[NellieG]

@NellieG, then the cable will be proprietary was the reason why I cancelled my JH Roxanne back then knowing I won’t be able to fabricated one.

I think the Canal Works model CW-L72PSTS approach tuned by using Resistor will be a better Option. Cable wise still as usual.

True, but cables are also available for JH now. For those who do not hear any difference with cables it is a non issue lol. Either way though we offer a solution away from mechanical damping and into the electrical realm. I'm not familiar with your suggestion, is it the same principle as the JH cable but applied differently?

 

[RumbleWeed]

Have you tried the Bass Cannon? The double driver with the aten will be end game if he adds the planar or EST. I think it can be closer to what you are looking for.

EXACTLY This is what i told Bob? "If i had the Sonion Electrostat in the B.C that would be it end game" but didn't get an answer! With that said, that high end on the B.C is incredible and when i thought about it i realized it was the 3rd Gen Electro Piezo driver! Bob has done an amazing job with it because the Zenith had some terrible peaks & dips, even the R2 Aten could show some peaks up top in certain tracks! this new 3rd Gen Piezo & 5th Gen Aten sounds so sweet & airy with plenty amount of detail,clarity & that magic vibe and at the moment no dips & peaks anywhere across the frequencies. The B.C is a VERY special iem and due to it being the last IMR with 5th Gen Aten & 3rd Gen Piezo makes it even more SPECIAL!

 

[Skullar]

the tuning possibilities of the filters is a big plus. what I would really like is better bass management. I decided to follow IMR because of IMR's promise of fun and bassy tuning. and I am very happy with it. but I'm still looking for the product with the dream bass that I haven't found yet. for me the bass is the conductor of the music. currently, I find that they are a little withdrawn and that it is the remainder which dominates. as if the music is built on the mids and highs first, then the bass is added. I would like to have bass that predominates. that the music be built on the bass and the rest added. plus the nozzles darkens the bass and everything in between. but does not necessarily give more bass. I would like the bass to be able to stay clear, for example like with the red or pink nozzle, but with more power. it s difficult to explain, but I hope to make myself understood.

Bob is a basshead, i would like to know his basshead's definition? And yours of course.

Seems like you need something subbass focused low end. Makes it cleaner at least for me. Also good ability separate and layer is a key for bass heavy iems.

Dont underestimate source. Synergy is a massive factor to achieving desired sound.
I went through 4 daps this year alone. And it makes massive difference. For good or bad its everyones own journey.

 

[Babayagga]

Cool! I had a few experiences even just OOTB with the Astra that were psychedelic for want of a better word!!

I went back to Opus Mia today - I could happily make them my last ever IEMs

The new drivers do worry me a little bit though
For me the Aten is just perfect - That low end is incredible
So to improve upon that - where do you go? Im slightly worried that Bob may have gone a tad too far into the detail, clarity and punchy area of things. I don't what for him is 'better' or an improvement - For me the Tube amp sound is wonderful but other people may prefer a better 'technically performing' solid state amp type of sound?

As with the original EDP's I cant quite get the low end I want with the EDP+ I was hoping the Planar in the EDP+ would be tuned to be deep and rich but it kind of seems similarly tuned to the ADLC/CNT drivers and if true, then Im not sure the point of having all 3 in there?
and Im hearing similar traits with the Astra. I haven't burnt in the Astra and it does have a 10mm driver and no CNT so Im sure it will warm up
(I do appreciate the EDP+ is tuned for a certain type of sound so Im not saying its tuned badly by any means!)

but another point is, when Bob says the Astra has the greatest pistonic action of any IMR that makes me wonder then if it NEEDS more power for that pistonic action to produce the low end Im looking for? in which case some tracks may have more quality than quantity for their bass where as other [already bass rich] tracks will have 'that' IMR bass

Im looking for the warm, rich, easy, ultra human sounding natural Opus Mia sound but with slightly more clarity and the magic that the BC driver gives
If It ends up having less low end than the Opus IE: the ADLC is giving tighter (all be it better quality) bass Im not 100% sure I will be 100% happy - Probably ONLY 95% happy

This is all subtle things Im discussing here and we don't know yet where the Astra or Elysium will end up but in the interest of balance I wanted to share a few lingering concerns, all be them very small in reality

These points regarding elements of the audio are not necessarily 'bad' in any way. Its more about what the individual is looking for

I would say that the new driver definitely needs more power. The more power you can supply it, the better the control and features you love will come out. I have the OM's as well and both the EST's and the Driver definitely benefited from giving it more power.

 

[Jawis]

All I want personally is a Semper with a more secure fit, a better treble response, like smoother and sibilance free, by ditching the piezo driver and a better implementation of the EST driver.

Believe it or not this is partly why I'm keen on trying the Elan. Firstly I might be comparing apples to oranges and I might be making too many assumptions for now, but I have been comparing my Sempers to my TinHifi T4 on the treble response...what I feel I am comparing is upper range difference between the Estat element and Aten driver of Semper and the CNT of T4.

For me I'm not getting too uncomfortable with sibilance with either pair. The T4 is the brighter sound overall in comparison, but then it will not be able to compete in bass with the Semper ( I have Semper with Red Base and purple top). I'm finding the Semper offers much more detail at the upper end, but the T4 seems to compensate by offering a different acoustic presentation. I'm hearing on the T4 more air and depth with a tinge more echo when it's needed to level up on clarity between the two IEMS.

So this has me intrigued with the Elan. Hoping I will see similar character with it's CNT driver, but with some added IMR touch up. IMR have not let me down on the planar front. Hoping this will follow through with the CNT driver as well.

 

[monsieurfromag3]

Bob is a basshead, i would like to know his basshead's definition? And yours of course.

IMR’s special bass ingredient for me is its rhythm. There are many iems out there that have that “toe-tapping” factor. So people who wear them tap their toes. You can see them on the subway. They tap their toes, gently. Sometimes they even have that look on their face, like they’re, you know, into their music.

You know the IMR user because they’re running up and down the train in Dionysian frenzy stepping on those gently tapping toes.

 

[RumbleWeed]

IMR’s special bass ingredient for me is its rhythm. There are many iems out there that have that “toe-tapping” factor. So people who wear them tap their toes. You can see them on the subway. They tap their toes, gently. Sometimes they even have that look on their face, like they’re, you know, into their music.

You know the IMR user because they’re running up and down the train in Dionysian frenzy stepping on those gently tapping toes.

Can anyone with both the B.C & Astra-UltraQue do a short review in comparison? Im still on the fence about Astra and hope this may help me make up mind either way?

 

[jon parker]

Can anyone with both the B.C & Astra-UltraQue do a short review in comparison? Im still on the fence about Astra and hope this may help me make up mind either way?

BC are no longer on the website !

Bob recently said this

' ...other worldly Astra Ultraque. These are special, VERY special.
...Opus Melius which surpasses the previous Opus Mia by quite some margin"

If your main concern is over bass - The bass on my Opus Mia is phenomenal. You may well end up with te best of both worlds by considering the Opus Melius ?

 

[Bungle1]

I reached 315 hours of burn in on the Elysium today and spent the morning A/B'ing them with the Sempers which have more hours burn in. I tried to find the most comparable filters on each to make the comparison as equal as possible. Listened mainly to rock / acoustic / electronic music. My thoughts on comparing the 2 after full burn in (FWIW):

Elysium are easier to drive and the word I wrote down a lot while listening to them was presence. They have the super smooth IMR planar mid range and I would describe them as more exciting. They punch really hard. You would really have to crank the volume on Semper to achieve the same punch. The drawback to that is that they can sound a little harsh / more fatiguing in certain recordings (something like Deftones with very distorted guitars etc) and there is material where you want a more natural sound stage. It's nice to have a little more presence on elements like acoustic guitar, backing vocals or what I would call electronic sound design elements, but you sometimes lose a bit of reverb and 3d imaging / staging. One of my favourite reference songs is 'Hi-Lo' by Evanescence on their Synthesis album as it has orchestral / electronic components with rock verse/chorus dynamics and this was quite pronounced here, losing the pinpoint imaging and sense of space around the 'bleeps' and other sound design elements in the track. Maybe trading accuracy for energy and excitement when compared with the Semper?

I would say Sempers are still the king of balance, nuance, refined detail and staging and have more breathing room in their sound but the Elysium's are much more fun to listen to IMO.

I don't have the Astra Ultraque but based on 4/5 hours of comparison, if Bob does a hybrid of the Elysium and Astra Ultraque with the bone conduction, in the Elysium form factor, then I'd be very interested.

 

[NellieG]

if Bob does a hybrid of the Elysium and Astra Ultraque with the bone conduction

Affectionately called the Ultra Amazeballs.

 

[jon parker]

The drawback to that is that they can sound a little harsh / more fatiguing in certain recordings (something like Deftones with very distorted guitars etc) and there is material where you want a more natural sound stage.

Very interesting - Thanks for sharing. I have a feeling this slight harsh/fatiguing sound - for me its a tad brittle, glass like - will smooth out going past the 500 hours mark. I suspect this is due to the diaphragm being super hard?

IMR never cease to surprise me - after 30 hours or so - suddenly the bass and rich mids has appeared with the Astra and by the Gods its good. The sub bass is SO good you wanna take a bite out of it. Listening to Royals by Lorde, its profoundly perfect in weight, balance and quality

The BC driver is amazing as well - You never quite know how each track will respond - Listening to Lana Del Ray - Chemtrails - was like sitting inside a 5.1 surround system and Mark Knopfler - Boomtown was such a profound unexplainable listening experience I cant even put it into words. In terms of analogy I can only think of an LSD experience where what you are experiencing is not in accordance with reality and its intoxicating in its magical-nous

I certainly don't have any more concerns about how the low end will develop
Im so looking forward to hearing the final settled version of the Astra!

 

[Bungle1]

In terms of analogy I can only think of an LSD experience where what you are experiencing is not in accordance with reality and its intoxicating in its magical-nous

This is what I really want out of an IEM. I'm not sure I can run to the Astras but I might sell my Semper and keep the money aside in case there is a hybrid unit of some sort in the future as this sounds incredible.

 

[jon parker]

This is what I really want out of an IEM. I'm not sure I can run to the Astras but I might sell my Semper and keep the money aside in case there is a hybrid unit of some sort in the future as this sounds incredible.

I would imagine the Elan might be a good choice then ?

All the IMR models really are TOTL in their own rights. Admittedly I've had to sell a lot of stuff to raise the funds for the Astra but Im very glad I did.
Ive been exploring and learning what IEMs and headphones can do and what I actually want in terms of sound signature for a good 10 years now. With the Sony WM1A I am content now with my DAP, having NO desire to look further and with the Astra and Opus Mia Im at the end of my journey in terms of IEMs
Although the Astra's Bone Conduction driver is very much looking to bring something extraordinary to the table I think though there are times when the slightly more grounded Opus are more desirable
I wouldn't want to do LSD EVERY day as the experiences have to be treated with respect!! In the same way I think the Astra is for those super special times when the stars align...if that makes sense!

 

[NellieG]

Listening to Royals

 

[jon parker]

You Lunatic

The REAL song 'Royals' by Lorde is an essential track for evaluating Bass - weight, amount, quality etc etc