[armstrj2]

I'm quite liking what I hear from the Kr5. Believe it or not it's the first FiR IEM I've heard, and while I'm not a huge fan of the aesthetic, build quality is top notch and tuning is excellent. Bass is definitely the star of the show and the "differentiator", while I'm hearing quite a bit of 64 Audio DNA in the rest of the drivers.

Based on this evidence I'd be keen to hear the Xe6, just to hear how they managed to pull of such a seemingly zany tuning without alienating half the usual suspects.

Forget the graph and have a listen to XE6 if you can. It is a fun set which definitely falls into the "something different" category.

What genres are you finding work best with KR5?

 

[gLer]

Forget the graph and have a listen to XE6 if you can. It is a fun set which definitely falls into the "something different" category.

What genres are you finding work best with KR5?

Only really had a brief listen today. Indie pop, female vocal, even some Lil Wayne, all sound good. Bass hits nice and hard, though maybe a little loose at times. Treble isn't too strident or shiny. Vocals have a touch of what can only think to call BA timbre - not quite as organic or natural as Z1R and a touch recessed by comparison too, but still at a very high level. Will be taking lots of track notes this weekend.

 

[Ojisan]

Only really had a brief listen today. Indie pop, female vocal, even some Lil Wayne, all sound good. Bass hits nice and hard, though maybe a little loose at times. Treble isn't too strident or shiny. Vocals have a touch of what can only think to call BA timbre - not quite as organic or natural as Z1R and a touch recessed by comparison too, but still at a very high level. Will be taking lots of track notes this weekend.

I had a lot of fun listening to 80's-90's rock/pop and acoustic tracks with Kr5. I think if you focus on the lower/upper extensions and timbre too much, it might lead you to disappointment (as it did for me... ). I thought the strength was in dynamics, up-close presentation, and solid note-weight. Take AC/DC, Nora Jones, Travelling Wilburys, etc, it was a good toe tapping experience for me. Very unique experience.

On the other hand, I think Xe6 will easily compete with Z1R with similar big bass, air, and extension.

 

[Onurb8690]

I had a lot of fun listening to 80's-90's rock/pop and acoustic tracks with Kr5. I think if you focus on the lower/upper extensions and timbre too much, it might lead you to disappointment (as it did for me... ). I thought the strength was in dynamics, up-close presentation, and solid note-weight. Take AC/DC, Nora Jones, Travelling Wilburys, etc, it was a good toe tapping experience for me. Very unique experience.

On the other hand, I think Xe6 will easily compete with Z1R with similar big bass, air, and extension.

I also really like Rock, and it seems to me that Kr5 will be a great choice overall

 

[Layman1]

Lovely IEM's, but I think you missed a trick here. You could have had Xe6 on one faceplate, and Tw6 on the other

 

[mvvRAZ]

Lovely IEM's, but I think you missed a trick here. You could have had Xe6 on one faceplate, and Tw6 on the other

omg straight to reshell

 

[twister6]

Lovely IEM's, but I think you missed a trick here. You could have had Xe6 on one faceplate, and Tw6 on the other

Easy fix, where is my gold marker! I will add a 3rd bunny ear, angled, to the left so it looks like W, and Saturn rings at the top of that ear to also resemble T. And a star in the upper right corner that looks like 6 My imagination is running wild

 

[GiullianSN]

Only really had a brief listen today. Indie pop, female vocal, even some Lil Wayne, all sound good. Bass hits nice and hard, though maybe a little loose at times. Treble isn't too strident or shiny. Vocals have a touch of what can only think to call BA timbre - not quite as organic or natural as Z1R and a touch recessed by comparison too, but still at a very high level. Will be taking lots of track notes this weekend.

Lil Wayne is where it differentiates the grown ups.

Kr5 is great, but I need to go back to recheck Lil wayne. That was almost unlistenable for me on first listen. Too bright.

But things like Wiz Khalifa, Hanz Zimmer, Dark Tranquility, Sabaton, jimi Hendrix…sounded great.

 

[discord]

Good combination?

Late reply sorry. But yes, it's great with everything I own and I think it's especially good with the warm nature of the XE6 as it's pretty neutral / honest DAP and is very revealing.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Finally an exciting week ahead

Lime Ears Anima Pneuma Aether

Cayin N8II and maybe C9

 

[mvvRAZ]

Before some IEM company tells you they did cardboard packaging to be able to offer the product at a more reasonable price point

This 210 euro keyboard/mouse combo came in a steel case, pretty sure it’s from the same supplier as Meze’s

 

[mvvRAZ]

Time for some premature N8II impressions!

I don’t think I’ll ever roast and praise an item so much in one post. The N8II isn’t a love-hate relationship it is a love and hate, both at the same time all the time

On the negatives - pretty much everything related to usability
1. The ports being on the bottom… this is genuinely the most painfully awful thing I’ve ever come across. Every time it’s in my pocket and I want to adjust the volume I need to dig through my pocket, reach the bottom and do some grad math as to which way I need to be turning. I’ve resorted to just rotating super hard in one direction to see if I’m increasing or decreasing the volume
2. Why can’t we change the direction of rotation of the volume wheel? On every single DAP I own I have right-up and left-down for the volume. On the N8II it seems to be locked in the wrong (for me) way, so I keep getting the up-down direction wrong. I can’t even get used to it because I still use my Lotoo’s, and they give you both options
3. Never be the same again… every time cayin has been brought up I’ve mentioned how awkward that sounds to me, I’ve exhausted it to death but yeah… still looks and sounds awful
4. Saved the biggest hate for last - the previous track button is way too close to the power button. I take it out of my pocket, turn it on but no - I just restart my current track and my brain creates a Head-Fi sale listing

On the positives… well the sound. It is undeniably bright to my ears, brighter than the LPGT which I consider to be neutral personally. The N8II is closed to the N6II R01 and the LPGT Ti to my ears, with a hefty treble bump (tube mode Class AB - I don’t like the bass on class A). If you go solid state… don’t.

I love that personally. I’d say that the SP2000T is what a tube DAP “should” sound like, or at least it is the DAP I’d recommend to people who actually like tubes. Subdued treble, bass texture for days, and a sense of warmth throughout the entire spectrum.

The N8II imo utilizes the tubes to get better dynamics and to some extent better texture. I might be imagining it somewhat though, I could never tell that this is a tube DAP if the booklet hadn’t told me. It does have some musicality in the sound… it’s not quite as dead as the LPGT Ti, but the PAW6000 sounds disproportionately more musical so definitely don’t buy this expecting proper musicality… it’s musical by super dry DAP standards

So far technical ability feels top notch beyond just tuning, but well the tuning helps lol. Big stage, excellent dynamics, clean sound with loads of separation.

Initial verdict: stay away from it if you like tubes, go for it if you generally can’t get on with the overly warm/treble-rolled-off tube sound. I love the sound

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Time for some premature N8II impressions!

I don’t think I’ll ever roast and praise an item so much in one post. The N8II isn’t a love-hate relationship it is a love and hate, both at the same time all the time

On the negatives - pretty much everything related to usability
1. The ports being on the bottom… this is genuinely the most painfully awful thing I’ve ever come across. Every time it’s in my pocket and I want to adjust the volume I need to dig through my pocket, reach the bottom and do some grad math as to which way I need to be turning. I’ve resorted to just rotating super hard in one direction to see if I’m increasing or decreasing the volume
2. Why can’t we change the direction of rotation of the volume wheel? On every single DAP I own I have right-up and left-down for the volume. On the N8II it seems to be locked in the wrong (for me) way, so I keep getting the up-down direction wrong. I can’t even get used to it because I still use my Lotoo’s, and they give you both options
3. Never be the same again… every time cayin has been brought up I’ve mentioned how awkward that sounds to me, I’ve exhausted it to death but yeah… still looks and sounds awful
4. Saved the biggest hate for last - the previous track button is way too close to the power button. I take it out of my pocket, turn it on but no - I just restart my current track and my brain creates a Head-Fi sale listing

On the positives… well the sound. It is undeniably bright to my ears, brighter than the LPGT which I consider to be neutral personally. The N8II is closed to the N6II R01 and the LPGT Ti to my ears, with a hefty treble bump (tube mode Class AB - I don’t like the bass on class A). If you go solid state… don’t.

I love that personally. I’d say that the SP2000T is what a tube DAP “should” sound like, or at least it is the DAP I’d recommend to people who actually like tubes. Subdued treble, bass texture for days, and a sense of warmth throughout the entire spectrum.

The N8II imo utilizes the tubes to get better dynamics and to some extent better texture. I might be imagining it somewhat though, I could never tell that this is a tube DAP if the booklet hadn’t told me. It does have some musicality in the sound… it’s not quite as dead as the LPGT Ti, but the PAW6000 sounds disproportionately more musical so definitely don’t buy this expecting proper musicality… it’s musical by super dry DAP standards

So far technical ability feels top notch beyond just tuning, but well the tuning helps lol. Big stage, excellent dynamics, clean sound with loads of separation.

Initial verdict: stay away from it if you like tubes, go for it if you generally can’t get on with the overly warm/treble-rolled-off tube sound. I love the sound

I like the jacks on the bottom of the DAP. I hate it when it is on the top. This device was not meant to be put into your pocket unless you don't mind burn marks on your legs.

I agree it's on the bright and analytical side of the spectrum. I run it in tube timbre because it can be too bright and the tubes softens it a bit for me. I don't think hybrid tube amps actually sound like tubes at all. They just take the edge off of bright sound.

If you want tubey sound, pair the N8ii with a proper tube amp. With its true line out, it pairs great with tube amps. N8ii + WA8 is cool. N8ii + Ampsandsound Rockwell is almost a full desktop replacement.. Maybe 85-90%. I love the N8ii, but it is far from a perfect DAP.

 

[mvvRAZ]

I like the jacks on the bottom of the DAP. I hate it when it is on the top. This device was not meant to be put into your pocket unless you don't mind burn marks on your legs.

I agree it's on the bright and analytical side of the spectrum. I run it in tube timbre because it can be too bright and the tubes softens it a bit for me. I don't think hybrid tube amps actually sound like tubes at all. They just take the edge off of bright sound.

If you want tubey sound, pair the N8ii with a proper tube amp. With its true line out, it pairs great with tube amps. N8ii + WA8 is cool. N8ii + Ampsandsound Rockwell is almost a full desktop replacement.. Maybe 85-90%. I love the N8ii, but it is far from a perfect DAP.

Idk, seems ridiculous to me to make a portable DAP with android that is meant to be used almost exclusively at home. My use case is entirely outside for DAPs, and every now and then in the office. I still don’t see why the jacks have to be on the bottom, it’s not like the volume wheel is going to collide with them as you adjust the volume.

I can’t even let the device rest against something (sometimes put it on the bottom right of my screen for convenience) - to me it is comfortably the worst usability decision I’ve seen anyone take since I’m in the hobby. Words can’t express how much I hate it lol

But yeah, I’m super glad it doesn’t sound like tubes or else it would’ve been sold hours ago

 

[Doug2507]

I'm not a fan of the vol position either. Iirc Andy said basically from market research they carried out, users wanted less strain on cables. If you've got a straight jack then there's no issue, only affects 90deg Jack's and even then it should be minimal. Flip the coin now, if you want vol control with a straight jack, that ain't happening at all and same if you use 2.5mm and need to use the adaptor. Bonkers decision but I'll put up with it as a trade off for the rest.

I've had mine for a while now and still not used to vol direction!

Treble calms down after a while imo. I know there's been a dig at the 'burn in' crew earlier but pretty sure it's not brain burnzz.