[PL4Y3R 0N3]

Wow, I've been off for a little while and this new update isn't helping me get back on. lol
Anyways, I just had to cancel my order for the Trinity Audio Engineering PM6 because I moved yesterday and don't have an address to ship it to, and so I am back in the market for a pair of IEMs. Fortunately my financial situation has changed, and I've decided to skip mid-tier and go for TOTL. I'm looking for a UIEM because I don't have enough time to wait for a CIEM to be made, and I don't want to go through the hassle of getting impressions. I'm currently looking at a range of prices, everything from the Earsonics Velvet to the Campfire Audio Vega, but I'd like to say the the $1300 that the Vega costs is my upper limit. The things that are important to me are isolation and clarity for the moment. these would be for use on the go back and forth to classes, so a warranty or very robust build is also appreciated. I like a more musical sound, and I'm afraid anything too neutral would be too "boring" for me. My current headphones are the Meze 99 Classics.
THey would be driven from an Astell & Kern AK Jr. I'd like to buy new, and from a reputable website that offers express shipping as I will be moving again for the summer and will need to receive them in a very shortr window between opening a PO box and moving for the summer to a place where I won't be able to receive packages.
Glad to be back on the forum. Hopefully I won't fall off the edge of the world again and will continue to post.

 

[serman005]

I love the Vega. Built like a freaking tank. Good, solid company.

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

I love the Vega. Built like a freaking tank. Good, solid company.

They definitely look outstanding, but that price is a bit of a deterrent. I'd like to spend closer to $1000, but I'm leaning very slightly towards the $700 earsonics. Mostly because of the look and price. Are there any others that I may have missed for the price?

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

Bump to move my post above the spam. Also I've started seriously considering the Campfire Audio Andromeda. It seems like an excellent IEM for where it sits in the price range. But I am worried about how sensitive it is, especially since the AK Jr has a higher output impedance.

 

[seamon]

What kind of a sound signature are you looking fora? Warm? V shaped? Downward sloping? Mid forward?
Let me tell you Velvet and Vega are in entirely different leagues.

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

What kind of a sound signature are you looking fora? Warm? V shaped? Downward sloping? Mid forward?
Let me tell you Velvet and Vega are in entirely different leagues.

I realized the velvet was a bit behind after looking into it a bit more than I had.
I'm looking for something kind of like my 99 Classics I guess, but with a bit more clarity. Very slightly V-shaped maybe, not sure about that though. My main concern is that is I go too neutral it will be boring, and I want them to be engaging.

 

[seamon]

Vega is very slightly V shaped

 

[buke9]

I realized the velvet was a bit behind after looking into it a bit more than I had.
I'm looking for something kind of like my 99 Classics I guess, but with a bit more clarity. Very slightly V-shaped maybe, not sure about that though. My main concern is that is I go too neutral it will be boring, and I want them to be engaging.

Heard the Andromeda's at CanJam and definitely would not call them boring. Probably in the top three of the iem's I listened to nothing at all like the Meze's but they are pretty sensitive.

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

Heard the Andromeda's at CanJam and definitely would not call them boring. Probably in the top three of the iem's I listened to nothing at all like the Meze's but they are pretty sensitive.

Did you get a chance to try the Vega? I'd like to know a bit about the fit and connection of them. How well do they isolate and what their comfort is like. Stuff like that.
Also, I feel like there are other IEMs that I am missing in that price range. Does anyone have some more reccomendations?

 

[Dulalala]

Did you get a chance to try the Vega? I'd like to know a bit about the fit and connection of them. How well do they isolate and what their comfort is like. Stuff like that.
Also, I feel like there are other IEMs that I am missing in that price range. Does anyone have some more reccomendations?

Well, I have quite small ears and the Vega/Andromeda are quite big which gives me fit issues. I don't personally find them comfortable but YMMV. Maybe try looking at JH Rosie too??

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

Well, I have quite small ears and the Vega/Andromeda are quite big which gives me fit issues. I don't personally find them comfortable but YMMV. Maybe try looking at JH Rosie too??

Well my elephantine ears should make fit less of an issue.
I wasn't looking at the JH Rosie, but I am now. How fitting they would be made by A&K too. They don't look as sturdy as the CA though. How do they compare? Also, you have the AK Jr right? How do all of them work with it?

 

[Dulalala]

Well my elephantine ears should make fit less of an issue.
I wasn't looking at the JH Rosie, but I am now. How fitting they would be made by A&K too. They don't look as sturdy as the CA though. How do they compare? Also, you have the AK Jr right? How do all of them work with it?

Just to be clear, I don't own any of these IEM nor the AK Jr, I have only heard them during store demos and each of the IEM were demoed during different visits in the past so I have not compared them side by side.
The JH Rosie build feels pretty solid, it is made out of metal. The Rosie is actually bigger than the CA Jupiter, though the bores are longer and thinner which makes them easier to fit in my ears. Sound wise, I think Jupiter is a more dynamic/exciting/in your face sort of IEM which the Rosie had a more relaxed/detailed/wide-ish presentation. I have not tried adjusting the bass on the Rosie so I don't know how that sounds like but I would assume that the choice to adjust the bass can be rather useful depending on your mood.

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

Just to be clear, I don't own any of these IEM nor the AK Jr, I have only heard them during store demos and each of the IEM were demoed during different visits in the past so I have not compared them side by side.
The JH Rosie build feels pretty solid, it is made out of metal. The Rosie is actually bigger than the CA Jupiter, though the bores are longer and thinner which makes them easier to fit in my ears. Sound wise, I think Jupiter is a more dynamic/exciting/in your face sort of IEM which the Rosie had a more relaxed/detailed/wide-ish presentation. I have not tried adjusting the bass on the Rosie so I don't know how that sounds like but I would assume that the choice to adjust the bass can be rather useful depending on your mood.

Oh, my bad. I thought that you owned the AK Jr.
The bass adjustment knob seems pretty neat, not sure how much I would use it though. The part that worries me the most is that in a review I read it had BA bass. I haven't heard a BA driver IEM, but I see that often associated with a lack of weight to the bass. Is that correct? Is there really a huge difference between BA bass and Dynamic bass?

 

[Dulalala]

Oh, my bad. I thought that you owned the AK Jr.
The bass adjustment knob seems pretty neat, not sure how much I would use it though. The part that worries me the most is that in a review I read it had BA bass. I haven't heard a BA driver IEM, but I see that often associated with a lack of weight to the bass. Is that correct? Is there really a huge difference between BA bass and Dynamic bass?

I personally think it depends more on the manufacturer tuning but generally, between a single dynamic driver vs a single BA driver, the dynamic driver will have a better bass response. However, I have found that in most multiple driver config, usually 4 drivers and above, this is usually not the case and unless tuned otherwise, the BA drivers can stand it's ground against the dynamic driver.

 

[buke9]

Did you get a chance to try the Vega? I'd like to know a bit about the fit and connection of them. How well do they isolate and what their comfort is like. Stuff like that.
Also, I feel like there are other IEMs that I am missing in that price range. Does anyone have some more reccomendations?

I listened to so much stuff it is hard to keep track of most of it. I'm sure I heard them just know that I wanted to hear the Andromeda's so that is what I remembered. I mostly listened to the TOTL iem's as I'm not a big iem person as I use headphones mostly and I work construction so I'm not taking anything that I don't mind getting screwed up.