[Frankie D]

Most welcome. It was fun writing this up

Yes I tried the 3ES with the X9000 and loved it. It’s an awesome amp!! The T2 is still my favorite…

Good info on the Eksonic T2. Thanks, I will keep that in mind.

 

[PHLHarmonic]

I love both of these. The pearl white with gold and black goes surprisingly well.

I think so too. The NE4 is an excellent sounding IEM and has the newness factor in its corner, but I'm leaning a bit towards the A12t for a couple reasons.

 

[aaf evo]

I think so too. The NE4 is an excellent sounding IEM and has the newness factor in its corner, but I'm leaning a bit towards the A12t for a couple reasons.

A12t is a safer bet and a better all rounder. It’s a bit boring but it’s a great boring. NE4 is more exciting but sometimes can be a bit much. I just put the A12t back in my gym back for the foreseeable future and I’m enjoying it very much NE4 gets a break for now.

 

[Rockwell75]

Elysian X and Annihilator demos just landed in Richmond...I should have them tomorrow...finally

Scheming with @tgx78 , @DanielListening and @SBranson to plan a meetup this weekend.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Good info on the Eksonic T2. Thanks, I will keep that in mind.

Frankie,

@goldwerger introduced me to electrostats in a big way. That Eksonic T2 aka Kerry's T2 paired with X9000 is endgame worthy. I liked it so much I bought a Stax-007 and I don't even have an amp for it yet.

I am at a cross roads. I need to pick a direction because I cannot go down all 3 paths at the same time. Woo Audio, Eksonic or Wells. All 3 endgame worthy. Going to have a shootout in CanJam socal. Leaning Wells right now. That system blew me away more than the WA33 did with 1266TC, but I need to hear it again to know for sure.

 

[toaster]

I just got the FIR Audio tour IEMs which I signed up for months ago before I knew what FIR Audio was. Since then, I have heard them twice at CanJam NYC and this past weekend at CanJam Chicago. Now, in the comfort of home, I am able to listen to them in a familiar environment, relaxed and with my own sources and tips.

The KR5 was no longer too bright and I liked it a lot, just like I remembered in NYC.

But, what I can say is that for me, 4 times is a charm. I finally get the XE6. This morning, I was listening the 1266TC with its glorious bass. Then, I listened the the KR5, then the XE6 and now I absolutely love it. I have no idea why it took my mind so long to wrap itself around this IEM. But, I am there now. It actually sounds like full sized headphones with fantastic bass.

I have a theory about it, but that's all I have. When I first heard it, my mind trained on what I could only hear as overwhelming bass. For a bass head, that is hard to believe. But, what it really was is that the bass was distracting me away from the rest of the music. Now, my mind has adjusted to it and it sounds like a room full of bass surrounding the rest of the music inside. I think the right metaphor would be listening to a 2 channel system. You get used to listening to the music with walls that are dampening the bass and that is what you get used to hearing. Then, you put in the XE6 and the walls are energized. At first, since it is different, that's all you hear. But, after a while, you get used to it and it becomes a room filled with bass and the rest of the music is inside. The XE6 has tremendously great punch and slam. I used to think that they Z1R was the king in this regard. No longer. Now, it's the XE6. And, part of that room of bass is deep subbass. And, the resolution of the IEM is fantastic. Much more resolving than the KR5. It took me a while, but I am finally hooked. I am going to get one.

YES.

I am so curious about kinetic bass, and so much enjoyed what I heard on the universal, that I have decided to revisit customs just so I can hear the kinetic bass in all its glory.

It's crazy how warm the xe6 is, and yet, how much detail and resolution it concurrently delivers.

Went with this (xe6 - fabled sound edition )

 

[discord]

I think I am going to do custom.

Having heard them all in universal and CIEM, it’s definitely one of the few IEMs that I wholeheartedly think is a step up in custom. That bass driver right inside your ear hits different.

@HiFiHawaii808 I can vouch for the CIEM XE6 being awesome as well, and I prefer it to the UIEM. I’d add that I felt a bit more treble and upper mids presence when going from the UIEM to CIEM.

Almost 5 months with these now.

 

[Natesdailies]

LOL

I love the XE6 but could never justify the cost. Maybe in three years they will have a model I can afford.

I have a feeling that the re-sale market for IEMS is going to be saturated in the next 3 years (bear market conditions). Might see a few steals!

@HiFiHawaii808 I can vouch for the CIEM XE6 being awesome as well, and I prefer it to the UIEM. I’d add that I felt a bit more treble and upper mids presence when going from the UIEM to CIEM.

Almost 5 months with these now.

Sick. I've also been flirting with the idea going custom. The universal fits pretty flush on my ear though and I love how the universal looks.

Elysian X and Annihilator demos just landed in Richmond...I should have them tomorrow...finally

Scheming with @tgx78 , @DanielListening and @SBranson to plan a meetup this weekend.

Catching up with this thread. Elysian IEMS how?

 

[discord]

Sick. I've also been flirting with the idea going custom. The universal fits pretty flush on my ear though and I love how the universal looks.

I love the look of the universal XE6 as well, but ultimately I didn’t like the weight of the shells.

 

[PHLHarmonic]

I have a feeling that the re-sale market for IEMS is going to be saturated in the next 3 years (bear market conditions). Might see a few steals!

Sooner. I give it six months or less. I posted about it recently but a lot of things are already not really moving on the secondary market.

I love the look of the universal XE6 as well, but ultimately I didn’t like the weight of the shells.

They're notably heavier than the NE4, yeah. I wonder what the story is with the X2 or if anybody has one yet.

 

[aaf evo]

Sooner. I give it six months or less. I posted about it recently but a lot of things are already not really moving on the secondary market.



They're notably heavier than the NE4, yeah. I wonder what the story is with the X2 or if anybody has one yet.

The X2 from Bellos Audio I believe is targeted towards musicians, hence its quick and easy repair process and RCX termination. I spoke with Vlad yesterday and thats all I asked, doesn’t seem something for me.

 

[goldwerger]

Frankie,

@goldwerger introduced me to electrostats in a big way. That Eksonic T2 aka Kerry's T2 paired with X9000 is endgame worthy. I liked it so much I bought a Stax-007 and I don't even have an amp for it yet.

I am at a cross roads. I need to pick a direction because I cannot go down all 3 paths at the same time. Woo Audio, Eksonic or Wells. All 3 endgame worthy. Going to have a shootout in CanJam socal. Leaning Wells right now. That system blew me away more than the WA33 did with 1266TC, but I need to hear it again to know for sure.

My personal pick would also be the new Wells over the WA33.

The estat is a principled decision. It will (likely) always be a second path in your stack. If that choice would give you pleasure add it (as I did). If you want a singular system, you’ll probably stay with the above.

 

[szore]

Hello folks, changing topic a little bit: I am getting ready to explore the wacky wonderful world of power cables and power conditioners. I was planning on ordering the Denefrips BIC-500 power conditioner. I am looking at Shunyata Venom-3 cables for $150 a pop. Q: I know I 'need' the power cord on line level components like my AresII DAC, but do headphone amplifiers benefit from after market power cords? For example the Jot2? If anyone has experience with this I would appreciate some advice!

 

[aaf evo]

Hello folks, changing topic a little bit: I am getting ready to explore the wacky wonderful world of power cables and power conditioners. I was planning on ordering the Denefrips BIC-500 power conditioner. I am looking at Shunyata Venom-3 cables for $150 a pop. Q: I know I 'need' the power cord on line level components like my AresII DAC, but do headphone amplifiers benefit from after market power cords? For example the Jot2? If anyone has experience with this I would appreciate some advice!

Paging @tawmizzzz

 

[tawmizzzz]

Paging @tawmizzzz

Hello folks, changing topic a little bit: I am getting ready to explore the wacky wonderful world of power cables and power conditioners. I was planning on ordering the Denefrips BIC-500 power conditioner. I am looking at Shunyata Venom-3 cables for $150 a pop. Q: I know I 'need' the power cord on line level components like my AresII DAC, but do headphone amplifiers benefit from after market power cords? For example the Jot2? If anyone has experience with this I would appreciate some advice!

Lol happy to help with the snake oils of all snake oils!

I have the TWL Digital American power cord and noticed a difference on the Ferrum OOR, as well as on the Ferrum Hypsos-but it got to the point where the musicality got lost by replacing the hint of analogue warmth the Ferrum is known for with an ultra technical, layered presentation. I wasn't a huge fan. But on the flipside, the TWL did clean up my Wells Audio Dragon L2 quite nicely by balancing out the warmth with a more natural, dynamic enhancement. It isn't night and day but this is more finetuning and mitigating bottlenecks from the beginning of your entire chain (i.e., power) as you probably know by now.

So you're on point; the DAC could arguably benefit more especially a R2R like the Ares II. I switched the TWL onto my Spring 3 R2R DAC and the R2R magic went on 'roids. Better decay, better texture, more effortlessly portrayal of notes. I genuinely feel the stock cable limited my Spring 3 and am very happy with the power cable benefits. I am keeping the TWL on the Spring 3 and keeping stock power cables on my Ferrum stack.

But each system/component will vary depending on chain, ability/ears to pick up the differences, and preferences. (I have the Niagara1200 power conditioner, never heard Denafrips for example). I would say buy the cable(s), and just try it onto every part of your chain (1 by 1, without any other changing factors), and see what sounds the best. It really is a trial-and-error kind of wormhole IMHO. Good luck.

P.S. The most important cable is the one that plugs between your wall/outlet and the power conditioner. Start there.