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

[552609]

Rn6 CIEM ordered. Now the wait begins!

@aaf evo finally have his revenge after I got him to join the 64 squad.

Mine just shipped . Hope I like it because I'll never get what I paid for it back.

 

[552609]

I was interested in F5 but I am a little bit turned off by its Mids in the review. BTW, I read another review that was praising F5 for having wonderful treble as its selling point, then I read the most recent ads in classified "Good basshead set, just not my cup of tea." I am really confused.

That's Josh, he doesn't like them for some reason. His set is coming back to me. Oddly he likes the Z1R, so that was a confusing comment. Mineola be up for sale again soon, not because they're bad, but because i was dumb and bought 2 FiRs and need the cash haha.

 

[SoundFlow]

Mine just shipped . Hope I like it because I'll never get what I paid for it back.

Based on all the praise, it certainly doesn't seem like you will hate them.

I'm honestly between the Rn6 and Raven. I hate waiting.

 

[552609]

Based on all the praise, it certainly doesn't seem like you will hate them.

I'm honestly between the Rn6 and Raven. I hate waiting.

I guess we'll see. I hate waiting too, which is partly why I don't have a Penon Impact.

 

[OneEyedHito]

I use this all the time with IEMs on the Jotunheim2. It’s fantastic.

@CL14715 be sure to always plug and unplug the xlr adapter from the amplifier with the 4.4mm cable plugged into it. In other words, Don’t plug/unplug the 4.4mm cable from the adapter while the adapter is plugged into your amp and any power is turned on. There is the possibility of shorting across 4.4 terminals snd causing an issue with sensitive iems.

 

[Natesdailies]

That time of year again here in Vancouver. Lighter cherry blossoms by Brentwood:

Happy Easter everyone

 

[CL14715]

@CL14715 be sure to always plug and unplug the xlr adapter from the amplifier with the 4.4mm cable plugged into it. In other words, Don’t plug/unplug the 4.4mm cable from the adapter while the adapter is plugged into your amp and any power is turned on. There is the possibility of shorting across 4.4 terminals snd causing an issue with sensitive iems.

Fantastic info. Thank you!

 

[rantng]

You’ll be surprised how often DDs and BAs get refreshed and updated. All those proprietary models aside (the Z1R’s are all custom Sony-made, by the way), there are always new BAs from Sonion and Knowles. I’m not 100% sure if they make DDs as well. We just don’t hear about them, because it isn’t the most exciting news. No one here’s gonna share an image-less press release announcing the new TWFK-3099 or something.

Sonion & Knowles are clearly the 2 BA "giants" supplying many/most of the BAs in the industry. Who would you say is their DD equivalent/is there an equivalent? Sony obviously knows DDs, but I'm not aware if they supply to others. I guess Fostex could be considered, but I don't believe it's anywhere near the numbers of Sonion & Knowles.

 

[rantng]

I officially retract any thought I may have had or comments I may have made regarding owning too many iems. My name is Joaquin, and I am an audioholic.

Whoa, whoa, whoa......whoa......five is too many?!

 

[fiascogarcia]

Whoa, whoa, whoa......whoa......five is too many?!

 

[mashuto]

I was interested in F5 but I am a little bit turned off by its Mids in the review. BTW, I read another review that was praising F5 for having wonderful treble as its selling point, then I read the most recent ads in classified "Good basshead set, just not my cup of tea." I am really confused.

Its sort of a slight V shaped tuning with interesting qualities of both the bass and the treble. On the low end, you have a DD that gives a good bit of oomph as compared to say a BA. And on the high end, you have the planar driver, giving really crisp, fast, and sharp treble. They are both kind of emphasized. Mids arent necessarily recessed, but they just dont really stand out like either the treble or the bass. They arent particularly full or lush or anything. They are there. They work well, but definitely not a set for someone most interested in a mids first kind of sound.

Personally though i would not call them a basshead set. More of a fun balanced, mild v shaped set. I think it kind of depends on the person how they might seem. To someone who doesnt usually go for bassier sets, they are likely going to feel like they have a good amount of bass. For someone who doesnt normally go for brighter sets, the treble will likely stand out.

 

[wolfstar76]

Its sort of a slight V shaped tuning with interesting qualities of both the bass and the treble. On the low end, you have a DD that gives a good bit of oomph as compared to say a BA. And on the high end, you have the planar driver, giving really crisp, fast, and sharp treble. They are both kind of emphasized. Mids arent necessarily recessed, but they just dont really stand out like either the treble or the bass. They arent particularly full or lush or anything. They are there. They work well, but definitely not a set for someone most interested in a mids first kind of sound.

Personally though i would not call them a basshead set. More of a fun balanced, mild v shaped set. I think it kind of depends on the person how they might seem. To someone who doesnt usually go for bassier sets, they are likely going to feel like they have a good amount of bass. For someone who doesnt normally go for brighter sets, the treble will likely stand out.

Good to know. Unfortunately it overlapps with my current IEMs.

 

[fiascogarcia]

Great taste! How does the Orpheus sound with Phonix Le?

Actually that’s an FT shielding. Love it as it adds extra weight to the low end up to the lower mids, still tighter than the OG Phonix. Also adds a hint more analog texture (warmth) through the mids, yet still keeps treble clear and detailed. IMO

 

[gLer]

Oh. I missed that important detail. I am not generally a fan due to incoherence.

F5 is one of the most coherent tribrids I've heard. But you need many hours to let the planar treble settle down.

I was interested in F5 but I am a little bit turned off by its Mids in the review. BTW, I read another review that was praising F5 for having wonderful treble as its selling point, then I read the most recent ads in classified "Good basshead set, just not my cup of tea." I am really confused.

This is one IEM where almost every review I read is different. I'm also one of the only people who seem to have reviewed a custom set, which is strange given it's a Custom Art IEM!

I think the uni will sound very different to the CIEM tuning depending on tip choice, which is probably where the variance comes in. For me, the custom is definitely not basshead - not even close, and has less bass quantity and quality than Z1R (which to me isn't basshead either, so I guess YMMV).

I find the mids perfectly tuned with outstanding timbre - this is CA's strength. Treble is the divisive part; initially it was too sharp and spiky for me. With many hours of burn-in and a custom refit for seal, treble settled nicely, making F5 a very balanced, even handed, gentle sounding set. It's a set I can put in, load up any music, and it'll just sound 'right' for hours on end, without trying to be different or wow.

That last bit is an underappreciated quality nowadays, in my opinion.

 

[Deezel177]

Sonion & Knowles are clearly the 2 BA "giants" supplying many/most of the BAs in the industry. Who would you say is their DD equivalent/is there an equivalent? Sony obviously knows DDs, but I'm not aware if they supply to others. I guess Fostex could be considered, but I don't believe it's anywhere near the numbers of Sonion & Knowles.

Fostex (or Foster, their parent company who makes the DDs) are a bit of an anomaly in that their drivers aren’t as easy to buy. I don’t know if this applies to all their DDs, but I believe some of their models are restricted to members of the Foster Alliance Program, where you have to sign up and showcase a prototype to gain authorization to use the DD. Kumitate Lab, FitEar and Elysian are amongst those. Besides them, I’m not personally aware of OEMs that make DDs. I know there’s a lot of overlap between the Chi-Fi brands and the DDs they use, which has even bled to some Western brands, which I won’t mention. But, as far as who provides them, I haven’t done the research to figure out.