[AnalogandDigital]

Nah, Annihilator has been in the market for years, and the Universal turnaround time is faster and cheaper than the CIEM. There are definitely more Annihilator Universals than 35 units of X

That's why I went X ...

 

[Natesdailies]

I just got a reply back about the Subtonic Storm. Apparently there are no demo sets available because the demand is so high. They plan on doing a Head Fi tour.

 

[toaster]

Really interested in your A/B test of Orpheus vs First Time Shielding. I demoed the Orpheus at CanJam Chicago. I liked it, but not enough to buy. Later, I bought a First Times Shielding and it reminded me of the Orpheus.

One question I’ve had since getting Orpheus is how much of an impact the shielding is having on sound vs the copper cable itself.

Orphy is unquestionably an astounding piece of audio tech, but I have literally no idea why or how it works the way it does.

I did not hear FT non-shielded to do most of what orphy does to my ears, so I am checking out some other cables.

Based on your experience and mine, it seems possible that shielding may in fact be playing a large role in impacting sound.

 

[Scubadevils]

She’s a keeper then?

Early days but certainly impressive and sufficiently unique to keep for now - I'll be spending a lot of time with it over the weekend. It's not part of my planned cul anyway! ...although that's not really going to plan - less is more, more or less

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

One question I’ve had since getting Orpheus is how much of an impact the shielding is having on sound vs the copper cable itself.

Orphy is unquestionably an astounding piece of audio tech, but I have literally no idea why or how it works the way it does.

I did not hear FT non-shielded to do most of what orphy does to my ears, so I am checking out some other cables.

Based on your experience and mine, it seems possible that shielding may in fact be playing a large role in impacting sound.

I do believe that the shielding is doing something to the sound. It just sounds different.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

So we have options still to spent a coin in 2022
Bitcoin I mean

• Subtonic Storm
• Oriolus xxxx
• EA Project L
• New TOTL from another brand ...
• LP7 ... maybe

Looks good ...

 

[gadgetgod]

Got my Shanling M7 and Sennheiser IE600 back from my friend who took them for an audition. I gave the pair a good 4-hour session, man I just love how beautiful the IE600 sounds off the M7. I remember I got an IE900 too for review back in the day, I liked it a lot but idk I find IE600 to create a more immersive sound for me. I was listening to some of my favorite Bollywood(Regional movie industry) tracks and the pairing was so good, I just don't know how 4 hours passed by. A great investment from my side for the 600 I would say!! Loving the IE600 more every single day

Please don't get me wrong here, obviously, the IE900 has better staging, and better treble resolution too, but IE600 offers greatly comparable performance at half the cost.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

That's why I went X ...

People are split between which they like more. Some prefer the X. Others prefer Annihilator. I happen to be a person who prefers Annihilator over X by a wide margin. In reading the impressions, I almost bought an X, but after I had the chance to A/B test them for a week, I found that Annihilator was a better fit for my preferences and library.

For me, the Annihilator's best feature is its sublime treble. The X had tuning that interfered with the treble response for me. I did like the X, but only when I gave it a lot of power so that the treble was fully activated. I found the Annihilator to be a much better all arounder that sounded better on more sources. So, I bought the Annihilator.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I accidentally posted this in the wrong forum. This is where I meant to post it.

I recently picked up a Chord Mojo 2 and so I have been listening to the Mojo 2/Poly and Hugo 2/2go quite a bit lately. I found that my favorite pairings are Legend EVO with Mojo 2/Poly. These were made for each other as the bass is thunderous and the more analytical nature of the Mojo 2 really tightened up the sound. It is my favorite bass response of any IEM I own.

Also, EE Odin works great with Hugo 2 / 2go. This is not surprising since Empire Ears uses the Hugo 2 as one of its sources for tuning it. The bass is fantastic, but where it really helps is keeping the treble smooth and not dry as it can be with other sources.

Also, 2 years ago, I was more of a DAC/AMP listener and not a DAP guy. I wanted to use my iPhone as the streamer and let the DAC/AMP be responsible for sound quality. I wondered how good the quality of the DAC/AMP was relative to the high end DAPs. Now that I own several high end DAPs, here are my observations.

The Chord Mojo 2 plus Poly is priced at the same range as a midfi DAP. But, it has the Sound Quality more equivalent to a TOTL DAP. It trades blows with the N8ii. I still prefer the N8ii as it sounds more natural and less analytical, but the resolution and power are in the same league. And, it has other features the N8ii doesn't like cross feed and lossless 4 band EQ which works great. It is a nice size and the build quality is top notch except for the use of USB-micro which is a head scratcher. The Mojo 2 has an EQ center frequency at 3k hz, so it is very easy to lower the upper mids by 2-3 db which is often cited as a hot spot for EVO and Odin.

Hugo 2/2go is priced like a TOTL DAP. It absolutely has TOTL sound, but again, I still prefer the N8ii. And, the Hugo 2 is a nice desktop replacement DAC if you want to use it as such.

If you don't want the screen that a DAP has because you want to manage your music on a smart device, both of these devices are still relevant in today's market. For me, I've been converted to the completeness, simplicity and dedicated feature set of the DAP. I like that I only need one cable to go into the DAP and it plays music. DAC/AMP you need 2 cables.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

People are split between which they like more. Some prefer the X. Others prefer Annihilator. I happen to be a person who prefers Annihilator over X by a wide margin. In reading the impressions, I almost bought an X, but after I had the chance to A/B test them for a week, I found that Annihilator was a better fit for my preferences and library.

For me, the Annihilator's best feature is its sublime treble. The X had tuning that interfered with the treble response for me. I did like the X, but only when I gave it a lot of power so that the treble was fully activated. I found the Annihilator to be a much better all arounder that sounded better on more sources. So, I bought the Annihilator.

Not saying there's no room here for the Annihilator
Actually I already spoke about it to Lee earlier
We'll see what happens
Never say never ...

 

[morserotonin]

I accidentally posted this in the wrong forum. This is where I meant to post it.

I recently picked up a Chord Mojo 2 and so I have been listening to the Mojo 2/Poly and Hugo 2/2go quite a bit lately. I found that my favorite pairings are Legend EVO with Mojo 2/Poly. These were made for each other as the bass is thunderous and the more analytical nature of the Mojo 2 really tightened up the sound. It is my favorite bass response of any IEM I own.

Also, EE Odin works great with Hugo 2 / 2go. This is not surprising since Empire Ears uses the Hugo 2 as one of its sources for tuning it. The bass is fantastic, but where it really helps is keeping the treble smooth and not dry as it can be with other sources.

Also, 2 years ago, I was more of a DAC/AMP listener and not a DAP guy. I wanted to use my iPhone as the streamer and let the DAC/AMP be responsible for sound quality. I wondered how good the quality of the DAC/AMP was relative to the high end DAPs. Now that I have high end DAPs, here are my observations.

The Chord Mojo 2 plus Poly is priced at the same range as a midfi DAP. But, it has the Sound Quality more equivalent to a TOTL DAP. It trades blows with the N8ii. I still prefer the N8ii as it sounds more natural and less analytical, but the resolution and power are in the same league. And, it has other features the N8ii doesn't like cross feed and lossless 4 band EQ which sounds great. It is a nice size and the build quality is top notch except for the use of USB-micro which is a headshaker. The Mojo 2 has an EQ center frequency at 3k hz, so it is very easy to lower the upper mids by 2-3 db.

Hugo 2/2go is priced like a TOTL DAP. It absolutely has TOTL sound, but again, I still prefer the N8ii. And, the Hugo 2 is a nice desktop replacement DAC if you want to use it as such.

If you don't want the screen that a DAP has because you want to manage your music on a smart device, both of these devices are still relevant in today's market. For me, I've been converted to the completeness, simplicity and dedicated feature set of the DAP. I like that I only need one cable to go into the DAP and it plays music. DAC/AMP you need 2 cables.

I do love my Mojo2 it has been great with my Mest MK2 and the Aroma Thunder. I use it with the Hiby R3 Pro Saber with a coax cable. Thanks for this as I have been wondering if I needed to buy a higher end DAP to see my IEMs at their best. I will audition the N8ii at Canjam to see how I like it but I am now in no rush!

 

[Skullar]

Hopefully I’ll have mine early august. They’re supposed to ship at the end of the month and I was lucky enough to get in the first batch. I have high but reasonable expectations for this set.

Well Subtonic seem to be very confident with this one. So fingers crossed..

 

[Scubadevils]

Got my Shanling M7 and Sennheiser IE600 back from my friend who took them for an audition. I gave the pair a good 4-hour session, man I just love how beautiful the IE600 sounds off the M7. I remember I got an IE900 too for review back in the day, I liked it a lot but idk I find IE600 to create a more immersive sound for me. I was listening to some of my favorite Bollywood(Regional movie industry) tracks and the pairing was so good, I just don't know how 4 hours passed by. A great investment from my side for the 600 I would say!! Loving the IE600 more every single day

Please don't get me wrong here, obviously, the IE900 has better staging, and better treble resolution too, but IE600 offers greatly comparable performance at half the cost.

I'm really keen to hear IE600, I'm in the EU tour but I think last so a few weeks away still. Very curious to hear how it compares to IE900... and indeed others I own or have owned - which leads me to quickly top 10 rank them off the top of my head:

1. Technics EAH-TZ700
2. Sennheiser IE900
3. DUNU ZEN PRO
4. FAudio Dark Sky
5. DUNU ZEN
6. Penon Vortex
7. Final A4000
8. Fiio FD7 (short lived, fit issues - it could have ranked higher)
9. BQEYZ Autumn
10. CCA CRA

I'll be trying Meze Advar soon too, again I think last on the list so a few more weeks!

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

The Chord Mojo 2 plus Poly is priced at the same range as a midfi DAP. But, it has the Sound Quality more equivalent to a TOTL DAP.

Thanks for this post and your observations about the Chord combo being on a par with TOTL DAPs. That's really useful info.

Have you - or has anyone else - heard the iFi Gryphon or Diablo and the Mojo 2/Poly? If so, I'd be interested about how they stand up.

Edit: further to the discussion above about foreign currency rates, it was already annoying that the Mojo 2 is $775 in the US and 495 GBP in the UK. At today's exchange rate, the Mojo 2 in the UK is the equivalent of $592. (My mum in the UK might end up getting a package for me...) iFi, by comparison, prices its items similarly for the US and the UK.

 

[gadgetgod]

I'm really keen to hear IE600, I'm in the EU tour but I think last so a few weeks away still. Very curious to hear how it compares to IE900... and indeed others I own or have owned - which leads me to quickly top 10 rank them off the top of my head:

1. Technics EAH-TZ700
2. Sennheiser IE900
3. DUNU ZEN PRO
4. FAudio Dark Sky
5. DUNU ZEN
6. Penon Vortex
7. Final A4000
8. Fiio FD7 (short lived, fit issues - it could have ranked higher)
9. BQEYZ Autumn
10. CCA CRA

I'll be trying Meze Advar soon too, again I think last on the list so a few more weeks!

I also have a unit of FAudio Dark Sky with me right now. Will compare both of them tomorrow. FAudio belongs to @Ace Bee , I am planning to block him and grab his unit hehehehe. It sounds phenomenal.