[Deezel177]

Carbo Mezzo ($50) + M8 ($1500)
Talk about transducer-player ratio, this may be an overkill

Also got to try the VE7 today
Very high resolution, and good at resolving congested tracks. High speed and decay. It's wide, and transparent. Pure clarity in presenting each note. Bass was small and quick, similar in texture with VE8. VE8 sounded overall warmer, but less clear by comparison. You can hear more details with the VE7 due to its resolving nature. Superb treble extension. It's rather flat and neutral overall, with enough warmth and weight. But it's leaning towards bright. Lightweight, lean, and rather small in size notes. This observation coming from listening to mostly DDs. So it's a bit biased. It's less warm than VE8 and VE5 though

'Great impressions, man. I feel like the custom will come off warmer and bigger than the universal demo. To me, the VE7 straddles neutral-natural really, really well; barely leaning bright-wards. There's always that slight musk of warmth beneath its quick, snappy notes. But, I can imagine that being slightly truncated with the universal or with certain tip pairings.

 

[ranfan]

'Great impressions, man. I feel like the custom will come off warmer and bigger than the universal demo. To me, the VE7 straddles neutral-natural really, really well; barely leaning bright-wards. There's always that slight musk of warmth beneath its quick, snappy notes. But, I can imagine that being slightly truncated with the universal or with certain tip pairings.

I was also thinking of how pairing might affect the sound. With the warmer WM1A for example, I think would tilt the balance more slightly into the middle. It has a high quality neutral sound. Not too flat, and with that VE cleanliness and some musicality added. It is very good at detail retrieval

 

[Deezel177]

Actually, as an added note on the VE7, as I read back my post just now, I realised that I was almost describing a refined Ultimate Ears' UE18+ Pro Gen. 2; the one that made it onto Nic's list. At the time, it was one of my benchmarks for the neutral-natural sound, but - like Nic - I felt that it often lacked air (and, optionally, bite) in the treble. I really loved the tonality of it, but I just thought it lacked that openness and extension to truly sound top-class. Well, just now, for a bit of fun, I decided to compare how the two of them measured on Crin's site, and look what I found:

'Not too far off, if I may say so myself. The VE7 just adds that vibrance, bite and air that I was missing on the UE18+ Pro Gen. 2. So, if you happened to hear and like that model, the VE7 just might be the answer.

 

[ranfan]

Actually, as an added note on the VE7, as I read back my post just now, I realised that I was almost describing a refined Ultimate Ears' UE18+ Pro Gen. 2; the one that made it onto Nic's list. At the time, it was one of my benchmarks for the neutral-natural sound, but - like Nic - I felt that it often lacked air (and, optionally, bite) in the treble. I really loved the tonality of it, but I just thought it lacked that openness and extension to truly sound top-class. Well, just now, for a bit of fun, I decided to compare how the two of them measurements on Crin's site, and look what I found:



'Not too far off, if I may say so myself. The VE7 just adds that vibrance, bite and air that I was missing on the UE18+ Pro Gen. 2. So, if you happened to hear and like that model, the VE7 just might be the answer.

That's a pair of reviewer/audio engineer's ears for you They're so similar in the mids

For me, what the VE7 reminded me of was my C/2019 Q4 which has an even more neutral sound and smaller bass

I really like the sound from Campfire's ceramic acoustic chamber. The texture between both are different. But overall signature sounded quite similar. It's hard to choose. VE7 has a cleaner more transparent and detailed sound. But I preferred the mids of the C/2019 because of its texture

 

[claud W]

Listening to M8, PW Audio Saladin cable and CA Dorado 2020. Dialed in Turbo. Seems to make music fuller and more dynamic. Go Delbert McClinton!!!
The Saladin is the best cable I have tried on the Dorado 2020 yet. Have Socrates cable arriving tomorrow. Hope to match it with Isabella. Both of these cables are all copper which seems to help single DD Iems.
M8 on shuffle. now listening to Stan Getz "Summer Night". Dorado 2020/M8 still kicking ass and taking names. VERY nice combo.

 

[Tristy]

Listening to M8, PW Audio Saladin cable and CA Dorado 2020. Dialed in Turbo. Seems to make music fuller and more dynamic. Go Delbert McClinton!!!
The Saladin is the best cable I have tried on the Dorado 2020 yet. Have Socrates cable arriving tomorrow. Hope to match it with Isabella. Both of these cables are all copper which seems to help single DD Iems.
M8 on shuffle. now listening to Stan Getz "Summer Night". Dorado 2020/M8 still kicking ass and taking names. VERY nice combo.

Do let us know how the Saladin does compared to the Socrates on the Dorado 2020! You weren't a fan of the Loki on the D2020 were you? Unless my memory serves me wrong.

 

[Deezel177]

That's a pair of reviewer/audio engineer's ears for you They're so similar in the mids

For me, what the VE7 reminded me of was my C/2019 Q4 which has an even more neutral sound and smaller bass

I really like the sound from Campfire's ceramic acoustic chamber. The texture between both are different. But overall signature sounded quite similar. It's hard to choose. VE7 has a cleaner more transparent and detailed sound. But I preferred the mids of the C/2019 because of its texture

Gotcha. I think I remember the texture you're talking about with the C/2019. Based purely on memory, I feel you'll get a bit more of that slightly-wetter, BA sound on the VE7. But, I also haven't heard the C/2019 in a couple years.

 

[iFi audio]

As others have said, historically no (in North America anyway I know the situation in Asia is different), but lately yes. The portable market has been rapidly gaining momentum over here for a while though. There was a time way back when it was hard to find a good music player that wasn't made by Apple...I remember how grateful I was when early Fiio players started becoming available in North America...it felt great being liberated from iTunes lol. Presently I feel we're living through a Golden Age of portable audio.

Thanks a lot for your input and I agree, these are good times for folks into high quality portable audio

 

[rantng]

Actually, as an added note on the VE7, as I read back my post just now, I realised that I was almost describing a refined Ultimate Ears' UE18+ Pro Gen. 2; the one that made it onto Nic's list. At the time, it was one of my benchmarks for the neutral-natural sound, but - like Nic - I felt that it often lacked air (and, optionally, bite) in the treble. I really loved the tonality of it, but I just thought it lacked that openness and extension to truly sound top-class. Well, just now, for a bit of fun, I decided to compare how the two of them measured on Crin's site, and look what I found:



'Not too far off, if I may say so myself. The VE7 just adds that vibrance, bite and air that I was missing on the UE18+ Pro Gen. 2. So, if you happened to hear and like that model, the VE7 just might be the answer.

Unfortunately, I didn’t appreciate the natural sound of the UE 18+ Pro Gen 2 (that’s a mouthful) until I sold mine. This was somewhat in the early days of my dive into this world and all I sought was resolution above all else. I have the VE7 on pre-order though so if it adds that top end energy I also thought was missing I’m even more excited to hear it, especially paired with the M8.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

That's a pair of reviewer/audio engineer's ears for you They're so similar in the mids

For me, what the VE7 reminded me of was my C/2019 Q4 which has an even more neutral sound and smaller bass

I really like the sound from Campfire's ceramic acoustic chamber. The texture between both are different. But overall signature sounded quite similar. It's hard to choose. VE7 has a cleaner more transparent and detailed sound. But I preferred the mids of the C/2019 because of its texture

How would you describe the VE7 and Q4 to the Warbler Prelude? It's the next thing I have coming for me eventually.

 

[claud W]

Please help an old man. What is a c/2019?

 

[rantng]

Please help an old man. What is a c/2019?

It was a limited 3-BA model released to celebrate the 10-year relationship between ALO & Mixwave, their Japanese distributor. It was released alongside the Andromeda MW10.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Please help an old man. What is a c/2019?

It was a limited 3-BA model released to celebrate the 10-year relationship between ALO & Mixwave, their Japanese distributor. It was released alongside the Andromeda MW10.

Yup. Super neutral/flat tuning, I believe. Only seen one pop up for sale in the EU so far here.

 

[ranfan]

Thank you for the response @Sebastien Chiu @rantng

I'll add that it's limited to 500 units, and was released December 2019. C/2019 Q4 is an object name discovered from outer space, I can't remember if it's an asteroid or a comet. But basically it's a flying rock. Coincidentally, it's also released in December, quarter 4 (Q4) of 2019. Quite an uncanny name

How would you describe the VE7 and Q4 to the Warbler Prelude? It's the next thing I have coming for me eventually.

The Prelude is very different from both having only a single BA driver. It's tuned to specialize and master the midrange. And try to recreate the most natural sound, especially human voice. It's warmer, more natural and organic. It has lesser reach in both bass and treble. Bass quantity is similar to both though. But VE7 has I think more sub-bass and a deeper reach between them.

VE7 had more mid-bass quantity, but both the Q4 had similar warmth. Vocals were more organic on the Q4, at least to my ears. While on the VE7 it's more realistic due to its treble reach presence and ability to resolve each detail. They both have a neutral flat central midrange. Positioning both were great, but I felt the VE7 had better layering and resolution for each instruments. They're both slightly leaning towards a colder tone. But with just enough warmth to make them sound natural. Both have very extended treble, and transparent sound. The VE7 won in detail retrieval simply the fact of it having more drivers assigned for each frequency part. I really like both, but they're kinda too similar for me to collect. Hence I'm probably going to cancel my order and get the Elysium instead. Partly also due to my recent addiction to DD sound

 

[ranfan]

Acoustic guitar and vocals sound so good on the Isa Can't wait to try on the Ely