Just leaving a drop here after can jam NYC 2019. I had a listening session for about 20~ minutes of the Noble Audio Khan's and they have to be my new favorite.
1. Noble Audio Khan - Effortless, clear and deep, impactful, tightly intricate bass with a touch of delicacy. Absolute killer in imaging, seperation and sound stage. (I almost bought these b/c they offered a discount but my GF went with me and talked me out of spending 2k out of nowhere. If you can pull the trigger for these during the sales for 20% off they wont dissapoint you. One thing to keep in mind. If you have an iphone with the lightning cable, you will need to replace the cable with lightning cable. With the stock Khan cable into a dongle it will make serious hissing and static noise. Otherwise, with a changed cable they sound absolutely superb)
2. QDC - Anole VX - Has small switches that can alter the sound signature. Very close second and not quite sure if I liked Anole XV better or the Khan. This reminds me of the Lime Ear Aether but better and the bass was more controlled. The sub bass at times on the Aether got out of touch.
3. QDC Hifi 8 - These surprised me. I tried a few others on the QDC line at their booth. I never heard of this company and it wasnt until someone recommended me try the Anole VX that I stumbled into their booth. This one was great. 8 BA drivers. No gimicky switches or anything but sound signature was clean, crisp, clear and cohesive.
4. AAW W900 - These I tried as part of a tour and didn't enjoy them very much. If you have a DAP with flac files which I tried at canjam, they are absolute monsters. Unfortunately, I usually look for something sensitive enough to drive from a phone, but after hearing the difference with all these TOTL IEM's in a great DAP, I am extremely tempted to buy one now that I know what I am missing out on. These did blow me away in terms of how far the difference was with a DAP or source capable of handling them properly. After auditioning a bunch of these, I went back to Khan and just found that the competition out there was too fierce to drop 2k on the IEM when much cheaper options could be had that performed at 1k price.
5. Campfire Solaris - Great IEM imo but only technically on paper. It didn't sound very fun. The clarity and seperation were by far very clear but almost a touch too far that I would hear hi hats a little too much in tracks that I think were a bit distracting. Amazing if you are an analytical person and like that kind of stuff but I listen to be moved by music.
6. Campfire Atlas - Heavy and not the most practical. They reminded me a little of my IE800's. Similar sound signatures. I am not sure if these were burned in. I know my IE800's since having them replaced by warranty havent had many hours in on them and the mids and vocals sound a bit more recessed than what I remembered from my original pair. Perhaps it will change in time but I found the combination of the weight pulling out of my ears and mids being a bit recessed a bit meh.
The IEM's that I have at home right now are the IE800's & SE846 and FLC8S. I still enjoy the SE846's as they are fun sounding but man, I need an upgrade! Hope you guys enjoyed my mini review. Feel free to ask away. If I auditioned them longer, I would be able to describe them more in detail. Flaws usually come out when I have a week or two with them.