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

Jun 4, 2022 at 12:22 PM Post #26,416 of 107,496
I really think that technicalities vs musical is a false dilemma. will elaborate later
I agree. I believe they are independent variables. I believe musicality is a tuning preference and a given tuning can scale up with technology to ever greater levels of resolution, detail and technical competence.
 
Jun 4, 2022 at 12:24 PM Post #26,417 of 107,496
Here we goo… a week off here and over 600 messages gone… all
In all…

@Rockwell75 , how is your Supermoon going, mate?

I have my eyes there as well.

Meze’s Advar news around?

Fir’s IEM measurement tool?

Bello’s audio?

@Deezel177 , sad to hear you’re delaying your trip mate. I hope you go soon.
 
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Jun 4, 2022 at 12:24 PM Post #26,418 of 107,496
I think it's probably best to wait for the second wave of planars. Being the early adopter of a relatively new tech in the space is just a waste of money IMO.

That said I'm one of those "CFA is a one hit wonder" and "Andromeda is their best iem" folks so I have no expectations. Either the Supermoon will surprised me or I'll just scoff and go "get an Andro instead and save your money"
 
Jun 4, 2022 at 12:33 PM Post #26,420 of 107,496
I really think that technicalities vs musical is a false dilemma. will elaborate later

I think it's a natural distinction arising from the fact that we can approach & respond to things in different ways viz a viz emotionally vs. intellectually, reason vs. feeling etc. In principle balance is the ideal but in practice, either incidentally or by necessity, one usually takes precedence over the other.

@Rockwell75 , how is your Supermoon going, mate?

Gamechanger. Presently my favourite IEM.

Wow. I knew that Planar technology was the future of IEMs, but I didn't think that the future was now. Really can't wait to hear it now.

Please note that I said recently that once someone comes up with a $1000 planar IEM with good tuning that it would blow away the TOTL market. Here is one data point supporting that thesis.

Yup. I mean clearly my personal affinity for CFA and their house sound is a huge factor here-- but it's not the only factor. I'll be very curious to hear what you think of them.

On the topic of female vocals this sounds divine on SM:

 
Jun 4, 2022 at 12:36 PM Post #26,421 of 107,496
I think it's a natural distinction arising from the fact that we can approach & respond to things in different ways viz a viz emotionally vs. intellectually, reason vs. feeling etc. In principle balance is the ideal but in practice, either incidentally or by necessity, one usually takes precedence over the other.



Gamechanger. Presently my favourite IEM.



Yup. I mean clearly my personal affinity for CFA and their house sound is a huge factor here-- but it's not the only factor. I'll be very curious to hear what you think of them.

On the topic of female vocals this sounds divine on SM:


Does it have the usual need to EQ of the planars?
 
Jun 4, 2022 at 12:37 PM Post #26,422 of 107,496
If I I’m not mistaken, Elysium was part of the first wave of EST… still a classic.
Depends on who you ask. After hearing the EXT, if the Elysium was the EXT I'd probably have loved it, The Wraith and Valkyrie are the only first wave ESTs that I liked.
 
Jun 4, 2022 at 12:39 PM Post #26,423 of 107,496
Wow. I knew that Planar technology was the future of IEMs, but I didn't think that the future was now. Really can't wait to hear it now.

Please note that I said recently that once someone comes up with a $1000 planar IEM with good tuning that it would blow away the TOTL market. Here is one data point supporting that thesis.

While I like the Supermoon, I would not choose it over Jewel or XE6. Given it’s price point though I do find it very competitive. With that said, I’m also very fortunate to have different DAPs. I can’t stress enough how much more I like the Supermoon from the M2 versus the N8ii and DX320. If I didn’t have the Sony I’m not sure I’d be the biggest fan of it.

I think it's probably best to wait for the second wave of planars. Being the early adopter of a relatively new tech in the space is just a waste of money IMO.

That said I'm one of those "CFA is a one hit wonder" and "Andromeda is their best iem" folks so I have no expectations. Either the Supermoon will surprised me or I'll just scoff and go "get an Andro instead and save your money"

This is the pickle I am in. I don’t want to wait to see what’s around the corner, because when is the time to commit? I like what I am hearing and it’s at a price point I am comfortable paying. Do I buy this now and enjoy and keep an eye out for a “TOTL” one? I don’t know what TOTL is for planar IEMs. I feel the Supermoon already fits that category for my own standards.
 
Jun 4, 2022 at 12:42 PM Post #26,425 of 107,496
This is the pickle I am in. I don’t want to wait to see what’s around the corner, because when is the time to commit? I like what I am hearing and it’s at a price point I am comfortable paying. Do I buy this now and enjoy and keep an eye out for a “TOTL” one? I don’t know what TOTL is for planar IEMs. I feel the Supermoon already fits that category for my own standards.
My experience with planars have been full sized, so given that it's taken this long to attempt planar minaturization it seems to me that there are hurdles to this. Time will probably tell whether this will pan out or fizzle out. I really don't expect much beyond paying the manufacturers for their R&D costs in the first wave. The second wave is where you'll see that R&D pay off.
 
Jun 4, 2022 at 12:43 PM Post #26,426 of 107,496
Does it have the usual need to EQ of the planars?

No. Some people might want to add a dab to the upper mids or thereabouts-- but with spiral dots and through the M9 with what I listen to I feel no need to.

I think it's probably best to wait for the second wave of planars. Being the early adopter of a relatively new tech in the space is just a waste of money IMO.

We're already in the umpteenth wave of them. It's not a new tech-- there have been planar IEMs around the whole time I've been around in this hobby. It's only now they've started to hit a stride.

PS: I know there are people who would rather crap in their own hands than admit CFA is much more than a one hit wonder IEM company. I hope such people are able to get over that and give the Supermoon a fair chance. They may be surprised.
 
Jun 4, 2022 at 12:50 PM Post #26,427 of 107,496
Where did you find those cables?
Those cables come from two Japanese cable manufacturers that I appreciate very much for their craftsmanship and aesthetics, Brise Audio and RosenKranz.
 
Jun 4, 2022 at 12:51 PM Post #26,428 of 107,496
We're already in the umpteenth wave of them. It's not a new tech-- there have been planar IEMs around the whole time I've been around in this hobby. It's only now they've started to hit a stride.

PS: I know there are people who would rather crap in their own hands than admit CFA is much more than a one hit wonder IEM company. I hope such people are able to get over that and give the Supermoon a fair chance. They may be surprised.
That's true, but they've never really gotten much traction outside of a model here and there. I would consider the first wave being a number of bigger manufacturers releasing models and actual sustained discussions in the community.

Maybe the Supermoon will be different like the EXT was for me. I'm open to that, based on previous models though it's not an expectation.
 
Jun 4, 2022 at 12:54 PM Post #26,429 of 107,496
they've never really gotten much traction outside of a model here and there. I would consider the first wave being a number of bigger manufacturers releasing models and actual sustained discussions in the community.

Well we can frame it in a variety of ways. My own contention is that they have officially arrived. I suppose as with all things time will tell if I'm correct in that pronouncement or not.
 
Jun 4, 2022 at 12:56 PM Post #26,430 of 107,496
That's true, but they've never really gotten much traction outside of a model here and there. I would consider the first wave being a number of bigger manufacturers releasing models and actual sustained discussions in the community.

Maybe the Supermoon will be different like the EXT was for me. I'm open to that, based on previous models though it's not an expectation.
The first wave of planar IEMs would be the UM ME.1 and the AAW Mockingbird, both of which had lukewarm reception at best, and were outright bashed at worst. :D The LCD-i4 would sorta be the ELYSIUM in this scenario; the early bird that’s still got wings. There are a couple obscure pieces like the oBravo one, as well as the Japanese (?) one that was brought up. So, the Supermoon is indeed way past the first wave, if you wanna get technical. :wink:
 
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