[Tristy]

Reading the Empire Ears thread and their forum representative's posts, feel sorry for those that have spent $3,000 for a defective product as the state of that thread distracts from their situation. An example of why more thoughtful internet posting all round helps everyone. Good intentions and how posts may be viewed are different things. Will have to blacklist Empire Ears until the brand rethink how they interact with the Head-Fi community, shame as their IEM have seductive bass





Plus 1

On the subject of modding, I am unsure if anyone has compared a modded WM1Z original versus the WM1ZM2 (?) However, still unsure why Sony put such an underpowered SOC in the M2 as the M2 may not receive the Android 13 update that came out this week on the A300 and ZX700 Walkmans...



Have you compared to the CA1000T or Kann Ultra on sound alone, not form factor, thanks in advance

Just want to point out that the individuals at the centre of the crap storm on that thread do not represent EE as a whole... not in an official capacity anyway. I've had nothing but good experiences with EE and with Jack directly but I agree that the thread is an absolute dumpster fire. It's a shame as it mostly boils down to a small percentage of users that frequent there and the current situation doesn't help matters.

 

[Valrhona]

My present setup is L&PW4/Tsuranagi and that sounds practically the same.

A man hasn't tried that pairing. But if he were able to, it would have saved him some money.

 

[gLer]

Here you go: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.it4you.dectone.gui.hearingtest&hl=en_US

Thank you kindly.

 

[Deezel177]

Reading the Empire Ears thread and their forum representative's posts, feel sorry for those that have spent $3,000 for a defective product as the state of that thread distracts from their situation. An example of why more thoughtful internet posting all round helps everyone. Good intentions and how posts may be viewed are different things. Will have to blacklist Empire Ears until the brand rethink how they interact with the Head-Fi community, shame as their IEM have seductive bass

To be fair to EE, their actual representatives, Jack and co., are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet in the industry. I've seen Jack at multiple shows, with barely any energy left in the tank, greet everyone he meets with a smile, a firm handshake and an eager ear towards everything you have to say. His love for the hobby and those within it are undeniable, and it's a shame to see it buried beneath all this nonsense.

The "representatives" currently monitoring the EE thread like hall officers, on the other hand, are entirely self-appointed. They've simply taken the initiative to fill a void, and neither of them are actually on EE's payroll, as difficult as that may be to believe. But, by the same token, EE also should've never let that void exist in the first place. It's why the brand threads that thrive these days have a rep that post at least a few times a week, whether it's to provide updates, address concerns or even ask questions. And, it's also why brands pay a pretty penny training those reps in proper etiquette and respectful communication.

Jack's decision to bypass reps and take on comms by himself is a very typical Jack Vang move; extremely well-intentioned, ensure zero miscommunication and meant to uphold the standards of the brand, but ultimately too ambitious for even his capable hands. As I've said to a few people in private, he's done an excellent job crafting the updates on the Raven and maintaining full transparency, but it's all the silence in between that incubates doubt, anxiety and, eventually, folks with too much time and self-appointed authority on their hands to step in. Like you, I'd love to see EE succeed, and I don't think people being reluctant, unbothered or even downright repelled to go to their thread is in their best interests at all.

 

[timeslip]

To be fair to EE, their actual representatives, Jack and co., are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet in the industry. I've seen Jack at multiple shows, with barely any energy left in the tank, greet everyone he meets with a smile, a firm handshake and an eager ear towards everything you have to say. His love for the hobby and those within it are undeniable, and it's a shame to see it buried beneath all this nonsense.

The "representatives" currently monitoring the EE thread like hall officers, on the other hand, are entirely self-appointed. They've simply taken the initiative to fill a void, and neither of them are actually on EE's payroll, as difficult as that may be to believe. But, by the same token, EE also should've never let that void exist in the first place. It's why the brand threads that thrive these days have a rep that post at least a few times a week, whether it's to provide updates, address concerns or even ask questions. And, it's also why brands pay a pretty penny training those reps in proper etiquette and respectful communication.

Jack's decision to bypass reps and take on comms by himself is a very typical Jack Vang move; extremely well-intentioned, ensure zero miscommunication and meant to uphold the standards of the brand, but ultimately too ambitious for even his capable hands. As I've said to a few people in private, he's done an excellent job crafting the updates on the Raven and maintaining full transparency, but it's all the silence in between that incubates doubt, anxiety and, eventually, folks with too much time and self-appointed authority on their hands to step in. Like you, I'd love to see EE succeed, and I don't think people being reluctant, unbothered or even downright repelled to go to their thread is in their best interests at all.

Can we please leave all of this behind in the EE thread? I stopped going there because of all the toxic behaviors between people. Let’s not amplify their argument into this thread.

 

[Alpexis]

If they have an iPhone Airpod pros are hard to beat.
If they want something with better sound, I’ve had a good experience with the Noble Fokus Prestige too.

Is the fokus prestige the best TWS out there?

 

[Rockwell75]

Word cloud of current desert island survey question results:

Present top 3 are:

1) Traillii
2) Rn6
3) IER-Z1R/Storm (tie)

Please Vote

 

[stacey]

Word cloud of current desert island survey question results:



Present top 3 are:

1) Traillii
2) Rn6
3) IER-Z1R/Storm (tie)

Please Vote

Going into 2024 and Traillii still is in top of the conversation? Wow.

 

[Rockwell75]

Going into 2024 and Traillii still is in top of the conversation? Wow.

Yup. Rather astounding. And deservedly so imho. IER-Z1R maintaining such a foothold in that crowd after all this time is no less amazing imho

 

[Deezel177]

Can we please leave all of this behind in the EE thread? I stopped going there because of all the toxic behaviors between people. Let’s not amplify their argument into this thread.

That wasn't my intention. I apologize if it seems that way. I just wanted to let people know that EE isn't them. EE is much nicer people who've unfortunately bitten off a bit more than they can chew right now. I hope the end of this whole Raven saga comes much sooner than later.

 

[Sajid Amit]

I know I am late to the party but the Campfire Supermoon, which, I didn't like at first way, way back at Mungkong in Bangkok at Siam Paragon, has me absolutely smitten.

The secret lies in the tips. The IEMs come shipped with the foam tips which ought to be jettisoned. They are just bad. They reduce the bass impact and make the IEM sound thinner and stereotypically "planar like." Next, the wide bore silicone tips offer an improvement, actually have some bass improvement, whilst still sounding clear. But once you move to the Final Type E tips, you are in the best planar IEM of the world territory. The bass becomes significantly heftier, vocals get pushed back (good thing), and treble loses any glare, and the overall presentation thickens just appropriatey. The tips in orange below are the Type E tips. Aesthetic match yes, but only fortitously so.

I can't get enough of the bass on this IEM. It's really unique in how fast, well separated, tactile, and impactful bass notes are on this.

 

[Frankie D]

To be fair to EE, their actual representatives, Jack and co., are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet in the industry. I've seen Jack at multiple shows, with barely any energy left in the tank, greet everyone he meets with a smile, a firm handshake and an eager ear towards everything you have to say. His love for the hobby and those within it are undeniable, and it's a shame to see it buried beneath all this nonsense.

The "representatives" currently monitoring the EE thread like hall officers, on the other hand, are entirely self-appointed. They've simply taken the initiative to fill a void, and neither of them are actually on EE's payroll, as difficult as that may be to believe. But, by the same token, EE also should've never let that void exist in the first place. It's why the brand threads that thrive these days have a rep that post at least a few times a week, whether it's to provide updates, address concerns or even ask questions. And, it's also why brands pay a pretty penny training those reps in proper etiquette and respectful communication.

Jack's decision to bypass reps and take on comms by himself is a very typical Jack Vang move; extremely well-intentioned, ensure zero miscommunication and meant to uphold the standards of the brand, but ultimately too ambitious for even his capable hands. As I've said to a few people in private, he's done an excellent job crafting the updates on the Raven and maintaining full transparency, but it's all the silence in between that incubates doubt, anxiety and, eventually, folks with too much time and self-appointed authority on their hands to step in. Like you, I'd love to see EE succeed, and I don't think people being reluctant, unbothered or even downright repelled to go to their thread is in their best interests at all.

Yes, I have been monitoring what has been happening on the EE thread as well. (You wrote an excellent response on that thread). I do disagree with you a little about the brand reps. Most of the time, they just provide marketing hype. I am not so sure they would have helped much in this instance either as EE has a significantly large delay by all accounts.

As I have already said repeatedly, the EE thread is mostly a hype thread anyway. They are an excellent brand, and I am sure most people are waiting in silence for their resolution. If most of them like the Raven, all should be forgiven in time.

I had to laugh, it got so bad there, even @Rockwell75 decided to post on that thread to help it out. Now everyone will ask for a refund!

 

[ttt123]

On the subject of modding, I am unsure if anyone has compared a modded WM1Z original versus the WM1ZM2 (?) However, still unsure why Sony put such an underpowered SOC in the M2 as the M2 may not receive the Android 13 update that came out this week on the A300 and ZX700 Walkmans...

In one of the Sony Designer Interviews, they discussed that the WM1A/Zm2 SOC was chosen for it's low noise performance. Because it "sounds" better! The designers put Audio Performance as the highest criteria, which drove the various component/design decisions. Kudos to them for doing this, as I also value it's music performance more than other aspects.

 

[tjzurlaaa]

I know I am late to the party but the Campfire Supermoon, which, I didn't like at first way, way back at Mungkong in Bangkok at Siam Paragon, has me absolutely smitten.

The secret lies in the tips. The IEMs come shipped with the foam tips which ought to be jettisoned. They are just bad. They reduce the bass impact and make the IEM sound thinner and stereotypically "planar like." Next, the wide bore silicone tips offer an improvement, actually have some bass improvement, whilst still sounding clear. But once you move to the Final Type E tips, you are in the best planar IEM of the world territory. The bass becomes significantly heftier, vocals get pushed back (good thing), and treble loses any glare, and the overall presentation thickens just appropriatey. The tips in orange below are the Type E tips. Aesthetic match yes, but only fortitously so.



I can't get enough of the bass on this IEM. It's really unique in how fast, well separated, tactile, and impactful bass notes are on this.

Secrets always lie in the tips

 

[Deezel177]

Yes, I have been monitoring what has been happening on the EE thread as well. (You wrote an excellent response on that thread). I do disagree with you a little about the brand reps. Most of the time, they just provide marketing hype. I am not so sure they would have helped much in this instance either as EE has a significantly large delay by all accounts.

As I have already said repeatedly, the EE thread is mostly a hype thread anyway. They are an excellent brand, and I am sure most people are waiting in silence for their resolution. If most of them like the Raven, all should be forgiven in time.

I had to laugh, it got so bad there, even @Rockwell75 decided to post on that thread to help it out. Now everyone will ask for a refund!

Yeah, I guess it depends on how you look at it. In my experience, the most recent "group" of brand reps - Eric from Eletech, Matt and Filipp (I believe) from 64A, AJ from JHA, Jordon from EA, etc. - have done way more than just spread marketing hype. They answer a lot of questions, they address a lot of concerns with inside knowledge that only they have, they usually don't shy away from more technical inquiries or challenging questions, and it's also a great way to reach them if, say, your e-mail to them ended up in a Spam folder or something. Even if they may sprinkle in some promo every now and again, the good they do far outweigh the "bad," if you wanna call it that.

Although they probably wouldn't have been able to prevent the delays the Raven has experienced, they could at least be relied upon to provide regular updates. At the very least, they'll be seen as the thread's de facto authority, and anyone else who wishes to claim that title can easily be ignored.