[EagleWings]

Great impressions as always man.

I wish the LCD4 was much lighter and my wallet was much fatter.

 

[ezekiel77]

Great impressions as always man.

I wish the LCD4 was much lighter and my wallet was much fatter.

Thanks man, the LCD-4 was memorable.

 

[Wyville]

Awesome! Glad you're getting to demo some of your most anticipated IEMs finally Do keep in mind, the Legacy isn't as warm and dark as the Maestro, but its tonality is still on the organic side, with better balance between tonal body and technical performance IMO. You're not compromising the signature of the Maestro at all, and even if you were, the gains in detail retrieval, imaging, and clarity more than suffice.

Ah, I see now. Interesting! As always...

There is a pair of Maestro 2 being advertised in the classifieds at the moment, and for a decent price as well. But alas, it comes back again on the number of puppies that you have.

Yes, I know and I have looked at it often, but nowhere near enough puppies at the moment. I still have to adopt one for the Ares II I am looking to order.

I think the Maestro V2 is an awesome choice. I enjoyed my time with it.

From Nic's description it does seem like a really good choice, possibly the best, for me because of how much I appreciate tonality and other aspects that might not at first be very obvious. It will be good for me to demo the UE18+ so I can compare what I hear with Nic's review and then read the review of the Maestro V2 again so I can get a better sense of what it is like. Will you be writing a review of it? Would love to read a comparison with the U12.

 

[flinkenick]

Awesome! Glad you're getting to demo some of your most anticipated IEMs finally Do keep in mind, the Legacy isn't as warm and dark as the Maestro, but its tonality is still on the organic side, with better balance between tonal body and technical performance IMO. You're not compromising the signature of the Maestro at all, and even if you were, the gains in detail retrieval, imaging, and clarity more than suffice.

The Maestro V2 custom isn't warm or dark. It's one of the more neutral iems I have actually, only lightly warm at best; it sounds mostly clear. But of course, I can't speak for the universal/demo models. It's possible that adding tips induces more warmth, or the different placement of the drivers.

That Legacy does sound appealing though! Pity they don't offer them worldwide :/

 

[Deezel177]

The Maestro V2 custom isn't warm or dark. It's one of the more neutral iems I have actually, only lightly warm at best; it sounds mostly clear. But of course, I can't speak for the universal/demo models. It's possible that adding tips induces more warmth, or the different placement of the drivers.

That Legacy does sound appealing though! Pity they don't offer them worldwide :/

Interesting... I wouldn't say it's generally darker than IEMs like the H8.2; it's probably closer to the UE18+ than any other IEM in the shoot-out. But, the demo unit is, to me, warmer and darker than my definition of neutral, though with more clarity and treble cleanliness than other IEMs befitting those categorisations. I'd recommend contacting Stereo Electronics and asking if they can ship the Legacy (either universal or custom) outside of Singapore; maybe you'll get lucky

 

[flinkenick]

Interesting... I wouldn't say it's generally darker than IEMs like the H8.2; it's probably closer to the UE18+ than any other IEM in the shoot-out. But, the demo unit is, to me, warmer and darker than my definition of neutral, though with more clarity and treble cleanliness than other IEMs befitting those categorisations. I'd recommend contacting Stereo Electronics and asking if they can ship the Legacy (either universal or custom) outside of Singapore; maybe you'll get lucky

Well this just confirms we are hearing two different things

I don't doubt your ears, but I think there is definitely a difference in the one you and I have heard. My 8.2 and UE18+ are both significantly warmer than Maestro V2. But it could also partially be attributed to the cable perhaps, they only recently changed the stock cables to the new 8-wire hybrid or SPC. They used to use a common cheap OFC cable before which will sound warmer, and many distributors still have that for demo.

 

[Deezel177]

Well this just confirms we are hearing two different things

I don't doubt your ears, but I think there is definitely a difference in the one you and I have heard. My 8.2 and UE18+ are both significantly warmer than Maestro V2. But it could also partially be attributed to the cable perhaps, they only recently changed the stock cables to the new 8-wire hybrid or SPC. They used to use a common cheap OFC cable before which will sound warmer, and many distributors still have that for demo.

I think I may have worded my sentence wrongly; I concur that the H8.2 and UE18+ are warmer than the Maestro, with the UE18+ being closer to the Maestro than the H8.2 in terms of tonality and presentation, and the H8.2 being significantly darker.

Though, I don't think I'm hearing as much of a discrepancy between the the UE18+ and the Maestro as you're suggesting; perhaps it's the Maestro demo's stock silicone tips combined with the UE18+'s SpinFits. The cable used was the new, ergonomically horrible SPC cable, so no difference there I'll definitely give it another go when I return to Singapore.

I can confirm the Legacy is cleaner and clearer tuned than the Maestro though, with a midrange that resembles the Zeus-XIV's in body and a close runner-up in transparency, but a treble that's significantly smoother and gentler.

 

[kubig123]

Thanks! Appreciate the impressions Even with the Encore's more prominent and clear treble, would you say the SE5U keeps up in terms of technical performance (i.e. resolution, imaging, separation, etc.)? Also, has the warmth of the midrange ever given an impression of darkness or chestiness when listening to instruments and vocals that sometimes rely on some upper midrange energy (like the higher registers of piano, the tension of bow pulls on violins and cellos, guitar strumming, female vocal overtones, etc.)? Again, really appreciate the time

Hi @Deezel177,
there is absolutely nothing wrong about the SE5U, it's an amazing ciem, with just a different sound signature compared to the Encore, I enjoy both of them and I'm not regretting to purchase them.
The SE5U has tons of energy in the mid section, the result is influenced by the cable too, again, I would not use the Linum super bax for this ciem too dark for me; I prefer a silver cable (more analytic) or gold plated silver one (slightly warmer).

Hopefully we will read Nic's SEU5 review in 8 days.

 

[Deezel177]

Hi @Deezel177,
there is absolutely nothing wrong about the SE5U, it's an amazing ciem, with just a different sound signature compared to the Encore, I enjoy both of them and I'm not regretting to purchase them.
The SE5U has tons of energy in the mid section, the result is influenced by the cable too, again, I would not use the Linum super bax for this ciem too dark for me; I prefer a silver cable (more analytic) or gold plated silver one (slightly warmer).

Hopefully we will read Nic's SEU5 review in 8 days.

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not saying a darker sound is a flaw; I'm just asking to get an idea of the SE5U's tonality and see whether or not it's something I'd like. Great to hear that it has tons of midband energy though; in my experience, it's usually capable of compensating for a more laidback and natural treble. I too am looking forward to reading the review in (possibly) eight days

 

[ezekiel77]

Should the top two be unveiled at the same time?

 

[Deezel177]

Should the top two be unveiled at the same time?

I would agree with you, but I reckon a simultaneous review would require more than one @flinkenick. I think the man deserves a break, at least for this final stretch

 

[flinkenick]

Should the top two be unveiled at the same time?

Naturally, when #2 is released, #1 will be unveiled. Practically, I will still need to work on writing the last one though

I am currently writing #2. I have written a rough draft of #1 as well, but it will take some work. So I will just post #2 tomorrow, and the final one when it is finished a couple of days later.

 

[ezekiel77]

Naturally, when #2 is released, #1 will be unveiled. Practically, I will still need to work on writing the last one though

I am currently writing #2. I have written a rough draft of #1 as well, but it will take some work. So I will just post #2 tomorrow, and the final one when it is finished a couple of days later.

Bar none, the most prolific writer in all the lands. If you wrote the Dark Tower all 7 books would be done in less than a year.

 

[flinkenick]

Bar none, the most prolific writer in all the lands. If you wrote the Dark Tower all 7 books would be done in less than a year.

Thanks But normally I can't hold a candle to the likes of Alex and Ryan (Pinky has also been very productive lately). I took on more than what is normally in my nature with this shootout, but I look forward to taking forever to complete a review when it is done

 

[ezekiel77]

Thanks But normally I can't hold a candle to the likes of Alex and Ryan (Pinky has also been very productive lately). I took on more than what is normally in my nature with this shootout, but I look forward to taking forever to complete a review when it is done

Pinky has to earn back his Fourte money!