I talked to some guys about the Campfire TWS and they said it did not sound better than the Noble TWS family. Problem is the new TWS is still just a notch below the Fokus Pro in sound but better in everything else (ANC, calls, Bluetooth). Additional problem is the sound is what I am seeking and Noble, Audio46, and Bloom are out of stock of the Fokus Pro.
Diaphragm is thicker than the 3.8mm of CRA but still thin. Semi-custom resin shell with metal nozzle and faceplate. Separate 3D printed internal sound guides, why not incorporate on shell? Graph looks okay (yes I know it's only manufacturer supplied). Looks distinctive. How much and what does it actually sound like?Just gonna put a "legendary" iem here
I don't know how i have these pic either hahhaa
The name is DQs
I have been to China and South Korea, but I have not been to Vietnam. My wife hasn't been there since she was 8. I believe she has a sister and brother living in Vietnam but her parents died when she was young.Hey just a quick check for Vietnamese... Ask your wife to crack an apple only using her hands
To provide more info about warm harman tuned IEMs,
And the next " 'Twas I all along!" reveal, the HEXA perhaps? Would not suprise me...
HEXA’s bass floor is a bit lower than Crin’s favorite L-lift though. But as he valued Yume’s low bass floor, maybe that’s happening too.
Pandamon is the second set of in-ear monitors from Celest, a sister brand to Kinera. The pair houses the second generation of Kinera’s self-developed Square Planar Driver unit. I just got the package today, These are my very short impressions(about 2-3 hours given to the set only). Please take these impressions with a grain of sale, they might or might not change after burn-in. I personally believe Planar drivers change their sound after a few hours of Burn-in. So, let’s begin.
Before I begin a short disclaimer:-
I received Celest Pandamon from Hifigo as a review sample. Please be assured, a free sample doesn’t mean I will praise the set unnecessarily. I will be honest throughout this post. You can check more details on the HiFiGo website from the link below:-
https://hifigo.com/products/kinera-celest-pandamon
Design & Build:-
Some might find the Pandamon aggressive looking, but I find it amazing. It’s going to look great on me when I go to the gym with its striking design. The pair itself has got hard-plastic resin inner cavity and metallic face cover. It’s open-back and has grills on the face cover area. The main attraction is an aggressive demon-like face that is printed on the face covers.
Pandamon has got a small form factor, the fit is comfortable with the set. Isolation-wise, good enough for an open-back design. It’s not properly isolating but doesn’t introduce all the sound from outside either.
Driving:-
It’s like gumbo. Sounds decently out of all-kind of the sources, I am currently using it with my MacBook Pro with about 40% volume only. On my SE200 I was at 80/150 volume, so about 50%. Pandamon synergizes better with ESS DACs in my opinion(Tried it with AKM and ESS on the SE200).
Sound Impressions:-
Pandamon sounds euphonic, it’s sweet and rich in its presentation. The bass is very decent, has more mid-bass than sub-bass, the spread of the lower end is quite good. Pandamon suits Bollywood music really well. Midrange is lush and rich. Vocals sound pleasant and have good clarity to them. Treble has decent details. I don’t find any kind of harshness or sibilance yet.
Transient speed of Pandamon is also quite good, it has smooth transitions between frequencies, Celest has done a good job in tuning the set. Another thing that has instantly impressed me about the Pandamon is its immersive 3D soundstage presentation. Initially, I am quite impressed with Pandamon. The set performs decent, it shows good potential. I like its punchy sound!!!
Celest Pandamon vs Celest Gumiho:-
How well does the latest Pandamon stand against the elder sibling Gumiho?? I recently reviewed the Gumiho as well on Head-Fi. It’s an amazing set with good clarity and details. The latest Pandamon stands good with its sibling. They both deliver impressive sound, Gumiho on one hand has a tad bit better-resolving characteristics, Pandamon has a lusher midrange. Here’s my take on them:-
>Pandamon has a lusher, richer sound, especially midrange.
>Gumiho has more punch to its lower end. It sounds tighter as well, Pandamon has more spread. Depth is more or less similar IMO.
>Pandamon has more accurate tonality, especially for vocals and midrange. Gumiho has a little brightness to its tonality.
>Pandamon’s stage is also more 3D, and more immersive.
>Gumiho has more fun with its sound, Pandamon sounds more balanced in comparison.
>Pandamon also sounds smoother than the Gumiho to my ears.
>Gumiho has more details in my opinion.
Final Words:-
These are just my initial impressions based on just 2-3 hours of enjoying the Pandamon. I was thinking to make a video of this, but I have a few busy days incoming and will complete some pending reviews during that time. Pandamon with my initial listen sounds amazing will surely post a complete review in the upcoming week once I burn this unit in properly. Hope you guys enjoyed these short impressions of mine, please leave me a like if you do!!
Thanks!!
First time seeing heyday chart.Thanks for the impressions man!
While I generally value sound over looks for an IEM, this Pandamon IEM takes the cake when it comes to aesthetics. No offence to the designers, but I won't dare to wear this outdoors! Maybe teenager audiophiles might like the design though, different strokes for different folks.
I'm not sure if they will be releasing a shell which is just plain white or black, then perhaps I may consider getting it.
FWIW, I think this Pandamon IEM will make a good pairing with the XDUOO Poke DAP - both have cartoonish designs.
Zetian Wu is very different from the usual crop of planar releases this year. While most planar IEMs are technical kings, with lightning quick transients and top-notch resolution, a lot of them suffer from a less natural timbral accuracy, perhaps due to these rapid transients that cause a lack of natural decay.
So the Zetian Wu is quite damped and has a bit lesser resolution than say the Timeless or the S12. But it has arguably the best timbral accuracy of the planar rivals, and it sports a very well-balanced U-shaped tonality. Very safe treble. Planar rivals aside, the Zetian Wu still has better resolution than some other driver type IEMs at that price range, but I think it is pretty all-rounded.
Graph of Zetian Wu using IEC711 coupler. 8 khz area is a coupler artefact peak.
There's a HBB Heyday Zetian Wu collab coming out soon, which has quite a lot of differences compared to the predecessor:
I think consumers were a bit miffed that the 7Hz Timeless AE and S12 Pro just had some minor differences in tuning (eg 3 dB bass boost) and a modular cable added. Then they upped the price for these small differences.
Well I hope someone gets the Zetian Wu Heyday soon to verify if these differences are legit.
First time seeing heyday chart.
Ah it’s not Wu anymore. The litte but essentially what made Wu to sound emotional, the beautiful bass shelf, and 4khz little spice is gone. It’s like wiping off Wu’s Make ups.
From this
To this
That’s basically Mele /Cadenza in a form of Planar now… nice and well balanced. Easy-listening warm-harman.
Tangzu…why…you’ve got pride in that tuning…sad.
Look at the new Zetian Wu Heyday packaging:
Even the waifu for the Heydey looks more badass compared to the original Wu Zetian.
https://www.facebook.com/tangzuaudi...sDrtaadjAjyqBdGzpHyXkftZ36VYZW6XKxs524UZQ2xyl
That totally made sense!
Brilliant comparison - loved it!To provide more info about warm harman tuned IEMs,
I will update the ones fall on the same passage.
I have no affiliation with any of those IEM brands, no business incentives to hype or bash any of those. Purely from entertaining purpose.
Purpose: to prevent poor souls believed HBB and bought Cadenza, come up with
“oh, not bad. But that’s it?”
“Is that all best sub$50 has to offer?”
Aria, Lea, Cadenza.
Is Cadenza really sub$50 king? Nay.
Why Lea is underrated? Some of IEM reviewers got the cable hooked with negative polarity. Check images on Internet.
And check Images from Tripowin official.
L/R should have faced outward, not inward.
Why I noticed this?
I hooked it wrong way as well. Common sense, you don’t want to have L/R appears on the face plate side.
I hooked it negative polarity and noticed it didn’t sound right. Image is inside your head. Then I looked up Tripowin’s website, noticed that L/R indicator has to be facing outward. Fixed polarity, then Lea will be “a-lea” descendant.
Technical expressions:
Aria>Lea >>Cadenza
Overall tonal balance:
Cadenza > Aria > Lea
Timbre consistency : harmonic distortion
Aria > Lea >>Cadenza
My preference: tuning x technicality
Aria > Lea ≧ Cadenza
All used stock cable, and Softears UC(L) to reveal technical performance.
*My Aria is modded (dumper filter removed)
Fairly similar tuning families.
In-depth review performed score for
Modded Aria (81/100: A-)
Random quick rating
Lea ( B+ ) ; slightly behind Aria, but fairly close. 90% Aria spec.
In-depth review performed score for
Moondrop Starfield (75/100: B)
Cadenza (B- ); Tonality-wise well balanced, driver spec is just the average or slightly above average DD.
Why Cademza sales volume flies like crazy…?
It’s surely well-balanced in terms of Tonal Balance. But Lea and Aria is far better in terms of technicalities, a different class one. The best Cadenza’s tech can reach is C, while Lea and Aria is in B-range. It will become more evident for details articulation. Cadenza has its articulation cap and cymbals crash has some rough textures compared to more detail Lea and Aria.
Kiwi Ears got a good marketing team that’s for sure.
Just a heads up. Cadenza surely isn’t bad. And if tonality is all you’d care it’s a good choice. If you are OK with rough textured detail articulation and loose and slow sounding bass compared more reaonably priced Triwopin’s Lea ($23).
Or maybe you could find Aria deal for around $50.
For Macro dynamism listners Maybe Cadenza’s tonal balance would be the best fit for you.
For Macro/Micro balanced listner, Lea/Aria will be a good balanced one.
For Micro detail oriented listners,
Chu is a better solution here.
I only have one silver cable, but I like the Allure with a number of aftermarket cables. The CS819 is one of the best I've tested so far. The CS819 is a hybrid cable. Mostly I have silver and copper hybrid cables, plus gold and copper. Don't think I've tried a pure silver yet?
Oh, that’s a great looking cable.
Haha that’s a tough question, my pick is Markers Mark from KentuckyBrilliant comparison - loved it!
In other news, a question popped up in my mind - Are you a Bourbon or a Tennessee?
