nearing 100 hours with my sakura plus, so i'll try writing an impression about it as well.
for your information i listen mainly to 70s funk, 80s rock and blues, a little bit of jazz, and a fan of acoustic version of them all.
i was the proud owner a kaede ii for 7 months and donguri keyaki for 1 year+, before i sold them both for a gamble which called the SAKURA PLUS.
I can say for me it was the right gamble to make, the sakura plus in my opinion was a crossbreed of the 2 previous ocharakus i've had.
it has the definition, detail and timbre like the kaede with smoother edges of course. and it has a bit more focus in the high mid section than the kaede ( this resembles the donguri keyaki)
it has a slower pace than the kaede, but not as laid back as a donguri keyaki. it really is 60 % kaede and 40% donguri keyaki ( just like my friend robby said).
THE SOUND
HIGH :The kaede ii really excels in micro detail, one thing that the sakura plus produce a smoother version of it, this maybe a disappointment to some, but for my ears, it is still reproduce a very high degree of detail without the sharp edges of the highs ( which sometimes the kaedes high pierces my ears to a degree that i just have too take them off).
MID: A bit confusing, while i like the mid high section, which produce a very good vocals, it lacks a bit is the mid low section.
LOW: THe Low section in the sakura is a thicker than the kaede, with sufficient control to produce a bass that is very nice in quantity and quality.
THE SPEED
well everything has its ups and downs, the speed that the sakura has cannot compare to the kaede,
the kaede allows me to listen to some speedy rock ( mr. big, dream theater ) and speedy jazz ( casiopea) with a god like prescision,
while the sakuras speed is more for a slower tunes, blues ( clapton, bb king), jazz & vocals (caroll kidd, sting, chris botti) , acoustic pops ( the coors, nirvana ,alanis morisette unplugged)
END WORDS
The kaede and sakura plus are two different IEM, yes they have more in common than they differs, but for me they are really tuned differently to enjoy different kinds of music.
whereas the Sakura plus is a definite upgrade than the donguri keyaki.
i tip my hat to mr yamagishi who i consider a man that really knows what he is doing in his world ( the IEM world).
I really like the Sakura, i know its not for every music that i listen to, but it really takes my listening of vocals and acoustic music to a new level. while for the more speedier side of my playlist i have my trusted Flare audio R2PRO.
thanks all for spending your time reading this.