What price point? The $4000 special sale price that's been listed? If it weren't for Ext I'd very possibly be all over a $4K new Traillii.
The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
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What price point? The $4000 special sale price that's been listed? If it weren't for Ext I'd very possibly be all over a $4K new Traillii.
Yep, the 4 grand deal.
Maybe you can negotiate a special Watercooler deal since everyone here is going for the EXT? Luckily I have no clue about it, but I fear that will change tomorrow.
drftr
I'm organizing an Ext/Phonix tour in Canada but it's looking now like it won't start until January. I think the Traillii is the IEM you want honestly. Or Elysium.
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Will read the reviews page here on Head-Fi tomorrow. Been reading @jwilliamhurst review this afternoon and was extremely pleased that it doesn't seem to anything too much for my taste. He should be an author really... Tomorrow kicking off with another favourite: @SBranson
drftr
https://www.headphones.com/collections/campfire-audio
I’d imagine these prices are reflective of what the “vortex” holds
I’d imagine these prices are reflective of what the “vortex” holds
BTW: Kind of surprised about 7 and 8 of your published IEM list. Although that probably changes on a weekly base.
drftr
Surprised how? Apart from the new challenger Duo my "top 5" has been fairly constant for about the last 6 months. That said at this point in my IEM career having heard so many great IEMs a top 10 more resembles finishers in an Olympic race where they're a lot closer together (in my estimation) than a numerical ranking suggests. There are also large swaths of kilobuck territory I have not sampled.
Probably only because I'm following your thread only for 5-6 weeks or so and in that time I think the Andromeda was never really mentioned while the Solaris hit the spotlight quite often. It's almost impossible to digest for me that I've been missing maybe 260-ish pages of collected wisdom here on this thread alone...
drftr
Turns out I'm following since Nov 2nd only and that over 20% of the Watercooler thread was created in Nov!
drftr
drftr
Wisdom and personal preferences. There's an index on the first page that covers the first few months if you're interested. I'm much more of a DD guy in general and Andro remains kind of my benchmark/reference for an all BA set. It just has a sound that works for me even though I know there are more technically capable IEMs out there. Solaris was my first true love and I'll always have a soft spot for it.
Very interesting impressions. I completely get where you're coming from with that bass-to-mids transition, because that's what I thought I enjoyed in my early days as an inexperienced basshead. Now that I'm far more in touch with my music preferences and the sound that works best for them, an EVO/EXT graph is what I go for. Keep in mind I don't listen to any bossa nova and very few male vocalists of any genre (even though vocal music is far an away my highest % listen), which again goes to show that music choice is 1, 2 and 3 on the importance list when choosing an IEM.I have finally reached the point in my audiophile experience where I have bought, sold and rebought an IEM. My first TOTL IEM was a custom reshelled to universal VE8 that I loved, but whose fit was off due to the reshell job, so when Vision Ears came out with a Universal version of the VE8, I knew I had to pick it up again at some point in time and I finally got the opportunity. I like the anniversary face plate, so that is the one I got. Now that I have much more experience with TOTL IEMs, I have some relevant observations that I want to share.
My first impression was not good. I had spent the better part of the year focusing on sub bass and the right bass shelf for my preferences. Right out of the box, I am thinking, how could I possibly have liked these IEMs? There is insufficient sub bass and the bass is completely bleeding into the mids. It's a very cloudy presentation in the midrange relative to the clarity of other monitors like the Thieaudio Monarch. Treble was somewhat sibilant at times like I recalled. I was wondering what the heck was wrong with me when I thought I liked these IEMs.
Then, I did what I always do. I didn't even both with that piece of crap cable that comes with it. At first I paired it with a Leonidas II cable along with Azla SednaEarfit tips which are my default to test with new IEMs. This combination clearly did not work. So, I swapped the cable with a PW Audio 1960s 2-wire. Still same problems. Ergonomics better, but sound still not good. Then, I made the change that made the biggest difference. I tip rolled to Spinfit CP145 tips and then the sibilance was gone. No more searing pain from the treble. And, I let my brain adjust to the sound. Now, the VE8 is once again in the top 5 of my collection. What does it sound best with? Vocals. I don't think I've heard my Joao Gilberto playlist sound any better than this. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Jazz vocals, sublime. The de-emphasized sub bass with more focus on mid bass and lower mids give vocals a nice and warm body to support them. Once my mind focused on this sound, the VE8 started sounded great with other genre that seemed off at first due to its different signature. And the literally thousands of hours of listening has really fine tuned my critical listening skills.
Then, I remember @gLer, mentioning he didn't like the Isabellae because of the sub bass roll off. I love sub bass, but not for all music. So, I decided to compare the graphs of the Elysium, Isabellae and VE8 and look what I found. I found the magical bass to mids transition that is the @Rockwell75 romantic vocals signature. There is no more romantic music to me than Bossa Nova Jazz. It is mostly male vocals based and is really enhanced by this signature.
I was focusing my attention on the EXT, but I am beginning to think that the EXT is very much like the EVO. When you look at the FR graphs, they are much more similar than these. I am now for the first time ever interested in the Elysium. I think it might be the much more complementary monitor for my EVO.
Yeah you won't see that on a graph. Still, I don't consider EVO a thin listen by any measure, so now I'm expecting EXT to sound thick, full and warm based on the above.
Nailed on. That's how I choose which IEMs to keep. If there's overlap, they're out. I'm not in the habit of keeping IEMs because they do one or two things well.
Nice idea! My list is much shorter:
1) EXT
2) HiBy RS8**
3) ifi Gryphon
4) Shanling M9
**vapourware
Who knows what's going to catch my eye in 2022, but from where I'm sitting, that's about all I can think of that would complement/enhance what I already have.
davidmolliere
Headphoneus Supremus
No I have very easy ears I can fit anything really
But I am partial to custom since I had a taste of it and also I have often had the opportunity to test an IEM in universal and custom form and each time custom was better to me... doesn't mean I won't get EXT, if it's available at some point
FlowLikeWater
100+ Head-Fier
I always thought those guests were data mining bots or something, but who knows....
All this talk of the EXT makes them a very tempting option, and given that they have some of the lowest BF discounts on Musicteck, they must be reasonably popular.
Looking forward to more impressions
I've not been especially active here (or any IEM threads) as of late because of things being pretty busy. I have however been keeping an eye on some new releases, namely the EVO and the EXT. I think if I had to pick I would go with the EXT from what I've read but both seem very appealing on paper. Ever since I parted with the Traillii I've had a gap in my stable for a hybrid IEM, preferably one with Sonion ESTs up top and a DD for the bottom end.
Fortunately (for my wallet and as it turns out, my ears), during the announcement period of EVO and EXT a few months back I came across Alambic Ears, a one man band based out of France. I'm sure @davidmolliere could give a better history of the brand than myself, but it's safe to say Fred (the owner) is a great guy and has contributed alot to the DIY community here on Head-Fi over the years. Anyway, he had just announced the Mentawai a 5-way crossover, 12 driver hybrid with a proprietary 10mm DD, Sonion BA, Knowles BA tweeter and EST highs. I emailed him for more information and he told me a bit about the inception of this model and the desire to reproduce a Traillii-esque tuning but with DD for the low end with greater subbass extension and a more forward and organic midrange. I hadn't actually emailed with the express intent to find something to correct where I felt the Traillii fell short (for my tastes...) but this was exactly what Fred was describing and it was too tempting to pass up.
Two months later and the universal Mentawai arrived. I had seen Freds previous models that incorporated an abalone inlay but hadn't seen one with a full faceplate of abalone. Since I love the pearlescent effect I thought I may aswell go full mermaid/merman and ask for the whole faceplate to be done that way and with a clear shell. Interestingly most of the models in the Alamabic Ear line-up are named after surf spots as Fred used to make surfboards, so it's quite poetic that the faceplate is sourced from a mollusc in the sea...
It's safe to say I'm happy the way they turned out (pictured here with an XINHS special - 6N UPOCC twisted cable that pairs really well - thanks to the Cable God @paulwasabii for the heads up on this one).
As for the sound I've posted some feedback on the Alambic Ears thread. Briefly, the stand out feature is the excellently balanced bass presentation, it's never there when it's not wanted and has incredible body and weight when its called for. I've heard subbass texture where I didn't think it was possible. Technically it's similar to Traillii but with a narrow stage that when combined with the forward mids creates an intimate listen as opposed to the expansive listen of the Traillii. Whether you like this is a matter of taste and works with some genres better than others. The Mentawai has better timbre than Traillii especially in the bass and everything has more weight and drama about it. Vocals are warmer and less transparent, more romantic than ethereal. Overall, things are more in-line with my tastes and my stable is full (for the forseeable!).
Fortunately (for my wallet and as it turns out, my ears), during the announcement period of EVO and EXT a few months back I came across Alambic Ears, a one man band based out of France. I'm sure @davidmolliere could give a better history of the brand than myself, but it's safe to say Fred (the owner) is a great guy and has contributed alot to the DIY community here on Head-Fi over the years. Anyway, he had just announced the Mentawai a 5-way crossover, 12 driver hybrid with a proprietary 10mm DD, Sonion BA, Knowles BA tweeter and EST highs. I emailed him for more information and he told me a bit about the inception of this model and the desire to reproduce a Traillii-esque tuning but with DD for the low end with greater subbass extension and a more forward and organic midrange. I hadn't actually emailed with the express intent to find something to correct where I felt the Traillii fell short (for my tastes...) but this was exactly what Fred was describing and it was too tempting to pass up.
Two months later and the universal Mentawai arrived. I had seen Freds previous models that incorporated an abalone inlay but hadn't seen one with a full faceplate of abalone. Since I love the pearlescent effect I thought I may aswell go full mermaid/merman and ask for the whole faceplate to be done that way and with a clear shell. Interestingly most of the models in the Alamabic Ear line-up are named after surf spots as Fred used to make surfboards, so it's quite poetic that the faceplate is sourced from a mollusc in the sea...
It's safe to say I'm happy the way they turned out (pictured here with an XINHS special - 6N UPOCC twisted cable that pairs really well - thanks to the Cable God @paulwasabii for the heads up on this one).
As for the sound I've posted some feedback on the Alambic Ears thread. Briefly, the stand out feature is the excellently balanced bass presentation, it's never there when it's not wanted and has incredible body and weight when its called for. I've heard subbass texture where I didn't think it was possible. Technically it's similar to Traillii but with a narrow stage that when combined with the forward mids creates an intimate listen as opposed to the expansive listen of the Traillii. Whether you like this is a matter of taste and works with some genres better than others. The Mentawai has better timbre than Traillii especially in the bass and everything has more weight and drama about it. Vocals are warmer and less transparent, more romantic than ethereal. Overall, things are more in-line with my tastes and my stable is full (for the forseeable!).
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Zen Pro tour unit landed - Zen vs Zen battle commences...
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