The bass and vocals on these are absolutely gorgeous, and with the addition of the filters, you can also attenuate the lower or upper frequencies each to the level of your liking. Plus tips selection, it's so much fun configuring the sound!
It's around $340 new Vocals have this warmth and good weight in its lower end, as well as a natural slightly warm and sweet sounding timbre. And at the upper end using the porous spongy filter, the treble sounds liquid smooth, clear without any harshness
For reference the default tuning is : SoundPipe : A-8 with no B filter Driver Holder : None Driver Vent : None
I found the default tuning to suffer from some sibilance so my goal was to reduce this while keeping the bass level so here is the recipe I have tried : SoundPipe : A-9 + B-3 Driver Holder : None Driver Vent : None
Here is what it means in terms of tuning :
I find this graph a bit strange as Final says it has the "greatest attenuation of mid to high range" is the A-9 filter so increased highs combined with increased lows is a bit puzzling, the FR graph filter is clearer (A-9 is the lower curve in yellow) :
Second I used the B-3 filter, to make some attenuation on the highs but not too much and boost the lows to counteract the loss from the A-9 filter.
What I hear is that I don't loose extension, I do get more mid bass and the treble tone is warmer and more pleasing, also the upper mids are still good enough for everything to sound articulate but the harshness with default tuning is gone. I also hear a bit more lower mids, the Make 2 sounds fuller now and I have better depth.
I am pretty happy with that combo, I don't want less bass impact so I won't be playing with driver holder or driver vent. A good thing since I tested opening the casing is not that easy at all...
Happy 2022 to the Watercooler crew! May the year ahead bring you joy and prosperity, but also peace, good health and personal contentment.
I've literally just finished catching up on the six (or seven!?) pages I missed since yesterday evening. Far too much to quote and reply to, so off the top of my head:
Congrats on the 600 pages guys! Onward and upward.
Great end-of-year reviews, @Scuba Devils with a really entertaining and music-filled Dark Sky adventure, and @Rockwell75 with a comprehensive appraisal of Zen Pro. Brilliant insights that I get to enjoy vicariously through your experiences.
To everyone else for the colourful mix of movie reviews, location shots and 2022 wishlists. Lots to take stock of.
And lastly, on a personal note, the variety of topics, personalities and refreshing lack of conflict in this thread is truly impressive.
This morning I woke up fresh from a good night's sleep, which followed an enjoyable NYE at home with my family (by choice - no curfews or lockdowns here). And for the first time in I don't know how long, something was missing.
Gear anxiety. FOMO. Insecurity.
It's been so long since I've had no wandering thoughts about 'what's next' that I don't really know what to do with it.
This is not my first rodeo. I've been here before, and every other instance proved a false dawn. So I promised myself I wouldn't rush it this time, despite the not-too-subtle hints I've been dropping on this and other threads for the past fortnight.
But something about today just feels right.
Maybe it's the euphoria of a new year (I'm very sentimental that way), but it's more than that. Is it the joy I've had from the very first listen that's still there and getting better each day? Maybe it's the different pieces that somehow fit so well together? Or perhaps it's the sheer relief of finally scratching the itch(es) I've had for years...allthewhile wondering why I didn't scratch them sooner?
I honestly don't know. What I do know is that this time there's been no copious note taking, no A/B comparisons, no shuffling track after track looking for highlights (and lowlights).
Every day I'm finding something new, novel and exciting about simply listening, and every night I go to bed more convinced this is what I set out to find all along, when I took those first tentative steps down the rabbit hole.
No doubt there'll be chatter aplenty once you've seen what it is that I've been waffling on about. So I'm just going to leave it here, and see y'all around the 'cooler.
Listened to them tonight out of the R6 as well as the RU6 and it surprisingly sounded amazing out of both of them. No need a higher end Timeless as this blows both the Timeless and P1 out of the water.
The RU6, in the space of about two weeks, has already become a daily part of my music-listening life. It's just a damn good device. Waiting on my case to arrive from Cayin so I can protect it from all that mean it harm...
On the topic of the Sundara, it's a stellar planar but especially with amplification. Despite its low impedance and quoted high sensitivity I still prefer it with an amp. Listening to it on the RU6 it is clean, musical and a comfortable listen but just doesn't have the dynamism I know it's capable of. But each to their own and to have something to hand thats comfortably mobile and such high quality for such a reasonable price is great for everyone!
My current dream pairing is the SR80x > RU6 > phone. It's such a lightweight set up thats so versatile and the RU6 commands that 40mm driver without issue.
