[fabio19]

Nope, it is Chiron 8w

Thank you

 

[drftr]

Since she's making you go, maybe she wants you to buy something, too. I would certainly interpret it like this. Maybe you've earned it and she knows it. Great woman, I would listen to her!

Sigh... I need one of those...

Not Trifecta

drftr

 

[Ryokan]

Oops... I actually didn't try that for 1AM2 today... Was that a mistake that could have led to much fuller sounding mids and less brightness? Or is the difference normally not that big? I had plenty of juice that's for sure.

drftr

It's a fine line between earphones being driven well or becoming quickly fatiguing. Sometimes all that's needed is a little more volume.

 

[Progisus]

If all else fails and price is no objection while portability is (and that unfortunately also means no tubes and a weight really close to or lower than 300 grams) what are my options?

On the list I have:

Hiby R5ii (lucky shot?)
iBasso DX240 / AMP8ii (just in a lucky case where its brightness ends up being somewhere besides Sultan's hotspot)
Lotoo PAW600
Hiby RS6

But I wonder if there's more than what follows below?

Cayin N6ii / R01
Shanling M7
Hifiman R2R2000 Red
Hifiman R2R2000 Black
Lotoo PAW Gold Touch
L&P P6 Pro

drftr

Have you considered Poly/Mojo 2 ?

 

[drftr]

Have you considered Poly/Mojo 2 ?

I have and I even revisit the idea on a (too) regular base. The thing is I mostly listen to classical music nowadays and nothing is more frustrating than having to change the volume 10 times during for instance a symphony or opera. They often start incredibly quiet only to go louder and louder until your skull explodes. That means you keep adjusting the volume all the time which, for me, really takes away from the experience. So in my music spreadsheet I have collected my preferred volume per recording that I can now set before I press the button and I'm good for over an hour of bliss. But what is needed to do so is a display that shows volume!

Leaving out a few dongles there is only one portable DAC/amp that has that feature but that is sonically not the best addition to my setup, unfortunately. It's literally the only reason that I decided to look for a DAP instead: A display that shows volume. Believe me if I tell you that I have also looked into all small and light enough desktop DAC/amps with the same feature but those are equally hard to find as they become too heavy and bulky for obvious reasons.

Good thinking though - appreciated!

drftr

 

[FooFighter]

Not owning Mojo 2 anymore but what I was really astonished about is how quickly I got accustomed to the proprietary button control and…color codes.
Being short sighted and now also starting presbyopic I didn’t need to fumble around to check some bit rate or volume but could just identify that information by the color code intuitively.
Just mentioning because of the volume information

 

[drftr]

Not owning Mojo 2 anymore but what I was really astonished about is how quickly I got accustomed to the proprietary button control and…color codes.
Being short sighted and now also starting presbyopic I didn’t need to fumble around to check some bit rate or volume but could just identify that information by the color code intuitively.
Just mentioning because of the volume information

But aren't you going crazy if you wanted to raise volume from, whatever, 28 to 43?

EDIT: There must be a YouTube video about this. Will look into it in the morning. Perhaps it's much easier than I think. Half full!

drftr

 

[FooFighter]

But aren't you going crazy if you wanted to raise volume from, whatever, 28 to 43?

EDIT: There must be a YouTube video about this. Will look into it in the morning. Perhaps it's much easier than I think. Half full!

drftr

sure, I know what you mean.
Generally I prefer volume wheels too.
A real volume wheel is nice, demoing some Sony M2 yesterday it seems that even in the DAP scene the volume button control isn't taboo anymore ...
On the other hand I also saw some Shanling dongle yesterday which had a volume wheel, again some interesting exception for the dongle world.

 

[Xinlisupreme]

Just received 634ears LOAK-S(CL) Purpleheart, burning in sound and looking forward to the maturing of the wood colour. Based on IG photos, Purpleheart should deepen into a nice lovely purple.

This was my Kiseki Purpleheart N.27/49 units made

 

[drftr]

This was my Kiseki Purpleheart N.27/49 units made

You have a Kiseki??? I sold those! On what arm/turntable if I may ask?

drftr

 

[drftr]

@aaf evo Guess what I just found in Alex' N7 write-up:

"Apparently, they decided to fill in the gap between N6ii and N8ii with N7, which btw no longer uses “ii” suffix to indicate it’s an Android DAP."

Mystery solved. Memory still intact

drftr

 

[Xinlisupreme]

You have a Kiseki??? I sold those! On what arm/turntable if I may ask?

drftr

I had it when they made 49 NOS units on 2015?
I still have Morch DP6 arm and Micro Seiki RX1500 with motor stand base.

 

[warrenpchi]

Best. CanJam. Souvenir. Ever.

 

[fejnomit]

If all else fails and price is no objection while portability is (and that unfortunately also means no tubes and a weight really close to or lower than 300 grams) what are my options?

On the list I have:

Hiby R5ii (lucky shot?)
iBasso DX240 / AMP8ii (just in a lucky case where its brightness ends up being somewhere besides Sultan's hotspot)
Lotoo PAW600
Hiby RS6

But I wonder if there's more than what follows below?

Cayin N6ii / R01
Shanling M7
Hifiman R2R2000 Red
Hifiman R2R2000 Black
Lotoo PAW Gold Touch
L&P P6 Pro

drftr

I second the R6III. Really light and portable. Full feature set. Yes, not the strongest output in the world but it's VERY adjustable even on the level of output. I have become addicted to the Hiby DAPs' ability to fine-tune the sound. Careful that the unit you try is broken in - my RS6III started out quite bright and I was worried it would hit the classifieds. But I gave it time and let it break in and I was rewarded with a neutral, technically excellent sound with a tinge of warmth that I could adjust with just a few of the MSEB settings and filter settings to be a wonderful complement to both my Allegros and my MA Eclipse. I can share further about the settings I prefer but the "air" pug-in and the appodizing filter. Anyway I just thought I would +1 the RS6III especially if you have time to really get to know its offerings. Amazing at $500.

 

[Garney]

I had a lot of fun today. Crossed off a decent amount of iems I had on my demo list. Day 2 will be A/B testing the highlights. For the fit reference my ears are on the average/small side. Broad stroke impressions:

Letshouer Cadenza - 10MM DD, 11 BA

Fit: Great. One of the best in the show.




This one interested me because it's a titanium cased flagship. It has bombastic bass. The treble sounds a little bright and unrefined. Its pretty dynamic and wild sounding. I can see why someone would find it interesting but it is not for me.

Letshouer Ejo07- This is a cheaper 899$ model. The fit is also great. The technicalities are a step down from the cadenza. It has a smaller stage. It has a reference tuning with softer transients that are easier on the ears. It also loses some character in comparison to the Cadenza. This seems like a good all rounder at this price point.



[ ] Mezzo le - I liked it after the first song. Fit 8/10. Its a small iem. Acoustic Timbre / imaging is pretty good. Going for a second audition tomorrow.





Elysian Diva - I heard good things about Diva so I was pretty excited to try it. Unfortunately I found the fit to be quite big for me. 6.5/10 for sizing. Fun sounding bass. I found its technicalities to sound like its price point. The treble was not as refined as the Elysian X.



[ ] Elysian Annihilator - Acoustic timbre is better than X. In comparison, it has rolled off sub bass and more mid bass. It sounds more linear, mids are warmer. It is noticibly more resolving than Diva but the highs are a little fatiguing for aggressive music. I liked slower music on it.



[ ] Fir Radon 6. Shells feels light like kr5 and ne4. It sounds quite clean while having the XE6 DNA. One of the highlights of the show. Lower treble or highs feel a little sharp or fatiuging with house music tracks like Borgeous invincible, lower treble seems to be a bit screechy, sibilant. Need to re-evaluate tomorrow.



Jomo GT600 - I liked it. Laid back tuning warm mid focused. It's down to earth, above average transient speed, smooth and has great timbre. The fit was bigger than average. This seems like a good all rounder IEM to get long sessions in with. Not necessary for my use case.



Aroma Jewel- Sounds HIFI and lean towards a reference tuning with great DD bass. I liked vocals on it. The highs were also nice for energetic music because of the tamer highs. The imaging, transients was sharp. I can see why some people would like this but I didn't find it as engaging or immersive as UM Multiverse Mentor.



Lotoo Mjolnir / Mentor

This is pristine sounding with a clean black background. It has a neutral / treble leaning orientation, creating sharper transients and more space in between instruments. Imaging going wild. This sounds like a more powerful less noisier N8ii. Makes Mentor even more resolving but elevates the treble quantity a bit too much for me.



[ ] Noble Ronin. It doesn't fit that well, 6/10 with the fit. This is a different sounding Noble, quite different compared to the Ragnar. It's musical but highly resolving. The bass is the highlight. Mids are emotive. It's spacial cues / transient response speed reminds me of the Traillii. A/B testing it tomorrow.



Ve Proto Blue - Fits like Phonix. Nice lush mids, smooth transients. Mid bassy. Spills over to mids for fast tracks. Pretty technical but not summit Ti level.

Ve Prototype Red - Highs are more pronounced vs blue and has reduced mid bass compared to it.



Phonix LE - Sounds better than proto blue. It has reduced lower mids compared to OG Phonix. Great mids for vocals. Wonderful resolution. A TOTL set. I would take a second look at this if it fit me better.



[ ] Trifecta - Great textured bass. Strings sounds juicy and full. I found it enjoyable for slow music. Wasn't my preference for electronic. It sounded lower resolution and the treble sounded sharp.



[ ] Jomo Alpha Ti - This one was recommended by Raylu and was a surprise. It fits great. Compared to GT600, more dynamics more excitement. Fantastic bass texture and slam. Pleasant warmth from mid bass, lower mids while being resolving / no sibilants. Revisiting this.





64 Audio Blanc - One of the best fits (like the U12T) This seemed a few tiers below in terms of resolving capability compared ro Jomo Alpha ti. It's got a lush vintage tonality with rolled off highs. I found it enjoyable for slower music. Not sure if I would pay MSRP for this.



[ ] Subtonic Storm / Tempest. Good Iems but revisiting this to know how good. Seems receptive to source and cable changes. Will get a second look tomorrow



Mest 3 - Fits well. Enjoyable DD bass. One of my top picks at this price point. It sounds flatter compared to Mentor. It's missing some of that X factor imaging, dynamics and engagement factor.



Got more impressions but I should get some shut eye now.

Awesome impressions and pictures, Nate!

Mentor still standing tall amongst what you’ve heard so far?

Any idea on the driver configuration of the Jomo Alpha Ti? Can’t find anything about it online. Guessing it’s at a higher price point than the GT600.

Liking the look and initial impressions on the FiR Radon 6!