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

[proedros]

Still one of the best IEMs I have owned. Needs a slightly warm source in my opinion.

i agree, a good copper cable also helps a lot to level out the lean/reference signature

pairing it with pw 1960s 2w really works well (along with my nayparm wm1a)

 

[proedros]

would u18t be an upgrade over hidition nt6 ?

anyone here who went from nt6 to u18t , impressions/thoughts ?

also is u18t a good iem to pair with sony wm1a ?

thank you in advance

 

[Jackpot77]

Yes, I agree! Below is the list of 5 best IEM's I've heard so far (from best to worse, but still very good SQ, IMHO). Notice the price difference between some of them and not to mention driver count difference.
In my experience and from what I've heard price doesn't always correspond directly to TOTL sound and there are exceptions, fortunately.
I wonder how CFA Clara sounds and if it's not yet another hyped IEM. Especially since I'm a fan of Alessandro Cortini and going to a gig soon.

My subjective list of 5 best IEM's I've heard so far:

1) Spiral Ear SE6 Nebula custom: EUR 2999 (outside EU)/EUR 3689 (EU)
2) SE5 Nebula custom: EUR 1579 (outside EU)/EUR 1943 (EU)
3) Elysian Annihilator 2023: EUR 3395
4) Subtonic Audio Storm: EUR 5045
5) APX SE: EUR 5500

Always wondered how the SE5 Nebula compared to the SE6 Nebula - is there any appreciable jump up in quality, or is it now subtle?

 

[Mimouille]

would u18t be an upgrade over hidition nt6 ?

anyone here who went from nt6 to u18t , impressions/thoughts ?

also is u18t a good iem to pair with sony wm1a ?

thank you in advance

I have no idea but based on Nick's ranking looks more like a side grade.

 

[proedros]

I have no idea but based on Nick's ranking looks more like a side grade.

until i hear it it will remain a mystery , it should be 'better' but how much better is always the burning question

would love to try a18t but paying 3K euros for the custom version is definitely out of my spending limit

for now NT6 is fine , if/when it breaks down we shall reconsider the options

Fibae 7 Unlimited also seems an interesting option (and much cheaper , custom version being priced at 1500 euros) and i could always try the demo version

 

[mythosaur]

Always wondered how the SE5 Nebula compared to the SE6 Nebula - is there any appreciable jump up in quality, or is it now subtle?

Yes, the difference between these is massive to my ears, not subtle at all. SE5 Nebula are already premium quality monitors and to my ears they rival sonically in many areas current flagships, or at least the ones I'd the pleasure of hearing.

For me SE6 Nebula are way ahead and beyond that. They are super technical, super extended in entire sound spectrum, analytical/neutral and can deal with anything thrown at them with such ease it's mind-blowing and with just ridiculous transparency, balance and resolution. Emotions through the roof at the same time.
Drums and synths are sublime, very dynamic and with that resolution and fidelity you can pinpoint and extract exact effects used and/or exact model of instruments musician is using; but so are pianos, cymbals (with that kind of treble extension and resolution!), cellos and guitars and female and male vocals, and the list goes on. If it's in the recording they also have a very spacious holographic headroom, 3D instrument placement and an abundance of air in between. Microdetails and harmonic afterimage capability of that magnitude- again, never experienced previously, i.e. never realised such sustain/decay was there in my recordings. They are also fast as hell.

I drive them with iBasso DX260, which is also neutral and transparent, on high gain with hi-res tracks and I've never heard anything else at this TOTL level.

 

[Kerouac]

Yes, I agree! Below is the list of 5 best IEM's I've heard so far (from best to worse, but still very good SQ, IMHO). Notice the price difference between some of them and not to mention driver count difference.
In my experience and from what I've heard price doesn't always correspond directly to TOTL sound and there are exceptions, fortunately.
I wonder how CFA Clara sounds and if it's not yet another hyped IEM. Especially since I'm a fan of Alessandro Cortini and going to a gig soon.

My subjective list of 5 best IEM's I've heard so far:

1) Spiral Ear SE6 Nebula custom: EUR 2999 (outside EU)/EUR 3689 (EU)
2) SE5 Nebula custom: EUR 1579 (outside EU)/EUR 1943 (EU)
3) Elysian Annihilator 2023: EUR 3395
4) Subtonic Audio Storm: EUR 5045
5) APX SE: EUR 5500

Yes, the difference between these is massive to my ears, not subtle at all. SE5 Nebula are already premium quality monitors and to my ears they rival sonically in many areas current flagships, or at least the ones I'd the pleasure of hearing.

For me SE6 Nebula are way ahead and beyond that. They are super technical, super extended in entire sound spectrum, analytical/neutral and can deal with anything thrown at them with such ease it's mind-blowing and with just ridiculous transparency, balance and resolution. Emotions through the roof at the same time.
Drums and synths are sublime, very dynamic and with that resolution and fidelity you can pinpoint and extract exact effects used and/or exact model of instruments musician is using; but so are pianos, cymbals (with that kind of treble extension and resolution!), cellos and guitars and female and male vocals, and the list goes on. If it's in the recording they also have a very spacious holographic headroom, 3D instrument placement and an abundance of air in between. Microdetails and harmonic afterimage capability of that magnitude- again, never experienced previously, i.e. never realised such sustain/decay was there in my recordings. They are also fast as hell.

I drive them with iBasso DX260, which is also neutral and transparent, on high gain with hi-res tracks and I've never heard anything else at this TOTL level.

Oh man, just when I thought I was finally done with that (need to try) itching feeling, you post this! Call me intrigued, but please stop now, so I can find my inner peace (based on the thought that I had finally reached my endgame in this hobby) again

I'm also curious what you'll think about the CFA Clara when you have the chance to hear them. The CFA Solaris Stellar Horizon is my current favorite iem (especially great synergy with the LPGT) in my collection...


Followed closely by this (TSAD M2) custom one...


Btw, nice to see some HF 'oldtimers' pop up in this thread over the past weeks. Hope everybody's still doing fine (and enjoying their music) these days!

 

[mythosaur]

Oh man, just when I thought I was finally done with that (need to try) itching feeling, you post this! Call me intrigued, but please stop now, so I can find my inner peace (based on the thought that I had finally reached my endgame in this hobby) again

I'm also curious what you'll think about the CFA Clara when you have the chance to hear them. The CFA Solaris Stellar Horizon is my current favorite iem (especially great synergy with the LPGT) in my collection...


Followed closely by this (TSAD M2) custom one...


Btw, nice to see some HF 'oldtimers' pop up in this thread over the past weeks. Hope everybody's still doing fine (and enjoying their music) these days!

The way I see it, if that's your endgame and you think you've found it then call it a day!
I'm also intrigued by CFA Clara and so far haven't heard anything from CFA.
Thanks for posting this and it's always great to find some new music via these forums and see what people listen to on their DAPs.

 

[Kerouac]

The way I see it, if that's your endgame and you think you've found it then call it a day!

Haha, that endgame is mainly based on the available audio budget, which I'm afraid is pretty close to zero these days

But I'm very happy with all the synergy options that I have over here right now. So many different signature 'flavors' to enjoy, all of them offering different listening session adventures

Oh, and @Mimouille: I just realized that I did read something (in the WC thread) about a Watercooler meeting in Paris later on this spring. Might be interesting for you (based on your location) in case you want to try some new totl iems and/or daps and meet some other HF members

 

[proedros]

Haha, that endgame is mainly based on the available audio budget, which I'm afraid is pretty close to zero these days

But I'm very happy with all the synergy options that I have over here right now. So many different signature 'flavors' to enjoy, all of them offering different listening session adventures

Oh, and @Mimouille: I just realized that I did read something (in the WC thread) about a Watercooler meeting in Paris later on this spring. Might be interesting for you (based on your location) in case you want to try some new totl iems and/or daps and meet some other HF members

just checked the price on se6 nebula

3689 EUR

for that kind of money i would expect a ciem to clean my house , cook my meals and bring me women around

se5 nebula seems (almost) like a bargain at half the cost

1943 EUR

 

[Kerouac]

just checked the price on se6 nebula 3689 EUR

for that kind of money i would expect a ciem to clean my house , cook my meals and bring me women around

What??? Are you saying that your ciems don't even do that for you?

se5 nebula seems (almost) like a bargain at half the cost

1943 EUR

And even 'only' €1459 / €1794 for the universal ones

Btw, I really like the design of that one compared to the grey/metallic looking other ones

It has some very nice 60's design vibe to it imo...

I still can't figure out why they charge 23% extra VAT for orders inside the EU though, as there simply is no VAT to pay within the EU itself. Must be that they figured that it would be fair (some kind of justice) if everybody (globally) pays the same amount in the end for their (c)iems I guess

 

[Mimouille]

Oh, and @Mimouille: I just realized that I did read something (in the WC thread) about a Watercooler meeting in Paris later on this spring. Might be interesting for you (based on your location) in case you want to try some new totl iems and/or daps and meet some other HF members

Hello, yes I saw that, it would be nice, mostly to see some people again, not sure I want to test anything and be tempted to throw money away

 

[proedros]

Hello, yes I saw that, it would be nice, mostly to see some people again, not sure I want to test anything and be tempted to throw money away

if anyone has a nayparm mod wm1a make sure you try it , i think it was one of my best 'value for money' purchases in this crazily overcharged hobby

 

[mythosaur]

What??? Are you saying that your ciems don't even do that for you?


And even 'only' €1459 / €1794 for the universal ones

Btw, I really like the design of that one compared to the grey/metallic looking other ones

It has some very nice 60's design vibe to it imo...

I still can't figure out why they charge 23% extra VAT for orders inside the EU though, as there simply is no VAT to pay within the EU itself. Must be that they figured that it would be fair (some kind of justice) if everybody (globally) pays the same amount in the end for their (c)iems I guess

Yes, I'd say their flagship is at least twice as good, which is crazy, and there's a major jump and difference in sound quality between these CIEMs.
Well, to my ears SE5 Nebula still does seem like a bargain and it made me purchase SE6 Nebula. Couldn't be happier now.

Could you elaborate? I work in a different field altogether and may be wrong, but as far as I know there's 23% VAT rate in Poland for businesses exporting all goods inside EU countries as well as domestically and 0% for exports outside EU.
I'm not certain if audio or electronics products may apply as tax-free intra-community shipments and haven't asked them.
There's 23% VAT rate on my invoices as well.

 

[Kerouac]

Yes, I'd say their flagship is at least twice as good, which is crazy, and there's a major jump and difference in sound quality between these CIEMs.
Well, to my ears SE5 Nebula still does seem like a bargain and it made me purchase SE6 Nebula. Couldn't be happier now.

I already liked the SE5U a lot when I had it (even twice) on a loan over here for some weeks, years ago...

As you can see in that pic I cut the hearts out of some silicone black tips and put them around the nozzles to get a good seal and comfortable fit. But that worked totally fine for me at the time

When both Nebulas are even an upgrade (in sound) over the SE5U, then I bet that they must sound fantastic indeed!

Could you elaborate? I work in a different field altogether and may be wrong, but as far as I know there's 23% VAT rate in Poland for businesses exporting all goods inside EU countries as well as domestically and 0% for exports outside EU.
I'm not certain if audio or electronics products may apply as tax-free intra-community shipments and haven't asked them.
There's 23% VAT rate on my invoices as well.

I'm also not a specialist in taxes. But I interpreted that VAT was meant as import taxes here and I've never paid (extra) import taxes for anything that I ordered/bought within the EU (incl. Poland). On the other side, I had to deal often with import taxes afterwards when I ordered/bought something from outside the EU.

...there's 23% VAT rate in Poland for businesses exporting all goods inside EU countries as well as domestically and 0% for exports outside EU.

Now, if this part is correct, then I can understand that Spiral Ear charges that extra 23% to their local and EU customers. But at the same time it seems that other Polish IEM companies like Custom Art or Lime Ears don't do it that way. They show exactly the same product prices for all of their customers on their websites, no matter where they're located. So, because of that, this different approach of Spiral Ear just came across as a bit strange to me initially