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The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
Jun 3, 2023 at 4:35 AM Post #59,596 of 88,804
I am going through different parts of my library and source rolling tonight. This combo did something different for my library.

Grand Maestro / M9+
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Blue Module with the vocal switch up

Song impressions:​

Heize Diary - Female Vocals / Pop

This is a dreamy, spacious and open presentation that pulled me in. Heize sounds effortless. The immersion reminds me of the female vocals I got from Mentor + Cayin N7. M9+ adds this sweetness to her voice which contrasts the amount of energy that GM has. With M9+ the timbre is balanced without sibilance. It's an ethereal, floaty presentation that is a side grade from Mentors more natural mids weight. For those that tried SR8: The tonality is up that alley. The layering is better and GM has a DD that adds longer decays and more harmonics.

Tchaikovsky - Vale Sentimentale, OP 51, No 6


With this playback, I am sitting further back. The stage is wide and instruments are well spaced out. Violins are vivid and airy but without the starkness that can come from it. With busy sections, the instrument focus shifts well without being distracting.

Hans Zimmer - Remember (Lion King)



What a song... A rollercoaster of emotions. This one hit me because it reminded me of my late father.
 
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Jun 3, 2023 at 5:55 AM Post #59,597 of 88,804
Have not been posting here for a while - still very busy times, but finally got something inspiring to support the hobby:
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Wins hands down N8ii and RS8 which I put for sale while using with full-sized headphones - superior amp section provides much better current and power that planars like. Much better control, separation, more details especially in Ultimate mode where all 4 DACs are used.
Speaking of which it stretches dimensions of soundstage even further making it veeeery vast. Also bringing even more details in vocals and improving separation.

The gap in performance became smaller while using IEMs but you can still hear it comparing DAPs side by side and you don’t need to use audiophile recordings to do it - something like David Guetta remix of Unholy will show it.

Only thing I like less is LO function - I had to crank volume higher than I prefer with my Luxman and BWs in 2ch system to get sound field of needed density.

Overall still I think iBasso 320 MAX is the best DAP available on the market for now.
 
Jun 3, 2023 at 8:15 AM Post #59,598 of 88,804
Wolfhawk46 said:
The Bird's mids are some of the best I've ever heard. Bass is solid, but not the best.
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For me, it is much better than many other tops. And incomparably better than Xe6, of course. So, in terms of overall score, Bird confidently remains in my top ranking.
 
Jun 3, 2023 at 8:41 AM Post #59,599 of 88,804
phiemon said:
Traillii and Jewel cannot be considered competitors at all, in my opinion. Traillii is just so special per se (as written earlier): in-your-face and at the same time out-of-the-head with best vocals ever. Accordingly, Jewel is different, rather - sorry for the word, but unfortunately I lack a better one - neutral. By the way, only marginally spontaneous impressions: Jewel has better bass (of course since DD) but Traillii has more quantity, Jewel's soundstage is deeper, but much narrower, better dynamic, maybe a tad better resolution, I liked the treble more. The question now is what one likes more. I rather consider Ronin as a competitor for Jewel.
For info: since DAP and cable play a big role: Trailli, Jewel and Ronin were used with the SP3000 and First Times.

I don't know how it can be. But with Traillii I never feel that it is deficient in any way. It's kind of perfect the way it is. And when I hear it, I think to myself that it couldn't be possible to make something better. Traillii sounds like a real endgame. But of course it is clear that this can't be the case, this proves for me a short comparison with Jewel (as written earlier).


I would love to know more about Mason FS. Does anyone have any experience with it? Opinions? I find strangely nothing about it, although Mason FS is supposed to be flagship next to Mentor.
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Mason FS was what...$7k? Not very many people had one. I've heard good things from the kne guy I saw that had one, but the Mentor is much more attainable.

I likes the Ronin a lot more than the Jewel also, maybe even more than the Traillii, but as always ymmv.
 
Jun 3, 2023 at 9:08 AM Post #59,600 of 88,804
Wolfhawk46 said:
Mason FS was what...$7k? Not very many people had one. I've heard good things from the kne guy I saw that had one, but the Mentor is much more attainable.

I likes the Ronin a lot more than the Jewel also, maybe even more than the Traillii, but as always ymmv.
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The basic Mason FS is $6k, the Le Jardin model is $8k though I think it's just a different shell. Traillii is $6600 so even more expensive the the Mason FS.

It's not easy picking blind. Considering a FS from the classifieds vs a Like new Mentor from Musicteck.

​

 
Jun 3, 2023 at 9:50 AM Post #59,607 of 88,804
phiemon said:
Between the two options, I would certainly choose Mentor. It would be the safer option for me.

Le Jardin is a reshell of Red Halo with better cable as far as I had read.
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It has been awhile, but I believe the Mason FS, Red Halo and Le Jardin are all the same IEM with different looks and cables. I view them as vocal specialists. Excellent though expensive.
 
Jun 3, 2023 at 10:16 AM Post #59,609 of 88,804
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