Thanks for sharing your impression Nic. 
flinkenick's 17 Flagship IEM Shootout Thread (and general high-end portable audio discussion)
What amazes me more than the review itself (nicely done!
) is that you actually managed to make the Fourté look decent in pictures! The Fourté surely is an ugly piece of beautiful engineering.
Leonidas is back on my list.. maybe instead of going dd I can really wait a bit and go for a Fourté next year.
Fourté+Leonidas and U18t+Lionheart .. and that's it.
proedros
Headphoneus Supremus
this thread/forum is like looking for foreign brides/call girls
problem is , i feel like a married man - being on a tight budget and all - i crave some of the products but sanity and my wallet condition kill this craving instantly
still , you can look without touching , right ?
problem is , i feel like a married man - being on a tight budget and all - i crave some of the products but sanity and my wallet condition kill this craving instantly
still , you can look without touching , right ?
Oh man, my wife is so jealous. Your house must be absolutely packed with puppies by now!What amazes me more than the review itself (nicely done!
Leonidas is back on my list.. maybe instead of going dd I can really wait a bit and go for a Fourté next year.
Fourté+Leonidas and U18t+Lionheart .. and that's it.
Kerouac
Headphoneus Supremus
In the category: ''Things that make you go...''So it seems like my slumber is coming to end; in December I’m going to gradually start firing up the cylinders to comment on a number of very interesting products. I’m going to start with something that might not seem very spectacular from the outside, but is slowly becoming a personal contender for best product of the year.
A few weeks back I had my 1Z modded, with as highlights quality platinum-based solder and PW Audio 1960 4-Wire internal cabling (which is actually an 8-wire cable due to its coaxial design, that retails as a $2K iem cable). The mod is the second product that iem and cable specialist Music Sanctuary has released under their own brand name, which consists of modifications of existing products by upgrading components; the other being the recently released cable Eos in cooperation with Effect Audio, which uses the same high-grade solder.
In my previous post I expressed content for the improved performance in terms of resolution and especially transparency, as well as growing appreciation for the different signature – be it after an adaptation period, as the altered signature was a departure from its original tuning. Therefore, I also felt restraint in unequivocally endorsing the mod, as it might not be to everyone’s liking. Although the signature can overall be considered balanced, it includes a lifted treble around 10-12 KHz, which gives the tuning a different direction.
For while the lifted treble provides an enjoyable touch of sparkle, the treble itself is brighter and colder in tone. As a result, the sound is highly detailed, but not completely smooth in its note release. The articulated sound vaguely leans towards a ‘reference’ approach: excelling at performance, though coming at the cost of some of its naturalness and coherency, at least when compared to a player like the RW AK380cu. Overall, the 4-Wire mod provides a resolved sound that retains a warm and fairly accurate midrange, with an added touch of sparkle that may or may not be appreciated, depending on preference.
But Music Sanctuary pried the 1Z open yet again, with one goal in mind: fitting in the 1960 8-wire cable. As the cable is essentially a 16-core headphone cable, its thick size only fits the balanced output considering the available space. I pride myself on making balanced statements, trying to keep difference preferences in my mind. And practically speaking, there’s always some downside to each upside. The 8-wire mod makes this problematic, as I find it nothing short of spectacular.
The 4-Wire’s articulate treble could be considered engaging, but there is a trace of brightness in its attack. The 8-wire on the other hand has an even further but more linearly extended upper treble. Accordingly, the 8-wire creates a warmer treble tone, benefiting the timbre and overall coherency. As a result, the 8-wire presents higher resolved notes, yet with a significantly smoother note release. And while the differences in stage between the 4.4 and SE output in the previous mod were reduced to a minimum, the 8-wire in turn creates a more spacious stage in all directions. So where the 4-wire has a well-separated, articulated sound consisting of a warm midrange with a brighter treble, the 8-wire sounds more natural and accurate, providing higher resolved detail in a smoother manner.
Taken together, the 8-wire modded 1Z can be described as having a lightly warm tone with a beautiful timbre, and overall excellent tonal balance. Combined with high resolution and transparency, as well as its characteristic black background, the MS mod is pretty close to what I would consider a reference player; but not the modern interpretation of the term, but what it was originally meant to imply. A benchmark product in all facets of audiophile sound reproduction: accurate tone, excellent performance, both in resolution as well as smoothness.
So while reader discretion was advised based on signature preference for the 4-wire mod, I’m struggling to find any noticeable weaknesses that might put someone off. As a nice byproduct of the limited space, it retains the 4-Wire mod for the single end, giving the outputs two different sounds rather than just one better and inferior one. The single ended 4-Wire mod pairs better with darker iems, providing a welcome touch of clarity. Even so, I practically don’t see myself really using it unless it’s necessary. So please forgive me for somewhat uncharacteristically praising it without restraint, but it’s very rare for me to find a product I can fully endorse, according to every angle I judge equipment. The mod might be pricey, but I find it justified when you consider the ratio of its original price to the improved SQ. I personally consider it an immediate upgrade in both signature and performance.
WM1Z/A MS 2/4/8-wire Mod
Spec list:
1. New Pentaconn 4.4mm socket (to ensure that solder used on the socket is fresh, and not contaminated by existing solder)
2. 1960s wiring mod for both single ended and balanced outputs
3. Exotic Mitsubishi Heavy Industries precious metal-based solder used for all soldering, existing solder will be cleaned off prior to soldering with the precious metal-based solder.
4. 1960s wire for the DC ground wiring
5. Isolation of inductor coils and capacitors with shielding products from Japan (Oyaide and fo.Q)
Price (including free DHL/FedEx shipping):
2-wire (single 1960s wire for DC ground section): SGD $549
4-wire (dual 1960s wire for DC ground section): SGD $699
4-wire single ended, 8-wire balanced (dual 1960s wire for DC ground section): SGD $899
Contact:
info@music-sanctuary.com
Now I wonder: do I really need my car these days?
Unfortunately not..Oh man, my wife is so jealous. Your house must be absolutely packed with puppies by now!
..but I have a beautiful (now 12 years old..) Golden Retriever back in my home country.
Oldie but Goldie picture..
Zara, concentration at 110%, waiting for a treat .. (author unknown)
[Sells car...] "I plum forgot how to ride me bicycle!"Now I wonder: do I really need my car these days?
Beautiful dog! As my wife would say: "Just look at that face...You know you want one!"Unfortunately not..
..but I have a beautiful (now 12 years old..) Golden Retriever back in my home country.
Oldie but Goldie picture..
Zara, concentration at 110%, waiting for a treat .. (author unknown)
[Sells car...] "I plum forgot how to ride me bicycle!"
Beautiful dog! As my wife would say: "Just look at that face...You know you want one!"
Dont start with bikes!!! A TOTL racing bike goes easily over $10K...
Kerouac
Headphoneus Supremus
Now look at that, it almost looks (optical illusion) like Zara can balance a mini lamppost on her head in that picUnfortunately not..
..but I have a beautiful (now 12 years old..) Golden Retriever back in my home country.
Oldie but Goldie picture..
Zara, concentration at 110%, waiting for a treat .. (author unknown)
This reminded me of an old Dutch (so you should probably also know it) children's book[Sells car...] "I plum forgot how to ride me bicycle!"
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I know all about how expensive bikes can get...
Now look at that, it almost looks (optical illusion) like Zara can balance a mini lamppost on her head in that pic
I certainly do!This reminded me of this old Dutch (so you should also know it) children book
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Stumbled upon this vid today in my social feed and immediately started to think about this thread.. Wonder why.
Ohh, and waiting for a new pair of ciem is a pain! When you finally have decided after working your way through 100 designs you have to wait, Ohh the pain...
Ohh, and waiting for a new pair of ciem is a pain! When you finally have decided after working your way through 100 designs you have to wait, Ohh the pain...
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Zeus xiv
Pearl White (left)
Turquoise Pearl (right)
Artwork in silver
clear shells.
Realized that there are no point in xr since every review of either R or XIV confirmed that XIV is where I will end up anyway.
Still designing the ve8, but closing in on a mirror faceplate and clear shell, possible without any artwork..
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proedros
Headphoneus Supremus
i would suggest you buy XR , it's like an extra 300$ ? but the versatility is more than worth it
you have already gone all the way into the top echelon , i say go for both signatures
and welcome to the EE owners , zeus is amazing
Did a rough calculation and if I buy the WM1Z (modded now of course) with the VE5 and VE8 and a couple of cables, then I should be able to safely hide behind two dozen beagles when my wife finds out.
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