[twister6]

Oh no. I’ll keep whichever is better with my IEMs. I just have a buyer lined up already if I prefer the N8ii

Good thinking, Michael! Oh, I mean, Bobby

 

[Rockwell75]

Thanks to the munificence of some fellow Watercooler-ers @Ojisan, @Damz87 and @riverground sometime in the not-too-distant future I'll be able to finally demo the Hyla CE-5, single DD Final/Dita Shichiku Kangen as well as the Elysian Annihilator & X...some exciting times ahead.

Edit: After all this I think the Legend EVO will literally be the only IEM in the world I haven't heard yet but feel I really need to.

 

[antdroid]

My new Odin Pro DAP arrived playing with Odin

 

[TylersEclectic]

Thanks for sharing! Great to see you here, fellow purple enthusiast

Purple is the way! Cheers Rock!

 

[xenithon]

It's around 4:38AM here, couldn't sleep. So I'm sitting in the dark, with just my phone and HiBy WH2, listening to some beautiful new laidback albums (Look at it in the light by Kate Bollinger and Stay in touch by Georgia Harmer).

Poignant reminder that it's the little things, and the simplest of playback systems, that can bring so much joy. It's great when the focus on gear takes a backseat and sheer seduction of good music rightfully comes to the fore.

PS. any other iPhone / Tidal users enjoying Dolby Atmos as much as I am? Find it a really positive experience, offering a great sense of space without feeling gimmicky.

 

[discord]

It's around 4:38AM here, couldn't sleep. So I'm sitting in the dark, with just my phone and HiBy WH2, listening to a beautiful new laidback album (Look at it in the light from Kate Bollinger).

Poignant reminder that it's the little things, and the simplest of playback systems, that can bring so much joy. It's great when the focus on gear takes a backseat and sheer seduction of good music rightfully comes to the fore.

PS. any other iPhone / Tidal users enjoying Dolby Atmos as much as I am? Find it a really positive experience, offering a great sense of space without feeling gimmicky.

I‘ve been listening to that album a whole bunch since it released recently, real nice one.

 

[SBranson]

Listening with the TGXEar Serratus.. I‘m amazed how full and detailed these earbuds sound. Truly amazing.

 

[audio123]

If I have to choose 1 IEM only, it will be Jewel.

 

[Natesdailies]

Nah, unfortunately N8ii is approximately 0.75” / 19.05mm too tall

Though it doesn’t fit quite nicely in my Eletech Luxe case

Thanks for the info. Joined the mailing list for Eletech. The Luxe looks sleek and functional for the office.

Ordered the Plus Sound in Brown (Traillii) and Black (Xe6). Might get the grey for a third IEM

 

[Doug2507]

Need to pick up another Plussound leather storage cases - perfect if you have thick 8-wire cables. Insert is removable or you can angle it inside to show off your IEM + cable.

Is that direct from Plussound or do retailers stock them?

 

[DanielListening]

I stopped during the second track and realized that this requires a dynamic driver and not BAs.

This hasn’t happened to me before. Haha.

 

[GiullianSN]

I stopped during the second track and realized that this requires a dynamic driver and not BAs.

This hasn’t happened to me before. Haha.

Some guys here will agree with on this.

 

[Neweymatt]

Very Fancy Thoughts : Dodo 2020 Edition



I ordered two sub $1K IEM's recently; the Meze Advar I don't believe is shipping until sometime in May.....but the Campfire Audio Dodo 2020 has arrived from Bloom Audio in quick and good stead! Now, you may say "Hey, the Dorado 2020 has been reviewed pretty extensively....do we need another set of thoughts?" Fair, but not how the internets work. Allow me to toss more pixels down the vast and ever-yawning digital opinion pit. Knowing the high-test audience here, let me address two quick points:

Q: "Sub" $1K? Does money go that low?
A: Yes, though if it makes you feel better this started out slightly above $1K

Q: So....would this be an IEM for one's servants?
A: While that may be a better treat than asking them to place the "In this house, we believe..." sign in front of your mansion....I assure you these are enjoyable for you too!


"Floating V" shape. High V? Deflated W? This is a sonic profile where the bass and treble regions are extended over the mids....but I would not call the mids full-blown recessed at all. I believe it was the one and only Rockwell75 who placed the Dorado in a sonic family with the XE6.....and I would agree with that.

Bass - While I've read review after review calling these "BASS CANNONS"....in a world where I've seen people say that the XE6 "is the minimum amount of bass they can live with" I would not say the Dorado is totally overpowering bass. Is it a bass-prominent tuning? Yes sir. Likely Love/Hate point #1 is the bass is neither the tight-on-command, deep-as-well, vertical dubstep drop of an IEM like the Z1R neatly behaving in it's FR pigeon-hole nor the behaved-yet-deeply textured presentations of the higher-end BA-based sets I've heard. For me the Dorado bass is slow-burn-to-boom, organic thunder.....rumbling and thumping merrily across all the spectrum. I think it's a very striking organic presentation.....but I also think the mainstream taste would judge it a bit diffuse/uncontrolled.

YOU GOT YOUR BASS IN MY MIDS!!! - So right away, I can tell this would be Love/Hate point #2. The good children of today love their sonic plate neat and tidy. Bass potatoes on the left, a little mids roast dead center, and just a dollop of treble to the right....not too much as they are very treble-sensitive (I blame the prevalence of social media and soy in products). Everything in it's place, separate bites. This is the goodly bounty of Our Lady of Balanced Armature. I totally respect that. Dorado is the Uncle with two Jack and Cokes and a taste for Shepards pie. The bass presentation, and at times hits of treble, are going to be waves that lap over the mids. It's to a less mind-bending effect than the XE6...but then most everything in existence is to a less mind-bending effect than the XE6. I don't find this presentation to be at the detriment of the mids, I'll use the phrase "organic" again as it mimics the type of swirling interplay you'd get with live music. This can be a tricky tuning to pull off, and while I think the overall effect here is superb I completely get this type of approach is the domain of no-middle-ground players like Campfire or Grado (or Fir? ).

Dark caverns of Dorado magic. Call it audio woo but count me a sucker for the "housing material resonance" fever dream. ZMF....Grado.....and these ceramic shells yes please oh yes. A 325-cup tight echo with a ZMF woodie decay....sex for your earholes. The presentation is smack dab mid-sized for todays crop of IEM's. Imaging and layering likewise seem neither a strength or a weakness. Speed will fool you....they can move quite quick though the boomy, thick presentation would have you thinking these are more mid-speed trotters. Too much too fast can compromise a bit of the presentation......not a glaring weakness but there. The Dorado "stage" hits like standing in front of cavern......music swirls, shifts, and fade's in a very dyamic way. Not "holographic" in say an Andromeda or EXT vein.....but like a concert hall, you all chilling at the back bar with an overpriced whisky wondering if you did one or two hits of acid and would the shape-shifting lizard person next to you know the answer to that. But you're not worried, you are in the Dark Cavern of Dorado.

Timber/tone very, very solid. Stringed instruments a highlight, acoustic or electric. The up-top BA add's a nice-pinch of electric sugar sparkle on cymbals, but does not play in the league of BA or electrostatic big-guns. It is a compelling total tuning for the around $1K range.....if you value technicality foremost I get this not being your jam.....if you lust for texture/tone/timber you will find your poison here.

The Dorado is so far proving to be a wonderful partner in crime with the Saber for my metal-heavy music mix. Where the Saber is tight as a drum, ultra-fast, and eats up the most complex layering.....the Archspire of IEM's....Dorado is the dark, doom, fuzz machine...organic and rich in tone...the Black Sabbath of IEM's. Unlike the Saber, the Dorado plays very well with Jazz, Blues, R&B, EDM, etc. in the vein of something like the Zen Pro. I am excited to get the Advar in.....this group of four IEM's I believe will be a very, very entertaining group below the sparkling heights of things like the EXT or the XE6 in my line-up.

Well done Campfire. This is not for everyone, but if anything above appeals to you....or you are doom/death/heavy psych mainliner.....if in your budget this is most definitely worth time in your earholes.

Fantastic write up on an IEM that I know I would love, but can’t find a place for in my collection atm.

Can’t wait to read your take on Advar…

 

[RTodd]

If I have to choose 1 IEM only, it will be Jewel.

I cannot do it. No way. Hurts to consider.
Want to go back to bed. Hmmm Traillii.

Negative scan, all that old film,
no idea where or what tall ship.

Light Saturday,
channeling Genesis Nursery Crime.

 

[normie610]

I love thick cables, too. I have a Norne Silvergarde S4 for my Focal Utopia headphones. It is definitely thicker than Orpheus. No way I use that cable with an IEM.

yep, that’s why Trevor made a special IEM version of S4, it’s not as thick as the headphone cable.