[Surf Monkey]

Hey guys, my review on the Raptgo Bridge is posted. Kindly have a read:​

Raptgo Bridge Review – Details Over Music​

The analytical sound of Raptgo Bridge sacrifices a bit of musicality in the process. But otherwise, it is a very competent performer.​

Among my top five of the year! Love the Bridge.

 

[Ferdinando1968]

Among my top five of the year! Love the Bridge.

+1

 

[PROblemdetected]

I have a Mk2. Would that be a redundant purchase?

Totally.

 

[o0genesis0o]

My question i would also like to see some discussion around… is it worth making a stop in the 500-800 dollar price bracket, or just put that towards a kilobuck? I feel like I don’t see a lot of discussion around that zone

800 range is like a wasteland. Too expensive to blind buy, yet too cheap and normie for TOTL gang to pay attention. IEMs in this range are also too expensive for manufacturers to send out samples. The best they can do is to offer a discount, which is usually modest and likely in the form of store credit refund, so it’s hard for me to just buy to write a review. Not sure what manufacturers can do, but if they can run tours, the IEM might gather more traction. AuR, 7th Acoustic, and Elysian did so this year, and it was a great help.

What IEM in that zone are you thinking about? I’m still thinking about ThieAudio Hype10. If it sounds similar to EST treble, it would be a good alternative to Monarch series, since I don’t have to worry about the EST driver running out of charge in the future.

This year has been great for me within the audio community, been lucky to get some good friends who share similar passion within audio.



634ears Miroak II Cocobolo
This is also how I found my faovorite discovery of 2023, that being the Japanese maker 634ears. One man brand by Musashi, I followed the brand for a while since some friends talked highly of the LOAK model. When the new generation of Miroak was released I got to tempted and became one of the first buyers, Musashi had improved the shell slightly improving the ergonomics. This is reason why I skipped the LOAK due to the bullet style and ergonomics, still bullet style but very ergonomically built.
The whole experience is quite special that you have to contact him on FB or IG and order, then you can decide on wood for how you want the tuning. And the packaging and hand written note are excellent and show how much care and proudness Musashi has of his craft.

Tuning is warm and balanced, not for people craving neutral sound. For people who have tried Penon Serial this has a similar analogue vibe but better all around, due to cleaner and better extended bass. Similar midrange just being slightly cleaner. And highs that has good extension and don't sound veiled or dark.



@FranQL Earbuds
Back to having nice friends I have encountered this year, my good hermano Fran. Thanks again for our talks and sharing away your crafts with me, Fran is a music lover as most of us. He also love to tinker with stuff and have modded/made iems, earbuds and headphones. The Caelum (120ohm Beryllium Composite) and Blue Moon (130ohm Beryllium) has been a joy to own and experience, rivalling the the best models from other brands.

The Blue Moon is a super resolving earbud with a natural and delicate tuning, well extended both in the low and high range. Midrange being maybe its part, its so nuanced and delicate and is female vocal lovers delight. The photo above is with Blue Moon and cable from Clan Audio with FranQL logo on splitter and Clan Audio on the jack.
The Caelum is one of the most low end rich earbuds out there, but its also not dark and veiled. Its more of a W shaper earbud that sound full and natural, actually been my goto for listening to metal the last month. And I need rich low end and clear sound for metal, Caelum exceed. I am very satisfied even if I lack the ultimate sub bass we are used to from iems.



If I have any negative this year is that have had to much of a backlog a times, I am just a audio/music enjoyer as all of you.
When I started to write reviews I never saw it coming that I would get a overflow of stuff to write about, very easy to say yes to discounts and freebies.
And you then get new stuff to test all the , while it sounds fun it takes away the time you have for your faovorite sets.
While its fun to write about stuff you love, its not fun to write about stuff you are lukewarm about.
Specially with how it comes out release after release copying each other, also why some brands stick out more.
Some care more about their products and also the buyers/reviewers.

Lucky you for having @FranQL buds

How do you deal with backlog? I don’t want to promise manufacturer and miss the deadline so ended up declining most stuffs.

Should have mentioned it, they are not for sale. He just share his creations with friends.
But there is many good brands and models out there: Venture Electronics, TGXEAR, Yincrow and more.
We have a good earbud community here on head-fi.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/page-4883

You should try DIY. Cheap, easy, and fun. Be prepared to make a few stinkers and be super defensive about them though

 

[Click]

Kiwi Ears sure knows how to build really clean, nice-looking IEMs.

Forteza sounds pretty good for the money ($59, I got it for $40). V-shaped, recessed mids, but sounds good somehow.

Then again, I'm using Penon's awesome stock Quattro cable and SpinFit W1 eartips, so it might not sound as good with Forteza's stock tips and cable (which isn't terrible and definitely usable).

 

[Leonarfd]

B

How do you deal with backlog? I don’t want to promise manufacturer and miss the deadline so ended up declining most stuffs.

Yes same as you, decline or don't promise anything big.

 

[theintention]

What IEM in that zone are you thinking about? I’m still thinking about ThieAudio Hype10. If it sounds similar to EST treble, it would be a good alternative to Monarch series, since I don’t have to worry about the EST driver running out of charge in the future.

There are a couple I have my eye on, some current ones over $500 are the Mega5EST, Scarlet Mini, DTE900 and the AuR Ascension. But every time I think about those sets, I definitely feel like it would be better to just save for a bigger purchase…

I keep telling myself I am not interested in the Hype10 after my H2 fiasco, but I do REALLY like the looks of it. and the hype 2 sounded so great. It’s a very weird product though when the Monarch MK3 exists.

I haven’t used EST drivers yet, was unaware they ran out of charge but that makes sense haha.

 

[Jaytiss]

B


Yes same as you, decline or don't promise anything big.

Sounds like first-world problems. BooHoo, must be hard. <3 @o0genesis0o @Leonarfd I can seeing not wanting to do review tours or under $50 sets. Also pushie deadlines are the worst. I once got an iem the day before they wanted the review. Needless to say wasn't my best.

 

[Barndoor]

For me, 2023 has been a very limited purchasing year.
Increases in the Australian interest rates and cost of living has really made me stop making impulse buys.
In 2022 I would have jumped all over stuff that has come out this year, but now there is a lot more thought that goes into whether I need to add another pair to of earphones to the 30+ I already own. I find it quite hard to justify putting my hobby ahead of my family.

Have only purchased 3 iems in 2023: IMR Ozar, Hifiman RE800 silver (this is amazing for the price that it can be picked up at) and BQEYZ Wind (only arrived a couple of days ago - tested to prove it works and will get to enjoy over the holiday season).

Have also purchased a bunch of cables (yes I am a believer!), ear tips and a dongle.

Dongles are still a disappointment to me. I'm very much in the camp of amplification is king and that just can't be achieved to an acceptable level whilst being efficient with the draw on the host device.

I suspect electronics will be a focus for me in 2024 with continuation of cost of living demands and doubt I'll be jumping on any iem hype-trains like in previous years

 

[Click]

OK Forteza is really surprising me with how good they sound. They're very eartip dependent, and maybe cable dependent, but I wouldn't know since I haven't tried it with stock cable yet.

Started with SpinFit W1, sounded good but it made a crunchy noise when I'd move even a little bit. Happens with some IEMs and W1s. Switched to Divinus Velvets. Fit nicely but the sound was off. Then switched to SpinFit CP145. Perfect eartips for the Forteza and my ears. Crazy bass rumble, mids sound much better, a bit warmer, smoother, nice body to sound. Really good details, soundstage, dynamics, and incisiveness. A lot more balanced.

Very happy with this IEM now. Great bargain at $40 and even at the normal $59.

 

[WAON303]

What's the real advantage of EST drivers?

Crinacle and Precog have criticized EST drivers for being poorly implemented on most IEMs.

Why don't manufacturers just use BAs then? The Supernova doesn't have a single EST driver yet the treble is insanely smooth and well extended.

Is it just an excuse to call your IEM a tribrid for marketing points?

 

[o0genesis0o]

What's the real advantage of EST drivers?

Crinacle and Precog have criticized EST drivers for being poorly implemented on most IEMs.

Why don't manufacturers just use BAs then? The Supernova doesn't have a single EST driver yet the treble is insanely smooth and well extended.

Is it just an excuse to call your IEM a tribrid for marketing points?

I'm a fanboy of 64 Audio and U12T, but I also have to admit that the treble and details of the Monarch II is at least a half step up. Is it only EST vs 64 Audio' TIA tweeters? Idk. But it was good.

The HiBy Zeta has very smooth, almost subdued treble, but when I sit and pay attention, the information starts to come out quite satisfyingly. Is it EST? Maybe. Hard to say unless we can turn off the EST. It has the quad Sonion EST drivers.

Finally, the MEST MkIII. Just lovely treble and air and details in general. Quad-Sonion-EST inside. Is it because of the EST? Idk.

So, you know correlation vs causation and all, but I do have a soft spot for Sonion quad EST. What I don't like is the fact that these drivers would lose charge over time. Would they be unusable in 5 years? 10 years? Idk. That's why I'm eager for advances in BA and planar tech.

Edit: my hypothesis is that there is that softness to the transient edge of Sonion EST that allows manufacturers to push the treble a few dB higher. Hidizs tried the same with BA and it was not pretty in some tracks.

 

[kaeswiss]

The end of 2023 is near, the year has been filled by a lot of releases.
Would be fun to have a little survey here on what has been your most positive or negative audio purchases or experiences of 2023?

Throughout the pandy, I've been fortunate to be able to work from home while the world closed down. Even after things went back to normal, I'm still fortunate enough to have the option of working from anywhere. It wasn't until this year that I realized I spent most of my work days in my home office so I decided to treat myself to a new set of near-field speakers. After some research, I ended up with the KEF LSX II speakers and KC62 subwoofer.

This was also when I found that my portable gear was lacking in comparison and then I ended up falling deep into this rabbit hole.

My most positive purchase this year has to be the KEF speaker system that brought me here.

As for the most negative, I honestly haven't had any. If I had to choose one, it'd be the Ziigaat Nuo. That was the only thing that required a lot of work for me to make it sound acceptable, but I ended up giving it away to a friend. He loves it so that purchase isn't all that negative.

 

[Infoseeker]

What's the real advantage of EST drivers?

Crinacle and Precog have criticized EST drivers for being poorly implemented on most IEMs.

Why don't manufacturers just use BAs then? The Supernova doesn't have a single EST driver yet the treble is insanely smooth and well extended.

Is it just an excuse to call your IEM a tribrid for marketing points?

When those criticism happened, the EST were being utilized without being powered to match the loudness of the other drivers with them.

Look up the treble response of the Final Audio Roland. Couldn't get implemented ideally.

Now the companies utilizing the EST are implementing them louder. But I have no idea how, because the EST have such low sensitivities and yet all these new iems have such high overall sensitivity ratings.


Normally they should become less sensitive IEMs similar to the Annihilator iem and the Storm iem (to implement the other drivers at the same loudness as the EST drivers).

I guess they clip them a little to be louder? Rather than make the other drivers quieter to match the EST drivers loudness.

I guess nowadays they found a balance to minimize the cons of forcing it this way.

 

[r31ya]

When your old favorite singer song is sung by your new favorite singer,

Tsumi no Batsu (Crime and Punishment)

The old OG one, by Sheena Ringo



and new-ish cover by Ado



---

out of curiosity, if any of you guys used spotify often (Tidal is not available in my place),
what artist ended in your top 5 recap?