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

[NewEve]

One of my other resolutions for 2022 is to endure pain by way of lying down on a bed of spikes They've rightly targeted me on Facebook for a while - one of the areas they supposedly benefit is the back. Also, interesting reports of helping people sleep which I need also. Anyway, I'll find out soon... arrives on Thursday. IE900 might be a good listening partner with those crisp highs that touch on my threshold!

I'll prep myself for:

These things aren't half bad TBH.

But, yeah, it takes some getting used to.

 

[Scubadevils]

These things aren't half bad TBH.

But, yeah, it takes some getting used to.

I was walking during the summer towards our local beach on holidays - to include barefoot on small sharp edged stones, painful but weirdly satisfying, especially when I stepped off!

 

[NewEve]

I was walking during the summer towards our local beach on holidays - to include barefoot on small sharp edged stones, painful but weirdly satisfying, especially when I stepped off!

Lol, this something else

 

[Scubadevils]

Lol, this something else

Haha, we shall see - it might end up on Classifieds, I'll throw in with a set of unbearable harsh IEMs if I ever get a set!

 

[ian91]

One of my other resolutions for 2022 is to endure pain by way of lying down on a bed of spikes They've rightly targeted me on Facebook for a while - one of the areas they supposedly benefit is the back. Also, interesting reports of helping people sleep which I need also. Anyway, I'll find out soon... arrives on Thursday. IE900 might be a good listening partner with those crisp highs that touch on my threshold!

I'll prep myself for:

I used to have something similar and it was useful as a point (excuse the pun) of focus during meditation. I'm not sure what affect it will have on exisiting pain. Alternatives for a non-pharmacologic approach for that are TENs and mindfulness-based pain management or some good old tiger balm. Have a read into the gate control theory - it's quite interesting with a reasonable evidence base in practice. The menthol in tiger balm and its activation of the 'menthol receptor' is partly responsible for its effect of dampening concurrent transmission of nociceptive (painful) stimuli.


Edit: I think your Shakti mat should become a feature of your future reviews. Listen to your IEMs while on the mat and however long can you last must be related to how enjoyable or immersive the IEM is? Or not...

 

[NewEve]

As to 2022's resolutions, I have a single one:

• Find the right equilibrium in-between enjoying / not suffering from what I have / don't have (as you can imagine, this transcends this hobby of ours)

As to 2022’s resolutions as an audiophile, I’m only allowed:

• One new DAP — Believe it or not, that’s already done 1-5-22 Edit: returned
• One new pair of IEMs — [__]
• One new pair of headphones — [__]

Who will join me in this challenge?

I’m sticking to it.

Points per buys:

• 10 points for 0 buy
• 7 points for one buy
• 4 points for two buys
• 1 point for three buys
• 0 point for four buys and more

The more point you have, the better it is.

Nothing is offset by sales or giveaways

Those who get 10 points get a title yet to be defined, ideas are welcome.

Title(s) to be bestowed sometimes in January 2023.

 

[Scubadevils]

I used to have something similar and it was useful as a point (excuse the pun) of focus during meditation. I'm not sure what affect it will have on exisiting pain. Alternatives for a non-pharmacologic approach for that are TENs and mindfulness-based pain management or some good old tiger balm. Have a read into the gate control theory - it's quite interesting with a reasonable evidence base in practice. The menthol in tiger balm and its activation of the 'menthol receptor' is partly responsible for its effect of dampening concurrent transmission of nociceptive (painful) stimuli.


Edit: I think your Shakti mat should become a feature of your future reviews. Listen to your IEMs while on the mat and however long can you last must be related to how enjoyable or immersive the IEM is? Or not...

Tiger Balm - great idea, I've used it before but a while since I've had a flare up of this level. I'll read up on the others too, cheers!

Ha, yep - Shakti mat reviews sound good too!

 

[ian91]

As to 2022’s resolutions as an audiophile, I’m only allowed:

• One new DAP — Believe it or not, that’s already done
• One new pair of IEMs — [__]
• One new pair of headphones — [__]

Who will join me in this challenge?

I’m sticking to it.

0 buy = 10 points
1 buy = 7 points
2 buys = 4 points
3 buys = 1 point

The more point you have, the better it is.

The first attempt to introduce some collective accountability into the 'cooler - I like it...

I'm willing to limit myself to one set of IEMs, headphones and DAP but I can't be counting earbuds in this equation because I've already committed to two sets in 2022...

 

[davidmolliere]

As to 2022’s resolutions as an audiophile, I’m only allowed:

• One new DAP — Believe it or not, that’s already done
• One new pair of IEMs — [__]
• One new pair of headphones — [__]

Who will join me in this challenge?

I’m sticking to it.

Points per buys:

• 10 points for 0 buy
• 7 points for one buy
• 4 points for two buys
• 1 point for three buys

The more point you have, the better it is.

Nothing is offset by sales or giveaways

Those who get 10 points get a title yet to be defined, ideas are welcome.

Exciting idea, I am likely to end up at minus whatnot

I can try the challenge for a month lol

Although right now, I am in audiophile heaven with the Pro iCAN... and I have a 2021 purchase coming in in two weeks (custom Jolene) so that's cheating

 

[NewEve]

Exciting idea, I am likely to end up at minus whatnot

I can try the challenge for a month lol

Although right now, I am in audiophile heaven with the Pro iCAN... and I have a 2021 purchase coming in in two weeks (custom Jolene) so that's cheating

Orders to placed in 2021 do not count

 

[davidmolliere]

Orders to placed in 2021 do not count

Lucky I buffed up the stock

Do sell count for bonus ?

 

[claud W]

Lucky I buffed up the stock

Do sell count for bonus ?

New Eve, I will play. I have not purchased any thing in 2022. Whoever will play, we will compare notes at the end of the month. I am still waiting on the LZ Crin and the Crin Eclipse, both, bought and paid for in 2021.

 

[NewEve]

As to 2022’s resolutions as an audiophile, I’m only allowed:

• One new DAP — Believe it or not, that’s already done
• One new pair of IEMs — [__]
• One new pair of headphones — [__]

Who will join me in this challenge?

I’m sticking to it.

Points per buys:

• 10 points for 0 buy
• 7 points for one buy
• 4 points for two buys
• 1 point for three buys
• 0 point for four buys and more

The more point you have, the better it is.

Nothing is offset by sales or giveaways

Those who get 10 points get a title yet to be defined, ideas are welcome.

Title(s) to be bestowed sometimes in January 2023.

@ian91 -- 10 points (4 if we count the earbuds you already committed to )
@davidmolliere -- 10 points (2021 orders don't count but you can't offset anything via sales and sales don't count as bonus )
@claud W -- 10 points
@Ace Bee -- 10 points
@NewEve -- 7 points

 

[DunkFealer]

Very interesting... as I wrote elsewhere yesterday... It's quite hard to find tunings that don't aim to please everyone and have a clear intent, these days that's what I value most. Not another brick in the wall so to speak When the tuning clicks with you then it's just pure bliss

I personnally rank IEMs not based on pure performance but enjoyment factor and it's not proportional to price and pure technical ability... most of it is tuning. Depending on where you're at in your journey and your priorities you might not be looking for the single silver bullet that does it all (been there a while back). Of course building an all rounder is a tuning intent just one that no matter how brilliant fails to move me the same way and I get bored over time. That was my experience with the Erlkönig for example and that probably why PHöNIX or Traillii isn't for me... I prefer something like the Elysium that can be polarizing but has a clear place in my inventory (granted I have lots of IEMs so my take is probably not typical).

It's very very hard to build an all rounder that stands out as much as a more focused intent in terms of tuning.

Yeah I see where you're coming from, and it wouldn't surprise me if some of the people that ended up selling their sets had similar thoughts.

I honestly am not sure I've narrowed down on what it is I'm looking for in sound, or if I will ever get narrower in my taste. The bird does have this weird "greater than sum of parts" approach to sound that appeals to me greatly, and prevents it from seeming boring or lacking intent. (This is something I've heard people who love Penon express, hence some of my interest in them.) I seem to be able to enjoy a wide range of tuning philosophies and distinct approaches to the hobby. For whatever reason I enjoy sets tuned for organic/natural sound (Ely) and sets that are colder and more analytical (Trio) in similar amounts, which from watching threads I surmise that people don't normally cross these lines. Maybe one day I'll distill what it is that keeps me coming back to IEMs, but for now the adventure is exciting enough to keep me busy. And thankfully now that I have gotten a taste of summit-fi my urges have spontaneously shifted to less expensive things---with no less enjoyment of the process!

 

[Ace Bee]

As to 2022’s resolutions as an audiophile, I’m only allowed:

• One new DAP — Believe it or not, that’s already done
• One new pair of IEMs — [__]
• One new pair of headphones — [__]

Who will join me in this challenge?

I’m sticking to it.

Points per buys:

• 10 points for 0 buy
• 7 points for one buy
• 4 points for two buys
• 1 point for three buys
• 0 point for four buys and more

The more point you have, the better it is.

Nothing is offset by sales or giveaways

Those who get 10 points get a title yet to be defined, ideas are welcome.

Title(s) to be bestowed sometimes in January 2023.

Let me get this straight -
Are we allowed one buy, and after that the points start to accumulate? Or does it start from the very first buy?
Either way I'm in. Still no buys in 2022, placed 2 orders in late 2021 which are yet to be delivered.