[Sajid Amit]

In Manila, Philippines today for some work.

Because Andrew / @MusicTeck is a legend, he sent the Orpheus through the day I ordered so it could reach my friend in the US who met me in Manila today. Thus, I was able to avoid customs in my country which can be horrid and ridiculous.

Spent a bit of time today at a CD store in Greenhills Shopping Center in Manila, checking out some Japanese-pressed CDs which many audiophiles rave about.

Greenhills is a unique place. It sells pearls (fresh water / south sea) and hobbyist fare catering to toy collectors mostly. I don’t collect toys anymore but it was cool to see some 80s memorabilia, the likes of GI Joe and He-man.

Dozens of toy stores across several floors and an audio store sandwiched between all the toys selling Japanese-pressed CDs, Vinyl and audio cassettes!

Next I made my way to Egghead, the number one audiophile store in the Philippines for personal audio. I have earlier tried everything they had on display (and they had a lot!) and they didn’t have a demo unit of the Aura which I wanted to try.

But I was curious to try the iFi iCAN Phantom which can drive e-stats in addition to regular planars and dynamic drivers, so I got to do that.

It’s not a bad piece of kit the Phantom but it didn’t drive th Susvara all that well. It sounded narrow and unengaging. Maybe I don’t find the Susvara all that enjoyable anymore but it certainly sounded narrower stage-wise than I am used to with the Susvara.

However, the Stax 009 sounded quite good: much wider than the Sus and warmer and richer than I am used to. In fact, I really liked this pairing! Its not easy to get the pairing right with the 009 as the wrong chain can make it sound bright and sibilant.

I also tried their entire 64 audio line-up and I was reminded once again:

How safe a tuning the U12t is, to the point that I find it rather unengaging and underwhelming. YMMV.

The other 64 IEMs are decent at their respective price points if you buy them used.

I do want to try the Volour at some point but as of date, the Fourte Blanc remains my firm favorite in the 64 Audio lineup.

I also met Edrell Dy, a fellow HeaFier, and had an amazing time chatting to him about the Philippines, its cultural history, relations with Asian neighbors, the audiophile scene in PH, and his stories of trips to Japan and the insanity (in a good way) that is the Japanese audiophile ecosystem.

Lovely first day in Manila. Closing with a not-so-exotic meal for dinner.

 

[Valrhona]

In Manila, Philippines today for some work.

Because Andrew / @MusicTeck is a legend, he sent the Orpheus through the day I ordered so it could reach my friend in the US who met me in Manila today. Thus, I was able to avoid customs in my country which can be horrid and ridiculous.

Spent a bit of time today at a CD store in Greenhills Shopping Center in Manila, checking out some Japanese-pressed CDs which many audiophiles rave about.

Greenhills is a unique place. It sells pearls (fresh water / south sea) and hobbyist fare catering to toy collectors mostly. I don’t collect toys anymore but it was cool to see some 80s memorabilia, the likes of GI Joe and He-man.





Dozens of toy stores across several floors and an audio store sandwiched between all the toys selling Japanese-pressed CDs, Vinyl and audio cassettes!

Next I made my way to Egghead, the number one audiophile store in the Philippines for personal audio. I have earlier tried everything they had on display (and they had a lot!) and they didn’t have a demo unit of the Aura which I wanted to try.

But I was curious to try the iFi iCAN Phantom which can drive e-stats in addition to regular planars and dynamic drivers, so I got to do that.



It’s not a bad piece of kit the Phantom but it didn’t drive th Susvara all that well. It sounded narrow and unengaging. Maybe I don’t find the Susvara all that enjoyable anymore but it certainly sounded narrower stage-wise than I am used to with the Susvara.



However, the Stax 009 sounded quite good: much wider than the Sus and warmer and richer than I am used to. In fact, I really liked this pairing! Its not easy to get the pairing right with the 009 as the wrong chain can make it sound bright and sibilant.



I also tried their entire 64 audio line-up and I was reminded once again:

1. How safe a tuning the U12t is, to the point that I find it rather unengaging and underwhelming. YMMV.



The other 64 IEMs are decent at their respective price points if you buy them used.







I do want to try the Volour at some point but as of date, the Fourte Blanc remains my firm favorite in the 64 Audio lineup.

I also met Edrell Dy, a fellow HeaFier, and had an amazing time chatting to him about the Philippines, its cultural history, relations with Asian neighbors, the audiophile scene in PH, and his stories of trips to Japan and the insanity (in a good way) that is the Japanese audiophile ecosystem.

Lovely first day in Manila. Closing with a not-so-exotic meal for dinner.

Safe travels! Nice mixture of other interests along with audiophile paraphernalia! Keep the content coming!

 

[fejnomit]

Going from N7/C9 to N30LE, I hear it more of an upgrade and somewhere in between. They share similar characteristics but distinctive in their sound and focus – N7 being an exceptional 1BIT DSD player. Neither DAPs are "reference" sounding and Cayin's house/signature sound is colored though I hear N7/C9 less so compared to N30LE especially N30LE in Tube Classic.

From Andy:


N30LE's Triple Timbre – Tube Classic/Tube Modern/SS – and Hyper mode are its secret sauce and feature that N7/C9 can't replicate, especially Tube Classic and Tube Classic + Hyper mode where I hear a fuller warm colored body with natural, textured, analog tonality. N30LE in Tube Modern, I hear similarities to N7/C9 combo.

Unfortunately my N7/C9 stack and RS8 have getting less playtime where N30LE combines the best of all 3 into a single musically engaging DAP.

Those are very helpful comparisons, thank you. I love my RU7 and have an N7 incoming based on my love of the dongle, so of course the N30LE piqued my interest. My feelings right now are live with the N7 for a while and use the considerable savings over the N30LE to get two IEMs (!). Because heaven for bid I actually save the money ha ha....

 

[Smirk 24]

Those are very helpful comparisons, thank you. I love my RU7 and have an N7 incoming based on my love of the dongle, so of course the N30LE piqued my interest. My feelings right now are live with the N7 for a while and use the considerable savings over the N30LE to get two IEMs (!). Because heaven for bid I actually save the money ha ha....

Interesting that you purchased an N7 based on your love of the RU7. I did the same and bought an RS6 because of how much I liked the FC6.

I feel like dongles can be “gateway drugs” to DAPs and other higher priced offerings from a company.

I had a Questyle M15 dongle as well and it makes me look at their other products like CMA15/CMA18 favorably.

 

[deep2285]

Interesting that you purchased an N7 based on your love of the RU7. I did the same and bought an RS6 because of how much I liked the FC6.

I feel like dongles can be “gateway drugs” to DAPs and other higher priced offerings from a company.

I had a Questyle M15 dongle as well and it makes me look at their other products like CMA15/CMA18 favorably.

Have you paired the RS6 with an external amp?

It sounds great with AK 10 PA.

Now, thinking between RS8, DX 300 Max TI & N30LE

 

[Stu Paddasso]

In Manila, Philippines today for some work.

Because Andrew / @MusicTeck is a legend, he sent the Orpheus through the day I ordered so it could reach my friend in the US who met me in Manila today. Thus, I was able to avoid customs in my country which can be horrid and ridiculous.

Spent a bit of time today at a CD store in Greenhills Shopping Center in Manila, checking out some Japanese-pressed CDs which many audiophiles rave about.

Greenhills is a unique place. It sells pearls (fresh water / south sea) and hobbyist fare catering to toy collectors mostly. I don’t collect toys anymore but it was cool to see some 80s memorabilia, the likes of GI Joe and He-man.





Dozens of toy stores across several floors and an audio store sandwiched between all the toys selling Japanese-pressed CDs, Vinyl and audio cassettes!

Next I made my way to Egghead, the number one audiophile store in the Philippines for personal audio. I have earlier tried everything they had on display (and they had a lot!) and they didn’t have a demo unit of the Aura which I wanted to try.

But I was curious to try the iFi iCAN Phantom which can drive e-stats in addition to regular planars and dynamic drivers, so I got to do that.



It’s not a bad piece of kit the Phantom but it didn’t drive th Susvara all that well. It sounded narrow and unengaging. Maybe I don’t find the Susvara all that enjoyable anymore but it certainly sounded narrower stage-wise than I am used to with the Susvara.



However, the Stax 009 sounded quite good: much wider than the Sus and warmer and richer than I am used to. In fact, I really liked this pairing! Its not easy to get the pairing right with the 009 as the wrong chain can make it sound bright and sibilant.



I also tried their entire 64 audio line-up and I was reminded once again:

How safe a tuning the U12t is, to the point that I find it rather unengaging and underwhelming. YMMV.



The other 64 IEMs are decent at their respective price points if you buy them used.







I do want to try the Volour at some point but as of date, the Fourte Blanc remains my firm favorite in the 64 Audio lineup.

I also met Edrell Dy, a fellow HeaFier, and had an amazing time chatting to him about the Philippines, its cultural history, relations with Asian neighbors, the audiophile scene in PH, and his stories of trips to Japan and the insanity (in a good way) that is the Japanese audiophile ecosystem.

Lovely first day in Manila. Closing with a not-so-exotic meal for dinner.

Are you going to get a chance to check out FlipEars while you are in the Philippines?

 

[Smirk 24]

Have you paired the RS6 with an external amp?

It sounds great with AK 10 PA.

Now, thinking between RS8, DX 300 Max TI & N30LE

I have. The only amp I have is the Mass-Kobo 475 which sounds great with RS6. I've never tried AK 10 PA but it looks really nice. I'm liking the form factor.

 

[deep2285]

I have. The only amp I have is the Mass-Kobo 475 which sounds great with RS6. I've never tried AK 10 PA but it looks really nice. I'm liking the form factor.

I am thinking of RS8+475 or N30LE.

RS6 is so smooth, I am sure that it sound nothing short of fantastic with 475.

 

[Auricon]

Those are very helpful comparisons, thank you. I love my RU7 and have an N7 incoming based on my love of the dongle, so of course the N30LE piqued my interest.

It was a very unorganized stream of conscience on my phone, LOL, and could go in depth a bit more in the next couple of days.

My love for RS8 lead me to N7, where they share sound similarities – natural resolving and analog tonality with a very subtle coloring, big soundstage – with N7 having an edge in treble rendition – natural, revealing resolution and layering without brightness.

N7 was my go to when I was in the mood for slightly more details or local DSD playback where N7 excels. Not that RS8 doesn't excel in local DSD playback, N7 was designed for 1BIT DSD playback and PCM conversion/upscaling while bringing a variation Cayin's sound, tuning and technicals at a lower price point. Perhaps Cayin could have squeaked out a bit more amp power with N7 – it's not anemic with easy to drive IEMs and low impedance headphones but more juice is always appreciated.

N30LE is Cayin's "best of" in one while scaling up technical performance and Cayin's expert sound tuning. It has that natural resolving and analog tonality, dynamics and layering without analytical transparency, and variations of Cayin's sound and coloration with triple timbre modes.

My feelings right now are live with the N7 for a while and use the considerable savings over the N30LE to get two IEMs (!). Because heaven for bid I actually save the money ha ha....

Since you're enjoying N7, focus on your priorities and if N30LE is a preview of future Cayin's products, there's no rush to upgrade. I'm crossing my fingers for a C9mk2 with Tube Classic timbre

 

[CharlyBrown]

There has been a few mentions of hard to drive IEMs and then the output power of DAPs and their ability to drive them. I’m finding this topic quite interesting as I’m giving some thought to my pre-ordered Annihilator 2023.

When I was at Canjam I tried the Anni with my SP3000. I needed to turn the volume up on the Dap to 84, which is way beyond the level I need for all my other IEMs I’ve owned or tried. My concern then is whether the SP3K has the juice to do the Anni full credit, or whether I need to consider something like the Mass Kobo 475 to add to the chain, or even go for something like the RS8 or M9+, which I believe have a fair bit of power to drive certain IEMs.

I also use Anni in the same volume range 77-84 (out of 150). There is plenty headroom available and I'm not able to hear any difference with powerful external amps (e.g. Topping A90D).

Anni is still an IEM and it will be perfectly driven by the SP3000. As always YMMV....

 

[hAbIrAbI]

I like my SP3000 but I'm slowly getting over the A&K UI and restrictions.

I want a really neutral DAP with better amplification than the SP3000 and full app store access.

Maybe I should just go back to my N8ii.

 

[UnknownOperator]

Will Mezzo be good for Hip-Hop in comparison to Monaccha & E12?

I cannot speak to either that you mentioned as I’ve not heard them, but the Mezzo sounds really excellent with hip hop. I am a big Armand Hammer fan and I work the Backwoodz catalog into every listening session. The Mezzo is a great monitor for those records.

 

[aaf evo]

I also use Anni in the same volume range 77-84 (out of 150). There is plenty headroom available and I'm not able to hear any difference with powerful external amps (e.g. Topping A90D).

Anni is still an IEM and it will be perfectly driven by the SP3000. As always YMMV....

Have you tried Grand Maestro on a more powerful DAP? The SP3000 really doesn't do that IEM justice in terms of dynamics, but I do like the tonality from it but at the end of the day if you're happy with it as then that's all that matters.

 

[UnknownOperator]

Interesting that you purchased an N7 based on your love of the RU7. I did the same and bought an RS6 because of how much I liked the FC6.

I feel like dongles can be “gateway drugs” to DAPs and other higher priced offerings from a company.

I had a Questyle M15 dongle as well and it makes me look at their other products like CMA15/CMA18 favorably.

I did the same. RU7 to N7.

 

[Rockwell75]

Madoo 821
Acoustune HS2000mx
MMR Thummim

apologies for being so late !

All good I'm going to do a final tally close off the poll a bit later today.

Honestly, if you were in Singapore, I’m sure they would have given you a demo to tour. The people at Dita are a friendly bunch

That's a great idea I might reach out to them and ask.

I hope that when it comes to tuning, art always takes the first place as compared to science.

That is my hope too. At the end of the day variety is key-- there is room in this hobby for all forms of expression. That is what keeps it alive, inspiring and thriving.

Is it weird that I don't like tuning switches and interchangeable nozzles??

No, I don't like them either. I've owned a few IEMs with switches and tuning modules and I almost always find that it's the "stock" tuning option I prefer above all. I understand why manufacturers do that, it's a way to provide some variety and choice...but at the end of the day it's more of a novelty than anytihng else.

Trifecta is not available in Singapore

That is so strange considering SG is one of the world's audio meccas.

and getting it directly from CFA to India is very difficult.

Maybe XE6, RN6, E12 or Bonneville? Which one is the best choice for Hip Hop.

Xe6 or Bonneville IMHO...but I think Trifecta is sufficiently epic with hip hop that it's worth persisting a bit and trying to find a way to get your hands on one.

Hello
Does the bonneville sound close to the trifecta? Would like the trifecta but can only get CIEM so I’m looking for something close

There is nothing quite like Trifecta TBH...but I would be very surprised if anyone who loved Trifecta did not also love Bonneville.

I don’t collect toys anymore

Heh heh that's what we all say, and yet here we are. Walking around the show floor in SoCal last week looking at the joyful faces of (mostly) adult men hopping from one table to the next demoing to their hearts content it was hard not to regard the spectacle as ultimately a form of play. As high tech and expensive as it may be it's hard not to equate audio gear with "toys".