Should I take the jump to TOTL IEM
Apr 5, 2019 at 4:38 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 13

scoobydont

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Hi All, I made the 'mistake' of heading over to ALO Audio to try on different Campfire Audio IEMs. For a little background I have the ifi micro bl for my dac/amp, dunu dn-1000s, HD6XX, hm5 earpad audeze sine, and LCD2Cs. I've been listening to music more at work on the Sine and my ears get warm and neck gets a little sore so I was looking to jump into a higher end IEM. Also looking to downsize my amp to a more portable setup, maybe a LGv20?

During the demo I tried the andromeda and it was too harsh on my ears so I immediately set it down. I then tried the Atlas and it sounded flat and boring to me. When I tried the Solaris I was very impressed at the guitars sounded and the sound stage was huge. The bass was more lively than I was expecting considering that I use the sine/lcd2c. I'm a little hesitant considering the price tag but it would be great to have a headphone that I just plug in and enjoy listening to any genre without having to equalize.

Does anyone have them that also has used lcd2c/sine/hdxx? Is there another IEM I could demo before I should make the jump?
 
Apr 8, 2019 at 7:26 AM Post #2 of 13
For me i made the jump from some 200 dollar klipsch iems with the noble x into the k10 and the empire ears legend x and i never once turned back once i heard the legend x on the ifi Micro idsd bl. But everyone ears are different and am not sure if you would like the sound signature of the legend x as much as i do on the ifi bl. Also just to point out i completely agree with you on the ca andros and i hated the fit and sound of that but many others liked it, so maybe you can try some from empire or aroma audio before you decide. The aroma ace is from what i heard the end game for me to all iems, as you can tune it and the vocals on that thing is so good it's as good or even better than my meze empyrean. Unfortunately i don't have the funds for that but if you do, do take a look. If not the legend x satisfy me more than enough for an iem:D Hope that helps.
 
Apr 10, 2019 at 6:55 PM Post #3 of 13
They aren't TOTL iems, but for $180 you should definitely give the Moondrop Kanas Pro a chance before you drop $1k+ on any TOTL iem. You might end up finding the KP's to be more than suitable for your musical needs. If those still aren't enough, THEN you can go on to save up and drop a good sized paycheck on a TOTL of your choice.
 
Apr 10, 2019 at 7:15 PM Post #4 of 13
If you get some really nice iem's you might consider a good DAP for your portable set up.
It's a slippery slope.
I have Campfire Vega's, Jupiters, RHA CL2's, and Shozy Pola's and don't regret any of them.
You could get some Jupiters and a Hiby R6 Pro for roughly the price of Solaris and possibly live happily ever after?
Good luck!
 
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Apr 10, 2019 at 7:19 PM Post #5 of 13
In my opinion, and for what it is worth, avoid wasting your cash on totl iem's, it's a waste of money if you ask me and you WILL/CAN find much cheaper iem's that will sound the same as an iem costing a couple of thousand.

You probably already know that no iem can come close to a decent pair of headphones, you really would be better off buying a good set of headphones and shopping on penon.com for some very good iem's but for the fraction of the cost that iem makers in the west charge.

Whatever you buy, I hope you enjoy them.

Penon.com sells good cheap iem's. Check them out if you haven't already.
 
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Apr 11, 2019 at 1:17 AM Post #6 of 13
There are different approaches into this hobby. Like any hobby, it has it low and high extremes. I personally think mid-fi is the sweet spot for all around sonic and build quality, and more wallet friendly. However, taking a dip, if your budget allows or if you don't mind eating budget foods that's no so good for you for a few months, testing out the so-called TOTL field is experience that puts more perspective in this hobby. I've dwindled in low-fi (based on price), looked back and added up the cost that could have purchased a few mid-fi toys, and the process is the same with the steps from mid-fi to hi-fi - again based on price.

There's a poison in the hi-fi/TOTL realm that once you've tasted it, it's hard going down the ladder, and there's a good chance you'll have an itch to dip into the hi-fi again if you've stepped down a level or two. If you decide to ride the buy and sell roller coaster, it's easier to sell TOTL toys and you don't lose much in the resale, if any at all. Having gone down and up the ladder, the most challenging part is staying put for a while, enjoying what you got and not get tempted with all the latest and greatest and getting hit with the hype trains.

Good luck in your journey.
 
Apr 11, 2019 at 3:02 AM Post #7 of 13
Short answer - Don't buy YET, especially as first IEM.
But you are extremmely lucky to have the chance to listen to IEMs in a store.
I recently tried many IEMs over 3 sessions, total 7 hours at e-earphones in Tokyo, and it was a huge learning experience.
The Solaris was one of the good ones. Others that stood out were the SonyIER-Z1R and the JVC HA-FW10000.

But I ended up buying 2 budget IEMs, the Sony EX800ST and the JVC HA-FD02, both around $200.
And I am in love with the JVC (with a simple mod). Writing more about it here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/jvc-ha-fd01-class-s-solidege.868414/page-13#post-14870966

As @Lewcrative said, the Kanas Pro are also a nice IEM, they really got me interested in IEMs in general, but IMO the FD02 is on a totally different level so I sold the KPE.
 
Apr 11, 2019 at 7:08 PM Post #8 of 13
Hi All, I made the 'mistake' of heading over to ALO Audio to try on different Campfire Audio IEMs. For a little background I have the ifi micro bl for my dac/amp, dunu dn-1000s, HD6XX, hm5 earpad audeze sine, and LCD2Cs. I've been listening to music more at work on the Sine and my ears get warm and neck gets a little sore so I was looking to jump into a higher end IEM. Also looking to downsize my amp to a more portable setup, maybe a LGv20?

During the demo I tried the andromeda and it was too harsh on my ears so I immediately set it down. I then tried the Atlas and it sounded flat and boring to me. When I tried the Solaris I was very impressed at the guitars sounded and the sound stage was huge. The bass was more lively than I was expecting considering that I use the sine/lcd2c. I'm a little hesitant considering the price tag but it would be great to have a headphone that I just plug in and enjoy listening to any genre without having to equalize.

Does anyone have them that also has used lcd2c/sine/hdxx? Is there another IEM I could demo before I should make the jump?
Just wishing you good luck. As others have said, it is a bit of a slippery slope. :)
 
Apr 11, 2019 at 9:17 PM Post #10 of 13
In my opinion, and for what it is worth, avoid wasting your cash on totl iem's, it's a waste of money if you ask me and you WILL/CAN find much cheaper iem's that will sound the same as an iem costing a couple of thousand.

You probably already know that no iem can come close to a decent pair of headphones, you really would be better off buying a good set of headphones and shopping on penon.com for some very good iem's but for the fraction of the cost that iem makers in the west charge.

Whatever you buy, I hope you enjoy them.

Penon.com sells good cheap iem's. Check them out if you haven't already.
Please tell us the iems that sound better than those costing a couple of thousand?
 
Apr 11, 2019 at 10:44 PM Post #11 of 13
Thanks everyone, I thought about it a lot and decided to pull the trigger . I am certainly not regretting the purchase, the process of selecting the right tip is now the hunt. Ive found that comply foam tips give great bass but they make the soundstage seem like it's projecting in a hallway and the final audio e and marshmallow tips deaden the sub bass but mids/highs sound very intimate.

I really like that I can pause my songs and still keep them in my ears whenever I chat with coworkers. The weight difference between iems and headphones is a necksaver. With Solaris there's no hiding poorly mastered songs, I had to turn off Rainbow in the Dark because the cymbals were killing my ears. I followed that up with Tamacun by Rodrigo y Gabriela and dropped everything I was doing until the song ended.

I'm finding the Solaris great for any genre, sure it's not dark like Audeze but I enjoy the soundstage and imaging of Solaris just as much. I picked up an iematch for easy portable tunes on my phone and it does really well compared to the ifi micro bl considering the price difference.
 
Apr 12, 2019 at 1:59 AM Post #12 of 13
Please tell us the iems that sound better than those costing a couple of thousand?

I'm sure you can find out that for yourself with the tens of thousands of iem's that have ever been on sale and which don't cost $£2000. It's not exactly rocket science to able to stick 10 BA's into a shell.

And if you think that out of all those tens of thousands of iem's, only the most expensive ones are great, then more power to you.
 
Apr 12, 2019 at 2:46 AM Post #13 of 13
Thanks everyone, I thought about it a lot and decided to pull the trigger . I am certainly not regretting the purchase, the process of selecting the right tip is now the hunt. Ive found that comply foam tips give great bass but they make the soundstage seem like it's projecting in a hallway and the final audio e and marshmallow tips deaden the sub bass but mids/highs sound very intimate.

Congratulations! You got yourself some really nice IEMs!
Happy listening for many years to come!
 

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