I was going to wait until tomorrow to start this but it will help me this weekend if we get a head start today. It's officially fall up here in the northern hemisphere which means it's time for our seasonal poll.
Survey: What are the top 3 IEMs that own your heart right now?
Criteria for selection is entirely up to you-- favourites, new loves...what 3 IEMs are occupying your mind and heart at this moment in time? To see the results of the summer and spring polls head to the opening page of the Watercooler thread.
Honestly I didn't try the Ragnar(I had no time) but from what I've read and what was told to me by those at canjam sitting next to me at musicteck booth (I didn't listen to it because it was similar to jewel/traillii) and my impressions of the Odyssey that's where I came up with that conclusion the Odyssey might not reach it in technicality but it's no slouch imo and the best EE offering to date imo.
Honestly I didn't try the Ragnar(I had no time) but from what I've read and what was told to me by those at canjam sitting next to me at musicteck booth (I didn't listen to it because it was similar to jewel/traillii) and my impressions of the Odyssey that's where I came up with that conclusion the Odyssey might not reach it in technicality but it's no slouch imo and the best EE offering to date imo.
Honestly I didn't try the Ragnar(I had no time) but from what I've read and what was told to me by those at canjam sitting next to me at musicteck booth (I didn't listen to it because it was similar to jewel/traillii) and my impressions of the Odyssey that's where I came up with that conclusion the Odyssey might not reach it in technicality but it's no slouch imo and the best EE offering to date imo.
Reading, however, I understand that in the high range the Ragnar may be a little too bright in some cases. Traillii in the high range remains persuasive and soft.
Reading, however, I understand that in the high range the Ragnar may be a little too bright in some cases. Traillii in the high range remains persuasive and soft.
Ya you can see where I was turned off from auditioning it., so it obviously has its own sound sig vs traillii and jewel. which seems to be lack of overall bass and highs that are bright but it comes off sounding very detailed etc but if you're looking for a great balanced iem with BC and DD and I felt the highs were a little brighter on the odyssey vs jewel and at a way cheaper price point I'd recommend the Odyssey. I don't think it's worth upgrading from my indigo but it's also because I have the jewel...
fixed this post my gawd I wrote it in two different sittings and didn't proof read XD sorry about that.
I primarily listen for frequency response, as that usually dictates the majority of my opinion on an IEM. Graphs of frequency response are just another asset for me nowadays because 1) I usually have a general idea of how something will graph just by ear, and 2) I’ve often found there are small discrepancies between what I measure and what I hear. These differences could come down to seal, insertion depth, etc. but I wouldn't want to “lead the witness” by seeing a measurement first.
Learning to discern frequency response by ear is a matter of listening more, but there's more nuance to it than that. If you're always listening to the same IEM, you're not really going to build listening ability. Frequently listening to more IEMs is a much better avenue for building your listening ability. Hearing different things forces your ears to re-calibrate and allows you to develop more concrete preferences. Something else you can do is check measured frequency responses after listening to an IEM, so that you learn to correlate what peaks and dips in specific areas sound like. Playing around with EQ can also be an eye-opener.
The tracks you're using are also important. Granted, I don't think they necessarily have to be well-mastered, have high dynamic range, or anything of the sort. Listening to those types of tracks, or feeling compelled to listen to what others are listening to to bring out a certain IEM's "potential," usually isn't a good direction of resources. At the end of the day - at least as a consumer - you're buying that IEM for you, not someone else. Listen to music that you are familiar with and enjoy. Back to the idea of building associations, pick certain parts and instruments of songs; listen to how they sound different when there is certain peaks or dips on an IEM's frequency response. I have about five or six songs that I use to quickly gauge an IEM's frequency response. A couple sweeps of an individual part of a song is usually enough. For example, thisis one for sub-bass extension (0:15 is around 30Hz, maybe lower). At shows, I usually don't have time to be dallying, so this is the approach that I use.
Re. taking notes, I do take notes when demoing, but they're very rudimentary. Some people have seen my notes and are like...that's it? But especially at shows where I'm on the clock, I find there isn't really any point in writing down specific moments of songs or anything like that. After all, I'm using the same songs and listening to the same segments of these songs almost every demo session! At least for me, less is more in this type of environment. It's a different story when I'm assessing from home, though. At home, I usually write-up a skeleton of the review based on my first couple hours of listening. Then I slowly make adjustments as I get more ear time on an item. But my impressions don't usually change much from initial listen, so this approach might not work for everyone.
It is certainly difficult to draw a line between reviewing and listening for fun. I think I have a more rational approach to reviewing and listening. I rarely, if ever, get chills or goosebumps when listening to music. It's very difficult to find IEMs that I enjoy listening to these days. My hearing has also gotten more sensitive in the last couple years - I can't hear any higher or lower in frequency, but I've noticed that certain frequencies, especially higher ones, bother me more than they used to. I have to wear earplugs at the dentist now haha. All this to say that there are trade-offs to building your critical listening skill! To some degree, I genuinely envy people who can just listen to the music and enjoy all the new gear. There are still moments where things "click" with a set for me, where I go into a set with no expectations and find myself blown away, but these moments are the exception, not the norm.
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. Z1r
