[kadamian]

I am generally not a fan of BAs simply because most, though not all, don't have the timbral naturalness and cohesion of a good DD based earphone. Having said that, there are some wonderful multi BA earphones that I heave really enjoyed, but they almost always IME leave something to be desired in terms of timbre that have me coming back to DD IEMs. It's nice to see that there are more companies going the micro DD route as I think many of them sound great and are usually much cheaper to boot!

To me, BA-sound forces you to "analyze" the sound while dynamic just lets you relax and listen...Moreover, making a really good sounding dynamic requires much more expertise than "cramming" tiny ba's into the shell and marketing as the "second coming".

tl;dr Which brings me to the point i've made earlier about the "reviews" and "reviewers": while i am "spectating" the headfi for so many years already (10+ i guess) there is this "trend" that i have constantly witnessed. A "new totl" (particularly, ba-based) in, say, 1k$+ range is released with some "new" specs -> ppl rush to the first listen -> widespread placebo kicks-in -> first "happy owners" emerge with "this is the best i've heard so far" reviews (i have yet to see the first day negative or even neutral review on 1k$+ iem and even ciem, which is understanable - it is nearly impossible to be honest with oneself after spending so much money and then waiting a month or two) -> additional hype kicks in -> time passes that starts converting "new" to "not-so-new" - > news from the "v.2" or new toy from "brand x" start to emerge -> community interest rises -> v.2 is released promising multiple aurgasms -> "reviews" kick in -> old iem shows on fs -> repeat

 

[PCWar]

Extremely to the point. That's why I'm still rocking a pair of Tralucent 1plus2 and EX1000. I used to have and love the Kaedes v1 also but couldn't justify all of them.

 

[AnakChan]

Nice impression @anakchan

"The Kaede I has a little more internal reflections than the Kaede II."

Can you explain what do you mean with "internal reflection" is?

 
I felt the decay in the Kaede I was a little more than the Kaede II - a slightly more "lingering" of a note for example.

 

[shigzeo]

To me, BA-sound forces you to "analyze" the sound while dynamic just lets you relax and listen...Moreover, making a really good sounding dynamic requires much more expertise than "cramming" tiny ba's into the shell and marketing as the "second coming".

tl;dr Which brings me to the point i've made earlier about the "reviews" and "reviewers": while i am "spectating" the headfi for so many years already (10+ i guess) there is this "trend" that i have constantly witnessed. A "new totl" (particularly, ba-based) in, say, 1k$+ range is released with some "new" specs -> ppl rush to the first listen -> widespread placebo kicks-in -> first "happy owners" emerge with "this is the best i've heard so far" reviews (i have yet to see the first day negative or even neutral review on 1k$+ iem and even ciem, which is understanable - it is nearly impossible to be honest with oneself after spending so much money and then waiting a month or two) -> additional hype kicks in -> time passes that starts converting "new" to "not-so-new" - > news from the "v.2" or new toy from "brand x" start to emerge -> community interest rises -> v.2 is released promising multiple aurgasms -> "reviews" kick in -> old iem shows on fs -> repeat

Brilliant.

 

[recarcar]

@AnakChan
 
Thank you for the detailed impressions! We are hearing things a bit differently as the AKA Sakura feels a little less contrasty (bass/treble) and less sucked out in the mid range due to the little bump there compared to the 28mm Kaede II. I'm not sure I would call the Sakura more aggressive (especially in the upper treble region) either but neither phone seems particularly well balanced to me. 
 
I definitely do hear that the Kaede II has more stage depth while the AKA Sakura has a wider headstage. I am missing the incisiveness of the Kaede II and have the feeling that it was a tiny bit better in terms of timbral accuracy. At the same time, the Sakura is proving to be the phone that is easier to listen to for longer periods because of it's slightly better controlled treble response and less contrasty nature IMO. There were albums that I simply could not get through with the Kaede II and I am finding that not to be the case the AKA Sakura because it's treble response. 
 
But again, this might be a case of apples to oranges comparison as I had the 28mm version of the Kaede and have the 30mm version of the Sakura. 

 

[AnakChan]

That's good that we offer contrasting thoughts on the Sakura 30mm vs the Kaede II 28mm. I do truly believe that folks hear differently.

You are correct about (less) aggression on the upper treble region. For me the aggression is more on the upper mids lower treble (or in the past I've called it "nasal"). The Sakura's upper trebles to me is more smoothed out, less peaky and a tad less forward as such my other comment about how I begin to understand Yamagishi-san's explanation of the Sakura's being the warmest of his offerings.

I don't hear the suck out of the midrange but as per earlier post (need to search) I think the upper midrange is more forward then the upper bass lower midrange level.

 

[kadamian]

cam someone comment on ocharaku's amping? chord mojo maybe?

 

[AnakChan]

cam someone comment on ocharaku's amping? chord mojo maybe?

Personally for me, I don't think the Sakuras need any amping. If anything I'm more inclined to think that it's somewhat more "critical" & benefits from better sources/DAC implementations.

Granted you could use amp flavours to "fine tune" the signature a little here & there to your liking. I may try that myself tonight with underutilised A2P TUR-06 hybrid tube amp.

 

[kadamian]

Personally for me, I don't think the Sakuras need any amping. If anything I'm more inclined to think that it's somewhat more "critical" & benefits from better sources/DAC implementations.

Granted you could use amp flavours to "fine tune" the signature a little here & there to your liking. I may try that myself tonight with underutilised A2P TUR-06 hybrid tube amp.

thank you for your reply

your words largely coincide with my observations

 

[kadamian]

nearing 100+ hours...

all i can say that they are truly amazing. being a musician myself (piano) i simply ADORE the way these earphones recreate piano (and other acoustic instruments)

going DD route proved to be the right move - as far as there are really good BA earphones, dynamic sound is simply better (for me, of course)

 

[AnakChan]

I've been using my Akazakura daily and have been heading to the headphone stores trying various stuff. Rather interestingly I actually felt the Mojo to be somewhat quite sterile & brittle on the treble region on the these earphones. the Sakuras/Akazakuras seem to benefit better with slightly warmer DAC/Amps.

 

[d3885u]

In my experience, i prefer to use sterile and clean source soundsig with kaede ii. In this case, i prefer to use mojo instead of hm901s

 

[kadamian]

100+ hours...

well, i can finally conclude that this is a masterfully tuned earphone - one that creates truly immersive experience

this track is marvellous

http://youtu.be/xHf-UP2KJ3s

 

[sonickarma]

100+ hours...

well, i can finally conclude that this is a masterfully tuned earphone - one that creates truly immersive experience

this track is marvellous

http://youtu.be/xHf-UP2KJ3s

Im wondering if  Mr. Yamagishi made these in Titanium, how that would sound, we can all but wish....
 
I know his prototypes were made in metal (I tried to buy one of him)

 

[kadamian]

Im wondering if  Mr. Yamagishi made these in Titanium, how that would sound, we can all but wish....

I know his prototypes were made in metal (I tried to buy one of him)

unless he will dramatically change the design or the diaphragm, i doubt the sound will change much

think about slightly different sound sig here and there but nothing major