[royiko]

Thinking of getting a TOTL IEM upgrade from Supermoon. Any recommendation? I mainly listen to classical and acoustic music. What I enjoy most are the natural timbre and large soundstage.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

How many of y'all are from Southern California?

Does being half from SoCal count?

 

[Rockwell75]

Thinking of getting a TOTL IEM upgrade from Supermoon. Any recommendation? I mainly listen to classical and acoustic music. What I enjoy most are the natural timbre and large soundstage.

A few points:

1) Your budget will be of supreme relevance here-- what do you want to spend.

2) Supermoon already competes on many technical fronts with the best of the best...plus it is also arguably the best planar IEM on the market right now. As such there are no real direct upgrades right now from Supermoon as that would technically imply another, superior planar IEM.

3) On a account of 1) and 2) there are a number of places you could go depending on what kind of sound you're after and how much you're willing to spend. My own personal upgrade from the Supermoon was the Trifecta. Both are manifestations of Campfire's sound and overall tonality so if you're a fan of one there is a good chance you'll find lots to love about the other. Trifecta also checks the "massive soundstage" and "naural timbre" boxes-- in fact I would argue that it is class leading in both of these regards. The caveat with Trifecta is that it has a more full bodied sound and is a step down in overall resolution (but I would not say in imaging and layering) from the Supermoon.

If you're after something more purely technical (and more $$ if you buy new) there is the Multiverse Mentor. With that you get large stage, top tier imaging and resolution. I might get pilloried for saying this but for me Mentor is a step down from Trifecta when it comes to timbre.

Another option might be something like the Noble Ragnar. It's a little bright leaning (like Supermoon) but is way more refined up top, has good timbre and the bass quality (if not quantity) is great.

Edit: Another great option to consider would be the Penon Impact. I'm almost inclined to say this is the first thing you should seriously look at.

 

[Zachik]

Does being half from SoCal count?

Which half? South or California?

 

[bden59]

Thought it was femtosecond instead. Not that anyone cares.

drftr

Femtotosecond is even better

 

[Bret Halford]

The Pacific Northwest may be one of the few geographies that can claim a density of IEM talent close to Singapore. 64 Audio, Campfire Audio, and of course FIR Audio all co-reside on the border of Washington and Oregon states. As a resident and native of the region, getting a 'local' TOTL has been long overdue for me. Fortunately, Bogdan and the team at FIR had just the ticket.

Cross posting some early impressions from the FIR thread. TLDR: I am hooked on FIRnics.

TFW you stayed up hours too late listening to your new IEMs, and you still wake up way, way too early from excitement the next morning. Can't sleep, there's Radon out there...

Initial Honeymoon Impressions:

What a fabulously well built product. FIR's relentless focus on detail delights my autism. Little things like the simple, user serviceable clamp on the meshguard keep making me think "I really can't wait until every other IEM does this too.' My cell phone pics really don't do the IEM justice, beautiful elegant yet simplistic build. I was very surprised how small it is, the pics of the frontier series had me anticipating something much larger.

Sound wise, I already find FIR's take on bone conduction far more convincing than other's I've heard. Kinetic bass is such a clever solution for delivering subsonics. It doesn't seem to depend on contact as much as say EE's Weapon IX, which makes for very nice channel matching. But more than that it has a lovely coherence and doesn't get overcome with some of the over bounciness I get on some others. Go figure, letting a subwoofer radiate rather than covering it in an IEM shell seems like such an obvious idea in retrospect... if I had a dollar for everytime I thought that about FIR's design I'd be well on my way to an XE6

I don't have any exposure to FIR's other IEMs so I cannot compare there, unfortunately. As far as the RN6's tuning I don't find things too warm and the bass is very tidy considering the elevation they get to in the subs. It strikes a very nice balance for me in terms of warmth and clarity, generally present but highly pleasurable and it doesn't interfere with lower mids.

They are quite capable across most genre's I've tried them on, particularly electronic and metal (which lucky me are my favs). Only issues I've encountered are an occasional overemphasis on cymbals in some rock mixes, but this is quite common on EST tunings for me, and is probably worth its weight in sparkle in other areas.

Will be a treat to see more folks get their Radon's and share impressions in the days to come!

 

[drftr]

Head-fi did a scubi on @Scuba Devils! Back on the front page with Svanar.

drftr

 

[DanielListening]

Thinking of getting a TOTL IEM upgrade from Supermoon. Any recommendation? I mainly listen to classical and acoustic music. What I enjoy most are the natural timbre and large soundstage.

+1 for Penon IMAPCT

 

[RTodd]

Thinking of getting a TOTL IEM upgrade from Supermoon. Any recommendation? I mainly listen to classical and acoustic music. What I enjoy most are the natural timbre and large soundstage.

My suggestions based on price.
All without needing a cable upgrade.
Unless you want to and enjoy that change.

$1,000.00 +/- Fibae F5
$3,000.00 +/- Campfire Trifecta
$6,000.00 +/- Oriolus Traillii OG

All three of these sound different than each other and have strengths the others do not have, just because the F5 is the most affordable does not mean it does not sound terrific with acoustic music. Trifecta is 3 dynamic drivers so it moves a ton of air, has the biggest sound of the three, and sounds terrific with acoustic music. Traillii breaks the bank and staying with the stock cable because it is well suited helps a little, part of why the price is as high as it is, this set is a benchmark of sorts, sounds terrific with acoustic music as well.

 

[Frankie D]

Thinking of getting a TOTL IEM upgrade from Supermoon. Any recommendation? I mainly listen to classical and acoustic music. What I enjoy most are the natural timbre and large soundstage.

I saw what Jeff said ( @Rockwell75 ) in his response. I also see that you have the U12T and UM Mext in addition to the Supermoon. While I still feel that the Traillii is still the best IEM overall for rock, pop, jazz, vocals and classical, let’s put that aside for the moment as there are less expensive alternatives to be had.

- if you liked the UM Mext I would first recommend the UM Multiverse Mentor. You might view this as an upgrade to your 12T with added emotion yet still what I refer to as reference. “Let the music do the dancing, not the IEM.” I felt this was the best of all the newer models ( 2022 and on ) at CanJam NY.

- if you are looking for a bass forward presentation, I then agree with Jeff on the Trifecta. I liked this the best at CanJam for a bassy yet still balanced sound with the mids and treble. Colored sound for sure, but enticing. I feel this is best as a complimentary IEM as the “IEM is doing some of the dancing.” By this I mean the Trifecta presents its own version of the recording.

There are less expensive options as well, but I am not sure they will necessarily improve your current stable.

I don’t think you can miss with either, but as always, audition if at all possible. Please let us know what you decide and how you like it.

 

[Rockwell75]

By this I mean the Trifecta presents its own version of the recording.

I find this interesting, especially in relation to your comments on Mentor. I don't find Mentor to be a "just let the music do the talking" sort of IEM-- I never found it to be a reference sound. To me Mentor (and many UM IEMs generally) is more about technical spectacle and less about *drum roll*...soul. With Mentor I was most captivated by the imaging and technical chops generally but nothing about the sound really stirred me inwardly...I did not find within it a portal to the soul of my music as I did with Traillii, Storm, Ragnar, Impact, PHoNIX LE and, yes, Trifecta. Trifecta is a bombastic leaning sound but I have not yet heard an IEM that so fully immerses me in the feeling of what I am listening to as the Trifecta does. Does it take some liberties? Sure-- but in my own experience the collective result is, for lack of a better way to put it, a deeper sense of unity with what I am listening to. A big fat YMMV and all that.

 

[gLer]

“Let the music do the dancing, not the IEM.”

Without pointing to any one IEM, this type of comment has always been interesting to me. Surely you'd think the best way to experience music is exactly this. An IEM (or any transducer for that matter) should just take what's in the recording and play it back accurately. Same for amps (wire with gain), same for DACs. This is what I assume is meant by the umbrella term 'reference'.

So why do so many people prefer to hear music with coloured (or 'non-reference') gear? What is it about the way the 'original' music sounds that they don't like and need to change with something in the chain?

If the ultimate ideal is faithful reproduction of sound, something isn't quite working if so many people actively seek out gear that does anything but...

 

[drftr]

If the ultimate ideal is faithful reproduction of sound, something isn't quite working if so many people actively seek out gear that does anything but...

Audiophiles may have a very different goal than the producer though, as most music is produced to sell by sounding "good" on anything really. I think many of us may be trying to compensate for what the producer thought would sell best.

drftr

 

[Rockwell75]

Without pointing to any one IEM, this type of comment has always been interesting to me. Surely you'd think the best way to experience music is exactly this.

It is-- but there are various ways to do this, more than one way to skin a cat etc. etc.

Alternately, people like color. Xe6 is one of the more egregiously colorful IEMs out there and it was the Watercooler IEM of 2022.

 

[gLer]

It is-- but there are various ways to do this, more than one way to skin a cat etc. etc.

Actually no, if faithful reproductions is the goal.

Alternately, people like color. Xe6 is one of the more egregiously colorful IEMs out there and it was the Watercooler IEM of 2022.

That's very true, and conversely suggests that faithful reproduction of the music is not, in fact, the ideal for many people.