deafdoorknob
1000+ Head-Fier
custom tips is a much cheaper investment
flinkenick's 17 Flagship IEM Shootout Thread (and general high-end portable audio discussion)
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Only going by impressions of others since I didn't try Erlkonig, but seems many do bring up the weight of the shells. With IER-Z1R, yep, they are heavy and bulky, sticking out too far out of the ears (picture below). Didn't enjoy them as much. Good soundstage/imaging, but the sound is kind of similar to Fourte with a thinner and more artificial mids (was driving it from LPGT, and had a proper seal with my own eartips). JH old universal, yeah, that's another one that used to stick out of my ears. Btw, tried JH Layla, and that was kind of a disappointment as well. With bass pots down, the sound was still thicker and lower mids were a bit buddy/veiled; with bass tuned up - the sound got even thicker and more veiled, definitely suited better for musicians, not audiophiles, though I heard with a cable upgrade it will scale up and improve.
Looking back at CJ NYC, the highlight for me was P71 (Andy had a demo unit at Cayin table), qdc VX, and UM 3BA Mirage, and also full size Empyrean. Tried a few other full size cans, HD820 soundstage was too closed back, even beyond being "intimate", and those sat so uncomfortably on my head. Also, Stellia was just OK, they had them hooked up to some Questyle dac/amp which was a really bad choice because it killed the dynamics. When @Andykong stopped by with his handy 4.4mm adapter and I listened to them from Cayin N8 - they came alive, but I still preferred Empyrean. Just a personal subjective opinion, also considering that I'm not a full-size cans person. Forgot to audition Utopia, kicking myself for that.
Only going by impressions of others since I didn't try Erlkonig, but seems many do bring up the weight of the shells. With IER-Z1R, yep, they are heavy and bulky, sticking out too far out of the ears (picture below). Didn't enjoy them as much. Good soundstage/imaging, but the sound is kind of similar to Fourte with a thinner and more artificial mids (was driving it from LPGT, and had a proper seal with my own eartips). JH old universal, yeah, that's another one that used to stick out of my ears. Btw, tried JH Layla, and that was kind of a disappointment as well. With bass pots down, the sound was still thicker and lower mids were a bit buddy/veiled; with bass tuned up - the sound got even thicker and more veiled, definitely suited better for musicians, not audiophiles, though I heard with a cable upgrade it will scale up and improve.
Looking back at CJ NYC, the highlight for me was P71 (Andy had a demo unit at Cayin table), qdc VX, and UM 3BA Mirage, and also full size Empyrean. Tried a few other full size cans, HD820 soundstage was too closed back, even beyond being "intimate", and those sat so uncomfortably on my head. Also, Stellia was just OK, they had them hooked up to some Questyle dac/amp which was a really bad choice because it killed the dynamics. When @Andykong stopped by with his handy 4.4mm adapter and I listened to them from Cayin N8 - they came alive, but I still preferred Empyrean. Just a personal subjective opinion, also considering that I'm not a full-size cans person. Forgot to audition Utopia, kicking myself for that.
I’ve heard lots of good things about the Mirage and the P71, can’t wait to give ‘em a go at CJ SG next month. I concur about the HD820. They had a weird chestiness to them that had vocalists sounding phlegm-y and closed-in. Tried getting used to the signature, but it wasn’t something I could really adjust to.
Mimouille
Headphoneus Supremus
Does that apply only to this post
Ricky64
100+ Head-Fier
I think I should purchase these along with a Sony DMP Z1. They would definitely be my endgame, as I would be broke, and my wife would likely have cut off my hands, and other appendages...Well obviously I can't wear them twice, that would be disgusting. So I use a clean new pair every day.
Perhaps the Erlkönig are marketed much more as a luxury item where opulence and exclusivity are the priorities?
EagleWings
Headphoneus Supremus
My Phantom Review: https://twister6.com/2019/02/20/empire-ears-phantom/
P.S: Some of you may not like/agree with what I wrote
P.S: Some of you may not like/agree with what I wrote
davidmolliere
Headphoneus Supremus
It’s good to have alternative takes on the Phantom, not the easiest IEM to review as it has more facets than meets the eye indeed... I didn’t tackle that mountain myself
Discussing the notion of “natural” is a good thing as well, we all have a different understanding that is not always easy to articulate. I like that it opens a debate there!
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EagleWings
Headphoneus Supremus
It’s good to have alternative takes on the Phantom, not the easiest IEM to review as it has more facets than meets the eye indeed... I didn’t tackle that mountain myself
Yea, I was feeling very delicate to post this review. Nic is a very good friend and Jack went out of his way to help me once in the past. Shortly after ordering my Zeus, I was in a car accident. After Jack learnt about it, he refunded my cash, so that I could pay the medical bills. Of course, I had to make the full payment to receive my Zeus. But how many manufacturers would help you out in a situation like that?
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davidmolliere
Headphoneus Supremus
Classy gesture indeed.
Well I don’t see any issue having different opinions between friends, I know at meetups here in Paris I disagree with people (sometimes in a big way) I respect and like
One thing for sure, the Phantom have a pretty unique signature in the market I don’t know anything that comes close. The more I dive into this hobby the more I am mostly interested in those signatures... that or top notch versions of a given type. I have tried too many variants of the same.
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WOW, I didn't know that. That was a gesture of a true gentleman!!!
Vishnu, thank you for this review/contribution on Tw6. This was a straight to the point audiophile quality write up focused on sound. When it comes to audio gear, we don't have to agree on everything. We have different taste, different point of reference for comparison, different ears, different perspective. Positive or negative, as long as we are honest and civilized in our discussion - that's all that matters
EagleWings
Headphoneus Supremus
WOW, I didn't know that. That was a gesture of a true gentleman!!!
Vishnu, thank you for this review/contribution on Tw6. This was a straight to the point audiophile quality write up focused on sound. When it comes to audio gear, we don't have to agree on everything. We have different taste, different point of reference for comparison, different ears, different perspective. Positive or negative, as long as we are honest and civilized in our discussion - that's all that matters
Anytime man. And thanks to you for letting me be part of the Tw6 family.
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Mim is on fire this week...
Vin Deezel177, I'm going to use my UE10 soon ( less than 300 hours usage) for portable iPhone use. I was able to retrieve some old website info, how do you think the specs hold up with modern day CIEMs? It's like deja vu having to re-learn about CIEMs again... Back then only had two TOTL choices.
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deafdoorknob
1000+ Head-Fier
#tbt this article really resonated with me and to a large extent, informed my own take on the hobby. Replace “loudspeakers” with headphones or iems and it is still valid. ymmv of course...
“The pursuit of unhappiness
The above is only one of the many, many reasons I say that real music and hi-fi have nothing to do with one another. They are different experiences. Wishing they weren't different is understandable and perhaps even noble, but pointless. Wishing won't make it so.
It won't make it so because, no matter what "philosophy" informs your hi-fi system, that system will do what you want it to do with only a relatively small percentage of the recordings in your collection—unless, of course, your collection is very tiny and very limited to well-recorded performances of...well, I guess it might actually work for an audiophile, after all. But for everyone else, the pursuit of fidelity is pointless—so you might as well just have fun with that multi-thousand-dollar rack of toys filling one end of your room”.
https://www.stereophile.com/artdudleylistening/104listening/index.html
“The pursuit of unhappiness
The above is only one of the many, many reasons I say that real music and hi-fi have nothing to do with one another. They are different experiences. Wishing they weren't different is understandable and perhaps even noble, but pointless. Wishing won't make it so.
It won't make it so because, no matter what "philosophy" informs your hi-fi system, that system will do what you want it to do with only a relatively small percentage of the recordings in your collection—unless, of course, your collection is very tiny and very limited to well-recorded performances of...well, I guess it might actually work for an audiophile, after all. But for everyone else, the pursuit of fidelity is pointless—so you might as well just have fun with that multi-thousand-dollar rack of toys filling one end of your room”.
https://www.stereophile.com/artdudleylistening/104listening/index.html
Mim is on fire this week...
Vin Deezel177, I'm going to use my UE10 soon ( less than 300 hours usage) for portable iPhone use. I was able to retrieve some old website info, how do you think the specs hold up with modern day CIEMs? It's like deja vu having to re-learn about CIEMs again... Back then only had two TOTL choices.
Well, I personally belong to a camp that believe specs mostly don't matter; at least, not relative to actual sonic performance. Unfortunately, the only valuable piece of info I could've gotten from the sheet isn't there: The frequency response graph! Well, you're gonna use the IEM either way, right? Do the specs really matter?
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