[Doug2507]

Can you please provide a link where can we buy the Denon ah-d9200 for 750. Thank you!

Hyperfi in UK. (GBP)

 

[Damz87]

Managed to snag a Supermoon Universal like our friend @Rockwell75 ’s unit

Pumped to hear it! Hopefully it doesn’t take too long to arrive

 

[Dynamo5561]

Managed to snag a Supermoon Universal like our friend @Rockwell75 ’s unit

Pumped to hear it! Hopefully it doesn’t take too long to arrive

Did you sit in front of the pc and press F5 permanently? It was gone so fast Congrats!

 

[claud W]

Cooler survey: What is your 12? Full size, IEMs and buds welcome...but you get only 12 total collectively.

1. Aroma Jewel w / Venom cable
2. Aroma Thunder w/ drjuggles cable
3. VE Phonix w/ PWA First Times
4. Orilious Szalayi
5. Orilious Isabella
6. VE EXT w/PWA First Times
7. Dunu Zen Pro
8. QDC Solo
9 Senn IE 600
10.Senn IE 900
11.Hook Raptgo
12. Yanyin Moonlight

These are my top 12 in my present inventory

 

[Scubadevils]

Advar a bit of a pain in the Meze to get a decent fit, but once achieved, it could lead someone who only recently said no more IEMs for now, to buying another IEM...

These instantly click with me - beautiful tonality, well balanced, very natural presentation with great detail retrieval and a good sized stage. I'd say a ZEN PRO shoot out will be interesting as that's the closest signature in my collection - ZEN PRO probably has fuller mids as one initial observation before an a/b. I'm due the IE600 soon too as part of that tour, another that I suspect would be a worthy participant in a three way shoot out.

Oh and they look and feel beautiful, top notch craftsmanship.

 

[ljnew]

imho I think these audiophile youtubers are doing just fine, i mean it's their take on what they prefer sonically anyway, even if maybe some of them receive monetary gain from sponsors and they do make the collab dollars out of reviewing stuff. I do have to say however that these collabs has shaped the 'budget' audiophile path to better tunings (at least in the chi-fi market) with more competitive pricing and well, i guess that's not a bad thing. The only negative outcome is that some of their audience has become too focused on FR and rankings, that they habitually judge an IEM or a headphone based solely on that data, which in my opinion is not the most accurate evaluation in the audiophile world. It's so bad that i see some people coming in to an audio store, saying that "this iem sucks that iem sucks because the FR is this way or that way" without actually trying them on, to the point that they can't even trust their own ears. These reviewers are like influencers in the audio world and thats fantastic, the audio market is more exciting now than ever, but at the same time i really wish these viewers can also have solid opinions based on what they truly listen to and trust their ears more...

I can agree.

I've been in this hobby for a long time. Before Crinacle and people like bggar we didn't really have reviewers, instead we had glorified promoters. Everything was awesome no grading system and no reliable way to make a purchase. The more something costs, the better it was to the promoters.

We primarily had to make purchase decisions not on music or knowing someone's playlist, but strictly on vague terms that people still use today. Terms that no 2 people will agree on. My favorite is technicalities . I can't say that word without smiling. Yes, I'm still guilty of using that term.

Instead of speaking of technicalities, it's better to discuss specific songs with specific timestamps and determine the instruments and sounds one iem can display over another. That technique would murder alot of tech arguments but also prove which iems are technically better.

We have a billion audiophile terms no two people will agree on. I like crinacle and bggar because at least they provide tangible substance to their reviews. More importantly they help me refrain from making stupid blind purchases.

But i don't always agree with them either.

That’s also why i like this thread so much instead of manufacturers or affiliate threads. Real opinions on what's good and what is not.

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

Out of interest, if spending say $2k on a set of headphones that will be driven well by the likes of the Shanling M9, and offer the following attributes, what should be considered?

• High resolution
• Good extension both ends - I'll need deep sub, plus sparkling highs
• Mid bass needs to be solid, but I'll take better sub
• Clear, but emotive mids
• Excellent detail retrieval
• Excellent layering / imaging
• Big soundstage
• Non fatiguing, comfort is essential

I'll add my thumbs up to the endorsements above for the Clear. I sold mine earlier this summer but only because I've moved on to a higher tier of headphones. It does pretty much everything you ask for here, except for the big soundstage. It's too narrow. This was my major gripe with the Clear and would have been a dealbreaker were it not for the clever way Focal did imaging, layering, and separation: there's very specific imaging that makes the sonic image precise and a bit smaller than you get with other headphones, and this means that that there's not only pin-point accuracy to the placement of sounds and instruments but also very good separation and air and space around them, too. In no way is the Clear congested, and I say that as someone who's overly sensitive and fussy about congestion.

The Clear also has very good, if not excellent bass; there's enough mid-bass punch to be satisfying; the sub-bass extends low enough to offer some hefty rumble, and the timbre of acoustic bass instruments is well rendered. The Clear also has the advantage of offering an even and nicely balanced frequency response, with nice, solid mids. The only gripe, really, is a slight amount of steeliness, almost a kind of crystalline hardness, to the treble, but this is source/amp dependent, to a certain extent, and goes away with nice tube amps. I actually prefer the tuning of the Clear over the Utopia, although the latter wins on pretty much every other criterion. I should note that I've not yet heard the Utopia out of my DNA Stratus, which is supposed to improve the soundstage and the treble presentation.

One last thing about the Clear: it has some of the most impressive macrodynamic strength of any headphone; it's not far off the class-leading headphones for this, and it also has great slam. This is amp dependent, though.

---

It's outside the $2k range but I'd encourage you to consider the Rosson Audio RAD-0. You can get b-stock ones for around $2k.

The founder and CEO used to design headphones and work for Audeze, and the RAD-0 shares some of the DNA of high-end Audeze headphones. I've only heard one at CanJam, although I got to hear it for a good 30-45 minutes without many noisy people around me, and I was very impressed. I have the LCD-4 and the RAD-0 is only a smidge behind the LCD-4 when it comes to technicalities, but it is tuned better, by which I mean that it's not as dark and is also more coherent - the big problem with the LCD-4 is its transition through the treble, which is a bit disjointed. The RAD-0 is free of this issue. I know a bunch of guys who have the RAD-0 and love theirs. I'm going to be listening to one of theirs later this week on a personal loaner and I'm super excited to hear it in my own system.

If you're prepared to fork out a bit more cash, the customization options for the RAD-0 are awesome, not just in terms of color scheme (and the choice of chrome/silver and black chassis but also different color grilles), but also in terms of tuning: you can opt for standard, dark, or bright. You can see some of the cool ones here, and another cool option is the opportunity to purchase a recreated design of the RAD-0 for yourself, so if you see something you like, you can get it, too.

The downside of the RAD-0 is that it's hard to audition; there's the option of buying and returning but the 15% fee for doing so makes this option a bit too pricey, especially for you @Scuba Devils, with shipping. I wish they had demo units for audition purposes, even if that involved a 5% fee, which is more manageable.

On the other hand, the RAD-0 is said to be relatively easy to drive and to work well out of DAPs, see here.

 

[bluestorm1992]

Top 12 from current inventory, any deviation from stock cable noted in brackets... ranking based on how much time a set is getting at present.

1. Aroma Audio Jewel (Penon OSG)
2. Oriolus Traillii (LL Martini)
3. Technics TZ700 (Onso 4.4mm)
4. Yanyin Moonlight
5. Final A4000
6. Sony IER-Z1R
7. Oriolus Szalayi (Satin Audio Athena) out on loan, would be higher otherwise
8. DUNU ZEN PRO - closed classifieds listing, again
9. Sennheiser IE900
10. Moondrop Chaconne
11. Tin Hifi P1 Max
12. Hifiman RE800

While I'm at it, on the radar:

• LPGT OG or Ti
• L&P P6Pro
• Sony NW-WM1Z
• qdc Tiger
• Softears Turii
• Dita Perpetua
• Kublai Khan
• Plussound, PWA, Eletech, Penon, new Moondrop cable etc... I've a cable thing starting!
• Some more buds

Out of curiosity, with Traillii, do you prefer Martini over stock because of the ergo or because of the sound?

 

[klyzon]

still waiting for my PC to die so I can overhaul my whole system, add a working dac/amp and jump on the headphone wagon again. Too bad my WA7 died without me even using it much lol

 

[Doug2507]

Cooler survey: What is your 12? Full size, IEMs and buds welcome...but you get only 12 total collectively.

1. Aroma Jewel w / Venom cable
2. Aroma Thunder w/ drjuggles cable
3. VE Phonix w/ PWA First Times
4. Orilious Szalayi
5. Orilious Isabella
6. VE EXT w/PWA First Times
7. Dunu Zen Pro
8. QDC Solo
9 Senn IE 600
10.Senn IE 900
11.Hook Raptgo
12. Yanyin Moonlight

These are my top 12 in my present inventory

What's your thoughts on Venom vs FT with Jewel Claud?

 

[Whazzzup]

looking forward to a sultan review for the kicks

 

[Carrow]

big discount on a pair of Westone Pro X30 in my signature - great sound but can't get on board with the fit so it's not to be, sadly!

have alternatively put these up for eBay auction in my signature

 

[Rockwell75]

It's interesting how the totals are similar to the "top 3" poll and in some ways very different. Happy to see lots of love for EXT, Zen Pro and Elysium.

Totals

IEMs

1) Oriolus Traillii x15
2) 64 audio a/u12t x12
3) EE Evo x11
4) Aroma Jewel x10
5) VE EXT x10
6) FiR XE6 x9
7) Sony IER-Z1R x9
8) Sennheiser IE900 x8
9) VE Phönix x8
10) Elysian Annihilator x6
11) EE Odin x6
12) UM MEST Indigo x6
13) Dunu Zen Pro x5
14) VE Elysium x5
15) 64 Fourte Noir x4
16) Elysian X x4
17) Oriolus Isabellae x4
18) Oriolus Szalayi x4
19) UM Mason x4
20) VE Erlkonig x4
21) 64 audio Fourte x3
21) 64 audio Tia Trio x3
23) CFA Dorado 2020 x3
24) Campfire Supermoon x3
25) EE Legend X x3
26) UM Red Halo/LE Jardin x3
27) Sennheiser IE600 x3
28) Aroma Ace x2
29) CFA Solaris x2
30) Noble Viking x2
31) QDC Anole VX x2
32) 64 a/u18s x2
33) MMR Thummim x2
34) Meze Advar x2
35) Noble Kublai Khan x2
36) Technics EAH-TZ700 x2
37) Thieaudio Monarch MKii x2
38) Yanyin Moonlight x2
39) JVC HA-FW10000
40) Dunu Luna
41) 64 a/u18t
42) Soranik Bastille Audiophile
43) EE Legend X
44) Noble Sultan
45) UM MEST MKii
46) Hidition Viento
47) UM MEST OG
48) CFA Andromeda S
49) Sony IER M9
50) Nostalgia Audio Camelot
51) Canalworks U91 PSTS
52) Ambient Acoustics MAD24
53) Tri Starlight
54) Penon Vortex
55) IMR Ozar
56) Final A4000
57) Tin Hifi P1 Max
58) Hifiman RE800
59) Hyla TE-5B
60) Jomo Trinity Brass
61) Earsonics Stark
62) EE Zeus
63) Noble K-10
64) Jomo Flamenco
65) Dita Perpetua
66) Inear Profile 8
67) IMR Dark Matter
68) Fir KR5
69) Softears Cerberus
70) Softears RSV
71) 64 Audio Nio
72) EE Legend X SE
73) DC Ti
74 Aroma Thunder
75) QDC Solo
76) Raptgo Hook
77)

Full Size

1. Hifiman Susvara x7
2. Abyss 1266 Phi TC x6
3. Focal Utopia x5
4. DCA Stealth x3
5. Sennheiser HD800 x3
6. Stax SR-X9000 x3
7. T+A Solitaire x3
8. ZMF Atrium x3
9. Audeze LCD-4 x2
10. HEDDphone x2
11. Verite C x2
12. Sennheiser HD800S
13. Sony MDR-Z1R
14. Meze Empryan
9. Verite Open
10. Real SR1A
12. Audeze LCD-R
15. HD 6XX
19. Grado GS3000
20. DCA Ether C Flow
21. Sony MDR Z1R
22. Audeze LCD 3
23. ZMF Auteur
24. Meze Elite x2
25. Stax SR Omega
26. Sennheiser HE60
27. Audio Technics ATH-W11
28. Audeze LCD X
29) TH900

Buds

(1) Yinman 2.0 600Ω Limited Edition
(2) Yincrow RW-2000
(3) tgxear tofino
(4) Moondrop Chaconne

 

[Scubadevils]

Out of curiosity, with Traillii, do you prefer Martini over stock because of the ergo or because of the sound?

Both - which as I've not yet reverted to PWA stock to test, I'm questioning to what extent it might be a placebo in the fact that I prefer Martini ergonomics. But my perception is an overall sense of clarity with Martini, allowing details to sound even more distinct, and everything just that bit tighter and pristine - I often hear people talking about a veil being lifted with other cables on various IEMs, and that's what this feels like. But again, might be a wonderful example of placebo, hopefully someone else can test at some point.

I'm enjoying Traillii more than ever since Martini, and even with Jewel to hand, I'm reaching for Traillii almost as much - that says a lot considering I've Traillii about 1 year now, and Jewel only in the door.

 

[cn11]

Advar a bit of a pain in the Meze to get a decent fit, but once achieved, it could lead someone who only recently said no more IEMs for now, to buying another IEM...

These instantly click with me - beautiful tonality, well balanced, very natural presentation with great detail retrieval and a good sized stage. I'd say a ZEN PRO shoot out will be interesting as that's the closest signature in my collection - ZEN PRO probably has fuller mids as one initial observation before an a/b. I'm due the IE600 soon too as part of that tour, another that I suspect would be a worthy participant in a three way shoot out.

Oh and they look and feel beautiful, top notch craftsmanship.

Good to hear... Is this Advar starting to approach TZ700 levels of refinement?