[Rockwell75]

Traillii x15
Jewel x12
Xe6 x 11

Evo x7
IER Z1R x6
Indigo x6
Fourte/Noir x5
EXT x5
Mason x5
Phonix x5

a/u12t x4
Annihilator x4
Mest/Mest II x4
Supermoon x3
Thunder x3
Solaris x3
Andromeda x2
a/u18t x2
Dorado 2020 x2
Isabellae x2
Khan x2
Legend x2
Odin x2
Trio x2
Turii x2
X x2
Ace
Advar
Aether R
Anole VX
Atlas
Dark Matter
DC Ti
Eden
Elysium
Erlkonig
EST50
FD3
Fibae 7
FW10000
Hook-X
IE900
Jolene
LCDi4
Legend X
Moonlight
Percivalli
RE2000
SE846
Storm
T5
Thummim
Tri Starlight
V14
Wraith
Zen Pro

Brand Numbers

Oriolus - 18 (3 IEMs)
Aroma - 16 (3 IEMs)
Unique Melody - 15 (3 IEMs)
Vision Ears - 12 (4 IEMs)
64 Audio - 13 (4 (IEMs)
Empire - 11 (4 IEMs)
Fir Audio - 11 (1 IEM)
Campfire Audio - 11 (4 IEMs)

 

[claud W]

How stable is the operating system & have you had any glitches?

No glitches. just beautiful SQ. Operating system just needs using to get used to it.

 

[Rockwell75]

No votes for my other cheapish stars, the Yanyin Moonlight and the Reecho OVA SG-1.

Moonlight is up there.

I also appreciate the many hours provided by a single charge of the battery - something like 20 hours, right? With that and a portable power bank, I could hide up a tree for a good long time during the zombie apocalypse.

Another DAP that is highly portable and very musical is the Ibasso DX 240.

I considered the 240 but as per @Tchoupitoulas' comment the SR25ii has Sony levels of battery life and that's what drew me in.

I have been breaking in my DX 240 w/ Amp 8 Mk2 for over a week and sometimes wonder why I went Shanling.

I've never heard an Ibasso DAP but have always been very happy with my Shanlings

 

[AnalogandDigital]

Question ...
How is:

1. Annihilator vs Jewel
2. Elysian X vs Jewel

 

[riverground]

Has the Advar more energy up top than the Isa?

They do, yes. They extend more in the bass as well.

Just missing one more X in that list Damien

My cheap edition list would be:

1. Blessing 2
2. Final A4K
3. Final A3K

But alas I have already voted

If there’s a “budget” edition of the ranking, mine would be:

1) Final A3k
2) Final A4k
3) Shuoer S12

 

[wolfstar76]

Not to name this as my top 3, but a fun cheap specialist: Focus Audio EDM.
I bought the special offer editon for only $84.5, it is really really fun, basshead sorta fun.

 

[Andorn]

1. XE6
2. Indigo
3. EXT

 

[named name]

For the list:

1. A12t
2. IER Z1R
3. LXSE

 

[discord]

1. Jewel
2. XE6
3. Indigo

 

[efftee]

Question ...
How is:

1. Annihilator vs Jewel
2. Elysian X vs Jewel

My $0.02. All 3 are as good as IEMs get on today's tech and tuning. Resolution monsters all -- impeccable details, layering/separation and technically accomplished at the highest level.

Jewel probably has the best mids of the three, just the right tinge of color to push vocals up a notch. Scales well, given the right source, it keeps getting better. If there is one (or two) things I dislike about it, (1) for 6 ESTs, my expectations are sky high, but not only did it not impress, I don't think the implementation and thus, what the EST could (and should) sound like, is just not heard, and (2) the price, especially if you take into account the stock cable.

Annihilator is my favorite IEM of the three. On the Venom cable, I have not heard a better technical yet musically enjoyable IEM. It was tuned for a Fujiya-Avic competition, which it won, and no wonder, the technicals are uncompromisingly high. Some of the best trebles I have heard bar none and I am getting rumbling sub-bass even though that's not a trait it boasts. Its biggest problem is also its greatest strength. The Annihilator is the most source picky IEM I have come across. On the players it doesn't like, $5 ear buds from Aliexpress will sound better, but feed it a quality player, and better, amped, and it will scale beyond the Jewel and X. Understandably, this is a trade-off that Lee had to make in order to achieve the standards of the ESTs, the sensitivity had to be tuned way down and more power is needed to really drive it to the level of performance it is capable of. And when the Accupost kicks in, the 3D imaging of the Annihilator (and X) is just unreal.

X comfortably occupies the happy middle ground of the three. It has most of the good points of the Annihilator, albeit the presentation being slightly different, and also being more source-agnostic, you don't need a powerful source for it to sound good but a good source wouldn't make it sound as great as the Annihilator would. It is also tuned to be more fun, more enjoyable at a mainstream level. In my opinion, this is the best high-end bang for your buck of the three. Thoroughly delightful whatever your fancy! The parts, labor and with the Venom cable, there really isn't enough money for Lee to want to continue making/selling the X! No wonder it's discontinued.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

My $0.02. All 3 are as good as IEMs get on today's tech and tuning. Resolution monsters all -- impeccable details, layering/separation and technically accomplished at the highest level.

Jewel probably has the best mids of the three, just the right tinge of color to push vocals up a notch. Scales well, given the right source, it keeps getting better. If there is one (or two) things I dislike about it, (1) for 6 ESTs, my expectations are sky high, but not only did it not impress, I don't think the implementation and thus, what the EST could (and should) sound like, is just not heard, and (2) the price, especially if you take into account the stock cable.

Annihilator is my favorite IEM of the three. On the Venom cable, I have not heard a better technical yet musically enjoyable IEM. It was tuned for a Fujiya-Avic competition, which it won, and no wonder, the technicals are uncompromisingly high. Some of the best trebles I have heard bar none and I am getting rumbling sub-bass even though that's not a trait it boasts. Its biggest problem is also its greatest strength. The Annihilator is the most source picky IEM I have come across. On the players it doesn't like, $5 ear buds from Aliexpress will sound better, but feed it a quality player, and better, amped, and it will scale beyond the Jewel and X. Understandably, this is a trade-off that Lee had to make in order to achieve the standards of the ESTs, the sensitivity had to be tuned way down and more power is needed to really drive it to the level of performance it is capable of. And when the Accupost kicks in, the 3D imaging of the Annihilator (and X) is just unreal.

X comfortably occupies the happy middle ground of the three. It has most of the good points of the Annihilator, albeit the presentation being slightly different, and also being more source-agnostic, you don't need a powerful source for it to sound good but a good source wouldn't make it sound as great as the Annihilator would. It is also tuned to be more fun, more enjoyable at a mainstream level. In my opinion, this is the best high-end bang for your buck of the three. Thoroughly delightful whatever your fancy! The parts, labor and with the Venom cable, there really isn't enough money for Lee to want to continue making/selling the X! No wonder it's discontinued.

Appreciate your detailed input ...
Well have the X here
And just thinking to get an extra pair
Not that I need to or in a rush
But Annihilator and Jewel where 2 I am thinking of ...

 

[aaf evo]

To add to @efftee post here is how I'd summarize them based off my own time owning them and how I heard them relative to my preferences.

X v shaped
Anni u shaped
Jewel W (to me at least)

best bass quality: Jewel, it is more textured and tighter than Annihilator and X, but it has the least quantity of all 3. Annihilator gives a bodied mid bass presentation whereas X goes for sub bass.
best mids: Jewel imo, but there is an upper mid peak that can give some extra energy to the mids, the Annihilator I'd put in second here but I personally wish the lower mids were a bit more forward. I found the X to be too disjointed between the lower and upper mids.
best treble: either Elysian for me, Jewel treble is great also but its got a large lower treble dip like Traillii and it is tuned to be more conservative versus the Elysian IEMs. So for sheer EST use, the Elysian are a notch above.

stage: Jewel > Anni > X for me... Annihilator has a really wide stage but it comes off a bit on the flat side, I don't hear much depth or height in it. The Jewel has the most intimate stage of the 3 but I find it to be quite spherical and immersive, it is the most engaging of the three for me on that aspect. The X has great width, depth, and height but I personally thought it was too out of head. I always found myself cranking the volume up higher than I listen to to try bring the sound closer and "connect" with the music more.

Jewel is probably the most boring of the 3, to me it is one of those IEMs that just sounds so right for my library that its really hard to get that "wow" moment with it outside of just sheer appreciation for how well I think it is tuned. Ironically it's also the one of the bunch that I can listen to for by far the longest while still feeling engaged with my music.

As stated above, I think source is very important for all three monitors. I've heard them all sound amazing and like crap depending what I am feeding them. I would not bother investing into any of those IEMs if you don't have something to give them some good juice and really make them sing.

All three of them are awesome and TOTL monitors. I am listening to my CIEM Annihilator as we speak. The Jewel is my preferred of the 3. I'd narrow it more down to what sort of sound signature you want. Maybe this will help..

Side note, just killed off one of my "newer" CIEMs, KR5 has gone to a new home. I didn't use it at all and it was the least compatible with my library. I will miss that matte white though.

 

[yaps66]

Some Tuesday night Bandcamp shopping which is going very well. This is a real gem.

"Wide-ranging influences on the LP include 70s era ECM and Miles Davis, Spencer Clark/Star Searchers, Ansel Adams, Steve Reich, H Takahashi, Don Slepian, The Blue Nile, Talk Talk’s ‘Spirit Of Eden’, Michael Gordon’s ‘Rushes for 8 Bassoons’, Sir Simon Rattle’s documentary ‘Leaving Home’, Horoshi Yoshimura, Ulla Strauss and Disasterpeace, plus new developments in vaporwave and software experimental.

Hitting the centre at the ven diagram of these interests, the record converges the trio’s individual sound worlds into something singular. Primarily purveying a sense of endorphin-flushed tranquillity, they build synthetic, bucolic, lysergic landscapes, which although imbued with processed plasticity also contain multi-stranded depths of textural field."

I love all the descriptors you have assigned! While I am unable to relate to all, am listening to the track now and looking at the picture and do relate to the following descriptors:

Miles Davis
Ansel Adams
I am also getting Bali vibes out of the track and agree that it is a gem!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Doug2507]

My $0.02. All 3 are as good as IEMs get on today's tech and tuning. Resolution monsters all -- impeccable details, layering/separation and technically accomplished at the highest level.

Jewel probably has the best mids of the three, just the right tinge of color to push vocals up a notch. Scales well, given the right source, it keeps getting better. If there is one (or two) things I dislike about it, (1) for 6 ESTs, my expectations are sky high, but not only did it not impress, I don't think the implementation and thus, what the EST could (and should) sound like, is just not heard, and (2) the price, especially if you take into account the stock cable.

Annihilator is my favorite IEM of the three. On the Venom cable, I have not heard a better technical yet musically enjoyable IEM. It was tuned for a Fujiya-Avic competition, which it won, and no wonder, the technicals are uncompromisingly high. Some of the best trebles I have heard bar none and I am getting rumbling sub-bass even though that's not a trait it boasts. Its biggest problem is also its greatest strength. The Annihilator is the most source picky IEM I have come across. On the players it doesn't like, $5 ear buds from Aliexpress will sound better, but feed it a quality player, and better, amped, and it will scale beyond the Jewel and X. Understandably, this is a trade-off that Lee had to make in order to achieve the standards of the ESTs, the sensitivity had to be tuned way down and more power is needed to really drive it to the level of performance it is capable of. And when the Accupost kicks in, the 3D imaging of the Annihilator (and X) is just unreal.

X comfortably occupies the happy middle ground of the three. It has most of the good points of the Annihilator, albeit the presentation being slightly different, and also being more source-agnostic, you don't need a powerful source for it to sound good but a good source wouldn't make it sound as great as the Annihilator would. It is also tuned to be more fun, more enjoyable at a mainstream level. In my opinion, this is the best high-end bang for your buck of the three. Thoroughly delightful whatever your fancy! The parts, labor and with the Venom cable, there really isn't enough money for Lee to want to continue making/selling the X! No wonder it's discontinued.

Did you find cable pairing made quite a difference to treble on Jewel? As good as orph is for what it does right, I found quite a notable difference in the treble between it and stock, and actually found myself liking stock pulling treble more forward / present indicating jewel likes a little silver in the mix. (Excluding the actually technicalities of Jewel treble).

 

[AnalogandDigital]

To add to @efftee post here is how I'd summarize them based off my own time owning them and how I heard them relative to my preferences.

X v shaped
Anni u shaped
Jewel W (to me at least)

best bass quality: Jewel, it is more textured and tighter than Annihilator and X, but it has the least quantity of all 3. Annihilator gives a bodied mid bass presentation whereas X goes for sub bass.
best mids: Jewel imo, but there is an upper mid peak that can give some extra energy to the mids, the Annihilator I'd put in second here but I personally wish the lower mids were a bit more forward. I found the X to be too disjointed between the lower and upper mids.
best treble: either Elysian for me, Jewel treble is great also but its got a large lower treble dip like Traillii and it is tuned to be more conservative versus the Elysian IEMs. So for sheer EST use, the Elysian are a notch above.

stage: Jewel > Anni > X for me... Annihilator has a really wide stage but it comes off a bit on the flat side, I don't hear much depth or height in it. The Jewel has the most intimate stage of the 3 but I find it to be quite spherical and immersive, it is the most engaging of the three for me on that aspect. The X has great width, depth, and height but I personally thought it was too out of head. I always found myself cranking the volume up higher than I listen to to try bring the sound closer and "connect" with the music more.

Jewel is probably the most boring of the 3, to me it is one of those IEMs that just sounds so right for my library that its really hard to get that "wow" moment with it outside of just sheer appreciation for how well I think it is tuned. Ironically it's also the one of the bunch that I can listen to for by far the longest while still feeling engaged with my music.

As stated above, I think source is very important for all three monitors. I've heard them all sound amazing and like crap depending what I am feeding them. I would not bother investing into any of those IEMs if you don't have something to give them some good juice and really make them sing.

All three of them are awesome and TOTL monitors. I am listening to my CIEM Annihilator as we speak. The Jewel is my preferred of the 3. I'd narrow it more down to what sort of sound signature you want. Maybe this will help..



Side note, just killed off one of my "newer" CIEMs, KR5 has gone to a new home. I didn't use it at all and it was the least compatible with my library. I will miss that matte white though.

Thanks for input as well ...
As mentioned I already have the X here
Source is C9 and N8ii suppose that should do the trick
Well as usual it will be buy & try I suppose ...