[twister6]

Got a package today from Japan.



I wanted to share my impressions about the Kublai Khan that I received this week. But now I am writing about the Audio-Technica ATH-TWX9 as they are unbelievable exciting

I was searching for a good pair of TWS for quite some time.

I started with the Sony XM3 which I liked back then. They have decent detail retrieval and sound fairly neutral. But the fit is really an issue.

I then switched to the Sony XM4. Function wise they were a step up, but sound wise I found them to be a downgrade. They sounded muddy to me. I also had ringing issues with them.

I then bought the Huawei Free Buds 2 Pro. They have a DD driver for the lows and a planar driver for the rest of the spectrum. They were tuned together with Devialet. They are really decent. I used them until now. The bass is nicely textured, also fairly neutral tuned. Mids and treble were "ok". They are not the most resolving and instrument separation is not the best. But from all that I heard so far they were the best sounding to me. They also have their small peaks at the right places, so they sounded exciting as well.

I then also tried the Oppo Enco X2. They use the same driver setup as the Huawei Free Buds 2 Pro. They were tuned together with Dynaudio. The bass was nice as the one from the Huawei Freebuds 2 Pro, but the highs were more elevated. And as they are not the best resolving and sounding, they overall sounded not very good.

2 weeks ago I bought the Sennheiser TWS3. They have the best detail retrieval from the TWS mentioned above. Really good. But the Bass was not satisfying. It was completely lacking the DD characteristic. Very low decay, also not very textured. That was the main reason I sold them again.

Now listening to the Audio-Technica ATH-TWX9. They were recommended here and there but there is not so much information available. These are initial impressions, but I can already say they are absolutely great! They have small 5,8mm drivers but I have no idea how they get this sound out of them.



The first thing I needed to adjust was the bass quantity. The stock tuning has waaaaay too much bass.



With that EQ they sound neutral, a tad warm and airy as well. And exciting! They are the most detailled of the bunch. The resolution is really really good. I'd prefer these TWS over a bunch of kilobuck IEMs out there. They are also very fast, you can somehow hear the stiffness of these small drivers and how they resolve everything cleanly and do not smear in any of the frequency areas. They are very coherent as well, as you would except from a single DD. No annoying peaks.

The soundstage is not the biggest though.

I did not try the ANC / transparency mode so far, will do that over the next days.

Have you ever tried Hiby WH2 DD? A year later, these are still my daily go-to tws iems w/LDAC support. Just noticed they sold out in Hiby store, and now I'm regretting for not getting a backup pair...

 

[Ojisan]

Thank you for your impressions.

You didn’t say much about KK but still say you prefer it over the Bird even though you felt the mids are too recessed? I’ve just ordered a KK and would love to know your thoughts on it especially with more energetic music.

I’m wondering if the Ragnar sheen is being tamed by the Orpheus cable…

Also curious more thoughts about the comparisons with tracks more geared toward the trailliis tuning.

Can’t wait to hear more from you.

Thanks again for your impressions as they are super helpful to those of us that won’t get to hear some of these before a purchase. You really have me wanting to hear the Ragnar!!

+1 really making me want to hear Ragnar. Beethoven's 5&7 by Pittsburgh Symphony/Manfred Honeck is one of my go to album, next to Karajan and Kleiber. If it can do that well, it should be worth a listen. And I enjoyed your other EDM track too @yaps66

 

[drftr]

Thank you all, there is a wealth of experience here.
I recently picked up a Fourte Blanc, it is a very nice IEM, and it sound pretty good listening off of my McIntosh MHA200.
If I can slightly de-emphasize the treble around 6-8Khz, but not loose any of the transparency or solid impact, it will have more flexibility in pairing it with a couple of DAPs that I use on the rare occasion I am working outside of my home office.

You may want to try the 1950s cable or, with much much less financial risk snap up @SteveK27's clone of this cable on the Classifieds for an incredibly low price...

I am really done with UM and probably chinese sellers and brands in general for a while.

The EU probably has me spoiled, but I don't think that is a bad thing necessarily.

I'm afraid your excellent comment will remain undervalued until more people will run into trouble. Let's just hope that will never happen.

I havent finalized my decision, but my focus is only on the used market as I cant afford the latest tech here like my friends

One thing I am absolutely certain on is getting my hands on Chiron. I love love that cable (besides its aesthetics) and how it adds sweetness to everything it pairs with. Going to see it as a long term investment as my final chapter on the cable journey haha

Promise me you're not eyeing the crazy 8-wire that we checked, will you?

thanks for your quick comparison, i sold the bird after getting ragnar for a month ago, ragnar's treble and mid are exellent as well as the realism and resolution, one thing i wish is the ragnar could have a little bit more sub bass that would be perfect for me.

I'm about to bite the bullet on yet another Noble IEM, the Sultan, that like the KK I also prefer over Traillii, and from reading I thought the obvious candidate for a Noble-fan-in-the-making, the Ragnar would sound too lean for my liking. But I'm not much into bass at all as it almost without exception cloggs up orchestral music, so I'm very curious to read more thoughts on mostly tonality differences between KK - Sultan - Ragnar. For me with the right tips the sub/mid/upper bass level is perfect on KK and Sultan, and although I could do with a little less I would only accept that if the mids don't lose their natural warmth. For technicalities I'm not going to suffer with any of these monsters anyway so I will happily compromise on that if I have to, but on tonality and naturalness I won't. Thoughts?

drftr

 

[drftr]

+1 really making me want to hear Ragnar. Beethoven's 5&7 by Pittsburgh Symphony/Manfred Honeck is one of my go to album, next to Karajan and Kleiber. If it can do that well, it should be worth a listen. And I enjoyed your other EDM track too @yaps66

Sorry, my Like for your comment was actually for Kleiber...

drftr

 

[bigbeans]

It's on sale again, AKGN5005 for 199 USD

https://www.harmanaudio.com/akg/AKG...f4yk&cjevent=cce3628d44df11ed83831a570a82b82d

Could be worth a buy for some here, good stocking stuffers at the very least.

 

[MaggotBrain]

I know a lot of you are still waiting on RS8 but it's new toy day for me. Not the usual box of tricks doing the rounds and somewhat of a left field purchase, but after hearing M2 last week the hunt began for a DMP Z1. Didn't expect to sort a deal so quickly but the stars aligned and it arrived today. (Sorry Mike / @Smousesme for stealing your pic, it's in it's case getting some hours put on it for a few days!)



Not even had half an hour of listening time due real life but 2 things that immediately stand out are stage and bass. Stage is grand, best way I can describe it. Not limited to increased width but pushing out 360 without spreading the stage thin, very impressive indeed. Transferred DSOTM to onboard for a quick listen and the heft to the heartbeat / kick drum at the start was pretty amazing.



Typical AK 4497 sound but with some very special sauce from the amp side and sonys proprietary processing. Thought went through my head in the 1st few minutes that wow, THIS is  real TOTL.

Looking forward to taking it for a proper spin and listening to it side by side with M2, two totally different techs (AKM vs Sony) but both under the same house. Iirc in an interview with the lead Sony designer, he stated that M2 was basically done in keeping with DMP within the constraints of the M2 chassis so it'll be interesting to see how similar they are despite using different technology, I know @Damz87 sold his DMP and thought M2 was close enough, is it worth the extra cost? Find out soon enough if it adds the cherry on top. I guess use case also factors into these decisions as its not exactly a get up and go setup.

It is smaller than I had expected though but clearly not portable, on the boundary of transportable and i won't be doing any chores with it strapped to my back. Moving it about the house isn't an issue, more scared of putting a scratch on the lovely finish rather than anything else!

Honeymoon period will be in effect right now which I'm well aware of, same with M2, so I'll refrain from all the sliced bread chat until I've had quality time with both.

Came with 75hrs on it, Sony recommended minimum is 200hrs, DMP thread TL;DR is something like 960hrs to be in full swing. Clock starts now.

The DMPZ1 is one of the best audio purchases I have ever made.


I cannot even compare it to other portable sources I have tried / owned (including Shanling M8, AK Kann, iFi Gryphon, Centrance m8) - it totally blows them out of the water.
For a fairer comparison - this 5 lbs cruiserweight not only bests the 40 lb super heavyweight dCS Bartok, but does so without breaking a sweat. Only when I add the Trafomatic Primavera does the tube soundstage blooms and the fight is fairer - but tethering a 4 foot cable to a desktop setup is something I only do for comparison purposes. This is transportable (again - 5 lbs - if you can carry a small baby, you can carry the DMPZ1!) - and it is so nice to be able to take it from room to room. Want to hear a TOTL setup when the wife nods off early? Want to bring it to the kitchen table and make taking care of email office drudgery into something to look forward to? Want to bring it outside on the patio and play some symphonies while you are reading a good book? Want to tuck it into a 20 L Patagonia backpack and make mopping the floors, vacuuming or general puttering into something transcendent? (Married guy tip - your wife WILL NEVER BOTHER YOU ABOUT LISTENING TO HEADPHONES IF YOU ARE PUSHING A BROOM!)

What absolutely stunned me is the synergistic effect it has with the bone conduction on the UM Red Halo when used with the Orpheus. Not additive, mind you - not 1+1 =2 but synergistic - 1+1 = a kajillion - I ain‘t kidding! The weight of the notes and the expansive soundstage is just killer - I cannot believe I am listening to IEMs with the Red Halo/DMPZ1 combo. I find myself touching my ears to make sure I didn‘t throw the Abyss on my noggin.

It made the Red Halo into a bass monster, which is a sentence I never thought I would utter. I have bassy fun-sounding headphones in my arsenal (Abyss TC, Ultrasone 5) and it truly holds its own. I own the MMR Thummim with DD bass and the DMP Z1 is the one source that makes the Thummim second to the Red Halo in the bass department. It could be the Orpheus in part, but the Red Halo is for all intents and purposes surgically attached to the Orpheus as they shall never part. And it is not just bass - the times I have listened to classical harkens back to the days I had a Stax 009 - just sublime presence and glistening treble - I just cannot believe this is 5 lbs!

The only disappointment is that its heft belies its ability to drive high impedance headphones (Abyss TC, Verite Closed) - there is a workaround when I use the 6W centrance Ampersand but the daisy chain is a bit wonky to use. The centrance m8 drives the Diana Phi brilliantly, but the DMPZ1 just cannot get them past the finish line volume wise. It’s like a sub-300 lb offensive lineman that kills it in college but lacking the heft to push around the big boy pros. I have read that easier to drive headphones like the Sennheiser HD800s works well, but I will be on a audio embargo for the foreseeable future with a Taiko SGM Extreme Server (talk about NFL lineman - 99 lbs of beef and fanless passive cooling) on the way.

It has been around awhile but for the crazies like me who want TOTL convenience be damned - it is sure tough to beat.

 

[Ojisan]

Sorry, my Like for your comment was actually for Kleiber...

drftr

That's ok, we both like Kleiber. We actually have something in common, lol

 

[SteveK27]

You may want to try the 1950s cable or, with much much less financial risk snap up @SteveK27's clone of this cable on the Classifieds for an incredibly low price...


I'm afraid your excellent comment will remain undervalued until more people will run into trouble. Let's just hope that will never happen.


Promise me you're not eyeing the crazy 8-wire that we checked, will you?


I'm about to bite the bullet on yet another Noble IEM, the Sultan, that like the KK I also prefer over Traillii, and from reading I thought the obvious candidate for a Noble-fan-in-the-making, the Ragnar would sound too lean for my liking. But I'm not much into bass at all as it almost without exception cloggs up orchestral music, so I'm very curious to read more thoughts on mostly tonality differences between KK - Sultan - Ragnar. For me with the right tips the sub/mid/upper bass level is perfect on KK and Sultan, and although I could do with a little less I would only accept that if the mids don't lose their natural warmth. For technicalities I'm not going to suffer with any of these monsters anyway so I will happily compromise on that if I have to, but on tonality and naturalness I won't. Thoughts?

drftr

Chiron hype
I recall you not liking it, and im quite confident Orpheus would be closer to your end game haha

 

[drftr]

Chiron hype
I recall you not liking it, and im quite confident Orpheus would be closer to your end game haha

Everything being a compromise that will/won't work depending on pairing you have to consider that I used the U18t for the demo. So when I write

Effect Audio Chiron 8-wire
Possibly the most beautiful cable on the market for me [...], heavy, too lean bass and lower mids, borderline too bright. Incredible staging and imaging and especially depth. I noted a somewhat reduced size for the imaging of vocals but don't know why. Could be that its imaging is so razor sharp that it shows where other cables are actually at fault?

obviously that says something about the combination, and how could it not? The U18t has a very tender balance, and knowing that I think it's very easy to see my praise for the Chiron 8-wire! Silver being silver means that on average it will pair much better with the IEMs that you prefer than that it would with mine, and that's what makes a market.

drftr

 

[Mangodango369]

Does anyone really use the DMPZ1 on the go? It's almost as big as my bag! But it would be pretty cool to bring them out tho

 

[kevin638880]

Does anyone really use the DMPZ1 on the go? It's almost as big as my bag! But it would be pretty cool to bring them out tho

I have seen people bring it out for audio meets, but listening on the go....I remember one time seeing a person carrying a bag just for it with cables hanging out.

Either way, I don't fancy accidentally turning the volume wheel.

 

[Mangodango369]

I have seen people bring it out for audio meets, but listening on the go....I remember one time seeing a person carrying a bag just for it with cables hanging out.

Either way, I don't fancy accidentally turning the volume wheel.

Lol thats hilarious. I'm sure you'll get the stares for lugging that huge device on your back!
Imagine someone just cranking the wheel up lol

 

[Doug2507]

The DMPZ1 is one of the best audio purchases I have ever made.


I cannot even compare it to other portable sources I have tried / owned (including Shanling M8, AK Kann, iFi Gryphon, Centrance m8) - it totally blows them out of the water.
For a fairer comparison - this 5 lbs cruiserweight not only bests the 40 lb super heavyweight dCS Bartok, but does so without breaking a sweat. Only when I add the Trafomatic Primavera does the tube soundstage blooms and the fight is fairer - but tethering a 4 foot cable to a desktop setup is something I only do for comparison purposes. This is transportable (again - 5 lbs - if you can carry a small baby, you can carry the DMPZ1!) - and it is so nice to be able to take it from room to room. Want to hear a TOTL setup when the wife nods off early? Want to bring it to the kitchen table and make taking care of email office drudgery into something to look forward to? Want to bring it outside on the patio and play some symphonies while you are reading a good book? Want to tuck it into a 20 L Patagonia backpack and make mopping the floors, vacuuming or general puttering into something transcendent? (Married guy tip - your wife WILL NEVER BOTHER YOU ABOUT LISTENING TO HEADPHONES IF YOU ARE PUSHING A BROOM!)

What absolutely stunned me is the synergistic effect it has with the bone conduction on the UM Red Halo when used with the Orpheus. Not additive, mind you - not 1+1 =2 but synergistic - 1+1 = a kajillion - I ain‘t kidding! The weight of the notes and the expansive soundstage is just killer - I cannot believe I am listening to IEMs with the Red Halo/DMPZ1 combo. I find myself touching my ears to make sure I didn‘t throw the Abyss on my noggin.

It made the Red Halo into a bass monster, which is a sentence I never thought I would utter. I have bassy fun-sounding headphones in my arsenal (Abyss TC, Ultrasone 5) and it truly holds its own. I own the MMR Thummim with DD bass and the DMP Z1 is the one source that makes the Thummim second to the Red Halo in the bass department. It could be the Orpheus in part, but the Red Halo is for all intents and purposes surgically attached to the Orpheus as they shall never part. And it is not just bass - the times I have listened to classical harkens back to the days I had a Stax 009 - just sublime presence and glistening treble - I just cannot believe this is 5 lbs!

The only disappointment is that its heft belies its ability to drive high impedance headphones (Abyss TC, Verite Closed) - there is a workaround when I use the 6W centrance Ampersand but the daisy chain is a bit wonky to use. The centrance m8 drives the Diana Phi brilliantly, but the DMPZ1 just cannot get them past the finish line volume wise. It’s like a sub-300 lb offensive lineman that kills it in college but lacking the heft to push around the big boy pros. I have read that easier to drive headphones like the Sennheiser HD800s works well, but I will be on a audio embargo for the foreseeable future with a Taiko SGM Extreme Server (talk about NFL lineman - 99 lbs of beef and fanless passive cooling) on the way.

It has been around awhile but for the crazies like me who want TOTL convenience be damned - it is sure tough to beat.

Oh man, I really used to like you until you mentioned pairing with RH.

Seriously though, getting RH back has been ony mind and even more so when I heard this yesterday. I can see them working very well together so not totally surprised to see you day this. When I had FE I eventually paired them with Orph but I felt like it pushed them too far in the direction they're already in. FT would 100% be my go to (or Meet Again) if there's a round 2 for myself and Red. When I compared FT and Orph on Jewel, FT was more U shaped which I would think, would synergize well with Red. FT doesnt have Orph stage but using FT with Jewel, the stage is still monumental. Obviously DMP is a bass monster but how do you find the treble with Red?

Also see you mentioned Diana. These seem to be a favourite pairing with DMP but I've not seen anyone mention lack of headroom using them...?

Had a very brief play with gain using Jewel yesterday and low gain sounded perfect.

 

[Doug2507]

Does anyone really use the DMPZ1 on the go? It's almost as big as my bag! But it would be pretty cool to bring them out tho

Yeah, the guy who designed it uses one to travel to and from work on a daily basis apparently. Guess breaking it ain't a problem for him!

 

[drftr]

Yeah, the guy who designed it uses one to travel to and from work on a daily basis apparently. Guess breaking it ain't a problem for him!

Perhaps he misunderstood breaking in?

drftr