[Delitia]

Anyone else curious about the AK Zero2? Price is $1100 - https://www.astellnkern.com/product/product_detail.jsp?productNo=144

Advanced Quad-brid Design​

Special Micro Rectangular Planar Dynamic Driver- [High] Crisp and Dynamic Treble Sound
The Micro Rectangular Planar Dynamic Driver is a driver specifically developed to deliver high frequencies, featuring advanced technology that allows a planar driver to be used in IEMs, despite the extreme difficulty in making it small enough to fit in such a small cavity.
We selected a light yet sturdy planar membrane to minimize frequency loss and applied a trembler with a thin metal membrane and polymer film to create lifelike vivid high frequencies. This provides a clear and dynamic high frequency response.

Dual Custom Balanced Armature Drivers- [Mid-Low] Transparent Vocal sound
- [Full Range] Perfectly Balanced and Rich Sound
The Coil Parameter Dual Custom BA Driver is a custom-made driver designed to reproduce both full-range and mid- to low-range frequencies.
It comes with a total of four drivers: two BA drivers that offer ultra-low distortion to create clear low- to mid-ranged vocal sounds and two BA drivers that offer perfectly balanced rich sounds, uniquely tuned to harmonize each frequency range, playing perfect sounds.

Single 10-mm Dynamic Driver with Piezoelectric Transducer- [Low & Super High] The Deepest Bass and Clear Treble Sound
Various types of carefully designed drivers create rich, Hi-Fi sounds. The 10-mm dynamic driver used in the AK ZERO2 is meticulously manufactured using a fully automated process. This allows the driver to recreate rich and deep low frequencies.
An additional piezoelectric transducer works in tandem with the dynamic driver, serving as a super tweeter that asserts its presence in the super-high frequency range that many IEMs struggle to recreate.

They seem promising and something that, if it sounded good, would easily be my travel pair for vacations to replace my Meze Rai Penta.

 

[Rockwell75]

I'll add to the fray;

1. Legend X

Working on hearing more soon. Definitely thought the Legend X was cool though.

Oldie but goodie. Legend X is one of a small handful of pre-2020 IEMs that are still highly relevant around here. Others I would say are IER Z1R, Fourte, Trio, 12/18t, Mason and Andromeda.

In other news I fired up my SR25ii for the first time in a few months and it's still highly enjoyable. It's no LP6 but for a small pocketable device with great battery life it's incredibly versatile and sounds great. I'll be looking closely at the updated model in a couple months.

 

[emdeevee]

Oldie but goodie. Legend X is one of a small handful of pre-2020 IEMs that are still highly relevant around here. Others I would say are IER Z1R, Fourte, Trio, 12/18t, Mason and Andromeda.

In other news I fired up my SR25ii for the first time in a few months and it's still highly enjoyable. It's no LP6 but for a small pocketable device with great battery life it's incredibly versatile and sounds great. I'll be looking closely at the updated model in a couple months.

Good point about that freaking sony (I own one) which is always towards the top end of every list. And we don't seem to obsolesce it nor does sony. Imagine if/when they release an update of this IEM.

 

[rantng]

They seem promising and something that, if it sounded good, would easily be my travel pair for vacations to replace my Meze Rai Penta.

At the very least it's good to see they put a "real" 10mm DD in it this time instead of the baby 5.6mm DD on the previous one. That was always a bit of a head scratcher...

 

[552609]

Oldie but goodie. Legend X is one of a small handful of pre-2020 IEMs that are still highly relevant around here. Others I would say are IER Z1R, Fourte, Trio, 12/18t, Mason and Andromeda.

In other news I fired up my SR25ii for the first time in a few months and it's still highly enjoyable. It's no LP6 but for a small pocketable device with great battery life it's incredibly versatile and sounds great. I'll be looking closely at the updated model in a couple months.

I'm curious to see how the Shanling m9 plus will play out.

 

[Delitia]

I'm curious to see how the Shanling m9 plus will play out.

I'm excited to see how that and the new iBasso dx320 max plays out, I'd be very interested if they released the max and figured out a way to incorporate the slottable amps to them, as for me, that's iBasso's selling point at the moment. Then with that possibly introduce new amps since the max's tend to have more room, they can finally isolate them and create something similar to the N8ii's tube as an expansion amp card. They have a lot of potential and I wish they'd use it.

 

[buke9]

Ok I’ll play:

1. Multiverse Mentor
2. Noble Kublai Khan
3. Mest MK2

I’m with you on the Multiverse Mentor I‘m more of a headphone guy but damn is that a great IEM.

 

[Lumithium]

A bit late here

1. Mentor Multiverse
2. Ronin
3. Annihilator

 

[Silverlinings]

I’m with you on the Multiverse Mentor I‘m more of a headphone guy but damn is that a great IEM.

It’s the first IEM that I’m not wanting for something else..kept my Mest MK2’s bc I still like them too.

 

[552609]

I'm excited to see how that and the new iBasso dx320 max plays out, I'd be very interested if they released the max and figured out a way to incorporate the slottable amps to them, as for me, that's iBasso's selling point at the moment. Then with that possibly introduce new amps since the max's tend to have more room, they can finally isolate them and create something similar to the N8ii's tube as an expansion amp card. They have a lot of potential and I wish they'd use it.

I should be getting a m9 plus for review when they're released. Not sure about the iBasso though. Probably not.

 

[fiascogarcia]

My 2 cents if we're still recapping:
Rn6 - stock cable
Phonix LE - FT shielding
Traillii - Chiron 8

 

[Natesdailies]

Thanks for this. How did RGB compare in terms of stage and layering compared to MM? I found that the strongest appeal of Mentor.

Unfortunately, my Mentor is currently getting a faceplate makeover. I used the XE6' staging as a comparison to the RGB staging for a few hours to give you a reference.

I find XE6 to have some of the largest width and depth (more open). X would also be there too but a more closed presention.

My Love - Gummy: This is a female vocal based Korean song that I know well. On XE6, I repeated the whole song for a while, then focused where the instruments were on the first 30 seconds.


On XE6, the stage extends beyond the ears. The height is also good. You see more as if you get upgraded to a 32 inch monitor. Even though the image itself is large her vocals are "zoomed in". There is a channel split and I could hear partial notes in both ears instead of the center.
When Gummy is singing, her voice reaches deep and diffuses into the background like she is on stage live. The bass surrounds the performance adding to that environment as if she is in an untreated room.

Switching to RGB, the width becomes smaller and more intimate. The background is cleaned up. Strings in the background are more vibrant, have more air while being fuller and more refined. When Gummy starts singing, wow. The imaging is holographic as if a spotlight is on her. It's 3D like an object that has cast a shadow. Her voice sounds more airy, luscious, euphoric. The vocals are forward and pop out. Transients are sharper and harder. The Center imaging is great. Vocals are carved out from the rest of the instruments and mounted on its own plane.

Tourner Dans Le Vide - Indila: Pop / female vocals.



I'll focus on the treble for this one. During the introduction from 0:00 -> 0:30 there is xylophones playing in the background. These sound quite clear and satisfying on the XE6. It's well extended but not shrill. When Indila starts singing at 0:17, I can still hear the xylophones well despite the bass.

Switching to the RGB, I notice that the lower pitch Xylephone notes reach lower higher notes sound more vibrant. It's like a partial colouring book that's more filled in. It has more weight and hardness to it. The note decays have more trailing information.

Off memory, RGB has better mids than Mentor, it sounds as holographic if not more. This is something I want to test once I get it back.

 

[main character]

My Love - Gummy: This is a female vocal based Korean song that I know well.

Thanks for the helpful comparison and music introduction Nate! I enjoyed it.

Try this song if you haven’t - similar.

 

[ian91]

Unfortunately, my Mentor is currently getting a faceplate makeover. I used the XE6' staging as a comparison to the XE6' staging for a few hours to give you a reference.



I find XE6 to have some of the largest width and depth (more open). X would also be there too but a more closed presention.

My Love - Gummy: This is a female vocal based Korean song that I know well. On XE6, I repeated the whole song for a while, then focused where the instruments were on the first 30 seconds.


On XE6, the stage extends beyond the ears. The height is also good. You see more as if you get upgraded to a 32 inch monitor. Even though the image itself is large her vocals are "zoomed in". There is a channel split and I could hear partial notes in both ears instead of the center.
When Gummy is singing, her voice reaches deep and diffuses into the background like she is on stage live. The bass surrounds the performance adding to that environment as if she is in an untreated room.

Switching to RGB, the width becomes smaller and more intimate. The background is cleaned up. Strings in the background are more vibrant, have more air while being fuller and more refined. When Gummy starts singing, wow. The imaging is holographic as if a spotlight is on her. It's 3D like an object that has cast a shadow. Her voice sounds more airy, luscious, euphoric. The vocals are forward and pop out. Transients are sharper and harder. The Center imaging is great. Vocals are carved out from the rest of the instruments and mounted on its own plane.

Tourner Dans Le Vide - Indila: Pop / female vocals.



I'll focus on the treble for this one. During the introduction from 0:00 -> 0:30 there is xylophones playing in the background. These sound quite clear and satisfying on the XE6. It's well extended but not shrill. When Indila starts singing at 0:17, I can still hear the xylophones well despite the bass.

Switching to the RGB, I notice that the lower pitch Xylephone notes reach lower higher notes sound more vibrant. It's like a partial colouring book that's more filled in. It has more weight and hardness to it. The note decays have more trailing information.

Off memory, RGB has better mids than Mentor, it sounds as holographic if not more. This is something I want to test once I get it back.

Thanks Nate! It's very useful to hear how you describe the character and presentation on RGB compared to XE6. The RGB sounds very vivid in its imaging and definition with a natural vocal euphony. I look forward to the comparison of stage size when your Mentor makes it back home. I feel as though the RGB will miss out on lateral width in comparison but with the 8ESTs it will compete in terms of holography and layering.

 

[Alaricz]

I haven't heard the RN6 yet, but I still like the XE6. I haven't tried evaluating it yet, but just listening to it for fun it's quite nice. You are, afterall, comparing it to an IEM almost no one owns (there's only 300 of them afterall). A lot of people feel that the XE6 makes them feel "moved" more than many other IEMs. That's the kind of feeling that sells IEMs since music is meant to "move" us.

To be honest very few Asians should like xe6 as an iem, we care more about mid and treble, too much bass make us feel bad, Rn6 better