[MuZo2]

Looking forward to the results of this epic shootout with some serious interest!

My predicitons (if it's still OK to place them

Wrong thread to post prediction, there is separate thread look in first post.

 

[Jackpot77]

Wrong thread to post prediction, there is separate thread look in first post.

Thanks for the heads up - obviously wasn't paying attention when I read the original post!

 

[davidmolliere]

  Looking forward to the results of this epic shootout with some serious interest!
 
My predicitons (if it's still OK to place them):
 
-Campfire Vega (1st)
-Empire Ears Zeus-XR ADEL (2nd)
Advanced AcousticWerkes W900 (3rd)
-Warbler Prelude (4th)
-EarSonics S-EM9 (5th)
 
Good luck everyone!

 
Tricky to predict this... but if you read @flinkenick's review, I don't think the Vega will take the cake
 
From Andromeda's review : The more iems I started to listen to, the more I’m starting to realize that achieving a neutral signature is coming closer to perfection. Done right, a neutral signature isn’t a compromise between the bass, midrange and treble – it’s a perfect harmony.
 
As much as I love the Vega, they're not neutral for sure

 

[jmills8]

There are many Albums with no intention of being neutral. Many so called netral iems will not be able to reproduce this intended sound.

 

[davidmolliere]

There are many Albums with no intention of being neutral. Many so called netral iems will not be able to reproduce this intended sound.

 
I totally agree about this, neutral can be misleading but I read it as accurate to the source material, if an album is warm or bassy or dark a "reference" / "neutral" / accurate phone should render it as such. 

 

[jmills8]

I totally agree about this, neutral can be misleading but I read it as accurate to the source material, if an album is warm or bassy or dark a "reference" / "neutral" / accurate phone should render it as such. 

A neutral single BA iem will never sound like a neutral 12 BA iem and the neutral 12 BA will not sound like a neutral Dynamic Driver iem. Which will caputure the "intended" sound ?

 

[PinkyPowers]

but if you read @flinkenick
's review, I don't think the Vega will take the cake

Nobody told me there'd be cake.

 

[1TrickPony]

Nobody told me there'd be cake.

 

[ranfan]

does that mean, the fidue, silver-fi, and toxic cables are all not true? is this real, or is this a..

 

[ezekiel77]

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?

 

[bavinck]

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?

Easy come, easy go

 

[Matte82]

A neutral single BA iem will never sound like a neutral 12 BA iem and the neutral 12 BA will not sound like a neutral Dynamic Driver iem. Which will caputure the "intended" sound ?

And that is the crux of the matter.

 

[flinkenick]

Some minor updates.
 
I've decided to add a transparency score. I began to realise I was fidgeting around in some cases with the score for midrange, because I had to add or subtract points to reflect its transparency, even though it didn't relate to what I was intending with the original score for midrange. It has been interesting to see some iems fall and rise in the table. But in the end it's a better reflection of the total performance.
 
I sent a feeler preview of one of the reviews to some of my esteemed colleague reviewers to get some feedback. One of them said the sound impressions part was too long, another was wondering where all the accessories and other descriptions were. Two said that due to the nature of the shootout, I should make the comparisons longer. They were similar to what I always do so I thought they were pretty detailed but whatever, I only cried for a couple of minutes

 So I've decided to cut back the sound impressions part from 5 pages to 1, and fill the rest with accessories, ordering process, and Trump memes. I guess sometimes you have to listen to your peers. 
 
But in all seriousness, I'm considering making the comparisons a good deal more thorough, minutely going through the full range of the signature and every part of the scoring system - but cutting it down to 2 comparisons instead of 3, since that is a boatload of work. One of those comparisons would probably already be half a page or something. 
 
Finally, 1964 Audio has been a bit unlucky with at least one of their suppliers, so the A18 is still on hold for the moment. The Black Friday orders are starting to roll out, and they naturally have priority for now. So I can't say for sure when it will arrive, but I'll keep you all updated once I know more. 

 

[bavinck]

  Some minor updates.
 
I've decided to add a transparency score. I began to realise I was fidgeting around in some cases with the score for midrange, because I had to add or subtract points to reflect its transparency, even though it didn't relate to what I was intending with the original score for midrange. It has been interesting to see some iems fall and rise in the table. But in the end it's a better reflection of the total performance.
 
I sent a feeler preview of one of the reviews to some of my esteemed colleague reviewers to get some feedback. One of them said the sound impressions part was too long, another was wondering where all the accessories and other descriptions were. Two said that due to the nature of the shootout, I should make the comparisons longer. They were similar to what I always do so I thought they were pretty detailed but whatever, I only cried for a couple of minutes

 So I've decided to cut back the sound impressions part from 5 pages to 1, and fill the rest with accessories, ordering process, and Trump memes. I guess sometimes you have to listen to your peers. 
 
But in all seriousness, I'm considering making the comparisons a good deal more thorough, minutely going through the full range of the signature and every part of the scoring system - but cutting it down to 2 comparisons instead of 3, since that is a boatload of work. One of those comparisons would probably already be half a page or something. 
 
Finally, 1964 Audio has been a bit unlucky with at least one of their suppliers, so the A18 is still on hold for the moment. The Black Friday orders are starting to roll out, and they naturally have priority for now. So I can't say for sure when it will arrive, but I'll keep you all updated once I know more. 

Personally, all I want out of this shootout is the sound impressions. A shootout should be about sound, not the bling.

 

[flinkenick]

  Personally, all I want out of this shootout is the sound impressions. A shootout should be about sound, not the bling.

Yeah don't worry, I'm not changing anything there I was just kidding. I might consider writing it a bit compacter, but I'm mostly contemplating what to do with the comparisons. The basic format is still 99% about sound.