The discovery thread!

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

PoE 2 is really good for those who like to bang their head against a wall like some people here who bought Cantor and DC-E. But killing that damn boss felt like killing a mythic raid boss after weeks of progression. Really fun with buddies as well, up to 6 people in party, gets pretty chaotic.

Why are there still no Kiwi Ears Punch reviews out?

Or the Heartfield Silberia. That thing was first annouced in August. xMems without the charger. It's been up on Linsoul for months, yet Heartfield has hawked their R1 dac, Blanc and Deer, yet nothing on the Silberia. Does it actually exist? Anyone have it?

 

[saldsald]

Late to the party

Wow. These things don't shake the shell at all unless you crank them up to distortion level. Very interested in knowing how Sonion actually measured the graph without amplification by the shell.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

If you just count “macro resolution”, like the incisiveness and separation in busy recording, it’s really hard to go higher than Cantor. If you consider micro details and nuances, then something like Penon Voltage is already a small step up due to the EST.

But it’s moot, tbh. It’s (and other good kilobucks) already so detailed and incisive that improving on that front does not create much value.

Also, thanks for compelling me to have my Hiby R3 II go naked lol I saw you didn't have the protective case on yours, and so I decided to take mine off while using it's sd card, and now I like how the metal and glass feels in the hand, so I kept it off.

 

[Redcarmoose]

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Not many will rank their sources here, so I decided I was gonna attempt it. I have the Shanling M1 Plus arriving on Wednesday, so this might change, and I decided to only list the sources I actually use on the regular, so no Sansa's or ipods on this list.

1. Cayin N3 Ultra - This is my go to dap for just about everything. Used so much, my wife even noticed it.

2. Hiby R3 II - Might not be the most resolving, or have the widest stage, or be the most technical, but it's as musical as the TOOBS, and the battery lasts long! I love this dap so much!

3. iBasso DX170 - This is the dap I use when I want the largest stage with the fullest sound signature. None of my daps come close. This is the concert hall dap.

4. iBasso DC Elite - What can I say? When I want to supercharge a dap or my phone, this gets tethered, and I'm in supercharged mode.

5. Sony NW-A306 + Little Bear B4-X - My raw TOOBS with my Sony house sound = the most musical adventure in sources. Warm, creamy, technical, and musical.

6. Sony NW-A55/A45/A25 - The Sony House sound in a nutshell. Simply addictive. Musical and technical, hampered only by it's generally intimate stage and lack of power.

7. Hidizs AP80 Pro X - My mighty tiny. The brightest rig, but still has a mighty fine signature, and tethered to the DCE, it synergizes fantastically.

8. FiiO JM21 - The newest member of the group. Probably the best Bluetooth receiver of the bunch. Also the snappiest interface. Almost as bright as the AP80 Pro X with a wider soundstage with depth.

9. Cowon Plenue J - Best EQ functions. Bright and bassy. Terrible battery life. Only reads 128GB cards. 64BG internal storage. Small and powerful. Used to be my #1.

10. Hiby R1 - SUCK.

 

[mrsergey]

The Pula Anvil is going on sale at HiFiGo for $174.00. That is brinks Truck THEFT for the level of performance and BCD goodness you get at the $199.00 regular asking price. Seriously, $25.00 off is THEFT!

Pula Anvil 114 at HiFiGo

It's nice, but i was hoping for penon turbo discount.
I really wanted to buy them this month.
I could've got them last month for $395 but i already purchased many iems during that month.
I hope there's gonna be discount for them again during the winter sale.
This month I'm gonna buy the simgot EW300 DSP, blon bl03 2nd generation and maybe the DC elite (i still didn't decided).

 

[BS5711]

A legendary performance to get your Mondays going.

I will see your two legends and raise you several more.

As one of the YT comments says, Prince with the greatest “hold my beer” moment in rock history

 

[Redcarmoose]

Timeless II update:
Well after two days of burn-in the Timeless II is coming alive. I found my original shallow wide bore "donuts".......the ear-tips I have used for countless reviews actually fit. At only 6 grams they fit wonderful! But now the stage is even bigger, I tried the bullet nozzles, but since have reverted back to stock. The improvement seems to be treble details and expansion into and even bigger stage, with these ear-tips. This is truly a blast, and one of my most favorite IEM experiences of the year.

Breaking news:
SIMGOT AUDIO ET214 release will be delayed by a little while, so even though mine arrives to me tomorrow, I need to wait before publishing a review. This could be taken many different ways, as maybe they will retune it, or go with the tune...........it is at? While HBB didn't like it. others really did like the tune. Laughably if HBB doesn't like a tune, that may mean I will love it. A careful and reserved ET214 bass and a brighter stance on resolve!

 

[mrsergey]

Not many will rank their sources here, so I decided I was gonna attempt it. I have the Shanling M1 Plus arriving on Wednesday, so this might change, and I decided to only list the sources I actually use on the regular, so no Sansa's or ipods on this list.

1. Cayin N3 Ultra - This is my go to dap for just about everything. Used so much, my wife even noticed it.

2. Hiby R3 II - Might not be the most resolving, or have the widest stage, or be the most technical, but it's as musical as the TOOBS, and the battery lasts long! I love this dap so much!

3. iBasso DX170 - This is the dap I use when I want the largest stage with the fullest sound signature. None of my daps come close. This is the concert hall dap.

4. iBasso DC Elite - What can I say? When I want to supercharge a dap or my phone, this gets tethered, and I'm in supercharged mode.

5. Sony NW-A306 + Little Bear B4-X - My raw TOOBS with my Sony house sound = the most musical adventure in sources. Warm, creamy, technical, and musical.

6. Sony NW-A55/A45/A25 - The Sony House sound in a nutshell. Simply addictive. Musical and technical, hampered only by it's generally intimate stage and lack of power.

7. Hidizs AP80 Pro X - My mighty tiny. The brightest rig, but still has a mighty fine signature, and tethered to the DCE, it synergizes fantastically.

8. FiiO JM21 - The newest member of the group. Probably the best Bluetooth receiver of the bunch. Also the snappiest interface. Almost as bright as the AP80 Pro X with a wider soundstage with depth.

9. Cowon Plenue J - Best EQ functions. Bright and bassy. Terrible battery life. Only reads 128GB cards. 64BG internal storage. Small and powerful. Used to be my #1.

10. Hiby R1 - SUCK.

I'm gonna rank my sources as well:

1. LG V60 - the phone with the best sound quality.
It has sound quality on the level of high tier Dap and it's fully functional and powerful phone as well.
It even have display port and i used it to connect my AR glasses.
It can drive easily all my iems without a dongle or dsp cable.
All my iems sound excellent on this phone.
Unfortunately, the battery is dead.

2. Fiio M17 - it work like magic. It makes the sound in most of my iems very "open", sometimes too "open" and i don't like it.
When the soundstage is too big, sometimes it's become less fun for me...

You know what, it's too much writing.
I just gonna rank them really fast and that's it:
1. LG V60 (the best).
2. Fiio M17 (half amazing, half good).
3. Cayin N3Ultra (sick).
4. Hiby R4 (great).
5. Tempotec V3 (great).
6. Cowon plenue D3 (good).
7.Astell & Kern JR (ok).
8. Sony walkman NW-A55 (ok).
9. Fiio X1 (2nd generation) (suck).
10. Ruizu A50 ().

honorable mention: Iriver H320 (brand new, never used).

 

[Redcarmoose]

Arcadia review portion:

"Comparisons:
ZiiGaat X HBB Arcadia Hybrid v 7Hz Timeless II Planar:
Actually I did this comparison section at the very end of the review timeline. Doing it last seemed to send home all my ideas and concepts regarding the Arcadia IEM. And since these ideas are of utmost value, I figure I will put this comparison at the front. Both are almost the same price as the Arcadia is $199.00 and the Timeless II is $229.00. Now normally I like Hybrids more than Planar IEMs. It is just as everyone knows, tune is more important than methodology of build at times.

There can also be a personal affinity to a combination of tone and technicalities, which results in maybe liking the Timeless II bass better because of the amount, but also its pace character………….do you see where I’m going with this?

ZiiGaat X HBB Arcadia Hybrid v 7Hz Timeless II Planar:
The setup for these tests is the Sony WM1A with MrWalkman’s firmware, the included cable on the Timeless II, and the 4.4mm SIMGOT AUDIO LC7 on the Arcadia, both using the new NiceHCK C04 ear-tips. Giving a word of defense for the Arcadia, it is also very possible to gain a preferred response with the use of EQ. Now typically I’m not a big proponent of using EQ as I feel one section of response artificially altered leads the way to perception of other aspects of the signature...........left changed. But here as an example the EQ in the treble and vocal region has an Arcadia profound ability to add sparkle just by tweaking the EQ up. It is the inherent ability of the 2 Knowles BAs to all-of-a-sudden change to the brighter input signal. Also of small consequence actually the Arcadia was slightly better fitting, yet both were totally comfortable. The Timeless II comes in at 6 grams a piece and the Arcadia 4 grams each. With that said, the lows are probably the first most noticeable difference between the two? But of course there is more to it than that.

ZiiGaat X HBB Arcadia Hybrid v 7Hz Timeless II Planar:
The lows are faster with the Timeless II that and vocals come forward to exclaim their presence of space stolen over the Arcadia. These vocals with the Timeless II seem to take on a more spacious and detailed idea, literally filling the stage with extra harmonic overtones, yet slightly thinner. Yes, the whole Timeless II sound is thinner. More spread-out into the side-by-side actualization of vocal overflow. Little treble elements are too created by the Timeless II traveling farther out into the stage, fully apart from the center held focus to surprise. Now as much as I like the Timeless better, it is also not perfect.

The Arcadia is louder at the same volume, and preposterously included bass, that after a while you realize that this may still be a style of low-end that many like, including yourself!

Today the Arcadia sounds better than it ever has in my four days of writing this review. That if we as reviewers were to come clean about doing reviews, each day can be slightly different as to how we interpret sound.

As readers we don’t want to waste our time reading subjective reviews, as we want cement objective answers, and we want those answers to be clean-cut and simple.

Truly in many ways these two IEMs are opposite, in that the Timeless II is faster and more mid-centered and the Arcadia is more L shaped and thicker, yet there is a place for both to win-out here. And truly if I was to be honest, having both would cover a lot of bases. Probably from memory the impression I'm left with is that neither is perfect, but the Arcadia holds those deep lows that could be sought after in the IEM community, and such thickness travels even into the midrange and vocals, showcasing a more dense Arcadia stance."

 

[Jmop]

Another artist I brushed over, that album was a little too folksy for me I think but I’m really enjoying the newer Spine rn.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Another artist I brushed over, that album was a little too folksy for me I think but I’m really enjoying the newer Spine rn.

Her first early (Myrkur) stuff was really cool. But yes, when an artist makes a folk album when they started off as a Black Metal artist, it’s sure to have the folk album ruffle some feathers in the Metal community. The older I get the more open minded I am. If you only knew the wild eclectic mix I heard yesterday!

Edit:
I just took a listen to Spine, thank-you, that’s an album I need to check out!

 

[Jmop]

Her first early (Myrkur) stuff was really cool. But yes, when an artist makes a folk album when they started off as a Black Metal artist, it’s sure to have the folk album ruffle some feathers in the Metal community. The older I get the more open minded I am. If you only knew the wild eclectic mix I heard yesterday!

I’m reading that fans find Spine a bit controversial as if the blending of black metal and folk elements isn’t really working here but I’m loving it, it’s touching on sounds from past music I’ve enjoyed or at least in a similar vein which gives it a nostalgic feel.

 

[Redcarmoose]

I’m reading that fans find Spine a bit controversial as if the blending of black metal and folk elements isn’t really working here but I’m loving it, it’s touching on sounds from past music I’ve enjoyed or at least in a similar vein which gives it a nostalgic feel.

That’s probably why I always have liked a bands earlier stuff. Like The Cure 2nd and 3rd album, The B52s 1st, 2nd and their 3rd album.

It seems as maybe in a way the early stuff is their true self, then they have to make interesting music to sell. Except for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band! Everyone would agree that later album is both experimental and epic!

 

[RedCurry]

Not many will rank their sources here, so I decided I was gonna attempt it. I have the Shanling M1 Plus arriving on Wednesday, so this might change, and I decided to only list the sources I actually use on the regular, so no Sansa's or ipods on this list.

1. Cayin N3 Ultra - This is my go to dap for just about everything. Used so much, my wife even noticed it.

2. Hiby R3 II - Might not be the most resolving, or have the widest stage, or be the most technical, but it's as musical as the TOOBS, and the battery lasts long! I love this dap so much!

3. iBasso DX170 - This is the dap I use when I want the largest stage with the fullest sound signature. None of my daps come close. This is the concert hall dap.

4. iBasso DC Elite - What can I say? When I want to supercharge a dap or my phone, this gets tethered, and I'm in supercharged mode.

5. Sony NW-A306 + Little Bear B4-X - My raw TOOBS with my Sony house sound = the most musical adventure in sources. Warm, creamy, technical, and musical.

6. Sony NW-A55/A45/A25 - The Sony House sound in a nutshell. Simply addictive. Musical and technical, hampered only by it's generally intimate stage and lack of power.

7. Hidizs AP80 Pro X - My mighty tiny. The brightest rig, but still has a mighty fine signature, and tethered to the DCE, it synergizes fantastically.

8. FiiO JM21 - The newest member of the group. Probably the best Bluetooth receiver of the bunch. Also the snappiest interface. Almost as bright as the AP80 Pro X with a wider soundstage with depth.

9. Cowon Plenue J - Best EQ functions. Bright and bassy. Terrible battery life. Only reads 128GB cards. 64BG internal storage. Small and powerful. Used to be my #1.

10. Hiby R1 - SUCK.

How does the DX170 compare with the DC Elite soundwise? I know it's probably a stupid question because the Elite is supposed to be a mini DX320Max but I'm looking for a dap and I'm considering the DX180, DX260 and now the DX170 if it can hold its own.