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flinkenick's 17 Flagship IEM Shootout Thread (and general high-end portable audio discussion)
Apr 10, 2018 at 12:15 AM Post #8,671 of 39,414
Ultimate Ears recently came up with their TruTone drivers which is equivalent to TIA from 64 Audio. So it not fair to say that Ultimate Ears don't innovate.

CamfireAudio, Warbler, CustomArt, Ultimate Ears are some of the companies that still have sane pricing. 64 Audio, Empire Ears, AAW etc have insane pricing. It's high time they became real with their pricing.
 
Apr 10, 2018 at 12:15 AM Post #8,672 of 39,414
@Deezel177 Daniel, I'm quite intrigued with AAW POLA. One question though: how's the isolation? Is it semi-open back?
 
Apr 10, 2018 at 12:45 AM Post #8,673 of 39,414
linux4ever said:
Ultimate Ears recently came up with their TruTone drivers which is equivalent to TIA from 64 Audio. So it not fair to say that Ultimate Ears don't innovate.

CamfireAudio, Warbler, CustomArt, Ultimate Ears are some of the companies that still have sane pricing. 64 Audio, Empire Ears, AAW etc have insane pricing. It's high time they became real with their pricing.
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t consider AAW’s pricing insane at all. Sure their flagship’s pretty costly, but when you consider the prices of their A1D, A2H, A3H, etc., as well as the tentative price of the POLA at 600-800 USD, they’re one of the most value-oriented brands in the world. This is not a knock against Custom Art by any means - I’m just using them as an example - but AAW’s single driver is cheaper than CA’s single driver, their dual driver is cheaper than CA’s dual driver, and so on. Of course, you have to factor in CA’s FIBAE technology and bespoke drivers, but AAW’s offerings are either purely dynamic, or dynamic hybrids. Again, flagship notwithstanding, value is probably what AAW are most renowned for.

normie610 said:
@Deezel177 Daniel, I'm quite intrigued with AAW POLA. One question though: how's the isolation? Is it semi-open back?
Click to expand...

It is semi-open back, but isolation is okay. It isn’t as bad as Audeze’s iSine IEMs, but it’s not as closed as typical UIEMs are either. I can’t remember how exactly the isolation was, but I was able to fully grasp its signature regardless. The iSine’s are IEMs I can’t analyze at all in a crowded room, for reference. I’ll have to demo it again to get a better idea of its isolation.
 
Apr 10, 2018 at 12:45 AM Post #8,674 of 39,414
AC-12 said:
Not focused on a particular product, but I guess innovation in general. 64 Audio and EE take turns leap frogging one another in innovation. Since UE has the resources and can keep costs low, I like to see them innovate and join the leap frogging party. Not stuck in status quo limbo. But really innovate. They still sell CIEMs designed over a decade ago.

If they can break into top 5 in performance:

  1. Spiral Ear
  2. Empire Ears
  3. 64 Audio
  4. Warbler
  5. Ultimate Ears

then I would rank this as value:

  1. Ultimate Ears
  2. Warbler
  3. Empire Ears
  4. Spiral Ear
  5. 64 Audio

Which may lead to #3 and #5 lowering or keeping prices stable.

Heck, UE18+ Pro flagship they just let go at CanJam SoCal for $900.

Maybe their target market is a certain segment of professionals.

Just hoping for more innovation from UE.

It's like the NBA, it's a 3-point world now; not big men post up. UE is still stuck in the big men post up world.

Sorry for the rant. Carry on...
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Yeah, I was surprised by this. If I only knew, I would've waited.

But I do really like the 18+, after auditioning a lot of totl CIEM/IEMs. Just a few more hours or a day I guess and we'll know :)
 
Apr 10, 2018 at 1:56 AM Post #8,682 of 39,414
crinacle said:
To-the-point, concise language, I like. Feel like IEM reviews these days have been moving towards a more fluffy and storytelling style that doesn't exactly fit the narrative of a "review".
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I think it is really a matter of preference and depends on what you look for in a review. Personally, I love reviews that present a, let's call it "romantic narrative" that is still based on a thorough understanding of the signature. That balance is actually really difficult to get right, but what I like about it is that when reviewers do get it right, it conveys their experience with the music as well. While such experience is subjective, it is actually the side of this hobby I am most interested in because I use music for health reasons. The whole reason I came to Head-fi was to learn about what makes music engaging and how we respond psychologically and neurologically to it. To put is simply; I prioritise biology over technology. Which is also why I rate products based on how much I enjoy them, rather than abstract scorings.

Of course I still greatly appreciate the more to-the-point reviews and consider it really important for the hobby that there are reviewers who master that style of writing and @Ike1985's review is a great example of that. I have read a number of his reviews and look forward to seeing more of them, as he clearly puts a lot of effort into developing his style. Excellent work!
 
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