The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.

[snowy8171]

Lol, just tried and didn't work

 

[snowy8171]

In other news, I'm jumping back into headphones and grabbing that new zmf atrium. If possible the LTD bubinga

 

[PHLHarmonic]

Atrium looks good but I just worry it's gonna be a little too heavy in whatever config I'd want, probably aged cherry and copper. Might wait for more reviews.

 

[Levanter]

40% off VE7 & VE8 at Musicteck

Was this through email? I couldn't find any subscribe listing in their website

 

[Rockwell75]

Was this through email? I couldn't find any subscribe listing in their website

Yes it was a promotional email I received today.

 

[stacey]

Yeah. There was one offering 50% Effect Audio Axiom + free Mastero cable.

 

[Frankie D]

I love the Elysium. Musicteck has a 40% off on VE7and VE8, if they extended that to Elysium, I would probably buy it. What I thought I would hate, I actually really love for the reason you state. The mids are what it's all about. And, the bass can take a back seat to the mids better with BA bass. So, the Elysium sounds fantastic with fusion jazz. Think Chuck Mangione "feels so good" or KennyG Soprano sax. Or, slack key guitar. or Vibes or steel drum. Anything where bass is de-emphasized in favor of mids, the Elysium kills it for me.

I have those same recordings and the Traillii is superior to the Ely. And with Orpheus the mids get a bit of an embellishment. I am still doing comparisons to understand what Orpheus is capable of. I will keep you posted.

 

[Frankie D]

Had a pleasant walk. Eye candy while listening to music. A few more including a neighborhood shot in East Vancouver:

They bottom pic is beautiful. Put that street in a movie!

 

[GiullianSN]

40% off VE7 & VE8 at Musicteck

VE8 at 40% it’s a bargain!

 

[yaps66]

That's seriously impressive considering there are comparatively few "regulars" contributing. Shows how many people lurk but clearly, they like what they are reading.

Very impressive. It's a great thread with so much to learn from. I am definitely a lurker and occasionally peek out of the cracks to offer whatever views my limited experience can muster!

If I had read impression of both the N8ii and M9 before buying....which I didn't because gold knob and if I didn't hurry I'd lose out on first-delivery humble-bragging and I simply couldn't risk that......I probably would have gone with the M9.

That gold knob has some magical ethereal qualities that seems to draw more and more into her sweet intoxicating grasp!

Its cherry blossum season in Vancouver

Gorgeous!

Listening to this song:



Destiny - Lee Sun Hee (2004) - Korean Ballad

+1

This song is magical. Its a spiritual song about longing to re-unite with a lost lover. That while their love was short lived, it was real and immortal. Fate brought them together. I like the poetry and imagery used in the song. Some of the nuances are lost in the English translation.

A bit like watching the squid game in English. Have just watched the first episode of Pachinko. Am thoroughly enjoying it. I know it is based on a novel but to me it exemplifies of what South Koreans have been through that make them what they are today as a race. Also the cinematography is well done!

 

[Natesdailies]

VE8 at 40% it’s a bargain!

I was reading that earlier and thinking wow... onli 1100$! . Its funny how this hobby can desensitize us

They bottom pic is beautiful. Out there street in a movie!

Thanks. Feeling blessed to be able to live in a beautiful city.

Very impressive. It's a great thread with so much to learn from. I am definitely a lurker and occasionally peek out of the cracks to offer whatever views my limited experience can muster!


That gold knob has some magical ethereal qualities that seems to draw more and more into her sweet intoxicating grasp!


Gorgeous!


+1


A bit like watching the squid game in English. Have just watched the first episode of Pachinko. Am thoroughly enjoying it. I know it is based on a novel but to me it exemplifies of what South Koreans have been through that make them what they are today as a race. Also the cinematography is well done!

For sure. The song is an example of the word "Han" which means in English internalized grief and deep sorrow. Hard times such as the occupation in World War 2 fueled those feelings. You see this still reflected in Korean movies such as "Parasite". There is also the same pattern for French cinema and jazz & soul music in the West.

 

[DanielListening]

It has been a while, but I just revisited Robert Glasper’s music. Black Radio, Art Science, Everything is Beautiful… so many amazing albums. A mix of jazz, R&B, Rap, poetry, soul, funk and more.

Black Radio 3 was released just recently.





Everything is Beautiful is a favourite.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I have those same recordings and the Traillii is superior to the Ely. And with Orpheus the mids get a bit of an embellishment. I am still doing comparisons to understand what Orpheus is capable of. I will keep you posted.

Absolutely Traillii is better than Elysium if you just compare them technically and across music types. I have Traillii ranked 6 and Elysium around 10. I like to listen to that music with Elysium because it offers a different way of presenting that music than Traillii and other IEMs in my collection. Same reason I like to listen to music with Oriolus Isabellae. No way it competes technically with anything good over $1000. But, I love it's instrumental timbre and how it presents that sound coherently from top to bottom of the FR curve. It is not that resolving and it rolls off both in bass and treble, but I don't listen to it for those things. I listen to it specifically for how it presents instrumental timbre. So, I will keep Elysium and Isabellae in my collection.

 

[Deezel177]

It might be differences in how high we can hear. I know last time I checked I was able to go up to around 17k. The EXT to me has a lot of upper treble, I personally don’t find IEMs that do a lot of upper treble to come off natural. That’s why I hear EXT to have an ethereal treble response on top of a natural timbre DD mid range.

Jewel to me is a very good example of a natural EST treble tuning. You can hear the sort of “weightless” response from the EST drivers but it’s tuned to be quite natural and keeps the speed benefits from the ESTs also.

As with always, just my own personal opinion.

If/When you get the chance to hear it, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the Lime Ears Anima's treble. I'm currently writing that section on my review, and I've been having the toughest time trying to capture its broad strokes within the first couple lines.

It's got both BAs and ESTs up high - the latter for the upper-treble and the former for the rest - and it's got this duality between being so, so, insanely defined, yet meshing with the rest of its FR so seamlessly too. It pumps tons and tons of air and etches a crazy amount of clarity, and you get the feeling that it'd be too coloured/detail-oriented on its own. But, it somehow lands onto the cushions of its mids and lows like a tailor-made glove. Hopefully, @metaljem77 can give them a go at CanJam and share some more. I honestly can't wait to get this review out.

You may be the only Watercooler representative at CJ SG...would love it if you could share some pictures and impressions

Yeah, I recently found out that I won't be able to attend CJ SG too, unfortunately. Ironically, travel between SG and Jakarta will become much easier from the 1st of April, but the policy change was announced so close to CJ that I wasn't able to get the paperwork done in time to book a flight. To be honest, after seeing the preview video and speaking to people like Emil and Piotr who won't be attending as well, I'm not getting the heaviest dose of FOMO. Thankfully (for me at least), I'm not missing out on too much, apart from the Elysian IEMs and some of the much-hyped PW cables. Still, it would've been awesome to see guys like Eric, Amin, Marcel and Oliver again after all this time. But, yeah, I'm hoping to get some quality pics and impressions from that CJ thread too.

 

[monduvo]

Agree with this.

1) Theres a very few of these 3K+ IEMs being made and sold. For example, the UM Indigo (200 units) hasn't even been sold out yet. FOMO should be taken out of the equation. After trying IEMs, I have learned that beyond a certain point its more about tuning preferences and source synergy. The Traillii was the only one so far that made my jaws drop. It's also 6 times the MSRP of a Monarch MK2 and it should do that.

2) Money and lifestyle is a sensitive topic but that is the biggest factor here. These are not meant for the casual listener. Nor is a Leica meant for high school students looking to learn photography.

Not financial advice, but the best physical investment I have ever made was my Herman Miller Aeron. When a younger collegue today asked me if the earphones were worth it, I told him to buy a high quality mattress first before thinking about spending $1000 on earphones.

Hi Natesdailies,


It is good to see/hear resourceful thoughts from people's experience in getting a better understanding of where our preferences are and what we end up getting in return from this niche hobby.

For iems, I agree in part to what you (and Rockwell75) said, and I think tuning is the major factor while the rest are little differences that trickle down to some trade offs you are willing to make in the way sound is being presented and further narrowed down by the sources you listen to it with.


As for ergonomics, I had a similar kind of experience in getting an ergonomic chair, and I thought it would 'improve' my seating position and posture, when, in fact, it was years of not keeping a consistent/supportive posture, along with not taking good care of my health at the time prior. After having gone through several chairs, in the back of my mind, I remembered reading about a Herman Miller chair from a magazine in my college days. I googled the model I visually remembered, and I made it a goal, however long it would take, to save up every dollar in getting the Herman Miller chair I wanted to buy.

Sometime around early 2014, I saved up just enough money to buy a new Herman Miller Embody (with fully adjustable arms, titanium base, translucent casters for hard floor, and in balance black fabric) from an authorized retailer.

By the day the Embody chair was scheduled to be delivered, the first shipment I received turned out to be the wrong chair, and it was a Herman Miller Mirra. After rescheduling the delivery on the same day for the correct chair to be sent/exchanged, while sitting and waiting in the Mirra (fairly comfortable, but not for the type of person who fidgets or moves position frequently as the texture/material of the seat base felt 'slippery,' along with the slick feel of the waterfall shaped front edge of the seat pan) for my order, within one hour, I got a call back from the logistics shipping company about the mistake that was made on their end for sending me the wrong chair and that the Embody chair was already on its way.



After two hours passed, I was able to send back the Mirra and received the Embody chair (already assembled) from the shipper.

The moment I took my first seat in the Embody, I felt less tense and at some ease when I noticed my heart noticeably beating at a slower rate, which put my body and mind in a state of relaxation with the subtle adjustments that were made. After one hour went by, from going through reclining/seating angle functions, and just about all the adjustments you can think of to get as comfortably seated and adjusted to the Embody, I decided to keep the chair despite the high price I paid.

With 8 years in, the Embody chair is still going strong, with no major repairs needed nor issues. The only part that needed a replacement was a new arm rest. After all, this is a chair that is built to last, and designed/made to handle long sitting sessions and tasks for hours, and so far, no regrets.






Lastly, the song you posted recently reminded me of the time that song was played at a Korean supermarket where I was eating at a food court. Looks like a calling has 'destined' for me to go to Korea (as I have only been there once) and visit my relatives there.