thank you for comparison! I have Halcyon and Elan and I have some similar impressions with Elans. They are technical, but those ADLC 10mm driver is tuned not so funny sounding as Halcyon or EDP+, for example.I am not exactly an objective type when it comes to IEMs, as I am mainly interesed in whether I like it subjectively or not. Another thing to note is that I use Halcyon modded (since the open back ports got broken). And I also don't use original cable with Avalon.
That said, I would say Avalon is technically better. Halcyon is way more open sounding and because of that I actually perfer it over Avalon. If fact I sometimes even forget that I am listening to an IEM.
If you like bass, then imo Halcyon has more quantity wise, but Avalon has better quality.
And to my ears they sound very different. Objectively I am inclined to say that Avalon is better. But I can't say that there is any wow factor in it. Halcyon had some quirky mids (originally), that sounded thin and weird, but the mod (may be original open backs too, but I don't remmember now) gives it the sence of open space that makes it stand out from any other set that I have.
However, lately I am not using either too frequently as neither fit my ears particulary well (Avalon fits worse of the too)
So with Avalon sound Bob went pretty far. It's a different more refined/mature sound, but they don't have anything special that would make me pick them over other IEMs in my stable.
Probably not that helpful, but I tried.
I hope with Ace and Zenith 2 Bob get back to fun tuning again
Those reviews of Zenith 2 remains me my impressions of OG Zenith and Athen, which were spectacular iems with stadium like staging on higher volumes
Oh, just switched to open back on Halcyon and the staging is OMG level
This Xinhs hybrid cable improves mid balance a lot. With closed back it is more v-shaped than original with a little overbearing on low base and some accent on mis-highs.
But with open back sound is way better balanced than stock cable. For my taste stock is too smooth with reduced presence in electrets region.
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