[Onurb8690]

I’ve tested all settings with 4 different cables so far and thankfully I haven’t experienced any hissing or distortion

Which cable do you use with GM?

 

[ttt123]

Any recommendation for a non branded single color case they holds the iem like this. Thank you.

I've always liked this one. Audio Technica AT-HPP300

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153794786180
Good protection for the IEM, small, easy cord wind/storage

 

[Alpexis]

After a quick listen: perfect tuning for me, neutral with a little bit of warmth but within a "reference" extent. Great technicalities, neutral spacious mids, fast textured satisfying bass, delicate highs (I was afraid of that, note I use Erl on setting 4 in CIEM format for life). I practically can't touch this.

How about instrument timbre and soundstage,?

 

[btwine]

You answered your own question: manufacturers of cables often consider themselves artisans, so expensive or not is for the customer to decide.

Van Gogh probably spent a modern-day equivalent of $2 on the oil paint, brushes, palette, and stretched canvas with which he painted Starry Night. Which is currently valued at $100M if it hit the auction market. Not that Van Gogh will see a penny of that being dead 133 years! But the point is that the value of art is not the cost of materials and such. The value of art is in the eyes of the market. What people will pay for art/an IEM cable is what they are worth.

 

[barrycro]

Van Gogh probably spent a modern-day equivalent of $2 on the oil paint, brushes, palette, and stretched canvas with which he painted Starry Night. Which is currently valued at $100M if it hit the auction market. Not that Van Gogh will see a penny of that being dead 133 years! But the point is that the value of art is not the cost of materials and such. The value of art is in the eyes of the market. What people will pay for art/an IEM cable is what they are worth.

I like the art analogy but I don’t believe it is apples to apples. Art is not a product made for a specific practical use. Van Gogh is however a good example as the value of his work is completely manipulated by art dealers resulting in hyped desire by collectors. These pieces are indeed only worth what people will pay and are divorced from the cost of production. Funny what they are valued at today as he couldn’t even give them away in his lifetime. His own brother was the only buyer he could find.

Cables on the other hand beautiful though they may be are indeed made to perform a specific task. The msrp seems divorced from cost of production to me. That said I agree they are worth what the market will bear. More akin to exotic sports cars I think. Both are desirable to some and for those who want them I am glad they exist.

 

[kevin638880]

Some Annihilator goodness on my way home.

Probably the only IEM I'd bother with Hyper+high gain - and actually notice benefits due to increased power. Clears a lot of the midbass bloat and bass overall sounds tighter without losing punch. Subbass is still just "decent" (still, N30LE did much better than the SP3k in maximising Annihilator's potential) compared to the best out there, tho, probably the Annihilator's only weakness.

 

[Piotr Michalak]

How about instrument timbre and soundstage,?

I'm not very good in timbre judgement, but well, it sounds very natural to me. Especially that we have much more DD goodness here than with Erlkonig. It seems like a neutrally V-shaped, open-back Erlkonig with more DD timbre. I think DD goes up at least up to 1 kHz. And the upper mids are very neutral. Highs I do love too.

Soundstage is huge. I am not doing A/B comparisons with Jewel etc. - this is not a contest of who is better to me. It seemed large from the first minutes of listening, contrary to the mini-review posted by Tfenton02 before.

The only thing I'm missing after several hours of listening is a bit more of middle mids (again, this is more V-shaped than neutral, and I prefer neutral). They are a bit sucked out, but again, it's the same story with RN6 and no one seems to notice

 

[Auricon]

Hey guys, question. (I'm not buying, just curious) But anyone got any cable reccos? Gonna see if I can beg, borrow or steal some of the recommended cables here from my friend and test them out. I know I can audition cables from audio stores, but I don't like having someone staring at me when I listen to music, and I prefer testing them at the comfort of my home. Appreciate yall

When it comes to this thread, communicate what characteristics, signature you're considering, IEM pairing and especially budget.

Personally, I don't find it constructive to recommend $2K+ cables – unless you expressly communicate that you're aiming for flagship – when there are value, quality and capable options under $300USD and less than $1000USD.

 

[kevin638880]

Hey guys, question. (I'm not buying, just curious) But anyone got any cable reccos? Gonna see if I can beg, borrow or steal some of the recommended cables here from my friend and test them out. I know I can audition cables from audio stores, but I don't like having someone staring at me when I listen to music, and I prefer testing them at the comfort of my home. Appreciate yall

We'll see you back here next week with your new cable

It really depends on what you are looking for in terms of sound (and pairing), but a good place to start will be Effect Audio's signature series / Eletech and PW's entry level offerings. Great value and excellent sound quality overall.

 

[SteffSergeant]

Some Annihilator goodness on my way home.

Probably the only IEM I'd bother with Hyper+high gain - and actually notice benefits due to increased power. Clears a lot of the midbass bloat and bass overall sounds tighter without losing punch. Subbass is still just "decent" (still, N30LE did much better than the SP3k in maximising Annihilator's potential) compared to the best out there, tho, probably the Annihilator's only weakness.

What cable do you use? It's an EA one I recognized, but does it fit into Anni special connector sockets?

 

[kevin638880]

What cable do you use? It's an EA one I recognized, but does it fit into Anni special connector sockets?

Centurion, and yes because it uses ConX so you can switch to the Pentaconn Ear plug anytime. In fact cable rolling the Annihilator is probably limited to EA cables simply because they all have ConX (well and cables that offer ConX as an option, so popular brands such as Eletech and Brise are out unless you specifically order the cable with PE).

Also rolled with Cleo II Octa and found them to synergise quite well. I'd imagine Horus working well with Annihilator, too. I didn't like Chiron with it because it reduced the treble extension compared to Centurion.

 

[SteffSergeant]

Centurion, and yes because it uses ConX so you can switch to the Pentaconn Ear plug anytime. In fact cable rolling the Annihilator is probably limited to EA cables simply because they all have ConX (well and cables that offer ConX as an option, so popular brands such as Eletech and Brise are out unless you specifically order the cable with PE).

CON-X is known, but I didn't recognized EA has this type of connectors....

Damn, I thought I am limited here and don't have to buy an expensive cable anymore

 

[kevin638880]

CON-X is known, but I didn't recognized EA has this type of connectors....

Damn, I thought I am limited here and don't have to buy an expensive cable anymore

They have it for their budget offerings, too. You just have to purchase the appropriate connector.

 

[Piotr Michalak]

Measurements

Addendum to this topic. Listening now the most obvious comparison should be this:



Mutliverse Mentor is somewhat reminiscing of VE Aura (or vice versa).

 

[gLer]

So I have received the famed and praised PW Orpheus (w. shielding).

I must say this was a bit of a nuts purchase that I wouldn't have considered if I hadn't read and fully trusted @gLer and @Tokpakorlo reviews and if I hadn't had the opportunity to purchase it from @mbirand second hand...



I was a bit afraid to get a case of buyer's regret as I have broken my own limit on cables with this one (by a very long stretch, my most expensive cable was Cleo II Octa). But there is a pattern here after breaking my DAP ceiling with N30 LE (and not regretting it one bit!). Note that the ergonomics is excellent given the footprint.

So expectations were high given the reviews and I must confess I prepared myself for at least a certain level of disappointment, but this is real... Peter Wong magic is working no matter if the cable is made of unicorn hair or some exotic copper he has the secret of... I have fond memories a few years back of the PW 1960s 4 wire but it's another league alright...

The result is here and everything has been said about this cable qualities in @gLer and @Tokpakorlo reviews is true (It's great to have such reliable reviewers when you dive in blind into such a product). Indeed the Orpheus has this analog quality that is right up my alley without any compromise on technicalities and I don't feel I am missing out in terms of resolution and detail (at all). The midrange is both fuller and more open and articulate with that cable it's a bit eerie... I also was surprised at the bite that this cable brings with RN6 on electric guitar it's quite a treat, never sounded better in fact... only similar experience was with Jolene so I can't imagine what they would sound like but 7pin socket means I can't pair it. Right now I switched to the Elysium and it's a beautiful pairing alright and the midrange is something to behold, instruments timbre are to die for...

The stage is also simply the best I have heard the few IEMs I ran it with at this point.
N30 was already mind blowing, with Orpheus and flagships CIEMs it's simply bliss and I can see hundreds of hours of eargasmic pleasure

Eye watering price but also eye watering emotions from the cable upgrade .

I must say all my cables are going to take quite a bit of dust now...

Congrats David! You now have the best of the best...but please don't disappear, love your posts, passion and impressions!