[Wyville]

It sound phenomenon, I received the west coast tour kit and try it with phantom and boy it awesome, sound way better than leonidas, also tried it with my old iem, brought it back to life

Darn it...

 

[proedros]

venom costs 2K ?

unless you are super rich , this is insane/bordeline stupid

sorry just my 2 cents

 

[Wyville]

venom costs 2K ?

unless you are super rich , this is insane/bordeline stupid

sorry just my 2 cents

Yep, absolutely, but are you claiming sanity? Even our resident cable skeptic is openly yearning for a $549.99 cable and calling it a "no BS approach". This hobby makes fools of us all!

 

[proedros]

Yep, absolutely, but are you claiming sanity? Even our resident cable skeptic is openly yearning for a $549.99 cable and calling it a "no BS approach". This hobby makes fools of us all!

well i paid 150$ for my cable and 2300$ for Zeus XR+Wm1a combined , so yeah i think i am still sane (or able to do/find smart buys)

the key word here is ''still'' , though.

 

[Wyville]

well i paid 150$ for my cable and 2300$ for Zeus XR+Wm1a combined , so yeah i think i am still sane (or able to do/find smart buys)

the key word here is ''still'' , though.

Would you have considered that sane when you first came to head-fi? I remember I came here with the insanely high budget of perhaps even as much as $500 for a DAP and IEMs (why would anyone spend extra money on a cable?!). ...so naive.

Then again, this hobby has been my cheapest and sanest so far. I mean, you are talking to a person who while living in a country called the Netherlands thought it was a sensible idea to spend $10k on a mountain bike that could only go downhill.

 

[proedros]

well i have been 8 years here , so that much time helps you break a seemingly large insanity into very small parts of almost-sanity nature

10K for a bike ? see , this place has turned you into the adorable sane wyville we all love

 

[flinkenick]

Nice to see some hype for Venom. I've actually had it for a pretty long time, but been dragging my ass to finish the review since it's somewhat 'ergonomically challenged'. I wrote most of it when I first got it, but it's been out my system of late. As the MS guys have recently been sternly inquiring when I will post it (and rightly so), I promised to finish it this week, so I will def post it within the next four weeks

Soundwise the Venom offers high resolution and a spacious stage, but differs from typical silver alloy cables due to its warmer tone. Its special feature however is its multi-layer thick shielding. I have heard one cable before with a similar shield, the Rhapsodio Copper Wizard (8-braid). Interestingly the overall feel of the sound was very similar despite completely different wire material, due to the black background and somewhat warmer tone (even so they differed within the sig, with Venom having a more bodied midrange for instance).

But the Venom is even more unique because of the option of active shielding. For the AK you can get a dual 3.5 and 2.5 plug, where the 3.5 serves as ground. For the Sony 1A/1Z the fifth pole can be used as ground. But since the ground is not standard connected within the Sony it needs to be manually connected first for the active shielding, as with the MS K-mod for instance. Anyways, will try to get the review out in like, a decent amount of time

ps. Venom is $1300 usd. Maybe $2K sgd.

 

[Wyville]

well i have been 8 years here , so that much time helps you break a seemingly large insanity into very small parts of almost-sanity nature

10K for a bike ? see , this place has turned you into the adorable sane wyville we all love

 

[ctsooner22]

Shangri-La Jr
I got to test a few upper end HPs that the distributor brought along. The first was the Shangri-La Jr, which is an electrostatic HP driven by a tube amp that goes for around $8K. The Shangri-La provides good body and density to its vocals, while offering great transparency despite a lightly warm tone. It managed to convey an emotional and captivating vocal presentation, with a generally nice midrange tone. The upper mids were relatively more forward, with the lower mids being a bit laid-back. Even so, the overall tone is more predominantly neutral with a brighter touch. Its bass was tight and controlled with a quick decay, but slightly distant within the presentation, so it didn't provide much warmth. But most importantly, the lower treble is pretty aggressive, while the upper treble is not dominant but noticeably brightens the treble tone.

I was initially working under the assumption I would be hearing a smooth, romantic sound one might expect from a tube amp, but only later learned the HP itself was an electrostat. So the combo wasn't necessarily warmer than the Burson V2 amp (which I consider to be pretty neutral), paired with a regular HP. The midrange leaned towards natural, but the treble is simply a bit discomforting for me. However, I switched from band-based music to electronica, and found it to match better. Same for classical, where it provided a nice timbre. I guess it just didn't fare well with cymbals and high hats, which Utopia also tends to produce a bit brighter and sharper due to its 10 Khz peak.

Mr. Speakers Voce
The distributor also had an electrostat Mr. Speakers connected to the Shangri-La's tube amp, the Voce priced around $3K. Compared to the Shangri-La, the Voce's vocals had a slightly distant stage position, so they seemed to be a bit less impressive in terms of density and presence. However, there was a far greater balance throughout the signature. Specifically, the treble was significantly smoother, and more line in with midrange. As a result, the signature was not only smoother, but more coherent. The extension of the bass was not outstanding, but the control and resolution of the mid-bass was impressive, even if it could be a bit warmer to sound true in tone. But overall, this was a very nice combo, and to me, significantly more pleasing than with the Shnagri-La HP itself. A special mix between the presumably brighter electrostat tech, and warm tube amp (just like how my warm SP Cu pairs nicely with the brighter Utopia to create a special blend).

Final D8000
The D8000 costs around $3.5K I think. It has what is perhaps best described as a smooth neutral tuning, with a slightly laid-back vocal position. It offered good resolution, although it didn't feel as especially high as the Utopia for instance. Most importantly, it was a coherent sound. It had a slightly lifted bass with a natural decay that added some warmth to the sound, although the tone stayed predominantly close to neutral. Treble was in line with the midrange, and details were not exaggerated. Overall, I found the tuning highly reminiscent of the HD800s in terms of type of sound. It was of good quality, but I missed something. I would have preferred if it was either a touch warmer to sound natural, or a bit more lively and aggressive like Utopia. Now it seemed to lack character, and I didn't really find myself enjoying it.

Meze Empyrean
I ended with the Meze Empyrean, which is priced somewhere above $3K. The Empyrean for me was a clear winner, offering a beautiful tonality - an excellent execution of neutral/natural. Just very lightly warm, but still clear, and a beautiful instrument timbre. The mid-bass was relatively neutral in quantity, but had a natural decay that provided a natural flow to the sound. Its vocals had a neutral stage position in terms of forwardness, with average body and density. So not necessarily powerful in terms of presence, but they had a nice tone, and were presented smoothly. Similarly, the note size was pretty neutral. I would say its performance was good, but again not as exceptional as Utopia. But the ever so lightly warm touch in its instruments, and the overall coherency of its sound, gave it a very satisfying signature. Pretty much like an upgraded Auteur, or Mr Speakers Aeon closed for instance. Maybe somewhat similar to LCD-4Z, with a less bodied midrange and powerful bass.


Yes I think they probably retuned it. This wouldn't classify as particularly aggressive to anyone's standards, compared to something like an LPG for instance. From what I understand they are still working on it.

Get out of my head man!!!! Get out of my ears man!!!!

Folks, as you all know, I've been in and audio for decades. I know many reviewers and as you all know, you can figure out where you and each reviewer differ in how you hear. I have found exactly 1 reviewer who's impressions are in absolute lock step with mine. His name is Nic!

Dude, not sure if you remember, but I told you that my two favorite cans were Zac's Auteurs (and that I own the Ori's) and the top can (over the electrostatic's and any other) was the Meze. I also told you that the Sundara from Hifiman, was possibly my favorite under 1k headphone. LOVE that one for the cost for what it gives you.

YOu are the one who turned me onto EE and the Phantom. Dude, I love reading your quick hitters. Thanks so much!! Spot on evals for my ears.

 

[Mimouille]

Yep, absolutely, but are you claiming sanity? Even our resident cable skeptic is openly yearning for a $549.99 cable and calling it a "no BS approach". This hobby makes fools of us all!

Yearning but not buying...yet

 

[fiascogarcia]

The cable I am yearning for these days I the DHC Clone fusion. DHC's cables are beautifully built and I like his no BS approach.

Love his cables. But the wait.............oh the wait!

 

[SLC1966]

Received the Rhapsodio Eden's today. @Wyville you need to get your hands on these. I would love to hear your impressions with classical music. From what have read of your preferences I think you would like these immensely.

I love the fit of the Galaxy V1 and these are a similar fit but even better IMHO.

With a quick listen before I had to get back to real life words like Tone and Natural come to my mind. I hear a signature that I prefer. I should get my custom Phantoms in a couple weeks. I would then like to do a detailed Eden review and include a detailed comparison with the Phantom.

Thank you @Solarsammy @flinkenick and @SeeSax for helping me get my hands on these.

 

[Mimouille]

Love his cables. But the wait.............oh the wait!

Oh, he makes you wait...

 

[Ike1985]

Also if you're concerned about the Venom smoothing off the highs, you can simply pop in M15 with a18t. I love the module system. It isnt an issue for me btw, I love it with both modules. what's the beat way to ground the Venom with the Hugo2? IM just plugging into the coaxial RN.

 

[fiascogarcia]

Oh, he makes you wait...

Like a 3:00pm doctor's appointment.