[SilverEars]

Interesting discussion between Tyll and Dan. What is interesting Tyll points out that when you are stressed stapedius reflex get's activated and reduces bass sensitivity. Also the ear canal geometry variability that changes the impedance of your ear was interesting as well.

I hope to see more articles that goes more indepth into how various extraneous stuff like they've discussed that influences how we hear.

 

[sansfin]

I think I am listening to the sound of my money instead of enjoying my music.

No remorse, we all need golden ears sooner or later, to be paired with a Digital-to-Cerebral Converter.

Plus if you have a Lyra II or Utopia, you are actually listening to beryllium which is the priciest metal on earth...

 

[Ike1985]

The single bore in the U12t is a massive upgrade from a maintenance perspective, I only clean my A18's once or twice a week, sometimes less. I do not miss all those tiny holes and cleaning them.

 

[474194]

64 Audio just announced the driver count on their prototypes. Looks very interesting!

omg, new 64 Audio prototypes?...

TOTL?...

4K?.....

 

[Mimouille]

omg, new 64 Audio prototypes?...

TOTL?...

4K?.....

TOTL is not stated yet as far as I know, and 4k is a pure invention (of mine).

 

[fuhransahis]

The single bore in the U12t is a massive upgrade from a maintenance perspective, I only clean my A18's once or twice a week, sometimes less. I do not miss all those tiny holes and cleaning them.

Is it's signature similar to the U12?

 

[Wyville]

omg, new 64 Audio prototypes?...

TOTL?...

4K?.....

Me want! Want! Want! Want! Want!

 

[Gavin C4]

The single bore in the U12t is a massive upgrade from a maintenance perspective, I only clean my A18's once or twice a week, sometimes less. I do not miss all those tiny holes and cleaning them.

Is cleaning the A18 really hard? Do you need a jody vac to clean it? Looking at the U18 demo in the shop, I can see the 1 / 5 of the filter clogged. It seems really hard to clean it.

 

[Ike1985]

Is cleaning the A18 really hard? Do you need a jody vac to clean it? Looking at the U18 demo in the shop, I can see the 1 / 5 of the filter clogged. It seems really hard to clean it.

It takes like 5 seconds to clean, it's just one big giant bore.

 

[normie610]

Hi buddy,

I apologise if I came across a bit negative towards the 1Z in my post. The 1Z is without a doubt a fantastic player as is, competing only with the AK's in a tier of their own. What I respect about it most, is that they went for a true 'audiophile' signature focusing on timbre, similar to the philosophy from which the 5-Way was tuned for instance. But much like the 5-Way, I find its warm tuning also limits its versatility. However, my main issue was an aspect of its performance. But keep in mind that everything is relative. If someone has either Zeus, A18 or 5-Way, it is hard to find faults with them. It's when you compare them, that they each have relative shortcomings and strengths. My main player has been the RW AK380cu for the last year, so naturally it is my point of reference when I listen to the 1Z. So yes, when I listened to the 1Z I exclusively listened to its balanced output. However, I still preferred the AK in single end; but of course, this just comes down to preference.

Thanks for the info Nic, nice to know the 1Z mod by MS. From your article, MS modded quite a few things to 1Z. Some headfi members modded 1Z before but only limited to the Kimber cables. After a couple of weeks of soul searching (including serious consideration over SP1000CU) and some helpful advice from a couple of people here, I decided to order 1Z and it’s expected to arrive this Sunday. I’m planning to use it with my i4 running balanced output. I would probably not going to modify it, as what attracted me the most is the sound signature that so many people described as analogue sounding.

I will probably write some impressions on the pairing with i4 once it has passed the burn in period of 200-300 hours (some people go as far as 500). Geez, it’ll be a looonggg wait

 

[ranfan]

After listening mostly to the Dream the past few weeks, I can say the timbre or tone accuracy of this IEM is exceptionally good. I expected it to sound V-shaped, and more coloured due to the bass initially. I don't really know much about 'reference' sound. But the tonality seems to be pretty balanced, not too dark, nor bright. The midrange positioning could be better if brought a bit more forward though. But the spacing, lighting of each notes are very good, and satisfying. The Prelude unfortunately has gotten less listening time because of this (noo). What the Prelude is very good at though, is its treble, presentation and smoothness. It presents acoustic music with high flair, and effortlessness. The Dream has more speed, and sparkle. Not to mention bass. But it also has a small peak in the sibilance range (~7 kHz?). Pronounciation of 'ss', 'ts', 'ch' etc. sound more accentuated with the Dream. This is apparent when pairing with the Mojo DAC, which to me sounds kinda V-shaped. Paired with a more neutral source, such as DP-X1 or laptop however, the sound becomes much smoother, and more natural. It never sound fatiguing, or peaky to me. I'm liking the Dream a lot more now, especially for listening to electronic music. I also really appreciate acoustics and vocals on the Dream too, although not as good as the Prelude. It sounds pretty natural, and beautiful. I call it 'right' sounding. The soundstage is also bigger, which contrasts the Prelude cozy, and more intimate size.

BTW, I wonder how does the LPG sounds? Because some of my friends who tried the Dream with it seem to dislike the two together. I'm interested in trying the LPG, and Sony WM-1 DAPs someday in the future. Maybe during next CanJam visit.. Hope to see Deezel again too, I bet he'll have a lot more gears by then. No pressure!

 

[Deezel177]

After listening mostly to the Dream the past few weeks, I can say the timbre or tone accuracy of this IEM is exceptionally good. I expected it to sound V-shaped, and more coloured due to the bass initially. I don't really know much about 'reference' sound. But the tonality seems to be pretty balanced, not too dark, nor bright. The midrange positioning could be better if brought a bit more forward though. But the spacing, lighting of each notes are very good, and satisfying. The Prelude unfortunately has gotten less listening time because of this (noo). What the Prelude is very good at though, is its treble, presentation and smoothness. It presents acoustic music with high flair, and effortlessness. The Dream has more speed, and sparkle. Not to mention bass. But it also has a small peak in the sibilance range (~7 kHz?). Pronounciation of 'ss', 'ts', 'ch' etc. sounds more accentuated with the Dream. This is apparent when pairing with the Mojo DAC, which to me sounds kinda V-shaped. Paired with a more neutral source, such as DP-X1 or laptop however, the sound becomes much smoother, and more natural. It never sound fatiguing, or peaky to me. I'm liking the Dream a lot more now, especially for listening to electronic music. I also really appreciate acoustics and vocals on the Dream too, although not as good as the Prelude. The soundstage is also bigger, which contrasts the Prelude cozy, and more intimate size.

BTW, I wonder how does the LPG sounds? Because some of my friends who tried the Dream with it seem to dislike the two together. I'm interested in trying the LPG, and Sony WM-1 DAPs in the future. Maybe during next CanJam visit.. Hope to see Deezel again too, I bet he'll have a lot more gears by then. No pressure!

Those are really interesting impressions. Though I too am similarly fond of the Dream's note separation, clarity, soundstage and bass rumble, I'd be hard-pressed to call it tonally accurate. It's definitely drier and brighter than natural (to my ears, at least), but I suspect your impressions are based off of pairings with sources that I've never personally tried myself. Based on your EQ settings, I also suspect your definition of "natural" is brighter than mine; closer to my definition of "reference." The Dream, to me, is a reference IEM in that it sounds like perfectly chilled water tastes; refreshing, clear, and breezy. While, natural to me is tepid water, if I may use that analogy.

 

[ranfan]

Those are really interesting impressions. Though I too am similarly fond of the Dream's note separation, clarity, soundstage and bass rumble, I'd be hard-pressed to call it tonally accurate. It's definitely drier and brighter than natural (to my ears, at least), but I suspect your impressions are based off of pairings with sources that I've never personally tried myself. Based on your EQ settings, I also suspect your definition of "natural" is brighter than mine; closer to my definition of "reference." The Dream, to me, is a reference IEM in that it sounds like perfectly chilled water tastes; refreshing, clear, and breezy. While, natural to me is tepid water, if I may use that analogy.

I always drink cool water from the dispensary, maybe that's why. Thanks for the info on 'reference' sound. Your analogy is also quite helpful in a way, haha. I think I'm starting to get it. Yeah, it's also a preference thing IMO. My definition of 'natural' may differ from yours. I really like how the Prelude pairs with your modded AK70. They sound quite natural, and just right together. Excited to try the enticing AK70MKII in the future. It looks so good in that monolithic shape, and black colour. Don't you think?

 

[SilverEars]

AK70 is nothing special, and probably ii as well. LPG is like hot sauce, pretty much everything sounds good out of it, it has a very engaging sound. With the LPG, there's a bit of a static noise heard, it wasn't hiss. Slightly audible static sound when changing tracks, when things get activated or switched I believe.

Some of those lowend AK models are not any better than avg players. Just like DP-X1, and Fiio players are avg sounding.

Sony was underwelming as well for 1k monies as well. Common, it's over 1k. Placebo pricing?

 

[doctorjazz]

I think the Pioneer XDP 300r (same as DP-X1, as I understand) is pretty good sounding, but I haven't compared it to DAPs at around the $1k+ level...could be another "you get what you pay for" type deal.