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

[tjzurlaaa]

A few things...

First off I have deviant tastes that are often out of sync with various norms of this hobby

Second, sure it was somewhat "meh" to me but 1) I only heard it briefly at CanJam and 2) as Deezel said it goes for a tuning that is a little skewed towards monitoring and accuracy than warmth and engagement so my not jumping up and down in excitement for it is generally consistent with my tastes.

Third, I did much prefer VEX at CanJam for reasons that Deezel described but as far as our "group" at CanJam went I was alone in this. Many luminaries-- including @bigbeans and @HiFiHawaii808 much preferred the Aura and were not as fond of the VEX.

Fourth, by its very nature it has the sort of tuning that reveals itself only slowly-- so it might be one of those IEMs that is consistently loved for years and whose reputation only grows.

Fifth, there was some heavy competitiion in SoCal-- like Amber Pearl and Fei Wan-- that, I would say for good reason, somewhat overshadowed Aura.

Sixth, as Evo said the collab/special edition factor is a turn off for some who would prefer a more "pure" product.

Lastly as I said earlier there has been a lot of strong praise for the Aura and in this climate where we're oversaturated with great options I think it's doing rather well considering.

Appreciate the response Very well explained certain sets that hit the soul for any of us deserve the push so that our experience can be shared and related with other people (hence where I’m coming from with aura)

 

[salwani8888]

mesmerising tune & recording

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Ah there’s one for the original ones from a few brands online.

Ground pin on the 4.4 isn’t soldered on the Sony DAPs for some reason. This just fixes that, better dynamics.

I actually really like that thing I use it for my gold brick as well The difference is subtle but appreciated.

 

[CharlyBrown]

Ah there’s one for the original ones from a few brands online.

Ground pin on the 4.4 isn’t soldered on the Sony DAPs for some reason. This just fixes that, better dynamics.

Seriously?

 

[timeslip]

The WM1Z is an absolute joy to look at and hold. Everything about oozes style, refinement, class and perfection. The most amazing thing off the bat is how insanely low the noise floor is-- I think this fact alone adds an extra layer of resolution to whatever I plug into it. Synergy with Perpetua, and I'm starting to suspect all DD IEMs is a thing to behold-- smooth, weighty, natural and refined with a natural warmth and timbre that is to die for.

I recently switched back to the WM1ZM2 after using the N30LE AP for the past few weeks, and I forget how much lighter it feels in my hand as well as the increase in battery life as well as how fast the battery charges. I'm not sure what I would do with 2 DAPS, but it feels hard to let it go too.

 

[Deezel177]

Eh I feel it’s a little overlooked, especially with the big names in the hobby Such as yourself that heard it briefly at Canjam and gave it a meh impression but especially reviewers I haven’t seen one besides Steve, from boom audio and twister .. in my opinion it deserves an extra slap on the butt into the spotlight

As others have said, its perceived lack of coverage pretty much stems from the fact that it's an A&K collab. They don't tend to have lots of demo units floating around, they don't send a ton of units (or any at all, even) to reviewers. I believe Alex Twister's review was of a loaned demo unit from MusicTeck. It's just like every other one of their collabs. So, if anyone's to blame for the Aura being overlooked, it's A&K themselves.

Love your descriptions though and kind of miss your reviews. Your choice of words always kind of made sense to me.

I mainly relied on yours & Twister’s reviews when I first started this hobby.

Thanks, man! I'll be making a brief return to reviewing with the Bellos Audio X4 (albeit one that'll be geared more towards pros and performers). I'm still very apprehensive towards returning to audiophile reviews. But, as they say, never say never.

 

[Rockwell75]

I have already changed my mind about what Desert Island IEMs. Good thing I didn't get stranded there yet.

Just to confirm, we revise our by submitting a complete new YE survey, along with our HF handle?

Yup and I can just delete the earlier response.

 

[Frankie D]

I think I had this same issue with Volur with perhaps overly high expectations, the 64 audio clan were hyping the bass to be the next greatest thing since the wheel and I came away leaving more impressed with the Fei Wan's dual DD bass or the Storm's BA bass implementation instead. I went back and demo'd it several times at CanJam and I just couldn't gel with it at all and found myself preferring the Nio.

The 64 Audio thread can be a hype machine. Once the hype dies down, the IEMs fall off the map. Their classics remain their best.

 

[Rockwell75]

The 64 Audio thread can be a hype machine. Once the hype dies down, the IEMs fall off the map. Their classics remain their best.

Cough cough OG Fourte cough cough

 

[Junmoe62]

Hi Cooler fam’!

Last weekend I had the privilege to demo one more time what appears to be the most expensive single DD iems currently on the market! The Rosenkranz Silver HB Ruthenium which retails for $6500 (it’s the first time I actually try this one) and the Rosenkranz Silver KA 18k Gold which is a fat $8500!

These are sold monitors only, so no cable, ear tips or any other accessories.

These are not for demo in the shop but a customer from this store who recently purchased both of them as well as a special version of the Yatono cable (it appears to be a prototype) was kind enough to let me try his goodies, big thanks to him!!

The bank account wrecking trio :

The silver HB Ruthenium :
I love the look of these! So beautiful in black! My favorite. The pictures don’t do them justice! This set is actually the last ruthenium (black) made. It’s now only available for purchase in Rhodium (silver color), 18k Gold or Rose Gold.

Here is the Silver KA (the $8500 one), only available in Rhodium and 18k Gold :

It’s not very clear on the pictures but they are mostly matte with a mirror polished frame around the faceplate. Really cool!
Build quality is top notch and for the price it’d better be, right?!!!
Those sets are a bit hefty but not bad. They’re also very small in today’s TOTL standards.

Now, into the sound :

Well, the first words that came to my mind when I pressed Play were “OMG!!! What is that bass!!! “. I mean, I knew already the bass was nuts on these when I demoed them back in February, but it still shook me on first listen, and I came to the shop preparing my ears listening to Anni 2023, which is already an IEM with a substantially meaty bass! That definitely wasn’t enough!! These 2 bad boys definitely know how to put a smile on your face!!
I wouldn’t really say that the bass is strong… no… it’s more like the bass is lethal on these things!! It’s brutal, savage, fat, weighty yet it’s not sloppy or slow! It’s well defined with excellent attack and speed. It does bleed into the lower mids just enough to give that warmth and authority in that region without muddying things out. The bass quantity can get borderline overkill on some tracks but never really got to that point (for me).
The most remarkable thing about the bass is how low and deep it can go into the frequency spectrum! I don’t think there are many sets that do what these pull off! At least, from the iems I’ve heard, I can’t remember any other set that gave me that same impression! None of XE6, Rn6, Trifecta or Z1r did. Maybe EVO could be the only one that could get close, but it’s been many months I’ve heard it so I don’t want to draw conclusions on them. Also, some other challengers I didn’t demo yet like the FatFreq lineup and Singularity could maybe match these? I don’t know.
All I know is they do extreme sub bass on tracks like Solar Sailer from Daft Punk and Kill Jill from Big Boi like true bosses! Most other IEMs just have the bass loosing intensity and rumble on those deepest frequencies. Those 2 also loose a bit of linearity down low, it surely won’t hold as well as a true home system subwoofer but so far that’s the closest I’ve heard from that experience in an in ear form.


For the sake of making it easier on me, I’ll call them Ruth (the black one) and Goldie (yeah… you probably figured which one it is…)
Both feature the same bombastic bass, warm, lush, analog and meaty mids as well as good presence and detail in the treble.
The main difference is Ruth being a bit more balanced with a bit more presence in the mid / treble section, making it airier and a bit more detailed overall. Goldie pushes the warmth and lushness a bit further.

To try making it easier for you guys to imagine how this duo sounds like, I would say that they do sound like a mix between Evo, Trifecta and Xe6 without what I would consider their drawbacks. You take Xe6 warmth, tone it down a bit, add trifecta’s retro analog vibes and huge soundstage and spice it up with a pinch of Evo’s sub bass. You then remove Evo’s upper mids harshness as well as Trifecta’s upper range roller coaster response and that shouldn’t be too far off.

Needless to say I’m an absolute fan! And that since my first demo of Goldie! In the end I’m liking Ruth a tiny bit more and fortunately they are a bit cheaper but still stupid expensive…
It’s absolutely not worth that kind of money, but I’m selling LP6 Gold and Ragnar to fund these! I guess that’s a clear sign I’m really in love with Ruth!! (and also totally nuts…)

@drftr there you go pal! You’ve got my impressions!! But please don’t blind buy this based on my impressions (or anyone else)!!! I would feel so bad if you don’t like them! They’re really special so it’s definitely not for everyone! I decline all responsibility if you don’t like them!! I’m ok to take credit if you do like them though!!

Cheers guys

Julien


Edit: I forgot the Yatono!! To sum it up, it sounds great but worst ergonomics ever!! lol

 

[timeslip]

I see a few people putting VE X over Aura and some putting aura over ve x .. I’m sorry, but for me I can’t see anything beating Aura in the market today when it comes to a combination of resolution and sweet musical timbre

ARGH! Now you make me want to try out the VE X. Is there a tour going around for this one?

 

[timeslip]

So im listening to the Vision Ears Aura with the Effect Audio Chiron Nova………




This is the real deal you guys.

Love at first sound


I hope more people get to experience it.

Rumble,
Slam,
Emotion,
Details,
(To me) correct Timbre
Not the biggest, but realistic soundstage

First impressions ofc (20 min lol) so take it for what you want. But this thing deserves all the credit and attention it can get.

My favorite thing about the Aura is how it pulls you into the music as if you are on the stage with them.

 

[Valrhona]

I recently switched back to the WM1ZM2 after using the N30LE AP for the past few weeks, and I forget how much lighter it feels in my hand as well as the increase in battery life as well as how fast the battery charges. I'm not sure what I would do with 2 DAPS, but it feels hard to let it go too.

A man wouldn't let either go?

 

[Frankie D]

Cough cough OG Fourte cough cough

Ha! But also the 18 and the 12. Top 3 of 64 Audio for me.

 

[Valrhona]

Hi Cooler fam’!

Last weekend I had the privilege to demo one more time what appears to be the most expensive single DD iems currently on the market! The Rosenkranz Silver HB Ruthenium which retails for $6500 (it’s the first time I actually try this one) and the Rosenkranz Silver KA 18k Gold which is a fat $8500!

These are sold monitors only, so no cable, ear tips or any other accessories.

These are not for demo in the shop but a customer from this store who recently purchased both of them as well as a special version of the Yatono cable (it appears to be a prototype) was kind enough to let me try his goodies, big thanks to him!!

The bank account wrecking trio :



The silver HB Ruthenium :
I love the look of these! So beautiful in black! My favorite. The pictures don’t do them justice! This set is actually the last ruthenium (black) made. It’s now only available for purchase in Rhodium (silver color), 18k Gold or Rose Gold.



Here is the Silver KA (the $8500 one), only available in Rhodium and 18k Gold :



It’s not very clear on the pictures but they are mostly matte with a mirror polished frame around the faceplate. Really cool!
Build quality is top notch and for the price it’d better be, right?!!!
Those sets are a bit hefty but not bad. They’re also very small in today’s TOTL standards.

Now, into the sound :

Well, the first words that came to my mind when I pressed Play were “OMG!!! What is that bass!!! “. I mean, I knew already the bass was nuts on these when I demoed them back in February, but it still shook me on first listen, and I came to the shop preparing my ears listening to Anni 2023, which is already an IEM with a substantially meaty bass! That definitely wasn’t enough!! These 2 bad boys definitely know how to put a smile on your face!!
I wouldn’t really say that the bass is strong… no… it’s more like the bass is lethal on these things!! It’s brutal, savage, fat, weighty yet it’s not sloppy or slow! It’s well defined with excellent attack and speed. It does bleed into the lower mids just enough to give that warmth and authority in that region without muddying things out. The bass quantity can get borderline overkill on some tracks but never really got to that point (for me).
The most remarkable thing about the bass is how low and deep it can go into the frequency spectrum! I don’t think there are many sets that do what these pull off! At least, from the iems I’ve heard, I can’t remember any other set that gave me that same impression! None of XE6, Rn6, Trifecta or Z1r did. Maybe EVO could be the only one that could get close, but it’s been many months I’ve heard it so I don’t want to draw conclusions on them. Also, some other challengers I didn’t demo yet like the FatFreq lineup and Singularity could maybe match these? I don’t know.
All I know is they do extreme sub bass on tracks like Solar Sailer from Daft Punk and Kill Jill from Big Boi like true bosses! Most other IEMs just have the bass loosing intensity and rumble on those deepest frequencies. Those 2 also loose a bit of linearity down low, it surely won’t hold as well as a true home system subwoofer but so far that’s the closest I’ve heard from that experience in an in ear form.


For the sake of making it easier on me, I’ll call them Ruth (the black one) and Goldie (yeah… you probably figured which one it is…)
Both feature the same bombastic bass, warm, lush, analog and meaty mids as well as good presence and detail in the treble.
The main difference is Ruth being a bit more balanced with a bit more presence in the mid / treble section, making it airier and a bit more detailed overall. Goldie pushes the warmth and lushness a bit further.

To try making it easier for you guys to imagine how this duo sounds like, I would say that they do sound like a mix between Evo, Trifecta and Xe6 without what I would consider their drawbacks. You take Xe6 warmth, tone it down a bit, add trifecta’s retro analog vibes and huge soundstage and spice it up with a pinch of Evo’s sub bass. You then remove Evo’s upper mids harshness as well as Trifecta’s upper range roller coaster response and that shouldn’t be too far off.

Needless to say I’m an absolute fan! And that since my first demo of Goldie! In the end I’m liking Ruth a tiny bit more and fortunately they are a bit cheaper but still stupid expensive…
It’s absolutely not worth that kind of money, but I’m selling LP6 Gold and Ragnar to fund these! I guess that’s a clear sign I’m really in love with Ruth!! (and also totally nuts…)

@drftr there you go pal! You’ve got my impressions!! But please don’t blind buy this based on my impressions (or anyone else)!!! I would feel so bad if you don’t like them! They’re really special so it’s definitely not for everyone! I decline all responsibility if you don’t like them!! I’m ok to take credit if you do like them though!!

Cheers guys

Julien


Edit: I forgot the Yatono!! To sum it up, it sounds great but worst ergonomics ever!! lol

Fiery looking cable that is.