[Doug2507]

I'll do a more in depth summary once I'm back home but here is an attempt at a hot take. Unless mentioned all listening done through my SR25ii.



Favorite IEMs heard: Tritecta & Ragnar stood above the rest for me. Ragnar may be the closest thing to a bonafide Traillii competitor I’ve yet heard. And I absolutely loved Trifecta and I’m ashamed to admit that it was only morbid curiosity that prompted me to listen. Super coherent and massive stage & sound with a delicious dynamic & natural timbre that is free form veil or any weirdness. Single DD lovers should take a serious look. Treble can be a touch aggressive but everything else about this totally hit the spot for me. Is it overpriced? Sure but so is every IEM over $3k. All things considered it holds it’s own well imho. Other greats: Odyssey, Mentor and Thunder.







Source of the day: Tie between the RS8 and the WM1ZM2-- Sony sexy is a thing. The RS8 has a beautifully seductive and analogue tonality...it is a perfect match with my Supermoon. Software seems a little laggy and buggy to me at times.





Disappointments: Diva didn't impress me-- which is too bad because that was the one IEM I’d squirreled away funds for and thought I might buy. The bass was too boomy on the max setting and on the middle setting it sounded like a low-res Supermoon with limp bass and marginally more seductive mids. SP3K seemed mediocre coming from RS8 and didn't do the Odyssey any favors to my ears.

Other random points:

1) The Aroma Ace is a great all BA IEM, as is the Oriolus Mellianus-- both are overpriced though.

2) Traillii may very well still be the GOAT-- it knocked my socks off today, and through my SR25ii no less.



3) The Annihilator is mostly a great IEM— hearing it’s treble the RS8 was a thing to behold. But the bass is too weak and loose for it to be a top tier IEM for me.

4) I loved the Fourte and it's my presently my favourite 64 IEM. u18t is just as sterile as I remember and Trio is still too thin and bright for me.



5) I heard an OG Andromeda for the first time ever in the form of a pacific blue edition and I absolutely loved it. I think I may even prefer it to the 2020...would need to a/b. Hiss free through my SR25ii.



6) Ode to Laura wasn’t great with my Supermoon-- it totally nerfed the bass. Ironically this may have made me a full on cable believer. I talked to Eric (another great guy) about this and we figure the gold plated copper of my Victoria may offer the perfect synergy with Supermoon. I was talking with Eric for about an hour. We talked about the Jewel and he said it’s the IEM he uses to tune but that he wouldn’t listen to it for enjoyment. That’s basically how I see it.

7) The Stax 009 & Blue Hawaii is the greatest headphone/IEM product I've ever heard. And it's not close. Well actually Susvara is a close second. I couldn’t bring myself to listen to anything else for like an hour after I heard it.



8) Mentor is the best UM product imho and I went through most of them. Indigo didn’t do much for me, and honestly neither did Red Halo.




9) Biggest surprise was this small Singaporean company called FatFreq. They make some killer IEMs with top tier bass. Watch for these guys.





@HiFiHawaii808 @discord and all the other Cooler members I was privileged to meet today are great people. Was a beautiful and exhausting couple days.

Also Musicteck/Andrew is the Goat of Goats.

Sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight home and that’s all I have time to write now.

No.6 is interesting. Think I'll give Eric a shout and spec me a cable to pair with LP6.

Glad you guys had a good time, tempted to book a flight in the future and see what all the fuss is about. Guess I better start saving...

 

[wolfstar76]

Was great to meet you!

Same here, seeing fellow coolers is the game changer.

 

[rantng]

Hmmm, Noble Viking or EE Odyssey? I'll wait for your thoughts @HiFiHawaii808

 

[Rockwell75]

Hmmm, Noble Viking or EE Odyssey? I'll wait for your thoughts @HiFiHawaii808

Viking for mids & more in your face presentation…Odyssey for bass and more observer-oriented presentation…imho.

 

[GiullianSN]

Managed a photo op with this legend…

LegendS!

 

[rantng]

Viking for mids & more in your face presentation…Odyssey for bass and more observer-oriented presentation…imho.

Did you get a chance to hear the EE EVO?

 

[Progisus]

Viking for mids & more in your face presentation…Odyssey for bass and more observer-oriented presentation…imho.

Sounds like Odyssey for me. I’m kind of an observer.

 

[normie610]

Viking for mids & more in your face presentation…Odyssey for bass and more observer-oriented presentation…imho.

How’s the lower treble on Odyssey compared to Viking? When I heard the Viking, the lower treble is quite sibilant to my ears (disclaimer: I’m super sensitive to sibilance). If Odyssey’s lower treble is more gentle, then I’m quite interested in Odyssey.

 

[Alexzander]

While fellow watercoolers are having their fun on SoCal I’ve tried tips rolling with my Venom
and N8ii on Traillii and can admit that I’ve got both most balanced and engaging sound in the setup with stock silicone tips.

What I hear is the following:
1. Stock have nice subbass, the most natural tuning among all three which is not dark in mids and treble. Separation is still very even but transition and coherency between layers is more smoother and glued up. And the notes go together the same way.
2. SpiralDots++ give you the most impactful sub bass, more spherical stage, but colder timbre and a bit darker sound with less sparkle in treble.
3. Azla half-transparent white tips with blue thing in the middle - suddenly the most mids oriented sound and the coldest timbre. The darkest among all three. Bass is the tightest one and less sparkle in highs.

So I’ll be using stock silicone tips with Venom

 

[Rockwell75]

Did you get a chance to hear the EE EVO?

Upper mids murdered my ears. Could only handle it for about a minute.

How’s the lower treble on Odyssey compared to Viking? When I heard the Viking, the lower treble is quite sibilant to my ears (disclaimer: I’m super sensitive to sibilance). If Odyssey’s lower treble is more gentle, then I’m quite interested in Odyssey.

Ragnar is definitely more energetic up top imho

 

[dmphile]

I'll do a more in depth summary once I'm back home but here is an attempt at a hot take. Unless mentioned all listening done through my SR25ii.



Favorite IEMs heard: Tritecta & Ragnar stood above the rest for me. Ragnar may be the closest thing to a bonafide Traillii competitor I’ve yet heard. And I absolutely loved Trifecta and I’m ashamed to admit that it was only morbid curiosity that prompted me to listen. Super coherent and massive stage & sound with a delicious dynamic & natural timbre that is free form veil or any weirdness. Single DD lovers should take a serious look. Treble can be a touch aggressive but everything else about this totally hit the spot for me. Is it overpriced? Sure but so is every IEM over $3k. All things considered it holds it’s own well imho. Other greats: Odyssey, Mentor and Thunder.







Source of the day: Tie between the RS8 and the WM1ZM2-- Sony sexy is a thing. The RS8 has a beautifully seductive and analogue tonality...it is a perfect match with my Supermoon. Software seems a little laggy and buggy to me at times.





Disappointments: Diva didn't impress me-- which is too bad because that was the one IEM I’d squirreled away funds for and thought I might buy. The bass was too boomy on the max setting and on the middle setting it sounded like a low-res Supermoon with limp bass and marginally more seductive mids. SP3K seemed mediocre coming from RS8 and didn't do the Odyssey any favors to my ears.

Other random points:

1) The Aroma Ace is a great all BA IEM, as is the Oriolus Mellianus-- both are overpriced though.

2) Traillii may very well still be the GOAT-- it knocked my socks off today, and through my SR25ii no less.



3) The Annihilator is mostly a great IEM— hearing it’s treble the RS8 was a thing to behold. But the bass is too weak and loose for it to be a top tier IEM for me.

4) I loved the Fourte and it's my presently my favourite 64 IEM. u18t is just as sterile as I remember and Trio is still too thin and bright for me.



5) I heard an OG Andromeda for the first time ever in the form of a pacific blue edition and I absolutely loved it. I think I may even prefer it to the 2020...would need to a/b. Hiss free through my SR25ii.



6) Ode to Laura wasn’t great with my Supermoon-- it totally nerfed the bass. Ironically this may have made me a full on cable believer. I talked to Eric (another great guy) about this and we figure the gold plated copper of my Victoria may offer the perfect synergy with Supermoon. I was talking with Eric for about an hour. We talked about the Jewel and he said it’s the IEM he uses to tune but that he wouldn’t listen to it for enjoyment. That’s basically how I see it.

7) The Stax 009 & Blue Hawaii is the greatest headphone/IEM product I've ever heard. And it's not close. Well actually Susvara is a close second. I couldn’t bring myself to listen to anything else for like an hour after I heard it.



8) Mentor is the best UM product imho and I went through most of them. Indigo didn’t do much for me, and honestly neither did Red Halo.




9) Biggest surprise was this small Singaporean company called FatFreq. They make some killer IEMs with top tier bass. Watch for these guys.





@HiFiHawaii808 @discord and all the other Cooler members I was privileged to meet today are great people. Was a beautiful and exhausting couple days.

Also Musicteck/Andrew is the Goat of Goats.

Sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight home and that’s all I have time to write now.

Thanks for bringing us along for those that weren't able to join. Very intrigued by mentor and Ragnar based on people's initial reactions.

What were top three things you noticed between the two?

 

[Andorn]

Während andere Wasserkühler ihren Spaß auf SoCal haben, habe ich versucht, Tipps mit meinem Venom zu rollen
und N8ii auf Traillii und kann zugeben, dass ich sowohl den ausgewogensten als auch den ansprechendsten Sound im Setup mit Standard-Silikonspitzen habe.

Was ich höre ist folgendes:
1. Stock hat einen schönen Subbass, die natürlichste Stimmung unter allen drei, die in Mitten und Höhen nicht dunkel ist. Die Trennung ist immer noch sehr gleichmäßig, aber der Übergang und die Kohärenz zwischen den Schichten ist glatter und verklebter. Und die Noten passen auf die gleiche Weise zusammen.
2. SpiralDots++ geben Ihnen den wirkungsvollsten Subbass, eine sphärischere Bühne, aber ein kälteres Timbre und einen etwas dunkleren Klang mit weniger Glanz in den Höhen.
3. Azla halbtransparente weiße Spitzen mit blauem Ding in der Mitte - plötzlich der Mitten-orientierteste Sound und das kälteste Timbre. Der dunkelste unter allen dreien. Der Bass ist der engste und weniger Glanz in den Höhen.

Also werde ich Standard-Silikonspitzen mit Venom verwenden

I like the Spinfit W1 + Traillii most.

 

[Rockwell75]

Thanks for bringing us along for those that weren't able to join. Very intrigued by mentor and Ragnar based on people's initial reactions.

What were top three things you noticed between the two?

1) Mentor more bass focused & coherent being a single driver type…a richer sound.
2) Ragnar more technical & immediately engaging
3) Ragnar had better mids I think

 

[Rockwell75]

Thanks for bringing us along for those that weren't able to join. Very intrigued by mentor and Ragnar based on people's initial reactions.

What were top three things you noticed between the two?

Just out of curiosity what sort of sound are you looking for?

 

[rantng]

I enjoyed Odin, but wanted just a little more bass quantity and richer fuller mids.