[fablestruck]

It sounds like DM isn't quite as fast as Zen II's ultra wide and Piezo drivers or Ace's planar.
So pleased I bought both Ace And Zen II, the detail especially from Ace is amazing (a little eq even bought out more), now they have well over a hundred hours on they both sound blissful and for the price you wouldn't expect these to sound as good as they do. For the first few months I really didn't know what to make of them, moments of greatness with Ace initially, and Zen II sounded so so, pairing with another player has transformed the sound, they're much more coherent now.

Being a layman audiophile with no technical background on audio technology I tend to rationalize ACE's (&DM's) sound as somehow the bone conduction drivers sculpting sound items into more relief. For ACE it is the mids that get this treatment mostly (area of Sonion driver frequency response). For DM is the bass and lower mid-range region.

 

[Ryokan]

were did u eq and what did u apply?

For the Ace just a few db starting 1/2db from 2k up, and same starting around 100hz (Shanling M6 Pro). Did the same with the Zenith but it sounds better to me with eq off (Shanling M8)

 

[Ryokan]

Being a layman audiophile with no technical background on audio technology I tend to rationalize ACE's (&DM's) sound as somehow the bone conduction drivers sculpting sound items into more relief. For ACE it is the mids that get this treatment mostly (area of Sonion driver frequency response). For DM is the bass and lower mid-range region.

I would like the DM to be a bit brighter, I need to play with the eq as tend to leave as is and swop players until one works best but the Ace respond really well to a little eq maybe DM will?

 

[jon parker]

Had an iFi Zen Balanced Amp arrive today
Although my Sony DAP outperforms anything else Ive heard DAP wise - it does sacrifice a bit of power for an exceptionally long battery life so I thought its about time to treat myself to a little power especially for the planars in my collection!

The iFi Zen is very powerful - For the ACE I am on gain 1 of 4 at about 30% on the volume pot o_0

Anyway, point being, the ACE sounds quite different than from the DAP. Basically it's perfectly balanced. Everything about it just sounds 'right' Nothing is off in any area at all. Its a little unusual listening to it in this this regard. The power of the amp has revealed something quite special.
It has a perfectly balanced reference quality to it now and with a touch of warmth from the amp it is profoundly listenable. The notes have an incredible creamy smooth tonality that have such an authority.
I had a suspicion that this iEM could give a lot more, most if not all planars prefer a bit more power than normal.
Anyhoo - Using black/gold but might drop down to blue/gold with foam tips
Its a profoundly easy listen now - Its just so natural - doesnt try to WoW you (only to leave you fatigued later)
it just does everything right.
Enough of that - Just wanted to say If you haven't yet, keep in mind that power can make a BIG difference to a headphone / IEM's sound...in many ways - Dont just listen on one device and conclude that it is inherently this way or that way !

 

[fablestruck]

I would like the DM to be a bit brighter, I need to play with the eq as tend to leave as is and swop players until one works best but the Ace respond really well to a little eq maybe DM will?

To be honest I prefer not to use EQ. As for DarkMatter it is supposed to be 'Dark', isn't it?

 

[fablestruck]

Had an iFi Zen Balanced Amp arrive today
Although my Sony DAP outperforms anything else Ive heard DAP wise - it does sacrifice a bit of power for an exceptionally long battery life so I thought its about time to treat myself to a little power especially for the planars in my collection!

The iFi Zen is very powerful - For the ACE I am on gain 1 of 4 at about 30% on the volume pot o_0

Anyway, point being, the ACE sounds quite different than from the DAP. Basically it's perfectly balanced. Everything about it just sounds 'right' Nothing is off in any area at all. Its a little unusual listening to it in this this regard. The power of the amp has revealed something quite special.
It has a perfectly balanced reference quality to it now and with a touch of warmth from the amp it is profoundly listenable. The notes have an incredible creamy smooth tonality that have such an authority.
I had a suspicion that this iEM could give a lot more, most if not all planars prefer a bit more power than normal.
Anyhoo - Using black/gold but might drop down to blue/gold with foam tips
Its a profoundly easy listen now - Its just so natural - doesnt try to WoW you (only to leave you fatigued later)
it just does everything right.
Enough of that - Just wanted to say If you haven't yet, keep in mind that power can make a BIG difference to a headphone / IEM's sound...in many ways - Dont just listen on one device and conclude that it is inherently this way or that way !

Agreed on that. But as I mentioned earlier to my ears and relevant to my sources, ACE sound better for me underpowered rather than the opposite.

 

[Poganin]

am sorry but I couldn't resist to ask, what exactly are these audiophile ribbons? You mean those flat ribon cables?

I was actually being facetious there.

 

[DrewVz]

Had an iFi Zen Balanced Amp arrive today
Although my Sony DAP outperforms anything else Ive heard DAP wise - it does sacrifice a bit of power for an exceptionally long battery life so I thought its about time to treat myself to a little power especially for the planars in my collection!

The iFi Zen is very powerful - For the ACE I am on gain 1 of 4 at about 30% on the volume pot o_0

Anyway, point being, the ACE sounds quite different than from the DAP. Basically it's perfectly balanced. Everything about it just sounds 'right' Nothing is off in any area at all. Its a little unusual listening to it in this this regard. The power of the amp has revealed something quite special.
It has a perfectly balanced reference quality to it now and with a touch of warmth from the amp it is profoundly listenable. The notes have an incredible creamy smooth tonality that have such an authority.
I had a suspicion that this iEM could give a lot more, most if not all planars prefer a bit more power than normal.
Anyhoo - Using black/gold but might drop down to blue/gold with foam tips
Its a profoundly easy listen now - Its just so natural - doesnt try to WoW you (only to leave you fatigued later)
it just does everything right.
Enough of that - Just wanted to say If you haven't yet, keep in mind that power can make a BIG difference to a headphone / IEM's sound...in many ways - Dont just listen on one device and conclude that it is inherently this way or that way !

Yeah, we covered this a few pages back. Don't underestimate the power of raw power. Lol. Next up, try a TOTL DAC. It'll blow your mind. I'm running a Terminator through a Soloist 3X for my headphones and IEMs. 8 Watts max output, I believe. Doesn't get much better than this.

Also, try gold lower/red upper filters on the Ace. IMO much better than black/gold.

 

[jon parker]

Yeah, we covered this a few pages back. Don't underestimate the power of raw power. Lol. Next up, try a TOTL DAC. It'll blow your mind. I'm running a Terminator through a Soloist 3X for my headphones and IEMs. 8 Watts max output, I believe. Doesn't get much better than this.

Also, try gold lower/red upper filters on the Ace. IMO much better than black/gold.

Oh sorry
No money for TOTL - maybe one day . . . although interesting, what blows my mind is as close to natural tonality and timbre 'real life sound' as possible - which weirdly IS what you pay top dollar for BUT can be cheaper . .. if you get lucky!
The filters depend on your source but I'll give your recc a try for sure Thanks

 

[Shadowelite]

For the Ace just a few db starting 1/2db from 2k up, and same starting around 100hz (Shanling M6 Pro). Did the same with the Zenith but it sounds better to me with eq off (Shanling M8)

Will five that a try just to see what it sounds like
Got 3 daps to try
R6 pro
Fiio m15
Dx240

 

[holsen]

After much deliberation, selling my Aces. Link in signature.

You'll have no problem. Mine were gone in a day with multiple offers. Now eagerly awaiting Titan and Na Le!
That will put my samplings at
R1 Zenith
Rah
Red
EDP
Elysium
Astra
ACE
Really regret selling the OG EDP it was fundamentally different in almost every respect from every other IMR. I'm not saying it was the best thing produced but it was best planar iem I personally ever heard. It was all planar goodness with a little DD lift.

 

[Cygx1]

I was actually being facetious there.

No problem, i just thought i missed out some game changer technology in the audiophile world, but that was a nice one i have to say!

 

[Ryokan]

To be honest I prefer not to use EQ. As for DarkMatter it is supposed to be 'Dark', isn't it?

Shanling's eq is really good compared to other player's I've owned and it's a novelty being able to fine tune the sound and tame certain frequencies. Someone said a few pages back DM isn't dark sounding? I'm hardly using DM now I have these two.
M6 Pro 21 is much louder than M8 if I use eq it lowers the volume and I can tweak the highs and lows.
It's only with the M6 pro I've felt the need to eq Ace as they sound too bright sometimes, tho not sibilant.

 

[AlexCBSN]

Have been absent for a couple of weeks since i got a pop up in a bar And been crazy busy doing menus and literally running around. Today is the first day I could sit down and enjoy some music (and getting ready to run again)


I've been using EDP og and pb1 and maaaaan... Coming from the dark matter it was weird, but after some settling in in my ears, pb1 still ROCKS, there's something with the planar array that makes it so God damn exciting. Imaging and soundstage are spot on, it's funny that at the beginning it was a treble lacking headphone for me, really dark and after many plays I keep realizing how it never stops evolving, it's one of those headphones that in it's case the magnets literally repel.

EDP og well.. we had 2 more releases and even though I love em all, the og it's still one of the best headphones I own. It was weird to check the thread and see a couple leaving their homes but they'll find some love around. The og still tops em imo, it just has that magical ingredient that can't be re done. Ace hasn't got much time in my ears since zenith II has all my attention but the og still makes that planar magic with controlled bass and perfect mids


Anyway, just wanted to say hi and talk about my little joy of sitting down and enjoying my coffee as a regular day... That i can't have these days

 

[bk123]

Just noticed at IMR website that Na-Le shipping date is changed from Dec 2022 to Nov 2022.
Am I daydreaming?
I am not expecting it anytime before end of Feb 2023 next year though.