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

[Rolu]

What has in your opinion the biggest soundstage and most detail and best bass / rumble?

I’m looking for a great DD set, for some rumble and slam

Something that has great synergy with Orpheus and Lotoo players (bonus: synergy with N30LE)

Soundstage- GM, easy.
Bass- I'm a big fan of Volur's bass but I do think GM has it better integrated and controlled so as to stay out of the other frequencies. Overall, GM has a very complete bass response.

Maybe don't overlook the MSE for fantastic bass response too (just a tad behind the GM in bass control though) because it might fit the ear better.

I chained these to LPGT/ LPGT Ti.

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Just sharing a stream of consciousness vis-à-vis sonic impressions of my new favorite IEM, the brilliant dual-planar, Campfire Astrolith, which continues to knock my socks off. I squeezed in a few tracks in between meetings and impressions are as follows.

• The first song I played was Anathema's "Can't Let Go". The breathtaking speed of percussive strikes on this track, whilst retaining depth of impact, is only possible for a planar methinks. What bass performance! Rest of the FR sounds great.
• Next I played "Game Over" by Machine Head. This track betrays the most genteel of IEMs in the treble region. The track is meant to yield treble sharpness; no two ways about it. But on the Astrolith, we stay on the right side of treble sharpness. Meanwhile, the subbass is absolutely thunderous. What a delicious little bass! The growl sounds gutteral, the drums are all encompassing, and also, the transition from drums to higher frequencies such as lead guitars is effortless. Did I mention the drum rolls are fast and furious as well, whilst retaining depth and decay of impact? This is my new bass king: adequate quantity for a closet-audiophile-basshead with supreme quality.
• Third, I played "California" by Joni Mitchel which is more of a girl with a guitar kind of a song. Her voice sounds perfect. Images on this track are perfectly spaced out on the extreme right and left of the center image. What staging! The staging is wider than on the SoftEars Enigma, which is another IEM that has blown me away this year. And man, her vocals sound perfect! Not too thick, nor too thin. You also hear details you don’t with lesser IEMs, like a percussive thing going on in the background. In fact, background sounds are breathtakingly present here. They come and go without impeding on the cohesiveness of the presentation. Inflections on the vocals and minute details of fingers strumming on the guitar, the slightest tremble in her voice are all captured picture-perfectly. What this track reveals is the insane ability of this IEM to generate detail. I kid you not: this IEM is more resolving than many that are twice as expensive. It's certainly more detailed than the XE6 and is likely in the Traillii-Jewel territory of detail.
• "My Cleveland Heart" from Jackson Brown starts with massive Himalayan bass. Reminds me of the Abyss 1266 Phi TC but this one has infinitely superior vocals. Vocal placement varies from track to track and can be forward or pushed back. But this is not for those who yearn the most protruding of vocals. Yes, it has a wonderful level of pinna gain, but this is not going to win any prizes for the most pinna gain of the year, and thank goodness for that. Vocals are just incredible in their realism because warm winds blow over it from the upper bass territory and just as well. I would say that the overall presentation is warmer than neutral.
• Playing "Behind Blue Eyes" by the Who reveals the extraordinary staging capabilities of this IEM. In my experience, pulling the upper midrange pack can create a sense of depth, but this IEM has both the depth and an insane amount of soundstage width!
• Playing Katie Mehlua, Veronica Salt and Tracy Chapman further drives home the point of the incredible timbral naturalism of this IEM - vocal magic. They are not as sweet as in the Traillii but somehow more natural to my ears. With the Trailllii, I almost feel that the weaker bass impact (to my ears, YMMV) paves the way for the vocals to shine through, whereas with the Astrolith, the vocals are actually warmed up owing to the lower frequencies, giving them the tonal density and noteweight I crave nowadays.

I can go on and on about this IEM off my Sony WM1ZM2, but I will stop now because I have a full day of work ahead. One thing is likely happening: this is making it to my Top IEMs of 2024 list. And no, I am yet to hear the Clara! That said, kudos, Campfire!

Damn campfire is on a roll lately!

 

[gLer]

Just sharing a stream of consciousness vis-à-vis sonic impressions of my new favorite IEM, the brilliant dual-planar, Campfire Astrolith, which continues to knock my socks off. I squeezed in a few tracks in between meetings and impressions are as follows.

• The first song I played was Anathema's "Can't Let Go". The breathtaking speed of percussive strikes on this track, whilst retaining depth of impact, is only possible for a planar methinks. What bass performance! Rest of the FR sounds great.
• Next I played "Game Over" by Machine Head. This track betrays the most genteel of IEMs in the treble region. The track is meant to yield treble sharpness; no two ways about it. But on the Astrolith, we stay on the right side of treble sharpness. Meanwhile, the subbass is absolutely thunderous. What a delicious little bass! The growl sounds gutteral, the drums are all encompassing, and also, the transition from drums to higher frequencies such as lead guitars is effortless. Did I mention the drum rolls are fast and furious as well, whilst retaining depth and decay of impact? This is my new bass king: adequate quantity for a closet-audiophile-basshead with supreme quality.
• Third, I played "California" by Joni Mitchel which is more of a girl with a guitar kind of a song. Her voice sounds perfect. Images on this track are perfectly spaced out on the extreme right and left of the center image. What staging! The staging is wider than on the SoftEars Enigma, which is another IEM that has blown me away this year. And man, her vocals sound perfect! Not too thick, nor too thin. You also hear details you don’t with lesser IEMs, like a percussive thing going on in the background. In fact, background sounds are breathtakingly present here. They come and go without impeding on the cohesiveness of the presentation. Inflections on the vocals and minute details of fingers strumming on the guitar, the slightest tremble in her voice are all captured picture-perfectly. What this track reveals is the insane ability of this IEM to generate detail. I kid you not: this IEM is more resolving than many that are twice as expensive. It's certainly more detailed than the XE6 and is likely in the Traillii-Jewel territory of detail.
• "My Cleveland Heart" from Jackson Brown starts with massive Himalayan bass. Reminds me of the Abyss 1266 Phi TC but this one has infinitely superior vocals. Vocal placement varies from track to track and can be forward or pushed back. But this is not for those who yearn the most protruding of vocals. Yes, it has a wonderful level of pinna gain, but this is not going to win any prizes for the most pinna gain of the year, and thank goodness for that. Vocals are just incredible in their realism because warm winds blow over it from the upper bass territory and just as well. I would say that the overall presentation is warmer than neutral.
• Playing "Behind Blue Eyes" by the Who reveals the extraordinary staging capabilities of this IEM. In my experience, pulling the upper midrange pack can create a sense of depth, but this IEM has both the depth and an insane amount of soundstage width!
• Playing Katie Mehlua, Veronica Salt and Tracy Chapman further drives home the point of the incredible timbral naturalism of this IEM - vocal magic. They are not as sweet as in the Traillii but somehow more natural to my ears. With the Trailllii, I almost feel that the weaker bass impact (to my ears, YMMV) paves the way for the vocals to shine through, whereas with the Astrolith, the vocals are actually warmed up owing to the lower frequencies, giving them the tonal density and noteweight I crave nowadays.

I can go on and on about this IEM off my Sony WM1ZM2, but I will stop now because I have a full day of work ahead. One thing is likely happening: this is making it to my Top IEMs of 2024 list. And no, I am yet to hear the Clara! That said, kudos, Campfire!

I concur with the background detail and the natural timbre comments. It always catches me off guard with how it lays bare the minutia of detail without throwing it in your face. I’d also say one of its strengths is in how it portrays the music with a sense of ease… I don’t know how to put it into words but nothing ever feels strained or forced, it’s just effortless. I’m putting that down to the nature and technical competency of the drivers.

Great impressions and I completely concur. I've kept rather quiet on the threads about Astro, despite giving it a glowing review, because I just know that CFA comes with some sort of conscious or subconscious bias for many users for some reason. Some of the negative feedback from the recent SoCal event backs that up, whereas I just don't get where it's coming from. With Trifecta I can fully understand, given its divisive and bombastic tuning, but Astrolith is so much NOT that, and yet to me it's so much better than Trifecta, especially in technical performance, but also tonal coherence. Anyway, glad it's finally getting some belated love. Just my 0.02.

 

[boromcom]

Macbeth is here

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Macbeth is here

This is definitely gonna be a classic

 

[Simpeler]

Soundstage- GM, easy.
Bass- I'm a big fan of Volur's bass but I do think GM has it better integrated and controlled so as to stay out of the other frequencies. Overall, GM has a very complete bass response.

Maybe don't overlook the MSE for fantastic bass response too (just a tad behind the GM in bass control though) because it might fit the ear better.

I chained these to LPGT/ LPGT Ti.

Would you consider GM a good addition to the Amber Pearl?

Tbh I’m looking for an IEM on the road (I dont want to risk losing the AP or V3)

 

[Nightshifter]

Just sharing a stream of consciousness vis-à-vis sonic impressions of my new favorite IEM, the brilliant dual-planar, Campfire Astrolith, which continues to knock my socks off. I squeezed in a few tracks in between meetings and impressions are as follows.

• The first song I played was Anathema's "Can't Let Go". The breathtaking speed of percussive strikes on this track, whilst retaining depth of impact, is only possible for a planar methinks. What bass performance! Rest of the FR sounds great.
• Next I played "Game Over" by Machine Head. This track betrays the most genteel of IEMs in the treble region. The track is meant to yield treble sharpness; no two ways about it. But on the Astrolith, we stay on the right side of treble sharpness. Meanwhile, the subbass is absolutely thunderous. What a delicious little bass! The growl sounds gutteral, the drums are all encompassing, and also, the transition from drums to higher frequencies such as lead guitars is effortless. Did I mention the drum rolls are fast and furious as well, whilst retaining depth and decay of impact? This is my new bass king: adequate quantity for a closet-audiophile-basshead with supreme quality.
• Third, I played "California" by Joni Mitchel which is more of a girl with a guitar kind of a song. Her voice sounds perfect. Images on this track are perfectly spaced out on the extreme right and left of the center image. What staging! The staging is wider than on the SoftEars Enigma, which is another IEM that has blown me away this year. And man, her vocals sound perfect! Not too thick, nor too thin. You also hear details you don’t with lesser IEMs, like a percussive thing going on in the background. In fact, background sounds are breathtakingly present here. They come and go without impeding on the cohesiveness of the presentation. Inflections on the vocals and minute details of fingers strumming on the guitar, the slightest tremble in her voice are all captured picture-perfectly. What this track reveals is the insane ability of this IEM to generate detail. I kid you not: this IEM is more resolving than many that are twice as expensive. It's certainly more detailed than the XE6 and is likely in the Traillii-Jewel territory of detail.
• "My Cleveland Heart" from Jackson Brown starts with massive Himalayan bass. Reminds me of the Abyss 1266 Phi TC but this one has infinitely superior vocals. Vocal placement varies from track to track and can be forward or pushed back. But this is not for those who yearn the most protruding of vocals. Yes, it has a wonderful level of pinna gain, but this is not going to win any prizes for the most pinna gain of the year, and thank goodness for that. Vocals are just incredible in their realism because warm winds blow over it from the upper bass territory and just as well. I would say that the overall presentation is warmer than neutral.
• Playing "Behind Blue Eyes" by the Who reveals the extraordinary staging capabilities of this IEM. In my experience, pulling the upper midrange pack can create a sense of depth, but this IEM has both the depth and an insane amount of soundstage width!
• Playing Katie Mehlua, Veronica Salt and Tracy Chapman further drives home the point of the incredible timbral naturalism of this IEM - vocal magic. They are not as sweet as in the Traillii but somehow more natural to my ears. With the Trailllii, I almost feel that the weaker bass impact (to my ears, YMMV) paves the way for the vocals to shine through, whereas with the Astrolith, the vocals are actually warmed up owing to the lower frequencies, giving them the tonal density and noteweight I crave nowadays.

I can go on and on about this IEM off my Sony WM1ZM2, but I will stop now because I have a full day of work ahead. One thing is likely happening: this is making it to my Top IEMs of 2024 list. And no, I am yet to hear the Clara! That said, kudos, Campfire!

I concur with the background detail and the natural timbre comments. It always catches me off guard with how it lays bare the minutia of detail without throwing it in your face. I’d also say one of its strengths is in how it portrays the music with a sense of ease… I don’t know how to put it into words but nothing ever feels strained or forced, it’s just effortless. I’m putting that down to the nature and technical competency of the drivers.

Damn campfire is on a roll lately!

That doesn't make things easier
Don't know which IEM will be my next one but the chance that it will be from CFA is raising.
I'll wait till more information / reviews for Clara are published.

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Would you consider GM a good addition to the Amber Pearl?

Tbh I’m looking for an IEM on the road (I dont want to risk losing the AP or V3)

IMO you should aim a little cheaper than the Gm maybe an ie900 !…something you can run around with, but not have a heart attack if it’s stolen

 

[Leto Dal]

From my experience its best to look for something with proper connection between the cable and the iem, best with recessed ports lol

UM stuff I had regullary disconnects. Its super easy to lose an iem if you are on the move and not paying attention.

 

[Simpeler]

IMO you should aim a little cheaper than the Gm maybe an ie900 !…something you can run around with, but not have a heart attack if it’s stolen

Well any loss will hurt (and did ), I do take this in consideration

 

[Ace Bee]

Well, since 634EARS ie being mentioned here, here is my LOAK2-TX01 with Sonokeling wood from their current flagship trio:

Big bass, clear mids, prominent but not strident highs, breathtaking details, huge stage, pinpoint imaging, and everything made more dynamic by the EarAudio ARC-Cu (7N UPOCC pure copper Type-4 litz) cable! Paired with the DX260, it is time for some musical nirvana

 

[audioaura]

Well, since 634EARS ie being mentioned here, here is my LOAK2-TX01 with Sonokeling wood from their current flagship trio:



Big bass, clear mids, prominent but not strident highs, breathtaking details, huge stage, pinpoint imaging, and everything made more dynamic by the EarAudio ARC-Cu (7N UPOCC pure copper Type-4 litz) cable! Paired with the DX260, it is time for some musical nirvana

That setup sounds fantastic! How much of a difference do you think the EarAudio cable makes to the overall sound quality?

 

[Venura]

Am I missing something, why the COREIR brass eartips are so highly regarded?

Same here, I have them and they barely get used.

Tried them with 6 different IEMs and didn't do much fit or sound wise

 

[Ace Bee]

That setup sounds fantastic! How much of a difference do you think the EarAudio cable makes to the overall sound quality?

Compared to the stock black 4.4mm cable, it makes the sound more dynamic, with a cleaner background. An overall improvement I can say. Everything becomes clearer and stage and imaging gets enhanced.

 

[Rolu]

Would you consider GM a good addition to the Amber Pearl?

Tbh I’m looking for an IEM on the road (I dont want to risk losing the AP or V3)

Yes I think so. I don't think they sound similar.