The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.

[DanielListening]

Nice time with @SBranson & @Rockwell75

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Nice time with @SBranson & @Rockwell75

What tips are those on trifecta?

Love the pics! Looks like a great day!!

 

[ian91]

What tips are those on trifecta?

Love the pics! Looks like a great day!!

Look like Moondrop Spring tips, medium.

Nice pics @DanielListening

 

[DanielListening]

What tips are those on trifecta?

That’s right! Moondrop Spring Tips.

Just know if you’re buying them you need to size up. So if you normally wear a “S” you’ll want a “M.”

 

[Natesdailies]

I personally found the Raven’t treble better than the ODIN’s. Tonally, it’s more well-split between all the different sub-ranges. It’s got a quicker, more precise attack to it. And, it’s got a bunch more air. I can see why you prefer the ODIN, because of your tastes. For me, without spoiling my upcoming CJ post too much, it’s EE’s best IEM yet; by a decent margin.

High hopes for Raven based off of the squads impressions . Hearing from @yaps66 that Ravens fit is between Odin and Odyssey which might work for me.

So were the two prototypes shown off at NYC something entirely different than the Raven? Is the Raven more akin to a Legend Evo MKII, or something entirely different?

I also heard the prototypes during NYC. These were actually the same tuning but different shell implementations. I preferred Odin. Unfortunately since I was fixated on comparing it to Mentor, I didn't get to hear Evo. According to Andrew (from E.E.) these prototypes were aimed to be mid fi that may or may not get launched.

Nice time with @SBranson & @Rockwell75

Bon appetit

Getting my Headfi digest & listening at a lake today

 

[Alexzander]

Happy for all the guys enjoying CanJam SG, meanwhile I was trying to get maximum from my Multiverse Mentors acquired not so long ago.

First, speaking about cables, while the stock one has great dynamics I find its tuning to be a bit U-shaped and overall sound to be less clear than with other cables that I’ve tried.
Traillii’s specially tuned 1960 PWA cable improved timbre alot and also brought mids and vocals specifically more forward. It made things overall more balanced but brings a bit too much of a bass at times leaving a sort of wooly feeling occasionally.
So here is where Chiron 8w really shined out bringing the most details, layering and reducing mid bass which helped to improve clarity greatly.

As for the tips I really find rolling them to be cumbersome for IEMs with BCD and fairly large nozzles - I’ve also experienced this with EE EVO and Kublai Khan.
Results are the following:
1. Stock Xelastec - best from default but part of upper mids and highs are too forward shrinking the stage a bit. Very clearly sounding though.
2. Stock silicone - make sound hazy, hard pass from my side.
3. Azla Crystal shorts - very good tonal balance but soften bass a bit. Still the ones I also enjoy for a relaxed listen.
4. SpiralDots++ increase the depth and make sound brighter but also softer.
5. SpinFit CP100 good but flatten the sound a bit making it less engaging.
6. SpinFit CP100++ is a softer version of CP100
7. SpinFit W1 - fun and clear sound with increased stage size with bass being focused a bit having great engaging texture. My second best.
8. Traillii stock silicone ones - great separation but mids not receiving needed boost.
9. SpinFit CP145 - the most balanced sound with emphasized mids and improved stage. My fav for now.

So I can state that while from technicalities point of view MM Mentor paired with Chiron 8w outplays stock Traillii setup the fun fact is that the mighty Bird is no less enjoyable or competent in music reproduction - where it has less tech chops it parries with its balance and character.
That’s it folks.

 

[audionewbi]

I'm a luker here, but have to say the cooler group has to be amongst the best sub-community on head-fi. Hopefully I'll get to meet you guys one day.

 

[RTodd]

At a wedding in Maryland one of my nephews.
Catching up with some people I have not seen in a very long time.

Happy days, these two have been together for ten years, started their journey together as sophomores in high school.

 

[jdan1457]

I've been listening to the Penon Impact from the tour and WOW!! This the first chance I've had to listen to something in this price range. The stuff I have on hand to compare it with is the UM Mext, Hifiman Edition XS, He6seV2. I'm listening on a Topping L70/E70V stack.

I've tried with a Final Audio Tips and Azla Xelastic tips, I didn't hear much difference between them and settled on the FA tips due to being more comfy. I'm not using any EQ.

The vocals are the star the show, these are very vocal centric, prominent but not shouty. The treble is clean, clear, crisp, detailed. Soundstage seems wide comparable to the Mext. The bass is surprisingly good, I'm definitely a basshead, and while these aren't basshead level quantity, its textured and has good slam. I guess I was expecting it to be a lot less.

I've been listening to tracks that I'm very familiar with on all my gear and everything sounds amazing. There was a few rap songs that didn't sound great but very few. This definitely plays everything I've thrown at it extremely well. As soon as the pipes came on in Amazing Grace it hit me in the feels. These are the best I've heard so far, now I know what TOTL sounds like!

Smashing pumpkins - today
dire straits - money for nothing
G-easy - provide
Ramin Djawadi - light of the seven
Kaleida - think
Dynoro - in my mind
Postmodern jukebox/Allison Young - where is my mind
Migos - straightenin
Hans Zimmer - Interstellar - no time for caution
Helene Fischer - Never Enough
Helene Fischer - amazing grace

 

[DanielListening]

Some impressions from today:


Campfire Audio Trifecta:

HATERS gunna hate. This IEM is fantastic. Yes it can’t do everything and might not have the speed and nimbleness to do electronic music and fast paced transients. This is three dynamic drivers, doing amazing things.

1. It’s “worth” the price
2. It’s not for everyone
3. I can’t afford it but I can certainly appreciate it


Empire Ears Bravado MKII:

1. I still love this fun V shaped IEM.
2. Love the electrostatic highs and the weapon lows
3. Beautiful build
4. Kinda missing a bit in the middle of the highs and lows.
5. Still a great IEM
6. Let me know if you have one to sell



Fat Freq

Oh wow. These are good and deserve the hype. 100%

Maestro SE:

Wow. This is really good. Definitely need to listen more. It has a good punch to the bass. It’s really hitting nicely for me. Expansive soundstage with a speaker like quality.

Maestro Mini: I need to listen more but I thought it was a $1,000 IEM so that is a good sign.

Effect Audio X Elysian Acoustic Labs: GAEA Hybrid In-Ear Monitor IEMs​

I like them.

I didn’t have enough time with them.

The build is supremely excellent and just impeccable quality. Wow. The cable is really nice. These IEMs were gorgeous to look at.

I liked the sound. I didn’t find them sibilant. Definitely not my first pick but I could see it being an excellent specialist with some music.

 

[maegnificant]

That’s right! Moondrop Spring Tips.

Just know if you’re buying them you need to size up. So if you normally wear a “S” you’ll want a “M.”

Not for me though, I normally war M or L, still M with Spring Tips and they are awesome. Saved many IEMs fit issues for me.

 

[KuroKitsu]

Had a nice time sharing gear with a fellow Head-Fier yesterday in Toronto.

Toronto? @riverground @Sifo @dmphile and I would like to know your location (Well mostly them because they have such flexible work schedules)

 

[SBranson]

Great meet up with @DanielListening and @Rockwell75 at a better venue than usual, thanks Daniel. And thanks Jeff for bringing so much good stuff to try.

Overall impressions were that though I thought I was “fine” with the Bravado 2 and Lotoo Paw6000, I discovered some things lacking in that set up.

As said by Daniel above:

Some impressions from today:


Campfire Audio Trifecta:

HATERS gunna hate. This IEM is fantastic. Yes it can’t do everything and might not have the speed and nimbleness to do electronic music and fast paced transients. This is three dynamic drivers, doing amazing things.

1. It’s “worth” the price
2. It’s not for everyone
3. I can’t afford it but I can certainly appreciate it

Wonderful analogue sound with great timbre. A bit more in the mid bass/lower mids than I usually prefer and something I know is perfect for @Rockwell75 based on our previous meetings. Very enjoyable sound with a very large stage with great depth. Sounded great with the M6U (thanks Jeff for the demo) but even better with the LP6, particularly SE.




The LP6 is a marvel. It’s just made everything sound better. Definitely worth the price of admission if you can afford it.

I had been reluctant to really mention the FatFreq Maestro after my tour time with it as I didn’t not get much listening done this week and it didn’t really grab me until last night. I put on a new track:

I just got it last night and tried the Maestro knowing I was passing it along to Daniel today and Wow… the vocals were mesmerizing. I was transported to an old emotion, the song eliciting feelings from decades ago. So much more gripping than the mids of the Bravado 2..

Almost everything else was less than 2 minutes listening so very brief initial impressions as really we spent more time talking.

Great to see you guys again.

 

[552609]

They had an earlier prototype of it with clear shells there, and I spotted 1 BCD, 2 DDs, at least 1 EST and at least 2 BAs. It’s a massive, massive quadbrid.

Sonically, one could say it’s the best of all of EE’s previous work in one. It’s got the fun and ease of the LX, the resolving power (and more) of the ODIN and the balanced-ness (and more) of the Odyssey. It’s basically the culmination of all we’ve asked for; LX with more vibrance/air, ODIN with less upper-mids and more air, Odyssey with more clarity and detail, etc.

I’d say they’ve finally pulled off the quintessential, community-feedback-assisted EE IEM.

Sounds uncomfortable.

 

[Deezel177]

Sounds uncomfortable.

It fit me perfectly fine, and I haven’t heard anyone complain about the fit either, but that’ll be wildly subjective, of course. I think it’s similar to Odyssey, if that helps.

They actually packed all the internals really tightly with barely any sound tubes. I tried to draw the internals by memory, ‘cus it looked really symmetrical and satisfying.



The only IEM that gave me a ton of fit issues there was the Noble Ronin. That thing was insanely chunky. I couldn’t get a definitive fit in the end.