[jeejack]

I am waiting for the best opportunity to give my thoughts on these creations. I hope to make it as informative as @WoodyLuvr did in his own dedication post. I am waiting for two earbuds from Fran and I'm applying as much patience and understanding as I can muster during the wait. Good things take time and I am more than happy to wait. When I have all three sets to hand I will post my thoughts on them.

FranQL Aquila, Ibis and Blue Moon. Ibis is using a driver that I and @FranQL have a soft spot for. Not an all rounder but one that has a lovely timbre and good stage.

Blue Moon has been lauded by @Charlyro222 as 'TOTL' quality and I hold his opinion in high regard. Very excited to hear this one!

I have been busy recently with less listening time than I'd prefer but spending time with my earbuds when I can and sharing music with friends has made that pace to life much more tolerable. So thank you to Fran and to friends!

Here's to the continuation of the @FranQL Magical Mystery Tour! *raises a glass*

Ibis and Blue Moon drivers are the closest to my soul. I always choose Ibis for "that music"

 

[jeejack]

Aquila

 

[FranQL]

Tic tac tic tac

 

[Leonarfd]

Tic tac tic tac

Looking forward to Blue Moon

 

[jeejack]

Looking forward to Blue Moon

Just three words - clean, clear and detailed

 

[samandhi]

Just three words - clean, clear and detailed

Wow! More so than the Aquila? Fantastic!

 

[jeejack]

Wow! More so than the Aquila? Fantastic!

Let's wait for @ian91 to tell us more

 

[ian91]

Top left: FranQL Ibis
Top right: FranQL Aquila
Bottom left: FranQL Blue Moon
Bottom right: Ibis & Egyptian-themed carry case. Love it!

Fran has outdone himself with these two latest sets - the Blue Moon and the Ibis. The Ibis is a warm, easy-listener with resonance and harmonics galore and a wide stage that really suits jazz, male vocals and instrumental tracks. By comparison to my only other set using the 400ohm graphene this several steps above in tuning and implementation, especially in the low end weight which is very satisfying. Similar to APWS it's a 'dreamy' mid-centric sound with excellent timbre that I could listen to all day without fatigue. It handles male vocals beautifully.

As for Blue Moon, I think it's sitting in the top reaches of my earbud ranking but I need to burn in and settle with it before knowing if it will supplant APWS. Giving it power this driver shows 'TOTL' end-to-end extension with a brilliance, sparkle and air that makes vocals and acoustic lift off the track. As @jeejack said, this is a very clean and resolute sound. Increase the volume and there's no distortion at all. I have listened to a number of my test tracks (mainly Nenad Vasilic on double bass) and I'm quite confident this is the most resolving earbud I have in my collection now. It does so quite naturally and without effort. This is competing side-by-side with the best out there and it makes me immensely proud of my hermano from another madre (yes, that's all the Spanish I know).

Both sets are going to make me shuffle my top ten and I'lI follow up with a tonality breakdown when life becomes a little less busy and I have reviews out the way

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Top left: FranQL Ibis
Top right: FranQL Aquila
Bottom left: FranQL Blue Moon
Bottom right: Ibis & Egyptian-themed carry case. Love it!

Fran has outdone himself with these two latest sets - the Blue Moon and the Ibis. The Ibis is a warm, easy-listener with resonance and harmonics galore that really suits jazz, male vocals and instrumental tracks. By comparison to my only other set using the 400ohm graphene this several steps above in tuning and implementation, especially in the low end weight which is very satisfying. Similar to APWS it's a 'dreamy' mid-centric sound with excellent timbre that I could listen to all day without fatigue. It handles male vocals beautifully.

As for Blue Moon, I think it's sitting in the top reaches of my earbud ranking but I need to burn in and settle with it before knowing if it will supplant APWS. Giving it power this driver shows 'TOTL' end to end extension with a brilliance, sparkle and air that makes vocals and acoustic lift off the track. As @jeejack said, this is a very clean and resolute sound. Increase the volume and there's no distortion at all. I have listened to a number of my test tracks (mainly Nenad Vasilic on double bass) and I'm quite confident this is the most resolving earbud I have in my collection now. It does so quite naturally and without effort. This is competing side-by-side with the best out there and it makes me immensely proud of my hermano from another madre (yes, that's all the Spanish I know).

Both sets are going to make me shuffle my top ten and I'lI follow up with a tonality breakdown when life becomes a little less busy and I have reviews out the way

Awesome stuff... thank you for sharing those pics. Simply stunning! Bravo Fran, bravo!

 

[ian91]

Wow! More so than the Aquila? Fantastic!

Yes! Blue Moon is on a completely different level entirely.

 

[Leonarfd]

Top left: FranQL Ibis
Top right: FranQL Aquila
Bottom left: FranQL Blue Moon
Bottom right: Ibis & Egyptian-themed carry case. Love it!

Fran has outdone himself with these two latest sets - the Blue Moon and the Ibis. The Ibis is a warm, easy-listener with resonance and harmonics galore and a wide stage that really suits jazz, male vocals and instrumental tracks. By comparison to my only other set using the 400ohm graphene this several steps above in tuning and implementation, especially in the low end weight which is very satisfying. Similar to APWS it's a 'dreamy' mid-centric sound with excellent timbre that I could listen to all day without fatigue. It handles male vocals beautifully.

As for Blue Moon, I think it's sitting in the top reaches of my earbud ranking but I need to burn in and settle with it before knowing if it will supplant APWS. Giving it power this driver shows 'TOTL' end-to-end extension with a brilliance, sparkle and air that makes vocals and acoustic lift off the track. As @jeejack said, this is a very clean and resolute sound. Increase the volume and there's no distortion at all. I have listened to a number of my test tracks (mainly Nenad Vasilic on double bass) and I'm quite confident this is the most resolving earbud I have in my collection now. It does so quite naturally and without effort. This is competing side-by-side with the best out there and it makes me immensely proud of my hermano from another madre (yes, that's all the Spanish I know).

Both sets are going to make me shuffle my top ten and I'lI follow up with a tonality breakdown when life becomes a little less busy and I have reviews out the way

You got me even more excited now I trust both you and @Charlyro222, so I'm ready for the high performing Blue Moon.

Also in same shipment I get @FranQL earbud Wider Caelum and also his IEM Pegasus.

 

[Leonarfd]

First of, congratulation @FranQL. You have made some amazing earbuds here.

Blue Moon, such resolving and high end sounding earbud. More than impressed.

Wider Caelum, wow such full bodied sound. Is this truly an earbud? I love it.

 

[ian91]

First of, congratulation @FranQL. You have made some amazing earbuds here.

Blue Moon, such resolving and high end sounding earbud. More than impressed.



Wider Caelum, wow such full bodied sound. Is this truly an earbud? I love it.

How are you enjoying them? How do they pair with the Feliks Audio? I'm super impressed with Blue Moon and imagine a hint of tube warmth would really go a long way with this resolving set.

 

[Leonarfd]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/post-17774208
Linking to my post here. Just some small words on Blue Moon and Wider Caelum.

How are you enjoying them? How do they pair with the Feliks Audio? I'm super impressed with Blue Moon and imagine a hint of tube warmth would really go a long way with this resolving set.

Blue Moon sits as my faovorite earbud now, I am super impressed. @FranQL knows his stuff.
The impedance of Blue Moon makes it just within the working range for my OTL amp Echo, and the pairing is very nice.
It does take of some upper range hotness away, and makes it sound slightly more rich and euphonic. But it still retain its resolving nature, being delicate, natural, open and clear sounding. Just adds a slight flavour to the sound, again this is with my current tubes that is rich in the bass and midrange (EH 6922 Gold Electro Harmonix).

 

[ian91]

A little time away from my earbuds to recover from a cold but I'm back with them again this evening.

Center stage tonight, the Ibis. This earbud has the most fulfilling instrument timbre out of all the earbuds/IEMs/headphones I have listened since I started my journey into this hobby.

Amongst other instruments, one of my favourites - the viol - is sublime on it. My words just won't do it justice. Deep notes fill the space outside the head and resonate with an honesty of attack and decay that I find unrivalled. I can feel the bow against the string and the air pressure of the deepest resonant frequencies emerging from the body of the instrument. The tonality is warm, smooth but detailed, not neutral but natural. It's 'woody', organic and flattering and places it all on stage that is grand in height and width. There's something unique and special to this driver, something that was largely nascent in earbuds I have heard use it before. It's naturally smooth, yet detailed, agranular and analog. Fran came along and unleashed it with a dimensional stage and with a low end that has a realistic weight. I know that this wasn't an easy tune. He says it's the hardest build of his collection and when he had his eureka moment making it work in the DP100 shell, it was great fun to hear the excitement.