[FutureLegend70]

Good boy lol

Boy....

 

[ChrisOc]

Boy....

Waiting for your impressions.

 

[FutureLegend70]

Waiting for your impressions.

I'll do that for sure.
All else fails its a spare mmcx

 

[ChrisOc]

Interesting! Looks like coaxial DD combo. Looking forward learning what is that about. The form-factor though is not my cup of tea, unlike ISN universal.
AS for ISN D02, it's in my card but will wait for the next cycle. My budget for this cycle is depleted.
But I have plenty to do with those I already have. IMR Opus Mia is on its way and expected next week.
So for now, I'll just settle for enjoying Discovery, while tinkering with my gear...

I know what you mean about the Ikiz form factor, but I find the Tin T4 bullet shape quite comfortable.

OPUS MIA! I am jealous! I have heard some good things about them. Having said that I would rather hear your comparison between the Opus Mia and Mofasest Trio and Miracle because of the driver combination. Unless you got the Semper??????

My budget was shot to pieces a long time ago but somehow I turn a blind eye.

 

[courierdriver]

And how do you propose people prevent thermal shock from just dipping it in?

In other words, cryo treatment is a metallurgical process. Dipping something in liquid nitrogen is just that - dipping something in liquid nitrogen.

So yeah, if you want to argue it based on semantics alone, nothing is stopping someone from dipping something in liquid nitrogen. By all means, go for it. It’s a free world, and it’s actually quite fun in fact. I’ve dipped everything from balloons to flowers in liquid nitrogen, and goofed around with the results.

Believe whatever you want, but it’s scientific fact that just dunking something in liquid nitrogen is 100% absolutely not cryogenic treating (and actually causes microscopic damage).

It’s like saying that just because someone has a diploma, that they are university educated. When someone goes to university, they receive a paper diploma at the end. But I can also print a paper diploma at home on my printer. In both cases, I have an identical paper diploma. But they are not the same thing at all, because one requires a lot of work and a specific and controlled process.

Yeah...when you are talking about audio components, it's not like making a quick ice cream like they do on the Food Network. Audio is a totally different thing.

 

[Owludio]

I know what you mean about the Ikiz form factor, but I find the Tin T4 bullet shape quite comfortable.

OPUS MIA! I am jealous! I have heard some good things about them. Having said that I would rather hear your comparison between the Opus Mia and Mofasest Trio and Miracle because of the driver combination. Unless you got the Semper??????

My budget was shot to pieces a long time ago but somehow I turn a blind eye.

Well, yeeeaaa, waiting for it. Semper doesn't count in this cycle, since funds were allocated long time ago. I'm a big fun of IMR boutique house sound. Bob from IMR manages to squeeze ton of Fun, soundstage & resolution in most impossible driver configurations, and Semper is an Apex Frankenstein of them all: 15mm Beryllium DD+Planar+Ceramic+2EST in a new shell with better fit hopefully.
I was going to get Kinera Baldr. But Kinera house sound is inconsistent and I couldn't pull the trigger without at least a Graph, forget about a review. Ended up getting 2 IEMs for this price.
_____I don't expect Miracle to do well duking it out with Opus Mia mainly in the bass department. Trio however is very competent.
I'm looking forward tuning OM to reference and then a-b it with Trio. I get very good soundstage with Trio. It exceeded my expectations.
_____Miracle has a bigger 11mm Japanese driver(vs Trio 10mm). I'm burning it in non-stop and hope that potential will materialize.
I looked at Ikiz IEMs. They imply some crazy soundstage and bass performance. Another boutique brand to compete with IMR? Please tell about it when it arrives!
Also, could you compare Tri Starlight isolation with H40?
I live in the noisiest city and always concerned(euphemism for "obsessed") with isolation. Trio has isolation that from my memory is on par with Legend X, better than H40, and EDP is not even comparable.
Rose miracle isolation is a total fail, barely better than FD1, and gives me wind noise when I walk indoors. Isolates well when I tape single vent, but sub-buss suffers, and unlike H40, - with Miracle there isn't too much to spare.

There was research started by Japanese metallurgical school (and now many patents exist) that the amount of structural defects (simplistically how well the layers of metal atoms are packed) is decreased by their developed cryogenic procedures, where they show electron microscopy images as a convincing proof.
So the underlying science for the cryogenic treatment to potentially improve electrical properties is definitely valid.
The practical question is how much any specific procedure actually improves the resistance (say, especially at higher frequencies), and can it translate to any measurable difference in audio signals?
That is where the difference between "pure marketing" and scientific claims clearly exists.

Measurable difference probably no.(subject to quality/resolution of instruments). And I agree, it's mostly marketing gimmicks.
I'm a thorough practitioner of cable swapping, but most of my cables are cheap(and often make Head-fi snobs cringe when I post them connected to $2K iem), because the principle is different. It's not worth it for me to chase barely noticeable difference in the Cost Diminishing-Returns land.

I don't expect cable to change FR dramatically. But very often there is minor peak or notch that's getting in the way of my brain decoding the soundstage, - that can be reduced, shifted or masked, by different cable properties, including imperfections, - thus creating synergy. Bi-metal cables are most interesting to play with.
Most recent example is when I discovered for myself gold-plated cables. People are naturally skeptical of the quality of that gold and the plating process, when it's too cheap to be true.
But for the method I'm trying to describe, - quality is not important, especially for gold, since gold is inferior conductor, and the purpose of gold-plating is to reduce treble, and it does it better than just cheap thin copper. So if gold quality is low, it'll still do the job, maybe even better if more roll off required for synergy.
I'm using $20 Gold plated cable with Blessing2 to tune it closer to my preference. Same with FH7, Miracle, Trio, ASG2. For H40 I use $8 4core copper and it works sufficiently well too.
For Noble M3 it wasn't enough, so I added a little foam in the tip. The list goes on...
What happens if you dunk LITZ cable in liquid nitrogen. I suspect nothing good. Same with plated cables as expansion/shrinking ratio is different. I imagine horror image of the thread surface covered with millions of microscopic cracks. Well, that should change FR.

 

[Slater]

What happens if you dunk LITZ cable in liquid nitrogen. I suspect nothing good. Same with plated cables as expansion/shrinking ratio is different. I imagine horror image of the thread surface covered with millions of microscopic cracks. Well, that should change FR.

A very valid point.

Understanding the effects on a multi insulated wire (ie lacquer enameling AND some type of outer sheath) is going to be more complicated than comparing a piece of bare copper in liquid nitrogen.

Who knows.

 

[kmmbd]

I have been using the Cowon Plenue R2 for the past week or so and I think I can share some impressions.

Cowon Plenue R2 is not one of those DAPs that will catch your attention based on spec-sheet. No Wi-Fi, no Android, no streaming, and of course - age-old BT support that will work in a pinch but won't give you the newer codecs like LDAC, HWA.

Then why would anyone bother having one for almost $500? Answer: sound, and battery life (perhaps JetEffects).

I need to charge it once a week. For any other DAPs in this price-range, make that once every two days, at best. That's refreshing to say the least. As for the sound: it's near-neutral. There's no coloration whatsoever. It's also got plenty of output power, esp in balanced mode. The measurements are some of the best out there esp in terms of SNR. There is practically zero hiss in earphone mode so it's very suitable for sensitive IEMs like the Andros. It does lack dynamics compared to, say, Questyle QP1R, but when paired with similarly revealing/neutral IEMs/Headphones the R2 just shines.

These Cowon DAPs are not for everyone, but if you fall in one of those niches, don't need streaming and would rather have great battery life, stability and less hassle - check these out.

P.S. I just love that grippy back.

 

[jwbrent]

I have been using the Cowon Plenue R2 for the past week or so and I think I can share some impressions.

Cowon Plenue R2 is not one of those DAPs that will catch your attention based on spec-sheet. No Wi-Fi, no Android, no streaming, and of course - age-old BT support that will work in a pinch but won't give you the newer codecs like LDAC, HWA.

Then why would anyone bother having one for almost $500? Answer: sound, and battery life (perhaps JetEffects).

I need to charge it once a week. For any other DAPs in this price-range, make that once every two days, at best. That's refreshing to say the least. As for the sound: it's near-neutral. There's no coloration whatsoever. It's also got plenty of output power, esp in balanced mode. The measurements are some of the best out there esp in terms of SNR. There is practically zero hiss in earphone mode so it's very suitable for sensitive IEMs like the Andros. It does lack dynamics compared to, say, Questyle QP1R, but when paired with similarly revealing/neutral IEMs/Headphones the R2 just shines.

These Cowon DAPs are not for everyone, but if you fall in one of those niches, don't need streaming and would rather have great battery life, stability and less hassle - check these out.

P.S. I just love that grippy back.

I owned the Plenue D for awhile and loved the size, the battery life, the JetEffects, and the overall sound. The one issue with the D which its replacement the D2 also has is the SD card slot only handles up to 128GB, and that was the reason I ended up giving it to my son. Still, I concur, the Plenue daps are very nice looking and sounding ... if you don’t need streaming, it’s a good option to check into.

 

[SciOC]

So I pulled the trigger on the last remaining MEST on musicteck before they sold out for the 2nd time. Seems to be the rage now a days. I am in for a bit of an upgrade on the Mofos. Though I am wondering just how much. We are aiming to find out.

Diminishing returns but a new experience nonetheless. Looks like it's setting a new bar. Look forward to the comparison but I would temper your expectations a bit TBH....

I owned the Plenue D for awhile and loved the size, the battery life, the JetEffects, and the overall sound. The one issue with the D which its replacement the D2 also has is the SD card slot only handles up to 128GB, and that was the reason I ended up giving it to my son. Still, I concur, the Plenue daps are very nice looking and sounding ... if you don’t need streaming, it’s a good option to check into.

Same, I had a defective D2 that couldn't go past a certain volume and had the plenue 2 as well. Jet effects is nice, but MSEB on the hiby's is better. The Cowons trounce all on battery life, but the outdated GUI and hardware (limiting SD card size on they're cheaper DAPs) are just ridiculous at this point.

Glad to see the D2 had a decent amount of power like a modern DAP but the features are just outclassed by the other brands. If they could keep the battery life, PEQ and base sound, while catching up on general tech they could have a really really solid product but they seem content with their GUI from 2005.

 

[jwbrent]

Diminishing returns but a new experience nonetheless. Looks like it's setting a new bar. Look forward to the comparison but I would temper your expectations a bit TBH....

Same, I had a defective D2 that couldn't go past a certain volume and had the plenue 2 as well. Jet effects is nice, but MSEB on the hiby's is better. The Cowons trounce all on battery life, but the outdated GUI and hardware (limiting SD card size on they're cheaper DAPs) are just ridiculous at this point.

Glad to see the D2 had a decent amount of power like a modern DAP but the features are just outclassed by the other brands. If they could keep the battery life, PEQ and base sound, while catching up on general tech they could have a really really solid product but they seem content with their GUI from 2005.

I agree they don’t seem to be proactive in keeping the lower tier of its models competitive. But boy, getting almost 100 hours of play time on the Plenue D was pretty exceptional.

I also agree about HiBy’s MSEB, very cool feature.

 

[Dsnuts]

Diminishing returns but a new experience nonetheless. Looks like it's setting a new bar. Look forward to the comparison but I would temper your expectations a bit TBH....

Same, I had a defective D2 that couldn't go past a certain volume and had the plenue 2 as well. Jet effects is nice, but MSEB on the hiby's is better. The Cowons trounce all on battery life, but the outdated GUI and hardware (limiting SD card size on they're cheaper DAPs) are just ridiculous at this point.

Glad to see the D2 had a decent amount of power like a modern DAP but the features are just outclassed by the other brands. If they could keep the battery life, PEQ and base sound, while catching up on general tech they could have a really really solid product but they seem content with their GUI from 2005.

Ya worse case scenario I can sell them off easily but. I have a good feeling about them. We will see.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

i got the Plenue J, and soundwise it's exceptional, power wise it's exceptional, but unlike those others, the battery life is for shat, and the 128gb chip limit was something that when i ordered it, was in the fine fine print. i got it to play my 256gb hi res music through, and imagine my disappointment when no matter the format, that's the highest it will recognize, so now with the Hiby, it will sit.

 

[jwbrent]

i got the Plenue J, and soundwise it's exceptional, power wise it's exceptional, but unlike those others, the battery life is for shat, and the 128gb chip limit was something that when i ordered it, was in the fine fine print. i got it to play my 256gb hi res music through, and imagine my disappointment when no matter the format, that's the highest it will recognize, so now with the Hiby, it will sit.

You’re not happy with your HiBy?

 

[pr0b3r]

EST continues to become a thing now in IEMs. I think this is a new Auglamour IEM.