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

[HiFiHawaii808]

No real surprises on my end…

1. Rn6 - warm neutral with kinetic DD goodness. Loving it with the black module as of late. Works so well with nearly everything in my library. I could walk away with this one and be happy.
2. Nio - a bit of a rediscovery for me with all of the Volür talk bringing 64A top of mind. Big, bombastic bass with liquid mids and smooth, easy going treble. Hours of foot tapping lately with the old dog.

I’ve got my eye on a number of IEMs... Singularity, Duality, Volür, E12, Bonneville, VEX, Anni ‘23 are all on the “want to hear” list.

I know we’re IEM centric here but I’ve been spending a lot more time with the Empyrean lately both via my desktop kit and M9. Warm, punchy, spacious and just downright enjoyable.

Given your choices, I think you are going to love Volur. To me, Volur is a combination of the bass of Nio and the overall tuning and character of U12t.

 

[Garney]

Given your choices, I think you are going to love Volur. To me, Volur is a combination of the bass of Nio and the overall tuning and character of U12t.

I think so too. It’s been years since I’ve heard u12t… I remember liking it but wanting more oomph and physicality. That’s what lead me to Nio.

Volür (and/or Singularity or E12) and a ZMF headphone likely what I’m looking to add to the collection in the near-ish future / 2024.

 

[wazzupi]

Wow. We have a lot in common.

Lol, well the top two haven’t budged since NYC but mason FS was the one I kept going back to the most during SoCal.

 

[Damz87]

My Vote:

Campfire Trifecta
Campfire Bonneville
Fir Electron 12

Tally so far:

Elysian Annihilator x9
Fir Rn6 x9
Fir Xe6 x9
Campfire Audio Trifecta x8
Oriolus Traillii x8

VIsion Ears Phönix/LE x5
Subtonic Storm x3
FatFreq Maestro SE x3
Aroma Fei Wan x3
64 Audio a/u12t x3
Noble Audio Viking x3
Fir Electron 12 x3

Sennheiser ie600 x2
VE/AK Aura x2
Fitear DC TI x2
Empire Ears Raven x2
Aroma Thunder x2
Campfire Audio Bonneville x2
AüR Audio Neon Pro x2
Noble Ronin x2
Campfire Audio Supermoon x2
Vision Ears EXT x2
Nightjar Singularity x2
Vision Ears VEX x2

7th Acoustics Supernova
Dita Perpetua
Sennheiser ie900
Empire Ears Bravado MKii
IMR Acoustics Titan
IKKO OH5 Asgard
Penon 10th
Nostalgia Audio Camelot
UM Mest
Sound Rhyme SR8
Fitear TG334
Etymotic ER4XR
Thieaudio Monarch MKiii
634ears Miroak-II Cocobolo
Sound Rhyme DTE900
Empire/AK Odyssey
Empire Ears Legend Evo
Hyla Audio TE-5B
Plunge Audio Unity
Penon Serial
Elysian Diva
Aroma Jewel
64 Audio a/u18s
Simphonio P0
Canpur 622B
Final Audio E5000
Vision Ears VE8
AüR Audio Aurora
Night Oblivion Butastur
Campfire Andromeda Emerald Sea
Softears Turii Ti
MA Eclipse
64 Audio Fourte Blanc
KIwi Ears Cadenza
Symphonium Crimson
64 Audio u4s
Shure KSE-1200
Goldplanar GL-AMT16
Shure SE846
Kinera Imperial Loki
Unique Melody Mentor
Oriolus Szalayi
Custom Art Fibae 5

1. Subtonic Storm
2. FatFreq Grand Maestro
3. UM Multiverse Mentor

Impatiently waiting to hear Raven when my unit arrives, and I’m still contemplating an Amber Pearl so this list may change soon

 

[stacey]

Wow. We have a lot in common.

Haven't heard the FS, but the Viking and especially the Storm have been on my mind. I really like how the Storm sounds...I'll have to revisit the two at NYC .

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I think so too. It’s been years since I’ve heard u12t… I remember liking it but wanting more oomph and physicality. That’s what lead me to Nio.

Volür (and/or Singularity or E12) and a ZMF headphone likely what I’m looking to add to the collection in the near-ish future / 2024.

All good choices. The Singularity is so unique in how much subbass it can deliver while keeping the upper frequencies still in tact. Duality takes that to another level in terms of bass quantity and giving it even more clarity in treble. I believe that IEM is going to have a big impact in 2024.

ZMF is such an easy choice. Not only are they among the loveliest headphones in the industry, but their latest models have incredible tuning which their prior versions lacked. Would love for them to come up with a bass monster. You can turn many of the ZMF headphones into bassy sets with pad rolling. But, I mean a real bass head release would fill a gap in their line up. If Zach wanted to do it, I have no doubt he can. He has such a good ear and feel for technology. After all, with Caldera, he made a planar sound like a DD headphone and differentiated that headphone when the driver has less resolution that the top headphones in the industry. What a way to make something unique. He is such an artisan.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Haven't heard the FS, but the Viking and especially the Storm have been on my mind. I really like how the Storm sounds...I'll have to revisit the two at NYC .

Well, I imprinted on the Red Halo version of FS. And, I think that Amber Pearl takes that to another level. I really want Amber Pearl, but I am not fond of the $8000 price tag.

 

[wazzupi]

The main IEM that’s getting 90%+ of my listening time I’m not allowed to mention, but outside of that one my list is unchanged from last time:

1. Subtonic Storm
2. FatFreq Grand Maestro
3. UM Multiverse Mentor

Impatiently waiting to hear Raven when my unit arrives, and I’m still contemplating an Amber Pearl so this list may change soon

Tri









Fecta

 

[fabio19]

Haven't heard the FS, but the Viking and especially the Storm have been on my mind. I really like how the Storm sounds...I'll have to revisit the two at NYC .

Are Storm and Ragnar similar or compatible in your opinion?

 

[Damz87]

Tri









Fecta

I gave Trifecta another demo a few weeks ago and yeah, nothing’s really changed for me with that iem. Definitely not one I’d be willing to buy at its price point. But I’d like to try the new Chromatic series IEM’s when I get a chance.

 

[Rockwell75]

The main IEM that’s getting 90%+ of my listening time I’m not allowed to mention,

Upcoming release?

 

[Animagus]

Having read a lot of great things about Subtonic Storm, I thought I'll check how it graphs since I haven't been able to get my hands on a unit yet. Funnily it traces very close to my Preference Target. Hmmm....

 

[Damz87]

Upcoming release?

Yes

 

[MatW]

Having read a lot of great things about Subtonic Storm, I thought I'll check how it graphs since I haven't been able to get my hands on a unit yet. Funnily it traces very close to my Preference Target. Hmmm....

Hmmm ...

 

[Animagus]

Hmmm ...

Yeah why buy a Storm when one has a Buds2 Pro, lol!

I do like it though along with Sony XM4, which is much warmer. Those 2 are the ones I like out of all the TWS I've tried. Tonality is good but the technical performance is nowhere as good as even a Hana 2021 and the left to right separation and stage depth feels dam boxed in. They're okay for OTG use though I'm the guy who travels with CIEMs and they mostly serve as backups to use when going into crowded areas. Can't afford losing favourite CIEMs.

But there's something off with my Buds2 Pro graph as I hear it brighter than it graphs and brighter than my preference target too. Or maybe I don't get as good a fit for the bass shelf to transfer best. Buds series do have a quirky fit. Or maybe I need to graph it again properly.