[Ace Bee]

Goosebumps all around. Very interesting YT channel and cafe in Japan!

Cannot agree with you more...completely enamoured with her performance, at 2 am here in India!

 

[Ace Bee]

Here comes another review of a very much obscure iem: Azla Horizon. Single DD, under $300, has become my daily driver along with Hiby Lasya.

I'll just copy paste the pros and cons from my review to give you a concise idea:

Pros: Deep Thundering Bass with beautiful Textures
Clear and Highly Transparent Midrange
Especially beautiful rendering of foreground and background Instruments
Bright and Sparkling Treble
Airy midrange and treble
Outstanding Separation
Precise Imaging
Deep Soundstage with sufficient Width and Height creates a nice three-dimensional headspace
Effortless Detail reproduction
Cons: Notes are on the Sharper side, slightly edgy
Male and Female vocals might sound very slightly on thinner side
Slight metallic sheen on Male and Female vocals due to sharpness
Treble sensitive ears may get listening fatigue
No Carrying Case

Have a read here:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/azla-horizon.23142/review/28692/

 

[dmphile]

Ooo! You got me interested in the Solaris now!

Before CFA discontinued the Solaris 2020, it was the same price as their other CIEMs including Supermoon. I remember when I listened to them at BBR, it knocked me off my feet. I thought my Dorado's were already super dynamic. bombastic and thick with that toe tapping bass and upper region clarity/nice air on top. If memory and ears serve me correctly, it still gave me those elements with an additional touch of holographic presentation and a more forward and clear mid-range. (which is what I really wanted). They were also easier to drive, slightly more sensitive than Dorados.

I'm thinking it'll be pretty close to the emotional response that Supermoon gave me at less than half the cost. Either way, I'm sure these will satisfy and if not, someone else can take them off my hands but I have a feeling they just might dethrone my love of the Dorado's. The good news is that they're still both CFA IEMS and I'm so enamored with their build quality and tuning. I will continue to support their work, irrespective of what the market thinks about them.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

One of the 3 new toys I just picked up
But only one at a time ...
.

 

[Doug2507]

One of the 3 new toys I just picked up
But only one at a time ...
.

I think you might need to plug in one of the other toys to get the best use out of that one....

 

[AnalogandDigital]

I think you might need to plug in one of the other toys to get the best use out of that one....

I think there no other option left
But first gonna charge it ...

 

[Xinlisupreme]

Did anyone compare N6ii ti R01 with N8ii?
I really like N6ii Ti with Aroma IEMs
My flagship choice would be between N8ii and P6 pro.
UI is on N8ii but I’m very curious to listen how P6p match with Aroma.
If LP would made a P7 with android………

 

[blotmouse]

Did anyone compare N6ii ti R01 with N8ii?

Every day brother.

 

[Rockwell75]

I'm not particularly picky about frequency response because I believe there's a myriad of frequential synergies that you can make work. The trend of seeking the Harman curve truly annoys me and leads to a lack of variety in this hobby as well as harmful preconceived notions that are applied universally.

Nail hits head. Harman is like the communism of IEM tuning. Power to you if you enjoy it and find the idea fascinating but I've always found Harman tuned IEMs to have a "tuned by algorithm" vibe that isn't really engaging.

Before CFA discontinued the Solaris 2020, it was the same price as their other CIEMs including Supermoon. I remember when I listened to them at BBR, it knocked me off my feet. I thought my Dorado's were already super dynamic. bombastic and thick with that toe tapping bass and upper region clarity/nice air on top. If memory and ears serve me correctly, it still gave me those elements with an additional touch of holographic presentation and a more forward and clear mid-range. (which is what I really wanted). They were also easier to drive, slightly more sensitive than Dorados.

I'm thinking it'll be pretty close to the emotional response that Supermoon gave me at less than half the cost. Either way, I'm sure these will satisfy and if not, someone else can take them off my hands but I have a feeling they just might dethrone my love of the Dorado's. The good news is that they're still both CFA IEMS and I'm so enamored with their build quality and tuning. I will continue to support their work, irrespective of what the market thinks about them.

Looking forward to your thoughts on the Solaris 2020. The OG Solaris was my first love in IEMs and the Solaris in general is one of the truly great IEMs of the last few years imho.

One of the 3 new toys I just picked up
But only one at a time ...
.

Your discipline is admirable.

 

[Xinlisupreme]

Every day brother.

Your the man I’m looking for
Could you tell me more about their tuning?

 

[gLer]

I'll try and get @tgx78 to measure it at some point.



I think for me there are 3 main qualities-- coherence (how the different drivers play together), timbre and technicalities. I agree with the categories of technicalities you list but I'm still trying to figure out for myself if there's anything more to it (how the different technical factors play together, for example) or if everything I really care about is accounted for in the 3 things I just listed. I've always appreciated the importance of all those factors it's just that for me the advantage of planars seems to be that they give me enough of everything I love that I don't feel I'm making any sort of sacrifices-- whereas before for me peaking out in one area meant a slight sacrifice in one or both of the other areas.

Interesting. I'm not sure we're speaking the same language when we discuss what it is we're looking for from an IEM. This isn't anyone's fault, since even though we have more-or-less accepted definitions of terms, there always seems to be wiggle room for interpretation.

For instance, coherence is something I've always been puzzled about. Generally speaking, if I did a blind test of single driver and multidriver IEMs, unless the multidriver crossover really sucked, or the quality of the different driver types was all over the place, I wouldn't be able to pick out one over the other based on coherence alone.

I read impressions along the lines of how 'it's so obvious the bass and mids are coming from different driver types', and try as I may I can't hear it. Voices sound like voices and drums sound like drums. Imo something needs to be really off in the design to notice any coherence issues. Even if someone pointed out a slight coherence difference to me, I don't think it would jump out when listening to music as a whole, unless I was analysing it, and even then it probably wouldn't bother me.

Second, timbre. That's another wierd one. By definition, timbre is simply the unique sound different types of instruments and vocals make when playing the same tone at the same time. So a guitar and trumpet playing the same tone would each have their own timbre, which should be easily distinguishable by the listener. This seems to be a given using any IEM worth its asking price. I don't think timbre is meant to be qualitative beyond the point of hearing the correct sound made by the instrument or voice. If a drum sounds like an oboe, or a guitar like a violin, it's time to worry. If the timbre of metal instruments sounds like plastic, that's a driver quality issue; likewise if vocals sound metallic or glassy, the timbre is simply off.

So based purely on the above, being two of your three pillars of rating an IEM, there seems to be a whole lot missing, like what is the character of sound you enjoy (warm, bassy, bright, lean, full, etc.). For example, I can listen to two IEMs and immediately pick out which one I prefer based on how impactful the bass is, how clear the vocals are, how pitchy the treble is, or how intimate or wide the stage. All of these are character traits I can quickly put my finger on and articulate, whereas driver coherence would take me quite a while to figure out, and timbre would either be fine or off.

Then again, maybe your definition of those terms is completely different to mine, in which case we're talking cross purposes.

It's crazy how much is at play to make something sound good to someone. It's a concoction of tonality, timbre, technicalities, and presentation. These aspects are all intertwined and it's not enough to judge tonality separately, for example, because two items could measure almost identically yet sound drastically different because of the physical properties of the transducer/diaphragm and how the sound is physically delivered and then perceived by the ear.

I'm not particularly picky about frequency response because I believe there's a myriad of frequential synergies that you can make work. The trend of seeking the Harman curve truly annoys me and leads to a lack of variety in this hobby as well as harmful preconceived notions that are applied universally. I don't automatically consider something bassy or lacking pinna gain as being bad. In fact, things that follow the Harman target I find to be shouty quite often with skimpy bass. What I do dislike is weak and limp dynamics, lack of body and tangibility, veiled or distant sound, unnatural raspy metallic timbre, and sibilance. The amount of TOTL items I've tried that had these qualities is staggering.

I want audio equipment to move me or seduce me, be it exuberant and grand or relaxing and soothing. If the concoction is done right, I achieve emotional engagement and truly enjoy the music. Campfire and Meze manage to give me that moreso than any other company for whatever reason and I'm grateful they exist to do something different.

I'm a basshead at heart but I'm not that fond of something like the Legend X. It's got the bass and it's technically capable but the LX simply doesn't grab me and it proved that there is more to sound than just frequency graphs and high technical performance. I'm noticing that the dimension of the sound, especially in how the bass is presented, and the interplay of the frequencies (coherency) play a significant role in what I like.

Fully agree, and this is almost exactly how I feel about the FiR XE6 and why it resonates with me so highly. I don't care that it doesn't have the most clarity or separation. The way it sounds with my library is unlike anything else I have heard and I just enjoy it so much. It also has a high level of technical ability imo so it is just so pleasant for me.

Very well said gents. These are absolutely valid points, and goes to the heart of why each of us enjoys (or not) different things about the same IEMs for different reasons.

The only 'problem' with this emotive approach is that it doesn't really lend itself to understanding what it is you're enjoying. It's all good and well to say you enjoy an IEM because it gives you an emotional response, but the obvious question that follows is: what? As in, what is the IEM doing - tonally or technically or both - that speaks to you?

Only by digging into the what can we debate and compare in the same vernacular. Otherwise we may as well just say 'I like this IEM because I like it' and call it a day.

I guess it's not that easy when we have different emotive responses to almost every different song we hear, using different gear. But if we assume that part of the reason we're active on these forums is to learn, understand, articulate and share, then it's incumbent on us to dig a little deeper to express what we're hearing and why it makes us feel the way it does.

As always, YMMV, and for all I know, most people couldn't be bothered. That's ok too.

 

[dmphile]

One of the 3 new toys I just picked up
But only one at a time ...
.

Your restraint is admirable.

This would be me.

 

[ceramicears]

Before CFA discontinued the Solaris 2020, it was the same price as their other CIEMs including Supermoon. I remember when I listened to them at BBR, it knocked me off my feet. I thought my Dorado's were already super dynamic. bombastic and thick with that toe tapping bass and upper region clarity/nice air on top. If memory and ears serve me correctly, it still gave me those elements with an additional touch of holographic presentation and a more forward and clear mid-range. (which is what I really wanted). They were also easier to drive, slightly more sensitive than Dorados.

I'm thinking it'll be pretty close to the emotional response that Supermoon gave me at less than half the cost. Either way, I'm sure these will satisfy and if not, someone else can take them off my hands but I have a feeling they just might dethrone my love of the Dorado's. The good news is that they're still both CFA IEMS and I'm so enamored with their build quality and tuning. I will continue to support their work, irrespective of what the market thinks about them.

When I exchanged some emails with Campfire a few months back they said they were having difficulty with Solaris production due to supply chain issues. They didn't say it was outright discontinued yet but given that the Solaris successor will be released later this year, they may indeed have cut the plug.

And enjoy the Solaris. It was elaborately tuned and the more you listen to it the more you will learn its intricacies with various genres. I recommend using smaller tips than usual to get a really deep fit, unless it compromises your seal.

 

[dmphile]

When I exchanged some emails with Campfire a few months back they said they were having difficulty with Solaris production due to supply chain issues. They didn't say it was outright discontinued yet but given that the Solaris successor will be released later this year, they may indeed have cut the plug.

And enjoy the Solaris. It was elaborately tuned and the more you listen to it the more you will learn its intricacies with various genres. I recommend using smaller tips than usual to get a really deep fit, unless it compromises your seal.

Ya, looking forward to it very much. I'm pretty stoked to see what the Solaris successor looks and sounds like as well. The 2020 version was so hard to pass up given the price I was able to get them at. Who knows, if the Solaris successor seems to tick all the boxes that both the Dorado's and Solaris 2020 can do but maybe better? I may end up selling off these two and jumping on that. Either way, I'm just going to enjoy the ride and smell all them roses until the next chapter. Will share my thoughts / photos when they land (hopefully tomorrow.)

 

[Jawsq]

Congrats! Wow that's really great gear. Man I'm on the fence on the N8ii. Coming from a fiio m11 + mojo, not sure how it would compare (purely from a sonic perspective). Has anyone had the opportunity to compare the N8ii to the mojo?

One of the 3 new toys I just picked up
But only one at a time ...
.