That’s exactly what i get with the SR-009, or even bigger with the Bastanis Mandala Atlas. And i like it, a lot.
So, Elan is on my list And maybe it’ll be even better after >50hr burn in. Have fun!
We are very lucky - The Astra really woke up after 500 hours !!
Way to go yet buts its great to be able to enjoy them so much when with previous IMR's I have gone through rough patches for many hours before they revealed their true beauty
@holsen I had a very bright patch with the Astra between 270 & 300 hours. Really hated them at that time. They came good after that at over 300 hours. So it could be worth giving them a couple of days more with them.
As I burned them in they went from only really listening to electronic & dance (with Elysium for rock) to eventually listening to everything on them. That took a long time to get to that point.
I've settled on graphene for the Astra & copper for the Elysium until I get one of those PW Audio cables.
We are very lucky - The Astra really woke up after 500 hours !!
Way to go yet buts its great to be able to enjoy them so much when with previous IMR's I have gone through rough patches for many hours before they revealed their true beauty
@holsen I had a very bright patch with the Astra between 270 & 300 hours. Really hated them at that time. They came good after that at over 300 hours. So it could be worth giving them a couple of days more with them.
As I burned them in they went from only really listening to electronic & dance (with Elysium for rock) to eventually listening to everything on them. That took a long time to get to that point.
I've settled on graphene for the Astra & copper for the Elysium until I get one of those PW Audio cables.
Good to know from both of you. I'll commit another 200 hours or 10 days to round the clock burn in before deciding. At the moment, when they sound good, it's a treat but when they go off.... oh my, it' excruciating - I thought I was an IMR veteran and knew what to expect ... LOL let's see where they go from here.
Good to know from both of you. I'll commit another 200 hours or 10 days to round the clock burn in before deciding. At the moment, when they sound good, it's a treat but when they go off.... oh my, it' excruciating - I thought I was an IMR veteran and knew what to expect ... LOL let's see where they go from here.
For me after that bright period of a day or 2 they have been superb. But aside from the brightness going a big thing was that they became versatile. Putting them back in yesterday after over a week without hearing them was a treat.
Listening to the Semper, Astra & Elysium on the Max they all scale up so well. The Semper & Elysium seem to benefit from the power more than the Astra so I think the planars like power. As much as you can give them.
The electros don't seem to need the power so much but they have benefited from the width & depth and detail. They have a very well rounded holo effect.
With the Semper & Elysium it is more the in the room or studio live effect but with the Astra it is more you are in the song. Hard to explain but I think Jon is on the right path with it being quite psychedelic. It does go well with some bong conduction.
I do think the Astra has the most pronounced bone conduction effect but I think this is more it is working in unison with everything else better than Elysium or Mest2. It should be the same as the Mest2 unless materials and fit have a large effect.
A fully powered Semper that can fully stretch its legs is really something special.
@holsen - As I mentioned Im using a filter that Bob made for me a while back for the EDP
Using it with the Astra's and they are perfect with everything - Obviously my set up effects the sound but I would very much recommend at least discussing this with Bob - I actually got a bit annoyed at one point of Burn in with the Astra's as none of the filters seemed 100% capable of suiting the Astra yet with this specific filter it just sounds perfect
Im also 50 hours in with the Elan and they are just sublime - no weirdness as yet during burn in. They have the detail of teh Astra but the low end richness of the Opus Mia - Just stunning
PS: Also, i found a marked increase & improvement in the low end over the 500 hour mark with the Astra's !!
Any chance to see a picture of your custom filter? I did one for my zeniths and ended up using the same idea with FIIO FD5. I find my self using different mesh sizes and different materials, currently in my fave for saving bass are cotton swab and sony EX series memory foam.
I'm at about 100 hours with the Elan now and have a few things to share.
The mids and upper range are really starting to open up now. In the beginning I found that the Elan's upper range at low volumes was a little lacking in sparkle and sounded a little flat. Perhaps the lush bass was overpowering it a little.
This was in contrast with my Sempers, which for me, is the king of low volume listening. I love to do this when I get the silence of the evening. When all is quiet and there is no disturbance around me, I only need to up the volume with the DX300 to vol 8-10 and the Semper gives me soothing bass and all the mid and upper detail follows through as well. The music feels like it emanates around you and you can forget you are wearing IEMS.
When I initially tried this with the Elan, the bass seemed to hold back the upper range as you dropped the volume. I guess the drivers must be loosening up a little now as the lower and upper range detail is sounding nicely balanced now. The upper range tightness/dullness is getting some sparkle and am getting nice layering with the mid range now.
As for "on the go" use, I'd say the Elan is just perfect. I think the sound imaging is quite astounding for the size it is. I carry it in a small pouch that also has my Ibasso DC04 and a spare thumbdrive for the car. It fits in my pocket quite comfortably. While wearing Elan during walk about town it seals really well and sound quality is really enjoyable.
After trying and retrying tips for the Elan, I think my preference is to use softer silicon tips. Right now I have settled on the JVC Spiral Dots. The IMR tips are actually not bad, but the Spiral Dots give a significantly richer sound for me. I did try the harder silicon tips like the SednaEarfit Xelastacs and the Crystals. They give really good clarity, but I lose the really addictive extra bass detail that Elan can give me. The Sedna Crystal are my tips of choice for the Semper.
This track by Melanie de Biasio has been a really enjoyable listen with the Elan. There is a deep bass buzz that comes in at about 4 mins and is sustained while you journey through bits of percussion and synth.
Any chance to see a picture of your custom filter? I did one for my zeniths and ended up using the same idea with FIIO FD5. I find my self using different mesh sizes and different materials, currently in my fave for saving bass are cotton swab and sony EX series memory foam.
Good to know from both of you. I'll commit another 200 hours or 10 days to round the clock burn in before deciding. At the moment, when they sound good, it's a treat but when they go off.... oh my, it' excruciating - I thought I was an IMR veteran and knew what to expect ... LOL let's see where they go from here.
Ive been using the custom filters but yesterday went back to the stock ones. Black/black didnt quite sound right so I went for black / blue top and HOLYSH T the amount of extra detail and dimensional space that hit me was like leaving a warm room and going outside into a blizzard
Listening to the Elan (and comparing) - it seems the orange filter on the Astra REALLY tones down a lot of the peaky sharp highs and mellows out the whole signature markedly. They sound in many ways like the Elan, all be it a lighter version
I hadn't realized the extent. and how much it basically removes anything 'extra' and 'special' from the sound sig
I can fully get what you are saying now :/ -
Some audio sounds incredible and basically 'normal' but some female vocals for example are too painful to listen too
I can smooth out the sound somewhat by going down to gold upper filter but...
Weirdly - 'The Stranger' by Billy Joel DSD sounds awful - like all the mids have been sucked out - just horrible but then 'Make it With You' by Bread DSD sounds sublime ??
There seems no rhyme or reason to work out what will sound sublime and what will sound either plain wrong or shrill
Listening to the Elan I was struck by how much warmer natural and especially how more natural the vocals sound than the Astra
For burn in Im using red lower and blue upper on the Elan and there is more bass / low end than with the Astra on Black / Black o_0
My Elans have finally gone into a little bit of the burn in change period but for a while I have been very very impressed by them - the natural warm tonality combined with the detailing of the CNT is world class - They really are a magical IEM
My Elans have finally gone into a little bit of the burn in change period but for a while I have been very very impressed by them - the natural warm tonality combined with the detailing of the CNT is world class - They really are a magical IEM
I haven't had the EDP+ for a while now but...one thing that strikes is how natural the vocals sound with Elan. 'Sounds like' you have a perfect balance between an Electrostatic purity and BC space with a beautifully controlled treble (even though there is no elec driver!)
The treble you can change of course with filters but I think the Elan is in a different class to the EDP+ although the EDP+ is more of a specialist tuning / sound where as the Elan is Bobs highest 'public' main IEM. You can tell he is very proud of it and you can really see why when listening. They are very listenable yet with the extra qualities of Bone Conduction and adlc/cnt purity.
I would have zero hesitation in recommending the Elan - Really feel a 'love' for this IEM
I cant really say until they are fully burnt in but they are superb, no doubt
edit: One thing the Elan does well is the one thing that I think Bob really did very well in general with IMR which is to have such a full bodied sound
I've never heard the OM but if you can find a RAH floating around - GRAB it. The combination of that Aten, Planar and Piezo drivers is spectacular. Bob's a master at implimentation of minituraized planars running wide band, bringing the fullness, layering and detail through the mids connecting it all. To me, it's still my favorite of the bunch - though I've never heard Semper or OM. Anyway, there is a big difference between what those electrostats and the the Planar/Piezo combo can do.
i Used to own the Rah and I still own the Opus Mia
I would say YES! 100% - If you get the opportunity to buy a RAh then do it - I cant remember details but I LOVED the Rah and regret having to sell it
For me after that bright period of a day or 2 they have been superb. But aside from the brightness going a big thing was that they became versatile. Putting them back in yesterday after over a week without hearing them was a treat.
Listening to the Semper, Astra & Elysium on the Max they all scale up so well. The Semper & Elysium seem to benefit from the power more than the Astra so I think the planars like power. As much as you can give them.
The electros don't seem to need the power so much but they have benefited from the width & depth and detail. They have a very well rounded holo effect.
With the Semper & Elysium it is more the in the room or studio live effect but with the Astra it is more you are in the song. Hard to explain but I think Jon is on the right path with it being quite psychedelic. It does go well with some bong conduction.
I do think the Astra has the most pronounced bone conduction effect but I think this is more it is working in unison with everything else better than Elysium or Mest2. It should be the same as the Mest2 unless materials and fit have a large effect.
What a difference a weekend makes. I've let my Astras run non stop since Friday and came back to them this morning and that extra 72 hours has has a major impact. They've rounded out significantly. Played a sampling of material from Kevin Eubanks, Rush, Zeppelin, Victor Wooten and that cursed Queen Tune. All the ear piercing screachiness is gone. They still "approach" harsh on that openning salvo on "Death on Two Legs" but no where near the ear bleed levels I was hitting on Friday. I figure I was somewhere between 275 and 300 hours at that point - so fast forward 72 hours and that put them at 350 to 375 hours. These babies DO ABSOUTELY NEED TO RUN IN. It's amazing how there are still sonic shifts after so many hours.
I'd agree with you, that they are very easy to drive, it doesnt take much juice to wake them up and the Bone Conduction clearly has a pronounced effect. @roygbiv6 describes it as like being in the song, I get what he's saying. On many tracks it's like the music is enveloping you as it comes into you from around you. That's special!
I'm going the let them run around the clock another 150 until 500 hours just to let them fully season. I dont know if it'll make any further difference but it wont hurt them.
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And maybe it’ll be even better after >50hr burn in. Have fun!
