fu Sang. Loved the colors; perfect match for my P6 Pro and the purple case. It was a new unit that was just opened when I reached and probably needed a bit of burn in to sound it’s best. Very similar presentation to my Supreme2; mid centric, forward mids with emphasis on the upper mids. Mids/vocals had this airy feel about them and did not sound as focused as I like my mids to be. Supreme was also stronger technically in the areas of separation and imaging, deeper bass. Sound stage on both was again very similar. I’ll prob visit to try again after it gets more use but the Supreme remains my king of mids/vocals at this point of time and I’m thankful I did not have to swipe my CC this time round.

 

[ian91]

You're welcome!

I've heard good things about the Aria driver for its price point but have not heard it personally.

The A8 certainly feels less congested and can manage transients much better to my ear. I still like the 03 and its lax bass and cooler tuning for bass string instruments though, however overall, I do think the A8 is more versatile.

Edit: accidentally put the 03 as more versatile :<

 

[ranfan]

 

[snapandslide]

......and pair it with a kilobuck cable

 

[Deezel177]

Did some shopping and ended up with these 2. The N6ii TI does sound very good. Whether it’s better than the P6 Pro is up in the air. The L&P does have noticeably more bass while the Cayin sounds more neutral as highlighted by @aaf evo.

This trip back to SG is getting expensive. 2 SP2Ks, Aeneid and a Thummim waiting for me in US.





Finally auditioned the Fu Sang. Loved the colors; perfect match for my P6 Pro and the purple case. It was a new unit that was just opened when I reached and probably needed a bit of burn in to sound it’s best. Very similar presentation to my Supreme2; mid centric, forward mids with emphasis on the upper mids. Mids/vocals had this airy feel about them and did not sound as focused as I like my mids to be. Supreme was also stronger technically in the areas of separation and imaging, deeper bass. Sound stage on both was again very similar. I’ll prob visit to try again after it gets more use but the Supreme remains my king of mids/vocals at this point of time and I’m thankful I did not have to swipe my CC this time round.

Did you try all of these at Jaben SG (I'm guessing, because of the background)? I've recently discovered that Stereo don't carry Unique Melody any more, so I'd like to know where I can audition the FuSang next time I'm in SG.

 

[Damz87]

......and pair it with a kilobuck cable

$4.9k BLON setup ($4,867 for cable. $30 for BLON)

 

[snapandslide]

$4.9k BLON setup ($4,867 for cable. $30 for BLON)

Filth!

 

[ranfan]

$4.9k BLON setup ($4,867 for cable. $30 for BLON)

*proceeds to plugging in DMP-Z1*

 

[hshock76]

Did you try all of these at Jaben SG (I'm guessing, because of the background)? I've recently discovered that Stereo don't carry Unique Melody any more, so I'd like to know where I can audition the FuSang next time I'm in SG.

Yes, was at Jaben earlier this afternoon. Best service from Uncle Wilson and Ban as usual. Also visited IT Connect last week and auditioned the Thummim. Fell totally in love with it and got a used one from a fellow head-fier here.

Also visited Zeppelin on Tuesday and helped a friend purchase a pair of Hidition NT6. Extremely capable pair of IEMs and was surprised how good it sounded. U-shaped, Large deep holographic sound stage and very clear mids without sounding harsh. Very open sounding with strong separation and imaging performance. Balanced and cohesive are words that come to mind. I preferred it over the Viento. I would have got myself a pair if I did not already own the Infinity2. Just shows again that top performance does not necessarily have to come with a large price tag.

 

[Deezel177]

Yes, was at Jaben earlier this afternoon. Best service from Uncle Wilson and Ban as usual. Also visited IT Connect last week and auditioned the Thummim. Fell totally in love with it and got a used one from a fellow head-fier here.

Also visited Zeppelin on Tuesday and helped a friend purchase a pair of Hidition NT6. Extremely capable pair of IEMs and was surprised how good it sounded. U-shaped, Large deep holographic sound stage and very clear mids without sounding harsh. Very open sounding with strong separation and imaging performance. I preferred it over the Viento. I would have got myself a pair if I did not already own the Infinity2. Just shows again that top performance does not necessarily have to come with a large price tag.

Awesome! Thanks so much. I haven’t been to Jaben in ages. They don’t tend to take trying-without-buying anywhere near as well as other stores do. But, that could definitely be a staff thing. Maybe I’ll see a new (and nicer) face next time I come over.

With the NT-6, unless they secretly refreshed its internals somewhere along the way, it shows that you don’t need the bleeding edge in tech to get great sound either. That thing came out in 2013 IIRC. I preferred it over the Viento as well.

Did you give AV ONE a visit when you were at the Adelphi building? They have the Jolene demo there, and I think they’ve got the VE7 too. Both are my current favourites to listen to, though I don’t know if you’ll like the Jolene, based on your comments on vocals. Source-wise, the SE180 with both its boards are there as well.

 

[davidmolliere]

I must confess I have never auditioned anything R2R so I didn't know what to expect with Cayin N6ii Ti / R01 but I sure was intrigued enough to take the dive... and even out of the box I know I don't regret it R01 is a special amp card for sure!

First impressions I must say I was pretty much impressed by the transparency which is really off the charts great, wow

I was expecting a natural sounding unit and it is, but it struck me by the detail retrieval and resolution, tonal accuracy is superb as well which makes for such a realistic portrayal of music. It just feels right in a way that doesn't require to dissect... transparency as I said is really head and shoulders above anything I have heard in a DAP...

 

[hshock76]

Awesome! Thanks so much. I haven’t been to Jaben in ages. They don’t tend to take trying-without-buying anywhere near as well as other stores do. But, that could definitely be a staff thing. Maybe I’ll see a new (and nicer) face next time I come over.

With the NT-6, unless they secretly refreshed its internals somewhere along the way, it shows that you don’t need the bleeding edge in tech to get great sound either. That thing came out in 2013 IIRC. I preferred it over the Viento as well.

Did you give AV ONE a visit when you were at the Adelphi building? They have the Jolene demo there, and I think they’ve got the VE7 too. Both are my current favourites to listen to, though I don’t know if you’ll like the Jolene, based on your comments on vocals. Source-wise, the SE180 with both its boards are there as well.

They literally opened brand new sets of the Fu Sang and N6ii for me to audition with absolutely no pressure to buy. I felt bad and offered to buy the N6ii outright but Ban told me to listen first and decide later. Maybe I've got a good track record with them by now. I do try my best to support the local shops whenever I'm back in town.

Yes, I was surprised to read that the NT6 was a 2012/13 design. Just shows how far Hidition was ahead at that point of time. Amazing set of IEMs. I believe they mostly sell in Korea and their website is only in Korean. Glad that Zeppelin carries them. Fantastic service from the Zeppelin team as well.

Ran out of time today so did not manage to visit AV One. But will find time again to audition the Jolene and VE7.

 

[Deezel177]

They literally opened brand new sets of the Fu Sang and N6ii for me to audition with absolutely no pressure to buy. I felt bad and offered to buy the N6ii outright but Ban told me to listen first and decide later. Maybe I've got a good track record with them by now. I do try my best to support the local shops whenever I'm back in town.

Yes, I was surprised to read that the NT6 was a 2012/13 design. Just shows how far Hidition was ahead at that point of time. Amazing set of IEMs. I believe they mostly sell in Korea and their website is only in Korean. Glad that Zeppelin carries them. Fantastic service from the Zeppelin team as well.

Ran out of time today so did not manage to visit AV One. But will find time again to audition the Jolene and VE7.

That's great to hear. I've bought stuff from them as well, but I've always gotten that "Ugh... alright, fine..." sort of vibe from a few of their behind-the-counter staff members whenever I'd try something without purchasing it. E1 Personal Audio has been guilty of that in the past as well, and I've heard similar experiences from quite a few in the Singaporean crowd about both. I could be reading too much into it. But, hey, if it's gotten better now, then I'm all-the-more happy for them. This is all also from, like, at least 6 years ago, so I imagine a lot's changed since then.

Music Sanctuary, AV ONE and Zepp are places I've always commended for their lack of pressure when you just wanna audition something. The guys at MS will even say it to your face if they think something isn't necessarily up to snuff. But, yeah, as a whole, I do think there's a healthy honesty across Singapore's audiophile scene. They definitely have their biases and preferences, but you can always count on them to not mince words, including a majority of their dealers.