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

[Rockwell75]

I still vividly remember the first time I tried the OG (2015) Vega at headphonebar.

After two hours of listening, I developed a tinnitus and left.

Three years later, same tinnitus and ringing returned when the Atlas was introduced lol.

Ha ha! I've never heard the OG Vega but the Atlas certainly was not for the faint of heart (or ears lol). I seem to have a high tolerance for bass. Forward upper mids, on the other hand...

Great suggestions! Having recently emptied out the piggy bank on a pair of original Solaris, I'll have to wait a bit... I'm loving the Solaris. I'd heard them previously but had never found the right pair of tips for them. Now that I own a pair, I have, and I'm infatuated with the Solaris, fully in the throes of honeymoon delirium (although I do hear the vocal recession somewhat - I may need to EQ that region up a bit). I'm surprised at how tight and fast the bass is - I'd remembered it being stronger but it really isn't that emphasized. It's just very well done. It reminds me vaguely of the bass on the Odin; the Odin's is far superior but it also has the same chameleon-like quality of adjusting well to different kinds of music.

If you were to get a Solaris again, it pairs remarkably well with the Lotoo Paw S1, if you still have yours (as does the Andro 2020, of course). I wonder what the S2 is like...

Great to hear...the Solaris is indeed a special IEM and my first true love in the IEM world. The bass is fantastic. Solaris often gets cited for its tame bass response...which is true, but quality wise their ADLC driver puts out bass that, while distinct in character, is every bit as satisfying as EE's W9 driver or Sony's 10mm DD...which collectively are my 3 personal benchmarks for quality IEM bass.

Edit: I haven't heard Odin but I have heard the Bravado MKii which has the same driver. Also I owned a Paw S1 and it was so good with both Solaris & Andro...in fact it probably topped even the M8 for me. I bought a P6K when I still had Solaris in the hopes that it would give me that synergy but sadly it fell short.

 

[tgx78]

Sitting here now trying to pick which IEM to listen to on my 3 hour drive to our beach house. Make it easy with Dorado 2020 and M8.

Alright Mr. @Rockwell75 can you send me your Dorado 2020? I think I need to give it a try at least.

@claud W wow other than Jude, I've never seen someone who joined headfi since 2002. I was living in NY back then.

 

[Rockwell75]

Alright Mr. @Rockwell75 can you send me your Dorado 2020? I think I need to give it a try at least.

For sure...I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. I'll try and mail it out Wed or Thurs.

@claud W wow other than Jude, I've never seen someone who joined headfi since 2002. I was living in NY back then.

Oh snap...I was living in Japan! @claud W is the elder statesman of this little thread family.

 

[DanielListening]

I am so interested to hear what @tgx78 thinks of the Campfire Dorado.

 

[Rockwell75]

I am so interested to hear what @tgx78 thinks of the Campfire Dorado.

Me too...on the one hand they don't really fit the profile of what my sense of his preferences are. I also don't listen to a lot of classical, which is his wheelhouse. On the other hand in a world where no two snowflakes are alike I find it's generally impossible to reduce anyone's tastes to an absolute rule. I'm happy to provide him the opportunity, either way.

In other news RIP to those poor souls who, for whatever reason, list their multi kilobuck custom IEMs at a fraction of their cost.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

I bought Isabellae and Dorado 2020 on Rockwell75's recommendation . I enjoy both dailey. Like most of you, we have IEMs that do at least one thing exceedingly well. Like Wildcatsare1, Dorado takes me back to the musical sounds of my youth.
Any other old duffers here that have a special IEM that sounds like the musical experiences of your youth?

Hard to answer, but for an IEM, or any other audio gear to move me it has to take me to the musical event. Or at least sound close enough like live music that my brain can “connect the dots.” It took me a long time, journeying through a lot of gear to get a handle on what I like. At one point in my life, I attended a live musical event a minimum of twice a month, depending on where I lived at the moment. In London, Chicago, and Northern Jersey it was more like twice a week, rock, classical, and jazz. The type of gear that leaves me cold is anything like the HD800, I did tubes, mods, great cable, and it still sounded artificial to me. So much “hi-fi,” is hot treble and unnatural detail, that's where the EXT and EVO have impressed me, they are quite different, but both are very musical (for my music, and my taste).

A very long-winded answer to your question, but if gear can transport me to proximity to what I heard live, it will take me “back to my youth,” middle age, or at least a pre-COVID world.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Ha yes first world problems as they say when moaning about which IEM does what better! Trailllii is fantastic but certainly not an all-rounder... I struggle to think there is 'one' that can serve all my music preferences.

Unless you only listen to limited music genres, then I don't think there will ever be “one to rule them all!”

 

[Xinlisupreme]

Yeah I feel the MEST needs a warmer source too, I must spend more time with the ZX507 as that is warm vs my 1A... but at the expense of detail and stage.

I do hope the N6ii-Ti was a good decision for my next DAP!

I really loved how LPGT sounded with Mest Mk2, because of fantastic mids and maybe Paw6000 could be even better for Mest because is warmer

 

[Neweymatt]

Hard to answer, but for an IEM, or any other audio gear to move me it has to take me to the musical event. Or at least sound close enough like live music that my brain can “connect the dots.” It took me a long time, journeying through a lot of gear to get a handle on what I like. At one point in my life, I attended a live musical event a minimum of twice a month, depending on where I lived at the moment. In London, Chicago, and Northern Jersey it was more like twice a week, rock, classical, and jazz. The type of gear that leaves me cold is anything like the HD800, I did tubes, mods, great cable, and it still sounded artificial to me. So much “hi-fi,” is hot treble and unnatural detail, that's where the EXT and EVO have impressed me, they are quite different, but both are very musical (for my music, and my taste).

A very long-winded answer to your question, but if gear can transport me to proximity to what I heard live, it will take me “back to my youth,” middle age, or at least a pre-COVID world.

Absolutely, it’s great to have those listening sessions that transport you back in time to fond memories of the past. For me that’s what headfi is about, well that in addition to my never ending discovery of great new stuff or stuff I may have missed.

I tend to start my day's listening with whatever is rattling around my head when I first wake up. Today that was “Bring On The Dancing Horses” by Echo & The Bunnymen. The Mix that Tidal created based on that one track left me in 1985-86 for the next 90 minutes. This was with the Andro2020, an IEM I'm pretty sure I'll never part with unless I give it away to someone I care about who will enjoy it like this.

 

[claud W]

All you Dudes reminiscing about Solaris ought to supercharge yours by using an Effect Leonardis 2 on it. Elevates your Solaris to a much more serious tier. Better bass, but nicely balanced and miss are like you are in the audience.

 

[ranfan]

Now trying out the Dark Sky courtesy of the store (e-earphone)

Spoiler

and revisiting a local Japanese IEM, the clariar i640

Spoiler

Not much to say about the Dark Sky. The Dark Sky sounded balanced with rather neutral tonality. Not sure whether they're tilted to warm or bright, but not flat neutral definitely. Pretty OK all-round, with decent width and depth. There's some grain in its imaging aspect which bothered me. Promising tonally, with a chameleon-like ability to switch between neutral and 'fun'. Technically though, I feel that it fell a bit short especially at this price

The clariar i640 is an all-BA monitor with 6 drivers (2 x low, 1 x low/mid, 1 x mid, 2 x high). It has a neutral tuning, with slight tendency towards the bright side (imagine VE7 but with better bass quality and size). It has an impressively clean and clear sound. As well as having fast and coherent imaging resolution. Piano key and violin string shimmers were captured beatifully on these. It's one the clearest IEM I've tried to date. Combined with a good out-of-your-head soundstage, they make for a wonderful listen to genres such as classical, piano, acoustic guitar, and vocals. I think the clariar provides a great value for someone looking for a neutral-bright tuning. It resembles the VE7 in its superb clarity, with some added sizeable punchy bass providing the rhythm. Will definitely add to my watchlist

 

[Tristy]

Now trying out the Dark Sky courtesy of the store (e-earphone)

Spoiler

and revisiting a local Japanese IEM, the clariar i640

Spoiler

Not much to say about the Dark Sky. The Dark Sky sounded balanced with rather neutral tonality. Not sure whether they're tilted to warm or bright, but not flat neutral definitely. Pretty OK all-round, with decent width and depth. There's some grain in its imaging aspect which bothered me. Promising tonally, with a chameleon-like ability to switch between neutral and 'fun'. Technically though, I feel that it fell a bit short especially at this price

The clariar i640 is an all-BA monitor with 6 drivers (2 x low, 1 x low/mid, 1 x mid, 2 x high). It has a neutral tuning, with slight tendency towards the bright side (imagine VE7 but with better bass quality and size). It has an impressively clean and clear sound. As well as having fast and coherent imaging resolution. Piano key and violin string shimmers were captured beatifully on these. It's one the clearest IEM I've tried to date. Combined with a good out-of-your-head soundstage, they make for a wonderful listen to genres such as classical, piano, acoustic guitar, and vocals. I think the clariar provides a great value for someone looking for a neutral-bright tuning. It resembles the VE7 in its superb clarity, with some added sizeable punchy bass providing the rhythm. Will definitely add to my watchlist

Thanks for the impressions! How would you say the Dark Sky stacks up against something like the IE900?

 

[ranfan]

Thanks for the impressions! How would you say the Dark Sky stacks up against something like the IE900?

Cheers It's hard for me to say, I don't really like both. But I guess the IE900 with filtered tips sounded better all-round. While the Dark Sky has the more accurate instrument tone and vocals to my ears

 

[Tristy]

Cheers It's hard for me to say, I don't really like both. But I guess the IE900 with filtered tips sounded better all-round. While the Dark Sky has the more accurate instrument tone and vocals to my ears

Haha thats fair enough! Just not your cup of tea. Comparisons of both are hard to come by so we appreciate your input.

 

[Xinlisupreme]

@ranfan have you ever listend Acoustune HS1677ss?