I actually use my 64As as earplugs for any event with even mildly loud musicNo wonder you and Bobby get on like a house on fire, just burning very, very quietly.
Seriously though, from everything I've read, the original PMG will be right up your alley!
Hyperacusis.I actually use my 64As as earplugs for any event with even mildly loud music
That and a long history of clusters!Hyperacusis.
Cheers!
Need to place this limit on myself too but can't help it for Fugaku.$3K is the limit I won't cross for iems or anything in my chain.
My wallet seems to be handling this slow burning okay
and I’m quite stoked because it’s coming from my home country Indonesia.
Stuff like this gets me all hyped! Just as exciting as new set day.
I was sure you were going to describe the weird children's party in the coffee bar!Paris EU Cooler Impressions
Thanks to a very last minute change of tour schedule I was able to make it to the (now unmissable) EU Cooler meetup in Paris! What a blast, these guys are surely the coolest Coolers, and spending time with your fellow audio gents in person sure beats the forums any day. I’m happily getting to know not only preferences and tastes for music, but personalities and life outside of audio which is super fun too. We had more than our fair share of coffee and snacks during our listening sessions, frenzied excitement fueled discussions about cables and DAPs, over dinners we talked audio and tons of random stuff, it’s really so much fun. My wife calls it my Super Nerding Weekend, and I’m already looking forward to the next one.
This year I had a few things to hear, but I mostly went for the meet and hang. There were a few standout items for which I can share some impressions, we sure live in the golden age of audio, all this stuff is really killer. I also really enjoyed everyone’s faces as their tried my STORM-SS8-Modded MAX320 Ti rig, minds blown all over the table! My part of table certainly doesn’t do justice to my salary (lack of) and general (low) wealth in this world. I guess it’s obvious this stuff is really, really important to me.
These are my edited and flushed out notes from the day, keeping it short this time!
L&P EA4
To no-one’s surprise this thing is absolutely stunning. It is much fatter and bigger than expected, in both sound and physics. It’s a big boy, and certainly for table top use. Wow. Super analog and thick, lush and extremely dense. Expansive and very detailed. Definitely tubey, lacking the SS option, but overwhelmingly musical and massive. On first listen I found it kind of warm, but after playing with the switches, not putting them all to up position, like 13v instead of 15, I was met with a much more balanced sound with extreme staging. Like LP6 Ti AE in a box, at least in terms of “making everything I plug into it sound insanely good.”
It’s also very sensitive to ICs and they changed the sound a lot. Also switching the IC cable direction made a huge difference - with a buddy’s 50S IC it was night and day. Brise cables have the direction printed with arrows, all others you should experiment to see which is better.
The EA4 Bridges the gap between portable IEM Amp and desktop gear. Unfortunately for my case I prefer having a full size amp if I’m going to be tethered, but it’s a hard one to say no to. Absolutely fantastic, and a no brainer for anyone looking for a “portable” amp.
Hercules Moses
Wow, fantastic bass. Fantastic IEM, this one will turn heads for sure. Only bass heavy iem I’ve heard where the rest of the frequencies aren’t suffered at all. Very angelic treble, like Elysian. Sounds quite like a “perfected” Anni 2023. Amazingly good, lived the liquid and silky tonality. Spacious stage, lush mids, only a touch of sizzle for detail, very airy top.
Sort of like a Traillii and Apx mixed. Great all rounder, when bass is needed it’s explosive, but gets out of the way when not needed. Not for every genre, but I could imagine almost everyone liking this one.
Shells look gorgeous too, despite the shape being very good I found the fit not great for me, but that’s deeply personal. Very nice stock cable too!
Noble Chronicle
I like it much more than last time, (from Dublin) more balanced and less spikey treble. Very refined and detailed, but still a touch of extra sizzle that becomes uncomfortable for harsher music styles. Most enjoyable Noble for me by far. Very balanced, great bass that is only slightly too low in quantity for me, still reminiscing of Ragnar, but far better and more listenable. More body, more weight to mids + upper mids too.
Extremely comfortable shell, one of the best I’ve ever had. Very pretty too!
I wasn’t allowed to change the cable, and I think the stock cable plays a large role in the tuning parts I don’t totally gel with. I think with a different cable this one could be perfect, not sure what to use but maybe Orpheus or SS4. I’d love to hear this one again with more time and some cable options.
Amber Pearl
This one is having quite the resurgence! Having owned it right after launch there were some things I would have liked to change, but in second listen I liked it more and needed to change less. Coming directly from Chronicle it seems almost dark in comparison, but more musical and velvety. Not as thick as I remember, but I think a lot of that is based on Eletech 5th Ode cable, less bass and more treble energy. AP + Shirogane was my previous favorite pairing, didn’t get a chance to try that one here.
Definitely better with a more neutral DAP, my LP6 and it was just too much of a good thing which is why I let it go. Fit is better than I remember, though it still sticks out of my ears more than most IEMs. Lovely IEM, unapologetically musical. Very lush mids, great technicals in a very grand style. Stage is smaller than I remember, but it works well for the tuning.
What a gorgeous set, if I was rich I’d probably buy them again.
Brise Tsuranagi V2
Sounds essentially the same to my ears from memory over V1, coming right after EA4 it sounds thin and bright compared. Much more HiFi and clean, while eA4 is an absolute weighted monster. Both are musical and lush, but EA4 is another level. Both drove my STORM very well, but I still prefer a desktop amp if I’m stuck sitting.
If I had started with the Tsu I would have enjoyed it more, it’s an amazing amp. If you want that Brise uber clean Hi-Fi sound this is it, in a tiny box. Great ICs they make too! If you’re going for pure SQ and staging the EA4 wins cleanly, but it’s waaay bigger.
Lotoo GT2
I was really looking forward to trying this one, but the 4.4mm plug from my SS8 wouldn’t even fit! This was quite a moment for me, I can’t believe they designed the DAP with that ledge, such a shame. That being said, if you have a 4.4mm plug that’s so big it won’t fit, you can’t really complain. DAP looks really cool and I wish I could have heard it, especially with STORM. Despite having other IEMs with me somehow I got too disappointed and forgot to try it again. Definitely on the list.
L&P P6P 10th (siver)
As would be expected from L&P, this an amazingly good sounding device. I love the P6Pro line, and this is the most elegant and refined they’ve ever made. It has the most vibrant and open top end I’ve ever heard on an L&P device, not bright, but effervescent and detailed. Much more reference and linear than P6P Ti 99 by far, more detailed and clean than I’m used to with L&P, but I really enjoyed it. For a truly pocketable device, this one ticks all the boxes.
CHORD Hugo TT2
Honestly my very first listen to a Chord product. Not sure how that’s even possible, but it never quite happened. I really liked it! Less cold and sterile as I had expected, (no idea why I thought it would be) and I am now eagerly waiting for Munich HE to demo their big boys. Hugo TT2 was more than powerful enough for STORM, even if I did have a hell of a time getting that SS8 plug to work with the adapter.
Cayin N30LE (again)
Finally on Sunday morning someone handed me their N30LE, and with fresh ears I plugged in STORM. This is an amazingly good combo, makes the STORM more emotional and earthy, less reference dry even though I love that about it. My modded MAX had a moment of nervous jealousy, until i went back and forth a few times and confirmed that MAX is indeed the best pairing for STORM. There is just that studio monitor magic in there, I can’t get with any other IEMs. My days with Genelecs come flooding back to me, it’s perfect. With N30LE it becomes more of an IEM, more lush a warm with a thick sense of soul on the tube/hyper+ setting. I found the mids to die for here, where some might call STORM too dry there. If you like your STORM sultry, provocative and lush this is your combo.
It also seems more powerful than the MAX, but despite the size being smaller, it’s noticeably heavier. While I certainly don’t need two brick DAPs I find myself thinking about this one still, maybe I’ll have to get one again and do longer testing.
If you’re comparing a non molded 320MAX it’s not really fair, MAX seems cold and kind of sterile besides the warmer lush N30. The NPaudio mod is simply amazing, and I cannot recommend it more for MAX owners.
I’m sure there’s stuff I’m missing here, but I forgot to write or photograph it, I was having too much I guess. A huge thank you to all the guys that came out, especially Vascilly @Andricop Big @armstrj2 for putting in all the effort to herd us cats into one room intact, with all our gear too. Missing you guys already, more than makes up for the CJ in SG we’re all missing.
What a group!
Attending one of the cool-Coolers-that-couldn't-make-its solo performance tomorrow this time. Headliner on day 1 of the Rewire International Festival For Adventurous Music. Not bad!
so much so, I now own a set.Love the framed picture of the previous meetup on the wall; going to need a bigger frame for this year's pic.Paris EU Cooler Impressions
Thanks to a very last minute change of tour schedule I was able to make it to the (now unmissable) EU Cooler meetup in Paris! What a blast, these guys are surely the coolest Coolers, and spending time with your fellow audio gents in person sure beats the forums any day. I’m happily getting to know not only preferences and tastes for music, but personalities and life outside of audio which is super fun too. We had more than our fair share of coffee and snacks during our listening sessions, frenzied excitement fueled discussions about cables and DAPs, over dinners we talked audio and tons of random stuff, it’s really so much fun. My wife calls it my Super Nerding Weekend, and I’m already looking forward to the next one.
This year I had a few things to hear, but I mostly went for the meet and hang. There were a few standout items for which I can share some impressions, we sure live in the golden age of audio, all this stuff is really killer. I also really enjoyed everyone’s faces as their tried my STORM-SS8-Modded MAX320 Ti rig, minds blown all over the table! My part of table certainly doesn’t do justice to my salary (lack of) and general (low) wealth in this world. I guess it’s obvious this stuff is really, really important to me.
These are my edited and flushed out notes from the day, keeping it short this time!
L&P EA4
To no-one’s surprise this thing is absolutely stunning. It is much fatter and bigger than expected, in both sound and physics. It’s a big boy, and certainly for table top use. Wow. Super analog and thick, lush and extremely dense. Expansive and very detailed. Definitely tubey, lacking the SS option, but overwhelmingly musical and massive. On first listen I found it kind of warm, but after playing with the switches, not putting them all to up position, like 13v instead of 15, I was met with a much more balanced sound with extreme staging. Like LP6 Ti AE in a box, at least in terms of “making everything I plug into it sound insanely good.”
It’s also very sensitive to ICs and they changed the sound a lot. Also switching the IC cable direction made a huge difference - with a buddy’s 50S IC it was night and day. Brise cables have the direction printed with arrows, all others you should experiment to see which is better.
The EA4 Bridges the gap between portable IEM Amp and desktop gear. Unfortunately for my case I prefer having a full size amp if I’m going to be tethered, but it’s a hard one to say no to. Absolutely fantastic, and a no brainer for anyone looking for a “portable” amp.
Hercules Moses
Wow, fantastic bass. Fantastic IEM, this one will turn heads for sure. Only bass heavy iem I’ve heard where the rest of the frequencies aren’t suffered at all. Very angelic treble, like Elysian. Sounds quite like a “perfected” Anni 2023. Amazingly good, lived the liquid and silky tonality. Spacious stage, lush mids, only a touch of sizzle for detail, very airy top.
Sort of like a Traillii and Apx mixed. Great all rounder, when bass is needed it’s explosive, but gets out of the way when not needed. Not for every genre, but I could imagine almost everyone liking this one.
Shells look gorgeous too, despite the shape being very good I found the fit not great for me, but that’s deeply personal. Very nice stock cable too!
Noble Chronicle
I like it much more than last time, (from Dublin) more balanced and less spikey treble. Very refined and detailed, but still a touch of extra sizzle that becomes uncomfortable for harsher music styles. Most enjoyable Noble for me by far. Very balanced, great bass that is only slightly too low in quantity for me, still reminiscing of Ragnar, but far better and more listenable. More body, more weight to mids + upper mids too.
Extremely comfortable shell, one of the best I’ve ever had. Very pretty too!
I wasn’t allowed to change the cable, and I think the stock cable plays a large role in the tuning parts I don’t totally gel with. I think with a different cable this one could be perfect, not sure what to use but maybe Orpheus or SS4. I’d love to hear this one again with more time and some cable options.
Amber Pearl
This one is having quite the resurgence! Having owned it right after launch there were some things I would have liked to change, but in second listen I liked it more and needed to change less. Coming directly from Chronicle it seems almost dark in comparison, but more musical and velvety. Not as thick as I remember, but I think a lot of that is based on Eletech 5th Ode cable, less bass and more treble energy. AP + Shirogane was my previous favorite pairing, didn’t get a chance to try that one here.
Definitely better with a more neutral DAP, my LP6 and it was just too much of a good thing which is why I let it go. Fit is better than I remember, though it still sticks out of my ears more than most IEMs. Lovely IEM, unapologetically musical. Very lush mids, great technicals in a very grand style. Stage is smaller than I remember, but it works well for the tuning.
What a gorgeous set, if I was rich I’d probably buy them again.
Brise Tsuranagi V2
Sounds essentially the same to my ears from memory over V1, coming right after EA4 it sounds thin and bright compared. Much more HiFi and clean, while eA4 is an absolute weighted monster. Both are musical and lush, but EA4 is another level. Both drove my STORM very well, but I still prefer a desktop amp if I’m stuck sitting.
If I had started with the Tsu I would have enjoyed it more, it’s an amazing amp. If you want that Brise uber clean Hi-Fi sound this is it, in a tiny box. Great ICs they make too! If you’re going for pure SQ and staging the EA4 wins cleanly, but it’s waaay bigger.
Lotoo GT2
I was really looking forward to trying this one, but the 4.4mm plug from my SS8 wouldn’t even fit! This was quite a moment for me, I can’t believe they designed the DAP with that ledge, such a shame. That being said, if you have a 4.4mm plug that’s so big it won’t fit, you can’t really complain. DAP looks really cool and I wish I could have heard it, especially with STORM. Despite having other IEMs with me somehow I got too disappointed and forgot to try it again. Definitely on the list.
L&P P6P 10th (siver)
As would be expected from L&P, this an amazingly good sounding device. I love the P6Pro line, and this is the most elegant and refined they’ve ever made. It has the most vibrant and open top end I’ve ever heard on an L&P device, not bright, but effervescent and detailed. Much more reference and linear than P6P Ti 99 by far, more detailed and clean than I’m used to with L&P, but I really enjoyed it. For a truly pocketable device, this one ticks all the boxes.
CHORD Hugo TT2
Honestly my very first listen to a Chord product. Not sure how that’s even possible, but it never quite happened. I really liked it! Less cold and sterile as I had expected, (no idea why I thought it would be) and I am now eagerly waiting for Munich HE to demo their big boys. Hugo TT2 was more than powerful enough for STORM, even if I did have a hell of a time getting that SS8 plug to work with the adapter.
Cayin N30LE (again)
Finally on Sunday morning someone handed me their N30LE, and with fresh ears I plugged in STORM. This is an amazingly good combo, makes the STORM more emotional and earthy, less reference dry even though I love that about it. My modded MAX had a moment of nervous jealousy, until i went back and forth a few times and confirmed that MAX is indeed the best pairing for STORM. There is just that studio monitor magic in there, I can’t get with any other IEMs. My days with Genelecs come flooding back to me, it’s perfect. With N30LE it becomes more of an IEM, more lush a warm with a thick sense of soul on the tube/hyper+ setting. I found the mids to die for here, where some might call STORM too dry there. If you like your STORM sultry, provocative and lush this is your combo.
It also seems more powerful than the MAX, but despite the size being smaller, it’s noticeably heavier. While I certainly don’t need two brick DAPs I find myself thinking about this one still, maybe I’ll have to get one again and do longer testing.
If you’re comparing a non molded 320MAX it’s not really fair, MAX seems cold and kind of sterile besides the warmer lush N30. The NPaudio mod is simply amazing, and I cannot recommend it more for MAX owners.
I’m sure there’s stuff I’m missing here, but I forgot to write or photograph it, I was having too much I guess. A huge thank you to all the guys that came out, especially Vascilly @Andricop Big @armstrj2 for putting in all the effort to herd us cats into one room intact, with all our gear too. Missing you guys already, more than makes up for the CJ in SG we’re all missing.
What a group!
Congratulations on the observations for each item. What genres do you think Moses is best suited for?
My APX SE is sounding just delicious from GT2 alone or GT2 into Tsu V2. I look forward to maybe hearing APX v3 at a future CanJam. Meanwhile, I will sit back, enjoy the music, and watch others drain their wallets and submit feedback.My wallet didn’t find this joke funny at all
My APX SE is sounding just delicious from GT2 alone or GT2 into Tsu V2. I look forward to maybe hearing APX v3 at a future CanJam. Meanwhile, I will sit back, enjoy the music, and watch others drain their wallets and submit feedback.
