[haci]

Glad to see everyone enjoying the new releases and new expensive shiny toys. I personally went on a bit of a venture backwards to slightly older tech and gave the HiBy RS8 a try as I wanted something more "ToTL" for my Tesseract which i adore so much. So I gave it a try and personally am in love with it.

Did a full write up/impressions/review detailing my thoughts on it and how it's my new forever pair for the Tesseract despite all the totl stuff I've rolled them through. If you have time or are interested in the RS8 as a prospective buyer please take the time to read below and thanks to all here, as always! You're great

HiBy RS8 Review

Happy owner of RS8 here. The thing is almost alive, with devs adding new stuff even after it's launch (thanks @Joe Bloggs). The flexibility of it also allows for fine tuning to match different IEMs. My Raven for example can sound dull or very lively. And after DSD, 16/44.1 sounds a bit muddy -)

 

[Damz87]

That's my exit plan from the hobby (the Z1, not the headphone).

I’d suggest finding one sooner rather than later they’re becoming harder to come by since they’ve been discontinued, and they could end up being another Sony collectors piece.

 

[Animagus]

Hey guys! Here's my review of Custom Art's Hybrid 3 Pro 2DD + 1 Planar Driver hybrid IEM. Quite a nice addition to Custom Art's new lineup of IEMs. Even more fun to see the interesting driver configs they're experimenting with to tune some very interesting signatures and providing Knowles filter based tuning kits to fine tune the bass shelf to one's liking (which aren't the easiest to handle but do the job quite well). Enjoy the read! Let me know if you have any questions for me. Cheers!

Custom Art Hybrid 3 Pro

 

[fiascogarcia]

I’d suggest finding one sooner rather than later they’re becoming harder to come by since they’ve been discontinued, and they could end up being another Sony collectors piece.

My one little concern is whether anyone can service mine if it ever needed repair? Do you have any idea?

 

[bigbeans]

My one little concern is whether anyone can service mine if it ever needed repair? Do you have any idea?

AFAIK there is no support for servicing at this point, it would be DIY. TBH, I've never owned or encountered a gear so well engineered. While the possibility is there, it is very remote in the foreseeable future. When my unit inevitably fails, there will be another totl gear I can buy or perhaps I'll be dead.

 

[aaf evo]

AFAIK there is no support for servicing at this point, it would be DIY. TBH, I've never owned or encountered a gear so well engineered. While the possibility is there, it is very remote in the foreseeable future. When my unit inevitably fails, there will be another totl gear I can buy or perhaps I'll be dead.

…. And just like that my desire to ever own a DMP Z1 has completely disappeared. Are you sure there’s no servicing? For a company as large as Sony that seems strange.

 

[Damz87]

AFAIK there is no support for servicing at this point, it would be DIY. TBH, I've never owned or encountered a gear so well engineered. While the possibility is there, it is very remote in the foreseeable future. When my unit inevitably fails, there will be another totl gear I can buy or perhaps I'll be dead.

It can still be serviced. Sony Australia confirmed servicing will continue for another 7 years when I enquired in March when they marked it as discontinued on their site.

 

[bigbeans]

It can still be serviced. Sony Australia confirmed servicing will continue for another 7 years when I enquired in March when they marked it as discontinued on their site.

Ah ok my bad! Thanks for clarifying.

I've used Sony products that last 20 yrs+ without needing to be sent in for repair. Since battery health isn't much of a concern (due to shunting and cutoff charge), any repair would likely come down to screen malfunction or capacitor faults.

 

[Damz87]

Ah ok my bad! Thanks for clarifying.

I've used Sony products that last 20 yrs+ without needing to be sent in for repair. Since battery health isn't much of a concern (due to shunting and cutoff charge), any repair would likely come down to screen malfunction or capacitor faults.

Sony

Just recently I had one my CD Walkman lasers stop reading after 20-ish years. Can’t complain about that sort of lifespan for a portable music device

 

[bigbeans]

Sony

Just recently I had one my CD Walkman lasers stop reading after 20-ish years. Can’t complain about that sort of lifespan for a portable music device

Indeed! I'm sure if the laser was replaced, it would still function perfectly. Sony electronics (particularly high end ones) refuse to quit.

It's tempting to go hop on eBay and create a chain of high end vintage Sony gear, relive the old days. This one tugs at my heart strings SONY SCD1

 

[fiascogarcia]

Just arrived and fresh out of the box. You know, I'm really going to miss that kidney.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

@Sajid Amit

Have you received your Aroma Fei Wan yet? Would love to hear your impressions. I assume you’ll do a full video review?

The Fei Wan is at the of my list for most intrigued by…minus the aesthetics.

 

[Stu Paddasso]

Just arrived and fresh out of the box. You know, I'm really going to miss that kidney.

Kidneys are overrated! /s

 

[Ike1985]

Crystals aren't so bad. I didn't like the Xelastec's for that reason but crystals are the perfect texture and nicest fitting/feeling tips I've tried. I just got another pack in the mail today actually.



No love for Traillii, Amber Pearl or Phonix LE? I would take any of those 3 over Storm or Fei Wan personally. Mind you Amber Pearl needs to cool down on the used market a bit as the MSRP is truly insane.

In other news here are the tabulated votes over the course of one year (5 polls) of our "Top 3". I rated them by average because some IEM achieved their scores over 3 polls, some 4 and some all 5.

Rn6 x51 av: 17
Traillii x71 av: 14.2
Xe6 x 70 av: 14
Trifecta x48 av: 9.6
Mentor x47 av: 9.4
Viking x40 av: 8
Storm x31 av: 7.75
Annihilator x37 av: 7.4
IER Z1R x35 av: 7
Jewel x32 av: 6.4
Phönix x31 av: 6.2

A nice mix of 'East & West' here. Singapore, Malaysia, China, Japan, Germany, US all represented.

AP and Phonix LE just aren't that easy to demo for most people.

@Sajid Amit Still waiting for that Hugo2 vs Sony comparison. = P

Can anyone who has heard both Fei Wan and Amber Pearl confirm that they are similar, that Fei Wan is a similar signature but with DD bass? I seem to have heard something to that effect.

 

[rocketron]

Indeed! I'm sure if the laser was replaced, it would still function perfectly. Sony electronics (particularly high end ones) refuse to quit.

It's tempting to go hop on eBay and create a chain of high end vintage Sony gear, relive the old days. This one tugs at my heart strings SONY SCD1

Owned one of these for over 14 years.
It never missed a beat.

My biggest Hifi regret selling it.