I'd like to pitch in here. I have the IMR Elan, and did own the Splash Of Red for a while. What is equally impressive in both of them is the low end, both have a nice full bodied low end, SOR is a bit on the balanced side, whereas Elan is a bit on the basshead side. Elan has a bone conduction motor as well, and that gives the mid and treble a slight edge. The notes seem to stand out more, but not exactly piercing. There's something additional that makes the midrange notes sound slightly more real and three dimensional. Stage depth is quite exceptional and so is the imaging. I have a Dark Matter as well, 11mm CNT-ADLC driver and 6mm CNT conduction motor, hard mounted to the inside of the shell, for an added crispness to the treble and making the midrange more immersive. Yet to listen to them as I've been out of station since they were delivered... Expecting to test them day after tomorrow.
The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
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+1 for solar charger. That was my second.Great, CFA finally make an interesting IEM and then proceed to make it as difficult as possible to hear. Figures.
A solar powered charger for my Walkman.
To me they're totally different IEMs and hard to compare in an apples-apples way. Solaris is more technical, balanced and I guess you could say mature...but it lacks the raw bombastic fun factor that is the true charm of the Dorados imho
Oh come now...whatever else one can say about CFA and their IEMs the charge of not being at least interesting hardly seems fair. CFA is the brand everyone loves to hate and I'll never understand why.
I've contemplated one of these for that reason:
The thought that we live in a post apocalyptic World to me always meant no internet, no governments, no social systems, no power from the grid, no streaming. This would mean stock up on SD Cards with my music, have boxes of players brand new, extra headphones, solar energy source. If it is after nuclear fallout we will be stuck in bunkers eating canned food, and solar may be difficult.
Traillii would be my driver, and P6 Pro my player.
Back up would be PAW6K and XE6.
Would need a crank operated generator just in case solar is not possible.
I went on a multi-day hike with some friends in the mountains around here a few years ago. Long story short the weather turned stormy and we were lost in the forest for a couple days with inadequate supplies. I have a few lingering memories of that experience but the one I'll never forget is how when your basic survival is in question and is the main priority everything else goes out the window. We all had cameras with us and looking back at the pictures we took there are lots right up to a point-- once the situation changed nobody took photos anymore, we were all focused on simply the basic fact of getting through the experience alive. I have a feeling a true post apocalyptic experience would be like that-- we'd be so shocked and focused on imminent needs that we'd lose the time and capacity to really enjoy the finer things like we do now.
dmphile
500+ Head-Fier
Ya fair point. The detail is what I immediately noticed but I would agree that it doesn't have the same thumping, thick and fun bass of the Dorado's which is why I'm still undecided on which one I actually like more. In a way they are complementary but I've always been an 'all-rounder' type of guy so I'll need to listen to them a little longer and see what my brain says and how my emotions respond to the library. I mean... so far, Dorado's still hold a special place in my book.
I think the thing for me there is that if you're after balance, detail and technicality etc. there are lots of options out there, and many that are superior to the Solaris...but, unless you're willing/able to go all the way up to something like Thummim or Xe6 there really isn't anything out there like the Dorado...for what it does it's relatively unique. YMMV and all that.
dmphile
500+ Head-Fier
Sifo is gonna hand over the FiR kit to me next week so I'll have a chance to do a compare with the XE6, Solaris 2020 and Dorados. So far, the Solaris brings a uniquely pleasing experience with my current library on the technical and detail front but not sure if that's what I current value the most at the moment. Comfort and fun factor hands down still belongs to the Dorado's. I don't think any IEM can be more comfortable TBH.
That said, would I have paid $1499 USD for the Solaris 2020? Unlikely, but I managed to snag them for less than the Dorado's when they were new. I'm just glad I can finally do a proper compare and make a decision once I've had the chance to spend enough time with my library to release back into the wild or let it have a place in my small collection.
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Had a similar experience when I was a teenager.
Your so right, survival first, it will get boring in that bunker without music, especially if you are alone.
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dmphile
500+ Head-Fier
This was my wife and I with my brother and his wife when we traveled north to Tobermory to do some kayaking. Well, not as extreme as your situation but the survival instincts kicked in when there was a storm that caused the waters to be very choppy fast and my wife and I were on a double kayak. Every few paddles to move forward would still be met with the waves pulling us back into the middle of the lake and it was literally us getting caught in a storm afterwards. I don't think we've ever paddled so hard to get back to land lol. It's a far cry from a being lost/stranded in the woods for a couple days but we felt like we were in a pretty bad situation if we didn't get back before the storm got worse.
Scubadevils
Headphoneus Supremus
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We had an interesting task in college a few weeks ago to test synergy within teams trying to solve a problem. It was actually great fun and fascinating to observe how various individuals in groups attempted to figure out how to survive a situation where we had crash landed in a remote area in Canada. We had a list of 15 items where we had to first choose as individuals and then as a group, which we would use and in what way to ensure survival - I can't recall the full list but it included things like a magnetic compass, a box of matches, a bottle of whisky, water purification tablets to name a few - the group I was in failed miserably and would for sure have died after a couple of days! It was great fun though and quite an eye opener.
dmphile
500+ Head-Fier
Super interesting test of human nature and behaviors. It's actually quite an interesting test of teamwork/team building in it's simplest form. We tend to put on certain facades in our lives to get by and to feel accepeted, but when you're really placed in a life and death situation, two things happen. You see the real and true colours of human nature - which are when people gain more of their humanity and adopt others instinct of survival to contribute to the survival of others as well and the second are the individuals that abandon their humanity completely for the sake of self-preservation and it's the latter that can be detrimental to the survival of the entire group. Not only because it abandons other's right for survival and their humanity but it can spread like wildfire to others and their already fragile mental and emotional state.We had an interesting task in college a few weeks ago to test synergy within teams trying to solve a problem. It was actually great fun and fascinating to observe how various individuals in groups attempted to figure out how to survive a situation where we had crash landed in a remote area in Canada. We had a list of 15 items where we had to first choose as individuals and then as a group, which we would use and in what way to ensure survival - I can't recall the full list but it included things like a magnetic compass, a box of matches, a bottle of whisky, water purification tablets to name a few - the group I was in failed miserably and would for sure have died after a couple of days! It was great fun though and quite an eye opener.
Great show review. I felt like I was there with you. Tks.
I did not see anything in the Spirit Torino Valkyria at the NY show. You and a few others seem to like it. I did not like anything about it. Maybe I will try it at another show, but I did spend a good deal of time with it. We will see.
Thank you for reporting on the Lina driving the Sus. I have been waiting on someone to test it out.
Have you ever tried the STAX 9000 on the 3ES by Woo Audio? This was at the NY Show. Tks.
