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

[Alexcargtz]

looking to go against the grain of my preferences and explore IEMS with exceptional treble (still requiring full sounding mid range and lifted bass). Too much energy in upper mids and treble punishes my ears so I typically avoid … so the treble will need to bevtastefully executed. I did have Annihilator for awhile and really loved the set and found treble tuned just right without zapping my ears. I eventually sold but regret it. Ya’ll have any ideas for used TOTL IEMS or newer budget friendly one? Thank you!

I also prefer bassier sound signatures. If you ask me around USD 1000, probably the Essence Ears Evolve. Look up the driver configuration, it's basically designed for treble haha. I personally liked it more than the Hercules Moses when I tried it at CanJam.

If you go higher, I really really loved the Acoustune HS2000MX MKIII's treble.

 

[Simpeler]

looking to go against the grain of my preferences and explore IEMS with exceptional treble (still requiring full sounding mid range and lifted bass). Too much energy in upper mids and treble punishes my ears so I typically avoid … so the treble will need to bevtastefully executed. I did have Annihilator for awhile and really loved the set and found treble tuned just right without zapping my ears. I eventually sold but regret it. Ya’ll have any ideas for used TOTL IEMS or newer budget friendly one? Thank you!

Rhapsodio Supreme V3, to my memory has a very unique sound.

With good seal, amazing bass, grand soundstage, and unique treble.

Still one of the best and unique experiences you can get from an iem in my opinion.

 

[eugn]

VEs are pretty safe on top, if you ask me. CP622B was for me too thin there.

The treble response of the VE IEMs can vary significantly depending on cable. With the right pairing, for example, Phoenix - they can deliver excellent treble both in quality and quantity. That said, I’d also recommend checking out the tia Fourte. They have fantastic, very airy highs, and the intensity can also be tuned with the right cable or source.

 

[MicDavism141]

The treble response of the VE IEMs can vary significantly depending on cable. With the right pairing, for example, Phoenix - they can deliver excellent treble both in quality and quantity. That said, I’d also recommend checking out the tia Fourte. They have fantastic, very airy highs, and the intensity can also be tuned with the right cable or source.

Agreed that VE IEMs are pretty responsive to cable and source rolling, maybe because they're using a lot of BAs in their IEMs (?)

Umm, I don't think Fourte is safe enough for him since he's looking for a more relaxed treble preference.

Many thanks, I’ll check out some of these. I did have Phonix SE and felt it lacked dynamics, it was a nice listen but didn’t really connect with me

Try AME Raven, for me, it's a more dynamic, harder-hitting, less bloated, W-Shaped Phonix with better treble extension that's still smooth. I think technical performance is up there among newer flagships like CP622, Anni23, and Grand Maestro but with a much more laidback presentation. You might miss some upper mids tho since there's a dip there (not that noticeable in my ears). Bass drivers are vented and very well textured.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Agreed that VE IEMs are pretty responsive to cable and source rolling, maybe because they're using a lot of BAs in their IEMs (?)

Umm, I don't think Fourte is safe enough for him since he's looking for a more relaxed treble preference.


Try AME Raven, for me, it's a more dynamic, harder-hitting, less bloated, W-Shaped Phonix with better treble extension that's still smooth. I think technical performance is up there among newer flagships like CP622, Anni23, and Grand Maestro but with a much more laidback presentation. You might miss some upper mids tho since there's a dip there (not that noticeable in my ears). Bass drivers are vented and very well textured.

How do you read this graph as a dip in the upper mids? I haven't heard it but I can hear it shouting at me through that 2-5k

 

[zlayde]

looking to go against the grain of my preferences and explore IEMS with exceptional treble (still requiring full sounding mid range and lifted bass). Too much energy in upper mids and treble punishes my ears so I typically avoid … so the treble will need to bevtastefully executed. I did have Annihilator for awhile and really loved the set and found treble tuned just right without zapping my ears. I eventually sold but regret it. Ya’ll have any ideas for used TOTL IEMS or newer budget friendly one? Thank you!

VE Aura. An unbelievable iem. It is without peer in my view.

 

[tfenton02]

I also prefer bassier sound signatures. If you ask me around USD 1000, probably the Essence Ears Evolve. Look up the driver configuration, it's basically designed for treble haha. I personally liked it more than the Hercules Moses when I tried it at CanJam.

If you go higher, I really really loved the Acoustune HS2000MX MKIII's treble.

Many thanks!

 

[SCYJ]

Not yet, and will do it when I visit Singapore this July! From impressions I found on the GM thread, Grand Maestro Anniversary addresses several GM issues: The fit is better on GMA, the bass driver is improved (actually I'm kinda curious about how the already magnificent bass driver on GM can be improved lol), and smoother treble response with a new tech implementation (I do think the treble on GM is kinda peaky but solvable with cable rolling to darker/warmer copper cable).

The elephant in the room of course the price increase of $2,5k from GM

The price increase is simply ridiculous and not worth it imo, no matter how much I'm a fan of it.

I respect the GM series (sold my Jewel to fund GM) and I do think GM is priced a bit too well for the performance and tunability. GMA might be a bit better, but with the same driver configuration as the standard GM, it's difficult for me to think it can surpass or play in the same league as APX or at least better than Fei Wan, which can be acquired with 15% less money (ofc FW below average stock cable is playing the part of reducing the price, tho). However, take my opinion with a grain of salt since I haven't heard GMA by myself, lol.

Same driver config, but the custom DD used is probably different from OG GM (and implemented differently, something about it being "tubeless").

I’m also really curious about how much of an improvement the GMA brings, especially since the original GM already nails the bass so well—hard to imagine what “better” means until hearing it firsthand. The smoother treble sounds promising though; I agree the OG GM can get a bit spicy up top unless you tame it with the right cable.

GMA's bass texture is simply significantly punchier and cleaner. Also the mids are almost entirely separated from its bass and treble (they don't sound like they're in the same playing field). This is noticeable in comparison to the OG GM.

Ooo could you elaborate on why you ended up prefering the GMs to the GMA. I love the GM immensely but I thought the GMAs would surely be an upgrade .

Overall, the GMA is definitely an upgrade. Tho the tamer treble might be less exciting to some than the GM's.

 

[Simpeler]

To my ears, VE iems (phonix, aura) are not really that special when it comes to treble.

Both are warm iem’s, top end to me does not stand out.

Amazing iem’s, but for lush, warm, close soundstage experience.

 

[SbassX]

GMA's bass texture is simply significantly punchier and cleaner. Also the mids are almost entirely separated from its bass and treble (they don't sound like they're in the same playing field). This is noticeable in comparison to the OG GM.

Appreciate the insight...that’s exactly the kind of difference I was curious about. I figured the GMA would be an upgrade an overall and the tamer treble actually seems interesting to me.

 

[KuroKitsu]

The eagled eye of you will have noticed a change in my signature. New toy on the way!

 

[MicDavism141]

How do you read this graph as a dip in the upper mids? I haven't heard it but I can hear it shouting at me through that 2-5k

Maybe it's more on how we define frequency region, I define upper mids as shoutiness and sibilances found in 4-6khz.

IMO, AME Raven's vocal is not intense. I think it's because the bass and treble quantity balance the mids quite well. Why I compared it with Phonix because it really gave me the Phonix-like sound with thick vocals and warm mid-bass/lower-mid transition. In fact, I even think Phonix itself is a bit more shouty and intense on the female vocal side compared to AME Raven.

The price increase is simply ridiculous and not worth it imo, no matter how much I'm a fan of it.

Yeah, kinda surprising because something like CP622B jumps to the Ti version is barely a $1k difference with arguably a similar level of improvement over the original.

 

[tjzurlaaa]

VE Aura. An unbelievable iem. It is without peer in my view.

The Aura really changed the game for me love that set wish it was more readily available

 

[bigbeans]

The eagled eye of you will have noticed a change in my signature. New toy on the way!

Why is Forte Ears Mefisto have 'vaporware' attached to it? It's a real product you can buy. I heard the prototypes as well, it's not a fake 'vaporware' product.

 

[AnakChan]

My review of the Forté Ears Mefisto is now up in the Head Gear section. Big thanks to @warrenpchi @Riccardoyeh @Eric Chong for organising the demo unit.