The discovery thread!

[Jaytiss]

Copied from LETSHUOER Facebook post:

Sneak Peek! New LETSHUOER IEMs?
Through the Mist, Into the Starlight
Experience the Sound of Iridescence

Loading:■■■□□□□□□□30%

Get ready to meet the LETSHUOER Mystic 8. With 8 BA drivers, this new series is designed to take your listening experience to a whole different feelings！

Stay tuned as more details will be revealed soon!
https://letshuoer.net/products/lets...em-hifi-earphones-8-ba-drivers-in-ear-monitor

#LETSHUOER #Mystic8 #NewSeries #HiFiAudio #ComingSoon #LETSHUOER #HiFiAudio #Audiophile #letshuoer #earphone #iem #hifi #audiophile



I have some more information that I will share once Im allowed to share more, teaser it is good

Nice! It's only 9999 dollars! Deal of the Century, I'll probably buy 2. HA!

I like that Panther, reminds me Guenhwyvar from the Drizzit series.

Also, I know a certain reviewer from um.... an island state who will be very happy about those branded drivers!

 

[activatorfly]

Honestly, I find both boring. EW300 has a bit better bass, but both just have unnatural treble for my ears. Maybe I've just been spoiled by all the other amazing sets out there, even at lower price points.

I'm still considering the EW300...(despite selling the SM4.) Which cheaper sets in particular do you reckon outshine the Simgot? I'm always on the lookout for budget "unsafe" disruptor sets tbf!

 

[RedCurry]

Folks, I hear the Moondrop Meteor is another good one. Might be worth keeping an eye on.

 

[thaslaya]

January 27th will be the one-year anniversary of my first posted review here on Head-fi, and what a year it's been! Thanks to tours and some very kind friends, I have been able to demo and review some high-end IEMs and headphones that I never would have thought possible when I started this journey. This community has been so supportive, and I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for their words of encouragement and even their criticism! I have learned a lot about my own preferences and hopefully have become a better reviewer over time. In an effort to give something back, I am doing a giveaway of the Letshuoer S08 unit that I reviewed last year. The drawing will be open from today until January 27th at midnight PST. To enter, simply click the link for the classifieds listing here and leave a comment. Unfortunately, due to shipping costs, it is only open to those in the US. For anyone interested in offering additional support, I encourage you to follow my Instagram and blog, but it is not a requirement for participation. Thanks again to you all, and good luck!

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

On the topic of tinnitus and hearing loss and stuff, my family literally doesn’t care about their hearing whatsoever. I’m serious. They’ve never worn earplugs to concerts, my father used to listen with his Sony XM4s (in ears) so loud, I could hear it from across the sofa, and whenever I remind them about protecting their hearing they say “oh my gosh you’re so paranoid stop overreacting” or something like that.
I’m genuinely worried for them.

Lots of love,
Tinnitus non-sufferer (thank gosh)


I half agree. There’s a bunch of IEMs that are egregiously overpriced like the Annihilator 2023, but the Cantor’s sound is priceless to me. It’s underpriced imo.


That reminds me, where would you put the Cantor on your list of enjoyment? Above or below the Cadenza 4?


Don’t tell me putting waifus on faceplates is gonna become a trend…

The Softears Volume S are out for delivery, so I'm gonna hold off on an overall ranking until those arrive and get some ear time, then I'll do a 4 way comparo between the AFUL Cantor, Softears Volume S, Letshuoer Cadenza, and Dunu Brain Dance, the clarity quartet? Might throw in the Pula 81T as well as a clarity quintet? Should be fun, and at that time, I should be able to decide which I prefer? Cantor or Cadenza 4 (though just overall the Cantor has a brighter energy vibe while the C4 has a more chill energy vibe).

 

[Jaytiss]

Ya this new Moondrop could be the best thing under $2k, but there's no way I'm rocking the waifu shells.

I feel like my kids would make fun of me if I had those iems in ear. Someone said they were basshead iems, which is even funnier to me. The idea of the bassheads getting super waifu shells just cracks me up.

"Bruh, what I like BASS and waifus? What's wrong with that?"

 

[InvisibleInk]

I think every IEM above, say, $2500 is overpriced. That kind of money is unreasonable for any IEM IMO.

Unless that kind of money is just burning a hole in your pocket. For some of us, that kind of money is chump change. And for them, charity begins at home...

 

[RedCurry]

I'm curious about comparisons between the Cantor and the Prismatica - has anyone compared them?

I listened to them separately so my memory might be a bit fuzzy. But what I clearly recall is the Prismatica has a more dynamic, energetic and fun tuning. More bass presence too. It's quite a technical set too but I can't tell you whether it's superior in that area to the Cantor without A/B.

 

[Ineras]

I'm still considering the EW300...(despite selling the SM4.) Which cheaper sets in particular do you reckon outshine the Simgot? I'm always on the lookout for budget "unsafe" disruptor sets tbf!

Zenith immediately comes to mind because it's so new. EM6L and Artti R1 when on sale, Sgor Luna, Aurora Ultra, maybe TD08 Pro for V-shaped. Talking about my ears though, I'm sure others would disagree with my take on the EW300.

 

[Syan25]

You're a funny man. If I was any more anonymous, I would be underground.

All I know is when you come to Yorkshire, I'll be expecting an autograph.

 

[activatorfly]

You're a funny man. If I was any more anonymous, I would be underground.

Underground is where it's at....err well it used to be....is mainstream now akin to the new "cool underground" scene??

 

[Syan25]

Underground is where it's at....err well it used to be....is mainstream now akin to the new "cool underground" scene??

Most probably...

 

[activatorfly]

The Softears Volume S are out for delivery, so I'm gonna hold off on an overall ranking until those arrive and get some ear time, then I'll do a 4 way comparo between the AFUL Cantor, Softears Volume S, Letshuoer Cadenza, and Dunu Brain Dance, the clarity quartet? Might throw in the Pula 81T as well as a clarity quintet? Should be fun, and at that time, I should be able to decide which I prefer? Cantor or Cadenza 4 (though just overall the Cantor has a brighter energy vibe while the C4 has a more chill energy vibe).

Maybe the "SE VS" will have a more 70's vibe?? LOL>

 

[GroovyAudio]

The Softears Volume S are out for delivery, so I'm gonna hold off on an overall ranking until those arrive and get some ear time, then I'll do a 4 way comparo between the AFUL Cantor, Softears Volume S, Letshuoer Cadenza, and Dunu Brain Dance, the clarity quartet? Might throw in the Pula 81T as well as a clarity quintet? Should be fun, and at that time, I should be able to decide which I prefer? Cantor or Cadenza 4 (though just overall the Cantor has a brighter energy vibe while the C4 has a more chill energy vibe).

Throw Aful P7 as well, please.

 

[MakeItWain]

So, I woke up this morning and couldn't help myself. Just my own ramblings. Ignore me if you don't want my philosophical takes.

In my opinion, iems shouldn't cost more than $300 (i said it before) no matter how good they are unless they made from very expensive material like silver or gold.

So, I'm usually not one to dictate or debate opinions, but I will say that it's tough to put out a line that there's a catch all price point that IEMs shouldn't cross. When I first started listening to like the Zero Reds of the world, I would have argued it doesn't make sense for IEMs to cost more than $50. But, over time and with more exposure, you really get some interesting technology, drivers, implementation, and special sauce. That's really where the price increase comes from.

Now, is that justifiable for every single person? Nope. Can you find your dragon at $300? For certain flavors, your dragon could end up being the Deuce. Or the Arcadia/Odyssey. Or the Performer(2^3)-1.

Where the hobby is interesting/and or the most dangerous is curiosity. This is the wallet killer. This is your goal post mover. Some people can be curious without moving the goal posts. Others will be curious, try the next level up, and now their goal posts have moved.

That's me in this case. I didn't think or believe in kilobucks until I tried the Diva and Anni. In fact, I tried out FiR Audio's E10 and E12 as my first kilobuck reviews and was extremely disappointed. Once I tried the Diva/Anni, my mindset really started to change. And then, I tried my favorite set (the FiR Audio RN6 which stole my heart right after the E10 and E12 made me weary).

So, yeah, I do think there's justification for IEMs to be higher priced when they do something unique/different/provide that extra performance. But, that's just my subjective opinion and take.

I've also basically permanently removed the entire price element to my reviews simply because I think the argument for keeping that as a pro/con element just kind of doesn't make sense considering it's basically shuttering off people who -can- afford it, want to get an opinion, and probably don't need to see me going "But, yes, it's pricey" in it. I also feel like I'd basically need to point it out in every single review going forward just so that I stay consistent in things I write or make a video about.

You are totally right. Very curious release indeed. When 64 audio goes Chinese OEM way with the Aspire4, they didn’t even manage to reach such low price. I wonder how Noble would pull this off.

The thing about high end listeners, at least the ones I know, is that they don’t say “it’s cheap so it’s no good” nor “need to spend this much to sound good”. They fully acknowledge and embrace the diminishing return. In other words, different mentality from folks who go around and ridicule them (“my $10 IEM measures perfect compare to your $5000 IEM, I’m very smart, you are so stupid, I weep for you”). So, I think it’s unlikely people would question Noble Kublai Khan, Spartacus, and up because they can release a nice $300 IEM.

How nice is the big question. Elysian set a benchmark for big brands doing budget offerings. But, AFUL and whatever shadowy OEM behind Juzears, Pula, etc., are putting much pressure on this mid-fi market. The name “noble” or “elysian” alone is not enough.

Yeah, I'm super curious about what they've done to reduce the price. Likely, trickled down some of their older tech, maybe, with tuning to justify?

I also imagine that one of the best things the Pilgrim/Deuce (even the Project M) did was show that there's a market for some of the higher end MFGs releasing a sub-$500 IEM to give them a good taste of what they can offer.

I half agree. There’s a bunch of IEMs that are egregiously overpriced like the Annihilator 2023, but the Cantor’s sound is priceless to me. It’s underpriced imo.

Man as much as i love the Cantor, Annie has a special place in my heart.

Take it with a grain of salt. I haven’t heard it. I’m going off what I’ve seen online. I didn’t mean to offend anyone
I think every IEM above, say, $2500 is overpriced. That kind of money is unreasonable for any IEM IMO. The reason I mentioned the Anni in particular was because it was the first IEM in that price range that came to mind.

Kind of a repeat of my above rant, and probably what stirred me to offer my own two cents.

I -love- the Anni. I know it's not for everyone but I love it. Can I justify buying it? It's hard but I could. Will I? Probably not. Would I ever begrudge people who would buy it? Absolutely not. And would I ever begrudge people who didn't like it (like @thaslaya)? Of course not. Anni definitely wasn't released for the general public in mind. I definitely get it, it's pricey for most of the general population.

In a way, you can make the argument that no IEM should ever be over a certain price threshold ($300, $500, $700, $1k) and make arguments that absolutely make sense. Objectively, nothing should cost that much. Like cars shouldn't cost more than a Honda Civic since it only really takes you from point A to B, right? Or you should be fine with just a general Hisense TV, why would you buy an LG OLED or Sony? Or a projector? But, this is such a subjective hobby. Again, objectively things shouldn't cost this much. Subjectively, though, bring on the fun stuff. I may not be able to buy them all but I can appreciate them.

But, yeah, I think it's really important to get the opportunity to try them out before you fully discount or write off some higher end sets.

If we only ever saw IEMs that only had the same driver count and only cost $200 and didn't try to do anything unique, different, had different switches, implementation with BCDs (I think higher end sets first used these before it trickled down), different experiments, this hobby would be... Freaking boring. And it would lose some charm of having those moments of bliss when you listen to something new/different (price be damned) and can share in how it made you feel, share with our audio friends that this was great. Or not even to share those things, since ultimately it's about how those gears made you feel.