IMR Audio : Sonic Adventures & Impressions

Future of IMR threads

  • Single thread for all models.

    Votes: 8 47.1%
  • Multiple threads for each model.

    Votes: 9 52.9%

  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .
Mar 31, 2022 at 11:26 PM Post #5,671 of 18,029
Avalon in the house… first impressions

The bone conduction effect is wilder than dark matter but, it’s more spread… like wider… I cant explain cause there’s something else in the mid, I’m actually quite entertained with it, music feels alive, there’s some sort of sorcery here, i was expecting way more bass but it’s quite there, and quite enough, imo dark matter has the upper hand in the field.

There’s something in the airiness of this headphone that is making me quite addictive to it, something is happening. I must admit I’m totally fascinated by it. It’s not my regular signature (I need a ton of sub bass and mid bass) but I’m experiencing something else, it does have me in awe. There’s something there.

Bass is good, but the mids and the space between instruments it’s undeniably fascinating
 
Apr 1, 2022 at 12:13 AM Post #5,672 of 18,029
Avalon just arrived for me too.

Some wonkiness in the lower treble/upper mids hopefully smooths out with burn in, it's a little sharp.
Lower treble and mids are quite forward compared to the semper which now seems very V shaped and recessed.
To me the semper has some upper sibilance issues 8-12k which is not there on the Avalon so that's good.
The Avalon has a much wider soundstage in the mids/lower treble. Maybe the bone conduction drivers are helping too?
I feel like there will be more detail with the Avalons in the treble compared to semper but maybe not mids (lacking planar).
The Semper is still much smoother as its had a lot more burn in but is not as wide in mids/upper bass but maybe has more upper bass.

I was very surprised to receive some Ozars the other day too and have been enjoying them a lot. Fairly smooth and great sounding buds. The dynamics/dampening/ringing of the bass is on another level compared to prior IMR's, just so tight and defined, same with the Avalon. The semper seems soft in this regard.
The Avalons seem more airy and less heavy than the Ozar, its hard to describe. The Ozar is just great, only slightly less detail/width and quite close to the Avalon sound signature. The Ozar seems like a great all rounder.
Even though the avalons seem so much more forward in upper mids/lower treble I am surprised that they do not seem to be fatiguing even with being a bit sharp.

Fit and comfort are a huge improvement over the semper which has to be worn around the wrong way and upside down to fit and avoid fatigue. It looks downright silly to see.


Its hard to figure out what the bone conduction drivers are adding as the headphones do not seem to vibrate even with decent volume, maybe its just a bit more width over the Ozar?

Hopefully the Avalon and Ozar will smoothen out with burn in but both look like they have a lot of potential, I like everything except they just seem a bit sharp/peaky for now with no burn in.
 
Apr 1, 2022 at 1:02 AM Post #5,674 of 18,029
I prefer his older ATEN driver driven IEMs for their more analog type of sound
I can see what you mean here as to me the old driver is a lot softer but also warmer. Sometimes super well controled can come off as too analytical.
There’s something in the airiness of this headphone that is making me quite addictive to it, something is happening. I must admit I’m totally fascinated by it. It’s not my regular signature (I need a ton of sub bass and mid bass) but I’m experiencing something else, it does have me in awe. There’s something there.
I totaly agree and its similar for me too. If mine smoothens out its a winner, even though its so forward and flatter.
Does anyone have Event Horizon on order? I'm really considering it.
Yep, Lets see what that brings. Just the dynamic and no planar though (I need closed back).
Regardiing Event Horizon, I'm VERY interested to hear how they perform and how linear the presentation is? I'm currently using Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro for Production & mixing and have been looking for a second full size that has a flatter response and the EH seem perfect "if" they are flat enough?
I love my DT770 pro 80 but it does not stand up to the detail of most of the IMR's and I find does not get loud enough (I use them as monitors for mixing bands etc) I am hoping the EH is similar to the ozar/avalon. There are times when I find the DT770 does not have enough bass and low enough!
 
Apr 1, 2022 at 3:23 AM Post #5,675 of 18,029
I've just purchased a imr opus mia, I like it a lot. I have to purchase a cable extender for listening purposes. Which type of cable do i have to buy? I don't know if the stock cables comes in copper, silver, hybrid, etc. Regards
Single crystal OFC copper wire, this is all you need. Pay attention, if you take not just an extension but a replacement: poles on 0,78 pin connector are inverted comparing to the ordinary iem 2 pin connectors. Normally when you look on the connector the front (external) pin is positive and an internal one is negative. In IMR cable the are opposite like on the picture: Poles setup

The bone conduction effect is wilder than dark matter but, it’s more spread… like wider… I cant explain cause there’s something else in the mid, I’m actually quite entertained with it, music feels alive
BC effect according to my observations (on Elan because it's easier to highline its influence on the sound. Avalon have the same dual BC drivers) This driver adds the layer of a kind of reverberations, increasing a bit sound space and scene imagination, and some kind of physical sound presentation like some subtile pleasant vibration feeling on some instrument like hang, xylophone, or 8 bit electric sounds or sometimes adding energy and analog dynamic feeling on distorted guitar. With the last one it's even easier to hear a really organic or maybe energetic detail making it sounds more life like.
According to @Ace Bee frequency graphic and previous impressions BC affects high mids and low treble. So it's doesn't work in every moment but only when it touches that frequencies.

Elan & Avalon inside
AVALON INSIDE.jpg
ELAN INSIDE.jpg
 
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Apr 1, 2022 at 6:13 AM Post #5,676 of 18,029
Avalon in the house… first impressions

The bone conduction effect is wilder than dark matter but, it’s more spread… like wider… I cant explain cause there’s something else in the mid, I’m actually quite entertained with it, music feels alive, there’s some sort of sorcery here, i was expecting way more bass but it’s quite there, and quite enough, imo dark matter has the upper hand in the field.

There’s something in the airiness of this headphone that is making me quite addictive to it, something is happening. I must admit I’m totally fascinated by it. It’s not my regular signature (I need a ton of sub bass and mid bass) but I’m experiencing something else, it does have me in awe. There’s something there.

Bass is good, but the mids and the space between instruments it’s undeniably fascinating
That's good to hear! How would you describe the Dark Matters after having used it for awhile? Still awaiting my unit to arrive (ETA next Monday)
 
Apr 1, 2022 at 11:20 AM Post #5,679 of 18,029
I totaly agree and its similar for me too. If mine smoothens out its a winner, even though its so forward and flatter.

I always go to the same setup for testing
Red bottom blue top

I was using audio technicas tips which for me are perfect fit, funny I think I understand today something, the distance that those tips do with the bc is what makes it so wide, I tried it today with ehorns 001 and the narrow soundstage syndrome kicked in right away, I think the level of contact and position of it affects quite a bit.

Dunno, will try later on with spinfits and compare. Right now I'm on the bass canon enjoying Hans Zimmer. If the zenith II can accomplish this bass, I'm done. I'm actually thinking of doing some tests with it. Placing a thin cloth behind the mesh for it to retain some reverb. I think bob saw the flaw on the Aten5 which can sound bloated and wanted to open the mesh more to make it cleaner, looking at both ports the Aten 5 is way smaller making it more narrow for air to escape, I think the plan for the bc and EDP II was to counteract that but the mesh it's just too big.

I was toying with the Aten5 and ended up placing a thin layer of cotton (super thin) and the foam in had before and went from red filter to pink, the result was way more airiness and upfront high mids, I'm ok with it, actually now it sounds as my modded Thor mjionir mkI but with bigger soundstage and more tamed highs, if I can test the IMR top filters today to tame a bit the high mids a bit (its not fatiguing at all, but I would rather a bit more relaxed since some albums I like are not exactly well mixed, monuments the amanuensis for example) it would become my perfect sound signature. If I could achieve something similar with the opus mia... Damn...

Going back to the Avalon. I rolled tips and sources, my wm1a LOVES Avalon. But still I need to invest more time in it.

For now. I'm currently sitting with my morning coffee, thinking "I knew I should have gotten a second bass canon so I could make it my daily driver". If I could get a bit more sub bass, I think it would be my end game. It's not like I'm prone to loose it, but there's always this thing in the back of my mind saying "it's not like I can easily get my hands on a second pair if something happens to this one"
 
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Apr 2, 2022 at 10:07 PM Post #5,681 of 18,029
Does anyone have the FR graph of EDP+? I can buy one for a good price but I really want good treble and won't buy them without seeing the FR curve :frowning2:
They haven't even been built yet, still in production, so there are no reviews or graphs. I don't know how it's possible for you to buy one because they dont exist yet. You can get on the imracoustics.com waiting list, buy when / if one becomes available, and take advantage of IMRs return policy if they don't suit..... We all buy new models blind, based on trust that Bob has earned over the years. His descriptions are accurate and his models are truly a sonic adventure 😜
 
Apr 3, 2022 at 12:12 AM Post #5,683 of 18,029
Thanks for making outstanding stuff

The hip dac sounds amazing

Thanks! Hope it sounds good with Bob's stuff. Judging by what I know about the IMR house sound so far, it likely does!

Avalon in the house… first impressions

The bone conduction effect is wilder than dark matter but, it’s more spread… like wider… I cant explain cause there’s something else in the mid, I’m actually quite entertained with it, music feels alive, there’s some sort of sorcery here, i was expecting way more bass but it’s quite there, and quite enough, imo dark matter has the upper hand in the field.

There’s something in the airiness of this headphone that is making me quite addictive to it, something is happening. I must admit I’m totally fascinated by it. It’s not my regular signature (I need a ton of sub bass and mid bass) but I’m experiencing something else, it does have me in awe. There’s something there.

Bass is good, but the mids and the space between instruments it’s undeniably fascinating

Knowing how unique the bone conduction in the MEST MK II sounds, I'm excited to see that IMR did something with it.

It's super interesting tech, and I can't wait for them to become as common and technically speaking, well applied as DDs and BAs are (although due to how limited they are, that probably won't ever be the case).

The Dark Matters have touched down in Australia. Can't wait to get my hands on them!

Look forward to your impressions!
 
Apr 3, 2022 at 2:15 AM Post #5,684 of 18,029
They haven't even been built yet, still in production, so there are no reviews or graphs. I don't know how it's possible for you to buy one because they dont exist yet. You can get on the imracoustics.com waiting list, buy when / if one becomes available, and take advantage of IMRs return policy if they don't suit..... We all buy new models blind, based on trust that Bob has earned over the years. His descriptions are accurate and his models are truly a sonic adventure 😜
He's asking about the Edp+, not the Ace.
 
Apr 3, 2022 at 3:25 AM Post #5,685 of 18,029
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