[HiFiHawaii808]

Further to the above I started this morning by "breaking my IEM fast" for the day with the Phonix and holy God almighty these are amazing IEMs. They do indeed have that Traillii effect, albeit manifested differently, where I put them on and am instantly sucked into their beautiful, technical, musical, precise, engaging and natural sound....these IEMs are stupefyingly good. If you're not on the Canadian tour yet and are eligible see the thread and sign yourself up. You NEED to hear these IEMs.

Edit: Phönix just added to my want list...damn.

Whoa. So Phonix beat out EXT? That is surprising.

 

[discord]

LOL

I really need to signup for the Canadian tour. My ADHD and executive dysfunction is getting in my way.

Also taking on the responsibility for $7,000+ worth of IEMs makes me feel queezy. When I had @Rockwell75 Timeless and Isabella I thought that was a lot. Hahah.

Put them in one of these when not in use.

 

[Rockwell75]

Whoa. So Phonix beat out EXT? That is surprising.

Well it remains to be seen yet, and yes based on SQ and nothing else...if I had to pick one of the IEMs EXT is certainly the one I would choose...however factoring in context there are a few factors at play:

1) BA or not Phönix has the capacity to stop me in my tracks and instantly teleport me in to the sonic soundscape it's presenting...as satisfying as it is EXT doesn't quite have this effect to the same degree.

2) Phönix would occupy a more unique niche in my collection in that it would be my only BA IEM.

3) Phönix will likely be more forgiving on more varied sources and won't tempt me to start spending $$$ on desktop gear.

4) The fit is better. EXT has this bump on the nozzle which in my big ears if not positioned just right gives me an ear/head ache...I may yet be able to mitigate this somehow but we'll see...YMMV.

In other news I had to drive into town and saw some beautiful scenery:

 

[claud W]

Well it remains to be seen yet, and yes based on SQ and nothing else...if I had to pick one of the IEMs EXT is certainly the one I would choose...however factoring in context there are a few factors at play:

1) BA or not Phönix has the capacity to stop me in my tracks and instantly teleport me in to the sonic soundscape it's presenting...as satisfying as it is EXT doesn't quite have this effect to the same degree.

2) Phönix would occupy a more unique niche in my collection in that it would be my only BA IEM.

3) Phönix will likely be more forgiving on more varied sources and won't tempt me to start spending $$$ on desktop gear.

4) The fit is better. EXT has this bump on the nozzle which in my big ears if not positioned just right gives me an ear/head ache...I may yet be able to mitigate this somehow but we'll see...YMMV.

In other news I had to drive into town and saw some beautiful scenery:

Just Stunning. Is that why you chose to work there? What is the name of your local town?

 

[tgx78]

Just Stunning. Is that why you chose to work there? What is the name of your local town?

He lives in Gold River, BC

I need to visit.

 

[Scubadevils]

It seems my knowledge in this hobby has grown immensely in the last week, learning a key lesson: do not state in public that you are happy with your collection and don't intend to buy anything for a number of months... I've gone through a variety of psychological phases since, landing back firmly in the sheer lunacy of plotting and scheming to not only buy my next TOTL in Feb, but building the logic that I should really buy something in the meantime to keep me going - that purchase will likely happen in the next couple of days.

 

[Xinlisupreme]

It seems my knowledge in this hobby has grown immensely in the last week, learning a key lesson: do not state in public that you are happy with your collection and don't intend to buy anything for a number of months... I've gone through a variety of psychological phases since, landing back firmly in the sheer lunacy of plotting and scheming to not only buy my next TOTL in Feb, but building the logic that I should really buy something in the meantime to keep me going - that purchase will likely happen in the next couple of days.

Take a look to your signature and ask your self: should I buy or sell something?

 

[Scubadevils]

Take a look to your signature and ask your sel: should I buy or sell something?

Well two sold, equals one purchase - so the list is getting smaller

 

[claud W]

It seems my knowledge in this hobby has grown immensely in the last week, learning a key lesson: do not state in public that you are happy with your collection and don't intend to buy anything for a number of months... I've gone through a variety of psychological phases since, landing back firmly in the sheer lunacy of plotting and scheming to not only buy my next TOTL in Feb, but building the logic that I should really buy something in the meantime to keep me going - that purchase will likely happen in the next couple of days.

Scuba, been there, done that, and even know what I am going to buy, vendor and price. I will bet that you do not have any plans to sell any of your IEMs to finance the purchase. We are just hobbyists caught up in the new tech wave.
Sitting here listening to Coltrane and Leonard Skynyrd using Isa, Satin Audio Athena and my well broken in M9 and hoping the power does not go out again.

 

[Scubadevils]

Scuba, been there, done that, and even know what I am going to buy, vendor and price. I will bet that you do not have any plans to sell any of your IEMs to finance the purchase. We are just hobbyists caught up in the new tech wave.
Sitting here listening to Coltrane and Leonard Skynyrd using Isa, Satin Audio Athena and my well broken in M9 and hoping the power does not go out again.

Actually, I just sold two! - but I really felt no point in them gathering dust, knowing in all honesty I won't listen to them that often - especially in the case of ZEN OG when I prefer ZEN PRO. The other was DUNU SA6, a great IEM but IER-M9 is my go-to all BA. I can't see me selling anything else though, just happy with a bit of a tidy up.

 

[gLer]

It seems my knowledge in this hobby has grown immensely in the last week, learning a key lesson: do not state in public that you are happy with your collection and don't intend to buy anything for a number of months... I've gone through a variety of psychological phases since, landing back firmly in the sheer lunacy of plotting and scheming to not only buy my next TOTL in Feb, but building the logic that I should really buy something in the meantime to keep me going - that purchase will likely happen in the next couple of days.

Take two tablets twice a day for five days and stay off Head-Fi. Doctor's orders!

 

[Rockwell75]

He lives in Gold River, BC

I need to visit.

This is about half an hour out, right in the thick of Strathcona Park.

 

[Rockwell75]

Update:

I seem to have nailed a comfortable fit with EXT. The secret: Spiral Dots ++. These are the most expensive tips I've ever purchased and I've never found the perfect IEM to use them with until now. They're a bit fatter & softer than crystals and they help the EXT fit in my ears perfectly with (after ~1 hour) no fatigue to speak of. I'm back to loving EXT more than anything else in the world at the moment and feeling like I could ride into the sunset with it and it alone. All my comments RE Phonix still stand but the fact is EXT has pretty much my ideal driver config AND frequency response. The ticket? The bass is sooooooooooooooo nice...it's big, superbly textured & nuanced with thunderously deep punch and rumble. Possibly the best sub-midbass-midrange transition I've ever heard. It's so damn satisfying. My favorite thing about the bass is you get a level and quality of bass that should satisfy a proper basshead with no cost whatsoever to the perfectly placed & present mids (relative to my library and tastes etc.). There's real no conflict with the bass & mids at all, which is rather remarkable-- and the mids retain VE's signature clarity, body & naturalness. EXT seems to me to be the inverse of the Elysium. Elysium was about mids & treble working together with the bass in a wholly supportive role. With EXT you have bass & mids working together with treble more in a supporting role- though the treble is damn good. Now that these IEMs are sitting comfortably in my ear I never want to take them out. Epic & grand yet intimate and natural...and arguably my the most perfect bass response I've ever heard in IEMs. The Vision Ears EXT is a knockout in my book...if you can get the fit and source right.

 

[Rockwell75]

Congrats to @ranfan for his excellent RS10 review making the front page. That's a Watercooler hat trick on the front page this week.

 

[snowy8171]

Update:

I seem to have nailed a comfortable fit with EXT. The secret: Spiral Dots ++. These are the most expensive tips I've ever purchased and I've never found the perfect IEM to use them with until now. They're a bit fatter & softer than crystals and they help the EXT fit in my ears perfectly with (after ~1 hour) no fatigue to speak of. I'm back to loving EXT more than anything else in the world at the moment and feeling like I could ride into the sunset with it and it alone. All my comments RE Phonix still stand but the fact is EXT has pretty much my ideal driver config AND frequency response. The ticket? The bass is sooooooooooooooo nice...it's big, superbly textured & nuanced with thunderously deep punch and rumble. Possibly the best sub-midbass-midrange transition I've ever heard. It's so damn satisfying. My favorite thing about the bass is you get a level and quality of bass that should satisfy a proper basshead with no cost whatsoever to the perfectly placed & present mids (relative to my library and tastes etc.). There's real no conflict with the bass & mids at all, which is rather remarkable-- and the mids retain VE's signature clarity, body & naturalness. EXT seems to me to be the inverse of the Elysium. Elysium was about mids & treble working together with the bass in a wholly supportive role. With EXT you have bass & mids working together with treble more in a supporting role- though the treble is damn good. Now that these IEMs are sitting comfortably in my ear I never want to take them out. Epic & grand yet intimate and natural...and arguably my the most perfect bass response I've ever heard in IEMs. The Vision Ears EXT is a knockout in my book...if you can get the fit and source right.

These have been on the radar since release, just couldn't justify spending 3k on an iem right now. It's waiting game now and hopefully 2nd hand it can get under $2k