[Auricon]

A man spent 3 weeks with the gold. Quite enjoyed it.

I go gold too when paired with ET Aeneid

 

[Rockwell75]

Aroma Audio Fei Wan (4.7k USD)

There was some shout on certain tracks.

There's a large peak somewhere that adds definition to the leading edge of guitar plucks but also adds harshness that I found unpleasant.

Lastly, I have some build concerns with the resin shells. I think Fei Wan could have benefitted from using a sturdier material for the shells.

Based on my limited impressions at this point I would agree with these 3 points. I tried Fei Wan a couple times (with my LP6 and with the Cayin N30) and found it a little fatiguing up top-- though I could not pinpoint if it was coming from the upper mids or treble. I will get a more substantial demo of it soon and I'm very excited for that. I have always found the shell material of Aroma's universals quite cheap feeling. I'm surprised this isn't discussed more given the price.

Odin went from extremely hyped, and respected to extremely underrated within the last year lol not sure what happened, but when I had it, I really did love it Definitely a mind blowing iem

For me Odin has always been something of a niche IEM given its upper mid tuning. IMHO the "u12t is the end all be-all" crew of influencers overhyped it somewhat. IMHO it's not unlike the CFA Trifecta in that it's a really extreme expression of a certain type of tuning that will appeal extraordinarily to some, and be quite off putting to others. I think it deserves a spot among the "classics" in that it still appeals to many and there really isn't anything else out there that tops it on its own terms.

From now on IEMs should not be released if companies are not willing to provide 2 review samples, 1 for the watercooler US tour and one for the EU tour.

I would endorse this wholeheartedly lol

Trifecta is a highly divisive IEM. People either love it or hate it. The haters are so obsessed with it that they will go out of their way to bash it. I actually don't understand that mentality. When compared say to UE Premier, which is an objectively (by its measurements) bad IEM, the same people do not feel the same need to ensure that their negative opinion of it is broadly known. The people who love it have their specific reasons for it. I own one and I love it. I love its grand stage, slow drivers and classic sound. I like it as a specialist IEM for listening primarily to classic rock because it takes me back to a time when I heard this music on pretty bad systems. Will it become a classic itself? Maybe, who knows. The recent water cooler polls suggests that there is a market for it. It is pricey for the sound it offers. I love it because it works for an important part of my library and it is different and I put a high value on unique qualities that I like.

I agree with most of this. I don't feel it deserves to be singled out for its price any more than similarly priced IEMs like Odin, Evo or Fourte-- or really any of the summit tier priced IEMs, all of whose pricing could be considered highly dubious to the vast majority of people who participate in this hobby. As I mentioned earlier this week value is among the most subjective elements of this highly subjective hobby. To me Trifecta has more than its share of "TOTL traits" and imho earns its bread and butter if for no other reason than that there isn't anytihng out there at any price that is like it. If you hate it, fair enough, but if you love it nothing else right now will cut it. Just my $.02.

For me, the midrange was the unequivocal star which is what I meant by "mid-centric". It wasn't intended as commentary on its FR.

FWIW I use the term "mid centric" in exactly that way. It's less about positioning and more about where my attention is drawn.

Yes, storm has no dd pretty wild how Amber Pearl and storm sit on the throne without one

What throne is that?

"Is it worth the price? Is anything worth the price?!"

- @Sajid Amit

+1

 

[Valrhona]

I go gold too when paired with ET Aeneid

How was it?

 

[Huckle]

thanks a lot for your advice. I will therefore also consider the YATONO ULTIMATE. ( 4w or 8w ?)

Out of the two you mention, I only got experience with the 4w. It will slightly tame down hot trebles while massively expand the soundstage and add texture to the whole frequency range. Frankly it's stunning. Their brand new shirogane flagship is a personal target of mine

 

[deep2285]

I go gold too when paired with ET Aeneid

Beautiful

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Based on my limited impressions at this point I would agree with these 3 points. I tried Fei Wan a couple times (with my LP6 and with the Cayin N30) and found it a little fatiguing up top-- though I could not pinpoint if it was coming from the upper mids or treble. I will get a more substantial demo of it soon and I'm very excited for that. I have always found the shell material of Aroma's universals quite cheap feeling. I'm surprised this isn't discussed more given the price.



For me Odin has always been something of a niche IEM given its upper mid tuning. IMHO the "u12t is the end all be-all" crew of influencers overhyped it somewhat. IMHO it's not unlike the CFA Trifecta in that it's a really extreme expression of a certain type of tuning that will appeal extraordinarily to some, and be quite off putting to others. I think it deserves a spot among the "classics" in that it still appeals to many and there really isn't anything else out there that tops it on its own terms.



I would endorse this wholeheartedly lol



I agree with most of this. I don't feel it deserves to be singled out for its price any more than similarly priced IEMs like Odin, Evo or Fourte-- or really any of the summit tier priced IEMs, all of whose pricing could be considered highly dubious to the vast majority of people who participate in this hobby. As I mentioned earlier this week value is among the most subjective elements of this highly subjective hobby. To me Trifecta has more than its share of "TOTL traits" and imho earns its bread and butter if for no other reason than that there isn't anytihng out there at any price that is like it. If you hate it, fair enough, but if you love it nothing else right now will cut it. Just my $.02.



FWIW I use the term "mid centric" in exactly that way. It's less about positioning and more about where my attention is drawn.



What throne is that?



+1

The throne meaning the top sets money can buy judging from impressions hype, and what I’ve seen people saying about them. Basically if money is no object the Amber Pearl, and subatomic storm are the two sets on top based on people’s opinions so far but of course I need to get my ears on them

 

[DaveStarWalker]

Noble Vicking Ragnar (full damascus steel version) too so...

7000 bucks if I am right

And I not mind the name, an exclusive and elusive full metal iem (hum titanium or silver, I don't remember) made by Fitear.

10000 bucks...

Etc.

 

[Rockwell75]

The throne meaning the top sets money can buy judging from impressions hype, and what I’ve seen people saying about them. Basically if money is no object the Amber Pearl, and subatomic storm are the two sets on top based on people’s opinions so far but of course I need to get my ears on them

I think those two sets are certainly among the top sets money can buy at the moment (and in the case of AP possibly the most that can be spent on an IEM currently on the market) but I don't think they have at this point rightfully claimed the throne above everything else out there right now-- if for no other reason than the comparitively limited number of people who have heard them.

 

[tjzurlaaa]

I think those two sets are certainly among the top sets money can buy at the moment (and in the case of AP possibly the most that can be spent on an IEM currently on the market) but I don't think they have at this point rightfully claimed the throne above everything else out there right now-- if for no other reason than the comparitively limited number of people who have heard them.

Yeah there is no throne .. throne is a stretch

 

[waveSounds]

I want to say a sincere, heartfelt and resounding thank you to the vast amount of you who responded with such open kindness to my previous post here. Life has been tough for me, but it is on an upward trajectory. I'm not going to deviate into another lengthy number again, but will talk to the core subject of this thread; iems and (more recently) headphones.

I still follow all the chat here - at the indomitable pace that it occurs! - and find all of your opinions invaluable, especially as a Brit where getting hands on with many of these i(t)ems is more challenging. It's definitely got better over the last few years with places like Elise Audio, Hifonix, and Audio Sanctuary, but they require not insignificant travel, and frankly, it's easier to just sit on my butt and read this thread from ears far more seasoned than my own. So thanks again, chaps, for that.

The other day the a piece of my trusty ol' SE846's left shell decided it'd had enough, after almost 6 years of daily beating, of being part of a whole and turned into a startling debris of ejecta. I managed to patch her up with superglue, but it was a prophetic signal that the time when they will disintegrate beyond my haphazard repair abilities is nearer than it is far. My heart skipped a beat when I first saw the Volür and their hypnotic, resplendent Paua shells, and has since locked onto their being the eventual successor to my aging Shures. Rockwell's show impressions upon them cast a brief ripple of doubt into my pearlescent waters of desire - because his preferences seemed to align with my own - but gLer's restored the tilted equilibrium with his review as I'm all about that bass (some treble). I'd be keen to hear of any more Cooler's opine some on them as I haven't seen them much discussed amongst the more immediate crowning jewels as the Fai Wan, AP and the FiRries (sorry Auricon, had to steal that one from you).

I also noticed more of a trend rising lately to discussions about full sized cans, particularly from Meze with the Empy and Elite. I can't blame anyone for that. As far as industrial design and fastidious attention to detail, everything about their products has overtly been brought to life through a pure, frenzied passion for what they do. My father has recently got into head-fi and just this morning I was over at this helping him order a Meze Liric, the partnering copper upgrade cable and an iBasso DX320. It should be getting delivered to mine tomorrow while he's out of town for a few days, maybe I'll just open them to ensure they all arrived in good order... and plug them in to make sure both drivers, cable and DAP are functioning as expected... No! I guess 'll have to get my wife to hide them because the devil that is temptation will inevitably increase its proximity to my ear in equal amounts that the packages are to me.

Hm, I genuinely intended this to be a short post so I'll wrap up before it turns into (even more of) a monolithic wall of text. As much as I have loved, and still love, the 846, as a connoisseur of visceral bass it simply falls orders of magnitude short in comparison to the head-massaging that my TH900 can deliver, and I'd love to get closer to this experience with my iems as I'm able to use the latter 80% of the time I have available for listening. Incidentally, a set of Eikon lambskin leather (non-perforated) arrived earlier this morning to replace the Yaxi Alcantara pads I was using, and well, I'd better leave this picture of me sporting the setup as the these Eikon pads augment the bass from mere massaging, to head-pulping levels, whilst adding an extra dose of warmth to the mids. Bliss.

 

[Simpeler]

Yeah there is no throne .. throne is a stretch

Indeed there is no throne (if you take Trifecta out of the conversation ofc )

 

[Rockwell75]

Indeed there is no throne (if you take Trifecta out of the conversation ofc )

I have always rejected the idea of a "one to rule them all" or "all things to all people" sort of IEM-- there are simply too many tastes, preferences, types of music etc. out there. I would argue there is a table around which a number of different IEMs sit, each of which represent a somewhat distinct presentation or sonic ideal. I think our polls, especially when looked at over time, do a good job of representing the TOTL market this way. I look forward to the next one where newer IEMs like Fei Wan, Amber Pearl (and others), having been around for a bit at that point, get to stake their place in the mix.

 

[fabio19]

For the Metal Heads! This new EP is insane! A must listen for any metal fan.



And believe it or not, it sounds full and impressive out of an earbud! Blast Beats and all!! The Mighty Black Dragon

I have always followed Spiritbox. My favourite song is :

 

[tjzurlaaa]

I have always rejected the idea of a "one to rule them all" or "all things to all people" sort of IEM-- there are simply too many tastes, preferences, types of music etc. out there. I would argue there is a table around which a number of different IEMs sit, each of which represent a somewhat distinct presentation or sonic ideal. I think our polls, especially when looked at over time, do a good job of representing the TOTL market this way. I look forward to the next one where newer IEMs like Fei Wan, Amber Pearl (and others), having been around for a bit at that point, get to stake their place in the mix.

Agreed that’s why I try to make my collection as diverse as possible . Love having different flavors to choose from based on my mood

 

[tjzurlaaa]

For a quick random question would getting a violetric v550 And connecting it to my Sony dap scale even more potential out of my iems or will the Sony dap on its own be a better option and I’m just wasting money getting a crazy amp ??