flinkenick's 17 Flagship IEM Shootout Thread (and general high-end portable audio discussion)

[ExpatinJapan]

We used to have some nice Head-fi meets in Tokyo in past years.

Back when gear was fairly sparse and wasnt readily available in shops.
We could get together and hear gear we would read about in Head-fi and also have a great casual conversation time which is harder at the larger shows.

Now we have a minimum of four headphone shows a year by Fujiya Avic and e-earphone.

Most of the gear people want to hear is in their stores or even now in the big electronic stores on display to listen to. Only a few more pricey items need staff request to demo.

So progress in the amount and quality of gear to try but at the expense of forging new and continuing old human relationships.

Some of us stil meet at the shows.
I tend to whizz around a bit as they are a bit busy for me.

 

[davidmolliere]

Oh my I knew I forgot to share one of the most impressive listen... I had the chance to listen to the KSE1500 and oh my this is a very different listening experience
Note that I have never heard any electrostatic before so there is that...
The fit is superb, really.

The audition.... one word : transparency!!! This is the most strikingly transparent listen I ever had, period. Also, I was really surprised at how full sounding those were, I expect them to be quite thinner and also brighter... but not at all. Bass is not lacking, great extension and amazing speed. Soundstage is out of this world wide with some great recordings, as well as imaging... it's really close to hearing the real thing! The realism on those is just stellar... I cycled through different genres and was impressed and in awe... until I tried some classical as they're shining with it from all accounts and for me it was not the best experience maybe I am too treble sensitive but it was almost painful... I probably need to spend more time and check more albums as I suspect it's highly transparent of the recording. Other stuff I didn't care for much was Rock and Metal. But on Folk, Blues and especially Jazz oh my...

The striking thing is their transparency, it's not about the IEM, the tuning, it's about the music pure and untouched... it sounds just perfectly "right". Not like a BA IEM, or a DD, or a full size headphone... just like a conduit to pure music. Really unique...

 

[twister6]

For anybody who is interested, I just posted a nice little write up with lots of pictures of Rhapsodio IEM adaptors (2pin to mmcx and mmcx to 2pin). 'Njoy!

 

[Mimouille]

Oh my I knew I forgot to share one of the most impressive listen... I had the chance to listen to the KSE1500 and oh my this is a very different listening experience
Note that I have never heard any electrostatic before so there is that...
The fit is superb, really.

The audition.... one word : transparency!!! This is the most strikingly transparent listen I ever had, period. Also, I was really surprised at how full sounding those were, I expect them to be quite thinner and also brighter... but not at all. Bass is not lacking, great extension and amazing speed. Soundstage is out of this world wide with some great recordings, as well as imaging... it's really close to hearing the real thing! The realism on those is just stellar... I cycled through different genres and was impressed and in awe... until I tried some classical as they're shining with it from all accounts and for me it was not the best experience maybe I am too treble sensitive but it was almost painful... I probably need to spend more time and check more albums as I suspect it's highly transparent of the recording. Other stuff I didn't care for much was Rock and Metal. But on Folk, Blues and especially Jazz oh my...

The striking thing is their transparency, it's not about the IEM, the tuning, it's about the music pure and untouched... it sounds just perfectly "right". Not like a BA IEM, or a DD, or a full size headphone... just like a conduit to pure music. Really unique...

I agree with you and highly recommend you purchase mine

 

[SLC1966]

For anybody who is interested, I just posted a nice little write up with lots of pictures of Rhapsodio IEM adaptors (2pin to mmcx and mmcx to 2pin). 'Njoy!

Twice this last year I was very happy to have this adapter. I found myself twice with a monitor with MMCX connection and I only had 2 pin cables available. It allowed me to play around with different cables to find a "synergy" fit. With one of the monitors I did eventually find an aftermarket MMCX cable I thought would work well based on my ability to play around using the adapters. The other time a found a cable I currently had that worked well with the monitor and adapter. I am having David at Triton Audio put am MMCX connection on it. While he is at it he is changing out the termination, choke and Y splitter to all PlusSound so they all match

BTW I did not have issue with fit using the adapters. The cable does not wrap directly around the ear as it leaves the monitor but it worked for me.

And also excellent write up. You spent a good/appropriate amount of time explaining well a very small item

 

[deafdoorknob]

So another meetup near Paris, another bunch of great opportunity to listen to great gear with kindred spirits of passionate people

The Solaris were clearly an attraction and lots of people have listened to it, a vast majority was pretty happy with the performance and signature and overall very interesting to get feedback from a very diverse crowd with quite different taste. Consensus around great soundstage and imaging, smoothness and extension both ways.

Now auditions... first, I had another shot at the K10 last time it was at the end of the meetup and I hadn't tip rolled... this is fixed and my impressions are trashed, the K10 is definitely a great IEM very balanced and musical and pretty nice fit as well. I can certainly understand why it ranked so high for so long and is still a very competitive IEM.

Now the IEM that left an impression during the meet was InEar PP8, the fit is superb really close to CIEM fit with a material that is very very nice to touch kudos InEar. A very linear IEM, with both switch off a reference tuning that is in no way boring it's much more musical than I expected. Very very natural and non fatiguing. I love the bass on the PP8, even with the switch off you get great extension (very nice subs), a lot of detail and just the right amount of mid bass to keep things fun. The switch on bring a bit more kick but it's not overdone. Same goes for the treble switch InEar went for a more conservative boost than say the Flameco with its switches. Switches are more a fine tuning of sort than a signature switch for me. I was very impressed by the PP8 and could get one eventually if a good deal pops up. Isolation is top notch as well, but comfort is just amazing really. Those are demanding, had to switch to high gain...

Full sized headphone that left an impression are Audeze LDC-X, a pretty nice match to the 1Z with ALO CV5, a lot more transparency and clarity that I am used to and a departure from the typical Audeze house sound. I had too short a listen but this makes me want to get back to headphones a bit and if a secondhand unit comes along... I'll keep my eyes open!

how did you find the solaris fare against pp8 and ve8?

i was impressed by a brief audition of pp8 but that was almost 2 years ago, but ve8, i was obsessed with for a few months, for it sounded so “alive” and “dynamic” even out of an iphone, tho ciem is impractical for a gearslut like me.

 

[twister6]

Twice this last year I was very happy to have this adapter. I found myself twice with a monitor with MMCX connection and I only had 2 pin cables available. It allowed me to play around with different cables to find a "synergy" fit. With one of the monitors I did eventually find an aftermarket MMCX cable I thought would work well based on my ability to play around using the adapters. The other time a found a cable I currently had that worked well with the monitor and adapter. I am having David at Triton Audio put am MMCX connection on it. While he is at it he is changing out the termination, choke and Y splitter to all PlusSound so they all match

BTW I did not have issue with fit using the adapters. The cable does not wrap directly around the ear as it leaves the monitor but it worked for me.

And also excellent write up. You spent a good/appropriate amount of time explaining well a very small item

Glad you enjoyed the write up It's a blessing and a curse being a reviewer where I analyze everything, and no matter how small or big or cheap or expensive the product is, I feel it deserves an equal amount of attention

 

[davidmolliere]

I agree with you and highly recommend you purchase mine

Oh but this is clearly on my mind, I know you're soon in Paris and I have the TN ad at the center of my mind... but it's just the worst time to fund this venture... I need to devise some creative funding there it's on my mind and I am considering putting my 15" touchbar macbook pro retina up for sale right as I write this Who needs a laptop This and news I am waiting on the 11th could very well make me cross the threshold

how did you find the solaris fare against pp8 and ve8? I was impressed by a brief audition of pp8 but that was almost 2 years ago, but ve8, i was obsessed with for a few months, for it sounded so “alive” and “dynamic” even out of an iphone, tho ciem is impractical for a gearslut like me.

Well I posted some comparison on the PP8 thread : https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new-inear-prophile-8.820797/page-42#post-14647822 as @noplsestar asked the same thing about Solaris vs PP8

The VE8 sound very much alive indeed, the PP8 won't scratch that itch I think it's not as exciting and engaging as the VE8 mainly because even with both switched on treble aren't as lively and overall it's much more linear, which doesn't mean they're boring quite the contrary but to me the PP8 are more laid back. It's really beauty in balance but again, they're not flat at all. The VE8 are just rock and roll The Solaris are even more so! Right now I have the PP8 on my mind both because I loved them when I auditioned them but also as a reference point for reviews.

Both the VE8 and PP8 are very refined with a lot of nuance and no weaknesses and are so versatile with any genre, the Solaris is more going for grandiose presentation and while they do feature a lot of nuances as well those need an attentive ear because of the grandeur of the presentation it's not what pops first.

 

[bobeau]

The audition.... one word : transparency!!! ... until I tried some classical as they're shining with it from all accounts and for me it was not the best experience maybe I am too treble sensitive but it was almost painful... I probably need to spend more time and check more albums as I suspect it's highly transparent of the recording.

Pretty much nailed my initial impressions with these as well. The clarity was out of this world, and the bass was much better than I was expecting, but a little tizzyness up top with a cymbals-yer-ears thing at times.

The treble indeed has spikes in the 9k and 17k areas, as well as a sizable dip around 13k. I eq these based off graphs I've seen and it makes a nice difference, but I'm still thinking about getting a measurement rig to confirm my eq or just building a convolution filter for Roon. I suppose you could get used to it, but for me I typically listen with a tad less volume if I can't eq.

 

[davidmolliere]

Pretty much nailed my initial impressions with these as well. The clarity was out of this world, and the bass was much better than I was expecting, but a little tizzyness up top with a cymbals-yer-ears thing at times.The treble indeed has sp ikes in the 9k and 17k areas, as well as a sizable dip around 13k. I eq these based off graphs I've seen and it makes a nice difference, but I'm still thinking about getting a measurement rig to confirm my eq or just building a convolution filter for Roon. I suppose you could get used to it, but for me I typically listen with a tad less volume if I can't eq.

Nice to know, thanks, didn't find any issue with it on quite a bit of Jazz I play those peaks never bothered... I'd need much more time with them.
And they sounded amazingly beautiful on 90% of the tracks I tested them with so there is that...

 

[davidmolliere]

Well, @Mimouille is pretty convincing, looks like I'll be joining the KSE1500 owner club soon

 

[bobeau]

Well, @Mimouille is pretty convincing, looks like I'll be joining the KSE1500 owner club soon

I think you'll really enjoy the journey ahead with these based on your initial impressions. I use these at my desk at work (programming), 3 months in and I'm still excited to come into work everyday if for nothing else than to listen to them. I do enjoy my home stereo system (Kef LS50W), but these are special.

 

[davidmolliere]

I think you'll really enjoy the journey ahead with these based on your initial impressions. I use these at my desk at work (programming), 3 months in and I'm still excited to come into work everyday if for nothing else than to listen to them. I do enjoy my home stereo system (Kef LS50W), but these are special.

I have no doubt I will, it seems some people have been underwhelmed upon first listen but quite the contrary for me after 10mn I was yelling "I need one!" to the meetup assembly with a big grin on my face

There is such beauty in that transparency... something to behold!

 

[proedros]

@davidmolliere you are deep inside the dark side , my friend

next stop SE6 ?

 

[davidmolliere]

@davidmolliere you are deep inside the dark side , my friend
next stop SE6 ?

Oh yeah I am deep into it for sure... I think 2019 is going to be resuscitation of finances this needs to stop at some point