[blay]

So following your advice i done a lot of digging and read many reviews that all back you up in regards to the ISN EST50 being a total Basshead IEM! What surprised me was how much all the other Frequencies sound just as good! I just Absaloutly LOVE the Sound of the Sonion Electrostat Driver's and would love to have it when I'm on the move without them constantly falling out like my Opus Mia lol
I'm really really tempted with this and the Rose QT-9 MK2 that is also Basshead territory with amazing Detail,Vocals,Clarity and pretty much every other Technacalities and they are very small housing that is said to be a fantastic fit all for just shy of £200 which is nearly half the price of the EST50 & Excalibur!

I haven't gotten the EST50 yet, but as soon as I get there, I'll let you know and tell you my impressions. Although I have a hunch that they're going to be very good... better than many more expensive.

 

[RumbleWeed]

I could only find 16/44.1 on Apple music which was ok for the bass but not so much the rest of the spectrum.
Ah so much good came from this era and it is the 90's rave scene where my love for electronic music was born. So many influences in that track and i can't recall which track, but the vocal was sampled in another track years later. *Edit* Same year almost, Felix - Dont You Want My Love.

We had D&B, Jungle, Reggae, House experimentation happening in the rave scene which spawned the plethora of sub genres we have now. I ended in the House route and all it's sub genres.

Oh yes i remember the "filex Don't u want my love" a great track in its own wright! I went to my first rave The Dove Club@Astoria London at the age of 15 in 1989 and i never looked back again! Went to Club Labyrinth every Friday and bigger warehouse raves on Saturday including Baglys Film Studio,The Roller Express,Tasco Wzrehouse ect.. This is where my love for Underground Electronic Music.
I was actually at Club Labyrinth when The Prodigy performed the FIRST time ever. They talk about it in one of the documentaries saying they were Absaloutly shiting themselves all day & night before they performance lol
I would say when listening to these rave classics the IMR Opus-Mia Bass gets me closer to that that sound i loved so much back in the day! Sorry for going totally of topic but I just wanted to express how i got to this stage with IMR Acoustics Bass Bass Bass!

 

[RumbleWeed]

I haven't gotten the EST50 yet, but as soon as I get there, I'll let you know and tell you my impressions. Although I have a hunch that they're going to be very good... better than many more expensive.

That would be really helpful i would appreciate that very much. I think you are 100% correct because EVERYTHING i read about the EST50 says it is a phenomenal IEM with Basshead levels of Bass! Also, check out the Rose QT-9 MK2? It pretty much seems on par with the EST50 without the Electrostat drivers! I'm just REALLY really curious how these will stake up against the Opus-Mia, B.C and more important Astra UltraQue?
Which IMR's do you own at this time? I would LOVE to hear comparison to the Astra & B.C?

 

[NellieG]

Oh yes i remember the "filex Don't u want my love" a great track in its own wright! I went to my first rave The Dove Club@Astoria London at the age of 15 in 1989 and i never looked back again! Went to Club Labyrinth every Friday and bigger warehouse raves on Saturday including Baglys Film Studio,The Roller Express,Tasco Wzrehouse ect.. This is where my love for Underground Electronic Music.
I was actually at Club Labyrinth when The Prodigy performed the FIRST time ever. They talk about it in one of the documentaries saying they were Absaloutly shiting themselves all day & night before they performance lol
I would say when listening to these rave classics the IMR Opus-Mia Bass gets me closer to that that sound i loved so much back in the day! Sorry for going totally of topic but I just wanted to express how i got to this stage with IMR Acoustics Bass Bass Bass!

All that is slightly before my time by 10 years almost for going to the clubs. I started around 98 for that when the rave scene had become accepted and the super clubs were being born. Musically listening though I started around the time you were going out around 90.

Much the same as to why I am here with IMR too trying to find that old experience in IEM form. I’m half way there now and was almost there but had to return that one the Semper, gutted. Truly.

Regardless of what anybody tells you. Off topic is allowed and pretty much required

 

[holsen]

So I see the Astra has moved from 5 to 4….

so is she going to enjoy the new Astra and you can have your R2 back?

Umm, make that 3..... I've got one coming! Always wanted an Electrostat - and I think this will be the one to beat .... so
With newly found funds, having sold the Lotoo PAW 6000, Astra is on the way!

 

[NellieG]

Umm, make that 3..... I've got one coming! Always wanted an Electrostat - and I think this will be the one to beat .... so
With newly found funds, having sold the Lotoo PAW 6000 Astra is on the way!

Oh no, another retiree from the club.

 

[holsen]

Oh no, another retiree from the club.

Rave On!

 

[NellieG]

Rave On!

 

[RumbleWeed]

All that is slightly before my time by 10 years almost for going to the clubs. I started around 98 for that when the rave scene had become accepted and the super clubs were being born. Musically listening though I started around the time you were going out around 90.

Much the same as to why I am here with IMR too trying to find that old experience in IEM form. I’m half way there now and was almost there but had to return that one the Semper, gutted. Truly.

Regardless of what anybody tells you. Off topic is allowed and pretty much required

Yeah i was still going out occasionally around 98 but the proper underground "Rave" scene was coming to an end around then and as you say? the super club was starting to appear and at the same time Jungle was getting a bad name for its self which was totally justified for the fact guns were being let off in raves & gone were the "Happy" days of the "E" and now the big thing in Jungle? Champagne & Crack! Due to all this i totally left the scen for a couple of years favouring UK Garage which i knew was going to blow up cos of the creation of the "2-Step" beat and UK Garage just exploded and i began DJ'ing on pirate radio. This was round the turn of the melenium which was great fun! But the underground scene was still calling so when Drum & Bass became its own movement and branched off from Jungle i went head first back into it lol
The crazy thing was Andy C was doing the warm up sets the last time i was out and now he's head lining the biggest clubs in the world,great great days
I was always chasing the Bass back them just like i am now and IMR has "nearly" created the exact sound i have been searching for since the age of 10!
Back then your ordinary folk were buying Sony Walkmans with the terrible orange earphones! But not me sir no, i was buying Personal Cassets players from Akai,Awai & Panasonic and then upgrade the earphones to a set Sennheiser's and this is going back to the late 80:s early 90's!
I kept with Tape for a long time cos i refused to listen to CD's! to me it was cold & soulless! It was like someone said "lets get rid of the bass turn up the treble 20db's and remove every bit of dynamics in the music" and viola CD was born! I still listened to tape well into the 0's until MiniDisc came along which was a bit of a happy medium. Then the whole world went made and decided that as long as you can cram 100's of songs onto a drive it really doesn't matter if it sounds crap and the MP3/iPod was born! Lol
So for the next decade or so i was just chasing a "Good" sound and i can safely say with my IMR Opus-Mia, a good Hi-res Codec and even coming out of my LG V30 i am slowly but surely getting the Soul, Groove & Pleasure i got from my Awai Cassete player & Sennheiser Earbuds all thoss years back!
I am SOO close to my End-game with IMR and I'm hoping either the Astra UltraQue or one of the new "Pro" line-up will be my end-game? How close to End-game are you right now? Actually I'll throw that out there to everyone, how close are you to your End-game IEM ? And do you think it will be an IMR IEM or maybe another developer? I'm not gonna go into it cos iv said enough lol but i would say i am 97% End-game with a mix of Opus-Mia & B.C and am hoping the Astra does the trick putting me "within" the music as if i was back in that rave again not just hearing the music but "Feeling" it too.

 

[monsieurfromag3]

I am SOO close to my End-game with IMR and I'm hoping either the Astra UltraQue or one of the new "Pro" line-up will be my end-game? How close to End-game are you right now? Actually I'll throw that out there to everyone, how close are you to your End-game IEM ? And do you think it will be an IMR IEM or maybe another developer? I'm not gonna go into it cos iv said enough lol but i would say i am 97% End-game with a mix of Opus-Mia & B.C and am hoping the Astra does the trick putting me "within" the music as if i was back in that rave again not just hearing the music but "Feeling" it too.

I’m hoping whatever Bob’s teasing next is my temporary end-game / blue pill. For now I can’t imagine another brand getting close. Maybe Final? Feeling the music is what IMR is about, indeed.

 

[NellieG]

@RumbleWeed simply agree with all you said and what a time to be alive back then.

End game is not a possibility for me personally. I love music and love audio equipment equally but I am not into buying every new thing at all. I buy something and keep it as I know one day in the future I will make it work. Generally I’m not interested in much equipment wise but I love IMR and I know Bob will deliver me exactly what I have requested and apparently with the Astra it is the one but I have zero chance of acquiring it so maybe if he has the Elan in stock in a few months I can grab that and obviously waiting to know what the Pro is about. The first of a new pro line or the final IEM hence the encore and the Ultimate Ultra Amazeballs to rule them all.

 

[holsen]

Yeah i was still going out occasionally around 98 but the proper underground "Rave" scene was coming to an end around then and as you say? the super club was starting to appear and at the same time Jungle was getting a bad name for its self which was totally justified for the fact guns were being let off in raves & gone were the "Happy" days of the "E" and now the big thing in Jungle? Champagne & Crack! Due to all this i totally left the scen for a couple of years favouring UK Garage which i knew was going to blow up cos of the creation of the "2-Step" beat and UK Garage just exploded and i began DJ'ing on pirate radio. This was round the turn of the melenium which was great fun! But the underground scene was still calling so when Drum & Bass became its own movement and branched off from Jungle i went head first back into it lol
The crazy thing was Andy C was doing the warm up sets the last time i was out and now he's head lining the biggest clubs in the world,great great days
I was always chasing the Bass back them just like i am now and IMR has "nearly" created the exact sound i have been searching for since the age of 10!
Back then your ordinary folk were buying Sony Walkmans with the terrible orange earphones! But not me sir no, i was buying Personal Cassets players from Akai,Awai & Panasonic and then upgrade the earphones to a set Sennheiser's and this is going back to the late 80:s early 90's!
I kept with Tape for a long time cos i refused to listen to CD's! to me it was cold & soulless! It was like someone said "lets get rid of the bass turn up the treble 20db's and remove every bit of dynamics in the music" and viola CD was born! I still listened to tape well into the 0's until MiniDisc came along which was a bit of a happy medium. Then the whole world went made and decided that as long as you can cram 100's of songs onto a drive it really doesn't matter if it sounds crap and the MP3/iPod was born! Lol
So for the next decade or so i was just chasing a "Good" sound and i can safely say with my IMR Opus-Mia, a good Hi-res Codec and even coming out of my LG V30 i am slowly but surely getting the Soul, Groove & Pleasure i got from my Awai Cassete player & Sennheiser Earbuds all thoss years back!
I am SOO close to my End-game with IMR and I'm hoping either the Astra UltraQue or one of the new "Pro" line-up will be my end-game? How close to End-game are you right now? Actually I'll throw that out there to everyone, how close are you to your End-game IEM ? And do you think it will be an IMR IEM or maybe another developer? I'm not gonna go into it cos iv said enough lol but i would say i am 97% End-game with a mix of Opus-Mia & B.C and am hoping the Astra does the trick putting me "within" the music as if i was back in that rave again not just hearing the music but "Feeling" it too.

Looks like our journey from LP to Tape to CD to Flac is pretty similar. I got my first Record Player for Christmas when I was 6 yrs old. My Dad gve me the record player and my brother gave me a Zeppelin Album. I bought with my own allowance money Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy when I was 10 and it's still one of my favorite albums. Love Elton's early years. By the time I was 16 I had over 500 LPs and into my early 20's and my first job i was close to 1000.... I bought my first car put a tape deck in it and bought a walkman to go with it - then came CD which I fought for a long while - but ended up at the High End Audio Show at the CNE in Toronto and heard a luxman CD Player into an ADCOM pre amp / amp cobo and it blew me away. Bought it on the spot even though I really couldnt afford it. I was in the shipping and logistics business so I decided to chase down the Canadian Distributor of Luxman and make them a client so I could favorable supplier pricing. It worked. I ended up buying my brother the same CD player I picked up for myself - the same brother who gave me the Zep Album when I was 6! That distributor was selling Clements Audio speakers with bess reflex drivers and 7 inch ribbon tweeters. in Solid Oak Cabinets. They were close to $10K at the time and sold me a pair for $800 - that was in 1992. They were like my first planars! I still have them, still love them and still crank them - they are unbelievably good. I finally stripped them and refinished this past winter and now they look as good again as they sound.

Anyway that's enough of my digression.... I'm thinking the Astra will be my personal end-game. We're all chasing audio nirvana and by that definition the pursuit can never really end. But let's be honest, the law of diminishing returns is at play big time here. I think jumping to something like the Trailli could potentially change the game, but even if I look at whats in my collection I could be perfectly happy with any of them if it were all I had. I love the RAH, I love the Fusion, The Elysium is growing on me. It's a great piece of kit and if there is anyone out there that doenst have a planar, this is a beauty - but - since turning my RAH CIEM, it increased the contact patch, and althought there's no bone conduction in it, it's quite visceral. I Love the 3DT for its timbre and I really like the Xelento for everything that comes out of that remarkably small form factor. So I'm going to finally get the Electrostat I always wanted - pair it up to a brand new DAP and chill a while.

 

[roygbiv6]

I can't decide for you, because it's suggestive. I just gave you some info. but I, who am a basshead, appreciate them a lot.

Sorry dude I was joking. I loved your post & believe me I know how good the Astra are.

On the subject i've been comparing the Astra & Mest2 all day today. I love the Mest2 and I regard their bass as benchmark for me which as an IMR fan is saying a lot. If you've heard them you know how good they are and they live up to the hype.

But I'm going to be selling the Mest2 as I prefer the Astra. It's close & I think the Astra & Mest2 are tuned very similar. Sometimes I forgot which one I had in. The main difference is in the top end where their tunings meant that one has better micro details here or I slightly preferred vocals on one then I'd slightly prefer the other on something else. It's very close. Can't say one is definitely better than the other but i wanted a Mest2 with some IMR tuning & here it is. It has more of what @monsieurfromag3 would call that foot tappedness.

I think the Mest2 are more balanced and give everything a wonderful naturalness but whilst the Astra are more full on W shaped they have a more natural timbre. That does make them sound pretty magical. Remind me a lot of the Semper which is a massive compliment.

Both have similar soundstage & placement etc which means they are both top level here. Both fit extremely well. The Mest2 was the best fitting IEM I'd used but Astras fit as well. I use xelastecs on both. This is important for bone conduction to work effectively.

I should say my Mest2 are fully burned in & Astra's are at around 170 hours so have some way to go. I haven't tried different filters yet. Bass initially was big but lacked detail. Like the Elysium the detail is appearing as they burn in.

I got the Mest2 as I was curious to hear bone conduction and wanted to see how good IMRs are compared to an expensive hype IEM.
It had been a couple of years since I'd forayed into 1k+ IEMs as well. For the Astra, Elysium & Semper to compare so well with them and for me to prefer them says a lot to me how good IMRs are as the Mest2 is a top top IEM.

I havent directly compared the Elysium & Mest as I already put the Elysium above the Mest2. It is a special IEM and I've had some magical & revelatory moments with them. I was listening to REM & Nick Drake last night. Albums I've known for decades & thought I knew every part of & I was hearing not just new details but new rhythms, patterns & interplay between instruments etc. It was one of my most memorable listening sessions.

 

[roygbiv6]

I don't know how to link a video or song to a post so I'm just gonna give you the name of the track and you can look it up? If you want Fantastic Bass this is the song "2 Bad Mice by 2 Bad Mice" ! This was played every Friday at Club Labrynth from 1990 to 1998 and it would shake walls,ceiling,floor and your whole body! If i remember wright it was on the XL-Records Label the same lable The Prodigy are signed too.
The Bass is just relentless & totally addictive! The only problem is it was recorded in the early 90's when producers
were pretty much experimenting so sound quality is not the best so you need to find it with the highest lossless as possible in order to really do the Track & Bass in particularly justice!

Man I've probably vaguely met you if you went to Labyrinth & Astoria around then. I missed out on the original venue in Dalston & only went to the Tottenham high road one which did end up getting pretty sketchy.

It's funny how we're all chasing the same sound & ended up here.

 

[NellieG]

It's funny how we're all chasing the same sound & ended up here.

Word right there. Love this !!!