The discovery thread!

[Jaytiss]

I'll show some love alright....when I get my unit in the mail!

Hopefully I'm making this face when I'm listening to it.....???

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@Redcarmoose - I'm counting on it. I hope you do, just like you did with the Sound Rhyme SP01. So if the hyperbole is spot on, then we all win!

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@o0genesis0o - fun tuning always wins out. Almost every popular IEM from this last CanJam got praised for being BASSY, fun, and strong midrange. I hardly heard of anyone praising neutral or analytical sets.

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I've said this several times before....one impression is just an isolated opinion, but two, three, four is a trend. @Jaytiss @Cinder and @Redcarmoose , this is a trend, so it seems the Aether is bringing some special sauce that the Timeless II didn't seem to have, or the FiiO FP3 (who remembers that one? No? I boomeranged that 3 years of research planar garbage in a couple days).

I hear positive things from Paul Wasabi and Omar from Audio Amigo. It's early for me, but it's easily the best budget planar I've heard and very impressive. The micro details are super nice. Tonality might not be for everyone, but damn. I need to A/B a bunch but just listening.... so good.

 

[Barndoor]

I'm more curious about DAC, DAP, and amplifier nowadays. It's fun to see how the neutral IEMs respond to different chains. Hopefully I can find affordable R2R and tube this year.

Not tempted by the offer on the ACRO CA1000T at A2A?

That got me thinking that I'm going to have to try to find an XLR output to 4.4mm cable to use my R2R EF600 with the tubes of the ACRO. Is that possible given XLR's have 3 pins per channel? Edit: To answer my own question, yes it is fine. One of the XLR pins is for ground. 4.4mm has a ground and sharing it is fine with no risk of damage to either device.

 

[pradiptacr7]

I'll show some love alright....when I get my unit in the mail!

Hopefully I'm making this face when I'm listening to it.....???

Hope so. Waiting for your take. I recommend using the Coaxial/Optical Input for the best performance. Also try the alternate sound profile.

 

[mrsergey]

Actually you can make fun of me all you want. But the look on your faces, both of your faces when you hear the Aether for the first time will be one of stern shock, like one of amazement, and disbelief, thus serious!

Any time something shows up to dismantle the general idea of value and questions the whole industry, it is met with hostility first, then later acceptance...................

You are genius.
You made me want to buy the Aether just to prove you wrong and if indeed they gonna be amazing for me then it will be a great purchase.
either way, I can't lose.

 

[atechreviews]

those that are unique enough to buy in various price categories.

There are a some IEMs that have a similar sound signatures, but for me, there are three that stand out with their unique sound: 1. AFUL Explorer 2. PULA Anvil 114 3. DUNU DK3001-BD.

Are you planning to visit Canjam SG this time?

No plans for now.

Daybreak for me. More bass, mids, and treble, so nicely balanced. It's Mark's choice as well.

Daybreak looks the most appealing for me as well.

All three IEMs have great tuning, but the Daybreak definitely looks the most appealing to me.

The cutting edge MEMS-3

the resolution of this IEM is indeed out of this world.

Can't wait to hear more of your thoughts on this. It's such an interesting IEM, and who knows, maybe we will similar IEMs in the future. I know we're going off memory here, but do you think the resolution is better than the Storm?

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Fun, but within limit You can come up with something quite disgusting to listen when you butcher the midrange.

The other day I put together the graphs of all latest state of the art IEMs with some level of enduring success. Surprise surprise, the tonal signature of them distribute within a bound around common targets (I picked Harman IE2019 for my test). A bit of deliberate boost here, a bit of deliberate cut there, paired with real bass extension and treble extension, centered around a sensible midrange seems like the key. Which sensible midrange? Not surprisingly, it's something similar looking to Supernova's signature ("Meta"?), maybe a bit more or a bit less contrast depending on taste.

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Re: CanJam praise: I think folks going there have plenty of neutral, detail monsters IEMs in the past that it's no longer a big deal anymore. I mean, you can have all sorts of colouring, but how many ways to do neutral, detail monsters can you make Even I don't look for neutral with superb technical performance anymore due to having U12T and Cantor. Yes, STORM beats both of them by a large margin and thus a real "upgrade", but it's too expensive and rare, so it's more like an aspiration rather than something I actively try to get. Something different like Terra, or the plain old Sony IER-Z1R though? Yes please.

I'm more curious about DAC, DAP, and amplifier nowadays. It's fun to see how the neutral IEMs respond to different chains. Hopefully I can find affordable R2R and tube this year.

That was my 2024. Ramping up my source gear. So far so good in 2025. First the Nunchaku and the Clarinet on the way.

I had so many neutral and analytical IEMs, that I recently sold, and I find myself leaning towards more "fun" tunings, or balanced tunings. I'm ever evolving, as I get the privilege of hearing better IEMs.

I hear positive things from Paul Wasabi and Omar from Audio Amigo. It's early for me, but it's easily the best budget planar I've heard and very impressive. The micro details are super nice. Tonality might not be for everyone, but damn. I need to A/B a bunch but just listening.... so good.

I got 5 planar IEMs, and the tonality is all over the place with each one, so shouldn't be a bother for me?

 

[Redcarmoose]

You are genius.
You made me want to buy the Aether just to prove you wrong and if indeed they gonna be amazing for me then it will be a great purchase.
either way, I can't lose.

Enjoy!

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Hope so. Waiting for your take. I recommend using the Coaxial/Optical Input for the best performance. Also try the alternate sound profile.

Thanks for the insight. I'm going to go through your review, and I purchased a couple optical and coax interconnects, so I'm set.

 

[Redcarmoose]

 

[DestinoAzell]

BQEYZ FROST

My Personal Take On It (Sound impressions only):
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/bqeyz-frost.27696/review/37180/

Do take my words for what it’s worth. Afterall, I am just one man.╮(╯▽╰)╭Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading!

 

[nikbr]

Linsoul

All of you snapping up those Aether's might want to wait for more reviews to roll in first, before we get a repeat of a fiasco from about a year ago? But hey, it's not my money.

Quite impressive really. Can this thing really be all that different to what we're used to from 14.Xmm planar drivers? If only it looked like anything too and they stopped pasting their logo all over the faceplates.

You are genius.
You made me want to buy the Aether just to prove you wrong and if indeed they gonna be amazing for me then it will be a great purchase.
either way, I can't lose.

His ways are well-oiled by now. Can't deny their efficacy. Sometimes for the better, other times for the worse.

 

[MudEnjoyer]

Be careful mate, I'm pretty sure I didn't have that ringing sound in my ears before I daily drive E5000 for 3 months.

To be fair, I believe maining the E5000 for months gave me super hearing in the high frequencies.

 

[GREQ]

Listening with the Aether in the office today, and it's making it SO difficult to concentrate... I should put these away, but I can't!!

 

[Redcarmoose]

Quite impressive really. Can this thing really be all that different to what we're used to from 14.Xmm planar drivers? If only it looked like anything too and they stopped pasting their logo all over the faceplates.


His ways are well-oiled by now. Can't deny their efficacy. Sometimes for the better, other times for the worse.

Cheers!

 

[bithalver]

I was an audiophile before you were born, maybe even before your Father was born.

Please ! You are better than to do this attack !