The discovery thread!

[Ozboyblu]

Thanks. I may try it anyway. Out of curiosity, where are these filters usually supposed to go (that is, when not being used to cover smileys on Wind and Fan 3)?

. . .

In other news, I discovered that the Shock leaks sound quite a bit. Prompted by a post over at the Penon thread.

I hadn’t realised. I seldom use IEMs in the company of people or when out and about (except on flights and long train rides) as I prefer to maintain some situational awareness. But I put on some music and blocked the nozzles with my fingers and yes, it is very much audible. When I also cover these vents at the bottom of the shells the sound is much less, so this is where it’s leaking from:

Just a PSA for anyone who’s still contemplating a purchase - it’s something to take into consideration if you need to listen to it in close proximity of someone else.

Possibly why I thought I had them too loud on the Burning Rig. But they were only at listening volume when I took them out of my ears .

 

[sgtbilko]

Without a Doubt AirPods Pro 2nd Gen . (I have Both USB C & Lightning models ) have the BEST! Transparency Mode.

Really am looking forward to this Hearing Aid firmware update to test them out.

This really is a big deal. Not just for Apple, but as Ozboyblu says, for others such as Samsung, Sony etc.

Here in the UK approved hearing aids start at £500 all the way up to £3000. A lot of loot for for the hearing impaired. I recall Sennheiser released a set for £1000 back in 2022? Good to see the trickle down of such good tech finally reach the masses.

How or if it might improve our music, who knows...

 

[DynamicEars]

Well s**t. The bass on the Sgor Luna suddenly became stupidly textured with the DC Elite. What the efffff... Treble also seems much more controlled. Everything sounds smoother but at the same time crisper.



This thing is nuts. I'll have to re-evaluate my entire collection with this dongle. The Sgor Luna alone suddenly became an amazing set, it sounds incredible.
Even with Spotify!!!

@jbfps116 DO NOT GET THIS THING IF YOU VALUE YOUR SANITY.

That's what I thought before as well. But HOLY! This is a massive sq upgrade. It's turned this $34 budget planar into one of the best things I've ever listened to.
And I already had the DX180, Q15, Onix, TP50, CDA-M1P, KA17, Martha...

AmericanSpirit also told me that the Elite is epic and I should get one.

I’ll just close my ears and pretend I don’t hear anything from you guys.



I replied in an unkindly way in the AFUL thread.

Told ya guys. I totally forgot I have Fiio flagship M17 and modded WM1A since I'm using DC Elite. Definitely my best buy not only for 2024 but maybe since the Mest or Z1R. Especially on that price.

Next is @o0genesis0o

Best dynamics + layering and imaging and soundstage source under $2000.

Yep. Can't agree more. My A55 with Mr Walkman mod can easily keep up with any dap I've ever heard or own, and that is MANY. Both technical and musical, with blissful Sony house sound. WINNING. When I owed my WM1A, it was BOSS. Even better than my DX170, but they were close enough that I was ok with selling it to pay some bills.

and the DC Elite blows all my Sony DAPs and Fiios and kill their own DX170 DX180 DX260 DX300 DX320

You need something like ibasso D16 Taipan + PB5 Osprey to get real upgrade from there Pap!

Seriously you need to try or buy if you got chance.

Have you heard the Cadenza 4 or S15 from Letshouer?

I like Cadenza 4 more than S15. The Cadenza 4 is really underrated and didn't get so much love therly are deserved. Even with Pilgrim, I may prefer Cadenza 4.
I didn't buy them in the end (because of too many IEMs and I get th Hype4 later) but they are very nice and balanced with great technicalities.

I try to find an original mix whenever I can (usually that's sourcing from my CD collection). But if it's something that's been released since about 2020, I just look for the highest bitrate.


That Oracle MkIII looks and graphs really sweet. Definitely ticks all my FR boxes.

I agree the Oracle III have great tonality and tuning here.

 

[Ineras]

Late night mail call. Was on a mission for my wife on some viral Christmas Nutcrackers and only just got to unpack these...

Miroak-II Granadillo

Really wish they made the wood enclosure modular and offered a bunch of different options to swap around for different signatures. Different types of wood or even other materials, different thicknesses, open or closed. New take on tuning nozzles.

 

[Ozboyblu]

Really wish they made the wood enclosure modular and offered a bunch of different options to swap around for different signatures. Different types of wood or even other materials, different thicknesses, open or closed. New take on tuning nozzles.

Have you seen the range of them? They look insane.

Thread '634EARS: Impressions, Discussions, and Appreciations Thread'
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/634ears-impressions-discussions-and-appreciations-thread.966930/

 

[Ineras]

Have you seen the range of them? They look insane.

Thread '634EARS: Impressions, Discussions, and Appreciations Thread'
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/634ears-impressions-discussions-and-appreciations-thread.966930/

That's what I mean, why not give customers the option to try out all those different signatures by purchasing different rear enclosures? Would make it so much more marketable.

 

[Ozboyblu]

I wonder what all the BTR17 will offer that the other fiio bt amps don't have?

This was posted 4 days ago. I’m really looking forward to this one in November. Similar price to the BTR7. But with extra features will be a formidable upgrade. Especially since it will have Qualcomm latest flagship Bluetooth chip. I’m hoping for Snapdragon lossless to be featured.

 

[MakeItWain]

Really wish they made the wood enclosure modular and offered a bunch of different options to swap around for different signatures. Different types of wood or even other materials, different thicknesses, open or closed. New take on tuning nozzles.

That would be awesome. I'll bring it up to Musashi. Wonder how difficult it would be... with my super amateur/non existent engineering skills, I don't know how it could be done without compromising anything but maybe it's easier than I think

 

[Ozboyblu]

Perfect start to the rainy weekend.

Perfection

Congrats.


Wondering if this sounds as good as the Desktop RME ADI 2 fs DAC/Amp . Anyone have both?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Told ya guys. I totally forgot I have Fiio flagship M17 and modded WM1A since I'm using DC Elite. Definitely my best buy not only for 2024 but maybe since the Mest or Z1R. Especially on that price.

Next is @o0genesis0o

Best dynamics + layering and imaging and soundstage source under $2000.



and the DC Elite blows all my Sony DAPs and Fiios and kill their own DX170 DX180 DX260 DX300 DX320

You need something like ibasso D16 Taipan + PB5 Osprey to get real upgrade from there Pap!

Seriously you need to try or buy if you got chance.


I like Cadenza 4 more than S15. The Cadenza 4 is really underrated and didn't get so much love therly are deserved. Even with Pilgrim, I may prefer Cadenza 4.
I didn't buy them in the end (because of too many IEMs and I get th Hype4 later) but they are very nice and balanced with great technicalities.



I agree the Oracle III have great tonality and tuning here.

It's near the top of my wishlist for 11.11. Giving it some serious thought, but probably would have to sell the DX170? Not sure how I'd approach it? Depends on the level of discount on 11.11, but it's a good chance i'll make that move to upgrade the ONIX Alpha.

 

[Thieme]

QDC Empress

$3200 USD!!

4 ESTs and 10 BAs (14 driver per side)






https://shop.musicteck.com/products/qdc-emreses-c-custom-iems

Jeez, this is way outside of my budget anyways but they go through the trouble to put in ESTs and then have the treble roll off like that? Seems like a weird choice.

 

[mrsergey]

Told ya guys. I totally forgot I have Fiio flagship M17 and modded WM1A since I'm using DC Elite. Definitely my best buy not only for 2024 but maybe since the Mest or Z1R. Especially on that price.

Next is @o0genesis0o

Best dynamics + layering and imaging and soundstage source under $2000.



and the DC Elite blows all my Sony DAPs and Fiios and kill their own DX170 DX180 DX260 DX300 DX320

You need something like ibasso D16 Taipan + PB5 Osprey to get real upgrade from there Pap!

Seriously you need to try or buy if you got chance.


I like Cadenza 4 more than S15. The Cadenza 4 is really underrated and didn't get so much love therly are deserved. Even with Pilgrim, I may prefer Cadenza 4.
I didn't buy them in the end (because of too many IEMs and I get th Hype4 later) but they are very nice and balanced with great technicalities.



I agree the Oracle III have great tonality and tuning here.

You saying that the DC Elite dongle give you better sound than the Fiio M17?
I'm not sure about it.
I did try the mojo 2 that considered by many as one of the best and the M17 blow it away.
The thing that is great about the M17 is the power.
Even for iems that doesn't require a lot of power, the M17 can open them up even more and give you big, powerful and immersive sound.
Until I'm gonna try the DC-elite myself i cannot believe that such a small device could improve the sound so much.

 

[Jmop]

Aight new game plan, think I might try out PlusSound’s C9 since they have a 15 day trial period for RS2 line out. I know I’m gonna lose depth in the sound but I still think it’ll be a good pairing with RS2 dac showcasing a lot of mid clarity and sharpness and C9 being hella smooth in that region supposedly. RS2 dac is punchy so C9 being a bit slow won’t be too much of a hit, a worthy exchange for bass and lower mid body. Kinda sounds redundant but even just plugged into Cayin C5 the extra power really does make for strong soundstage and dynamics, and with PlusSound’s amp also having stage size as a strong suit, I think this will be an interesting endeavor.

 

[Ozboyblu]

What is your primary music source file?

Lossless?
Lossy?
Streaming?
Youtube?
Vinyl?
CD collection?
Live music concert listener?
Bluetooth?





https://www.facebook.com/binylsg/po...AE5yoGjMfCVJ6p2RAXg5ZAC2GyuDoa3fwzjZTJGVEB8cl

2004 - 2021 - Lossy iTunes m4a and mp3 - 60 Gb Total of around 9,000 files on Apple Music (Previously iTunes)

2020 - Now - Apple Music Streaming Yearly subscription - Hi-Res Lossless Started mid 2021.

2023 - Now - FLAC / WAV / Files Range 16bit-44.1Khz to 24bit-192Khz OR. DSD. Range - 64 /128 / 256 . - Grand Total 3 TB. @ 48,412 Tracks

Now I mostly use Audirvāna Origin (My own music Library files) - I create playlists here , then transfer my most played tracks to my DAP’s

I Stream Apple Music sometimes for new music Discovery content. Cause the Algorithm for Apple Music suggestions is on point.

 

[Jmop]

What is your primary music source file?

Lossless?
Lossy?
Streaming?
Youtube?
Vinyl?
CD collection?
Live music concert listener?
Bluetooth?





https://www.facebook.com/binylsg/po...AE5yoGjMfCVJ6p2RAXg5ZAC2GyuDoa3fwzjZTJGVEB8cl

Lmao, love a good remix..