That’s interesting usually upper mid forward would be a no-go for me. Looking forward to getting ears on it again.
The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
- Start date
That’s interesting usually upper mid forward would be a no-go for me. Looking forward to getting ears on it again.
drftr
Headphoneus Supremus
Ha ha! Brilliant! Perhaps I should mention here in Korean that I will visit from 10/10 and would like someone to guide me to the often small and hidden shops! Or... print a t-shirt with a watercooler on the front and on the back The hype is real!Good to be back...I feel like I've neglected this place lately. I hope to remedy that.
In other news @SteveK27 discovered a trending thread about the Watercooler in a major Korean audio discussion forum that regards our thread as a "Love Room" filled with "famous reviewers, such as @Damz87".
Lol...we're world wide.
drftr
I feel just the opposite. I like the Indigo so much that I just bought a second one and I am having Unique Melody make a custom out of it.
I only heard it for a few tracks and it was at the end of a very long weekend of listening. So, my initial impressions could be off.
Looking forward to it! Welcome back BTW
Here’s an idea…once you decide what you’re keeping let’s do a trade for a week. You get my Supermoon and I get indigo or Thunder…I’d be happy to spend some QT with either. Indigo didn’t grab me in my brief time with it but that could have been show weariness as much as anything.
drftr
Headphoneus Supremus
Alright alright... I will head to Vietnam after South Korea and will probably head to the mountains first before heading South. That means we get to meet in the last week of November or so. Unless you're in for a workout in the NW...
drftr
I am out of shape unfortunately and no amount of training between now and then will get me to the top of any mountain! Haha! Lmk if and when your plans to travel to Vietnam firm up. Looking forward!
I like the sound, don't get me wrong. I just have problems with the build quality. Maybe it's just my unit, but when I got them this notch wasn't there and I am pretty sure the metal cast should not shed off flakes of metal.
Nice! SM hype train still chugging along. Can't wait to get mine to hear for myself!Got to meet Jeff @Rockwell75 and try his Supermoon HK edition with Eletech Victoria!
My super quick thoughts: natural air timbre (different from the Sonion Electret drivers) and visceral while being extremely layered planar subbass. IMHO it's as if you take both Andromeda and Dorado strengths (Andro's coherency, delicate microdetails, wide soundstage, smooth treble and Dorado's holographic imaging, visceral DD presence), combine them and elevate their qualities even more especially on both treble air extension and subbass presence with exemplary definition. That's how the Supermoon sounded at my first listen!
I will just have to make do with my latest acquisition in the meantime!
Congratulations man! Love to hear your impressions! Wonder if this will make it to your coveted third spot in your collection!Ordered the Noble Viking Ragnar! Excited to see how it'll turn out.
Thanks to @HiFiHawaii808 and @metaljem77 for the tips and @MusicTeck for the service as usual.
That's so cool! Loved reading your impressions!While our friends from over-seas have a lot of fun at Canjam Socal, we were also having a great time our own headphone party here in Germany. Yesterday there was the grand opening of the new Headphone Company store in Heidelberg, Germany (https://headphone.shop/category/pleasuredome/), so called "Pleasuredome". It was very well organized with the creme de la creme of headphones, iems and amps. Thanks to the owner, I believe it was a massive success and a great step forward for the headphone scene in Germany. Even met some fantastic head-fiers there. Looking already forward to the next event! I'll share some brief impressions that could be valuable for one or the other.
Disclaimer:
Please keep the impressions with a grain of salt. I don't think such an event is a good opportunity to do a deep analysis of a headphone. You change a lot of headphones in a short period of time. There is quite some noise around, you get to talk to people in between and there isn't plenty of time to properly evalute a headphone. Additionally your daily mood may vary and impact your hearing. Anyhow it was a very good opportunity to understand if you probably would like a headphone or not and if it makes sense to further demo it at another session in a non-crowded environment or ideally at home. Additionally we each have our different prefrences, music genres we listen to. I hope that makes sense when you read further. I'll not comment on fit as I have bigger ears and every IEM finds its place thereAdditionally often they pop out of my right ear, so I end up ordering custom tips for stuff, that I intend to keep for a longer period of time.
First I started with the CFA Trifecta:
These are without a doubt among the most beautiful iems available. Photos do not do them justice. I must admit that I went in with a negative attitude because I had read some negative reviews here. But they completely blew me away after the first song. The bass is very detailed, clean, textured and massive, with a very holographic soundstage! However, when listening to various tracks, the bass sounded sometimes boomy and the treble was extremely peaky. It was too much for me, so I quit demoing. I really didn't get the variance in the bass performance, never experienced that before.
Next was the EE Odyssey:
Went into listening them without having a clue how they would sound. I owned the Odin 2 times in the past. These sounded generally like the Odin. The bass was like on the Odin, very textured, nice DD decay, amont the best in business. Probably more quantity on the Odyssey. The upper mids were less peaking than on the Odin (but still there). That was a good move. Additionally the transparency of the whole tuning was taken to the next level. I see this splitting people about their perception of the Odyssey. For my personal preference, that was too much. It didn't sound musical anymore to me. And the bass got a bit decoupled from the rest. But I see a lot of people liking these technical monsters.
Next was the Aroma Audio Thunder from @SteffSergeant :
I must say from all of the IEMs at the table, I liked these the most. They have a nice neutral tuning (treble can get a bit hot at times), very good detail retrieval, nice DD bass. But they are lacking the very last bit of everything to play with the big boys. But they are also not in the same price range to be fair. So I think these are crazy value for the money! I am really really looking forward to my Jewel once it's finished by Aroma Audio (waiting over 5 weeks now).
The ZMF Atrium:
I showed the headphone pictures to my wife after the event. And she said that these were the most beautiful she has ever seen. I agree!
I owned the VC before and liked it, but they were displaced by my other headphones. I really didn't had much expectations of the Atrium, but I gave them a try anyway. And I was really surprised. These are one of the headphones that you can buy and just be happy. Really don't need anything else. Very neutral tuning leaning towards laid back with good bass impact. I wasn't missing any details. Well done ZMF!I really hope I can get a good deal on exactly this configuration in the future. But I know a LOT of others waiting for that opportunity as well
The RAAL CA-1A:
Sound-wise I liked them more than the SR1a. They have more substantial bass and contrary to other reports I didn't find the detail retrieval to be very noticably below the SR1a. But that could be also due to listening fatigue at that time, so I don't judge on that very strictly (I didn't change pads either). Generally they sounded a bit hollow, but I wasn't sure if it was due to the environment or not. But I really didn't like the DIY feel to the whole thing. It was comfortable though.
Spirit Torino Pulsar:
Sitting on the headphone stand while no one was paying attention to them I gave them a try. Mamma mia! I think these were the biggest surprise to me on the whole event. They sounded like the Utopia on stereoids. Very hard hitting, neutral to bright tonality. And this detail retrieval from a DD driver??? The only downside next to the price was the comfort. The pads are quite stiff, but I guess there would be an easy fix for that. I'd love to hear these again. My main concern is only the big loss on re-sale as it is a very very exotic brand.
The DCA Expanse:
Just sold my Stealth last week. These sound like the Stealth but more open. I think there is really not much more to say. The openness do add to the sound quality perception for sure. But I considered the Stealth as very good because there was nothing a like as a closed back option. For open backs there are much more pleasing headphones for my preference. But if you are into neutral tuning, these are the way to go.
And the last one to mention: Stax SR-X9000:
Endgame. No doubt! Dynamics like a Focal, exceptional detail retrieval, very comfortable, neutral to bright tuning (as you are used by Stax). Bass is hard hitting, really nothing to critisize except for the price. Great headphones. I was really happy to hear them because it showed me again that the difference between the big players are not substantial. I would rate them on the same level like my Bravua but with a different flavour. Would be fun to do a in depth comparison, but I really don't feel the urge to.
I hope you guys enjoyed the impressions. As said, these are only initial impressions at an event. So there could be a lot of variance due to different factors. But all of the headphones mentioned are really TOTL and the critiques are accordingly on a very high level.
Love this shot! What's your t-shirt about?Managed a photo op with this legend…
Epic shot! The WC is really unique!CanJam Watercooler group shot!
En route to LAX as I post this …the dream is over. An experience of a lifetime.
Edit : L-> R @Shecky504 @discord @stacey @wolfstar76 @HiFiHawaii808 @morserotonin some rando @Skyediver
Great impressions! Not sure how you manage to do this all on a phone? It was certainly an amazing two days, and to think you almost did not make it!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.
Would be interesting to see how many on the WC actually bought the ZenPro based on your rec.
Mine was certainly purchased based on your rec.
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I had the same experience today. Was listening to other sets at Musicteck booth today like Jewel and annihilator when Frank suggested I try the Gaea which I really liked. It was a surprise because I forgot about this IEM but it was a pleasant surprise.
It’s hard to describe the sound for me. You can hear the Elysian upper mids and treble tuning but it’s not perfect like the Annihilator. It’s slightly bright, but bass was present and more so than annihilator. Definitely not a reference type sound. It’s a fun IEM and different from my collection that I might pre-order this or suck it up and just do the long wait for annihilator.
It’s hard to describe the sound for me. You can hear the Elysian upper mids and treble tuning but it’s not perfect like the Annihilator. It’s slightly bright, but bass was present and more so than annihilator. Definitely not a reference type sound. It’s a fun IEM and different from my collection that I might pre-order this or suck it up and just do the long wait for annihilator.
monduvo
100+ Head-Fier
Hello everyone,
Haven’t had much time lately to check in this thread for about a month, with life being so busy and on the move, as I got caught up with work and took care of some family side of things for a while.
Much has happened in the past month, and to keep this post at decent length, I’ll do a write-up of some happenings from August to mid-September in another post for another time.
Moving forward to Sunday (9/18), before heading over to CanJam, I got my ear impressions (fourth set) done by an audiologist at Jerry Harvey Audio (in Burbank, California) in the morning.
On Sunday morning, I was heading over to get ear impressions done by an audiologist, at Jerry Harvey Audio (Burbank, California, 9/18).
My fourth set of ear impressions (done by audiologist, at Jerry Harvey Audio, 9/18).
*Edit: @LFC_SL Thanks for noticing this and letting me know about the tapered bend towards the end. I just noticed this after taking a closer look at the slim tapered part of the impression from the second bend and further down to the end by the cotton ball. From the time I got these impressions done (Sunday morning, 9/18), about few minutes in while the silicone impressions were in my ears, I misheard what my audiologist was telling me in a muffled-like tone of sound, due to my ears being mostly sealed by silicone impressions. By impulse, I thought she meant to say along the lines that it was okay for me to take the bite block out. And, when I took the bite block out with only about four minutes in, my audiologist told me to keep the bite block in by biting down on it in upright position again, as she told me my ear impressions were not ready to be taken out yet. Looks like my ear impressions will have to be seen up-close again by my audiologist, and most likely will have to schedule another appointment in getting another set of ear impressions done early this week.
After getting my ear impressions done, I headed over to CanJam (SoCal 2022 @ Irvine Marriot), which was around one hour of a drive (w/ moderate traffic) from Los Angeles to Irvine. This is the first CanJam, or any audio show for that matter, I’ve been to.
CanJam SoCal 2022 (at the Irvine Marriot, Sunday, 9/18).
Once I got there by around half past 11am and went inside the Irvine Marriot, I noticed there was no line to register for CanJam, which made it a breeze to get registered (along with a canjam wristband the rep issued).
On my way in the booth building, I noticed some crowds of groups of people talking with reps and many others trying on/listening to iems, headphones and audio gear at nearly every booth I passed by, which made it fairly time-consuming for me to wait around until I was next up to demo & listen to some of the latest offerings available at the booths & audio brands I had in mind in looking to try. But, for some reason, most of that built-up anticipation and excitement in seeing/trying new things at shows, like the years before as my younger self, didn’t move me in the same way nor did it get me up to speed to keep up in interest as much as it did from years prior.
When I moved my way through crowds and alongside groups of people who were busily chattering away by booth after booth, I took a brief moment’s notice to see if anything was worth looking further into, along with brief questions I asked some of the reps about amps & dacs that caught my eye at few of the booths. However, from a distilled glance of it all, it seemed as if most of the new/recent audio gear, with attractive aesthetics and latest tech offerings just didn’t connect with me as much as it did when I was just starting out and finding my way in my audio journey.
Shortly after a brief moment of realization, I headed back in the opposite direction to see if there was anything I missed, and by the time I got back to where I first came in from the entrance, I went over to a booth of an iem brand I’ve known about for a long while and admittedly have a soft spot for. Seeing how busy a booth of a well-known iem brand can get, with questions and further concerns & thoughts from several groups of people handled by two reps at a time, I waited for a while by the booth table until one of the reps reached out and asked me what I’d like to know about of their products and services. In that moment, an impulsive thought of an iem I’ve been looking to buy and have as my next ciem for the longest time pushed me enough to the edge to ask the question if there was a way I could order the ciem at the show’s special price. Without further hesitation, the rep wrote down a promo code on the back of a business card, and as he handed it over, he told me it was going to be 20% off with the code.
With stirred up emotions and excitement, I went outside to the parking area and got in the car to order my second set of custom-fit in-ear monitors online by phone, before heading back to Los Angeles. And, as I was going through the steps of configuring the design & colors of the ciem, there was a lingering thought about this iem brand that stood out for me since, where all the fun and moments of joy in listening to music on-the-go seems to have stemmed from, and journeyed alongside, this particular brand that, in my eyes & mind, has started it all since the day I first remembered finding out about this brand as the first custom in-ear monitor company I’ve come across that has gravitated to me the most. 64 Audio.
For the longest time since I remembered finding out about 64 Audio (formerly as 1964 Ears) and Jerry Harvey Audio for the first time back in 2014, I’ve been meaning to get a set of ciems in deep maroon-purple wooden finish with translucent smoke shells, giving a somewhat simple, clean and understated look. There was something pleasantly appealing and intriguing in the way 1964 Ears at the time clicked with me. And, around this time, I had my mind set in getting their A4 ciems for some time. However, due to work priorities and a fairly busy life at & outside of work, I held back from getting ciems at the time, as I didn’t have the full commitment nor felt much of the need to get a set of custom-fit iems for my use cases at work. And, with several pairs of inexpensive Sennheiser earphones (CX series), some cheap Panasonic earbuds, an iPod Mini (2003 model) and an iPhone (1st gen) I had then, I felt they were good enough for the music I listened to and all I really needed for listening on the go at work (and sometimes at home).
Fast forward to 2018, I had a set of Dunu Titan 5 earphones (which were used almost daily at work for two years) that was no longer being used (purchased new from Amazon in early 2016), as I found its right side channel to not give as much sound in volume. In search of a decent set of earphones as my next daily driver set, I came across some threads on headfi and took some time on and off from work to read up on different impressions and thoughts about KZ iems and other chi-fi iems from different posts and threads over a course of few months.
Dunu Titan 5 (ordered from Amazon, sometime in 2016).
By December 2018, after all the reading and thinking that had went into deciding which iem best suited my needs at work and for casual outings on the go, I narrowed down further on what I was looking for on Amazon, and went ahead in ordering my first set of earphones in an in-ear monitor shell form factor. A set of KZ AS10, with translucent cyan green faceplates and black shells.
KZ AS10 (ordered from Amazon, sometime in December 2018).
For the time I had the KZ AS10 and enjoyed my time listening to this set, with its fairly compact size and easy snug fit with a crisp-energetic sound & feel, in and out of work for two years, I sometimes found myself going to the 64 Audio website and seeing some of the custom-fit iems they had from their line-up (A-series). The model I often looked at on a fair basis from their custom-fit line-up was the A4t, in which there was something satisfyingly appealing in the way its name (which I felt had a nice ring to how its name sounded), design and specifications as a whole just clicked and felt right with me, and also how it looked to be capable enough to do most of the things right in what I was looking for in a custom-fit iem.
From mid-2020 to mid-late 2022, curiosity struck and took me through some paths of a journey in exploring and enjoying different implementations and presentations of sound that mid to high-end iems offered, mostly in universal-fit, and one in custom-fit as my recent acquisition. And, as good as my Supermoon ciem is in overall sound, which has a subtly up-close and fairly large-scaled sense of presence in sound with a touch of energetic grit for some musicality, along with vastly immersive presentation & highly coherent-agile performance and decent comfort (for long hours of listening with short-nozzle relaxed fit), I felt I needed something less fatiguing in sound, a bit more practical and ergonomic, with less servicing costs and upkeep, for longer listening sessions on and off at work (8-9 hours a day, 6 days a week), and also for listening during casual outings and sometimes for hiking & jogging on trails.
For the past few nights, I read up as many impressions and thoughts as I could about 64 Audio A4s and N8 ciems from numerous posts and threads. Then, after giving it another thought on a Sunday afternoon (9/11), I narrowed down in what I was looking to get for listening to music mostly at work (and for some outings at stores, cafes & restaurants and hiking trails) in the longer term, and the A4s made the most sense in overall practicality (along with cost of servicing and maintenance over time), with the same quality of comfort & ergonomics in fit and wear that’s offered in higher end 64 Audio ciems (and with pressure relief for longer hours of listening at a time), and a seemingly ‘decent’ performance (for an entry-mid ciem), with what seems to be a subtly ‘smooth’ but fairly detailed sound and with a ‘punchy’ low end driven & fun presentation (based on what I’ve gathered and read about the A4s ciem so far).
However, sometime around last Wednesday (9/14), my journey in this decision did not stop there, as settling for an entry-mid ciem that’s ‘good enough’ with a ‘decent’ and ‘fun’ type of sound just wasn’t something I’d feel comfortable listening to in the long run. After giving it some careful thought and having realized getting a custom-fit iem was going to be a commitment I’ll have to keep making the best use of and live with in the long term, of all the iems I’ve read about (as much as possible) and narrowed down by preference in sound, comfort as well as shipping & servicing costs, I’ve come to the decision in going for the A12t as my second set of custom-fit iems.
From an overview of my order, here’s the A12t with purple heart wood faceplates, 64 Audio silver logo on one side and A12t silver logo on the other side, along with translucent charcoal shells.
A12t custom-fit in-ear monitors (ordered from 64 Audio, 9/18).
Initially, I’ve been meaning to go with the original ‘1964 EARS’ logo in deep purple pearl for a more retro vibe and feel. But, as weeks went by with some thinking and putting things in perspective, I’ve come to the sense that the new sleek 64 Audio logo keeps the whole design and appearance more simple, fairly relatable and versatile when seen up-close or noticed from a glance when around and about. Despite the changes made from my initial approach of the logo and colorway in more retro-stylish aesthetics, I really look forward to seeing how the the texture, colors and finish of purple heart wood faceplates and smoke shells of the A12t ciems come together and turn out.
On a general note, for most people who work in dynamic & labor-intensive work environments, having a set of custom-fit iems, like the A12t, is not a necessity for physically demanding tasks and work on the constant get-go, as having something like Airpods or Galaxy buds would suffice just fine for daily listening while on the go. But, after having gone back and forth for some time with bluetooth wireless earphones (such as airpods & beats fit pro) and wired chi-fi iems (such as KZ DQ6 & CCA CRA), having on a wired set of earphones gives a more full sounding and surrounding feel of presenting the music in a more present and immersive way, which I feel helps in cases where work can get busily stressful, and at times mentally fatiguing, with different dynamics and extremes that come into play, especially in an environment where occurrences of these cases at different levels of extremes often happen daily. And, with the m15 module on the A12t, it’ll be interesting to see how effectively its noise isolation with pressure relief in a ciem works with and around people when handling bulk orders & shipments of merchandise in and out of the stores and warehouses on-the-go.
In any case, I have no regrets in going this route as my second set of custom-fit iems, as I feel the A12t will suffice well for listening to nearly most genres & styles of music on-the-go, along with pressure relief for longer listening sessions at a time (mostly with a dongle and iPhone for on-the-go listening at work). Also, with the convenience of being able to send in the ciems to 64 Audio within few days at fair-reasonable servicing, maintenance & refit costs over time, this gives some peace of mind to comfortably put the A12t through its daily paces at work in physically demanding use cases without much worry, and to have more ease with some freedom & time to enjoy living, as well as having fun with what we’re passionate about with audio, music and other hobbies & interests, and, more importantly, finding a balance & maintaining a healthy median with life. =)
On a side note, I was told by my audiologist that 64 Audio’s regular turnaround time of making custom-fit in-ear monitors from start to finish takes up to six weeks. A wait time of up to six weeks feels like quite a long while for many of us who would like to have their custom-fit iems completed within a reasonable time frame of one to two weeks. But, in a realistic sense, I think the extended number of weeks gives the company more flexibility and focus to put in a greater care of effort and time spent in making each custom-fit iem in the best way possible. In the meantime though, a set of CCA CRA (wired) and Beats fit pro (tws) should suffice fine for listening on-the-go at work for the next five to six weeks, along with Airpods pro (2nd gen) on the way and should arrive sometime by this Friday (9/23).
Airpods pro (2nd generation) on the way, and it should arrive sometime by Friday (9/23).
-Daniel.
Hi Rockwell75,
I’m sorry things didn’t go as planned for the Sunday meetup @ Irvine Marriot (9/18), as I felt it was best not to rush things through from my end with the meet. I don’t know if you really noticed me at and/or around the lounge area, but I was the bald Korean guy in black t-shirt and jeans who briskly walked by several times, as I went outside of the hotel building to walk around few times (and also looked for a place to eat nearby, haha), and then headed back through the lounge several times after being in a crowded space from the booth building. Around the time when I passed through the lounge again and saw you guys meeting up and and talking nearby the entrance, I headed over to the hallway to use the restroom.
On a random and comical note, for those who have seen and used the sink at the restroom in Irvine Marriot, I find it kind of amusing and strange that the hotel’s restroom sink faucet is one of the most odd and somewhat poorly designed, in terms of functionality, that I’ve come across and used, of all the many public restrooms I’ve been to. With aesthetics in contemporary design and cosmetic lifestyle playing a large influential role in public facilities and spaces, a restroom sink with a three-in-one multi-function layout goes for a cosmetic form of design that’s more pleasing to the eye than what makes most rational sense in practicality of regular use. With hands placed close by the motion detector below the sink faucet gives a small trickling flow of water that’s lightly distributed from the middle spout which takes more time than needed for one to do a full hand wash. Then, next thing you know, it takes several tries to get the liquid soap dispenser on the left to fully operate and work, while the hand dryer on the very right turns on abruptly with just a slight waving motion of the hand towards the right. Overall, this sink faucet system serves to be more impractical than usable and is poorly thought out in design and function.
While using the restroom for a simple hand wash ended up being more frustrating than I thought, on my way back, I walked by the back of the lounge, and I noticed from a distance that you guys were getting together for a group photo shot near the entrance. In that moment, I felt it was not a good idea to randomly come in during the photo taking & group gathering, haha. And, by that time, I really had to get going in heading back to Los Angeles to get some things done with work-related matters (maintenance and repairs).
Maybe in December this year when time permits from my work schedule, I’ll make some time from my schedule to head up to Canada and meet up with you (and with others from the Watercooler who are nearby/around the area in Canada, and when time permits from your schedule in December) for a proper outing with good food & vibes, catching up on life & music, some nature walks & hikes, and spending time together. =)
-Daniel.
Haven’t had much time lately to check in this thread for about a month, with life being so busy and on the move, as I got caught up with work and took care of some family side of things for a while.
Much has happened in the past month, and to keep this post at decent length, I’ll do a write-up of some happenings from August to mid-September in another post for another time.
Moving forward to Sunday (9/18), before heading over to CanJam, I got my ear impressions (fourth set) done by an audiologist at Jerry Harvey Audio (in Burbank, California) in the morning.
On Sunday morning, I was heading over to get ear impressions done by an audiologist, at Jerry Harvey Audio (Burbank, California, 9/18).
My fourth set of ear impressions (done by audiologist, at Jerry Harvey Audio, 9/18).
*Edit: @LFC_SL Thanks for noticing this and letting me know about the tapered bend towards the end. I just noticed this after taking a closer look at the slim tapered part of the impression from the second bend and further down to the end by the cotton ball. From the time I got these impressions done (Sunday morning, 9/18), about few minutes in while the silicone impressions were in my ears, I misheard what my audiologist was telling me in a muffled-like tone of sound, due to my ears being mostly sealed by silicone impressions. By impulse, I thought she meant to say along the lines that it was okay for me to take the bite block out. And, when I took the bite block out with only about four minutes in, my audiologist told me to keep the bite block in by biting down on it in upright position again, as she told me my ear impressions were not ready to be taken out yet. Looks like my ear impressions will have to be seen up-close again by my audiologist, and most likely will have to schedule another appointment in getting another set of ear impressions done early this week.
After getting my ear impressions done, I headed over to CanJam (SoCal 2022 @ Irvine Marriot), which was around one hour of a drive (w/ moderate traffic) from Los Angeles to Irvine. This is the first CanJam, or any audio show for that matter, I’ve been to.
CanJam SoCal 2022 (at the Irvine Marriot, Sunday, 9/18).
Once I got there by around half past 11am and went inside the Irvine Marriot, I noticed there was no line to register for CanJam, which made it a breeze to get registered (along with a canjam wristband the rep issued).
On my way in the booth building, I noticed some crowds of groups of people talking with reps and many others trying on/listening to iems, headphones and audio gear at nearly every booth I passed by, which made it fairly time-consuming for me to wait around until I was next up to demo & listen to some of the latest offerings available at the booths & audio brands I had in mind in looking to try. But, for some reason, most of that built-up anticipation and excitement in seeing/trying new things at shows, like the years before as my younger self, didn’t move me in the same way nor did it get me up to speed to keep up in interest as much as it did from years prior.
When I moved my way through crowds and alongside groups of people who were busily chattering away by booth after booth, I took a brief moment’s notice to see if anything was worth looking further into, along with brief questions I asked some of the reps about amps & dacs that caught my eye at few of the booths. However, from a distilled glance of it all, it seemed as if most of the new/recent audio gear, with attractive aesthetics and latest tech offerings just didn’t connect with me as much as it did when I was just starting out and finding my way in my audio journey.
Shortly after a brief moment of realization, I headed back in the opposite direction to see if there was anything I missed, and by the time I got back to where I first came in from the entrance, I went over to a booth of an iem brand I’ve known about for a long while and admittedly have a soft spot for. Seeing how busy a booth of a well-known iem brand can get, with questions and further concerns & thoughts from several groups of people handled by two reps at a time, I waited for a while by the booth table until one of the reps reached out and asked me what I’d like to know about of their products and services. In that moment, an impulsive thought of an iem I’ve been looking to buy and have as my next ciem for the longest time pushed me enough to the edge to ask the question if there was a way I could order the ciem at the show’s special price. Without further hesitation, the rep wrote down a promo code on the back of a business card, and as he handed it over, he told me it was going to be 20% off with the code.
With stirred up emotions and excitement, I went outside to the parking area and got in the car to order my second set of custom-fit in-ear monitors online by phone, before heading back to Los Angeles. And, as I was going through the steps of configuring the design & colors of the ciem, there was a lingering thought about this iem brand that stood out for me since, where all the fun and moments of joy in listening to music on-the-go seems to have stemmed from, and journeyed alongside, this particular brand that, in my eyes & mind, has started it all since the day I first remembered finding out about this brand as the first custom in-ear monitor company I’ve come across that has gravitated to me the most. 64 Audio.
For the longest time since I remembered finding out about 64 Audio (formerly as 1964 Ears) and Jerry Harvey Audio for the first time back in 2014, I’ve been meaning to get a set of ciems in deep maroon-purple wooden finish with translucent smoke shells, giving a somewhat simple, clean and understated look. There was something pleasantly appealing and intriguing in the way 1964 Ears at the time clicked with me. And, around this time, I had my mind set in getting their A4 ciems for some time. However, due to work priorities and a fairly busy life at & outside of work, I held back from getting ciems at the time, as I didn’t have the full commitment nor felt much of the need to get a set of custom-fit iems for my use cases at work. And, with several pairs of inexpensive Sennheiser earphones (CX series), some cheap Panasonic earbuds, an iPod Mini (2003 model) and an iPhone (1st gen) I had then, I felt they were good enough for the music I listened to and all I really needed for listening on the go at work (and sometimes at home).
Fast forward to 2018, I had a set of Dunu Titan 5 earphones (which were used almost daily at work for two years) that was no longer being used (purchased new from Amazon in early 2016), as I found its right side channel to not give as much sound in volume. In search of a decent set of earphones as my next daily driver set, I came across some threads on headfi and took some time on and off from work to read up on different impressions and thoughts about KZ iems and other chi-fi iems from different posts and threads over a course of few months.
Dunu Titan 5 (ordered from Amazon, sometime in 2016).
By December 2018, after all the reading and thinking that had went into deciding which iem best suited my needs at work and for casual outings on the go, I narrowed down further on what I was looking for on Amazon, and went ahead in ordering my first set of earphones in an in-ear monitor shell form factor. A set of KZ AS10, with translucent cyan green faceplates and black shells.
KZ AS10 (ordered from Amazon, sometime in December 2018).
For the time I had the KZ AS10 and enjoyed my time listening to this set, with its fairly compact size and easy snug fit with a crisp-energetic sound & feel, in and out of work for two years, I sometimes found myself going to the 64 Audio website and seeing some of the custom-fit iems they had from their line-up (A-series). The model I often looked at on a fair basis from their custom-fit line-up was the A4t, in which there was something satisfyingly appealing in the way its name (which I felt had a nice ring to how its name sounded), design and specifications as a whole just clicked and felt right with me, and also how it looked to be capable enough to do most of the things right in what I was looking for in a custom-fit iem.
From mid-2020 to mid-late 2022, curiosity struck and took me through some paths of a journey in exploring and enjoying different implementations and presentations of sound that mid to high-end iems offered, mostly in universal-fit, and one in custom-fit as my recent acquisition. And, as good as my Supermoon ciem is in overall sound, which has a subtly up-close and fairly large-scaled sense of presence in sound with a touch of energetic grit for some musicality, along with vastly immersive presentation & highly coherent-agile performance and decent comfort (for long hours of listening with short-nozzle relaxed fit), I felt I needed something less fatiguing in sound, a bit more practical and ergonomic, with less servicing costs and upkeep, for longer listening sessions on and off at work (8-9 hours a day, 6 days a week), and also for listening during casual outings and sometimes for hiking & jogging on trails.
For the past few nights, I read up as many impressions and thoughts as I could about 64 Audio A4s and N8 ciems from numerous posts and threads. Then, after giving it another thought on a Sunday afternoon (9/11), I narrowed down in what I was looking to get for listening to music mostly at work (and for some outings at stores, cafes & restaurants and hiking trails) in the longer term, and the A4s made the most sense in overall practicality (along with cost of servicing and maintenance over time), with the same quality of comfort & ergonomics in fit and wear that’s offered in higher end 64 Audio ciems (and with pressure relief for longer hours of listening at a time), and a seemingly ‘decent’ performance (for an entry-mid ciem), with what seems to be a subtly ‘smooth’ but fairly detailed sound and with a ‘punchy’ low end driven & fun presentation (based on what I’ve gathered and read about the A4s ciem so far).
However, sometime around last Wednesday (9/14), my journey in this decision did not stop there, as settling for an entry-mid ciem that’s ‘good enough’ with a ‘decent’ and ‘fun’ type of sound just wasn’t something I’d feel comfortable listening to in the long run. After giving it some careful thought and having realized getting a custom-fit iem was going to be a commitment I’ll have to keep making the best use of and live with in the long term, of all the iems I’ve read about (as much as possible) and narrowed down by preference in sound, comfort as well as shipping & servicing costs, I’ve come to the decision in going for the A12t as my second set of custom-fit iems.
From an overview of my order, here’s the A12t with purple heart wood faceplates, 64 Audio silver logo on one side and A12t silver logo on the other side, along with translucent charcoal shells.
A12t custom-fit in-ear monitors (ordered from 64 Audio, 9/18).
Initially, I’ve been meaning to go with the original ‘1964 EARS’ logo in deep purple pearl for a more retro vibe and feel. But, as weeks went by with some thinking and putting things in perspective, I’ve come to the sense that the new sleek 64 Audio logo keeps the whole design and appearance more simple, fairly relatable and versatile when seen up-close or noticed from a glance when around and about. Despite the changes made from my initial approach of the logo and colorway in more retro-stylish aesthetics, I really look forward to seeing how the the texture, colors and finish of purple heart wood faceplates and smoke shells of the A12t ciems come together and turn out.
On a general note, for most people who work in dynamic & labor-intensive work environments, having a set of custom-fit iems, like the A12t, is not a necessity for physically demanding tasks and work on the constant get-go, as having something like Airpods or Galaxy buds would suffice just fine for daily listening while on the go. But, after having gone back and forth for some time with bluetooth wireless earphones (such as airpods & beats fit pro) and wired chi-fi iems (such as KZ DQ6 & CCA CRA), having on a wired set of earphones gives a more full sounding and surrounding feel of presenting the music in a more present and immersive way, which I feel helps in cases where work can get busily stressful, and at times mentally fatiguing, with different dynamics and extremes that come into play, especially in an environment where occurrences of these cases at different levels of extremes often happen daily. And, with the m15 module on the A12t, it’ll be interesting to see how effectively its noise isolation with pressure relief in a ciem works with and around people when handling bulk orders & shipments of merchandise in and out of the stores and warehouses on-the-go.
In any case, I have no regrets in going this route as my second set of custom-fit iems, as I feel the A12t will suffice well for listening to nearly most genres & styles of music on-the-go, along with pressure relief for longer listening sessions at a time (mostly with a dongle and iPhone for on-the-go listening at work). Also, with the convenience of being able to send in the ciems to 64 Audio within few days at fair-reasonable servicing, maintenance & refit costs over time, this gives some peace of mind to comfortably put the A12t through its daily paces at work in physically demanding use cases without much worry, and to have more ease with some freedom & time to enjoy living, as well as having fun with what we’re passionate about with audio, music and other hobbies & interests, and, more importantly, finding a balance & maintaining a healthy median with life. =)
On a side note, I was told by my audiologist that 64 Audio’s regular turnaround time of making custom-fit in-ear monitors from start to finish takes up to six weeks. A wait time of up to six weeks feels like quite a long while for many of us who would like to have their custom-fit iems completed within a reasonable time frame of one to two weeks. But, in a realistic sense, I think the extended number of weeks gives the company more flexibility and focus to put in a greater care of effort and time spent in making each custom-fit iem in the best way possible. In the meantime though, a set of CCA CRA (wired) and Beats fit pro (tws) should suffice fine for listening on-the-go at work for the next five to six weeks, along with Airpods pro (2nd gen) on the way and should arrive sometime by this Friday (9/23).
Airpods pro (2nd generation) on the way, and it should arrive sometime by Friday (9/23).
-Daniel.
I'll do a more in depth summary once I'm back home but here is an attempt at a hot take while the joy and impressions of my first CJ are still fresh in my mind. What an experience! 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. 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.
Hi Rockwell75,
I’m sorry things didn’t go as planned for the Sunday meetup @ Irvine Marriot (9/18), as I felt it was best not to rush things through from my end with the meet. I don’t know if you really noticed me at and/or around the lounge area, but I was the bald Korean guy in black t-shirt and jeans who briskly walked by several times, as I went outside of the hotel building to walk around few times (and also looked for a place to eat nearby, haha), and then headed back through the lounge several times after being in a crowded space from the booth building. Around the time when I passed through the lounge again and saw you guys meeting up and and talking nearby the entrance, I headed over to the hallway to use the restroom.
On a random and comical note, for those who have seen and used the sink at the restroom in Irvine Marriot, I find it kind of amusing and strange that the hotel’s restroom sink faucet is one of the most odd and somewhat poorly designed, in terms of functionality, that I’ve come across and used, of all the many public restrooms I’ve been to. With aesthetics in contemporary design and cosmetic lifestyle playing a large influential role in public facilities and spaces, a restroom sink with a three-in-one multi-function layout goes for a cosmetic form of design that’s more pleasing to the eye than what makes most rational sense in practicality of regular use. With hands placed close by the motion detector below the sink faucet gives a small trickling flow of water that’s lightly distributed from the middle spout which takes more time than needed for one to do a full hand wash. Then, next thing you know, it takes several tries to get the liquid soap dispenser on the left to fully operate and work, while the hand dryer on the very right turns on abruptly with just a slight waving motion of the hand towards the right. Overall, this sink faucet system serves to be more impractical than usable and is poorly thought out in design and function.
While using the restroom for a simple hand wash ended up being more frustrating than I thought, on my way back, I walked by the back of the lounge, and I noticed from a distance that you guys were getting together for a group photo shot near the entrance. In that moment, I felt it was not a good idea to randomly come in during the photo taking & group gathering, haha. And, by that time, I really had to get going in heading back to Los Angeles to get some things done with work-related matters (maintenance and repairs).
Maybe in December this year when time permits from my work schedule, I’ll make some time from my schedule to head up to Canada and meet up with you (and with others from the Watercooler who are nearby/around the area in Canada, and when time permits from your schedule in December) for a proper outing with good food & vibes, catching up on life & music, some nature walks & hikes, and spending time together. =)
-Daniel.
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@monduvo have the impressions photos been approved by 64?
The photos are a little unclear. It is possible the circled area is not quite perfect as the photo suggests that area is not fully filled out. This area is critical for fit. Any ’inward tapering’ may well affect the seal. However, how do they compare to your past impressions as it could be fine
The photos are a little unclear. It is possible the circled area is not quite perfect as the photo suggests that area is not fully filled out. This area is critical for fit. Any ’inward tapering’ may well affect the seal. However, how do they compare to your past impressions as it could be fine
drftr
Headphoneus Supremus
Looking for my missing link last week I demoed 4 cables (Effect Audio Ares S + Eros S, and Eletech Fortitude + Socrates) and today I added 3 more (Brise Audio STR7-Ref + Asuha-Ref.2 + STR7-Rh2+) but I'm not there yet as most are still too lean to my liking. The Fortitude stood out in a positive way for being the most linear of the bunch (but having disappointing technicalities), the Socrates for its low end, top end, and general technicalities (but having too lean mids), and the Asuha-Ref.2 for its low end, mids, and general technicalities (but being too bright, and contrary to the 2 STR7 cables a terrible cable to handle).
I think for great sub $1,200-ish copper cables that would more or less mean only PlusSound (impossible to find here), HanSound, and PW Audio are on the table, am I right?
My question: Has anyone compared the Socrates with PW Audio 1960s 2-wire or the August Fun (which should only differ slightly in the bass) so I know more or less what to expect when translating to the U18t?
EDIT: Cross-posted on the PW Audio and Eletech threads.
drftr
I think for great sub $1,200-ish copper cables that would more or less mean only PlusSound (impossible to find here), HanSound, and PW Audio are on the table, am I right?
My question: Has anyone compared the Socrates with PW Audio 1960s 2-wire or the August Fun (which should only differ slightly in the bass) so I know more or less what to expect when translating to the U18t?
EDIT: Cross-posted on the PW Audio and Eletech threads.
drftr
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