[morserotonin]

Really loving this rig this week... you can pretty much make out the DAC/AMP if you already know what it is... it is the 2017 AKM version.

 

[Kyorai]

Probably not…Annihilator has gen 1 estats and they need power to shine.

Ahh okok… kinda sucks to know about that I guess.. are there any iem around the same price you would recommend that would be able to run with a dongle ? Haha
Looking for something with good details, soundstage and vocals..
mainly for Jpop, game ost(ffxiv) and some acoustics

 

[Progisus]

Really loving this rig this week... you can pretty much make out the DAC/AMP if you already know what it is... it is the 2017 AKM version.

RME ADI 2 FS?

 

[firesign]

Really loving this rig this week... you can pretty much make out the DAC/AMP if you already know what it is... it is the 2017 AKM version.

Best DAC/AMP ever. But I have the new Sabre version

 

[drftr]

Pleasant surprise…welcome back! I hope you’ve been well. Looking forward to your contributions Now I just need @drftr to come back and drop his long-awaited u12t impressions and my life will be complete.

Wott???

Sorry guys but I haven't been following as I had to prioritize travelling over reading - basically as promised I guess... Truly hoping everyone here is doing much better than just fine though!!!

After about half a year of waiting I finally received my U12t plus Cayin RU6 dongle and after some experimenting and 15-20 hours of listening I'm considering my next move as I will finally leave Lating America and head to Indonesia via Singapore. Singapore is the place where I finally can do some comparative listening and I will do little else in the 3 days that I have there.

After sharing my wild praise for the U12t I will add I'm not completely happy with the sound profile. Even with the mx modules and watering down with various earplugs I find sub bass too much thumping on for instance acoustic bass (I listen a lot to jazz and classical but have my fair share of rock, metal, world, etc), while upper bass and mids are too lean for me, and I also miss a good dose of air and sparkle in the highs to make strings and copper sound natural and stand out as they should. I would agree it's a top notch IEM in its own right but it's just the sound profile that isn't a very good match with my taste. As an aside I got completely rid of the plasticky sound by dumping the Final E eartips for Spinfit 360s.

So... I decided to start looking for something that sounds more linear (may I say boring?) and from reading U12t / U18t comparisons I gained a lot of faith in the latter, so that's my main goal for Singapore. However, since I only have a few days besides this idea I will follow 3 more parallel paths. One is buying the FiR N0 Red ATOM modules, hoping that they fit in perfectly between the mx and M15 APEX modules and miraculously make me smile from ear to ear. The 2nd path is stocking up on ear tips to see if there's more in store, and the 3rd path is checking whether there's anyone in or near Singapore who is interested in a barely used U12t so that I can step up my game should the U18t deliver what I expect or at least hope. So I was visiting Head-Fi for a quick post on the U12t thread, though knowing chances are extremely limited. But since I'd be there I could facilitate a demo, which is much better than a black-box-buy.

I'll be having a 12 hour transit at Narita airport but that's not gonna be enough to read the 1,000 or so pages that I missed! Just in case I won't make it IT IS NOT BECAUSE I'M NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR ADVENTURES GUYS! It's just that I want to focus on my day-to-day travelling life, listening to music, etcetera. And although reducing the hobby of shopping for change is a very interesting one I'm glad my window of opportunity is limited to just 3 days!

Love to all! But of course with a quick shout out to @jwilliamhurst and @RTodd who helped me out earlier in reflecting on, well, basically anything...

Now on to that U12t thread!

drftr

 

[Bosk]

lol someone needs to photoshop a bird on top of an Iron Throne.

I can manage that.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Wott???

Sorry guys but I haven't been following as I had to prioritize travelling over reading - basically as promised I guess... Truly hoping everyone here is doing much better than just fine though!!!

After about half a year of waiting I finally received my U12t plus Cayin RU6 dongle and after some experimenting and 15-20 hours of listening I'm considering my next move as I will finally leave Lating America and head to Indonesia via Singapore. Singapore is the place where I finally can do some comparative listening and I will do little else in the 3 days that I have there.

After sharing my wild praise for the U12t I will add I'm not completely happy with the sound profile. Even with the mx modules and watering down with various earplugs I find sub bass too much thumping on for instance acoustic bass (I listen a lot to jazz and classical but have my fair share of rock, metal, world, etc), while upper bass and mids are too lean for me, and I also miss a good dose of air and sparkle in the highs to make strings and copper sound natural and stand out as they should. I would agree it's a top notch IEM in its own right but it's just the sound profile that isn't a very good match with my taste. As an aside I got completely rid of the plasticky sound by dumping the Final E eartips for Spinfit 360s.

So... I decided to start looking for something that sounds more linear (may I say boring?) and from reading U12t / U18t comparisons I gained a lot of faith in the latter, so that's my main goal for Singapore. However, since I only have a few days besides this idea I will follow 3 more parallel paths. One is buying the FiR N0 Red ATOM modules, hoping that they fit in perfectly between the mx and M15 APEX modules and miraculously make me smile from ear to ear. The 2nd path is stocking up on ear tips to see if there's more in store, and the 3rd path is checking whether there's anyone in or near Singapore who is interested in a barely used U12t so that I can step up my game should the U18t deliver what I expect or at least hope. So I was visiting Head-Fi for a quick post on the U12t thread, though knowing chances are extremely limited. But since I'd be there I could facilitate a demo, which is much better than a black-box-buy.

I'll be having a 12 hour transit at Narita airport but that's not gonna be enough to read the 1,000 or so pages that I missed! Just in case I won't make it IT IS NOT BECAUSE I'M NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR ADVENTURES GUYS! It's just that I want to focus on my day-to-day travelling life, listening to music, etcetera. And although reducing the hobby of shopping for change is a very interesting one I'm glad my window of opportunity is limited to just 3 days!

Love to all! But of course with a quick shout out to @jwilliamhurst and @RTodd who helped me out earlier in reflecting on, well, basically anything...

Now on to that U12t thread!

drftr

SO WONDERFUL to HEAR from YOU @drftr Thank you for sharing a bit of your journey. Much Love to you

 

[morserotonin]

RME ADI 2 FS?

yep!

 

[RTodd]

Wott???

Sorry guys but I haven't been following as I had to prioritize travelling over reading - basically as promised I guess... Truly hoping everyone here is doing much better than just fine though!!!

After about half a year of waiting I finally received my U12t plus Cayin RU6 dongle and after some experimenting and 15-20 hours of listening I'm considering my next move as I will finally leave Lating America and head to Indonesia via Singapore. Singapore is the place where I finally can do some comparative listening and I will do little else in the 3 days that I have there.

After sharing my wild praise for the U12t I will add I'm not completely happy with the sound profile. Even with the mx modules and watering down with various earplugs I find sub bass too much thumping on for instance acoustic bass (I listen a lot to jazz and classical but have my fair share of rock, metal, world, etc), while upper bass and mids are too lean for me, and I also miss a good dose of air and sparkle in the highs to make strings and copper sound natural and stand out as they should. I would agree it's a top notch IEM in its own right but it's just the sound profile that isn't a very good match with my taste. As an aside I got completely rid of the plasticky sound by dumping the Final E eartips for Spinfit 360s.

So... I decided to start looking for something that sounds more linear (may I say boring?) and from reading U12t / U18t comparisons I gained a lot of faith in the latter, so that's my main goal for Singapore. However, since I only have a few days besides this idea I will follow 3 more parallel paths. One is buying the FiR N0 Red ATOM modules, hoping that they fit in perfectly between the mx and M15 APEX modules and miraculously make me smile from ear to ear. The 2nd path is stocking up on ear tips to see if there's more in store, and the 3rd path is checking whether there's anyone in or near Singapore who is interested in a barely used U12t so that I can step up my game should the U18t deliver what I expect or at least hope. So I was visiting Head-Fi for a quick post on the U12t thread, though knowing chances are extremely limited. But since I'd be there I could facilitate a demo, which is much better than a black-box-buy.

I'll be having a 12 hour transit at Narita airport but that's not gonna be enough to read the 1,000 or so pages that I missed! Just in case I won't make it IT IS NOT BECAUSE I'M NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR ADVENTURES GUYS! It's just that I want to focus on my day-to-day travelling life, listening to music, etcetera. And although reducing the hobby of shopping for change is a very interesting one I'm glad my window of opportunity is limited to just 3 days!

Love to all! But of course with a quick shout out to @jwilliamhurst and @RTodd who helped me out earlier in reflecting on, well, basically anything...

Now on to that U12t thread!

drftr

I’m still alive and kicking, safe travels.
Lots of new IEMs now you could consider.
There is a list on this thread only a couple pages back may be worth deep diving some of those as an alternative to the U18t.

 

[morndewey]

Oh, this is a toughy!!!! It's between Hyla TE-5B ($1200-my best Jazz iem) or Oriolus Szalayi ($890) a better all-rounded.

Hey Stu—what qualities make Hyla te-5b best suited for jazz?

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Wott???

Sorry guys but I haven't been following as I had to prioritize travelling over reading - basically as promised I guess... Truly hoping everyone here is doing much better than just fine though!!!

After about half a year of waiting I finally received my U12t plus Cayin RU6 dongle and after some experimenting and 15-20 hours of listening I'm considering my next move as I will finally leave Lating America and head to Indonesia via Singapore. Singapore is the place where I finally can do some comparative listening and I will do little else in the 3 days that I have there.

After sharing my wild praise for the U12t I will add I'm not completely happy with the sound profile. Even with the mx modules and watering down with various earplugs I find sub bass too much thumping on for instance acoustic bass (I listen a lot to jazz and classical but have my fair share of rock, metal, world, etc), while upper bass and mids are too lean for me, and I also miss a good dose of air and sparkle in the highs to make strings and copper sound natural and stand out as they should. I would agree it's a top notch IEM in its own right but it's just the sound profile that isn't a very good match with my taste. As an aside I got completely rid of the plasticky sound by dumping the Final E eartips for Spinfit 360s.

So... I decided to start looking for something that sounds more linear (may I say boring?) and from reading U12t / U18t comparisons I gained a lot of faith in the latter, so that's my main goal for Singapore. However, since I only have a few days besides this idea I will follow 3 more parallel paths. One is buying the FiR N0 Red ATOM modules, hoping that they fit in perfectly between the mx and M15 APEX modules and miraculously make me smile from ear to ear. The 2nd path is stocking up on ear tips to see if there's more in store, and the 3rd path is checking whether there's anyone in or near Singapore who is interested in a barely used U12t so that I can step up my game should the U18t deliver what I expect or at least hope. So I was visiting Head-Fi for a quick post on the U12t thread, though knowing chances are extremely limited. But since I'd be there I could facilitate a demo, which is much better than a black-box-buy.

I'll be having a 12 hour transit at Narita airport but that's not gonna be enough to read the 1,000 or so pages that I missed! Just in case I won't make it IT IS NOT BECAUSE I'M NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR ADVENTURES GUYS! It's just that I want to focus on my day-to-day travelling life, listening to music, etcetera. And although reducing the hobby of shopping for change is a very interesting one I'm glad my window of opportunity is limited to just 3 days!

Love to all! But of course with a quick shout out to @jwilliamhurst and @RTodd who helped me out earlier in reflecting on, well, basically anything...

Now on to that U12t thread!

drftr

Great to hear from you again. Please stop by to post after your singapore visit

 

[Stu Paddasso]

Hey Stu—what qualities make Hyla te-5b best suited for jazz?

Mainly the way it does brass, horns just have that ring to them(reverb) they just shine(so hard to put in words). Also, the bass is really fast with true bass slam like getting slapped in the back of the head.

 

[Xinlisupreme]

More I test matching IEMs/daps more I think I can’t live with 1 dap

Thunder with N6ii Ti R01
Fibae 7 Ultimate/Ace with RS6
Dark Sky with Gryphon

Maybe worth a try with M9 and see if can match even better with my IEMs and next stop will be a Fitear

 

[Royal Navy]

I agree with your point of view. I think that many manufacturers have a higher technical mastery of the AKM 4497 chip than the 4499EQ, even though the 4499EQ is not a new product.

Lotoo's PAW Gold Touch Ti is really the best rendition of a single 4497 chip tuning, I ordered a new one with a cordovan after the included nappa leather case was worn out.

Wow, that's a beautiful leather case. May I ask where did you order it from?

 

[Frankie D]

Hmm according to our polls I should juts buy a Trailii and a Susvara and walk away for a few years... tempting lol

But that would be the wise thing to do. We can’t do that.