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

[warrenpchi]

@drftr It just occurred to me that you can probably try to build a filter? Maybe cut some low density foam into small cylinders, and then glue those filters into the middle of your favorite tips? That way you can still use the tips that fit you best, but get some high-frequency attenuation at the same time.

 

[metaljem77]

Like some who have mentioned, Melodic Artification’s Alter Ego is fantastic to my ears. There’s an incredible amount of ease and finesse across the spectrum. The fp design is my absolute love, metal (titanium), with intricate etchings. V comfortable, incredibly light and the switches (2 modes) have a nice tactile heft. Melodic Artification is a new brand, working with Timsok. They are working out details to replenish supply (first batch sold out), I look forward in seeing their foray into the western market. A shoutout to @Crazeee who recommended this!

 

[Delitia]

Not taking sound into account, does anyone have a go to tip recommendation for a "heavier" cable. The heavier cables tend to pull more with gravity. I am so far OK with Xelastec II and Coreir but I do find the need to adjust a bit when I am walking about. Am I missing one that helps the monitors stay in place firmly? Foam with Symbio is also an option. Curious and thanks for your thoughts in advance.

My current favorite tip for everything, from fit, isolation to sound quality is Nostalgia Audio's XWB tips. They are one of the few tips that sit at a sweet spot in their sizing between other companies, where their medium isn't as big as others mediums but not too much smaller where I don't get a good seal. SQ wise, they are incredibly transparent with no coloration and let the iem shine through as intended, just the right thickness on the nozzle, incredible hold (never slips, even on nozzles with no notched grip) and they don't make my ears itchy like some other silicone tips do. Highly recommend these guys.

On the topic of Nostalgia Audio, those who know me know I'm a giant fan of the Tesseract and spent half my CanJam attendance at NYC trying to get fellow WCer's to listen to it . I recently got a demo of the Camelot and also instantly fell in love with it, and luckily unlike the Tesseract, the Camelot can be a CIEM, so guess which guy has THREE CIEMs currently in the works .

Nothing but praise for the Camelot really, incredibly transparent and uncolored, absolutely fantastic with neutral sources for just being accurate and great timbre with a nice wide/deep and relatively tall soundstage and great resolution. The bass is fast, tight without being overly in your face or punchy, one of the best DD bass out there, mids are neutrally placed, never recessed or too far forward with a nice airy but cohesive and detailed sound while the treble is decently well extended but not over present or piercing to those who may be sensitive. I'd say the only place this set lags behind some of my others in overall technicality is it's imaging, while still great for it's price range, it's no Indigo or Viking. Highly recommend to anyone who just wants a very neutral, accurate and easy listening set, the UIEM (while large, but not as big as Tesseract) is one of the most comfortable UIEMs I've owned, Nostalgia certainly knows how to make a shell AND eartips now.

 

[KuroKitsu]

Yes sir, I am working on it, should be done soon!

But suffice it to say, after having it for 2 weeks for review, I did go out and purchase one! That is the first time that's happened!

Danger Will Robinson Danger

FYI when I was given the Monachaa tour unit from Oriolus JP directly they included a memo which basically said it needs power to shine and Sony players specifically were singled out as not being good enough. Their words. I didn’t have the 1z at the time so no comment from me there.

Based on the impedance and sensitivity of Monachaa I wasn't sure if it would work on a Sony. Worse case I'll get another DMagic

That said though, if I get anything that I liked enough to get a portable amp for it, my wallet is in trouble because first I'm doing is getting another Anni

I’ve been on the go continuously in multiple cities over the last 24 hours. Haven’t charged this baby since yesterday morning. Get a load of that battery life. I listen exclusively in direct source mode as it sounds great and I’m discovering I have a fetish for simplicity.

My brain just spaces out when people talk about DSP on Sony DAPs. Every single one of mine have been on direct sound out of box/parcel.

 

[kumar402]

My brain just spaces out when people talk about DSP on Sony DAPs. Every single one of mine have been direct sound.

To each their own. There is no right or wrong. I for one love Sony DSP like DSEE Ultimate but every now and then I go direct as well.

 

[Valrhona]

Such a lovely iem! If you have heard earlier protos, imagine that with everything tightened up! Love how there is so much clarity also!

Thanks. How do they compare to your MSEs?

 

[KuroKitsu]

To each their own. There is no right or wrong. I for one love Sony DSP like DSEE Ultimate but every now and then I go direct as well.

It's not a judgement on the DSP or people that use them.

Like @Rockwell75 said, they sound great and simplicity fetish

 

[maegnificant]

I know these people are not generally loved by this thread, but the topic is very interesting and there is pretty much no one else to talk about it.

 

[chickenmcnug]

@drftr It just occurred to me that you can probably try to build a filter? Maybe cut some low density foam into small cylinders, and then glue those filters into the middle of your favorite tips? That way you can still use the tips that fit you best, but get some high-frequency attenuation at the same time.

Thanks for reminding me about these, they come with filters you can remove snd use on other tips, OS300 dampens the most treble.@drftr

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNFvAgQ

 

[yaps66]

Like some who have mentioned, Melodic Artification’s Alter Ego is fantastic to my ears. There’s an incredible amount of ease and finesse across the spectrum. The fp design is my absolute love, metal (titanium), with intricate etchings. V comfortable, incredibly light and the switches (2 modes) have a nice tactile heft. Melodic Artification is a new brand, working with Timsok. They are working out details to replenish supply (first batch sold out), I look forward in seeing their foray into the western market. A shoutout to @Crazeee who recommended this!

This is their booth at CanJam Singapore. It is a fun iem!

 

[Pelilin]

My current favorite tip for everything, from fit, isolation to sound quality is Nostalgia Audio's XWB tips. They are one of the few tips that sit at a sweet spot in their sizing between other companies, where their medium isn't as big as others mediums but not too much smaller where I don't get a good seal. SQ wise, they are incredibly transparent with no coloration and let the iem shine through as intended, just the right thickness on the nozzle, incredible hold (never slips, even on nozzles with no notched grip) and they don't make my ears itchy like some other silicone tips do. Highly recommend these guys.

On the topic of Nostalgia Audio, those who know me know I'm a giant fan of the Tesseract and spent half my CanJam attendance at NYC trying to get fellow WCer's to listen to it . I recently got a demo of the Camelot and also instantly fell in love with it, and luckily unlike the Tesseract, the Camelot can be a CIEM, so guess which guy has THREE CIEMs currently in the works .

Nothing but praise for the Camelot really, incredibly transparent and uncolored, absolutely fantastic with neutral sources for just being accurate and great timbre with a nice wide/deep and relatively tall soundstage and great resolution. The bass is fast, tight without being overly in your face or punchy, one of the best DD bass out there, mids are neutrally placed, never recessed or too far forward with a nice airy but cohesive and detailed sound while the treble is decently well extended but not over present or piercing to those who may be sensitive. I'd say the only place this set lags behind some of my others in overall technicality is it's imaging, while still great for it's price range, it's no Indigo or Viking. Highly recommend to anyone who just wants a very neutral, accurate and easy listening set, the UIEM (while large, but not as big as Tesseract) is one of the most comfortable UIEMs I've owned, Nostalgia certainly knows how to make a shell AND eartips now.

I absolutely agree about the XWB tips. I have one and now it is my main tips. It is perfectly balance with big staging it can compete with tips for vast headstaging. What is amazing is it add note thickness and slight warmness to any IEMs.

 

[Rolu]

I know these people are not generally loved by this thread, but the topic is very interesting and there is pretty much no one else to talk about it.

Really? I love and resonate with Resolve's takes!

 

[yaps66]

Thanks. How do they compare to your MSEs?

Different drivers especially for treble. What's special though with duality is the way bass is presented. Tight yet with an excellent amount of skull shattering rumble!

 

[BORUSSIA]

For foam, I love the Hifogo Render tips, so comfortable yet holds an Xe6 on an EA Code 23 (talk about weight). For silicone tips, the Penon Liqueur tips will do the same.

Monachaa is so speedy it can keep up with everything. The only dead giveaway that they're DDs is the coherence, otherwise you'd believe they were well tuned BAs or ESTs mixed in

For foam, I love the Hifogo Render tips, so comfortable yet holds an Xe6 on an EA Code 23 (talk about weight). For silicone tips, the Penon Liqueur tips will do the same.

Monachaa is so speedy it can keep up with everything. The only dead giveaway that they're DDs is the coherence, otherwise you'd believe they were well tuned BAs or ESTs mixed in.

Do you think the Shanling H7 has enough power to let them shine? On balanced it has 1.3W output power @32 ohms

 

[Scubadevils]

This is their booth at CanJam Singapore. It is a fun iem!

I’m really curious to hear more about this one - Eclipse is a fantastic IEM and definitely a set I regret parting with. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this!