[DrewVz]

Yup, looks like everyone got theirs today. Mine as well. Only small flaw in my kit is that one of my red upper nozzles does not have a rubber gasket under it. Not a big deal, I can use one of the others. But it's a flaw I noticed in an otherwise perfect package.

OOTB I'm finding the blue upper nozzle a bit overly bright for my ears. Clear, but I'm missing quite a bit of the midrange. Gotta play with nozzles I guess. I'm thinking gold/gold might be more suitable to my ears. Plus, tip rolling. Man, there are so many options.

I can tell the bass control is at a high level and the resolution of the upper registers is clear and strong. I'll give it the requisite burn-in period before making any judgments, but I can tell these units are of high quality right away. I'm a bit of a soundstage/depth/coherence addict, and OOTB I'm not hearing the 3D effect just yet. Hopefully this will change with burn-in.

 

[jon parker]

I had a good chat with a friend and colleague today who is a Grammy awarded Mastering Engineer
Needless to say I got him to have an [unfortunately] quick listen to a number of IMR's

We have different tastes - He masters (and enjoys) a lot of 'modern' music - big bold musical, Modern R&B kind of stuff - where as I work mainly on vocals and more subtle aspects of audio. In terms of listening pleasure I much prefer vinyl warmth with realistic mids and clear highs - the closer to real-to-life the better for my ears

His thoughts...

Interestingly he found the Dark Matter to be pretty much perfect in every way [500+ hours - Copper cable / grey lower/pink upper]

Second favourite was the ACE. [270 hrs burn in - Copper cable - grey lower/Black upper]
He Loved the bass, thought it was superb both in tuning and staging/imaging but no matter what filters I tried he found the 'treble' didn't have quite the same the same dynamics or staging as the bass. He didn't find this an 'issue' but was noticeable

He found the OZAR [Fully burnt in - grey low/blue upper - black cable]
to be very well balanced across all frequencies and spot on for 'professional' audio work (a relief as that is the set up I use them for audio work with - #Iamaproconfirmed !)

Unfortunately my Sempers sounded very 'off' Not sure what happened to them. They sound as I would expect if the ESTAT drivers amps had died - very muffled, boxy - weird :/
Seemed better later on but not sure

He didn't like the Zenith II's [75 hour burn in] - They certainly seemed to have moved into that weird boring space that occurs with IMR's during burn in - About on time as expected but I hoped to enjoy the totesamazeballs OOTB sound, a bit longer.

On a side note, I gave my DM's a couple hundred more hours burn in as I think/suspected the stiff drivers needed it. Have to say they have improved now from 300+ to their current 500+ Smoother, frequencies are working better with each other. Cohesion is better.
Another point about the DM's - Im not a fan of companies using the term 'Pro' usually means 'do not buy as it is NOT 'Pro' at all !' BUT the DM's are pretty brutal if you give them any audio that isn't well recorded, mixed and mastered. Listened to a bit of Bill Fay - Time of the last Persecution, an album I know well and have enjoyed a lot and it sounded not good or pleasant sonically to hear... but listening to Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy (Which is profoundly well done) and they really reward you with something special
Nice!

Going to give a good 500 hours burn in to the Ace and ZII as well

 

[Zeppmeister]

I had a good chat with a friend and colleague today who is a Grammy awarded Mastering Engineer
Needless to say I got him to have an [unfortunately] quick listen to a number of IMR's

We have different tastes - He masters (and enjoys) a lot of 'modern' music - big bold musical, Modern R&B kind of stuff - where as I work mainly on vocals and more subtle aspects of audio. In terms of listening pleasure I much prefer vinyl warmth with realistic mids and clear highs - the closer to real-to-life the better for my ears

His thoughts...

Interestingly he found the Dark Matter to be pretty much perfect in every way [500+ hours - Copper cable / grey lower/pink upper]

Second favourite was the ACE. [270 hrs burn in - Copper cable - grey lower/Black upper]
He Loved the bass, thought it was superb both in tuning and staging/imaging but no matter what filters I tried he found the 'treble' didn't have quite the same the same dynamics or staging as the bass. He didn't find this an 'issue' but was noticeable

He found the OZAR [Fully burnt in - grey low/blue upper - black cable]
to be very well balanced across all frequencies and spot on for 'professional' audio work (a relief as that is the set up I use them for audio work with - #Iamaproconfirmed !)

Unfortunately my Sempers sounded very 'off' Not sure what happened to them. They sound as I would expect if the ESTAT drivers amps had died - very muffled, boxy - weird :/
Seemed better later on but not sure

He didn't like the Zenith II's [75 hour burn in] - They certainly seemed to have moved into that weird boring space that occurs with IMR's during burn in - About on time as expected but I hoped to enjoy the totesamazeballs OOTB sound, a bit longer.

On a side note, I gave my DM's a couple hundred more hours burn in as I think/suspected the stiff drivers needed it. Have to say they have improved now from 300+ to their current 500+ Smoother, frequencies are working better with each other. Cohesion is better.
Another point about the DM's - Im not a fan of companies using the term 'Pro' usually means 'do not buy as it is NOT Prod at all !' BUT the DM's are pretty brutal if you give them any audio that isn't well recorded, mixed and mastered. Listened to a bit of Bill Fay - Time of the last Persecution, an album I know well and have enjoyed a lot and it sounded not good or pleasant sonically to hear... but listening to Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy (Which is profoundly well done) and they really reward you with something special
Nice!

Going to give a good 500 hours burn in to the Ace and ZII as well

Did your friend happen to estimate what the IEMs likely cost, only to be shocked by Bob's wallet-friendly pricing?

 

[holsen]

-Hate this cable, who are these ear hooks for? - Swapped for Kinera Leyding, will try to get my other cables to fit later.
-Holy driver flex batman

It's an easy fix. Boil some water, pour it into a shallow dish. Holding the Ace in 1 hand slightly above the water, insert a tightly bent cable into the water without the red or blue band on the connector making contact. Hold it there for 8 to 10 seconds. Insert IEM into ear and pull cable in tight around your ear - Voila, molded to your ear. Lather, Rinse, Repeat on the other side. Just finished mine.

 

[jon parker]

Did your friend happen to estimate what the IEMs likely cost, only to be shocked by Bob's wallet-friendly pricing?

He did ask but he doesn't use IEM's so didn't have much of a reference. I can't remember his main Headphone but i think it was a $4000 ESTAT kind of an affair + Plus he is in his studio most days in front of bloody big speakers so like many sound engineers doesn't really enjoy music as a hobby ! Shame really but maybe kind of nice in that what he does is essentially give pleasure to others from his passion

 

[holsen]

I finally found someone who has MEXT and IMR. How do they compare sound wise?

You bet. It's too early to do any in depth comparisons. I'm expecting these Aces to improve and refine considerably upto about 150 hours and then gradual smaller refinement through 300. Of the top I'd say MEST is U shaped, not quite V with substantial sub-bass. Its there's not as much lower end rumble with the ACE yet and probably wont get to the level of MEXT but there is good sub, mid and upper bass. Mids are handled primarily by the planar, which is still developing as opposed to BA mids on MEXT. What surprises me is the amount of upper end extension, airy treble which is no where as near on the MEXT. Do you have the MEXT? I mean I love that IEM - I havent really liked UMs EST implimentation so I forego MEST I and MEST II and have not regretted MEXT at all - too early to really pit them against each other but I am very impressed with the early listening of ACE.

@DrewVz let them run about 5 hours and fire up that Mark Lettieri Album "Deep: Baritone 2" - It's pretty impressive.

 

[jon parker]

*** - Why is it, the moment you NEED to get to bed to sleep your IEMs start giving you the most perfectly delivered music to your ears.
Sighs
Anyway, I NEVER thought I would end liking stuff like this when I was young and cooler although...maybe this makes me SUPER cool now ?
Hard to say.
Anyhoo - a Superb album that gives a headphone a great run for its money as it contains everything, drums, guitar, synth, violins etc etc

 

[DrewVz]

@DrewVz let them run about 5 hours and fire up that Mark Lettieri Album "Deep: Baritone 2" - It's pretty impressive.

Will do. One of my favorites. I am trying the grey lower/green upper filters at the moment and it's a very good balance. Oddly, they still sound a bit bright in many areas, but somehow are missing some of the treble frequencies I'm used to hearing in certain songs. Maybe burn-in will help, maybe a different upper filter. The red one might be next on my list to try...

 

[rawrj]

When I think that the ACE cost me slightly less than the 7hz timeless did, it's crazy value. Mind you I havent finished the burn in and occasionally I want to reach for the Thor MKII but more because I want to compare than because I'm unhappy with the ACE. What would be one step up on the treble from the black filter?

 

[NellieG]

What would be one step up on the treble from the black filter?

Typically it is this from most to least.

Blue
Black
Red
Pink
Green
Gold

 

[rawrj]

Typically it is this from most to least.

Blue
Black
Red
Pink
Green
Gold

Damn I'd have to fully unfiltered to get more! I'll leave the black/black combo on there a while longer and see how it goes. I suppose the tuning has more to do with the width of the nozzle and the density of the foam (Since I couldn't discern a difference with the naked eye).

 

[DrewVz]

Whether it's real burn-in or brain burn, things are starting to come together for my ears with the ACE. Super details and clarity. Lower mids/upper bass are taking a bit of a back seat at the moment, while vocals are stepping up to the plate bigtime. It will be interesting to hear the ACE develop over time.

I know some folks were frustrated because of the delays in delivery, but I will summarize my overall feelings in just three words: Worth The Wait.

No doubt about it.

 

[OceanPoet]

So are you using dampers from other IMR IEMs? I have the Aten2 with the colored dampers but the Ace just has grey dampers. Am I missing something? Sorry, I posted this question earlier. In the meantime, two thumbs up for the Aces.

 

[holsen]

Will do. One of my favorites. I am trying the grey lower/green upper filters at the moment and it's a very good balance. Oddly, they still sound a bit bright in many areas, but somehow are missing some of the treble frequencies I'm used to aring in certain songs. Maybe burn-in will help, maybe a different upper filter. The red one might be next on my list to try...

Yeah both the CNT ADLC and the planar will go through many changes. I know you've experienced it with other planars but I think you'll be amazed at how much and for how long that DD will shift. It's an IMR hallmark; extended burn-in is for real with these.
I think you'll find that as they burn-in you'll end up on a different filter combo than you started with. Most of us dial in the bass quantity first starting with highest quantity and scaling back, then we go after the treble. For now just find a combo that works and dial in after 100 hours or more.

 

[curicat]

Bob's wallet-friendly pricing

Given the latest trend, can it really be called that in this day and age? It's going up model by model with Titan pushing 1500 with VAT (with preorder discount). My wallet diasgrees.