[Asspirin]

Speaking of which, I have decided to forego a life in academics to finally pursue my lifelong dream of being a rapper. I will be dropping my album this summer in a few months.

It will retail for $24.95, but I have GREAT news for readers of the thread, as you can pre-order it for JUST $19.95. I trust you will all go ahead and order right away, as this will likely be the hottest album of the summer. Thanks in advance!

I'll take two!

 

[Wyville]

We have no really clue how much they will sell it. I highly doubt they will double the price of their current flagship.

On this topic in general, people know I am in the clan of those who think huge price hikes are never justified, and some brands are just greedy and preying on our obsession with having the best stuff.

No I know the VE guys a bit, and I don't see them being like that. I hope I will not be proved wrong. After all 64 Audio used to be a value for money oriented brand, before they became a "we value your money" brand.

Yes, best to not speculate too wildly and wait to see the reveal on May 10th.

 

[jeffhawke]

i have a different question though, and it's about this "drivers race". I'm not questioning the value of the hardware, the design, the engineering, the wotkmanship, that is all good and fine (at least in theory). I'm just not sure that packing 13 drivers and all the related gear in iem really can deliver such a substantial, audible improvement over another, equally well designed and implemented, 6 or 8 drievers iem, as to justify a price 3 or 4 times higher.

 

[fiascogarcia]

i have a different question though, and it's about this "drivers race". I'm not questioning the value of the hardware, the design, the engineering, the wotkmanship, that is all good and fine (at least in theory). I'm just not sure that packing 13 drivers and all the related gear in iem really can deliver such a substantial, audible improvement over another, equally well designed and implemented, 6 or 8 drievers iem, as to justify a price 3 or 4 times higher.

IMO, this has been argued over many times, but I feel driver count should never be used to justify the price of an iem. Likewise, one should never be critical of pricing of an iem due to lack of large number of drivers (Warbler). Isn't it all about the sound and what we're willing to pay for it? Follow your own ears and spending discretion. My 2 cents.

 

[Deezel177]

i have a different question though, and it's about this "drivers race". I'm not questioning the value of the hardware, the design, the engineering, the wotkmanship, that is all good and fine (at least in theory). I'm just not sure that packing 13 drivers and all the related gear in iem really can deliver such a substantial, audible improvement over another, equally well designed and implemented, 6 or 8 drievers iem, as to justify a price 3 or 4 times higher.

In my experience, higher driver counts (aside from - of course - their advantages in marketing) are designed so for finer tuning. A driver pretty much has a set-in-stone frequency curve only slightly alterable through acoustic tuning (bore size, tube length, custom scaffoldings, dampers etc.) or electrical tuning (low-pass filters, band-pass filters, etc.). Now, in order to shape your very own intended curve with specific dips and peaks, or to form a specific sound through a combination of textures, transient responses, etc., you need to combine two or more drivers. This allows you to form the curve with a finer degree of control. This is also the principle behind Empire Ears' synX cross-over technology. By assigning a cross-over point to each driver, EQ's can be applied with minimal strain on headroom. And, extra cross-over points also delay when the signal reaches the driver so they all fire at the same time. Alternatively, multiples of the same driver can cover one frequency band for more headroom. This means you can get twice the amount of output with the same amount of distortion.

So, in conclusion, adding drivers to an IEM design is not an automatic make-it-better switch. Rather, it's about being able to gain better control over the IEM's sum frequency curve, exploring different textures, decays, etc. for certain frequency regions, and increasing volume without increasing distortion. But, it faces the tough challenge of coherence and - as is obvious here - doubtful criticism. Of course, a single BA driver is capable of sounding brilliant - like the Warbler Prelude or the Jomo Haka. But, one must keep in mind that the Prelude is the product of six years' worth of R&D - including advanced acoustic tuning - and the Haka uses a proprietary driver custom spec'ed by Jomo themselves. Either approach (multi-armature or single-armature) has pros and cons of their own, and both definitely have a right to exist in the marketplace.

 

[PinkyPowers]

Speaking of which, I have decided to forego a life in academics to finally pursue my lifelong dream of being a rapper. I will be dropping my album this summer in a few months.

It will retail for $24.95, but I have GREAT news for readers of the thread, as you can pre-order it for JUST $19.95. I trust you will all go ahead and order right away, as this will likely be the hottest album of the summer. Thanks in advance!

My nipples are so hard I could fence with them!

I pre-ordered two copies! One to play, and one to ***.

 

[EagleWings]

Hey guys, I know the driver-war has become a thing these days. But using more drivers actually does have some benefits. For one, you could reduce the overall distortion in the IEM. Reducing distortion helps with better transient response, improved resolution and better treble extension. Also, it allows for finer tuning of the spectrum of the IEM. I know some IEMs, despite having a fewer driver count are able to perform to the same level as IEMs with 14 or 18 drivers. But it comes down to each manufacturer's own approach or recipe to squeeze out that last bit of performance. For example, consider the hyper cars from Bugatti, Pagani, Shelby Supercars, Koenigsegg. They all follow different approaches to engine configuration to get the ultimate performance.

That said, I don't think that these multi-driver IEMs are priced strictly based on cost (no-of-drivers and R&D) alone. I think these IEMs are priced based on the relative performance and not necessarily the cost. Meaning, if a company creates a new IEM, that performs even a touch better than the rest of the competition in the market, then the manufacturer has no problem pricing it slightly above the market average, because he/she knows that there are people to buy it. I also think that when they use too many drivers, it helps them justify the price a little bit. Remember the Noble Savant fiasco? People really enjoyed the IEM and sang praises until they learnt that it was a 2 driver IEM. They weren't happy that they had to pay $600 for 2 drivers.

If I may also make a suggestion. When you are in pursuit of ultimate performance, rather than spending crazy amounts (like above $3k) on IEMs, I'd recommend you look into headphones and speakers, if your lifestyle allows it. Sure, the perceived resolution on IEMs like Zeus or U18 cannot be matched by headphones and speakers and they aren't quite as portable. But what you get in return is the size of the musical and instrument image, that sounds less compressed and more life-like, that is equally rewarding, but in a different way. Headphones and Speakers are larger rabbit holes than portable audio. But for the amount of money you spend, the benefits they provide can be more apparent.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Wyville]

Hey guys, I know the driver-war has become a thing these days. But using more drivers actually does have some benefits. For one, you could reduce the overall distortion in the IEM. Reducing distortion helps with better transient response, improved resolution and better treble extension. Also, it allows for finer tuning than of the spectrum. I know some IEMs, despite having a fewer driver count are able to perform to the same level as IEMs with 14 or 18 drivers. But it comes down to each manufacturers own approach or recipe to squeeze out that last bit. For example, consider the hyper cars from Bugatti, Pagani, Shelby Supercars, Koenigsegg. They all follow different approaches to engine configuration to get the ultimate performance.

That said, I don't think that these multi-driver IEMs are priced strictly based on cost alone. I think these IEMs are priced based on the relative performance and not necessarily the cost. Meaning, if a company creates a new IEM, it. I also think that when they use too many drivers it helps them justify the price little bit. Remember the Noble Savant fiasco? People really enjoyed the IEM and sang praises until they learnt that it was a 2 driver IEM. They weren't happy that they had to pay $600 for 2 drivers.

If I may also make a suggestion. When you are in the pursuit of ultimate performance, rather than investing crazy amounts (like above $3k) on IEMs, I'd recommend you look into headphones and speakers, if your lifestyle allows it. Sure the perceived resolution on the IEMs like Zeus or U18 cannot be matched by headphones and speakers and they cannot be carried in your pockets. But what you get in return is the size of the musical and instrument image, that sounds less compressed and more life-like, that is equally rewarding in a different way. Headphones and Speakers are larger rabbit holes than portable audio. But for the amount of money you spend, the benefits they provide can be more apparent.

Just my $0.02.

Funny thing, when I read that last bit it looked like this...

If I may also make a suggestion.

Sure the perceived resolution on the IEMs like Zeus or U18 cannot be matched by headphones and speakers and they cannot be carried in your pockets. But what you get in return is the size of the musical and instrument image, that sounds less compressed and more life-like, that is equally rewarding in a different way.

Headphones and Speakers are larger rabbit holes than portable audio. But for the amount of money you spend, the benefits they provide can be more apparent.

When you are in the pursuit of ultimate performance, rather than investing crazy amounts (like above $3k) on IEMs, I'd recommend you look into headphones and speakers, if your lifestyle allows it. ​

 

[EagleWings]

Funny thing, when I read that last bit it looked like this...

If I may also make a suggestion.

Sure the perceived resolution on the IEMs like Zeus or U18 cannot be matched by headphones and speakers and they cannot be carried in your pockets. But what you get in return is the size of the musical and instrument image, that sounds less compressed and more life-like, that is equally rewarding in a different way.

Headphones and Speakers are larger rabbit holes than portable audio. But for the amount of money you spend, the benefits they provide can be more apparent.

When you are in the pursuit of ultimate performance, rather than investing crazy amounts (like above $3k) on IEMs, I'd recommend you look into headphones and speakers, if your lifestyle allows it. ​

Damn it. I should have been more subtle. But who am I kidding, I am dealing with a pro here.

 

[PinkyPowers]

Pinky's Legend X.

 

[jeffhawke]

Pinky's Legend X.

Wow! Can't wait to hear your impressions man!

 

[jeffhawke]

When you are in pursuit of ultimate performance, rather than spending crazy amounts (like above $3k) on IEMs, I'd recommend you look into headphones and speakers, if your lifestyle allows it.

Something like this maybe?

 

[PinkyPowers]

Wow! Can't wait to hear your impressions man!

Bass is oh so satisfying, without loosing out on impeccable vocal clarity. Treble is anything but bright, though well-extended. Soundstage is outstanding.

Legend X has a touch of warmth, balanced with a push for detail and resolution.

 

[Mimouille]

With all the 2 cents shared here we will soon be able to get 5000$ and buy the new VE iem.

 

[EagleWings]

Something like this maybe?

A fine looking setup. I guess I was wrong when I said it isn’t as portable as IEMs.