The discovery thread!

[Hypops]

I'm an empiricist at heart, and seeing his measurement graph of all 3 EA cables did absolutely nothing to dissuade me from my opinion that short of some very unique cases of high-impedance IEMs, cables should be purchased for purely aesthetic reasons, which is 100% fine by the way. As Mark mentions in his video, quality and aesthetics are more than appropriate reasons to buy a nice cable if that appeals to you.

Do you mean low-impedance IEMs? That's the one case where, according to my own Cable Belief System (Cablism?), cables might sound different from one another. If I'm using a high-output impedance amp (>1.5 Ω) with a low-impedance IEM (<10 Ω), I might start to hear differences between cables of widely varying impedances. But what I'm actually hearing in that case isn't the cable, per se. It's the impact of the impedance ratio of the whole system on the IEMs drivers.

A good copper cable with good connects is going to have about 0.17 Ω impedance (I think silver can get that down closer to 0.16 Ω), but some cable materials, alloys/blends, and connects might kick that impedance up as high as 0.5 Ω. Some people may even like that effect on some IEMs. It's not unusual for cheap stock cables to be somewhere in the 0.3-0.5 Ω range. But even in those cases, the effect it might have on FR will still be minimal--even in extreme cases--and the effect will change depending on the drivers, crossovers, etc. of the specific IEM. And that minimal impact seems pretty much in line with the amount of difference that cable believers themselves claim to hear.

My hunch is that the audible impact of cables comes down to impedance ratios (though I've never heard any differences myself other than with extremely bad/cheap cables). But I'm also not about to tell other people what they do and do not hear. It's why I dig Mark Ryan's approach. He goes in with an open mind, says what he hears and measures, and still leaves with an open mind. I dig it. Other folks very well could have more acute hearing than I do. I'm totally fine with people hearing differences from cables. We all do this hobby in our own way and for our own reasons.

 

[Knale]

Do you mean low-impedance IEMs? That's the one case where, according to my own Cable Belief System (Cablism?), cables might sound different from one another. If I'm using a high-output impedance amp (>1.5 Ω) with a low-impedance IEM (<10 Ω), I might start to hear differences between cables of widely varying impedances. But what I'm actually hearing in that case isn't the cable, per se. It's the impact of the impedance ratio of the whole system on the IEMs drivers.

A good copper cable with good connects is going to have about 0.17 Ω impedance (I think silver can get that down closer to 0.16 Ω), but some cable materials, alloys/blends, and connects might kick that impedance up as high as 0.5 Ω. Some people may even like that effect on some IEMs. It's not unusual for cheap stock cables to be somewhere in the 0.3-0.5 Ω range. But even in those cases, the effect it might have on FR will still be minimal--even in extreme cases--and the effect will change depending on the drivers, crossovers, etc. of the specific IEM. And that minimal impact seems pretty much in line with the amount of difference that cable believers themselves claim to hear.

My hunch is that the audible impact of cables comes down to impedance ratios (though I've never heard any differences myself other than with extremely bad/cheap cables). But I'm also not about to tell other people what they do and do not hear. It's why I dig Mark Ryan's approach. He goes in with an open mind, says what he hears and measures, and still leaves with an open mind. I dig it. Other folks very well could have more acute hearing than I do. I'm totally fine with people hearing differences from cables. We all do this hobby in our own way and for our own reasons.

Yes sorry, got it backwards! Low impedance!

 

[-rowan-]

Both the Punch and Yan have arrived.
Burning in now.
The bass with both of these really punches you in the eye...

---

Thanks to @Ineras for the strong rec on the Hawaiian Punch.
Me gusta mucho!

The Yan has some high quality bass, especially for the price they're charging for this IEM.
As Ineras mentioned, listening to GNX through the Punch is a brain rattling good time.
And the treble on Punch is outstanding, too.
More impressions to come, but both of these are very enjoyable.

Congrats! Glad more people are starting to receive their Yu9 Yan.

yes yes, comming in yesterday

Foam from nozzle - very very dense.

Sound in stock: high-quality and deep bass, it sounds separately and does not climb on the mid frequencies. Bass is very tactful and elastic, the same can be said about the mid frequencies. High frequencies are good, but there are not many of them (personally, I did not have enough duration of attenuations. Very deep stage.

Sound without foam: brighter, the stage becomes much higher (it is built above the head, I mean), the bass remains the same, but the upper midrange frequencies become more accentuated and the sound becomes brighter and richer (more colorful), but I can't listen to such a bright sound for a long time, it will tire. There are slightly more high frequencies. This option is suitable if the DAP is dark enough.

And one more thing: you need a more powerful source, otherwise the upper midrange will be loud/scream/sparkle.

That’s some dense foam! I saw it in the nozzles but didn’t mess with it as I was perfectly happy with the Yan’s stock tuning.

I absolutely agree on the need for power. I don’t know what Yu9 were thinking, offering this with a crappy default stock 3.5mm cable and no 4.4 options (which they had, even for their ER4 clone). I should like to know what they tuned the Yan on.

But anyway this is one of those IEMs that scale very nicely, so give it all the quality power you have.

Great pic! This one has been popping up a lot lately. Never tried a Shanling IEM.

Thanks - and congrats on the Mousa pics!

This is the first time I’m trying a Shanling IEM as well. Glad the MG800 is finally getting a bit more attention now.

I’m trying to refrain from premature impressions as it’s palpably opened up in the time it’s been on the burner, but I can already tell it’s shaping up to be an incredibly balanced, complete tuning.

Congrats! Another happy owner for this beauties. Since I have them I haven't had the urge to buy anything else. The only things I have on the way are the Penon PAC LStips, Rose technics SC Liquid and some BGVP foam eartips. I'll wait for 2025 to see what goodies are coming.

Thanks! I’m still (slowly) tip rolling and nozzle rolling but I do enjoy the LStips with MG800. Now leaving the Spinfit W1 on them for some time. In almost all instances, I like the MG800 best with the “clear” nozzles. It makes the most of their staging and layering.

I did wonder about the Rose Technics tips - do report back when you get them.

DUNU - DK3001 BD



OOTB - Out of the Box Impressions



The fit is very comfortable considering the size. Not sure why I thought the size may be a problem, think its the width from the nozzle to the faceplate looked substantial.



Firstly these, Remind me of my Focal CMS 50 studio monitors. In the way the sound is natural and detailed without need for a separate sub woofer. No exaggerated bass here. No siblance or harshness in the mids and treble. Just resolving and clinical with a good amount of separation.





The bass still has impact, but is not as enveloping as some of my other IEM’s. The one thing I picked up one is how fast the bass attack can be. (Great for EDM and Trance) ( unexpected item in the bagging area ) I didn’t quite expect the bass to be this controlled, but still very powerful.



The mids are very detailed and extract the grit and texture of the vocals. Nuances of Guitar strings sliders and fingering on pianos are picked up in the mix. String instruments are a very pleasing listen with these also.



The treble has an immediate focus on resolution and textured micro details , that will show up on the most High resolution Recordings.



The one technicality that was prominent is instrument separation and positioning. The presentation is tuned so well. The soundstage is presented in a way that compliments this positioning. The right balance.



I found that the Brain Dance absolutely thrives with the Fiio R2R K11 , enriches the Bass somewhat. It really does adapt to the source , iBasso DC - Elite makes these sing, so musical ( My initial impressions are based off DCE ). The RME ADI-2 Fs turns these into something incredible, detailed and resolving.



Time to put these on the Burning station.



Let them marinate a while before testing out the Muse HiFi M5 Ultra and later the impedance adapter.



Early Days, But very impressive straight out of the box.



Thanks to everyone that enjoy their Drain Brance enough to encourage me to purchase this set . I love these.

Great first impressions! I’m excited that my Drain Brance will probably be here before the end of the year. Also ordered that adjustable impedance adapter for it.

Am I under the wrong impression that NuTubes are solid state and won't die in comparison with the "regular ones" installed in Kaei Tap devices/Muse M5Ultra/etc?

Speaking from personal experience alone, I’ve never actually had tubes die on me. Unless it’s your primary device and you plan to run it 24/7/365, there are probably a lot of other things that could go wrong before the tubes do.

The N3 Pro is still going strong - it saw a massive lot of use in its day although less now, because choice - but its tubes show no signs of giving up. The B4-X got fried because I unwittingly rolled a bad op amp in it a few years ago but its tubes are perfectly good. The Kaei Tap-1S’s internal battery died long ago and runs only on PSU now but its tubes are going strong (or maybe they aren’t actually alive anymore and it’s just LEDs glowing; they never sounded particularly tubey anyway). And so on.

So I wouldn’t worry too much. Or if desktop is an option, get something with hotswappable tubes, like one of the Little Dot amps - for “research”.

iBasso Nunchaku as well uses the same JAN6418 tubes...curious about iBasso D17 implemetation, it should still preserve the Nutubes, but it will be definitely pricier than PB5 for sure. So then...not sure if it makes sense to wait for D17 instead of just getting the PB5.
Main bad thing about PB5 seems to be its charging requirements.

What’s the drawback about PB5’s charging requirements? Can’t say I’ve tried reading up too much about them for fear of temptation.

But yes, the Nunchaku and D17 are calling already.

Thanks, fellas! It will be a long haul. Perhaps I should have spent Annihilator money for Business class instead of Cantor money for Pleb class.

Means you can spend the rest of Annihilator money on Cantor and then some

Safe travels and have a blast!

 

[keesue]

Speaking of Effect Audio cables, Mark Ryan just dropped his take on cables in a review of the latest line of Effect Audio products.

No surprises of course. Skeptics will remain skeptics. Believers will remain believers. Agnostics will probably find it interesting and worthwhile.

My .02 on the issue by way of a story.

A high school friend got an internship at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. after H.S. graduation in 1969. They were one of the premier cottage jazz recording studios. One of his jobs was terminating cables for the patch panels and microphones. He invited me over after hours. He and I shared all things audio. Needless to say, he was one lucky 18 year old.

Wind the hands of time forward to the mid 70s and boutique cables were entering the market place. Several manufactures dropped off their offerings and the studio decided to put them to the test. The audio room was powered by specially built hideously expensive tube amps, powering UREI studio speakers (super big, super sensitive and super expensive) with no place to duck 'n dodge. This was a multi-hundred thousand dollar room. Terms like resolution, transparency, coherency and tonality really stood out in bold relief.

We used master mix-down recordings on an Ampex tube deck of acoustic jazz using the studio's cables (Mogami) and switching in the high end cables. There were two master recording engineers and three jazz musicians. No one had negative bias or preconceived notions as we all excited about the test and really wanted to hear what these cables could do. There was an intern doing the swapping. Again, this was unchartered waters and the dogmatism around cables hadn't been formed. We were all accustomed to uber expensive equipment so cable cost was not an issue in-an-of-itself. To cut directly to the chase: None of us could hear any difference. Try as we might: zilch, nada - nothing. The consensus was if they made a difference, the cost wasn't justifiable.

Wind the hands of time forward many years later, My boy called to tell me that George Lucas wired his entire Star Wars studio in Marin with George Cardas cable. My friend was an engineer at this point and visited Lucas Studios from time-to-time. He said there was a slight difference in clarity and coherence and they were not as shrill. Mind you these were 100-200 ft. cable runs, something we did not test in the original listening session.

My boy went on to win an Oscar for best sound track recording and I trust his ears implicitly. My home audio system is wired with Mogami. I tried several loaner high end cables but my experience and perceptions remained unchanged. As to IEMs or headphones, I have not tried any higher end cables, so take this with a grain of salt, but I'm open to the concept and have been seeking out a way to get a few loaners to test. I have upgraded all my KZ/CCA .075 cables with $7.49 cables from Temu which are tactile and well built and I have upgraded several of my middle tier 3.5 mm cables to $17 Linsoul Zonie 4mms. If I do get a few to try out, I'll report back.

N.B.: I do not lambast anyone who hears differences in IEM cables. I read their posts with interest in their impressions with an open mind.

 

[Hypops]

My .02 on the issue by way of a story.

A high school friend got an internship at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. after H.S. graduation in 1969. They were one of the premier cottage jazz recording studios. One of his jobs was terminating cables for the patch panels and microphones. He invited me over after hours. He and I shared all things audio. Needless to say, he was one lucky 18 year old.

Wind the hands of time forward to the mid 70s and boutique cables were entering the market place. Several manufactures dropped off their offerings and the studio decided to put them to the test. The audio room was powered by specially built hideously expensive tube amps, powering UREI studio speakers (super big, super sensitive and super expensive) with no place to duck 'n dodge. This was a multi-hundred thousand dollar room. Terms like resolution, transparency, coherency and tonality really stood out in bold relief.

We used master mix-down recordings on an Ampex tube deck of acoustic jazz using the studio's cables (Mogami) and switching in the high end cables. There were two master recording engineers and three jazz musicians. No one had negative bias or preconceived notions as we all excited about the test and really wanted to hear what these cables could do. There was an intern doing the swapping. Again, this was unchartered waters and the dogmatism around cables hadn't been formed. We were all accustomed to uber expensive equipment so cable cost was not an issue in-an-of-itself. To cut directly to the chase: None of us could hear any difference. Try as we might: zilch, nada - nothing. The consensus was if they made a difference, the cost wasn't justifiable.

Wind the hands of time forward many years later, My boy called to tell me that George Lucas wired his entire Star Wars studio in Marin with George Cardas cable. My friend was an engineer at this point and visited Lucas Studios from time-to-time. He said there was a slight difference in clarity and coherence and they were not as shrill. Mind you these were 100-200 ft. cable runs, something we did not test in the original listening session.

My boy went on to win an Oscar for best sound track recording and I trust his ears implicitly. My home audio system is wired with Mogami. I tried several loaner high end cables but my experience and perceptions remained unchanged. As to IEMs or headphones, I have not tried any higher end cables, so take this with a grain of salt, but I'm open to the concept and have been seeking out a way to get a few loaners to test. I have upgraded all my KZ/CCA .075 cables with $7.49 cables from Temu which are tactile and well built and I have upgraded several of my middle tier 3.5 mm cables to $17 Linsoul Zonie 4mms. If I do get a few to try out, I'll report back.

N.B.: I do not lambast anyone who hears differences in IEM cables. I read their posts with interest in their impressions with an open mind.

Awesome story and sentiment. Agreed especially on those final points.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Nice call. Such an underrated budget IEM. Holographic soundstage you don't find at this price point.

Ooooh. Interesting ranking. I may buy P5+2 very soon.

Wayne is leading the pack as the Reviewer Rookie of the Year. Odds currently -150. Place your wagers here. Well done, Wayne!

Fantastic view on life, my sonic brother!

Hotter take: The most important aspect of any headphone or IEM is fit. If it doesn't fit well, the sound quality and isolation don't mean dick.

Safe travels, Nik! Have a great trip to the land of the semi-free and sort of brave.

Repeat after me: "You don't need to buy these, dude. That EQ button is a total gimmick. RESIST."

I need to watch this. I respect Mark's reviews and his ability to step outside his chosen lane to consider other viewpoints. I'm a cable agnostic at best, lean toward skeptic.

I watched it, and he handled it just like every other dude who either has skepticism or is atheist. Let me measure it, and impedence impedence impedence, with the excuse that the 20 seconds between switching cables immediately creates Alzheimers, in that suddenly for cables sake, a short break in between listening, you forget what the hell you were listening to before? Odd subtle excuse used often when someone doesn't want to notice changes. Lastly, and I'm a believer only in that it can affect tonality and timbre, and stage dynamics, most of that cannot be measured, especially timbre and stage. That does not come up on graphs, so what a cable MIGHT DO, and i'll addendum that for those who are skeptics or non-believers, it might help make notes rounder, so give bass notes a slight more presence or warmth, might shift the tonality slightly, or lighten or sharpen timbe, and ever so slightly increase stage dynamics, which taken in totality with impedence and alloy, might provide a slight variation in sound characteristics (not sound frequency)? But the video itself was pretty much standard "it didn't measure any different on a graph, impedence was low, and my memory sucks doing an a/b, so I couldn't remember any changes, and if I did, I didn't hear any." Cliff notes version.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

To add slightly to that, I've been buying cables lately for the matching synergy, and if there's sonic synergy, then it's a huge bonus, but last night I bought three more cables for color synergy, and this leaves no stone unturned in my rotation. XINHS & ivipQ have been brilliant with their codes and discounts so that I was able to color synergy and alloy match as close as possible my entire rotation for what it costs for two Effect Audio cables or about $400 for about 15 IEMs roughly?

 

[Knale]

But the video itself was pretty much standard "it didn't measure any different on a graph, impedence was low, and my memory sucks doing an a/b, so I couldn't remember any changes, and if I did, I didn't hear any." Cliff notes version.

I mean this is a fine opinion to hold, but what you just described is ample evidence of no change between cables. No measurable difference + no anecdotal difference = evidence of no change, not evidence of bad methodology.

If we're to the point where we're saying "this is yet another test where a bunch of cables don't measure any different" isn't that just additional evidence of cables not measuring or behaving differently?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Totally diggin' this rig today. Thoroughly awesome sonics.

iFi GO Link MAX + Sony NW-A306 + ISN H60

Earlier it was the Letshuoer S12 (2024), and that was a dandy listen too.

 

[o0genesis0o]

I watched it, and he handled it just like every other dude who either has skepticism or is atheist. Let me measure it, and impedence impedence impedence, with the excuse that the 20 seconds between switching cables immediately creates Alzheimers, in that suddenly for cables sake, a short break in between listening, you forget what the hell you were listening to before? Odd subtle excuse used often when someone doesn't want to notice changes. Lastly, and I'm a believer only in that it can affect tonality and timbre, and stage dynamics, most of that cannot be measured, especially timbre and stage. That does not come up on graphs, so what a cable MIGHT DO, and i'll addendum that for those who are skeptics or non-believers, it might help make notes rounder, so give bass notes a slight more presence or warmth, might shift the tonality slightly, or lighten or sharpen timbe, and ever so slightly increase stage dynamics, which taken in totality with impedence and alloy, might provide a slight variation in sound characteristics (not sound frequency)? But the video itself was pretty much standard "it didn't measure any different on a graph, impedence was low, and my memory sucks doing an a/b, so I couldn't remember any changes, and if I did, I didn't hear any." Cliff notes version.

He made a big deal about how the mighty R8II sounds no different to his ears than the M300, so make of it what you will.

Personally, I can hear changes, but it’s quite unpredictable and strongly dependent on the IEM itself. So far, only @Bosk ‘s theory on the impact of thicker and more wires cables seem to hold across many IEMs to me.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Many of you know I'm a stringent adherer to the source synergy is BOSS belief. I think source rolling is absolutely essential, if not fundamental, to optimize your rotation.

Case in point, the ISN H60, not not necessarily source picky (it actually is not), does have a synergistic magic with the FiiO JM21. It almost sounds as good thru this DAP as it does the N3U. I don't know if the H60 make the JM21 sound like a top tier mid-fi DAP, or the JM21 makes the H60 sound like a top tier mid-fi IEM?! Chicken or the egg? Regardless, there's such a level of synergy sisters there, that even if the JM21 sounded crappy on every other IEM in my rotation (it doesn't), I'd keep it around and not sell it just for how it's matches up sonically with my #2 IEM in my rotation. You can just hear a crystal clear, incisive, and bassy response that you can tell is optimized sonics.

Same idea goes for the Letshuoer S12 (2024) and the Sony NW-A25. Now the S12 (2024) is in fact source picky. It can sound BOSS on some sources, and not so BOSS on others. It's a mixed bag for sure, and I've mentioned that before. Some of you owners might be able to confirm this? But thru the A25, the S12 (2024) are downright addictive. The bass really blossoms, while the upper mids and treble come in very controlled and lacking that planar glare that can show up on some other sources (the S08 is much better at controlling this glare). Midrange is warm and full and incisive, and just synergizes so perfectly with the creamy sonics of house Sony. Again, since I own this DAP, I have no inclination to sell the S12 (2024), as even if I get annoyed with it's playback on another source, I just plug it into the A25, and addiction level is once again attained!

 

[pmichaelro]

Speaking from personal experience alone, I’ve never actually had tubes die on me. Unless it’s your primary device and you plan to run it 24/7/365, there are probably a lot of other things that could go wrong before the tubes do.

The N3 Pro is still going strong - it saw a massive lot of use in its day although less now, because choice - but its tubes show no signs of giving up. The B4-X got fried because I unwittingly rolled a bad op amp in it a few years ago but its tubes are perfectly good. The Kaei Tap-1S’s internal battery died long ago and runs only on PSU now but its tubes are going strong (or maybe they aren’t actually alive anymore and it’s just LEDs glowing; they never sounded particularly tubey anyway). And so on.

So I wouldn’t worry too much. Or if desktop is an option, get something with hotswappable tubes, like one of the Little Dot amps - for “research”.

What’s the drawback about PB5’s charging requirements? Can’t say I’ve tried reading up too much about them for fear of temptation.

But yes, the Nunchaku and D17 are calling already.

Nice to hear no tubes have dies while playing
PB5 doesn't do PD or QC charging. It only takes USB-C to USB-A and 5V slow charging so yeah, 2.5h of slow charging.
And...it stops charging when batteries are full and restarts when the voltage drops below 8V and...there's no way to know what your battery level is since there's nothing on the unit itself that is showing any level - yeah..not necessarily any major downsides from all I've listed since I'm not sure how much it will be moving from the desk but still, good to know what you're getting yourself into beforehand. I always like to do my research before PTT on anything.

Unfortunately, even though I love the ideea of Nunchaku...I think I'm not going to get one for as long as I have the M5U...it makes no sense. Plus, curiously looking forward to receiving all the details about the included DAC, price, etc. It might have made for an interesting DC Elite replacement if it had the same DAC or better + Tubes...but nope as far as we know so far with what was leaked here n there.

He made a big deal about how the mighty R8II sounds no different to his ears than the M300, so make of it what you will.

Personally, I can hear changes, but it’s quite unpredictable and strongly dependent on the IEM itself. So far, only @Bosk ‘s theory on the impact of thicker and more wires cables seem to hold across many IEMs to me.

Yeah...big talk, not so much value in those videos unfortunately. Perhaps because he's not that into settings/options/etc...maybe he just like music for music no matter the setup? That I could understand, but otherwise...yeah, not going to trust what he's saying or watch his videos any further.

So far, all cables that have more strands, are thicker because of that and have some pure/alloy combinations are doing different things to sound. I can tell the difference, even though it might be subtle, it's definitely there. How much is that difference worth the asking price? Yeah...that's another story altogether...I do feel like it might be nice to have more of a TOTL cable (Pyramid VIII) and some diverse combinations of others, comfort, build quality and sound reproduction are primordial from my POV.
For example Nyx Pro is much more comfortable and transportable than Pyramid VIII for sure...there is a loss in sounds Q depending on the IEMs used and source of course, but if comfort is more important in some instances than I can live with it

Pyramid VIII and thick boy cables are good while being more static, desk, bed, etc...
There needs to be a price line above which one wouldn't be comfortable to go in terms of receiving more % in sound Q than in asking price.
1% SQ gain vs 5x price increase for example - not worth it ever from my POV.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

I mean this is a fine opinion to hold, but what you just described is ample evidence of no change between cables. No measurable difference + no anecdotal difference = evidence of no change, not evidence of bad methodology.

If we're to the point where we're saying "this is yet another test where a bunch of cables don't measure any different" isn't that just additional evidence of cables not measuring or behaving differently?

No. That also doesn't hold water, because it's the SAME methodology, assuming that's the way to reach the conclusion. As I stated, and I also say this to measurebators who comstatly make judgements based on IEM graphs, that some changes cannot be seen on a graph. It's nuance. Cable changes are typically nuance. Some folks are more sensitive to nuance. Some are not. As @o0genesis0o mentioned, Mark (who I dig for his reviews and his personality, so let's not get things confused in any way) stated many times he doesn't hear any difference in sound from dap to dap. So are we to believe that no dap sounds different then? So if 4 Mark's make the same claim using the same methodologies, are we to again assume that this is definitive claim that no daps sound differently? If that was the case, I'd have $5,000 in my bank account, because I'd still have my ipod classic and wouldn't need anything else ever. There wasn't any methodology that was used that is any different from the 50 other cable skeptic videos on YT.

I'm not saying his experience and his response isn't valid to his own world. What I said and what that means is..."he used the same rigs every other skeptic used, so sure, it's most likely going to get a repeat performance, and using those means doesn't mean there aren't changes present, because graphs can't tell you nuance and stage and timbre."

As far as him not hearing any changes. That's cool. Most of the time, my experiences come close to that, depending on the cable and the IEM used. Sometimes, it's more noticeable and nuanced. YMMV.

 

[cobrabucket]

... unless I get lucky in Vegas, then I'm buying both that same day AND flexing on all of you...

Hmm. You do know that could be interpreted a few different ways, right??
Especially in reference to Vegas...

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

So far, all cables that have more strands, are thicker because of that and have some pure/alloy combinations are doing different things to sound. I can tell the difference, even though it might be subtle, it's definitely there. How much is that difference worth the asking price? Yeah...that's another story altogether...I do feel like it might be nice to have more of a TOTL cable (Pyramid VIII) and some diverse combinations of others, comfort, build quality and sound reproduction are primordial from my POV.
For example Nyx Pro is much more comfortable and transportable than Pyramid VIII for sure...there is a loss in sounds Q depending on the IEMs used and source of course, but if comfort is more important in some instances than I can live with it

Pyramid VIII and thick boy cables are good while being more static, desk, bed, etc...
There needs to be a price line above which one wouldn't be comfortable to go in terms of receiving more % in sound Q than in asking price.
1% SQ gain vs 5x price increase for example - not worth it ever from my POV.

Well said my friend. Very well said.