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

[Deezel177]

AFAIK it is being made in Singapore but I could be completely wrong. Secondly, I really do not have any emotional connection with Singapore

It is just nice to have IEMs of this level coming from a new country as compared to Hong Kong, China and Japan.

Some of these companies that I mentioned have challenged the status quo of tuning and that is something I admire.

I admire the work of many manufacturers from around the world.

Craft Ears - Poland
Alambic Audio - France
Campfire Audio - United States
Flip Ears - Philipines
Elysian Acoustics - Malaysia
Alpha Omega - Malaysia
634 Ears - Japan
Acoustune & Madoo - Japan
Hidition - South Korea
7th Acoustics - Indonesia

There are IEMs from these companies that I either own or would love to in the future. It is certainly not the work of a single country that I would give all my attention to.

There are many other good companies but I feel that everyone in this hobby starts following a certain philosophy about the type of DAP, DAC, AMP, Interconnector, IEM, Cable & Tips they would like to experiment with.

It is not easy to audition IEMs in India. There are meet ups but they are mainly carrying very few major brands such as Vision Ears, 64 Audio, Unique Melody, Campfire Audio, FIR Audio etc.

The issue is that even their line up of flagship IEMs are missing in those auditions.

The Canpur IEMs are made in the Netherlands. Joseph Mou in Singapore is just their SEA distributor. They have no relations to SG at all besides that.

 

[PHLHarmonic]

Testing some new tips on TIMSOK TS-316, the Penon Lacquer. To me sound like a slightly warm and clear sounding, the most positive is they can be bought in XL and is slightly sticky. Perfect for IEMs with shorter or smaller nozzle like TS-316 or Simgot IEMs.

There is two variants, black and orange. And to me they sound the same, material feel the same in hand also. Same thickness, bore, length etc. Perhaps the the orange is 1% softer, but can be my imagination.

Hopefully mine will be in soon to try out. I recently got the Divinius Velvets off Amazon and they seem nice. I like them better than the Baroques on the TS-316.

In other news, I decided to grab an open box R3 II Gen 2 since it was so cheap. Early thoughts are that the wheel is a little flimsy and the touch screen is a bit sensitive, but BT mode seems mostly solid when paired with the iPhone and the form factor is nice. It should be easy enough to sell if I want to move on from it.

I also pulled the trigger on the MIROAK-II, so that'll be a 3-4 week wait.

 

[twister6]

Found @twister6 Graph of both 622b and 54e

It appears the 54e upper treble rolls off however I do not hear it this way but I am not a treble head and someone else would better be able to hear those subtleties. I enjoy the treble on both sets but I do know for some the treble on 622b was too smooth, the54e is def more exciting here.

What you "see" is the difference in treble extension which going to affect the airiness of the sound. Both iems have a decent treble "presence", so there won't be any lack of resolution, but 2x BC drivers of 622B have their way in helping to extend the treble even further and to contribute to a huge holographic soundstage expansion.

Also, more V-shaped tuning of 54E (more lifted bass and a dip in mids) creates a bigger contrast between the lows and the highs, maybe explaining how someone mentioned that treble in 54E sounds brighter to them. All is the matter of a perception

 

[wolfstar76]

One of my favourite albums of all time getting an airing with my new speakers.

I love adjusting to listening to speakers again as I’m definitely more conscious of how the soundstage etc is being presented, and it’s great finding the sweet spot where you perceive the sound being presented in such a vast field - but like IEMs / headphones, vocals for example positioned centrally - it’s weird to sit and look straight ahead and feel as though the vocals are immediately in front, even though the speakers are about 3m apart. Thoroughly enjoying also other elements of imaging and layering within 2-channel!

I can't help to ask why does home theater setup such as 11 channels not favored by true audiophiles?

 

[Deezel177]

I can't help to ask why does home theater setup such as 11 channels not favored by true audiophiles?

It's expensive, and you can't carry it with you.

 

[claud W]

He told me the secret but I don’t have a single ended 2 pin and he didn’t include one.

You don't have to spend a bunch of money for a quality cable. Just go to Penon and buy a Neo Plus cable. $250

 

[drftr]

That doesn't make sense prima facie. Is the assertion here that DDs dedicated to mids are intrinsically prone to elevated gain region response? That seems to me as a deliberate tuning choice given the use of a crossover.

I agree with @KinGensai. That sounds like a tuning thing, rather than a driver thing. VE’s ELYSIUM and EXT both have DDs for their midranges, and they’re both relatively relaxed there. If we’re talking full-range DDs, you can make a case for both; the Softears Twilight and Oriolus Isabellae have brighter midranges, while the Singularity and the IE900’s are relaxed. So, there isn’t a correlation between midrange DDs and shouty-ness to me. Did he cite any other examples for IEMs with shouty, DD midranges?

Yes, good catch both. I was reading the review hours earlier and after kept thinking about single DD instead of 4 DDs. My bad...

drftr

 

[rantng]

It's expensive, and you can't carry it with you.

But I thought you've been bulking up...

 

[Doug2507]

I can't help to ask why does home theater setup such as 11 channels not favored by true audiophiles?

Because most audio recordings are done in stereo with very few exceptions.

 

[twister6]

Amber Pearl is now sold out, but you can look forward to Mason FS, which has new technologies that Amber Pearl doesn't have. Whether this is "better" again is of course up to subjective perception, but objectively speaking, this is more or less a big step forward (rather big, if you read what UM has written about it). Oh, the price: 8500 USD.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse or to add more oil to the fire, but new or old tech is just another building block inside of these black boxes we stick into our ears

Bringing up the new tech can help justifying the price increase. To recap, based on everything mentioned so far, 2024 UM Mason FS ST (Soleil Tombe) and NE (Nuit Etoilee) models are only $499 more expensive than their previous 2022 UM Mason FS LJ (Le Jardin) release. We also know that baseline price of UM Mason FS LJ from 2 years ago was already $8k, though I'm still puzzled why it didn't cause as much stir back then. Also keep in mind, we are talking about MSRP price, not the actual sale price. So, "extra" $499 buys you the new tech they developed over the last 2 years, a limited edition PWA FirstTimes Shielding custom cable (that one goes for $3.5k alone if I'm not mistaken), and some custom leather goods like that new Gogh leather bag. Personally, I'm not trying to justify anything, and I usually keep my mouth shut when it comes to the pricing because I'm a reviewer, not a consumer. So, I'm just stating facts.

To me Amber Pearl is a special edition version UM developed in collab with Cayin, to meet Cayin's design/tuning requirements for their own N30LE AP 30th anniversary bundle. Have no idea who set that price, but could be similar to how other manufacturers collab with A&K where A&K has the last word in setting up the price because it is sold under their brand name. To my ears, I find AP to be an upgraded version of MM, from the same Mentor family. But AP wasn't released as MM upgrade by UM, it was released by Cayin as their own collab in a bundle with their own flagship DAP. And apparently, some units were sold separately by request of customers who wanted either IEMs or DAP by itself, with AP going for $8k.

So, now we got '22 UM Mason FS LJ ($8k), '23 Cayin/UM Amber Pearl ($8k), and '24 UM Mason FS ST/NE ($8.5k). And if you asked me, we have way too many acronyms to keep track of now lol!!! These 3 will definitely be a holy trinity for comparison... when I get a chance. I did hear new '24 UM Mason FS ST/NE, it is a completely different tuning flavor in comparison to AP from the Mentor "family". No reason to say better or worse because it is just a different flavor of ice cream. I'm not as familiar with Mason IEMs, aside from Mason V3 from 6 years ago which is not relevant in here at all. So, while having '24 Mason FS ST/NE on a short loan now, I'm also waiting to get a loaner of '22 Mason LJ for comparison. Then, I can share more about the sound and how the new Mason FS version compares to their previous one from 2 years ago and how it compares to AP (also have it on loan now).

Despite the color theme difference, they sound the same

 

[Scubadevils]

Because most audio recordings are done in stereo with very few exceptions.

Yes exactly. I do have a few electronic albums with 5.1 and they work well, but most music stereo and it would sound wrong in 5.1.

 

[Frankie D]

I can't help to ask why does home theater setup such as 11 channels not favored by true audiophiles?

When you attend a concert or live music in general, the group is in front of you. Not to the side or the back. Also the quality of 11 speakers will typically not be of the same quality as the two main front speakers. The two speakers will create a perfect center image and if you have enough room to place them roughly 1/3rd into the room, a soundstage with both width and depth can be developed.

Then there can be timing issues with 11 speakers and the coloration of the processor to split up the signal. Great for home theater though which is why some systems have a 2 channel pass thru. Personally, I am happy with just two top quality speakers.

 

[rickles]

I posted a video on this but just wanted to share for Jewel owners, that the Divinus Velvet tips are magic with the Jewel. Of course, synergy is subject to all the components in the chain, so I should add that I am driving the Jewel with a Sony WM1ZM2 with DSD mode switched on, and the cable is from Ear Audio, that I spoke about earlier.



The outcome is a Jewel that sounds more articulate and clear in the midrange, a treble that is more present especially in the midtreble region, and a bass that sounds fuller and more memorable.

The Jewel are so damned elegant looking.

 

[OneEyedHito]

I can't help to ask why does home theater setup such as 11 channels not favored by true audiophiles?

Over the years, I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of 5.1 multi channel DVD audio, and SACD in custom built home theaters that I’ve had and processors and multiple subwoofers and just run the whole gamut.

For me, I’ve never been to a concert or a live music performance, where I was actually standing in the middle of the band with all of the instruments pointing at me even though Dane Cook tried some ridiculous comedy show like that once. I prefer 2 channel music left and right and then obviously with subwoofers where necessary to fill in the frequency spectrum.

As mentioned previously, two channel bypass is great, and as a sidenote for my current “theater” i’m running an Atmos set up with multiple subwoofers multiple height speakers multiple back channels and I prefer two channels so much that I’m using JBL full-size L 100 Classics as my front left center and right speakers all three so that when when I switch over to two channel for Music I’ve got a full range high-quality loudspeaker for left and right audio that I prefer. There’s a trade off for home theater here but I prefer 2 channel music to that even.

*Using voice to text sorry for typos or edits

 

[Silverlinings]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse or to add more oil to the fire, but new or old tech is just another building block inside of these black boxes we stick into our ears

Bringing up the new tech can help justifying the price increase. To recap, based on everything mentioned so far, 2024 UM Mason FS ST (Soleil Tombe) and NE (Nuit Etoilee) models are only $499 more expensive than their previous 2022 UM Mason FS LJ (Le Jardin) release. We also know that baseline price of UM Mason FS LJ from 2 years ago was already $8k, though I'm still puzzled why it didn't cause as much stir back then. Also keep in mind, we are talking about MSRP price, not the actual sale price. So, "extra" $499 buys you the new tech they developed over the last 2 years, a limited edition PWA FirstTimes Shielding custom cable (that one goes for $3.5k alone if I'm not mistaken), and some custom leather goods like that new Gogh leather bag. Personally, I'm not trying to justify anything, and I usually keep my mouth shut when it comes to the pricing because I'm a reviewer, not a consumer. So, I'm just stating facts.

To me Amber Pearl is a special edition version UM developed in collab with Cayin, to meet Cayin's design/tuning requirements for their own N30LE AP 30th anniversary bundle. Have no idea who set that price, but could be similar to how other manufacturers collab with A&K where A&K has the last word in setting up the price because it is sold under their brand name. To my ears, I find AP to be an upgraded version of MM, from the same Mentor family. But AP wasn't released as MM upgrade by UM, it was released by Cayin as their own collab in a bundle with their own flagship DAP. And apparently, some units were sold separately by request of customers who wanted either IEMs or DAP by itself, with AP going for $8k.

So, now we got '22 UM Mason FS LJ ($8k), '23 Cayin/UM Amber Pearl ($8k), and '24 UM Mason FS ST/NE ($8.5k). And if you asked me, we have way too many acronyms to keep track of now lol!!! These 3 will definitely be a holy trinity for comparison... when I get a chance. I did hear new '24 UM Mason FS ST/NE, it is a completely different tuning flavor in comparison to AP from the Mentor "family". No reason to say better or worse because it is just a different flavor of ice cream. I'm not as familiar with Mason IEMs, aside from Mason V3 from 6 years ago which is not relevant in here at all. So, while having '24 Mason FS ST/NE on a short loan now, I'm also waiting to get a loaner of '22 Mason LJ for comparison. Then, I can share more about the sound and how the new Mason FS version compares to their previous one from 2 years ago and how it compares to AP (also have it on loan now).

Despite the color theme difference, they sound the same

I assume you will be reviewing these and I’m curious to see how you think they stack up against the Mentor etc. Also still waiting for your review of the Hiby R8II which I just purchased.