The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.

[Steranko]

Exciting day. I finally get to hear the fabled Orpheus ( owner @SteveK27) for an audition.

I am on the brink of buying one. Used of course. I heard it over 5 times but that price is a killer for a cable. If you think about it, it's more expensive than a 24K Gold necklace. Let us know what you think about it. It does have it's own unique sound and very quiet background.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I am on the brink of buying one. Used of course. I heard it over 5 times but that price is a killer for a cable. If you think about it, it's more expensive than a 24K Gold necklace. Let us know what you think about it. It does have it's own unique sound and very quiet background.

I thought it was good, but I prefer the First Times Shielding and Meet Again cable because they are much cheaper and provide very similar magic to sound quality.

 

[raylu]

I thought it was good, but I prefer the First Times Shielding and Meet Again cable because they are much cheaper and provide very similar magic to sound quality.

that is why I bought the FTS

 

[Rockwell75]

Could I be in trouble yet again?

There will always be further trouble until you make the conscious decsion to stick with what you have for a bit. Somethnig newer and shiner is forever just around the corner.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Earlier this week when talking with Dita and having a similar discussion with @yaps66 just days earlier we talked about the way Stax has been in the front seat for representing the most natural sound possible for at least 4 decades. And I wonder how much the sound of my first love, the Lambda Pro, has shaped my journey onwards.

I'm getting a bit of a nauseous feeling seeing you're talking about Ragnar in similar fashion though Could I be in trouble yet again? On the other hand it now suddenly makes much more sense that I fell in love with the Sultan, so tnx for connecting the dots for me! Maybe I have finally arrived back home?

drftr

I love Ragnar. Not sure if you will. It seems to be a bit controversial. What everyone agrees on is that it is a treble dominant IEM that focuses on extreme clarity and detail retrieval. It does so at the expense of some tonality given it a somewhat clinical sound. I happen to love it and when paired with a great source like 1ZM2 loses most of that over clean sound.

 

[drftr]

I love Ragnar. Not sure if you will. It seems to be a bit controversial. What everyone agrees on is that it is a treble dominant IEM that focuses on extreme clarity and detail retrieval. It does so at the expense of some tonality given it a somewhat clinical sound. I happen to love it and when paired with a great source like 1ZM2 loses most of that over clean sound.

I certainly prefer warmer mids and a linear descent from sub bass to those mids (not unlike the Mentor) and thought Ragnar wouldn't do that. Pretty sure I would like the rest. But do let me know if my assumptions are wrong.

drftr

 

[drftr]

There will always be further trouble until you make the conscious decsion to stick with what you have for a bit. Somethnig newer and shiner is forever just around the corner.

Very true, but remember that I allowed myself to upgrade my chain until my shopping window closed. That is when I take off for Southern India and continue into the Middle East and Africa so I probably have until about Christmas to either conclude Sultan is more than I had hoped for, or that Mentor or Ragnar are welcome.

Just thinking back about the journey during the past 12 months: For someone not willing to even spend $300 on a new IEM the move to U12t and then onward to U18t and now Sultan would have yielded a Totally impossible! if you had asked me at the time.

Last night arrived in Taiwan where I will check out what's going on in the Head-Fi scene. Any members from Taiwan on the Watercooler that you guys know of?

drftr

 

[Maxx134]

Maybe it’s my CIEM fit/depth but I just can’t hear Mentor bass as “weak” in any aspect outside of the fact it isn’t using kinetic bass or a W9+ driver.

Your correct. I realized I used to signatures slightly elevated at the extremes.
I find myself preferring IEMs with DD bass.
The Mentor sounded a tad thicker or lush, without having elevated subbas or treble air presence, just palpable silky mids which is why it triggered "trailli" to my mind. Getting older I am needing that trebles over mids or bass.
Although I don't prefer the Mentor, it made me realize I also no longer prefer the Jewel(!), which has a wonderful signature. I realized I now prefer more palpable presence over soundstage.
It's also a realization that personal preferences change over time.

 

[klyzon]

YMMV indeed. That presents a great year-end poll idea. From 2022, your picks for:

1) Bass
2) Mids
3) Treble
4) Technical
5) All Rounder

1) Bass - Odyssey
2) Mids - Jewel
3) Treble - Annihilator
4) Technical - Mentor
5) All Rounder - Mentor

 

[Lépine]

@yaps66 No M-Scaler to go with the TT2? It's like toast without butter.

 

[Lépine]

I have the gen 2 Noble Khan iem, and as usual, there is no place where I can test listen the latest Noble. Looks like it would be time to save for the Ragnar? I was so hoping 2022 would be the year I got a HOLO. Maybe next year for either...

Funny I came here to get away from one other hobby that was costing me too much.

 

[HarveyLowis]

@yaps66 No M-Scaler to go with the TT2? It's like toast without butter.

And then, mTT2 without Wave Storm Cable is like butter toast without kaya.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I have the gen 2 Noble Khan iem, and as usual, there is no place where I can test listen the latest Noble. Looks like it would be time to save for the Ragnar? I was so hoping 2022 would be the year I got a HOLO. Maybe next year for either...

Funny I came here to get away from one other hobby that was costing me too much.

CanJam Socal. Or, have Andrew send you both telling him you will keep one. I would definitely listen to both Kublai Khan and Ragnar to see which one is best for your needs. I think Kublai Khan would be more generally appealing. Ragnar has a more limited audience, but it can do what nothing else can if you like what it offers.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

@yaps66 No M-Scaler to go with the TT2? It's like toast without butter.

You can always add an mscaler later.

I bought my TT2 first and it was a big upgrade to my Bifrost 2. Then, I added an mscaler. TT2 without mscaler is about 90-95% of TT2 w/ mscaler

 

[drftr]

CanJam Socal. Or, have Andrew send you both telling him you will keep one. I would definitely listen to both Kublai Khan and Ragnar to see which one is best for your needs. I think Kublai Khan would be more generally appealing. Ragnar has a more limited audience, but it can do what nothing else can if you like what it offers.

And @Lépine Or buy the compromise between the 2, Sultan, second hand and if you don't like it after all sell it for the exact same price. But since like me you come from the U18t that chance is very small. Second hand Sultans can be found at a 50% discount, or even more if you consider MusicTech's price.

drftr