[davidmolliere]

Yeah that's mad. It's going to have to be one of the best-ever DAPs in every department to justify that price, and even then... But, as with anything shiny and new, let's wait and see. @Rockwell75 would you still buy the M8 at $2800? If so, there's hope for the M9 I guess...

They probably factor in the limited run... we don't know yet how many units... 200 ?
The AK4499 is a rarity now... the future M9 might be cheaper and with ESS

 

[Scubadevils]

It'll be very interesting to see what Sony have brewing, hopefully they announce at CES. If a 1Z successor with streaming, I'm sure it will be in that $3k territory.

 

[Scubadevils]

Electronic album recommendation for today. A lot of 80s synth influences going on and while only released in 2018, it could comfortably sit in the early 90s - a beautiful, melancholic trip of absolutely mesmerising music. His influences include Tangerine Dream, The Orb, Klaus Schulze, Enigma, Pink Floyd and Supertramp.

 

[drftr]

Simphonio RX10

Please report back on that one should you have the chance. So little info out there...

drftr

 

[rantng]

BLON should send me commission! Enjoy! Just note:

1. Throw away the stock cable and tips. Don't even open them. Don't even look at them.
2. Put on any decent cable, and one-size-up your favourite tips (the fit is weird but ultra comfy shallow fit).
3. Just make sure you get a seal or else it'll sound like you're slapping wallpaper.
4. Enjoy laughing at the kilobuck IEMs blushing in the corner.

LOL, slapping wallpaper!

 

[rantng]

Yeah and 2800$ is quite a shocker too...

Oof! I feel bad for anyone who sold their M8 in anticipation of the M9.

 

[claud W]

preordered M9. I didn't need an EXT anyway. Going to sell Ibasso DX 220 and A & K SE 200.

 

[davidmolliere]

Well it's not about needing in our hobby, I didn't "need" an EXT but I sure wanted it enough to get one, first TOTL universal in ages is coming

 

[Rockwell75]

@Rockwell75 would you still buy the M8 at $2800? If so, there's hope for the M9 I guess...

Nope $2K is my hard limit for DAPs. Unlike with IEMs I've never succumbed to the whole "FOTM" thing with players. Right now I have a nice bassy perfect-for-my-preferences player in the M8, a neutral-ish player in the SR25MKii and a player with tubey goodness in the N3Pro...I think I'm good for a while. The only things that may eventually tempt me would be too-good-to-pass-up deals on a Cayin N8 or Cowon Plenue L as I've long been curious about those.

 

[Rockwell75]

Well it's not about needing in our hobby, I didn't "need" an EXT but I sure wanted it enough to get one, first TOTL universal in ages is coming

Nice can't wait for your thoughts...it was you who turned me on to the Shanling M8 once upon a time. Curious for @claud W's impressions of the M9 as well...though it looks like it will be at least January when that happens.

 

[feverfive]

It was all said in jest - of course it's cool to play with as many different IEMs as you can. It's great fun and what we're all in this hobby for after all. I'm just getting to the point where I can hone down the sound I really enjoy, find the IEMs that do it best, and be done. Right now I'm listening to the IE 900 with Go blu via (gulp) AAC through my MacBook Pro, and couldn't be happier. Once you nail your favourite sound, it's just so easy to enjoy the music.

Wut???

This was unexpected, hahahahaha.

Also, a non-Apple bluetooth device that connects flawlessly to a MBP? No way!!! Now THAT is a unicorn device, sir! hahahaha (I say this as an Apple fanboy with an expensive 2021 MBP on its way to me)

 

[feverfive]

M9 price was unexpected, but it probably shouldn't have been.

As someone who has spent thousand$$$ on A&K DAPs in the past, I don't see me spending that kind of money on a battery powered music device any time soon. YMMV.

 

[snapandslide]

Empire Ears Odin - initial impressions.

For some reason I was expecting these to be bass cannons-- they are not that at all. In fact, the excellent quality of bass aside I can't imagine an IEM more different than the Legend X. The first thing that jumps out at you with Odin is the massive amount of detail & clarity you're presented with-- the sound the Odin puts forward is literally swimming in detail...you hear everything: every nuance, every detail...in live sets I'm half expecting to be able to pick up threads of a conversation people are having in the audience. Staging is deep and imaging is spectacular.

Mids are forward and clear... too forward a times but I'll get to that later. Timbre of the mid-range is decent-- it doesn't give its BA-ness away too glaringly like the mids on the Oriolus Reborn (the only other IEM with BA mids I've heard recently)...but I do miss the richness and natural bodied textures of the mids on the Duo when I jump over to Odin.

In terms of the bass...sub-bass is truly incredible and up there with the best I've ever heard. Fathomlessly deep, nuanced, well textured...never really dominating the scene but always present just lurking below the surface with thunderous rumbling potential.

Ultimately the Odin puts forward a detail oriented signature that, for me, is more suited to analysis than emotional connection. The level of detail is such that I often find myself forgetting the forest for the trees so to speak-- it's not really balanced in the sense that I find myself often getting lost in the details rather than taking in the soundscape as a whole. It's an utterly enthralling listening experience though-- intellectually stimulating if not the most emotionally engaging. Like being sucked into a close knit logical argument more than having your soul stirred in reverie. Subjectively, while I admire what the Odin does well-- I'm in awe of it actually-- ultimately it's not really an IEM whose signature is in line with my personal preferences. For sh1ts and giggles I went and grabbed some squiggs of 3 notable IEMs of the past year for me:



Above are basically my 3 favorite IEMs right now and, while all 3 those IEMs are massively different it's clear that there's a very definite bass to lower mids type FR I am drawn to. Note the elevated sub-bass that stays into the mid-bass before it tapers off with the whole curve being "concave up" and the mid-bass being level or close to level with the upper mids and lower treble for the most part.

Now check out this graph of the Odin vs. Duo:



Note in the above the sharper drop into the mid-bass and lower mids and the supremely boosted upper mids. Looking at the graph going in I thought the upper mids would be wince-inducing...they are not...but in extended listening sessions I often find them a little too energetic at times and with my library this means I am hitting skip more than I would like. Compounding this is the diminished lower mid/mid-bass presence which to my ears means the sound at times lacks a body, punch and warmth that I like. I often place IEMs on two different axes-- one ranging from analytic to musical, and the other ranging from Eastern (upper mids & sub-bass) to western (lower mids & mid-bass). My preference is strongly in the "Western" and "musical" directions and the Odin is imho heavily skewed in the analytic & Eastern directions so while I can say that it is undeniably a great IEM and I have no problem understanding all the praise it has gotten ultimately I have doubts it would suit me in the long term. As with all things in this hobby, YMMV and all that.

A bit late on this!

So with the Odin I'd say you need to be in a certain mood - it thrusts itself upon you. It's not a relaxing listen per say, but I wouldn't also call it faiguing either. I think @Skullar has a good read on the Odin and the upper mids. I am coming to the conclusion that upper mids are more important to me than lower mids to give more coherency in the sound as well.

 

[claud W]

Since I have two houses, I can spread the M8 and 9 goodness around. M8 goes back to the beach with a HiBy R3 Saber and M9 stays in primary home. Neither are really portable, but both can do screen porch duty when temps moderate. Been meaning to sell those two DAPS for a while. Neither have very many hours on them and Ibasso has number 8 and 9 modules included.

 

[Ace Bee]

After a nearly 3 months wait I received my (matte steel) Kato yesterday. It's very nice OOTB, maybe a bit bright but it didn't bother me, and certainly a strong contender for the sub$200 crown. IMR Splash Of Gold also arrived yesteday and I should get my Lotoo LE-M1 (very curious about this one) and Simphonio RX10 before the end of the week. A bit annoyingly these all arrive at the same time instead of quite well separated in time as they normally should have. That'll be all for me this year I guess. Probably eying a Dunu or two in the new year.

I, for one, will surrely be looking out for your impression of KATO, and how does it compare to the SOR and SOG.