[mochill]

Tried Carbon a few days ago, used tips from its set only.
First impressions:
- thick, kind of syrupy signature sound;
- soundstage depth is much more inferior to Be, width is above average;
- bass is very bold, despite lacking some tightness doesn't mask midrange too much;
- highs timbre is defined better or so it seemed to me, fewer overtones loss on metallic percussion

While this is not a sound signature I'm looking for Carbon somehow left me wanting to try it more. There is something in its unique character, hard to pinpoint for now.
Hope the future will have a good prospect for Periodic Audio company and maybe Dan produce something based on dynamic driver for folks who are into more balanced and high resolving sound

It was romantic

 

[Dobrescu George]

My friends, I haven't posted my impressions on the Periodic audio Nickel, but right now, after testing it with a few headphones, it feels like some kind of magical want for headphones and IEMs!!!

It's like, wahtever the source it is you're plugging it into, it just makes all music more musical, more nuanced, but it also seems to affect every single headphone in a different way

I'm absolutely stunned by this one, and don't trust its size, it may be the size of a nickel, but it can drive Audeze LCD-X and others just fine

 

[kevingzw]

Tried Carbon a few days ago, used tips from its set only.
First impressions:
- thick, kind of syrupy signature sound;
- soundstage depth is much more inferior to Be, width is above average;
- bass is very bold, despite lacking some tightness doesn't mask midrange too much;
- highs timbre is defined better or so it seemed to me, fewer overtones loss on metallic percussion

While this is not a sound signature I'm looking for Carbon somehow left me wanting to try it more. There is something in its unique character, hard to pinpoint for now.
Hope the future will have a good prospect for Periodic Audio company and maybe Dan produce something based on dynamic driver for folks who are into more balanced and high resolving sound

I like the choice of words: syrupy is a great adjective for it. The soundstage, while narrower than the Be (from what I remember), shares similar qualities to the Audioquest nighthawk which I quite like. Overall, it has a unique tonality that is quite different from other earphones in the market.

As for the Periodic Audio Ni; don't let its miniature size fool you. This thing packs clean power.

 

[kevingzw]

My friends, I haven't posted my impressions on the Periodic audio Nickel, but right now, after testing it with a few headphones, it feels like some kind of magical want for headphones and IEMs!!!

It's like, wahtever the source it is you're plugging it into, it just makes all music more musical, more nuanced, but it also seems to affect every single headphone in a different way

I'm absolutely stunned by this one, and don't trust its size, it may be the size of a nickel, but it can drive Audeze LCD-X and others just fine

YES I absolutely agree. Demoed them with low-tier headphones (Aurvana Live!) and the Campfire Cascades and the sonic characteristics of each headphone are improved upon (something I deemed impossible without a desktop amp). This little thing packs punch. I'm guessing its low impedance output results in a high damping factor in the signal chain.

 

[DanWiggins]

I used the Selectron on the site and it suggested that the Mg was my best fit. I hadn't heard it for a long time and tried it this past weekend. To my surprise, it was warm and detailed and had enough slam to make me smile. Guess it was right. Still looking to try the Carbon, though.

Selectatron is usually pretty correct. Remember, it's on the Internet, and everything on the Internet is true. And it's based from a computer, and computers are always right.

 

[DanWiggins]

Tried Carbon a few days ago, used tips from its set only.
First impressions:
- thick, kind of syrupy signature sound;
- soundstage depth is much more inferior to Be, width is above average;
- bass is very bold, despite lacking some tightness doesn't mask midrange too much;
- highs timbre is defined better or so it seemed to me, fewer overtones loss on metallic percussion

While this is not a sound signature I'm looking for Carbon somehow left me wanting to try it more. There is something in its unique character, hard to pinpoint for now.
Hope the future will have a good prospect for Periodic Audio company and maybe Dan produce something based on dynamic driver for folks who are into more balanced and high resolving sound

Check Be - it might be what you seek.

The "something unique" is really the coherency of a single driver IEM, combined with a complete lack of distortion. You just hear what is there - no crossover, no phase/time alignment issues from a multi-driver setup, and the diamond diaphragm just doesn't add anything to the music in terms of THD/IMD.

 

[Max Choiral]

Check Be - it might be what you seek.

The "something unique" is really the coherency of a single driver IEM, combined with a complete lack of distortion. You just hear what is there - no crossover, no phase/time alignment issues from a multi-driver setup, and the diamond diaphragm just doesn't add anything to the music in terms of THD/IMD.

Thank you for the recommendation, I'm well acquainted with Be. It's good in its own way, can be easily a contender to many other iems on the market. Still, there is a room for improvement and I hope to see one coming someday
My commentary contains some little comparison C vs Be, probably not obvious when somebody reads it at first time.
I prefer single driver solution myself, never favoured multi-driver in-ears and never had one.

 

[czy6412]

Just got the Nickel but I found it is hissing when connecting to my laptop. Wonder if I get a defective unit. Thanks.

 

[mochill]

It's probably your laptop

 

[cleg]

My video review of Carbon

 

[PaganDL]

My friends, I haven't posted my impressions on the Periodic audio Nickel, but right now, after testing it with a few headphones, it feels like some kind of magical want for headphones and IEMs!!!

It's like, wahtever the source it is you're plugging it into, it just makes all music more musical, more nuanced, but it also seems to affect every single headphone in a different way

I'm absolutely stunned by this one, and don't trust its size, it may be the size of a nickel, but it can drive Audeze LCD-X and others just fine

@Dobrescu George,

I have already mentioned this to @DanWiggins, Nickel is among the best truly portable amps I have used & I mostly bring it everywhere with me though I don't always use it on the go though I do feel tempted but I do like using it in my personal listening space.

Personally, I have said myself, there is plenty audio gear, especially portable amps, which sound outstanding compared to their bigger counterparts & most of these don't have DACs either.

Once again, great work on the Nickel, @DanWiggins, by far a very good truly portable amp, I am looking forward to pairing the Nickel with the Carbon very soon.

Anyway, hope you both have a great day !

 

[PaganDL]

My video review of Carbon

Nice review !

Looking forward to my C when they arrive.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[kevingzw]

My video review of Carbon

Glad you're enjoying the IEM! I will be writing a review shortly .

 

[DanWiggins]

Just got the Nickel but I found it is hissing when connecting to my laptop. Wonder if I get a defective unit. Thanks.

It's probably your laptop

Also make sure the cables are fully seated! They are high retention force connectors and take a good push to fully seat. If it's only 95% inserted you can get noise, crosstalk, etc.

Lastly, some laptops have a common ground for USB and audio and there is no way to solve that noise, unfortunately. My Lenovo P71 is fine, but a Dell and Mac at the office are horrendous. We can make most things sound great but a cheaped-out ground scheme of the source is beyond our abilities...

We are showing them at CanJam plugged into chargers - and no noise.

At least it only takes 20 to 30 min to charge for a solid 8 hours of run time!

 

[JP the Elder]

Initial Notes on Nickel (Ni) and Carbon (C) within a few hours of unboxing and setting up, then parts of two days of listening. Full reviews of each will be coming in a week or two.

Ancillary equipment: iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Pro, Periodic Audio Be, Silver Dragon modded Fostex 900, Chord Mojo/Poly, Oppo 203, Hugo2.

Ni Notes:
Using Be: iPad Pro+Ni just sounds all around better than iPhone 6 Plus+Ni. Either of those are serious upgrades from stock iPad pro. Bass more extended, fuller. Mids and treble smoother, more balanced, clearer, and more detailed. Not as big a difference as I would have expected going from iPad pro+Ni to Mojo/Poly on Celtic Woman “Newgrange” and Steven Curtis Chapman “King of the Jungle.” Some upper mid/lower treble harshness on Ni combos that Mojo fixes quite nicely. I need to explore this further and compare iPad pro+Ni with iPad pro+CCK+Mojo. I will be sure to post what I find.

iPad Pro+Ni using SD modded Fostex 900: Very pleasing presentation on “King of the Jungle” and “Newgrange” and passes first goosebump test on “Over the Rainbow.” Still some minor harshness issues that I hope will be trained out. Definitely good enough for commuting, but harshness needs to be gone before a serious contender for quiet environment home use.

C Notes:
Using iPad pro: Started with track that caused such Mid/treble nasssstinessss on my first pair of Be (but not on the blem Be). Impressed with the bass speed, extension, definition. The expected sibilance issues were not present to the extent they were with Be, or RHA MA-750. Right out of the box, these will start telling you just how good your source is.

IPad Pro+Ni: Big improvement in clarity, transients, macro and micro dynamics. The frequency response to me seemed similar to the Fostex 900, a little extra bass than strictly neutral. I will certainly enjoy using the C to watch movies or listen to Kraftwerk, Major Mackerel, Dub Collosus, full orchestra works like Dvorak Symphonies (pick a number 1 to 9), Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Wagner, or Beethoven, or organ music with some serious low end.

The Predator (2017 played through Oppo 203 toslink to Hugo2): Tried C instead of modded Fostex 900. Bass/mid/treble balance and extension were similar. C sounded faster/quicker on transients. Explosion rumbles powerful and engaging. Just a tad of a sibilance on some of the voices, but not enough to be annoying. I expect this harshness to be “trained” out.

Currently training Ni&C using wav files on my iPad Pro’s “Basic Training” playlist. I will do more critical listening in a week or so.

Overall notes: Wish I had a Nickel before I bought the Airhead, Total Airhead, Total Bithead, and RHA Dacamp L1 for use with iPod/iPhone/iPads over the years. Ni would be my go to amp for commuting on Chicago's El, South Shore, and Metra trains. I would probably use Command picture hanging (think alternative to "hook and loop") strips to secure Ni to the outside of my iPad/iPhone case, or to a tie clip to attach to my jacket, lapel, or collar (would need a longer Source to Nickel cable, though).

Just Found Out:
As I was writing this to post and checking some prior observations, I was switching the Ni and C between the iPhone and the iPad pro, and noticed about the same level of slightly annoying harshness (upper mids and lower treble) after almost 3 days of "training" (I loathe the term "break-in"). That just seemed fishy to me. I found a Moon Audio Silver Dragon TRRS cable previously used as a balanced connection between a Geek Out Infinity v2 and my dearly departed (long story) Oppo PM-3 headphones. Took me about 10 whole seconds to determine that I was NOT listening to the iPad Pro, Nickel, and Carbon. I was actually listening to the 3.5mm interconnect that came with the Ni. Or, I should say, that the included interconnect was literally strangling the music before it reached the Nickel. Now I really need some time to seriously study the Nickel and the Mojo (I already have a Silver Dragon USB cable for Mojo, but it also needs a stock Apple CCK cable to work with iPhone or iPad, so the results are not clearly predictable.).