Where did you get these from?Aroma Fei Wan is inda house!
To my ears it’s the most musical but still very technical set Aroma ever made.
I can’t ask a better tuning, mids are to die, bass is punchy and fast but bodied and richer than Jewel bass.
Highs are natural never harsh or thin, and staging is incredible good, much better than 2500/4000$ set I heard.
I found my cup of tea, at least for now
Sorry for crappy pics
Maybe I'm too jaded from following tech for most of my adult life, but I'm increasingly sceptical of something like this being "accidentally" leaked so close to a CanJam or somesuch.
My fear is if it’s priced and positioned close to the Fourte, I don’t think (but hope) that this would be a lot better than Fourte. Also this new iem will surely have the 64Audio house sound. Sadly, this is not for me.
Upcoming IEM from 64audio. Sorry for low res picture. The faceplate is fabulous
2 DD with isobaric design + 8 BA
Last thing that wasn't mentioned here was that M9 Plus is also one of the cheapest of TOTL DAPs!
I'm sure you can find a used M9 Plus for quite cheap somewhere, if you know anyone in China I've seen used units float on the aftermarket for around 1300 USD...
I haven't tried the APP2, but I have the XM5 and have tried the TW3. XM5 sounded more resolving and vocals more realistic than TW3, bass on XM5 was also slightly deeper, punchier with more weight/volume. TW3 on the other hand had leaner mids and brighter crisper treble. It sounded clearer but less perceived depth and layering than XM5. For ANC, XM5 was the better one especially using the stock Sony foam tips which added some passive noise isolation. Lightweight and small form factor, comfortable to wear for 3+ hours. Build quality also feels more premium than TW3
Really enjoyed your review! Thanks for taking the time and sharing this with us! Owing to the cost it will be one of the few reference points! You write really well notwithstanding English is not your first language. Great accompanying pictures also! Kudos!N30LE Amber Pearl: Super Chinese Tactics II Turbo
"There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase closely associated with P. T. Barnum, an American showman of the mid-19th century, Wikipedia tells us. However one marketing master and a fan of P. T. Barnum, Joe Vitali, states that what he actually said is: "there's a customer born every minute", meaning that there is a never ending stream of new people who need to be served by your business.
The rapid growth of Chinese economy throughout the last several decades has created an unprecedented number of people who are well-off in the first generation. They need to use their newfound wealth and put it to good use. To taste life, to get something out of it, to live to the fullest. There are more middle-class people now in China than the whole populations of Europe or USA. Many of them are young and prefer to listen to music on a DAP and earphones than loudspeakers. Thus China (and, to some extent, the rest of Asia) seems to me one of the main leaders in new luxury products, pushing the boundary of how expensive we can get. Especially in portable audio.
To some extent for these companies we are the metaphorical sucker, for whom they can sell an overpriced $8000 IEM or a $6000 cable. And to some extent we are their valued client, for whom they strive to push the boundaries of innovation, as the aforementioned IEM is both beautiful in looks and in sound. I was referring to my beloved UM LeLardin CIEM. And to PW Audio Orpheus, which on the other hand I decided to sell, but I keep the lesser clones (MAS, FTS, Inspire of...) and appreciate their sound immensely.
Is N30LE a great DAP? Absolutely yes, and no. It is a huge step up from N8ii which I had and quickly sold. It sounded rather harsh to my ears. It did not have the super black still canvas on which both AK SP3000 and Sony WM1ZM2 paint their music. The tubes did not help it become more musical. Quality of the device seemed "Chinese" also, with unelegant design as if made by unschooled designers who only learned how to use a 3D computer program. Even the case seemed like a knock-off of Dignis cases as if you gave the job to your junior graphic designer. The unit flew out of the case easily since it was open on one end, etc. There is a difference between a real designer and a technician who knows how to use design software. I had a similar story with N8 mk1 which I borrowed from a store and happily returned.
(I really recommend hearing this song at least once in your life)
What N30LE really is? It is a Super "N8-II" Turbo to me. N30LE seems like a continuation of N8ii in terms of architecture, and it is also harsh to some extent. The highs are sizzling on top sometimes. There were times when I thought to myself: "I didn't really knew that I can still hear such high sounds". But that's not because N30LE adds +10dB in the highest octave. It's because of the quality and ability of this DAP to extract different layers of sounds from each other. So there's also an addictive quality to these sizzling highs. I want to hear more, to analyze more. The sound quality got upgraded so much from N8ii that I can no longer ignore it. Technicalities went through the roof. I am still lacking the black background that I love SP3000 and WM1Z for. But the power, resolution, details, layering and instrument separation - are all on a higher level than the aforementioned competitors. That does not mean I will instantly sell them, but it means I am getting addicted to N30LE.
(I listen to it mostly on Hyper and with Modern tube timbre - sounds technically more proficient than Classic setting)
I love it with Aroma Jewel - it is an end-game setup, especially given the authority on the DD lows and the polish on 6 EST upper registers, which - as we know - are delicately recessed on Jewels. The synergy is strong with this one. Notice I am talking about bass and highs all the time, and maybe that is because N30LE is not very vocal forward. It does not seem to be created for the lovers of mids to analyze each and every vibrato in your favorite singers voice. It may sound strange, but I would call it a "V-shaped" DAP, as opposed to maybe WM1ZM2 which is a "smooth fluid" DAP and SP3000 being my "smooth reference". I would say that NE30LE is also very colorful. When I started to get to used to it I was amazed at how many colors it may portray within the music. That is my best metaphor; I am not implying to have synesthesia. I just felt it was very expressive.
(I love that it has Night Light setting!!! Much more usable in the late hours than SP3000 which is the equivalent of shining a flashlight into your eyes)
Of course it also has strong synergy with its own Amber Pearl IEM. Could this be the one-and-done solution? Yes. I also love how N30LE drives my SE6 edge, which sometimes can get dull and congested, but became a technical monster on this powerhouse. I could go on and on and list you all the albums I have heard during these several last days. If anyone is interested, let me know. What is more important though is that N30LE is strong enough to power up planars like DCA Stealth or Hifiman R10P. To sum this part up, the overall character of Cayin house sound is rather bright to my ears, and this DAP is "agressive" for me, definitely not laid back like WM1ZM2, which I absolutely love. But it is agressive at a very refined level now. I can live with that.
(A part of my collection... I really love my wife)
(A part of my collection pt.2, my wife is the best)
The unit is unfortunately much bigger to pay for that sound quality improvement. It is probably contending with iBasso DX320 MAX Ti, which I have not heard. I have heard one of the older units - maybe it was DX300 MAX, I am unsure - and I was unimpressed. So this is barely pocketable... From these three flagships that I have, WM1ZM2 is the easiest to pocket. But given proper trousers, you can still fit N30LE in! Even today I walked around the home with this in my sweatpants. Or you can use a messenger bag for the city. It is not too large to use while commuting.
(The unit itself looks better from every angle now than N8ii; still not a piece of art like SP3000 or WM1ZM2 but getting close)
Even the case was done right this time. For most part. There are no open sides now. Unit sits tightly inside and will not slide out. The color is not yellow or orange, or some other Chinese joke of cultural differences (as in Aroma Audio new yellow flagship, for example). Chinese still learn design, as they use three different fonts on the back of the case with "Pearl" written in Arial (or something) and "Never be the Same Again" slogan in some kind of kids font taken straight out of Paint. Yes, with the words "Same Again" capitalized like that. I care about details, as you see, but I can live with these. It is just funny.
(Dignis-type case that everybody copies nowadays; strange shapes and fonts designed in Paint by Cayin's new intern)
So you can see I will not be your typical hype-boy. This thing costs $13000 with an IEM. Is it worth the money? Nope. There is little value for money at this price. At least for me, owning other UM flagships already. However I would say N30LE is a superb flagship DAP worth the MSRP of $5000 (yes). But the additional IEM is not worth $8000 to me. And that is what I would call Super Chinese Sales Tactics (II Turbo). However I need to be honest: it may be worth that money to you, if you do not have LeJardin or Multiverse Mentor yet, and you do not care if it is an Universal IEM or a Custom IEM. I will discuss the IEM more in a minute.
Getting back to the whole package... In theory, the DAP itself got a bit upgraded. And it has a serial number (mine is lucky #13). We discussed this before - the components changed are not uber expensive. We do not really know if it sounds better in Amber Pearl version. Who knows? Lets say that the DAP is worth 5500 USD then, making the IEM 7500 USD, and take it from here. That is why I thought of returning the unit. But both the DAP and IEM made me return for more every day. I decided to keep.
What Amber Pearl really is? It is a repackaged and corrected Unique Melody Multiverse Mentor (MM; shown on the picture above also). It has additional 2 EST drivers on the top end. It is made from stabilized wood. It does look beautiful. It sounds a bit more refined than MM. But on the other hand, I have MM in custom format, which is usually more comfortable and gives a better sense of immersion in the sound. On the other hand, MM has some nasty treble peaks in the upper registries. Even though I am not a type of person who would boast hearing at 20 kHz, I can still hear some of them and they seem unrefined (and hot) to me. That is where Amber Pearl shines with perfected highs. That is that.
(Amber Pearl frequency response measurement - note for Google)
That is all, probably. Otherwise it is hard to compare head to head for me, as a CIEM and UIEM just sound differently. So do I have two different IEMs or similar ones? In the end it seems I got something else in a way. Amber Pearl somehow makes me return for more because of the refinement it brought to the table. Such a minor correction resulted in more than a minor change in my behavior, as I really like to reach for it more than for MM.
(Amber Pearl versus Multiverse Mentor)
Amber Pearl cable (called Amber Pearl also) looks very similar to MM's Deep of Universe cable. (I wish that Peter Wong learned some grammar... I am not a native speaker either but I would at least double check my product names, lol). But we know that it is a different cable, 6N copper, as opposed to silver plated copper in the latter. The weaving is a little more relaxed this time, which feels nice. It sounds all right and could definitely stick to Amber Pearl as the first and last cable you would use before exiting the audio game. However I have decided to switch to my Horus 8w with flat 2pin for increased comfort and better looks (gold with amber). And see if I could get the bass and highs become more refined, spacious, holographic, less sizzle on top. And it absolutely did that. The imaging and sense of spaciousness also improved. The bass became lighter which would not be a welcome change by all of you.
Horus 8w is not even a summit-fi flagship anymore. I have not yet tested stronger cables against the stock here. And Amber Pearl is just 6N (99.9999%) pure copper. It is not much. At a price level of $8k we had LeJardin with a flagship beautiful MAS cable. To this day I have not found any cable that would make LeJardin shine better than on MAS. Even more, MAS is so good I started collecting it (and now I have 3). Amber Pearl however was easily upgraded. It is a mid-level cable, similarly to Deep of Universe probably (but I have not yet compared them head to head). So there's a sucker born every minute, it seems. MM is worth $4500 in universal and $5000 in custom, and we got a beautiful wooden shell for something like $3000-3500. Lets remember also that LeJardin was more than just a new shell - apart from the TOTL cable it also got a stronger BCD driver to the original Mason Fusang.
(Which one do you prefer? As a side note, there are more companies capable of doing wooden shells, including Soranik, Ambient Acoustics and Noble)
(Amber Pearl versus LeJardin CIEM)
But it sings. And if you are a part of success of growing economies like China (or Poland, in my case) maybe that does not matter if you can really afford it. What it means is that it is not a huge part of your budget and you will not have to sell your kidney to pay rent afterwards. Some of us worked hard to build something. And Cayin graciously allowed us to spend our hard earned money on overpriced stuff. To taste life, to get something out of it, to live to the fullest. Or maybe we are just suckers. But at least we are hearing things!
Good honest review. I concur that I would not want to pay $8000 for a UM IEM. I heard it once and it was not a Eureka moment for me. Not that I wouldn't pay $8000 for an IEM but it has to blow my socks off. the Trailli TI did it for me and I paid for it. As I said before, the N30LE did not blow me away on first impressions and on top of that it was too big of a unit for me to be called portable because if I can't consider it to take out on trips I prefer to listen to my home HiFi. Not that it's not a good unit but for that amount I have to save myself for the LP7 which seems to be fitting to what I require. TBH, I don't need Android on my unit, just pure good old fashion sound and nothing too fancy. A DAP I can put in my back pocket but just oozing in quality, light but TOTL natural high fidelity sound.N30LE Amber Pearl: Super Chinese Tactics II Turbo
"There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase closely associated with P. T. Barnum, an American showman of the mid-19th century, Wikipedia tells us. However one marketing master and a fan of P. T. Barnum, Joe Vitali, states that what he actually said is: "there's a customer born every minute", meaning that there is a never ending stream of new people who need to be served by your business.
The rapid growth of Chinese economy throughout the last several decades has created an unprecedented number of people who are well-off in the first generation. They need to use their newfound wealth and put it to good use. To taste life, to get something out of it, to live to the fullest. There are more middle-class people now in China than the whole populations of Europe or USA. Many of them are young and prefer to listen to music on a DAP and earphones than loudspeakers. Thus China (and, to some extent, the rest of Asia) seems to me one of the main leaders in new luxury products, pushing the boundary of how expensive we can get. Especially in portable audio.
To some extent for these companies we are the metaphorical sucker, for whom they can sell an overpriced $8000 IEM or a $6000 cable. And to some extent we are their valued client, for whom they strive to push the boundaries of innovation, as the aforementioned IEM is both beautiful in looks and in sound. I was referring to my beloved UM LeLardin CIEM. And to PW Audio Orpheus, which on the other hand I decided to sell, but I keep the lesser clones (MAS, FTS, Inspire of...) and appreciate their sound immensely.
Is N30LE a great DAP? Absolutely yes, and no. It is a huge step up from N8ii which I had and quickly sold. It sounded rather harsh to my ears. It did not have the super black still canvas on which both AK SP3000 and Sony WM1ZM2 paint their music. The tubes did not help it become more musical. Quality of the device seemed "Chinese" also, with unelegant design as if made by unschooled designers who only learned how to use a 3D computer program. Even the case seemed like a knock-off of Dignis cases as if you gave the job to your junior graphic designer. The unit flew out of the case easily since it was open on one end, etc. There is a difference between a real designer and a technician who knows how to use design software. I had a similar story with N8 mk1 which I borrowed from a store and happily returned.
(I really recommend hearing this song at least once in your life)
What N30LE really is? It is a Super "N8-II" Turbo to me. N30LE seems like a continuation of N8ii in terms of architecture, and it is also harsh to some extent. The highs are sizzling on top sometimes. There were times when I thought to myself: "I didn't really knew that I can still hear such high sounds". But that's not because N30LE adds +10dB in the highest octave. It's because of the quality and ability of this DAP to extract different layers of sounds from each other. So there's also an addictive quality to these sizzling highs. I want to hear more, to analyze more. The sound quality got upgraded so much from N8ii that I can no longer ignore it. Technicalities went through the roof. I am still lacking the black background that I love SP3000 and WM1Z for. But the power, resolution, details, layering and instrument separation - are all on a higher level than the aforementioned competitors. That does not mean I will instantly sell them, but it means I am getting addicted to N30LE.
(I listen to it mostly on Hyper and with Modern tube timbre - sounds technically more proficient than Classic setting)
I love it with Aroma Jewel - it is an end-game setup, especially given the authority on the DD lows and the polish on 6 EST upper registers, which - as we know - are delicately recessed on Jewels. The synergy is strong with this one. Notice I am talking about bass and highs all the time, and maybe that is because N30LE is not very vocal forward. It does not seem to be created for the lovers of mids to analyze each and every vibrato in your favorite singers voice. It may sound strange, but I would call it a "V-shaped" DAP, as opposed to maybe WM1ZM2 which is a "smooth fluid" DAP and SP3000 being my "smooth reference". I would say that NE30LE is also very colorful. When I started to get to used to it I was amazed at how many colors it may portray within the music. That is my best metaphor; I am not implying to have synesthesia. I just felt it was very expressive.
(I love that it has Night Light setting!!! Much more usable in the late hours than SP3000 which is the equivalent of shining a flashlight into your eyes)
Of course it also has strong synergy with its own Amber Pearl IEM. Could this be the one-and-done solution? Yes. I also love how N30LE drives my SE6 edge, which sometimes can get dull and congested, but became a technical monster on this powerhouse. I could go on and on and list you all the albums I have heard during these several last days. If anyone is interested, let me know. What is more important though is that N30LE is strong enough to power up planars like DCA Stealth or Hifiman R10P. To sum this part up, the overall character of Cayin house sound is rather bright to my ears, and this DAP is "agressive" for me, definitely not laid back like WM1ZM2, which I absolutely love. But it is agressive at a very refined level now. I can live with that.
(A part of my collection... I really love my wife)
(A part of my collection pt.2, my wife is the best)
The unit is unfortunately much bigger to pay for that sound quality improvement. It is probably contending with iBasso DX320 MAX Ti, which I have not heard. I have heard one of the older units - maybe it was DX300 MAX, I am unsure - and I was unimpressed. So this is barely pocketable... From these three flagships that I have, WM1ZM2 is the easiest to pocket. But given proper trousers, you can still fit N30LE in! Even today I walked around the home with this in my sweatpants. Or you can use a messenger bag for the city. It is not too large to use while commuting.
(The unit itself looks better from every angle now than N8ii; still not a piece of art like SP3000 or WM1ZM2 but getting close)
Even the case was done right this time. For most part. There are no open sides now. Unit sits tightly inside and will not slide out. The color is not yellow or orange, or some other Chinese joke of cultural differences (as in Aroma Audio new yellow flagship, for example). Chinese still learn design, as they use three different fonts on the back of the case with "Pearl" written in Arial (or something) and "Never be the Same Again" slogan in some kind of kids font taken straight out of Paint. Yes, with the words "Same Again" capitalized like that. I care about details, as you see, but I can live with these. It is just funny.
(Dignis-type case that everybody copies nowadays; strange shapes and fonts designed in Paint by Cayin's new intern)
So you can see I will not be your typical hype-boy. This thing costs $13000 with an IEM. Is it worth the money? Nope. There is little value for money at this price. At least for me, owning other UM flagships already. However I would say N30LE is a superb flagship DAP worth the MSRP of $5000 (yes). But the additional IEM is not worth $8000 to me. And that is what I would call Super Chinese Sales Tactics (II Turbo). However I need to be honest: it may be worth that money to you, if you do not have LeJardin or Multiverse Mentor yet, and you do not care if it is an Universal IEM or a Custom IEM. I will discuss the IEM more in a minute.
Getting back to the whole package... In theory, the DAP itself got a bit upgraded. And it has a serial number (mine is lucky #13). We discussed this before - the components changed are not uber expensive. We do not really know if it sounds better in Amber Pearl version. Who knows? Lets say that the DAP is worth 5500 USD then, making the IEM 7500 USD, and take it from here. That is why I thought of returning the unit. But both the DAP and IEM made me return for more every day. I decided to keep.
What Amber Pearl really is? It is a repackaged and corrected Unique Melody Multiverse Mentor (MM; shown on the picture above also). It has additional 2 EST drivers on the top end. It is made from stabilized wood. It does look beautiful. It sounds a bit more refined than MM. But on the other hand, I have MM in custom format, which is usually more comfortable and gives a better sense of immersion in the sound. On the other hand, MM has some nasty treble peaks in the upper registries. Even though I am not a type of person who would boast hearing at 20 kHz, I can still hear some of them and they seem unrefined (and hot) to me. That is where Amber Pearl shines with perfected highs. That is that.
(Amber Pearl frequency response measurement - note for Google)
That is all, probably. Otherwise it is hard to compare head to head for me, as a CIEM and UIEM just sound differently. So do I have two different IEMs or similar ones? In the end it seems I got something else in a way. Amber Pearl somehow makes me return for more because of the refinement it brought to the table. Such a minor correction resulted in more than a minor change in my behavior, as I really like to reach for it more than for MM.
(Amber Pearl versus Multiverse Mentor)
Amber Pearl cable (called Amber Pearl also) looks very similar to MM's Deep of Universe cable. (I wish that Peter Wong learned some grammar... I am not a native speaker either but I would at least double check my product names, lol). But we know that it is a different cable, 6N copper, as opposed to silver plated copper in the latter. The weaving is a little more relaxed this time, which feels nice. It sounds all right and could definitely stick to Amber Pearl as the first and last cable you would use before exiting the audio game. However I have decided to switch to my Horus 8w with flat 2pin for increased comfort and better looks (gold with amber). And see if I could get the bass and highs become more refined, spacious, holographic, less sizzle on top. And it absolutely did that. The imaging and sense of spaciousness also improved. The bass became lighter which would not be a welcome change by all of you.
Horus 8w is not even a summit-fi flagship anymore. I have not yet tested stronger cables against the stock here. And Amber Pearl is just 6N (99.9999%) pure copper. It is not much. At a price level of $8k we had LeJardin with a flagship beautiful MAS cable. To this day I have not found any cable that would make LeJardin shine better than on MAS. Even more, MAS is so good I started collecting it (and now I have 3). Amber Pearl however was easily upgraded. It is a mid-level cable, similarly to Deep of Universe probably (but I have not yet compared them head to head). So there's a sucker born every minute, it seems. MM is worth $4500 in universal and $5000 in custom, and we got a beautiful wooden shell for something like $3000-3500. Lets remember also that LeJardin was more than just a new shell - apart from the TOTL cable it also got a stronger BCD driver to the original Mason Fusang.
(Which one do you prefer? As a side note, there are more companies capable of doing wooden shells, including Soranik, Ambient Acoustics and Noble)
(Amber Pearl versus LeJardin CIEM)
But it sings. And if you are a part of success of growing economies like China (or Poland, in my case) maybe that does not matter if you can really afford it. What it means is that it is not a huge part of your budget and you will not have to sell your kidney to pay rent afterwards. Some of us worked hard to build something. And Cayin graciously allowed us to spend our hard earned money on overpriced stuff. To taste life, to get something out of it, to live to the fullest. Or maybe we are just suckers. But at least we are hearing things!
Except it seems 64 Audio took down the video under copyright. So they didn't want it out there.
Congratulations on the choice to purchase the new IEM of the brilliant guys at Aroma Audio, a brand often underestimated by those who frequent this threadAroma Fei Wan is inda house!
To my ears it’s the most musical but still very technical set Aroma ever made.
I can’t ask a better tuning, mids are to die, bass is punchy and fast but bodied and richer than Jewel bass.
Highs are natural never harsh or thin, and staging is incredible good, much better than 2500/4000$ set I heard.
I found my cup of tea, at least for now
Sorry for crappy pics
Many congratulations on the new acquisition. As with the other Aroma products, this surely is not going to disappoint. Please throw some comparo when you have time, especially how tall it stands against the Jewel. Is it Jewel level of musical?Aroma Fei Wan is inda house!
To my ears it’s the most musical but still very technical set Aroma ever made.
I can’t ask a better tuning, mids are to die, bass is punchy and fast but bodied and richer than Jewel bass.
Highs are natural never harsh or thin, and staging is incredible good, much better than 2500/4000$ set I heard.
I found my cup of tea, at least for now
Sorry for crappy pics
