Thank you so muchHi!
It’s some cheap pouches I found on Taobao. The brand is Stitch. They are pretty good, offer good protection and are nice looking.
Here is the Taobao link where I bought them :
https://m.tb.cn/h.53ciua5?tk=lvmXdDOJy1J
I don’t know if it would be of any help to you from France, but maybe it’s possible to find on Amazon or Alibaba.
Cheers,
Julien
)
Since you've heard both the Orpheus and the Yatono Ultimate 8w would you mind a comment comparing them? I'm struggling to decide between the two atm, Thanks a lot for the Shirogane impressions, I no longer want that one as I don't want a cable that reduces bass quantity.Finally got my hands on an Aura to demo:
(Please keep in mind I am extremely biased towards the PLE
Build quality is excellent but I don't like the design language. Not Raven gold to be flashy but enough gold where it is not understated. A weird somewhere in between. Fit is basically the same as the Phonix so most people should not have problems.
Stock cable is, IMO, terrible - it makes the Aura resolve like a cheap single DD and makes everything sound very congested. I swapped out the cable to the Shirogane immediately.
Since this is not burned in (demo unit literally arrived at the store 2 hours ago) I'll keep my impressions brief as I will revisit it again later, but this didn't wow me. Basically this is a thinner, lighter sounding Phonix with slightly recessed mids and slightly more emphasised uppermids/treble. Excellent resolution and good stage size, particularly depth and height.
Problems for me:
- Bass is not very impressive for 2023 standards. It has just sufficient midbass and passable texture but nothing to write home about. Subbass extension is poor IMO.
- Mids sound recessed, which is ok depending on the tuning, but here the Aura makes instruments - particularly brass, strings and piano - image smaller, which I do not enjoy at all and is the dealbreaker for me.
- Uppermids/treble are slightly emphasised, evident in female vocals if you directly A/B it with a Phonix. Problem is that it doesn't extend as well as the Phonix, and vocals sounded more dry than lush. I also occasionally felt that the vocals are too forward for my tastes - it is getting a bit edgy. No sibilance but it might be a bit too close for my liking.
Comparisons:
1. PLE (same cable, same setup with SP3000, same volume)
- I can't believe I am saying this, but I hear PLE's bass to slam harder with better subbass extension. Aura has slightly more midbass and better DD texture but PLE's bass has more definition. Probably because the two DDs need a bit more time.
- PLE mids are more forward, thicker, more lush, and sounds more lifelike and emotional.
- Uppermids and treble extension felt more effortless and less emphasised.
- Resolution is about the same (maybe PLE is slightly better but I am splitting hairs), but PLE has a very slightly wider stage.
2. EXT
- EXT's bass is miles ahead in any metric.
- Mids are about the same position, so slightly recessed. However, EXT's mids, being a DD, seems to cut through the mix much easier and makes instruments/vocals sound more textured.
- EXT's treble is noticeably brighter and crisper with the imfamous estat timbre, but it doesn't bother me as much, maybe because it is offset by the huge bass.
Overall I think the Aura is more Phonix than EXT, which to me puts it in a weird positioning - not EXT exciting enough and not Phonix romantic enough. Some mentioned that this is a DD Phonix which I have to disagree due to Aura's recessed mids and smaller mids imaging (and Aura's bass is average at best). Many people in the HKAV show said that the VEX is a much better buy considering the price, and at this moment I have to agree.
Let's see if my impressions change after some burn in time. There are two DDs afterall.
The Shriogane:
As mentioned before, excellent craftsmanship and very supple. It feels softer than the Orpheus but heavier. No microphonics at all - which makes the Yatono feel like a bad joke. Definitely portable if you don't mind the weight.
A noticeably airier Yatono 8w is an apt way to describe the Shirogane I think. It still has the Brise DNA of being a neutral cable akin to the Yatono but with silver characteristics instead of copper. What surprised me the most is the richness and punchiness of the low end - its subbass is (nearly) as good as the yatono and the midbass/mids are equally as full bodied (but shirogane has less midbass and a bit less bass texture), which really surprised me as a silver cable. Mids/Uppermids/treble trades being buttery smooth to being noticeably more airy and extended but without sharpness and sibilance, still a full bodied cable by all means. Still a hint of warmth but not as warm as Yatono (from warmest to brightest - Orpheus > Yatono 8w >> Shirogane >> Cleopatra II Octa >>>>>>> Centurion). Resolution is slightly better than Yatono due to perceived treble "brightness". Soundstage and shielding is about equal, so basically Orphy levels of black and soundstage. Nothing much to say here but probably the best silver IEM cable you can get right now.
Edit: typos
Hey Ike, this is off topic but I sent you an email with no reply. I’m trying to mail you the FatFreq tour kit and need your address as you are next on the list after me. Please pm me your address. Thank you.
Finally got my hands on an Aura to demo:
(Please keep in mind I am extremely biased towards the PLE
Build quality is excellent but I don't like the design language. Not Raven gold to be flashy but enough gold where it is not understated. A weird somewhere in between. Fit is basically the same as the Phonix so most people should not have problems.
Stock cable is, IMO, terrible - it makes the Aura resolve like a cheap single DD and makes everything sound very congested. I swapped out the cable to the Shirogane immediately.
Since this is not burned in (demo unit literally arrived at the store 2 hours ago) I'll keep my impressions brief as I will revisit it again later, but this didn't wow me. Basically this is a thinner, lighter sounding Phonix with slightly recessed mids and slightly more emphasised uppermids/treble. Excellent resolution and good stage size, particularly depth and height.
Problems for me:
- Bass is not very impressive for 2023 standards. It has just sufficient midbass and passable texture but nothing to write home about. Subbass extension is poor IMO.
- Mids sound recessed, which is ok depending on the tuning, but here the Aura makes instruments - particularly brass, strings and piano - image smaller, which I do not enjoy at all and is the dealbreaker for me.
- Uppermids/treble are slightly emphasised, evident in female vocals if you directly A/B it with a Phonix. Problem is that it doesn't extend as well as the Phonix, and vocals sounded more dry than lush. I also occasionally felt that the vocals are too forward for my tastes - it is getting a bit edgy. No sibilance but it might be a bit too close for my liking.
Comparisons:
1. PLE (same cable, same setup with SP3000, same volume)
- I can't believe I am saying this, but I hear PLE's bass to slam harder with better subbass extension. Aura has slightly more midbass and better DD texture but PLE's bass has more definition. Probably because the two DDs need a bit more time.
- PLE mids are more forward, thicker, more lush, and sounds more lifelike and emotional.
- Uppermids and treble extension felt more effortless and less emphasised.
- Resolution is about the same (maybe PLE is slightly better but I am splitting hairs), but PLE has a very slightly wider stage.
2. EXT
- EXT's bass is miles ahead in any metric.
- Mids are about the same position, so slightly recessed. However, EXT's mids, being a DD, seems to cut through the mix much easier and makes instruments/vocals sound more textured.
- EXT's treble is noticeably brighter and crisper with the imfamous estat timbre, but it doesn't bother me as much, maybe because it is offset by the huge bass.
Overall I think the Aura is more Phonix than EXT, which to me puts it in a weird positioning - not EXT exciting enough and not Phonix romantic enough. Some mentioned that this is a DD Phonix which I have to disagree due to Aura's recessed mids and smaller mids imaging (and Aura's bass is average at best). Many people in the HKAV show said that the VEX is a much better buy considering the price, and at this moment I have to agree.
Let's see if my impressions change after some burn in time. There are two DDs afterall.
The Shriogane:
As mentioned before, excellent craftsmanship and very supple. It feels softer than the Orpheus but heavier. No microphonics at all - which makes the Yatono feel like a bad joke. Definitely portable if you don't mind the weight.
A noticeably airier Yatono 8w is an apt way to describe the Shirogane I think. It still has the Brise DNA of being a neutral cable akin to the Yatono but with silver characteristics instead of copper. What surprised me the most is the richness and punchiness of the low end - its subbass is (nearly) as good as the yatono and the midbass/mids are equally as full bodied (but shirogane has less midbass and a bit less bass texture), which really surprised me as a silver cable. Mids/Uppermids/treble trades being buttery smooth to being noticeably more airy and extended but without sharpness and sibilance, still a full bodied cable by all means. Still a hint of warmth but not as warm as Yatono (from warmest to brightest - Orpheus > Yatono 8w >> Shirogane >> Cleopatra II Octa >>>>>>> Centurion). Resolution is slightly better than Yatono due to perceived treble "brightness". Soundstage and shielding is about equal, so basically Orphy levels of black and soundstage. Nothing much to say here but probably the best silver IEM cable you can get right now.
Edit: typos
This where also my first IEM, i truly loved them. They had a perfect tuning but a crappy 3.5mm jack. I bought 3 pairs over the years because the jack broke down after one year or so.My first IEMs: Klipsch Image S4
I still have them around... somewhere!
Just a side note of information, I am also quite sensitive to upper mid glare and I have Mentor. First Times and now even better Ode To Laura has solved the problem for me.
Thanks for the great impressions! I’m very interested in the Ibasso tube amp. I wonder how it will sound with my 320max? Too bad you weren’t able to hear it. Also I’m looking forward to hearing the final x8000 as the d8000 is my favorite headphone.Link to part 1: " Yodobashi and e-earphone"
Link to part 2: "Van Nuys and Fujiya-Avic"
Link to part 3: "Potafes"
Now for the final part. I had a very nice show experience here so I wanted to share my thoughts and pics.
I wasn’t planning on attending this show but my schedule changed last minute and it allowed me to check out the show for just 2 hours. Fortunately, the venue is right next to Tokyo station so I only needed 10min to run to the bullet train station to catch my ride for my next appointment. Whew!
Here is the beautiful red brick Tokyo station built 1914. The headphone show was held in the small building peaking head behind the station.
Fujiya-Avic Headphone Festival Summer mini 2023
It's a lengthy name so I will abbreviate it to FAHF for brevity. Not an official acronym…
Compared to the Potafes which was a huge commercial event and free (no registration) entry, FAHF was free but registration required, 11 rooms + hallway, intimate gathering. Look at the exhibitors below. Many exhibitors only choose to come here (Mass-Kobo, Van Nuys, Utsusemi Works, Oji, etc) while some are exhibited at both.
I thought the vendors were a lot more friendly, open, and easier to talk to here. Maybe FAHF is known to draw different crowds… I’m not sure. The audience for FAHF seemed like there were more seasoned portable audio experts. There were more people with amp+dap stacks and big cases of IEMs and cameras. I personally thought that I had more productive time at FAHF despite the short stay.
Mr. Meze was at the show. Soundleverage in the foreground.
Hifiman/STAX/Oji Special room
New brand Layfic Tone. Audeze style builds with light neutral sound.
One of my long stops was 634 ears. They had a whole collection of improved MIROAK-II model prototypes with different tunings. Amazing to hear contrasting characters from various structural changes.
The three below were my favorites. I now see why some cooler friends are into this. There is a unique charm to how these little ones sound! I would generally characterize them as natural and musical, similar to JVC woodies. Not a bass head nor a high-res type.
Left: The semi-open design was my favorite. The titanium body, wood ring, and semi-open design had the right balance of bass-mids-treble balance with an expansive stage. I didn’t notice any significant issues with isolation.
Middle: This one is a titanium body with a cocobolo back. Cocobolo has a nice mix of upper harmonics without getting sibilant. It’s not as warm as mahogany/cedar. I thought it added nice transients and richness to acoustic instruments.
Right: This is the brass-back version. This one had a stronger treble but it had pinpoint precision to the sound which worked well with pop/EDM. Kind of reminded me of older Final Audio brass IEMs but tilting warmer and musical.
If I were collecting IEMs, I would definitely look to add these. I believe at just over US$300, these give safer, more refined, and more fun tuning for the price. Pretty cool!
This is the iBasso nutube amp PB5. This was a ticketed audition and the earliest I can get in was past my departure time so I had to give up the audition this time…
Now for Final Audio. I finally got to hear the D8000 Pro. To me, this was distinctly Final Audio tuning. Solid and punchy bass (seems leaner than my Utopia), clear and crisp mids, slightly bright but bodied spacious treble. Now that I think about it, I think there might be some similarity to Elysian's treble. They both have good body treble with a hint of sparkle to it.
The photos below are the “mock up” X8000 for display. Apparently, it doesn’t work (or don’t want us to hear it) so it wasn’t available for audition. X8000 has an interesting futuristic look. The driver and housing looks very fragile. It must be some kind of floating speaker over your ears type of concept. I hope they come out with a working demo soon! Design-wise, it’s too blingy for me though haha
Fitear was showing their new release TG224s. I guess the lower-cost version of the famous 334s. This one had nice natural mids with an airy top end. Bass was lacking. Not much extension at the bottom end. The vocals sounded nice popping out of the mix. I thought it got a little congested with busy tracks. Probably good with lighter rock/pop music (just as they recommend).
In the middle table to the right is the master Masuda-san of Mass Kobo. He had several amps with him on display but the table was too busy for me to audition. I did chat with him about the status of his 475 builds that eventually ended up in my hand as well as @Natesdailies. The good news is that he has signed up to come to Canjam SoCal!! I hope you talk amps with him and try! He is a former mixing console operator, DIY repair/modder, then ended up building broadcast amps/mics and most recently headphone amps. I definitely recommend talking to him as he has lots of interesting stories!
Saving the best for the last! Cyras booth! Cyras is the L&P, Hyla, PW, and Oriolus dealer in Japan. They carry all my favorites, so I had high hopes for them and they didn’t disappoint!
First up is the L&P E7 prototype. L&P wanted to release it Spring of 2023, but now it’s looking like a late 2023 to 2024 release. They have a new operating system in this model which they are planning to reuse for the highly anticipated LP7. According to Cyras though, L&P’s plan is to release E7, then wait for the software to mature with users feedback, then work on LP7 release. This means LP7 won’t come out until at least a few months after E7. LP7 remains an elusive DAP…
The E7 hardware looks and feels like Cayin to me and the build reminded me of N6ii (anodized aluminum?) but less chunky and lighter. The shape and size are roughly two iPhone X stacked, or a little bit thicker than iPhone 14. The size felt very comfortable to hold. The software interface had the familiar LP6-esque look. But the way the screen glides and respond were much smoother than my LP6. I would say closer to N6ii quality screen (note E7 is still proprietary Linux and not Android). They let me pop in my SD card for my music – worked fine. Great! They were watching to see if it crashes…
The sound of E7. It’s a baby LP6! This version has AK4497. It’s not as bodied and analog as my LP6Ti7AE. It’s a more neutral leaning, lighter, and airy sound. For its size, it had a good bass extension, resolution, imaging capability, and a grand presentation. I think it cuts down on dynamics from LP6, making for a smoother listen. Probably due to a smaller battery and an amp. There is a hint of analog emotional flavor to the mids, good detail retrieval… I’m inclined to say it's a bit like iBasso DX240 with added emotional mids. It just doesn’t quite sound like other brands though. I hope they get this to other Canjams so you can hear it too!
Last but not least, the big surprise was this guy. Oriolus 4DD. Yes Four dynamic drivers with a custom PW Audio cable. They said the color and design are not final yet. Upper mid-tier IEM. Fall release?
This to me sounded like Traillii balance (not resolution) with DD punch. It doesn’t extend super low or super high, but I thought it had a very nice musical touch, a cohesive sound like that coming out of a big cabinet JBLs. It was resolving enough with busy music, excellent timbre, and no weird treble (I didn’t like Isa upper mids – treble). Warmer and bodied than my Oriolus Mk2 (bass-mids have more physicality with 4DD). I also changed the cable to my PW Orpheus and oh my… it really scales well with cables. I really wanted to listen to this for a long time. Hopefully, the final product will retain the magic because I really wanted to take this home…
So this wraps up my journey this summer. I hope y’all didn’t mind me sharing. If you read this far, thanks! I got the bug for these shows now. I hope to see you sometime somewhere!
I was being a bit unclear on that one, my bad; Shirogane doesn't reduce bass quantity at all -on the contrary I think it added a lot of quality and a tiny bit of quantity, just less so in terms of quantity compared to Yatono 8w. I am very (pleasantly) surprised how competent the bass is. But of course the Yatono will definitely serve you better regarding bass, comparatively speaking.
I think it is just the lighting. Some other shots from FB:
Glad that I didn't pre-order Aura and decided to wait for impressions, but now kinda regret for not getting PLE while still available new.Finally got my hands on an Aura to demo:
(Please keep in mind I am extremely biased towards the PLE
Build quality is excellent but I don't like the design language. Not Raven gold to be flashy but enough gold where it is not understated. A weird somewhere in between. Fit is basically the same as the Phonix so most people should not have problems.
Stock cable is, IMO, terrible - it makes the Aura resolve like a cheap single DD and makes everything sound very congested. I swapped out the cable to the Shirogane immediately.
Since this is not burned in (demo unit literally arrived at the store 2 hours ago) I'll keep my impressions brief as I will revisit it again later, but this didn't wow me. Basically this is a thinner, lighter sounding Phonix with slightly recessed mids and slightly more emphasised uppermids/treble. Excellent resolution and good stage size, particularly depth and height.
Problems for me:
- Bass is not very impressive for 2023 standards. It has just sufficient midbass and passable texture but nothing to write home about. Subbass extension is poor IMO.
- Mids sound recessed, which is ok depending on the tuning, but here the Aura makes instruments - particularly brass, strings and piano - image smaller, which I do not enjoy at all and is the dealbreaker for me.
- Uppermids/treble are slightly emphasised, evident in female vocals if you directly A/B it with a Phonix. Problem is that it doesn't extend as well as the Phonix, and vocals sounded more dry than lush. I also occasionally felt that the vocals are too forward for my tastes - it is getting a bit edgy. No sibilance but it might be a bit too close for my liking.
Watch classifieds, it'll be better, you won't pay retail.
