[metaljem77]

Lately, the professional reviewers haven't had access to the most interesting IEMs so they can't even tell us about the existence of the latest and greatest. @precog went to CanJam SG to hear some of the IEMs we have been discussing over the past 2 months and it is strange reading his reviews after I already have heard the FIR line up. I find I don't hear them anything like he does.

Same here, I had diametrically opposed impressions for certain items.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

on a relative basis the 64 group of IEMs is IMHO the best bang for the buck given the prices in the used market...that said the "bird" is in a different league...perhaps the Mason FS competes and 1 or 2 others but the bird flies high!

Obviously the 64 Audio brand has a big following and they make great IEMs. I own the Nio and I like it a lot, but it is the only one I've like enough to buy. I've heard the U12t several times. I want to like it, but I just don't connect with it. Not sure why. It's almost a house sound that you either love or you don't. I guess that is the way with a lot of IEM companies. For me, I am an Empire Ears, Vision Ears, Unique Melody fan meaning I will own 2 or more of their IEMs. It's almost as if when a person has 3 of their top 5 IEMs as 64 Audio, I don't connect with their other choices either. Nothing wrong with that as this is all taste driven. It's just an observation more than anything else.

 

[KuroKitsu]

For me the u12t is a Traillii with the soul & life sucked out of it. Not even the same ballpark IMHO. While I would personally never pay MSRP for Traillii at the rate they're going for used they're a no-brainer for me for the extra $1K over the 12t...YMMV and all that.

It speaks to how much more important one's preference is over the the MRSP at the end of the day. While the latter is probably the primary barrier for ownership, it's not even a consideration when the former lines up with the sound.

I still balk at the Trailli even at current used prices, but that's mostly because the FR looks anathema to my sanity. Inversely, after hearing the Odin, I knew that I had to get it at some point.

Most totls are kind of Asian tuning – exaggerated clarity, razor sharp details. Bright and fatiguing.

There seems to be a departure from that with releases in recent years. I've noticed a sort of asian dark tuning that would be much more appealing to the HF audience. (IE QDC V14). Better for them to make their way into the western market, anathema for my personal preference, I hope they do both down the line.

Preach. This sort of behavior is the main reason I stopped paying attention to the main reviewer & influencer scene and and now confine myself more-or-less to trusted folks (some of whom, like @Deezel177 are reviewers) and actual consumers, primarily here on Head Fi, but here and there on a few other sites as well.

I don't think the folks here are really part of the main scene per se. Maybe the HF scene? I would consider you part of the latter given the activity in the watercooler. Arguably the most important part is not where or what scene you're part of, but the content being produced.

 

[Rockwell75]

I still balk at the Trailli even at current used prices, but that's mostly because the FR looks anathema to my sanity. Inversely, after hearing the Odin, I knew that I had to get it at some point.

I think you'd like the Jewel. It's got more presence in the upper mids than Traillii. Jewel through the M9 really impressed me when I demoed it last week.

 

[audio123]

I feel I shouldn't interrupt this particular exchange but I will.

I believe there is a thin line between a reviewer stating that something is overpriced (totally fair, TOTL gear is really pushing limits lately. Also, to each their own and everyone can have different max budget) and outright mocking a company's pricing decissions.

I believe what you are doing is unprofessional.

I must say this is constructive feedback as it will improve their sales. In the past few years, their business is rather stagnant. Instead of living in self delusion, they must understand they are not big company hence they can't just anyhow price their IEMs if they cannot justify the price. Even established companies are pairing their IEMs with cables from established cable brands. I paid for Traillii without any review discount (I can show you the MusicTeck invoice anytime) and I feel the price is justified as it comes with a modified PW 1960 4W. As a boutique brand, they simply cannot operate as a big brand and slap ridiculous price tag on their products without justifying. It is what it is.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I must say this is constructive feedback as it will improve their sales. In the past few years, their business is rather stagnant. Instead of living in self delusion, they must understand they are not big company hence they can't just anyhow price their IEMs if they cannot justify the price. Even established companies are pairing their IEMs with cables from established cable brands. I paid for Traillii without any review discount (I can show you the MusicTeck invoice anytime) and I feel the price is justified as it comes with a modified PW 1960 4W. As a boutique brand, they simply cannot operate as a big brand and slap ridiculous price tag on their products without justifying. It is what it is.

Did you read the same post that you quoted? He was providing feedback to you, not Lime Ears. Perhaps you should read it again. You do seem to have a personal issue with the company and its owners rather than simply providing a review of a product.

 

[audio123]

Did you read the same post that you quoted? He was providing feedback to you, not Lime Ears. Perhaps you should read it again. You do seem to have a personal issue with the company and its owners rather than simply providing a review of a product.

He is saying that my feedback is unprofessional but it is what it is. Anyway I'm out. Please purchase the Anima and don't regret that you never heed my warning. Cheers.

If LE re-released original Aether, I will still praise it. I would like to emphasise again that the Anima shells are world class but the sound is mediocre. If I really want to bash Lime Ears, I wouldn't even praise the Shells but credit where credit's due.

 

[KuroKitsu]

I think you'd like the Jewel. It's got more presence in the upper mids than Traillii. Jewel through the M9 really impressed me when I demoed it last week.

Any chance of a Canuck Aroma Tour? At the moment, tours are my most feasible way of trying new gear out as much as I would like to go classifieds.

The Jewels upper mids do seem in the range that I prefer.

 

[Rockwell75]

Any chance of a Canuck Aroma Tour? At the moment, tours are my most feasible way of trying new gear out as much as I would like to go classifieds.

The Jewels upper mids do seem in the range that I prefer.

Not likely. All the tours I organize (well all two of them) have been arranged directly with the manufacturers and Aroma barely has a presence outside of Asia so I can't imagine they'd be too keen to hail mary demo units of their IEMs over to Canada. Musicteck as far as I know doesn't sponsor group tours like that. I still haven't heard the EVO because I can't get my hands on a demo.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I think you'd like the Jewel. It's got more presence in the upper mids than Traillii. Jewel through the M9 really impressed me when I demoed it last week.

The Jewel sounds great on both N8ii and M9. In fact, it takes on a different signature with each and it is very very good both ways.

 

[Wyville]

To be honest, I get very little out of professional reviews any more. I get the most out of the enthusiast community. All I need to know is their top 10 IEMs and their preferred music genre. Then, let them tell me why they love what they do and not love what they don't. The problem with professional reviews is that they literally all sound alike after a while. The enthusiast community votes with their dollars. That's skin in the game and it makes all the difference in the world.

There aren't that many reviewers who can generate any sort of income from writing reviews -it is too much of a niche market to be viable as a business for a professional writer- and so many whom you might think are "professional" actually hold down a regular day job and can toil away at writing their reviews deep into the night. At the same time I notice that marketing savvy influencers are playing into the "voting with their dollars" perception and have constructed schemes where they can claim to be spending their own money, while in actual fact that money spent is a carefully calculated investment they know they will be able to get a healthy return on in the background. So it is always good to keep a sober mind about it all.

I can full heartedly agree that reviews start to sound too much alike over time. I have found that with my own reviews as well. It frustrated me so much that I spent a lot of time devising new styles for my regular reviews and ended up doing my 'Masters of Classical Music' series, just to try and prevent myself from burning out creatively. ...and I utterly failed in that regard. I felt I had to move on to feel inspired to write again. It was so bad that because of the staleness of my reviews (my hobby), my professional writing began to suffer as well. In part, I found, this is because this hobby is at its core complete insanity and nitpicking over ridiculously small details and nuances. I actually relish the days now where I can't be bothered to register the difference between $200 IEMs and $2,000 ones and part of me genuinely wants to throw out everything I have and go back to the happiness I felt with my old AK70 and CustomArt Ei.3. These days Tidal is my main addiction in this hobby.

 

[audio123]

There aren't that many reviewers who can generate any sort of income from writing reviews -it is too much of a niche market to be viable as a business for a professional writer- and so many whom you might think are "professional" actually hold down a regular day job and can toil away at writing their reviews deep into the night. At the same time I notice that marketing savvy influencers are playing into the "voting with their dollars" perception and have constructed schemes where they can claim to be spending their own money, while in actual fact that money spent is a carefully calculated investment they know they will be able to get a healthy return on in the background. So it is always good to keep a sober mind about it all.

I can full heartedly agree that reviews start to sound too much alike over time. I have found that with my own reviews as well. It frustrated me so much that I spent a lot of time devising new styles for my regular reviews and ended up doing my 'Masters of Classical Music' series, just to try and prevent myself from burning out creatively. ...and I utterly failed in that regard. I felt I had to move on to feel inspired to write again. It was so bad that because of the staleness of my reviews (my hobby), my professional writing began to suffer as well. In part, I found, this is because this hobby is at its core complete insanity and nitpicking over ridiculously small details and nuances. I actually relish the days now where I can't be bothered to register the difference between $200 IEMs and $2,000 ones and part of me genuinely wants to throw out everything I have and go back to the happiness I felt with my old AK70 and CustomArt Ei.3. These days Tidal is my main addiction in this hobby.

Generate your income from NFT/Crypto is better.

Web 3.0 is the future. I won't be surprised if an audio brand attempts a NFT subscription model.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

There aren't that many reviewers who can generate any sort of income from writing reviews -it is too much of a niche market to be viable as a business for a professional writer- and so many whom you might think are "professional" actually hold down a regular day job and can toil away at writing their reviews deep into the night. At the same time I notice that marketing savvy influencers are playing into the "voting with their dollars" perception and have constructed schemes where they can claim to be spending their own money, while in actual fact that money spent is a carefully calculated investment they know they will be able to get a healthy return on in the background. So it is always good to keep a sober mind about it all.

I can full heartedly agree that reviews start to sound too much alike over time. I have found that with my own reviews as well. It frustrated me so much that I spent a lot of time devising new styles for my regular reviews and ended up doing my 'Masters of Classical Music' series, just to try and prevent myself from burning out creatively. ...and I utterly failed in that regard. I felt I had to move on to feel inspired to write again. It was so bad that because of the staleness of my reviews (my hobby), my professional writing began to suffer as well. In part, I found, this is because this hobby is at its core complete insanity and nitpicking over ridiculously small details and nuances. I actually relish the days now where I can't be bothered to register the difference between $200 IEMs and $2,000 ones and part of me genuinely wants to throw out everything I have and go back to the happiness I felt with my old AK70 and CustomArt Ei.3. These days Tidal is my main addiction in this hobby.

I know what you mean. Those who game the system get caught pretty quickly. It's a very small industry and everybody talks If somebody is building a kind of scheme to profit from their positive impressions, it's pretty easy to figure out. It's much better to identify half a dozen to a dozen people you really respect and triangulate on what they hear vs. others and relate them to your own preferences.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Generate your income from NFT/Crypto is better.

Web 3.0 is the future. I won't be surprised if an audio brand attempts a NFT subscription model.

I've stayed away from Crypto for this simple reason. The quality of a currency is based on how stable it is over time. In that regard, all of the cryptocurrencies fail the basic test. Then, if it's not a currency then it is a speculative play that produces nothing. A buyer completely buys it believing someone else will believe it will have more value later. In essence it relies on the theory of the greater fool. Eventually, it all comes crashing down and the greatest fools are left holding the worthless bit coins. Besides, the amount of energy required to mine for bit coins is greater than all of the tech companies and many nations combined. It's tremendously bad for the environment. All this so people can launder money and operate black markets outside the reach of the law. It's an extremely bad idea.

 

[audio123]

I've stayed away from Crypto for this simple reason. The quality of a currency is based on how stable it is over time. In that regard, all of the cryptocurrencies fail the basic test. Then, if it's not a currency then it is a speculative play that produces nothing. A buyer completely buys it believing someone else will believe it will have more value later. In essence it relies on the theory of the greater fool. Eventually, it all comes crashing down and the greatest fools are left holding the worthless bit coins. Besides, the amount of energy required to mine for bit coins is greater than all of the tech companies and many nations combined. It's tremendously bad for the environment. All this so people can launder money and operate black markets outside the reach of the law. It's an extremely bad idea.

Sorry to say you are losing out bro. I am up 200X for my Luna coin now. To each his own! Anyway for audio, I can't think of anything better than the Oriolus Traillii and Aroma Jewel. If I were to consider my next IEM, prolly Fitear DC TI.