[Ike1985]

If you don't like this tuning, then there is nothing to say to change it. But I've got to say, to me, it's master work. @Bosk mentioned that Gaea is noticeably less resolving than the true TOTL like Anni and even U12T (a claim which I will evaluate today ). If it is the case, then (1) I can't even imagine how resolving the Anni, the bird, and the jewel are, and (2) the Gaea is likely at the limit of what 1 + 4 topology can do. I can't think of any tuning "tricks" to get more, since Gaea already very revealing with zero mud.

Jewel with Hugo2 and high quality files is the highest resolution I've ever heard and at higher volumes the dynamics really take off and sound great. Can't imagine how much better it'd get with something like Dave or high end desktop tubes, someday when I can justify it I will.

 

[wolfstar76]

Jewel with Hugo2 and high quality files is the highest resolution I've ever heard and at higher volumes the dynamics really take off and sound great. Can't imagine how much better it'd get with something like Dave or high end desktop tubes, someday when I can justify it I will.

Frankly, resolution of IEMs/headphones is still a mystery to me: is it a feeling or is it really somethings are missing from the lower-resolution sets? I will be really interested if someone can post a sample music that can be access by all and see if there are something that can only be heard with TOTL resolution IEMs or headphones.

 

[MatW]

Jewel with Hugo2 and high quality files is the highest resolution I've ever heard and at higher volumes the dynamics really take off and sound great. Can't imagine how much better it'd get with something like Dave or high end desktop tubes, someday when I can justify it I will.

For some reason I enjoy my IEMs more with the 300MAX than the DAVE. Maybe it’s the amp stage. With headphones I also prefer to listen through an amp rather than DAVE direct, even those that are easy to drive. DAVE, M scaler and Formula S is the best combo I’ve heard for headphones. With IEMs I prefer a good DAP or the Holo May/Ferrum OOR.

 

[Ike1985]

Frankly, resolution of IEMs/headphones is still a mystery to me: is it a feeling or is it really somethings are missing from the lower-resolution sets? I will be really interested if someone can post a sample music that can be access by all and see if there are something that can only be heard with TOTL resolution IEMs or headphones.

One of the easiest ways for me to see it is in the texture of sounds, how much texture can I hear on that bass drum? Can I distinguish different phases of a specific instruments sound or is it all one jumbled up sound? How well are the various instruments isolated from each other-can I clearly distinguish them in the stage from each other, can I follow one instrument to full dissipation into the stage or is it lost in a haze of other sounds? If I know one high resolution allows me to hear intricate aspects of a voice such as breathing/other minute vocal details, does the other set do that as well? How easy is it to discern? Is the resolution there but I have to focus very hard to discern it? This is one of the reasons I disliked Trailli so much, to me it was veiled. The resolution was there but I had to examine the sound with a fine magnifying class to be able to discern it, same effect somewhat with Xe6 but not nearly as bad to my ears. Don't kill me, we all hear differently. It certainly isn't my setup, running Hugo2 with high quality recordings. I prefer warm leaning IEMs that present high resolution without effort, don't require me to search for it and sometimes it isn't even discernible. A lot contributes to an IEM's resolution capability; staging, imaging, veils/bloat, separation, etc. Lot more than just "detail".

 

[Ike1985]

For some reason I enjoy my IEMs more with the 300MAX than the DAVE. Maybe it’s the amp stage. With headphones I also prefer to listen through an amp rather than DAVE direct, even those that are easy to drive. DAVE, M scaler and Formula S is the best combo I’ve heard for headphones. With IEMs I prefer a good DAP or the Holo May/Ferrum OOR.

Yes, also heard very good things about the May. Enjoy your setup, lucky man.

 

[Bosk]

Fresh from my coupler, Gaea vs MMII.

No wonder why Gaea is divisive. It's reallyyyy pushing the boundary. But at the same time, hats off to Elysian Acoustic Lab for:

• Knowing to stop at 10dB ear-gain boost rather than going full 12.5dB (or the 20dB insanity that some Chi-Fi tuners do)
• Tuning the upper mid and treble so smoothly. The raw graph of Gaea looks like a smoothened graph, to give you an idea. No peak no dip all the way from 2k to 5k. Just flat.
• Balancing the ear-gain and bass precisely. It mean just look at the balance!
• Boosting air.

If you don't like this tuning, then there is nothing to say to change it. But I've got to say, to me, it's master work. @Bosk mentioned that Gaea is noticeably less resolving than the true TOTL like Anni and even U12T (a claim which I will evaluate today ). If it is the case, then (1) I can't even imagine how resolving the Anni, the bird, and the jewel are, and (2) the Gaea is likely at the limit of what 1 + 4 topology can do. I can't think of any tuning "tricks" to get more, since Gaea already very revealing with zero mud.

Actually I haven't compared U12T & Gaea side-by-side, but am interested to hear your findings when you do.

Gaea does seem to be tuned with a view towards enhancing technical capabilities, in that sense they reminded me of the A8000s. It's definitely possible to increase perception of detail by boosting the upper frequencies but does this constitute actual "resolution" on the part of the drivers, or merely the illusion of it?

 

[aaf evo]

Actually I haven't compared U12T & Gaea side-by-side, but am interested to hear your findings when you do.

Gaea does seem to be tuned with a view towards enhancing technical capabilities, in that sense they reminded me of the A8000s. It's definitely possible to increase perception of detail by boosting the upper frequencies but does this constitute actual "resolution" on the part of the drivers, or merely the illusion of it?

I like to call that “faux resolution”, there’s an IEM I bought a few years back that did this. Definitely fooled me at first but once you sit back and focus you can tell it’s not the same as having a well done resolving set. IEMs that haven’t been overly dampened to me are where the “true resolution” shines. Just my 2c though. Also, I have not heard Gaea so this is just a general comment from me.

 

[o0genesis0o]

does this constitute actual "resolution" on the part of the drivers, or merely the illusion of it?

My two cents: Gaea's tuning is like "HEY! LOOK! LISTEN! HEAR THIS DETAILS? RIGHT HERE! LISTEN! RIGHT HERE!" It highlights every small things, and remove anything that stands in the way of those small details. The nice thing is the fact that it does not introduce peaks that makes listening fatiguing (like ... A8000, sorry ) and it still has big bass to balance.

"Merely the illusion": I think it's more like to make it easily to hear the details rather than tricking you into thinking that there is more (like some old KZ IEMs that have a lot of peaky treble but still sound fake and undetailed). Evidence: whenever I hear some details that I think only Gaea manages to reveal, and double check with my Andromeda and, lo and behold, details are right there. I just didn't pay attention to those details with Andromeda because of the more laid back (and sometimes muffled) tuning of Andromeda.

At the same time, both Gaea and Andromeda are sharper, more incisive, more detailed than some all of the high performing USD $200 IEMs I have been reviewing recently.

Can't wait to listen to something insanely technical. I hope that A2A has the AUD $6000 Noble Ragnar for demo today

 

[endless402]

For some reason I enjoy my IEMs more with the 300MAX than the DAVE. Maybe it’s the amp stage. With headphones I also prefer to listen through an amp rather than DAVE direct, even those that are easy to drive. DAVE, M scaler and Formula S is the best combo I’ve heard for headphones. With IEMs I prefer a good DAP or the Holo May/Ferrum OOR.

yeah DAVE is a bit to sterile for me on its own... super detailed but lifeless. Needs an amp/preamp to sound more musical
That being said, it's best to start of with the best sources possible and then modify the sound with the pre/amp, since you can't add speed/resolution down the chain

 

[Ryokan]

Frankly, resolution of IEMs/headphones is still a mystery to me: is it a feeling or is it really somethings are missing from the lower-resolution sets? I will be really interested if someone can post a sample music that can be access by all and see if there are something that can only be heard with TOTL resolution IEMs or headphones.

Listening with Mellianus to a song I'm familiar with I've never before heard the organ part sound so real. There is more depth and nuance that isn't heard with much cheaper sets. Most of you now take these things for granted but for me with my first totl it's like hearing my music with a newly discovered dimension that simply wasn't there before.

 

[Bosk]

My two cents: Gaea's tuning is like "HEY! LOOK! LISTEN! HEAR THIS DETAILS? RIGHT HERE! LISTEN! RIGHT HERE!" It highlights every small things, and remove anything that stands in the way of those small details. The nice thing is the fact that it does not introduce peaks that makes listening fatiguing (like ... A8000, sorry ) and it still has big bass to balance.

"Merely the illusion": I think it's more like to make it easily to hear the details rather than tricking you into thinking that there is more (like some old KZ IEMs that have a lot of peaky treble but still sound fake and undetailed). Evidence: whenever I hear some details that I think only Gaea manages to reveal, and double check with my Andromeda and, lo and behold, details are right there. I just didn't pay attention to those details with Andromeda because of the more laid back (and sometimes muffled) tuning of Andromeda.

At the same time, both Gaea and Andromeda are sharper, more incisive, more detailed than some all of the high performing USD $200 IEMs I have been reviewing recently.

Can't wait to listen to something insanely technical. I hope that A2A has the AUD $6000 Noble Ragnar for demo today

That sounds very familiar, the A8000s are exactly the same. Every tiny nuance of instruments that would normally reside well back in the mix are shoved to the front of the stage alongside the stars of the show, which for shots sessions can create the pleasurable experience of being overwhelmed by detail but can soon become fatiguing.

I briefly compared Rangar & Mentor side-by-side & came away feeling Mentor was slightly more resolving, but Ragnar's tuning made the detail it did resolve easier to pick out - almost like turning up the contrast in Photoshop. Which can't create new information that isn't there already, but makes it easier for our eyes to see what's there.

 

[wolfstar76]

One of the easiest ways for me to see it is in the texture of sounds, how much texture can I hear on that bass drum? Can I distinguish different phases of a specific instruments sound or is it all one jumbled up sound? How well are the various instruments isolated from each other-can I clearly distinguish them in the stage from each other, can I follow one instrument to full dissipation into the stage or is it lost in a haze of other sounds? If I know one high resolution allows me to hear intricate aspects of a voice such as breathing/other minute vocal details, does the other set do that as well? How easy is it to discern? Is the resolution there but I have to focus very hard to discern it? This is one of the reasons I disliked Trailli so much, to me it was veiled. The resolution was there but I had to examine the sound with a fine magnifying class to be able to discern it, same effect somewhat with Xe6 but not nearly as bad to my ears. Don't kill me, we all hear differently. It certainly isn't my setup, running Hugo2 with high quality recordings. I prefer warm leaning IEMs that present high resolution without effort, don't require me to search for it and sometimes it isn't even discernible. A lot contributes to an IEM's resolution capability; staging, imaging, veils/bloat, separation, etc. Lot more than just "detail".

I guess that's what I thought, it is more of hard to describe info will be "missing". But if you pick one particular thing, such as the breathing of the singers, for some IEMs, it will be very apparent, but for some, you need to pay attention but you still can hear it. In that regards, it is more of how the same info is being presented, such as you mentioned, separation, imaging, stage, etc, that give you that feeling of being more detailed.

 

[Tex Irie]

Frankly, resolution of IEMs/headphones is still a mystery to me: is it a feeling or is it really somethings are missing from the lower-resolution sets? I will be really interested if someone can post a sample music that can be access by all and see if there are something that can only be heard with TOTL resolution IEMs or headphones.

@wolfstar76 , I can safely say yes. I'm not certain what music preferences you have, but I hear this a lot when listening to R&B in particular female vocalists like Teena Marie - Portuguese Love, Faith Evans - Soon As I Get Home etc., on a less resolute pair of IEMs you may not notice that some songs have back up singers. It may sound like one vocalist. You may not notice little touches in the mix like reverb on certain vocals, adlibs, etc. It sounds clichéd but with more resolute IEMs you may hear things that you never noticed on songs you're familiar with.

 

[Alexzander]

Decided to buy Multiverse Mentor before sending my Bird for repair.

How do you guys like it with Chiron?

 

[wolfstar76]

@wolfstar76 , I can safely say yes. I'm not certain what music preferences you have, but I hear this a lot when listening to R&B in particular female vocalists like Teena Marie - Portuguese Love, Faith Evans - Soon As I Get Home etc., on a less resolute pair of IEMs you may not notice that some songs have back up singers. It may sound like one vocalist. You may not notice little touches in the mix like reverb on certain vocals, adlibs, etc. It sounds clichéd but with more resolute IEMs you may hear things that you never noticed on songs you're familiar with.

I kinda agree with you. Although I tried the Portugese love, I can clearly hear the backup singers in my dynamic driver full-size headphone Atrium, and then I took out my cheapest IEM, which is a sub $100 basshead Focus EDM also with a single dymaic driver, and I still can clearly hear it . Of course, this is when I got the cues that I pay attention to the existence of the backup singer. I guess if I am hearing it randomly with many sets and right afterwards I was asked about if there is any backup singers in the track, I may not be able to answer with certainty.