The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
- Start date
Thanks to my friend, @gadgetgod , I was able to listen to the Symphonium Meteor today. The stock cable being a single-ended one, I had to pair it with a balanced cable to gets it to its full potential - so I brought out my PW Audio SE Ultra Copper. The eartips I used was Moondrop spring tip M size.
First thing to note was the fit - thanks to the angled nozzle, it was rather deep, and that was the reason why the spring tip M size fit perfectly. Then I noticed how power-hungry it is! It truly needs some considerable power! But well, my DAP did have enough juice to provide, so no worries there.
Gears used - Shanling M7 Balanced Mid gain > PW Audio SE Ultra Copper > Symphonium Meteor
Test Tracks:
Whitney Houston - Tell Me No
Tool - Stinkfist
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
Estas Tonne - Strings Of A Bird (Acoustic) [Live]
The Meteor has a surprisingly V shaped sound that I definitely was not expecting given its graph - again a testament of how graphs does not necessarily portray how a gear sounds. Even from the beginning, I could feel how strongly it was tilted towards the bass and the treble - not necessarily a bad thing, just the way they wanted to tune it , I presume. Really put smile on ones face with the very fun bassy sound while simultaneously putting a lot of sparkles in the top end.
In fact, this may be one of those very few iems where the bass sound very VERY close to DD bass...and frankly, if I did not know that Meteor was an all BA iem, I would have readily believed it was an hybrid, with the DD handling the Low and the Mid, and BA for highs. Pretty bold, I know, it is not easy to sound like DD in the Low and Mid freqency with a BA, but the Meteor gets close, very very close.
The Low end has a very significant amount of emphasis, and the subbass does reach quite deep and rumbles are very much powerful and gets quite physical! The midbass is not forsaken for the sake of the subbass, and packs a punch with about the same power - which is to say more than enough. Bass takes a front seat in the overall presentation, and it will grab you attention at the first chance it gets - which may or may not be delightful depending on preferences.
On the flip side, the bass does come off as slightly fat, and a bit slow - which ultimately affects the textures a bit. See, the subbass textures are pronounced, but the midbass notes, being a bit fat, a bit more extra meat on the bones, do sound slightly soft and blunted, smoothing the textures which does not help it. It is not bad, but having listened to other gears in a similar rice range - the difference does get immediately apparent.
Midrange is undeniably pushed back a bit since the Low is pushed forward, but that is not to say that it sounds drowned. Rather, it cuts clean through the bass. Lower midrange sounds quite organic and full, with a very healthy note weight and body - which somehow feels carried forward from the midbass. Male vocals like Leonoard Cohen have a very nice organic and full base that sounds really satisfactory. Acoustic guitars sounds quite pleasing as well.
Upper midrange, on the other side, is slightly pulled back - which mainly affects the electric guitars, the female vocals, etc. It does get the overall sound rid off unpleasant sibilant peaks in this area, however, the slight lack of energy might not sit right with everyone. Not to say they sound drowned out - they still are quite cleanly heard, but they do not have that last amount of zing.
Following the path of the Low, the midrange notes are yet a bit on the smoother side. That, combined with the fact that the lower mid notes have quite a healthy amount of meat - makes them a bit blurred and soft, with textures taking the major hit - so it might not come out very detailed, but it still sounds quite organic and musical. The sticks and drums sound a bit soft and not as clean. Some female and male vocals do not show their inherent gritty nature. Electric guitars sound clean, but that bite and crunch might feel a bit missing, same for acoustic guitar as well. Due to the lack of energy, some female vocals fail to reach their full potential to sound ethereal - ending up sounding slightly muffled rather. All things considered, the midrange may sound nicely full and organic, but not very clean and transparent per my preference. Even so, Meteor does a splendid job of reproducing the background instruments in a somewhat nice way.
When it reaches the High frequency, however, the game changes. The treble has a sudden burst of energy that pushes it a bit forward and makes the treble come forward, sound lovely and bright and quite crisp! Gone is that smooth nature - the treble notes are very well textured and feels really sparkly, with an even amount of energy in both lower and upper treble. The cymbals crash in a bright and spicy manner while decaying in a brilliant way. They do sit a bit forward in the stage. The notes do not sound overly thin, having enough body to sound natural. Overall quite surprisingly pleasing and in quite a contrast with the tuning of the rest of the spectrum. The spicy nature, in very very rare cases, might come off as slightly unnatural - but not much of a worry at all!
The soundstage, well, here I do have some reservations. However many music I tried, in the end the soundstage rather felt a bit intimate to me. The imaging was fine, but the space between the notes was less. The Overall presentation is not so airy, even though the separation is notably good and clean. The height of the stage was quite limited, width was nice, so was the depth.
Now, let's compare this small 4BA powerhouse with a not-so-popular single DD contender - the 634EARS LOAK-T(CL). I know, you guys might be tired of me citing this iem over and over again, but once any of you gets the chance to hear it, I believe you will agree to whatever I have said till now to some extent.
The Meteor was paired with PW Audio Ultra Copper cable, and the LOAK-T(CL) was similarly paired with Effect Audio Ares S - so I would say the chain was pretty similar pricewise. Source was Shanling M7 balanced Mid gain.
LOAK-T(CL) sounds notably more detailed thoroughout the Low and Mid. The Low end is not as fat, sounds quite deep and tight, rumbles are quite deep and physical, and midbass slams with more power and yet sounds cleaner. Notes have more bite and textures pop out more easily.
Lower midrange has a nice body - slightly less in comparison, but more than enough to sound natural and organic. Again, notes have more bite here. Male vocals sound organic and more textured & detailed. Female vocals sound significantly more brilliant and emotional. The throatyness is quite easily apparent in the vocals. Guitars sound wonderful - more crunch, more details, more exciting - both acoustic and electric guitars alike. Midrange sounds noticeably cleaner and transparent.
Coming to treble, it has a similarly brilliant presentation, with slightly more note weight that makes it sound a bit more real and natural. The positioning of treble instruments is also not as forward as Meteor in the stage, but still somewhat forward nonetheless.
Soundstage of LOAK is significantly better than Meteor, hands down! The whole presentation sounds more open, with noticeably more height, slightly more width and may be similar depth. There is much more space between the notes, with a higher degree of transparency. It sounds much more dynamic than Meteor, which, to my ears, sounds a mix of smoothness and brilliance. Maybe this is what the term 'less coherent' means.
Frankly, I would say that Meteor is a rather nice iem. It is fun. The low and mid sound quite organic, full, and natural - very little to non BA timbre! The Treble is sparkling and airy. The overall presentation I would say tilted more towards musicality than detailed - but the details are not lost totally also. It is a very nice alternative set to have if one already has one that takes care of the craving of the detail. Although, it is not completely to my preference, and I do have other sets that I feel perform a bit better than this, but that is not to say its performance is subpar, rather noticeably good!
First thing to note was the fit - thanks to the angled nozzle, it was rather deep, and that was the reason why the spring tip M size fit perfectly. Then I noticed how power-hungry it is! It truly needs some considerable power! But well, my DAP did have enough juice to provide, so no worries there.
Gears used - Shanling M7 Balanced Mid gain > PW Audio SE Ultra Copper > Symphonium Meteor
Test Tracks:
Whitney Houston - Tell Me No
Tool - Stinkfist
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
Estas Tonne - Strings Of A Bird (Acoustic) [Live]
The Meteor has a surprisingly V shaped sound that I definitely was not expecting given its graph - again a testament of how graphs does not necessarily portray how a gear sounds. Even from the beginning, I could feel how strongly it was tilted towards the bass and the treble - not necessarily a bad thing, just the way they wanted to tune it , I presume. Really put smile on ones face with the very fun bassy sound while simultaneously putting a lot of sparkles in the top end.
In fact, this may be one of those very few iems where the bass sound very VERY close to DD bass...and frankly, if I did not know that Meteor was an all BA iem, I would have readily believed it was an hybrid, with the DD handling the Low and the Mid, and BA for highs. Pretty bold, I know, it is not easy to sound like DD in the Low and Mid freqency with a BA, but the Meteor gets close, very very close.
The Low end has a very significant amount of emphasis, and the subbass does reach quite deep and rumbles are very much powerful and gets quite physical! The midbass is not forsaken for the sake of the subbass, and packs a punch with about the same power - which is to say more than enough. Bass takes a front seat in the overall presentation, and it will grab you attention at the first chance it gets - which may or may not be delightful depending on preferences.
On the flip side, the bass does come off as slightly fat, and a bit slow - which ultimately affects the textures a bit. See, the subbass textures are pronounced, but the midbass notes, being a bit fat, a bit more extra meat on the bones, do sound slightly soft and blunted, smoothing the textures which does not help it. It is not bad, but having listened to other gears in a similar rice range - the difference does get immediately apparent.
Midrange is undeniably pushed back a bit since the Low is pushed forward, but that is not to say that it sounds drowned. Rather, it cuts clean through the bass. Lower midrange sounds quite organic and full, with a very healthy note weight and body - which somehow feels carried forward from the midbass. Male vocals like Leonoard Cohen have a very nice organic and full base that sounds really satisfactory. Acoustic guitars sounds quite pleasing as well.
Upper midrange, on the other side, is slightly pulled back - which mainly affects the electric guitars, the female vocals, etc. It does get the overall sound rid off unpleasant sibilant peaks in this area, however, the slight lack of energy might not sit right with everyone. Not to say they sound drowned out - they still are quite cleanly heard, but they do not have that last amount of zing.
Following the path of the Low, the midrange notes are yet a bit on the smoother side. That, combined with the fact that the lower mid notes have quite a healthy amount of meat - makes them a bit blurred and soft, with textures taking the major hit - so it might not come out very detailed, but it still sounds quite organic and musical. The sticks and drums sound a bit soft and not as clean. Some female and male vocals do not show their inherent gritty nature. Electric guitars sound clean, but that bite and crunch might feel a bit missing, same for acoustic guitar as well. Due to the lack of energy, some female vocals fail to reach their full potential to sound ethereal - ending up sounding slightly muffled rather. All things considered, the midrange may sound nicely full and organic, but not very clean and transparent per my preference. Even so, Meteor does a splendid job of reproducing the background instruments in a somewhat nice way.
When it reaches the High frequency, however, the game changes. The treble has a sudden burst of energy that pushes it a bit forward and makes the treble come forward, sound lovely and bright and quite crisp! Gone is that smooth nature - the treble notes are very well textured and feels really sparkly, with an even amount of energy in both lower and upper treble. The cymbals crash in a bright and spicy manner while decaying in a brilliant way. They do sit a bit forward in the stage. The notes do not sound overly thin, having enough body to sound natural. Overall quite surprisingly pleasing and in quite a contrast with the tuning of the rest of the spectrum. The spicy nature, in very very rare cases, might come off as slightly unnatural - but not much of a worry at all!
The soundstage, well, here I do have some reservations. However many music I tried, in the end the soundstage rather felt a bit intimate to me. The imaging was fine, but the space between the notes was less. The Overall presentation is not so airy, even though the separation is notably good and clean. The height of the stage was quite limited, width was nice, so was the depth.
Now, let's compare this small 4BA powerhouse with a not-so-popular single DD contender - the 634EARS LOAK-T(CL). I know, you guys might be tired of me citing this iem over and over again, but once any of you gets the chance to hear it, I believe you will agree to whatever I have said till now to some extent.
The Meteor was paired with PW Audio Ultra Copper cable, and the LOAK-T(CL) was similarly paired with Effect Audio Ares S - so I would say the chain was pretty similar pricewise. Source was Shanling M7 balanced Mid gain.
LOAK-T(CL) sounds notably more detailed thoroughout the Low and Mid. The Low end is not as fat, sounds quite deep and tight, rumbles are quite deep and physical, and midbass slams with more power and yet sounds cleaner. Notes have more bite and textures pop out more easily.
Lower midrange has a nice body - slightly less in comparison, but more than enough to sound natural and organic. Again, notes have more bite here. Male vocals sound organic and more textured & detailed. Female vocals sound significantly more brilliant and emotional. The throatyness is quite easily apparent in the vocals. Guitars sound wonderful - more crunch, more details, more exciting - both acoustic and electric guitars alike. Midrange sounds noticeably cleaner and transparent.
Coming to treble, it has a similarly brilliant presentation, with slightly more note weight that makes it sound a bit more real and natural. The positioning of treble instruments is also not as forward as Meteor in the stage, but still somewhat forward nonetheless.
Soundstage of LOAK is significantly better than Meteor, hands down! The whole presentation sounds more open, with noticeably more height, slightly more width and may be similar depth. There is much more space between the notes, with a higher degree of transparency. It sounds much more dynamic than Meteor, which, to my ears, sounds a mix of smoothness and brilliance. Maybe this is what the term 'less coherent' means.
Frankly, I would say that Meteor is a rather nice iem. It is fun. The low and mid sound quite organic, full, and natural - very little to non BA timbre! The Treble is sparkling and airy. The overall presentation I would say tilted more towards musicality than detailed - but the details are not lost totally also. It is a very nice alternative set to have if one already has one that takes care of the craving of the detail. Although, it is not completely to my preference, and I do have other sets that I feel perform a bit better than this, but that is not to say its performance is subpar, rather noticeably good!
Last edited:
Couldn’t have said it better. Music is almost always a part of my day in some way, shape or form but when I find a moment to drift away and do nothing but get lost in an album with my favorite gear… zen achieved.
It is interesting how similar it is listening to music and viewing an artefact at a museum. You sometimes can get lost in the act of viewing it, your mind wanders as you try to make sense and relate to what you're viewing. The distinction between the object and subject blurs as the line separating the art and state of appreciating those art diminishes. You start to become one and entranced in it
Scubadevils
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2011
- Posts
- 7,985
- Likes
- 48,180
@ranfan - the FD01 was a fantastic recommendation, I got absolutely lost in a good two hour listening session this morning… ridiculous to think these cost less than $150, a phenomenal single DD - I now want more from JVC, eyeing up FW1500 next!
Oh and the included Spirals were tricky to get a good fit, AET07 are perfect.
Oh and the included Spirals were tricky to get a good fit, AET07 are perfect.
claud W
Headphoneus Supremus
It just does not make any sense. I think I have been into Audio longer than most in this thread. This is a very old argument starting with the ICs in 2 channel systems. When I made some throwing away money, I contacted Bob Crump of TG Audio. I bought his ICs and power cords. One day, Bob sent me an IC to try. It was his newest and most expensive. I did not want to try it, but could not resist even at $800 the pair. Bob always broke his wires in on a machine. I just sent him the $800 after 10 minutes of listening.
For $150 it offers serious value IMO. I throughly enjoyed it as well, well worth the entrance fee. I found the bass quality reminiscent of JVC house sound, somewhat DJ or club scene-like sound. It manages to capture that character even just a glimpse of it. It's fun to listen with@ranfan - the FD01 was a fantastic recommendation, I got absolutely lost in a good two hour listening session this morning… ridiculous to think these cost less than $150, a phenomenal single DD - I now want more from JVC, eyeing up FW1500 next!
Oh and the included Spirals were tricky to get a good fit, AET07 are perfect.
Not to mention top notch build quality & durable metal (as long as you don't get it wet). The wood has a different flavor, and may be worth collecting as well. Glad you're enjoying them David! ps. I usually usec them over-ear
Hey! Thanks for this David! I will remember this thought process when I next embark on a listening session! In fact I will note this down somewhere and see where I land after a month. Great way to assess how each transducer is doing over the course of the year!
HGH. It certainly made for entertaining reading but with the Watercooler, I knew that we would eventually land on our feet and all it took was for such an innocent but great question from @Garney to set us on the right track again! Kudos @Watercooler!!Such a simple solution to a phenomenon I have never really been able to understand. Why do some people get so worked up about whether or not switching a cable makes a difference to the sound? Why do some people spend an inordinate amount of time coming up with convoluted ways to "prove" a cable has no influence on the sound? Most of all, why the aggression and vitriol? It seems to me a monumental waste of time, energy and mental wellbeing to be obsessed with something so inconsequential to a person who will never buy an aftermarket cable anyway.
Ahhh! Chiron love!
Nice to hear you like the Blanc! Love how it presents/plays back music. It reminds me so much of a great 2-channel system that I don't want to stop listening! I love the Blanc!I enjoy it tremendously and I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I like it! Hope you try it soon
As I said previously, this is such a great question! Love it! Getting free unencumbered time dedicated to listening is rare for me that I find that I am listening more and more while doing something else whether it be work or catching up on Head-Fi or Discord. I do love those times though when either the transducer or the source or just the music itself causes me to stop what I am doing and I get lost in it. When that happens, an hour or two whizzes by. Those are the best moments for me!
Spoken like a true audiophile! I know some here even do it while driving!
I was recently listening to two of my favourite recordings of Beethoven's 7th and it dawned upon me that one of them had the 1st and 2nd violins arranged on either side of the conductor (as opposed to both on the left of the conductor). I believe this arrangement was the more traditional way of seating and this allowed me to hear the 7th in a refreshing way. I really enjoyed this and would only have observed this when focusing on the music. It was an aha moment for me!
Nice to see the focus shift from cables for a bit. Not that cables aren't great but I think all that can be said has been said for the time being.
I don't get a lot of free time when I'm not on holidays. In the summer time a lot of my real free time is spend outdoors-- on my bike, walking, hiking you name it. LIsteing to music is simultaneously like salt and water to me-- both for how it sustains and gives me life but also for how it fills in the gaps and adds flavor just about everything I get up to. I listen when I'm out and about, I listen when I'm writing or working on a school project, I listen when I'm at the office alone, I listen when I'm doing housework... or really any chance I get. Sometimes when my mind is really calm or when I want to make it so I'll zone out on the listening in and of itself with no other distractions...or just to enjoy the music.
Last night my Trifecta and the Orb pulled me into a sonic temple of epic proportions:
It is something that I've been thinking too! I have trouble sitting still myself as well, but when I really sit and kick back to listen, I really do get more out of these listening sessions, so I've been trying to get more "quiet" times to myself to sit and listen. It really is quite meditative.
Also, I can't stop admiring how gorgeous the Elysium look with the copper cable. Just really good
Elysium hype!
Last edited:
fejnomit
1000+ Head-Fier
Guilty as charged. I know I'm technically not supposed to have two earphones in for music while driving in California, I find the car to be the perfect sealed compartment for fantastic sound AND it's fun to listen to my favorite music while watching the landscape fly by...
Other than that, I concur with what most here have said. I have three listening modes, mainly. One is casual listening while working on my computer - I am a writer and I find music helps keep the creative juices flowing (in fact writing in cafes before I had a dedicated office was the origin of the headphone rabbit hole 15 years ago...). The second is eyes closed or in the dark and really listening to the tracks and getting super lost in the landscape of the music (except for the eyes-closed part this is sort of what happens in the car). And the final mode is critical A/B testing of new products, which is frankly the least enjoyable but just as necessary to allow one and two to happen!
Alan Billington
100+ Head-Fier
Your DJ Mixes reference and your avatar resonated with me as I mostly listen (nowadays, never used to) to Dance stuff and upon finding a track I now go to discover the artist. Dance nowadays is nothing like I remember in my youth. It’s soooooo much better! Or is it because nowadays with the streaming services we can discover our niches like minimal techno, IDM and chilled D&B? I note you’ve got the UM MM - I bet that sounds impressive with this genre
It is really very inspiring for me to experience from you how you perceive your music.
In doing so, I was actually surprised to read that many of you spend most of your listening time on the move, so to speak, walking, biking, etc....
For me personally, this was a surprise because I only listen to music when I can concentrate 100% on the music. Since I am visually impaired, I need the information I pick up through my ears when I am in motion.
I rarely do A/B comparisons and mostly rely on the DAP cable-iem combinations I have.
Therefore, the information I learn from you here in this thread is invaluable to me. Thanks so much for this.
In doing so, I was actually surprised to read that many of you spend most of your listening time on the move, so to speak, walking, biking, etc....
For me personally, this was a surprise because I only listen to music when I can concentrate 100% on the music. Since I am visually impaired, I need the information I pick up through my ears when I am in motion.
I rarely do A/B comparisons and mostly rely on the DAP cable-iem combinations I have.
Therefore, the information I learn from you here in this thread is invaluable to me. Thanks so much for this.
riverground
Headphoneus Supremus
When I’m not too busy, I usually set aside about 2 hours purely to just listen to music. Depending on my mood that day, I’d choose between 2ch, headphones, or IEMs.
But at most, I usually listen more casually while I’m planning/setting up/doing a photoshoot, retouching photos, reading Manga, and browsing the web.
I also do quite a bit of listening while I’m on transit.
I really do wish I could set aside way more time just to purely listen to music but unfortunately such is life.
I also do more of an intensive listen when I review or test new gear as well.
I’ve always been an Albums guy when I listen for pleasure.
It’s just how I was brought up I guess. My late grandad would always just play records all the way through and same with my dad with his CD’s. Now with me even with streaming and FLACs. I usually listen to an album all the way through and have a few replays if it’s new.
When I test or review though, I do have a playlist I put on shuffle. Then after the testing and review period I’d go back to listening to albums.
I don’t remember if I already responded to this but I was surprised quite a bit of us here are INFP
My Intuitive Energy raised up quite a bit compared to my previous results while my Introvert Mind stayed the same and the rest went down.
Pretty interesting
Some more data from our year-end poll:
The u12t is the most-heard IEM in our group, followed (surprisingly imho) by new kids on the block Phonix & EXT and the mainstay IER Z1R.
Mentor tops the "most desired to hear" list followed by Annihilator and Trifecta. RIP to the Sony IER M9 and Shure SE846.
Edit: It's worth pointing out that when this poll was published early Dec the first wave of Storms had not even gone out yet so it never ocurred to me to include it on the above two questions. In retrospect that was an unfortunate oversight. It will certainly be on the next incarnation of this poll.
Softears - 1
Oriolus - 13
Subtonic - 7
Aroma - 4
Campfire - 4
Fir - 7
64 Audio - 4
Empire - 7
Noble - 5
Sony - 5
Elysian - 7
Unique Melody - 11
Vision Ears - 7
I love the variety in the responses to this last question-- every company got at least one vote. I wonder how many of us will have our wishes come true in 2023.
The u12t is the most-heard IEM in our group, followed (surprisingly imho) by new kids on the block Phonix & EXT and the mainstay IER Z1R.
Mentor tops the "most desired to hear" list followed by Annihilator and Trifecta. RIP to the Sony IER M9 and Shure SE846.
Edit: It's worth pointing out that when this poll was published early Dec the first wave of Storms had not even gone out yet so it never ocurred to me to include it on the above two questions. In retrospect that was an unfortunate oversight. It will certainly be on the next incarnation of this poll.
Softears - 1
Oriolus - 13
Subtonic - 7
Aroma - 4
Campfire - 4
Fir - 7
64 Audio - 4
Empire - 7
Noble - 5
Sony - 5
Elysian - 7
Unique Melody - 11
Vision Ears - 7
I love the variety in the responses to this last question-- every company got at least one vote. I wonder how many of us will have our wishes come true in 2023.
Last edited:
