[RonaldS86]

Hidition iems are pretty solid. Despite increased competition from chi-fi they still stand firm for their quality.

Not the biggest fan of Violet but it has really impressive BA bass. Powerful, deep, extended. Still my top BA bass choice.
BTW look at those shells, they look really aesthetic imo.

Whoah that's a gorgeous looking shell and I like the color. The font used on that faceplate remind me of this

 

[Valrhona]

Hidition iems are pretty solid. Despite increased competition from chi-fi they still stand firm for their quality.

Not the biggest fan of Violet but it has really impressive BA bass. Powerful, deep, extended. Still my top BA bass choice.
BTW look at those shells, they look really aesthetic imo.

Hidition have beautiful shells!
However, a man doesn't see much discussion about Hidition IEMs.
Perhaps he has missed the bus.

 

[drftr]

A big problem with especially classical music is the extreme dynamics. Over the past weeks I've been listening to Gustav Mahler's Das Klagende Lied which I enjoy at a loudness level that is just right throughout the work. BUT it ends with an incredible timpani hit that blows my skull off my neck. Whaddoyoudo? Lower the volume just in time? Or except 2 horrendous seconds? I've been choosing for the last scenario as I simply want to enjoy the music without touching my gear all the time (album lover here). But I do think this is much more dangerous with IEMs than 2 channel setups or anything else.

Worse still is probably any piercing loud dynamics in high frequencies that occur in many genres. Not sure about the correctness of this thought though.

EDIT: except? Err... accept. But then again I'm not @metaljem77...

drftr

 

[dkar]

Quick question for Canadians ordering from Musicteck. I’ve always used DHL in the past and have had to pay $23 or so in fees. Has anyone used UPS World? It’s $21 cheaper for shipping but I haven’t used UPS for cross border stuff in ages as they used to gouge horribly. Have they gotten better or do I spend the $56 + $23 for DHL?

I did a recent order from Musicteck with UPS to Ontario. You’ll likely end up paying ~$40-$50 in brokerage fees + custom fees based on the amount Musicteck lists on the customs declaration form.

 

[yaps66]

You almost single-handed piqued my interest in IE900 since quite a few people mentioned that they cannot even handle IE900 in their ears for more than two minutes.

IE900 is an iem that I really had no interest in at all. But enough people had talked about it that I had to hear it for myself at CanJam Singapore. I was blown away but how much I liked the IE900 and it is now part of my collection. No regrets! I think seal is key in ensuring you are hearing it at its full potential. Finding the right tip is key and for me it is Divinus Velvets.

I wanted to comment on this post again. You are quite right to point out that the prices of summit fi IEMs have gone off the rails in recent years. I also think you correctly point out that exclusivity is a motivation for some-- this is practically a truism and an intrinsic part of human nature. However the tone of your post here crosses a line and seems to strike a resentful tone towards those who, for whatever reason, choose to indulge themselves in the highest price tiers of IEMs. This is not the first time you have done this in this thread and I am respectfully asking you to stop it. There are inumerable audio communities out there where people love to cast aspersions at the cost and value of high end IEMs and stroke themselves into believing that those of us who partake in the same are deluded or lost in lala land. The fact is that the folks who comprise this community are by and large educated professionals who can keep their own council around how they spend their money, where they perceive value to be and where to invest their money in order to receive a proportional amount of joy and satisfaction. We don't need folks who don't see the value, or who are butt hurt they can't partake-- to come in here and stomp their feet, whine out loud, and tell us how we should or should not be spending our money. If that's your thing go to Reddit or one of the more budget oriented threads on Head Fi. This is a community where all are welcome but as in any community proper ettiquette demands that when visiting you use tact and respect established norms and values. I hope this post strikes you in the right spirit. I have appreciated your contributions in the past, and am prepared to do so in the future-- but kindly stop these resentful and dismissive posts around the perceived value of high end IEMs. The market can and will correct itself eventually-- and until it does we should all just be grateful that we're living through an era where there are endgame qulaity products on just about every conceivable price tier.

Thanks Jeff for taking the time to write up such a thoughtful and thought provoking piece that seeks to maintain the civility and comaradarie that the Cooler is known for. Writing in a measured tone as you always do requires so much more effort than simply your feelings, unfiltered. Thank you!

Since you have detected a gap in the market, open up your own shop and compete. Follow in TGX Ear’s footsteps, offer superb sound quality at superb prices. As you know, it takes no skill to complain and whine.


But of course, you won’t actually contribute to the market. Virtue signaling is more your game.

Had to look up “virtue signaling”!

For me, unbalanced hp out and micro usb in 2023 are a no-go.

I don’t really understand the Chord hate. My M scaler and Dave combo is insane in terms of audio quality. The best I’ve ever heard, and I feel blessed to be able to listen to it every day. But it’s great to have options. Plenty of alternatives if you don’t like Chord.

I love your English

I have the TT2 and I love it! My journey with the TT2 is not unlike my journey with the Traillii. It did very little for me on the beginning. The more I listen to it, the more I am drawn to its sound. Yes, it is quirky. I love it!

 

[Lumithium]

Early impressions but I quite like the tuning of Kinera Imperial Loki.

I think it hits the sweet spot for where to start the bass boost. There is more mid bass / lower mids compared to GM, but not so much that the overall sound becomes noticeably warm. For rock music, I honestly prefer this over GM. It is just more fun sounding to me, while maintaining good clarity etc.

The biggest problem is the jack for me. It is a very tight fit. Maybe it is just an Effect Audio thing.

 

[SBranson]

would personally still avoid ups like the plague

I did a recent order from Musicteck with UPS to Ontario. You’ll likely end up paying ~$40-$50 in brokerage fees + custom fees based on the amount Musicteck lists on the customs declaration form.

Thanks. That’s what I figured

 

[Rockwell75]

Does anyone own both Storm and Annihilator 2023? I’m looking for something easier to drive to use with LP6 / P6Pro, and I have never tried Annihilator.
Would love to know if it would be similar , redundant or way too different from Storm’s presentation, which I am very accustomed and attached to.

Thanks!

I think what you want is the Canpur 622B...it's like Storm with BCD.

Hidition have beautiful shells!
However, a man doesn't see much discussion about Hidition IEMs.
Perhaps he has missed the bus.

It's not that you missed the bus...there probably was no bus. Hidition is a Korean company that has been around for years. Unfortunately they have no international presence at all so unless you go to Korea or are willing to navigate their somewhat impenetrable website chances are you won't have access to their IEMs.

Thanks Jeff for taking the time to write up such a thoughtful and thought provoking piece that seeks to maintain the civility and comaradarie that the Cooler is known for. Writing in a measured tone as you always do requires so much more effort than simply your feelings, unfiltered. Thank you!

Cheers my friend!

 

[AEIOU9]

#1: Like others mentioned earlier, FitEar IEM’s have also eluded me and they’re definitely one brand I want to tick off the bucket list when I (hopefully) go to SG next year for CanJam. The other one that’s virtually unobtainable for me is the Sony JustEar CIEMs. I would absolutely love to try those, especially the one that’s specifically tuned for DMP-Z1.

#2: Well, I’ve got 2 IEM’s incoming that I’m excited for so they should see me out to the end of 2023. Loki arrives tomorrow and Fei Wan hopefully later in the week.

The next one after those would be Raven, whenever that becomes readily available.

On the topic of Fei Wan, I got my design customised and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.


I’m planning to pair FW with my Eletech Sonnet of Adam cable so I wanted to retain the stock faceplate, but switched out the purple logos to black to match the SoA’s colour. Also changed the shells to clear as I wasn’t a huge fan of the yellow.

Nice design! That will mesh nicely with the SoA cable.

Personally, I’m taking a leap of faith on the blue hour cable from Nightjar after reading a few other impressions on what it did for Fei Wan.

I did demo the SoA with Fei Wan and thought it was a good combo that improved technical performance without significantly altering the sound signature. I’m just hoping I get that with Blue Hour for less money!

 

[newworld666]

As I did these last 4 years some few forwards and backwards with my 2 portable combos, I would still call nowadays as my personal portable sound quality reference which are based on NW-WM1A and IER-Z1R or on FIIO M17 and DCA Stealth , I am wondering, if someone in more or less the same mood as I am (still convinced WM1A & Z1R is, end of 2023, still a kind of very solid sound quality reference) would recommend me a more up to date with real step forward combo on various points.

Basically, I am wondering if on the market we could get some more features like :
1) to improve the WM1A on some real streaming capabilities (Qobuz without using the BT LDAC receiver mode)
2) at least keep the option to adapt the sound quality to our mood from time to time with some software like poweramp EQ (android 12+).
3) if possible, some more instant power to be compatible with difficult planars like DCA Stealth while keeping 16 hours or more battery playing time (for SD Qobuz off-line playlists or personal Hires files). My FIOO M17 is somewhere too bulky and heavy, and the WM1A not powerful enough for a planar.
4) go to some new tech IEMs with a real step forward from IER-Z1R for sound quality .. with maybe more catchable details in low frequencies, mids and highs, more mid low frequencies impacts, some improvement in stage depth (maybe comparable to DCA Stealth SQ , even if it is not perfect too)..
5) maybe some usefull or just fancy amp types options (SS, Tubes, Class A, ...) if it is really worth to try these, when, basically, I am not really looking for anything not with really "neutral" sound and a realistic tonality.

So in short, is there anyone here with solid Sony's experience and love, who have an experience to reach another level with some more recent tech portable combo ?

 

[linux4ever]

As I did these last 4 years some few forwards and backwards with my 2 portable combos, I would still call nowadays as my personal portable sound quality reference which are based on NW-WM1A and IER-Z1R or on FIIO M17 and DCA Stealth , I am wondering, if someone in more or less the same mood as I am (still convinced WM1A & Z1R is, end of 2023, still a kind of very solid sound quality reference) would recommend me a more up to date with real step forward combo on various points.

Basically, I am wondering if on the market we could get some more features like :
1) to improve the WM1A on some real streaming capabilities (Qobuz without using the BT LDAC receiver mode)
2) at least keep the option to adapt the sound quality to our mood from time to time with some software like poweramp EQ (android 12+).
3) if possible, some more instant power to be compatible with difficult planars like DCA Stealth while keeping 16 hours or more battery playing time (for SD Qobuz off-line playlists or personal Hires files). My FIOO M17 is somewhere too bulky and heavy, and the WM1A not powerful enough for a planar.
4) go to some new tech IEMs with a real step forward from IER-Z1R for sound quality .. with maybe more catchable details in low frequencies, mids and highs, more mid low frequencies impacts, some improvement in stage depth (maybe comparable to DCA Stealth SQ , even if it is not perfect too)..
5) maybe some usefull or just fancy amp types options (SS, Tubes, Class A, ...) if it is really worth to try these, when, basically, I am not really looking for anything not with really "neutral" sound and a realistic tonality.

So in short, is there anyone here with solid Sony's experience and love, who have an experience to reach another level with some more recent tech portable combo ?

Sony WM1AM2 meets the first 2 points on your list and to some extent #3. WM1AM2 can drive the power hungry Fatfreq MSE when it is pushed to the max volume (and with no distortion)

 

[AEIOU9]

Sunday afternoon with Fei Wan. Doing my usual DESD (Daily Eardrums Self Destruct)

Woah…I was just listening to Fei Wan on a N30LE last night same setting but my volume was capped at 18….

 

[salwani8888]

First impressions after an evening listening to DC-Elite.... sounds 'fast' (which may not be everybody's thing), excellent detail retrieval, dynamic/punchy. Bass is tight and controlled, mids sound balanced & highs have a nice sparkle. Sounds way better than its size would imply. I haven't compared side by side to Ru7 yet, but from memory, RU7, isnt as clean/good in the bass, details, or dynamics. But RU7 has a nice flow with music. Compared to SR35, DC-Elite bass is tighter, and FR sounds more balanced. Overall, capable, fun & engaging.

 

[Rockwell75]

A reminder to everyone to take our year end poll. Still lots of time left but I'm hoping everyone participates. We're sitting at nearly 50 responses so far and I'm hoping to break the previous record of 153. More submissions = better data. We can do this

 

[Junmoe62]

Weekend survey question 1: What is a brand or IEM or piece of gear that has continued to elude you through the years?

Survey question 2: What item is #1 on your radar as we close out 2023?

Hi!

#1 :
Traluscent. Never managed to demo a set from this brand despite living in china for many years. I’d love to try the legendary unicorn that is the Traluscent Gen 3.

#2 :
‘The IEM that’s itching my wallet the most right now is the Rosenkranz Silver HB Ruthenium plated. You guys may remember me posting about the Rosenkranz Silver KA Gold, which is probably the most expensive single DD on the market at a whooping $8500 monitors only. The Silver HB is the model just below at $6500.
I managed to demo those 2 this weekend!!
‘I’ll try to post some quick impressions when I find the time!

Cheers,

Julien