[Frankie D]

Wow, I didn’t know they are out of stock but looks like you’ll need to wait for either of them to restock.

Overall, the Armin helps a lot with storing thicker cables with your IEMs but one area I don’t like about the Armin is its zippers. The zippers on the Armin doesn’t move around as smoothly as the Arca’s.

Good to know, thanks. I have added a touch of oil in the past and worked it in to smooth out a zipper. I will make sure to try only one to start. So far my Arca cases work well for me though. Tks.

 

[chickenmcnug]

That would free up a ton of space. I love that separator though. I asked Dignis if they make or would make a slightly larger Arca and got shut down. I have a feeling they may not be able to keep up with demand. Who knows. Tks.

Not sure if you’ve heard of DD Hifi’s case. Similar to the Arca but has 2 separators and enough room for one IEM and a full sized dap/3 IEMs.

 

[Wyville]

Yes, that is correct! I do all my critical listening off of the same source for consistency. It seems like some IEMs utilizing ESTs, ie. the EE Wraith, require a high power source to even get treble, but I don’t think this is an issue with the Elysium. It’s quite splashy and elevated to my ears, maybe a little too pronounced even.

While consistency is certainly important, I would recommend using different sources or at least have access to different sources for those cases where you are not convinced about what you hear, just to be able to see if a different source will change that. The reason I personally appreciate having a few different sources to try out and why I always hope to add a few more such as a quality desktop rig, is that the performance of IEMs is subject to their synergy with the source. In other words, the source is a variable, even if you always use the same one. For instance, when I first started reviewing the FiR M4 with the Lotoo PAW6000, I found the synergy was not ideal and it resulted in a treble that I found rather fatiguing. Switching to the Cowon Plenue 2 that problem was resolved entirely. That told me something about the M4 I would not have known otherwise. Consistency is of course still important and therefore I did all my comparisons in that review using the Plenue 2 instead of my now favoured PAW6000.

The same thing goes for the music I use for a review. I always try to find out what music IEMs do and do not work well with. Some IEMs are amazing with classical, while others sound like crap by comparison. At the same time the reverse could be the case for rock or EDM. Once I identify the strengths and weaknesses, it informs me what music I can use for comparisons in order to give myself a better sense of how IEMs differ from one another because I can play to those strengths and weaknesses. Comparing where one IEM is strong and another weak (and vice versa) informs me about the tuning choices that were made, what trade-offs went into the design and therefore what could be important to share in my review.

So while it is very good to aim at consistency, I personally include an initial "exploration phase" where I will try as much as possible (e.g. source, music) to, as it were, let the IEMs speak for themselves. I base my further assessment on that. It is like doing scientific research, where you first want to understand the subject of your research in a global way before diving into a detailed analysis because that initial global assessment guides the detailed analysis. It helps to build up a more comprehensive picture of the IEMs by identifying what I think their purpose is, unpicking their signature and getting a sense of how well they do at achieving what I think the manufacturer set out to achieve.

A completely unsolicited sharing of thoughts, but perhaps interesting nonetheless.

For anyone who got really bored by that, here is an update on our puppy (four weeks old now):

 

[chimney189]

Would the next natural upgrade from the Vega be the Legend X? I'm enjoying the Vega, and I LOVE the fit. I don't like that vocals can sometimes sound a bit shrill, yet at the same time the treble can be exciting with instrumental music and makes rock and guitars sound bombastic. I'm a bit worried that the Legend X may sound too congested and might be too big for medium sized to smaller ears.

Any thoughts?

 

[twister6]

Never mind IEMs and DAPs, I think we are looking at the new official mascot of Tw6 team

The puppy is adorable!!!!!!!

@Animagus @EagleWings

 

[Wyville]

Never mind IEMs and DAPs, I think we are looking at the new official mascot of Tw6 team

The puppy is adorable!!!!!!!

@Animagus @EagleWings

Yeah, the puppies are super cute. This one or his brother will be ours, but his brother was more adventurous and so a lot more difficult to get a picture of. We visited the breeder last week (pups need to stay with their mother until around 8 weeks) and all of them (2 male, 2 female) were adorable and were already showing their own character. Can't wait to bring ours home in around 4 weeks time!

 

[doctorjuggles]

Goodness me, that's a cute little puppy!

 

[ranfan]

@Wyville What a fine looking puppy! So innocent and cute Congrats on finally getting one, Eric I've been following this thread waiting for this moment. At last, Wyville's getting a dog! Please keep us up to date

 

[Frankie D]

Not sure if you’ve heard of DD Hifi’s case. Similar to the Arca but has 2 separators and enough room for one IEM and a full sized dap/3 IEMs.

Thanks. I had looked at that case, but liked the ARCA better. It is an option though. However I am able to fit my PW1950 in the ARCA case and anything less thick is much easier. Tks.

 

[Wyville]

@Wyville What a fine looking puppy! So innocent and cute Congrats on finally getting one, Eric I've been following this thread waiting for this moment. At last, Wyville's getting a dog! Please keep us up to date

Will do buddy! (My wife is already hinting that our dog will probably want a brother or sister soon after settling in, so things might move fast from here on out. )

 

[proedros]

August 1st , there is a new kid in town....

8 - 1 - 2 0 2 0

 

[Precogvision]

While consistency is certainly important, I would recommend using different sources or at least have access to different sources for those cases where you are not convinced about what you hear, just to be able to see if a different source will change that.

I totally understand where you're coming from! More testing can never hurt. In my case, I guess I should've been more clear. It's not that I'm opposed to the idea or won't do it, but that I can't. I don't even have access to a high-power source.

As a college student, most of my listening is done on the go, and it just doesn't make sense for me to purchase something I would rarely use, much less multiple. I'm also based out of the US, so you can imagine how scarce audio stores are. Most of the stuff that I've had come in are, well, demos. I neither have the luxury of going to the store and demoing something, nor can I actually buy this stuff like some of you big money boys! I guess you could also say I'm in a bit of a weird spot reviewing-wise. Please don't make fun of this broke money boi too much

Just to play Devil's Advocate, particularly with IEMs, I think that a good chunk of their functionality is predicated on their portability. If you're running them off of something like a desktop setup, it really begs the question of why not get a headphone instead? To this end, while I'm sure some have very valid reasons for doing so, I'd posit that most are running IEMs off of portable sources. That doesn't address the question of source variance, but I think it's a very relevant concern with the ESTAT stuff which almost seems to mandate a high-power source in some cases. It effectively eliminates a large demographic of buyers - myself as an example above - if a high-power source is needed to get ideal performance.

Hope this helps explain!

 

[davidcotton]

April 1st , there is a new kid in town....

FTFY

 

[Wyville]

I totally understand where you're coming from! More testing can never hurt. In my case, I guess I should've been more clear. It's not that I'm opposed to the idea or won't do it, but that I can't. I don't even have access to a high-power source.

As a college student, most of my listening is done on the go, and it just doesn't make sense for me to purchase something I would rarely use, much less multiple. I'm also based out of the US, so you can imagine how scarce audio stores are. Most of the stuff that I've had come in are, well, demos. I neither have the luxury of going to the store and demoing something, nor can I actually buy this stuff like some of you big money boys! I guess you could also say I'm in a bit of a weird spot reviewing-wise. Please don't make fun of this broke money boi too much

Just to play Devil's Advocate, particularly with IEMs, I think that a good chunk of their functionality is predicated on their portability. If you're running them off of something like a desktop setup, it really begs the question of why not get a headphone instead? To this end, while I'm sure some have very valid reasons for doing so, I'd posit that most are running IEMs off of portable sources. That doesn't address the question of source variance, but I think it's a very relevant concern with the ESTAT stuff which almost seems to mandate a high-power source in some cases. It effectively eliminates a large demographic of buyers - myself as an example above - if a high-power source is needed to get ideal performance.

Hope this helps explain!

Yeah, I thought access to gear might be a limiting factor for you as well. A lot of my early reviews I was only able to do thanks to generous friends letting me borrow their gear and the odd demo unit, so I know what it is like. I certainly did not mean it as a criticism, more as a suggestion on how you could develop your reviewing going forward. It all sounds easy, but I don’t have a lot to spend on desktop gear and such either, being a chronically underfunded academic. Doesn’t make sense either to spend money on gear purely for the sake of reviewing (unless you do it professionally).

Definitely a fair point on IEMs and desktop gear and sticking to your own use. Makes perfect sense.

 

[Animagus]

While consistency is certainly important, I would recommend using different sources or at least have access to different sources for those cases where you are not convinced about what you hear, just to be able to see if a different source will change that. The reason I personally appreciate having a few different sources to try out and why I always hope to add a few more such as a quality desktop rig, is that the performance of IEMs is subject to their synergy with the source. In other words, the source is a variable, even if you always use the same one. For instance, when I first started reviewing the FiR M4 with the Lotoo PAW6000, I found the synergy was not ideal and it resulted in a treble that I found rather fatiguing. Switching to the Cowon Plenue 2 that problem was resolved entirely. That told me something about the M4 I would not have known otherwise. Consistency is of course still important and therefore I did all my comparisons in that review using the Plenue 2 instead of my now favoured PAW6000.

The same thing goes for the music I use for a review. I always try to find out what music IEMs do and do not work well with. Some IEMs are amazing with classical, while others sound like crap by comparison. At the same time the reverse could be the case for rock or EDM. Once I identify the strengths and weaknesses, it informs me what music I can use for comparisons in order to give myself a better sense of how IEMs differ from one another because I can play to those strengths and weaknesses. Comparing where one IEM is strong and another weak (and vice versa) informs me about the tuning choices that were made, what trade-offs went into the design and therefore what could be important to share in my review.

So while it is very good to aim at consistency, I personally include an initial "exploration phase" where I will try as much as possible (e.g. source, music) to, as it were, let the IEMs speak for themselves. I base my further assessment on that. It is like doing scientific research, where you first want to understand the subject of your research in a global way before diving into a detailed analysis because that initial global assessment guides the detailed analysis. It helps to build up a more comprehensive picture of the IEMs by identifying what I think their purpose is, unpicking their signature and getting a sense of how well they do at achieving what I think the manufacturer set out to achieve.

A completely unsolicited sharing of thoughts, but perhaps interesting nonetheless.

For anyone who got really bored by that, here is an update on our puppy (four weeks old now):

Oh man! It looks so cute! Can't wait for you to get it and send a video.