Just got my Vortex today. Holy moly… this thing is tiny! I was shocked by how small it was. Sounds amazing out of the box with stock tuning. Also kudos to @Dsnuts for the recommendation to try a pure silver cable with the Vortex. It really opens things up and enhances micro details quite nicely. Also compared to my old Campfire Atlas which was also a 10mm DLC, this little gem trumps it in everything except maybe for the bass. But nothing that xBass and Mojo 2 EQ can’t solve! Bravo @Penon for a job well done on the Vortex!
Also is it just me, or does the Vortex sound best with foamies?? I really like the sound with foam tips the best for some reason. And I normally hate foam tips!
Awesome to read about the filter removal mod for the Vortex. Do you notice any impact at all to the rest of the frequency range (either positive or negative)?
No changes that my ears could discern. When playing a song I can cover and uncover the vents and the only change when I cover them is the bass vanishes.
I'm hoping to get a measuring rig in the next month or two and then I'll be able to graph them
Like I said I can’t comment well on treble, I can just say it seems at least as much as the Up and isn’t notably recessed - but probably isn’t enough for a treble focused listener. This is the best EST implementation I’ve heard yet though.
Just curious, did you get these new or second/third hand? The ESTs on the Volt took more burn in than any other IEM I’ve ever owned.
When I got mine new just slightly over a year ago last July, I popped them on the burn-in rig for 250 hours and stopped because they seemed reasonably burnt in by then and I thought they weren’t going to change anymore. And then I continued listening to them. It wasn’t until the Christmas and New Year week that I noticed totally out of the blue that the upper treble had really come into its own.
I’d long stopped counting by then so I have no idea how many hours they had at the time. Maybe 400-500.
Around here they say that ESTs need hundreds of hours of burning to show their full potential. Mine are second hand (I think third), and they came with many hours.
I wanted to try my hand at some (reversible) modding to pull more bass out so I removed the vent filter and it worked very well! I think it might have worked too well as Im getting quite a lot of bass compared to before so I still need to listen more before I decide if I want to put the filter back
So I tried this mod as well. It works as advertised! Lol. Sub bass is substantially increased without negatively impacting the other audible regions. It really makes a huge difference for anyone looking for more sub bass out of the Vortex. And I honestly don’t think it’s too much bass for me. But maybe that’s cos I know I’m a basshead so it works out beautifully for me. But I will say, I was very shocked by how much of a sub bass increase this simple change made. Super cool. Thanks @ssantan2 for the recommendation!
So I tried this mod as well. It works as advertised! Lol. Sub bass is substantially increased without negatively impacting the other audible regions. It really makes a huge difference for anyone looking for more sub bass out of the Vortex. And I honestly don’t think it’s too much bass for me. But maybe that’s cos I know I’m a basshead so it works out beautifully for me. But I will say, I was very shocked by how much of a sub bass increase this simple change made. Super cool. Thanks @ssantan2 for the recommendation!
I can’t speak for the serial since I’ve never heard it, but the difference between stock and open port, it definitely opened up. Quality is quite nice actually. Very textured. When it was stock it sounded like it was much more muted. And even if I EQed it, it still strained to show that deep rumble. Now with the filter off, it has a lot more warmth and texture.
I can’t speak for the serial since I’ve never heard it, but the difference between stock and open port, it definitely opened up. Quality is quite nice actually. Very textured. When it was stock it sounded like it was much more muted. And even if I EQed it, it still strained to show that deep rumble. Now with the filter off, it has a lot more warmth and texture.
So I tried this mod as well. It works as advertised! Lol. Sub bass is substantially increased without negatively impacting the other audible regions. It really makes a huge difference for anyone looking for more sub bass out of the Vortex. And I honestly don’t think it’s too much bass for me. But maybe that’s cos I know I’m a basshead so it works out beautifully for me. But I will say, I was very shocked by how much of a sub bass increase this simple change made. Super cool. Thanks @ssantan2 for the recommendation!
This is so true and why I don't believe EQ can mimic tuning modifications. I tried a lot of different EQ settings and the only one that would get me this level of noticable bass was a 6+ db bass shelf and it still felt puffy compared to removing the filter
This is so true and why I don't believe EQ can mimic tuning modifications. I tried a lot of different EQ settings and the only one that would get me this level of noticable bass was a 6+ db bass shelf and it still felt puffy compared to removing the filter
Agree 100% there’s things that EQ can fix, but not the bass in the Vortex.
But about EQ…. I swapped out the silver cable for an SPC graphene litz cable. Combine that with xBass on the iFi Gryphon and some mojo 2 EQ and holy crap and a half, Vortex takes EQ like a champ and the bass is punchy as can be! It’s like a completely different IEM now. I’m so impressed with the massive sound this tiny little 10mm driver can belt out!
So after doing some tip rolling and A/Bing I can say the following statements compared to the Serial:
1) With the filter off, The Vortex makes the Serial sound anemic in the sub-bass. Jack Harlow - I'd Do Anything To Make You Smile has a sub bass drop at 0:26 which is almost too boomy with the Vortex while on the Serial it feels present but uneventful
2) Strings and upper frequencies definitely seem unaffected: Monchy & Alexandra - Hoja En Blanco is a great "modern" bachata song that can get a bit piercy in the upper mids but the Vortex still replays as well as it did before the filter was removed (the replay is excellent). The Serial is a tad muted with this track which is my main qualm with the Serial
3) There is enough bass energy on the Vortex now that I start to hear low rumbles in tracks that weren't there before (For example the track above). I honestly think there is a bit too much bass now without the filter and this is one example where the bass evens up having _too_ much energy
Overall it was a pleasant experiment and I think I will continue keeping it this way although eventually I will try to find a filter I can apply that is a density 20-30% that of the original filter.
Its worth noting that:
1) I was 100% content with the stock tuning of the Vortex, so much so that I put up my Serial's for sale even though I found the bass lacking compared to them. I am just a tinkerer at heart so if I an tweak stuff I will.
2) I was comparing the to the Serial with ePro horn tips which attenuate the bass compared to other tips and is probably not an accurate representation of what the stock Serial can do. The reason I didn't switch tips is because other tips remove far too much upper frequency energy for me and I need all the upper mids I can get with the Serial so even if the bass would have gone up it wouldn't have had an overall negative impact on the FR of the Serial for me.
After an extended listening session I think the bass response is more it less perfect for me without the filter. It's present and in your face when called upon without feeling bloat and affecting the rest of the FR. I think I'm good on getting another IEM for a long time!
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