[474194]

Among the IEMs I tried the Ultimate Ears UE18+ Pro were by far my favourite. They sounded so realistic and had a warmth and smoothness to them that was quite alluring. Vocals too sounded very nice with them. I was not entirely sure what to expect based on Nic's review but I can understand why he initially thought they might win the shootout. As he said, the tone feels spot on and that makes them very special to my ears.

In terms of cables Horus left a real impression, but it is highly likely that I will be looking to buy the UE18+ Pro with Lionheart in a few months time. I will still demo a few other options, but I would be surprised if anything can suit my preferences as well as the UE18+.

Look out for Black Friday deals around that time...

 

[Wyville]

Look out for Black Friday deals around that time...

Oh, it will be past that time. A "few" months in this case is six months at the earliest. We'll need to move to a different country first and be sure we have funding for our research.

 

[474194]

Oh, it will be past that time. A "few" months in this case is six months at the earliest. We'll need to move to a different country first and be sure we have funding for our research.

Yes, no need to rush any purchases. Overseas relocations are expensive.

 

[Deezel177]

As many of you can now see on the front page, Head-Fi just dropped a CanJam @ RMAF 2017 preview video! I just skimmed through the whole thing and the only interesting developments as far as custom IEMs go, are 64Audio's Product X and Product Y (because Proto-X and Proto-H were already taken). I'd love for them to be a U6 and/or a U8 with Tia drivers, but I guess we won't find out until November.



Then, on the Unique Melody bit, there's a picture of what looks like a universal UM IEM with JH/Sony-esque screw-on connectors and ADEL/APEX-like modules on the faceplates. Really intriguing.

 

[ductrung3993]

I would not

They are different, SE5 Ultimate had smoother. Treble although just as extended, more body in the bass, more subbass.

Hmm how about PP8 vs Andromeda then?

 

[ljnew]

Among the IEMs I tried the Ultimate Ears UE18+ Pro were by far my favourite. They sounded so realistic and had a warmth and smoothness to them that was quite alluring. Vocals too sounded very nice with them. I was not entirely sure what to expect based on Nic's review but I can understand why he initially thought they might win the shootout. As he said, the tone feels spot on and that makes them very special to my ears.

In terms of cables Horus left a real impression, but it is highly likely that I will be looking to buy the UE18+ Pro with Lionheart in a few months time. I will still demo a few other options, but I would be surprised if anything can suit my preferences as well as the UE18+.

I've tried tons of iem in different price ranges. The ones I found to be detailed and flat is the ath-e70, has bass, treble and mids detailed and flat. Technically superior to most iems. However, I'm stll looking for a better sound. I find there's always a trade off between superior bass and ultra detailed accurate treble. You have to give up one of the other to some degree.

In your opinion, how is the treble very detailed? Does the ue18+ have really deep subwoofer bass while delivering super accurate treble?

 

[Fiberoptix]

Spent the day at Indulgence today. Had a great time listening to some amazing room setups. So much so that I didn't get too much time to check out the Headroom. I did however spend a fair bit of time at the Kumitate stand and Effect Audio.

I liked the Kumitate demo's. The highlight for me was the KL-Kanon. The bass is amazing, I though there was a DD in there at first but turned out to be full BA. Amazing decay and deep sub bass just like a good quality woofer in a studio setup. It was not an overpowering bass, just a little north of neutral but in good harmony with the rest of the spectrum, not clouding finer details. Other than that the mids and highs seemed fairly balanced. I would say they're house sound is a fairly delicate approach which portrays good speed and resolution. Not a rich sound but not lacking (read: thin) either. Separation and staging was good on all the models I tried. They do seem to need a fair bit of power though.

I got a chance to try pretty much all the EA cables with my Heir 10 Ciem. I already have the Eros II which I'm a big fan of.

The Horus was amazing, this was the first time I ever tried anything above the £350 mark and I was very surprised. It was almost like the entire forward presentation was pulled out like an accordion and the depth quality went up a few notches. Focus of the presentation, separation and resolution was improved noticeably. All whilst keeping a rich presentation with natural tone. I could never spend the asking price on a cable but this was very good. Makes me wonder what the 1960 4 wire and SilverFi cables are like.

The other cable that stuck out for me was the Thor II +. I was quite taken aback at the increase in sound stage width, so much so that I can't actually remember anything else about the cable now that I think about it apart from thoroughly enjoying the sound. Even though the cost is stretching it for my cabling budget I think I would consider it just for that width!

 

[proedros]

cables is the new poison , once you are done ciem-wise and dap-wise

the wise question though is 'am i better with a new 1500$ cable or a new 1500$ ciem' ?
'

 

[Roscoeiii]

cables is the new poison , once you are done ciem-wise and dap-wise

the wise question though is 'am i better with a new 1500$ cable or a new 1500$ ciem' ?
'

$1500 ciem. Easy to answer this one.

 

[Gavin C4]

cables is the new poison , once you are done ciem-wise and dap-wise

the wise question though is 'am i better with a new 1500$ cable or a new 1500$ ciem' ?
'

CIEM no brainer

 

[Gavin C4]

I've tried tons of iem in different price ranges. The ones I found to be detailed and flat is the ath-e70, has bass, treble and mids detailed and flat. Technically superior to most iems. However, I'm stll looking for a better sound. I find there's always a trade off between superior bass and ultra detailed accurate treble. You have to give up one of the other to some degree.

In your opinion, how is the treble very detailed? Does the ue18+ have really deep subwoofer bass while delivering super accurate treble?

I don't think the UE 18+ Pro has a deep subwoofer bass comparing to something like the SE846. Only auditioned them shortly, I only remember it has great and close-up vocals.

 

[proedros]

it's a rhetorical question , unless i win a jackpot draw no way i am spending 1500$ on a cable - this is for the crazy (or very rich) ones.

 

[Deezel177]

I've tried tons of iem in different price ranges. The ones I found to be detailed and flat is the ath-e70, has bass, treble and mids detailed and flat. Technically superior to most iems. However, I'm stll looking for a better sound. I find there's always a trade off between superior bass and ultra detailed accurate treble. You have to give up one of the other to some degree.

In your opinion, how is the treble very detailed? Does the ue18+ have really deep subwoofer bass while delivering super accurate treble?

You might wanna look at the 64Audio A12/A18, AAW W900, Jomo Samba, Lime Ears Aether (or whatever they'll be releasing soon) and (as per Nic's recommendation) the Rhapsodio Solar. Those might be more up your alley.

 

[Wyville]

I've tried tons of iem in different price ranges. The ones I found to be detailed and flat is the ath-e70, has bass, treble and mids detailed and flat. Technically superior to most iems. However, I'm stll looking for a better sound. I find there's always a trade off between superior bass and ultra detailed accurate treble. You have to give up one of the other to some degree.

In your opinion, how is the treble very detailed? Does the ue18+ have really deep subwoofer bass while delivering super accurate treble?

No, I don't think the UE18+ Pro is what you are looking for. You can check out Nic's review (I only had a brief demo) and you will see it has attenuated treble in order to get its tonality. I do not think the bass went very deep either, but I did not really test that as I was focusing on classical and acoustic vocal music to hear what instruments and vocals sounded like.

Perhaps check out the Campfire Audio Vega: Nic's review. It is a dynamic driver with great bass and prominent treble, but it manages to retain a lot of detail.
Alternatively, the Advanced AcousticWerkes W900 might be interesting: Nic's review
Or perhaps the Noble Encore: Pinky's review
Just as a few options. I also found that the Acoustune HS1500 series had some serious bass, but can't remember the treble performance.

Hope this helps!

 

[ezekiel77]

Back from Indulgence and as promised some (tentative) impressions, sans photos because I remembered to charge the battery and I remembered to bring the camera, but I forgot to take the battery out of the charger... Doh! Took a few shots with my phone, but that was just tragic and unworthy of the wonderful IEMs and cables I have heard.

First up a visit to Gisele Flower of Aid2Hearing. She had arranged the Ultimate Ears UE18+ Pro especially for me, and I had been dying to demo them for a long time. They did not disappoint! Beautiful, I would call them. Warm and smooth with a gorgeous tonality and wonderful coherence. They did so much right that they are one of two things that I demoed that really stuck with me. Other IEMs on my "to demo" list were of course the Custom Art Harmony 8.2. These too did not disappoint me at all. They were a bit more bass-heavy and a little warmer, but an excellent bass, great tonality and just my type of treble. Piotr's latest creations were also there: FIBAE-1 and 2. I listened to the FIBAE-2 and they were great, very dynamic and engaging. I think really special IEMs in their price range. Gisele was also representing Noble and so I got a chance to demo the Noble Encore and Katana, but they did not do it for me. The Katana had great clarity, but was too bright and did not really do anything for me. The Encore was more exciting but again with the treble a bit too forward for my taste, although it did work great for music like Imagine Dragon's "Thunder". Another brand Gisele was representing was the much less known Hear Wave Audio, a London-based brand. I met with Lewie Winters, the man behind HW Audio, and demoed his universal iE6 (6-driver) model and was really impressed by it. Lewie explained that his IEMs were made for musicians (etc) who wear them a lot and the signature was very well done with a nice bit of sparkle, but entirely fatigue free. Great warm and smooth IEMs that really fit my preferences.

So you might ask, what else did stick alongside the UE18+ Pro? Well it is of course the Effect Audio Horus. That was my next stop at the booth of HiFiHeadphones where I met up with @Oscar-HiFi, a really great guy and I could have talked for hours with him! Horus was a stunning cable and does things I did not think were possible. Oscar and I came to the same conclusion here. With the 64 Audio U6 (M15 module) it has a bass presence that is astonishing and yet everything else is crystal clear and smooth with an amazingly natural tonality. The dynamics are unbelievable. I made the fatal error of listening to the Horus first and Lionheart second, and Lionheart came off as subdued while it was clearly an amazing cable, I just needed a few minutes to adjust after Horus. Worth its eye-watering price tag? I am tempted to say 'yes', even with just that short demo. It really impresses straight away. Lionheart was also very impressive. I got the impression that it improved clarity while maintaining an organic tonality. Another one of those things where you would normally expect the two to oppose each other and yet Lionheart did it very well. I did suspect that the qualities of Lionheart did not come through well enough in the noisy environment. At least, I got the impression there were subtle qualities in its tonality there that were hard to pick up with all the noise around. Oscar also gave me the Oriveti New Primacy paired with (I believe) Thor Silver II and what fun IEMs! The pairing was quite exciting, although perhaps a little too exciting in the treble for me, but I think the Oriveti are really nice and very comfortable IEMs that offer an attractive option at the price.

I went around the show a bit more and tried a few other things. I met with the owner of Kumitate Lab and he offered me his flagship IEMs, the Lakh, for demo. I was quite impressed despite the fact that they seemed to have a somewhat stronger treble presence, but it worked very well for classical music and strings. Not so well for vocal jazz such as Caro Emerald, where I felt the lushness of her voice was lacking a bit. Could also be because I am used to very warm IEMs with a strong vocal presence. Next door were Acoustune and I demoed their HS1500 series, the red copper. I hadn't even really looked at what they were and did not realise it was a dynamic driver until the music started. What a wonderful bass! Very engaging, but perhaps not the most practical IEMs (and the metal was bloody cold!). Both companies develop their own cables and Kumitate Lab make a very nice thin, Linum-like cable, while Acoustune make a very thick and rugged one (well fitted for the build of the IEMs). Finally I had a go with the Audioquest Nightowl. I really did like these; warm and smooth, and very comfortable, but I think I am very much an IEM-guy because the bulk of the headphones was just too much on my head.

So lightning quick impressions, but given the circumstances I would not want to go into any more detail. Certainly a very interesting show with a lot more interesting things I did not get to demo.

Nothing like finally hearing them yourself eh? I'm very happy for you! Mind made up at last! Hahaha. And yup I agree with @Deezel177 you owe yourself a listen to A12. It goes for warm and organic as well. I think it's a tier above 8.2.