[antdroid]

Here's my review of the newest IEM from qdc, the Uranus - it's a $219 hybrid (1DD+1BA) IEM. I put in some more photos of this beautiful looking IEM, and measurements and a comparison to the Moondrop KXXS. I was a bit harsh with the original impressions, and they seemed to get better over-time, but anyway:

https://www.antdroid.net/2020/01/qdc-uranus-review.html

tl;dr - it's warm, laid-back, average resolution, intimate and non-fatiguing. I found it good for long listening sessions and wouldn't recommend it for critical listening. The elevated upper-bass and lower-mids along with recessed mid-range seems a little out of place given everything else falls in line where it should. I like the tame treble and elevated upper-mid-range, however the weird lower response makes this sound a little overly warm and occasionally flabby at times. Resolution is average at best on the low end, but pretty decent on the upper end (BA vs DD?)

I'll be sending these over to our resident qdc overlord Rush in the coming days.

 

[OverlordRush]

Nice review antman. I was hoping qdc would try a different DD from the Fusion on the uranus, but it doesn't seem I like its the case here...

 

[Damz87]

Is there any way of buying replacements of the double flange tips that come with the Anole VX? They are awesome tips, they fit me perfectly and I want to get a few more if possible

 

[macdonjh]

Cross post:

Over the weekend I got together with a friend of mine who just got a pair of qdc Anole VX. Wonderful IEMs with shells half-way between universal and custom and sound half-way between the 64Audio Trio and the FiR M4:

• Compared to the Trio: more bass volume and impact, less "sweetness" in the treble.
• Compared to the M4: less bass volume and impact, more "sweetness" in the treble.

This was an exhaustive, comprehensive audition of forty-five minutes in an Einstein Bros bagel shop early Sunday morning. So you know we did our best. We were really keen to at least hear the M4 against the others, though, before I had to return. The short version of what we found is each of the three is quite good and at a macro level have more in common than differences. If you get an opportunity to have an extended A/B with any combination of two of these, I'm sure you'll find enough differences at the micro-level to feed whatever name you give to IEM-nervosa and fuel posts here for several days.

Does anyone here have any experience with the Anole VX and either of the other two? It would be fun to hear your thoughts.

 

[macdonjh]

Any fusion owners here? How would you describe the technicalities? I can correct tonal issues with EQ (if they're slight), but I'm looking for a comfy hybrid. Preference for DD bass just keeps creeping back as a pursuit despite being very happy with my most recent IEM (fibae 7). I miss the decay qualities of a DD.

For reference, I read the posts about the stock cable veil, comparison with Penta, and Solaris posted earlier in this thread. I owned the Penta and rather enjoyed it save for the sharp vent hole chaffing the crus of my helix - I ultimately had to let it go. Sure I thought it was a bit hot in the mid treble and needed a few more dB past 10k, but otherwise was awesome and I'd of kept it if not for the comfort issue. I too liked the solaris when I auditioned it. Any further compare/contrast with Penta/Solaris would be appreciated.

Funny you should ask. In addition to hearing the Anole VX, briefly, with the 64Audio Trio and FiR M4, I have a pair of Meze Rai Pentas. Since I had such a brief listen to the Anole VX, without the Rai Penta to A/B I can speak only in general. The Rai Penta, to me, are laid back and relaxed compared to any of the other three. I don't think this can be attributed to frequency response, but might be an aspect of dynamics or transient response. The Rai Penta does plumb pretty deep and has good sparkle in the top end. But the other IEMs seem more energetic, faster, I struggle for a word to describe the difference. The Anole VX, M4 and Trio urge me to listen at higher volume than I'm used to. More, when I turn the knob down I feel like some of the music is missing. Not so with the Rai Penta: even at moderate volume they sound full. So perhaps that is a dynamics-thing: the Rai Penta are compressed compared to the others?

Anyway, I really like the Rai Penta. They are relaxed and non-fatiguing. They are my current daily drivers. That said, I am also looking for another IEM with "more" (in my case, bass slam and energy). The Trio and M4 are on my short list, though I liked the Anole VX for the forty-five minutes I got to hear it. Hope that helps.

 

[SilverEars]

Here's my review of the newest IEM from qdc, the Uranus - it's a $219 hybrid (1DD+1BA) IEM. I put in some more photos of this beautiful looking IEM, and measurements and a comparison to the Moondrop KXXS. I was a bit harsh with the original impressions, and they seemed to get better over-time, but anyway:

https://www.antdroid.net/2020/01/qdc-uranus-review.html

tl;dr - it's warm, laid-back, average resolution, intimate and non-fatiguing. I found it good for long listening sessions and wouldn't recommend it for critical listening. The elevated upper-bass and lower-mids along with recessed mid-range seems a little out of place given everything else falls in line where it should. I like the tame treble and elevated upper-mid-range, however the weird lower response makes this sound a little overly warm and occasionally flabby at times. Resolution is average at best on the low end, but pretty decent on the upper end (BA vs DD?)

I'll be sending these over to our resident qdc overlord Rush in the coming days.

Yeah, I see the upper bass, lower mids emphasis on the measurement. Not ideal. I would expect bloom type warmth in the mids.

Ideally, the lower frequencies should be tilted opposite.

It was a good comparison graph overlay.

 

[Tweety 99]

Cross post:

Over the weekend I got together with a friend of mine who just got a pair of qdc Anole VX. Wonderful IEMs with shells half-way between universal and custom and sound half-way between the 64Audio Trio and the FiR M4:

• Compared to the Trio: more bass volume and impact, less "sweetness" in the treble.
• Compared to the M4: less bass volume and impact, more "sweetness" in the treble.

This was an exhaustive, comprehensive audition of forty-five minutes in an Einstein Bros bagel shop early Sunday morning. So you know we did our best. We were really keen to at least hear the M4 against the others, though, before I had to return. The short version of what we found is each of the three is quite good and at a macro level have more in common than differences. If you get an opportunity to have an extended A/B with any combination of two of these, I'm sure you'll find enough differences at the micro-level to feed whatever name you give to IEM-nervosa and fuel posts here for several days.

Does anyone here have any experience with the Anole VX and either of the other two? It would be fun to hear your thoughts.

So you mean VX has more bass than Trio or other way around? I have VX quite some time and am contemplating to buy Trio as supplement
hoping for stronger bass. I auditioned Trio long time ago and forgot how they felt...Thanks for your advise

 

[macdonjh]

So you mean VX has more bass than Trio or other way around? I have VX quite some time and am contemplating to buy Trio as supplement
hoping for stronger bass. I auditioned Trio long time ago and forgot how they felt...Thanks for your advise

Of the three IEMs we listened to that morning, the FiR M4 had the strongest bass presence. To our ears, the M4, Anole VX and Trio all played the deep bass, but the M4 played it louder and with more slam than the other two. The Trio, in contrast, played deep bass with lower volume than the M4 and rumbled rather than slammed. I've started using the term "energetic" to describe the difference, but it might be the same thing as dynamic range. The Trio conveys good bass details, as does the M4, but it's just quieter and less impactful. To me, the Trio is most impressive in the treble. Really beautiful highs.

Anole VX bass was between these two (level-wise) in our short comparison. We didn't even have time to play with the tuning switches of the Anole VX. My metal-head friend really likes his Anole VX because its bass is fast and clean and doesn't cover up the lower mids. He didn't like either the Campfire Vega or Atlas because he thought their bass intruded on the low midrange, covering up the details in his favorite drummers work.

 

[Tweety 99]

Of the three IEMs we listened to that morning, the FiR M4 had the strongest bass presence. To our ears, the M4, Anole VX and Trio all played the deep bass, but the M4 played it louder and with more slam than the other two. The Trio, in contrast, played deep bass with lower volume than the M4 and rumbled rather than slammed. I've started using the term "energetic" to describe the difference, but it might be the same thing as dynamic range. The Trio conveys good bass details, as does the M4, but it's just quieter and less impactful. To me, the Trio is most impressive in the treble. Really beautiful highs.

Anole VX bass was between these two (level-wise) in our short comparison. We didn't even have time to play with the tuning switches of the Anole VX. My metal-head friend really likes his Anole VX because its bass is fast and clean and doesn't cover up the lower mids. He didn't like either the Campfire Vega or Atlas because he thought their bass intruded on the low midrange, covering up the details in his favorite drummers work.

Hmmm, interesting and informative. I guess I have to audition the Trio myself again. Unfortunately the M4 isn't available here. Thanks mate.

 

[Elite_Force]

Is there any way of buying replacements of the double flange tips that come with the Anole VX? They are awesome tips, they fit me perfectly and I want to get a few more if possible

+1
I suppose spinfit double flange might fit. Anybody has experience in using them with Anole VX?

 

[Rockwell75]

+1
I suppose spinfit double flange might fit. Anybody has experience in using them with Anole VX?

I've used double flange spinfits with VX...they're decent, though considerably more "ear rapey" than the double flange tips that come with VX. I agree they're fantastic and would probably buy some myself if they were independently available anywhere.

 

[Damz87]

I contacted QDC and they said they can sell a replacement set of tips for US$10, however shipping would be US$40 to Australia! Can’t really justify that price for tips lol I’ll keep trying some alternatives for now.

I tried the double flange spinfits but unfortunately I couldn’t get the right seal with any of them (I bought all 3 sizes)

 

[audio123]

My take on the QDC Uranus. Enjoy & Happy Listening, as always!

 

[quasiphoton]

Cross post:

Over the weekend I got together with a friend of mine who just got a pair of qdc Anole VX. Wonderful IEMs with shells half-way between universal and custom and sound half-way between the 64Audio Trio and the FiR M4:

• Compared to the Trio: more bass volume and impact, less "sweetness" in the treble.
• Compared to the M4: less bass volume and impact, more "sweetness" in the treble.

This was an exhaustive, comprehensive audition of forty-five minutes in an Einstein Bros bagel shop early Sunday morning. So you know we did our best. We were really keen to at least hear the M4 against the others, though, before I had to return. The short version of what we found is each of the three is quite good and at a macro level have more in common than differences. If you get an opportunity to have an extended A/B with any combination of two of these, I'm sure you'll find enough differences at the micro-level to feed whatever name you give to IEM-nervosa and fuel posts here for several days.

Does anyone here have any experience with the Anole VX and either of the other two? It would be fun to hear your thoughts.

I've owned the Anole VX and Tia Trió for about two weeks now and have around 15 hours on each. I agree that they are more similar than different, which I'm discovering is true with the TOTL monitors I've spent time with.

I think your high level impressions are correct: the VX has a touch more bass while I prefer the Trió's treble. Other small differences I've noticed:

• The Trió's bass has a strong DD quality to it. The way it creates air around bass drum hits reminds me a bit of the Focal Elear. At the moment, I slightly prefer it to the VX's bass, which is absolutely no slouch.
• The VX might have slightly better detail than the Trió.
• The VX's lower mids are more forward than the Trió's.
• The Trió's soundstage feels slightly wider than the VX's.
• The VX is the most comfortable universal I've ever worn.

I think the biggest difference between the two for me is that the Trió is easier to listen to than the VX for extended periods. I perceive more space between the notes. On the other hand, I'm glad to have the VX around for its strengths.

So you mean VX has more bass than Trio or other way around? I have VX quite some time and am contemplating to buy Trio as supplement
hoping for stronger bass. I auditioned Trio long time ago and forgot how they felt...Thanks for your advise

I think @macdonjh has it right: you're not going to get more bass with the Trió, but you'll get a different kind of bass.

 

[Malevolint]

I've owned the Anole VX and Tia Trió for about two weeks now and have around 15 hours on each. I agree that they are more similar than different, which I'm discovering is true with the TOTL monitors I've spent time with.

I think your high level impressions are correct: the VX has a touch more bass while I prefer the Trió's treble. Other small differences I've noticed:

• The Trió's bass has a strong DD quality to it. The way it creates air around bass drum hits reminds me a bit of the Focal Elear. At the moment, I slightly prefer it to the VX's bass, which is absolutely no slouch.
• The VX might have slightly better detail than the Trió.
• The VX's lower mids are more forward than the Trió's.
• The Trió's soundstage feels slightly wider than the VX's.
• The VX is the most comfortable universal I've ever worn.

I think the biggest difference between the two for me is that the Trió is easier to listen to than the VX for extended periods. I perceive more space between the notes. On the other hand, I'm glad to have the VX around for its strengths.



I think @macdonjh has it right: you're not going to get more bass with the Trió, but you'll get a different kind of bass.

I've been wanting to buy a Trio and really appreciate this. Also have a VX. How does the treble differ on the Trio? Also, is the Trio overall darker or more bright than the VX? Lastly, how would you compare the mids? I'd appreciate as much detail as you're willing to take your time to write. Thank you