[Bosk]

Penon recently sent me one of their Renata cables, and pairing it with the XE6s has yielded extremely positive initial impressions.

It's always fascinated me how the more substantial cables are able to alter our perception of soundstage dimensions, stretching them outwards or bending them more sharply around heads in a manner that's difficult to put into words. Among other changes I notice this with the Renata, creating the uncanny feeling that the stage has broadened and deepened which gives instruments more room to breathe in their own individual pockets of space.

There's also a lot to be said for the ergonomics of thicker 2 wire cables versus the usual 8 wire cables that've dominated the upper end of the market - less propensity to tangle and more rounded earhooks, yet potentially similar performance benefits. Maybe that's why we've seen more chunky 2 wire cables pop up lately.

I aim to evaluate the Renata side-by-side with Penon's ASOS+, EA's Code 24 & Liquid Links Venom in an upcoming review.

 

[emdeevee]

Penon recently sent me one of their Renata cables, and pairing it with the XE6s has yielded extremely positive initial impressions.

It's always fascinated me how the more substantial cables are able to alter our perception of soundstage dimensions, stretching them outwards or bending them more sharply around heads in a manner that's difficult to put into words. Among other changes I notice this with the Renata, creating the uncanny feeling that the stage has broadened and deepened which gives instruments more room to breathe in their own individual pockets of space.

There's also a lot to be said for the ergonomics of thicker 2 wire cables versus the usual 8 wire cables that've dominated the upper end of the market - less propensity to tangle and more rounded earhooks, yet potentially similar performance benefits. Maybe that's why we've seen more chunky 2 wire cables pop up lately.

I aim to evaluate the Renata side-by-side with Penon's ASOS+, EA's Code 24 & Liquid Links Venom in an upcoming review.

I just got my second Renata, it's a great cable, but I have yet to try it with Xe6. Must put it on the list of tries. Penon cables compete very effectively, and usually at a lower price point.

 

[aaf evo]

What IEM did you have to divorce for this

I did sacrifice my Fei Wan CIEM to soften the blow.

 

[wolfstar76]

Penon recently sent me one of their Renata cables, and pairing it with the XE6s has yielded extremely positive initial impressions.

It's always fascinated me how the more substantial cables are able to alter our perception of soundstage dimensions, stretching them outwards or bending them more sharply around heads in a manner that's difficult to put into words. Among other changes I notice this with the Renata, creating the uncanny feeling that the stage has broadened and deepened which gives instruments more room to breathe in their own individual pockets of space.

There's also a lot to be said for the ergonomics of thicker 2 wire cables versus the usual 8 wire cables that've dominated the upper end of the market - less propensity to tangle and more rounded earhooks, yet potentially similar performance benefits. Maybe that's why we've seen more chunky 2 wire cables pop up lately.

I aim to evaluate the Renata side-by-side with Penon's ASOS+, EA's Code 24 & Liquid Links Venom in an upcoming review.

Got mine as well, loving it. It shapes and looks like a Code series, but I haven't compare them side by side yet.

 

[NovaFlyer]

Alright it's been a while since we've done any sort of survey. Now that we're 1/3 and two CanJams into 2024 what are the top 3-5 things on your radar right now?

For myself:

1) Elysian Pilgrim Noir - Loved the OG, Noir sounds even more up my alley
2) Elysian Dio-- not really a potential buy for me, but I'm dying to heari it.
3) Melodic Artification Alter Ego -- This one was a show highlight for a very diverse range of folks-- I'm quite interested in hearing it.
4) iBasso PB5-- I'm not really a dongle or portable Amp guy but I might eventually jump on one of these just to try it.
5) An EE prototpe I heard rumours about along the lines of an updated LX-- anyone have any more info on that?

Still playing catch up on the thread here. My list is:

1. Eletech Romeo prototype I heard before the Singapore retune. Interested to hear the retuned version at SoCal.
2. EE Triton
3. Elysian Noir
4. PB5
5. Symphonium Titan

 

[briantrinh86]

I did sacrifice my Fei Wan CIEM to soften the blow.

Feel sorry for your loss bob!

 

[Zachik]

There’s even one van Dijk family up here in northern Norway

They spread like the plague really.

I bet 8% of all Europeans have Van Dijk genes in their DNA

 

[Lucikun]

RN6 are very easy to drive. Pretty much any portable DAP or DAC/AMP dongle can drive them. Is there a price range? Source signature – colored, warm, neutral?

On the portable end, there’s HiBy R6 Pro II, iBasso’s latest DX260, Shanling M6 Ultra, A&K R35. Cayin’s N7 was a favorite of mine with unique 1Bit DSD DAC. If you don’t need streaming, Cayin’s new N3 Ultra with dual Raytheon tubes for $549.

Warm neutral such as HiBy R8 II brings a lot of value for $2K and just north of that is Shanling’s M9+.

For $3K+, A&K’s new SP3KT very interesting with Dual Raytheon JAN6418 MIL-SPEC vintage tubes and there’s neutral resolving iBasso DX320MAX, A&K SP3K, Cayin N8ii (maybe too revealing for RN6). If you’re looking for smooth analog R2R natural tonality, there’s A&K SE300 and HiBy’s RS8 (my favorite). Then there’s Cayin’s limited edition N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl (more resolving of the two) with triple tube timbre.

Personal pick, HiBy R8II followed by portables HiBy R6 Pro II and iBasso DX260.

Hey, sorry for delay in responding as I’ve only seen this just today.

Thank you for the detailed response! I have it narrowed down to the Hiby RS8, AK SE300, and Cayin N8ii. I think the RS8 is my front runner, I just have to convince myself to spend that amount of money on a DAP.

Other options I’m considering are the Mojo 2/Poly and Hugo 2/2go. Though the Mojo especially seems like a somewhat janky device from what I’ve heard around the web.

 

[briantrinh86]

I am planning to add a "summit-fi" headphone setup within the next 12 months

ill be exited to see @aaf evo next summit -fi hp setup.. Hard to catch you on iem switching, you’re fast as a rocket.

 

[warrenpchi]

After inserting the Trifectas in my ears while standing in the counter of Audio46, it took a few minutes for my brain to adjust to the quantity of information bombarding my head. After 10 minutes, I decided to play NIN’s March of the Pigs from the Downward Spiral Album and boom, this electrical energy just invaded my brain and almost melted my eyes (lol, I’m really excited with this thing). I was immediately sold into this incredible IEM.

What actually convinced me to get it was an emotion quite different from what I usually experience with the standard hi-fi gear: All of a sudden I stopped to analyze the technicalities of the system and I was transported to the couch in the living room where I grew up, listening to my dad’s grownup stereo system, loud volume, just listening to the song, connecting with it emotionally, without separating frequencies or instruments or trying to close my eyes searching for the musicians in the room. And as a musician and an audiophile I MISS connecting to songs that I like as opposed to listening to beautifully recorded albums because they will show up what the gear can do. And that for me is pure magic! I was desperately searching for that connection. I won’t bother with measurements, curves, analysis, nothing. I trust what I am listening and it is just extremely engaging and exciting.

I don’t know how many of you had the opportunity to try this IEM paired with the N30LE (and the mandarin earplugs) but seriously, it is a unique musical experience. It is almost like the DAP works as a catalyst for this wild IEM, guiding it to a more emotional path, increasing its clarity and bringing the lower frequencies to a level of power and control that I don’t see everyday in a portable system. It is remarkable!

What you're describing is what happened to me with my ZMF Atrium + McIntosh MHA200 over on the headphone side of the hobby.

Though I am pretty accepting of a wide range of signatures, I am unbashedly a detailhead first and foremost, with my preferences leaning more towards an analytical critical-listening type of presentation. But the rich, analog, almost nostalgic sound of the Atrium pairing above just reaches into my brain and flicks off my critical listening switch. "Just listen, just enjoy" it says. It basically does this:

Thus far, I've been eyeing the Trifecta debate with curiosity. But if it can do what the Atrium does, then I might have to move it farther up my auditioning list.

I very rarely blind buy universals like I used to. Now that I am starting to attend CanJams and can try most other stuff through MusicTeck, there is just no need. On top of that I think for my tastes there are maybe 5 sets that I consider "worth" owning for myself anyways so the overall temptation to buy new things has really dwindled.

Yeah, I know exactly how that feels. At this point, the next big thing no longer catches my eye or ear the way it used to. I find myself more attracted to innovation, or unique properties, with only tremendous leaps in traditional performance disrupting that. On one hand, that makes the hobby a little less exciting and obsessive than it used to be. On the other hand, there's more time to simply enjoy music, and that's always a good thing.

Other options I’m considering are the Mojo 2/Poly and Hugo 2/2go. Though the Mojo especially seems like a somewhat janky device from what I’ve heard around the web.

Really, how so?

 

[Neweymatt]

3DD vs 3DD
$30 vs $3k(ish)
cca trio/campfire trifecta
with my henchmen of recently released kz/cca iems, i immediately rushed to compare them to some totl giants. i didn't have much time there as it was my first time going and i wanted to speedrun the whole thing in >6 hours.

listening to the trifecta made me realize how far kz has come along with their drivers. it took a couple attempts to get their multi-dd setups correct (duo and castor) and with a 220 ohm adapter they still produce clean, powerful bass. trifecta just doesnt cut it for me, it sounds blurry compared to the trio. I'm still in shock at how $30 can literally be endgame for anybody looking to just hit play and enjoy the music.

I am extremely happy with the modest CCA Trio

It's become the benchmark single-/all-DD for me, after hearing so many others at orders of magnitude higher price points that didn't work for me including Advar, Perpetua and Trifecta, each of which had spiky upper mids/treble in different unacceptable ways.

I'm still holding out hope that maybe Quattro or Duality will offer a more technical listen with even larger stage than the Trio, but if not the $30 for these will have been well spent.

 

[iscorpio71]

I am extremely happy with the modest CCA Trio



It's become the benchmark single-/all-DD for me, after hearing so many others at orders of magnitude higher price points that didn't work for me including Advar, Perpetua and Trifecta, each of which had spiky upper mids/treble in different unacceptable ways.

I'm still holding out hope that maybe Quattro or Duality will offer a more technical listen with an even larger stage than the Trio, but if not, the $30 for these will have been well spent.

I haven't heard the Trifecta, but that's a bold statement. I do listen at this moment, mainly to the Quattro. I also have the Trio, which is OK, but I haven't really spent that much time with it, as the Quattro's sound is amazing!

 

[twister6]

Just a few days ago we discussed the caliber of IEMs being covered in this thread, with some feeling more flagship-level IEMs are being talked about in the WT. Well, there are audio gems in every price category. In my last review, I talked about Hidizs MP145 Planar Magnetic IEMs. Today, I'm stepping up from 14.5mm PMD to 15.4mm DD in my iBasso 3T-154 IEMs review. Enjoy the read about these $149 IEMs

 

[KuroKitsu]

Back to basics tonight. I haven't listened to M4 much the last few months with all the TOTLs going in and out.

Yes that's a 1Z and a Cardas Clear. but it's probably the cheapest (relatively) setup I have.

Everytime I go back to the M4 from a long stint with the big boys, I'm little concerned that it won't hold up. But everytime I hit play, The M4 reminds why I moved all my 64 customs in favour of it.

 

[wolfstar76]

Back to basics tonight. I haven't listened to M4 much the last few months with all the TOTLs going in and out.

Yes that's a 1Z and a Cardas Clear. but it's probably the cheapest (relatively) setup I have.

Everytime I go back to the M4 from a long stint with the big boys, I'm little concerned that it won't hold up. But everytime I hit play, The M4 reminds why I moved all my 64 customs in favour of it.

Why do you want to hide the beautiful gold of 1Z? Just take off the case .