[Blommen]

Unfortunately, I haven't (and the other single-DD IEM I mentioned would be a more suitable competitor to that). But, I will when I get the chance. There aren't any Campfire Audio dealers here in Jakarta as far as I'm aware, so I'll have to wait 'til I head back to Singapore for a proper audition.

Wow sorry, I re-read your comment and looked at Jomos website, I got confused by the single dd mentioned in the beginning. My bad

Edit: re-read

 

[subguy812]

Happy day...UPS delivered from Germany with love, I do love me some DD.

 

[ezekiel77]

 

[subguy812]

I am a little envious of you and your stuff

 

[ezekiel77]

I am a little envious of you and your stuff

The feeling's mutual haha. I'd love to try IE800S and U18 too!

 

[Wyville]

This morning, I had the brilliant pleasure of waking up to two packages arriving at my doorstep. One consisted of a flagship single-DD universal IEM from a German company (guess who? ), and the other was a single-BA custom IEM from Singapore (guess, too). I spent the better part of my day listening to the latter, and - you guessed it - it was the Jomo Audio Haka!

​

Design-wise, I let Joseph have full control - something I rarely ever do - because Jomo's cosmetic work never fails to impress... and that continues today. Above is admittedly a phone photo, but - even here - the Haka's big blue shells radiate beautifully. It looks like a metallic blue/metallic silver swirl, and I couldn't be happier with the results. The nebula-like vortex on the faceplates are an especially wonderful touch, pulling every bit of focus straight onto the golden metallic Haka logo glistening just above.

In terms of sound quality, I'm happy to report that the custom Haka is far-and-away superior to the universal demo I tried at MS a couple weeks ago. Although the low-end is still weighty and accentuated, the overall signature is nowhere near as dark, full or veiled because of the improved treble region. The custom Haka has greater top-end presence, extension and linearity; adding a significant amount of air, transparency and cleanliness to the stage. I don't know whether the problematic bloat only exists in MS's specific demo unit, or if it's a common issue amongst all the universal IEMs. I tried almost every tip in the store (including Final Audio tips, MandarinES's Symbio tips and SpinFits) and none of them honestly helped. I'd need to hear another production-quality universal Haka to confirm, but for now, I strongly recommend going for the custom variant for the best possible experience.

Below are quick impressions I noted down whilst listening to the Haka. Enjoy!

The Haka’s bass is full-bodied and accentuated. Layering and separation are decent (great for a single driver), but clarity and resolution definitely impress - esp. in terms of physicality and texture. There’s a slight focus on sub-bass frequencies, but the entire low-end as a whole is well above neutral. However, due to excellent extension both ways, the Haka’s bass does not excessively warm up the stage. It does give instruments an extra touch of body, and it can bleed into the midrange with certain recordings, but it’s a fun, mostly-clean and technically-impressive bass nonetheless.

The Haka has a midrange that balances body and clarity. An upper-mid tilt gives the Haka its clarity and dynamic energy, and heft comes from upper-bass warmth. The upper-mid peak means it isn’t the most natural in tone, but the Haka displays great cleanliness, especially for its driver configuration and its price. Vocal forwardness is slightly above neutral, making it agreeable with both audiophile-inclined tracks and modern pop tracks. Like Jomo’s other offerings, note size and overall soundstage are on the neutral/average side, but stage organisation and PRaT excel because (or rather, in spite) of it.

The Haka owes a lot of its technical performance to excellent treble extension and admirable linearity. Although the general treble region is slightly attenuated - preventing it from sounding overtly V-shaped or sparkly - the Haka draws its resolution, clarity and spatial stability from raw extension. This tuning choice also makes the Haka incredibly versatile. The top-end is also more present here than on MS's universal demo, which I found rather veiled because the accentuated bass introduced too much warmth into the soundstage. Left-right separation and general imaging impress, handily competing with IEMs above its price range and driver count.

Now, considering the fact I just received the Warbler Prelude last Friday, I know a number of you are gonna ask me to compare it to the Haka. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until my full review for in-depth comparisons against the Prelude, but what I can say - for now - is they certainly have conflicting signatures. The Prelude is a warmer IEM - due to its rolled-off top-end and upper-midrange dip - but it excels in speed, background blackness and organicity in tone, especially. The Haka is a more fun-oriented IEM with greater dynamic energy, a slightly L-shaped response and a cleaner/crisper presentation; excelling in clarity, articulation and bidirectional extension. Both are immensely impressive single-BA IEMs, though the Haka is the better bang-for-buck if you consider its lower price tag and more versatile signature.

All in all, I've been genuinely excited by the quality of IEMs coming my way (though equally pressured by the mountain of work I have ahead of me ) and I can't wait to continue writing about them all. Up next is a mini round-up of sorts consisting of IEMs from a company that's no stranger to this thread. It's essentially four reviews in one write-up, so I sincerely hope you guys enjoy it. Stay tuned, and happy listening!

Thanks for sharing those impressions! Really nice to see a bit more of Jomo.

Considering the quality of your reviews, I hope you get a few more opportunities to be "hard at work" too. (For entirely selfish reasons, I enjoyed reading your reviews and want to see more of them. )

Now let's get back to all that hard work...

 

[Kerouac]

Considering the quality of your reviews, I hope you get a few more opportunities to be "hard at work" too. (For entirely selfish reasons, I enjoyed reading your reviews and want to see more of them. )

I also like ezekiel77s reviews a lot. Besides useful information, there's often a healthy dose of (imo) great humor involved. However...why is it that I always feel hungry after reading his reviews? Even looking at his avatar makes me want to order a burger straight away

 

[subguy812]

Does anyone here have much exposure to the original IE800, and thoughts?

 

[AllenWalker]

Anyone tried the Unique Melody Mason V3 yet? Has been scouting an upgrade for months

 

[Deezel177]

Does anyone here have much exposure to the original IE800, and thoughts?

I spent a ton of time auditioning it months ago, and - from what I can remember - it has a v-shaped response, but at the very extremes. A skull-rocking sub-bass and a crisp airy upper-treble contribute to the IE800’s immense dynamic energy, but the neutrally-placed midrange will leave vocal lovers wanting. It’s an overall fun and strongly-detailed IEM.

Anyone tried the Unique Melody Mason V3 yet? Has been scouting an upgrade for months

@Mimouille has had a loaner unit for a while now. He’s the one to ask.

 

[subguy812]

I spent a ton of time auditioning it months ago, and - from what I can remember - it has a v-shaped response, but at the very extremes. A skull-rocking sub-bass and a crisp airy upper-treble contribute to the IE800’s immense dynamic energy, but the neutrally-placed midrange will leave vocal lovers wanting. It’s an overall fun and strongly-detailed IEM.
QUOTE]

Thanks Daniel

 

[Mimouille]

Anyone tried the Unique Melody Mason V3 yet? Has been scouting an upgrade for months

It is very good. As per usual with these customs as universals, fit and tips are of paramount importance, and I am not even sure I have the perfect fit. I am also not sure that the cable gimmick and bass port are necessary. I am finally not sure that you need 16 drivers. However the result is very pleasant, a bit fatiguing with my LPG, so I will try the WM1Z. I am waiting for the balanced cable. Once I have wrapped my head around their sound I will A/B with the SE5U mostly I guess. They are closer to the SE5U than to the VE8 for sure.

 

[ezekiel77]

Thanks for sharing those impressions! Really nice to see a bit more of Jomo.

Considering the quality of your reviews, I hope you get a few more opportunities to be "hard at work" too. (For entirely selfish reasons, I enjoyed reading your reviews and want to see more of them. )

Now let's get back to all that hard work...

I also like ezekiel77s reviews a lot. Besides useful information, there's often a healthy dose of (imo) great humor involved. However...why is it that I always feel hungry after reading his reviews? Even looking at his avatar makes me want to order a burger straight away

Thahks for the vote of confidence guys. Guess I have to keep buying gear and keep up with them reviews eh? Wait a minute...

 

[ezekiel77]

It is very good. As per usual with these customs as universals, fit and tips are of paramount importance, and I am not even sure I have the perfect fit. I am also not sure that the cable gimmick and bass port are necessary. I am finally not sure that you need 16 drivers. However the result is very pleasant, a bit fatiguing with my LPG, so I will try the WM1Z. I am waiting for the balanced cable. Once I have wrapped my head around their sound I will A/B with the SE5U mostly I guess. They are closer to the SE5U than to the VE8 for sure.

Is the balanced cable also from UM with the switch gimmick?

 

[Gavin C4]

A simple and question to spice things up a bit. If I already got the Zeus-XR + SP1000. And I am in front of a crossroad, for my goal in 2018 -2019.
Either go towards the cable route: something like Effect Audio Horus, PW1960 or TOTL IEM route: VE8 (or Phantom or others). Which one would I get the most benefit or improvements? There will only be one and it will be the only goal for headgear. It will be too greedy to have two goals.

Spoiler

I would assume most answers would lean towards the IEM route?