Something about a comparison with Ragnar most likely. @fabio19 really likes the RagnarI appreciate your minimalist approach during these hectic multimedia-filled times
drftr
The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
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I'm down to my last pack, been saving it for a cold day...These are actually pretty good.
The shoyu flavor, not so much.
These are my favorite. I can't handle the entire spice packet, but I love the noodles; they stay chewy for a while. I add nori and a bunch of other ingredients to make a really satisfying meal.
skcheng
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I am indeed a firm believer of this
Sonically, I easily put the Spectrumica above most IEMs available, at almost at any price.
Many people here would know how critical I am of products, and Spectrumica has been extremely hard to find flaws with, even when being nitpicky. The sound might not be enjoyed by everyone, but you just know that across the board, this product exudes effort & refinement. Needless to say, this seems to be the general consensus based on feedback in the past couple of pages. It seems we all agree that this is a product hard to dislike, even if not perfect, because nothing is.
One thing I really want to reiterate is to try reduce price prejudice as much as possible towards a product. There's too much behind the scenes activity and differing methods of operation between target markets that affect our perceptions. You'd be surprised at the varying degrees of effort & margins between brands & products.
Just my own thoughts, but if Spectrumica was a UniqueMelody IEM, I have no doubt this would be priced at 4000 USD minimum, perhaps with a resin shell too.
I previously had the Prismatica on loan from @tfaduh, which I liked, appreciated, but didn't love. However, it was enough to show me that at least Icelab was putting in the work. Now come Spectrumica, also on loan from another friend in Australia, Icelab's place in my heart & how I view them as a brand has instantly shot up into the highest tier possible. The improvement from Prismatica to Spectrumica is drastic, and also shows the time & effort behind the scenes that Ice would have put in to improve his own skills as a manufacturer.
This isn't just about the sound, but the entire package. From the build quality, components (or at least transparency of components used), shell design, attention to detail & craftsmanship, packaging & presentation, stock cable, all of which is already exceptional, then factoring in the retail price? Absolutely insane. If you were to then compare how the market trend with pricing has gone, this really is above & beyond.
To me, this shows that Ice is trying his best to create a great product rather than rake in money. I believe this is high effort, low margins, and reminds me of brands such as Symphonium. I don't own a single Symphonium product yet, because nothing in their line-up has quite hit me enough in differing regards, but I rate them extremely high across the Spectrum regardless. Recognizing and appreciating effort is independent to whether or not it subjectively then appeals to me.
I will always be a supporter of high effort, regardless of whether the specifics are for me or not.
I do not know Ice, I have never spoken to him (missed the chance at CJ SG, partially because I dismissed Spectrumica as well & had no interest in this prior). I have no affiliation with Icelab either, and the above is just simply my thoughts from the product.
Please do not take this as mindless hyping or advertising for them. It just so happened that Icelab & what they have accomplished with Spectrumica has ticked every single box I asked for, and then some. Whether or not these points are of value to you, is for you to decide.
Interesting, and this is why there are 4 Billion IEMs for all of us to choose from.
Can we say, "esoteric"?
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Oh you can with this https://ifi-audio.com/products/go-p...L9XaZNuoocf2M2UPVYe03yxZvvIaXf4VGvaEbMS9M8GEn
How could you eat something with the same name as this great manThese are actually pretty good.
The shoyu flavor, not so much.
Meeting Ice at CJ NY was a definite highlight of my first CanJam attendance. Honestly, there were many highlights, but I was happy to talk to Ice and spend some time listening to Spectrumica, while he explained how they were made and tuned, as well as his music preferences and tuning philosophy. Such a nice guy. Buying them was an easy decision, as they are a definite evolution of Prismatica, and sound amazing. I've been smitten by them since then - they've gotten even better after several hundred hours in my ears.I am indeed a firm believer of this
Sonically, I easily put the Spectrumica above most IEMs available, at almost at any price.
Many people here would know how critical I am of products, and Spectrumica has been extremely hard to find flaws with, even when being nitpicky. The sound might not be enjoyed by everyone, but you just know that across the board, this product exudes effort & refinement. Needless to say, this seems to be the general consensus based on feedback in the past couple of pages. It seems we all agree that this is a product hard to dislike, even if not perfect, because nothing is.
One thing I really want to reiterate is to try reduce price prejudice as much as possible towards a product. There's too much behind the scenes activity and differing methods of operation between target markets that affect our perceptions. You'd be surprised at the varying degrees of effort & margins between brands & products.
Just my own thoughts, but if Spectrumica was a UniqueMelody IEM, I have no doubt this would be priced at 4000 USD minimum, perhaps with a resin shell too.
I previously had the Prismatica on loan from @tfaduh, which I liked, appreciated, but didn't love. However, it was enough to show me that at least Icelab was putting in the work. Now come Spectrumica, also on loan from another friend in Australia, Icelab's place in my heart & how I view them as a brand has instantly shot up into the highest tier possible. The improvement from Prismatica to Spectrumica is drastic, and also shows the time & effort behind the scenes that Ice would have put in to improve his own skills as a manufacturer.
This isn't just about the sound, but the entire package. From the build quality, components (or at least transparency of components used), shell design, attention to detail & craftsmanship, packaging & presentation, stock cable, all of which is already exceptional, then factoring in the retail price? Absolutely insane. If you were to then compare how the market trend with pricing has gone, this really is above & beyond.
To me, this shows that Ice is trying his best to create a great product rather than rake in money. I believe this is high effort, low margins, and reminds me of brands such as Symphonium. I don't own a single Symphonium product yet, because nothing in their line-up has quite hit me enough in differing regards, but I rate them extremely high across the Spectrum regardless. Recognizing and appreciating effort is independent to whether or not it subjectively then appeals to me.
I will always be a supporter of high effort, regardless of whether the specifics are for me or not.
I do not know Ice, I have never spoken to him (missed the chance at CJ SG, partially because I dismissed Spectrumica as well & had no interest in this prior). I have no affiliation with Icelab either, and the above is just simply my thoughts from the product.
Please do not take this as mindless hyping or advertising for them. It just so happened that Icelab & what they have accomplished with Spectrumica has ticked every single box I asked for, and then some. Whether or not these points are of value to you, is for you to decide.
skcheng
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I had an accident with Raven. I shudder thinking about it.
Friends and cool people, have news on my daughter’s developing song writing, her first track is now on Tidal and Spotify, and most others. Super excited should be a second track in a couple weeks. She is doing this on her own paying another person to help with studio time. She is making clothes and selling them to raise funds to pay for it, so truly doing this on her own.
Note she also drew the cover art.
Ethereal voice!! Beautiful track.... downloaded!!
Nice meeting you today BTW!!
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Many IEMs & products to pick from indeed!
I hope that more people can start to recognize, appreciate, and support those that put in high effort to their work. This only benefits us collectively as the consumer & end user, so that products can continue to get better and better. Obviously, each to their own regarding what is considered "high effort".
Honestly, took me a little to understand why "esoteric" was even mentioned in your post
Are you still interested in the Spectrumica, after watching Mark's review?Many IEMs & products to pick from indeed!
I hope that more people can start to recognize, appreciate, and support those that put in high effort to their work. This only benefits us collectively as the consumer & end user, so that products can continue to get better and better. Obviously, each to their own regarding what is considered "high effort".
Honestly, took me a little to understand why "esoteric" was even mentioned in your post
I didn't watch the full review, nor do I really ever watch his reviews in general as I find myself rarely ever in agreement. It would seem we have different preferences, ratings, and beliefs when it comes to audio.
Spectrumica (on loan) has been in my ears for the past 4 hours or so as I write this, along with the P6P 10AE Silver (on loan). I think I've averaged about 5 hours a day, every day, since trying it on Friday last week, so 6 days in a row now, and many more to come.
Both Ice Tung, lead acoustic tuning engineer for his company, Ice Lab, and myself, have confirmed that Spectrumica requires st LEAST 250 hours of usage, in order to achieve their optimal sound quality.I didn't watch the full review, nor do I really ever watch his reviews in general as I find myself rarely ever in agreement. It would seem we have different preferences, ratings, and beliefs when it comes to audio.
Spectrumica (on loan) has been in my ears for the past 4 hours or so as I write this, along with the P6P 10AE Silver (on loan). I think I've averaged about 5 hours a day, every day, since trying it on Friday last week, so 6 days in a row now, and many more to come.
Pelilin
500+ Head-Fier
Eeee what? Anyone can confirm?
I probably wouldn't use the term 'esoteric', but I get the point Mark is making here.
When you're getting to the 1.5k+ price range, and certainly at 3k, 4k and beyond, there has to be something or some things about that IEM that make it truly special or unique. It has to be able to grab you in a way that others don't. It could be deep wells of sub-bass, thicc warmth in the mid-bass/lower mids, exceptional detail from upper mids & treble, impressive stage dimensions, superior detail retrieval etc. Or some combination that works to deliver a something captivating.
What I don't quite get is how Mark rates Spectrumica just 3 stars after saying so many wonderful things about it. This is where I think reviewers need to set aside their own personal biases and rate a given IEM or other gear based more on what it sets out to achieve.
So far, everything I've heard about this IEM sounds like it should be exactly to my own preferences, hope to hear it soon.
I entirely agree with the idea that there needs to be something special, and to me, the level of refinement in the sound, holography of stage, and note size for Spectrumica, is already special and exceptional and a standout from most things I have heard, hence my earlier post on the thread about how I would rate this as one of the best at any price point. I reckon some IEMs get dismissed because they don't have a particulary standout attention-grasping feature, but being well-refined is something equally standout IMO. Thieaudio V19 Valhalla is another IEM I'd put in the same category which I tried recently in my CJ SG trip.
When I say this, I am taking into account the fact that the comparisons are all straight out of a DAP, which is my primary use case for this IEM and what I set out to find, rather than testing for it's scaling ability, and how good it could be when cable rolled, amped, and so on.
The massive stage/holography/note size really adds a heap of bonus points on resolution, because the placement of sound heavily influences how our brains process sonic information. At least to me, Spectrumica has definitely presented sounds that I have gone back to AB for on Storm. Needless to say, they're all there on Storm, and definitely at higher resolution, but presented in a different manner. At the end of the day, its all about the perception and processing of sonic information by our brain right?
I might just be finding some of this presentation to be more enjoyable on Spectrumica than Storm. That being said, if you were to compare the peak, or near peak forms, for example, Storm + SS8W + MK465, then this is a no-contest landslide win by Storm on all fronts.
I would like to attribute the Spectrumica positives to the BCD, but anything with BCD in question probably varies between people even more than IEMs already do. It's not my first time trying an IEM with BCDs, but nothing prior has made me feel AND/OR appreciate the effects of the BCD as much as Spectrumica.
With everything being said, sound is subjective, so as always, please try find yourself a demo before buying. It ticked all my boxes, both tangible and intangibles, but may not be the case for you. The last thing I want is for people to be unimpressed or set unrealistic standards and come back complaining to me
As for the story of how I came across Spectrumica if it is of interest to anyone:
I first heard about Icelab from @tfaduh with Prismatica, their previous iem, saw the graph, and dismissed it, thinking it wasn't really something I'd be interested in. Next time Icelab was ever mentioned was actually in PMs with @Chang, whom I also heavily trust, and he recommended it. Time went on, but I still I didn't really care nor have much interest. Eventually I got tfaduh's Prismatica on loan from across Australia when he was sending me something else, thought it was alright, and sent it back. Spectrumica was later announced, I looked at the graph, and said "nah", completely dismissing Icelab & Spectrumica. Graphically, it went in a direction opposite of what changes I wanted Prismatica to have. Both tfaduh & Chang have often said good things about Icelab to me, but I could never really understand why. While we are on the topic of graphs, after comparing Spectrumica sonically & graphically to many other IEMs that I think are similar, e.g Mentor, Prismatica, VE10, Phonix, it turns out that Spectrumica is the one that DOES NOT sound like how I would expect based on the graph.
I went to CJ SG this year with the intention of finding an easy to drive, non-fatiguing, all rounder IEM that I can put in and just forget, but alas nothing worked out, not even the Symphonium Giant I was pre-fixated on for the trip. However, a week later after returning from the trip, I was able to try the Spectrumica purely by chance. A friend came to visit from another city to try my gear, especially my desktop system. While he was doing that, I was bored too, and so I looked through what he brought over, and I completely forgot this IEM even existed until I saw it, forgetting he ever had it. Spectrumica was the only piece of gear that I haven't tried in the past of everything he brought, so I thought might as well give this a go just to say ”yeah I've tried it“. The rest is history and here we are now. Suddenly, my biggest regret is not going to visit the Icelab table at CJ SG. Truth be told, I didn't even know they were at CJ SG, because I really couldn't care less about the brand previously, and even if I knew, I still wouldn't of bothered just because I've already mentally dismissed them.
If Icelab sees this, please do know that all I feel now is:
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These are pretty good too!These are actually pretty good.
The shoyu flavor, not so much.
There's no need to apologize to them. Just buy a lot of Spectrumica, maybe 10 or 15 pairs and then share it with your friendsI entirely agree with the idea that there needs to be something special, and to me, the level of refinement in the sound, holography of stage, and note size for Spectrumica, is already special and exceptional and a standout from most things I have heard, hence my earlier post on the thread about how I would rate this as one of the best at any price point. I reckon some IEMs get dismissed because they don't have a particulary standout attention-grasping feature, but being well-refined is something equally standout IMO. Thieaudio V19 Valhalla is another IEM I'd put in the same category which I tried recently in my CJ SG trip.
When I say this, I am taking into account the fact that the comparisons are all straight out of a DAP, which is my primary use case for this IEM and what I set out to find, rather than testing for it's scaling ability, and how good it could be when cable rolled, amped, and so on.
The massive stage/holography/note size really adds a heap of bonus points on resolution, because the placement of sound heavily influences how our brains process sonic information. At least to me, Spectrumica has definitely presented sounds that I have gone back to AB for on Storm. Needless to say, they're all there on Storm, and definitely at higher resolution, but presented in a different manner. At the end of the day, its all about the perception and processing of sonic information by our brain right?
I might just be finding some of this presentation to be more enjoyable on Spectrumica than Storm. That being said, if you were to compare the peak, or near peak forms, for example, Storm + SS8W + MK465, then this is a no-contest landslide win by Storm on all fronts.
I would like to attribute the Spectrumica positives to the BCD, but anything with BCD in question probably varies between people even more than IEMs already do. It's not my first time trying an IEM with BCDs, but nothing prior has made me feel AND/OR appreciate the effects of the BCD as much as Spectrumica.
With everything being said, sound is subjective, so as always, please try find yourself a demo before buying. It ticked all my boxes, both tangible and intangibles, but may not be the case for you. The last thing I want is for people to be unimpressed or set unrealistic standards and come back complaining to me
As for the story of how I came across Spectrumica if it is of interest to anyone:
I first heard about Icelab from @tfaduh with Prismatica, their previous iem, saw the graph, and dismissed it, thinking it wasn't really something I'd be interested in. Next time Icelab was ever mentioned was actually in PMs with @Chang, whom I also heavily trust, and he recommended it. Time went on, but I still I didn't really care nor have much interest. Eventually I got tfaduh's Prismatica on loan from across Australia when he was sending me something else, thought it was alright, and sent it back. Spectrumica was later announced, I looked at the graph, and said "nah", completely dismissing Icelab & Spectrumica. Graphically, it went in a direction opposite of what changes I wanted Prismatica to have. Both tfaduh & Chang have often said good things about Icelab to me, but I could never really understand why. While we are on the topic of graphs, after comparing Spectrumica sonically & graphically to many other IEMs that I think are similar, e.g Mentor, Prismatica, VE10, Phonix, it turns out that Spectrumica is the one that DOES NOT sound like how I would expect based on the graph.
I went to CJ SG this year with the intention of finding an easy to drive, non-fatiguing, all rounder IEM that I can put in and just forget, but alas nothing worked out, not even the Symphonium Giant I was pre-fixated on for the trip. However, a week later after returning from the trip, I was able to try the Spectrumica purely by chance. A friend came to visit from another city to try my gear, especially my desktop system. While he was doing that, I was bored too, and so I looked through what he brought over, and I completely forgot this IEM even existed until I saw it, forgetting he ever had it. Spectrumica was the only piece of gear that I haven't tried in the past of everything he brought, so I thought might as well give this a go just to say ”yeah I've tried it“. The rest is history and here we are now. Suddenly, my biggest regret is not going to visit the Icelab table at CJ SG. Truth be told, I didn't even know they were at CJ SG, because I really couldn't care less about the brand previously, and even if I knew, I still wouldn't of bothered just because I've already mentally dismissed them.
If Icelab sees this, please do know that all I feel now is:
