Been doing quite a bit of listening recently. In an interesting turn, I decided to try the stock tips again. And, as someone else mentioned a few weeks back, the vacuum auction somehow miraculously disappeared. And while it doesn’t have quite the bass heft of my go-to Sedna, I do prefer the overall tonality of stock. Just more balanced across the spectrum. Bass very articulate, vocals sweeter, stage a little more open. I also find them incredibly comfy.
Agree - terrific album. Thoroughly enjoyable and a lot of artistry. My favorite tracks being Billie Bosa Nova and Hailey’s Comet. I was not a fan of her previous album but loved the one before that, “Don’t smile at me”. My fave there probably being idontwannabeyouanymore.
This is the one area I slightly disagree. Well maybe it’s a case of mastering style rather than recording quality. Have had several interesting chats with
@gLer about this. I personally am not a fan of two aspects - the one is the sub bass being everywhere and often, to my ears overpowering. They can drown out some of the hidden detail in the mids and highs, irrespective of transducer (though this is where the stock tips helps a little). The second is the use of distortion - this is trademark Billie (well, Finneas). Like tape hiss and vinyl pops, I don’t enjoy the use of distortion effects that much, and it’s interspersed quite liberally across her material.
I tried some GPC. Refined, a little reserved. Think it worked better with other, inherently more energetic IEMs. The bird benefits greatly from the dynamics of the 60s 4W at both ends.