[drftr]

Honestly based on @jwilliamhurst's review & comments it sounds like what you're looking for is the Rhapsodio Eden. I see the appeal of the u12t in terms of balance and mild sub-bass lift but the sound is on the whole on the thin & clinical side and lacks the heft, weight and oomph it sounds like you're after alongside the natural & balanced sound.

I sincerely had never heard of them before, other than seeing a few mentions on this thread. But since those were so positive I thought they must be waaaay above my max budget. Looking up their website I see they would top it but not totally out of proportion. Will do some good reading up later today. Guess we all know where I will start...

drftr

 

[Mehran]

Honestly for a best all rounder my votes goes to Solaris LE out of all the IEMs I've heard. It's kind of best of both worlds. It has both musicality and technical prowess. Plus
it had no BA timbre to my ears and overall sounded pretty organic.

 

[drftr]

Honestly for a best all rounder my votes goes to Solaris LE out of all the IEMs I've heard. It's kind of best of both worlds. It has both musicality and technical prowess. Plus
it had no BA timbre to my ears and overall sounded pretty organic.

Should I add the SE version to my research list?

drftr

 

[Scubadevils]

To beat the Monday blues, I ordered a set of the ISN H50 this morning from Penon Audio... getting a lot of praise for a $300 hybrid so I decided to jump in... plus the H40 predecessor seems well loved too. I'll find out soon!

https://penonaudio.com/isn-audio-h50.html?search=H50

 

[Mehran]

Should I add the SE version to my research list?

drftr

Well, I haven't heard the SE, there's an LE version with flowers and black shell that I had. Though one issue with Solaris could be the shell size which is pretty big. So try it beforehand if you can.

 

[Mehran]

To beat the Monday blues, I ordered a set of the ISN H50 this morning from Penon Audio... getting a lot of praise for a $300 hybrid so I decided to jump in... plus the H40 predecessor seems well loved too. I'll find out soon!

https://penonaudio.com/isn-audio-h50.html?search=H50

The H40 was the first IEM to wow me when I first entered the hobby with its bass and soundstage. it's like a mini LX. Apparently the H50 is better, so you could well be in for a treat.

 

[blotmouse]

Sound-wise I value a balanced sound above anything else, so that for instance with large orchestral pieces no instrument group attract more attention than the composer aimed for, while this also works best when listening to for instance piano recitals without one specific part of the frequency range standing out with the rest getting far less attention. I think this approach would still work well enough with the rest of my collection. I'd rather want my IEMs to be on the polite side at both ends of the frequency range but without throwing out the sometimes unpleasant but essential natural shrillness of violins, woodwinds, cymbals, etcetera. Given the diversity of my library I thought it would be wise to aim for a reference monitor kind of style for mids and highs with a little bit of fullness added to (mostly) sub-bass, think +3/5 dB max, and maybe a little bit of warmth to the mids in a way that it doesn't clog up the midrange while still having enough support for male vocals.

The main reason that I prefer DD-only setups over hybrids and all-BA or planar setups is that they seem to have the best coherency, timbre, texture, note weight, etcetera, and therefore should represent acoustic instruments best while still delivering enough foundation, bite, and dynamics for amplified delights. I haven't heard all-BA setups yet that I found to be tonally correct BUT haven't heard any above $1,000 and I would love to find the most natural sounding BA setups sub $2,000 with a natural tonality, note weight, etcetera, as I would possibly value their level of detail in the bass region where DD oompf can easily mask a lot of detail and micro dynamics in cello, acoustic bass, etcetera. But I'm afraid I will have to choose between texture and detail in this regard.

drftr

Considering I don't listen to classical almost ever, this may be more appropriate for @jwilliamhurst to speak to. (hey, buddy)
I know he didn't really like the Turii as much as I do. But it's likely more a music genre specific difference. Oh, and we own different ears too, lol.

Turii is the more referenced tuned, but also a little colder and less lifelike on strings than Isa, to my ears. Probably because I expect and want a little warmth to the string timbre. Cat gut strings, not coated steel, for example. Turii is more technical and has a larger soundstage. Isa more intimate and sweet. (you've probably read the reviews)

I too have not found an all BA set yet to make me happy. I have not gone beyond 3k though to find out if it exists.

While Turii and Isa are both amazing monitors, I don't know if they are great choices for "The One" and a hybrid like Solaris may actually be the better choice. I can back Solaris as anyone's only IEM. It's usually my choice when I travel for that reason. Anything and everything will be enjoyable through it. But I do get a little bit of coherancy issues with it. Not huge, but I notice it when I go from single DD to Solaris and there is an adjustment period, but after I adjust it blends in well enough.

I'll add that my rec for Solaris is for the OG only. I can't give thumbs up for the 2020's as I didn't like the new tuning or drivers, or whatever was going on there.
I have not heard the SE which gets rave reviews. I want to though. It's the most likely candidate to equal or surpass the OG for my tastes. The OG is real cheap on the used market these days and a great deal. edit; but as mentioned, its pretty big and if you have small ears that may play into passing on it.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Sound-wise I value a balanced sound above anything else, so that for instance with large orchestral pieces no instrument group attract more attention than the composer aimed for, while this also works best when listening to for instance piano recitals without one specific part of the frequency range standing out with the rest getting far less attention. I think this approach would still work well enough with the rest of my collection. I'd rather want my IEMs to be on the polite side at both ends of the frequency range but without throwing out the sometimes unpleasant but essential natural shrillness of violins, woodwinds, cymbals, etcetera. Given the diversity of my library I thought it would be wise to aim for a reference monitor kind of style for mids and highs with a little bit of fullness added to (mostly) sub-bass, think +3/5 dB max, and maybe a little bit of warmth to the mids in a way that it doesn't clog up the midrange while still having enough support for male vocals.

The main reason that I prefer DD-only setups over hybrids and all-BA or planar setups is that they seem to have the best coherency, timbre, texture, note weight, etcetera, and therefore should represent acoustic instruments best while still delivering enough foundation, bite, and dynamics for amplified delights. I haven't heard all-BA setups yet that I found to be tonally correct BUT haven't heard any above $1,000 and I would love to find the most natural sounding BA setups sub $2,000 with a natural tonality, note weight, etcetera, as I would possibly value their level of detail in the bass region where DD oompf can easily mask a lot of detail and micro dynamics in cello, acoustic bass, etcetera. But I'm afraid I will have to choose between texture and detail in this regard.

drftr

This is taken directly From my Isabellae review. If you haven’t read it, check it out.

SOFTEARS TURII:
As soon as I put these in my ears after the Isa, I immediately notice a difference in response. Turii comes off open, clean, resolving and detailed with an almost flat and linear bass. Lifting ever so slightly to support the mids and treble. This is a polarizing feeling coming from the laid back Isa with its Mid bass boost and ultra smooth treble. The treble with Turii is also smooth but much more crisp, dry and extended allowing more detail to be heard, but this treble can be fatiguing at higher volumes. The Turii has better control across the spectrum. The mid range does have that ‘je ne sais quoi’ as it does with the Isa however the Turii still has a grain to the trailing edge of the midrange. While the Turii is very similar to Isa, it is a layered monitor with a wider soundstage, making it a great partner with Classical. And where Isa resolved better with Female vocals, Turii shines with Male vocals (the audiophile’s dilemma and the never ending trade off). I have found them to be a great compliment to one another, Isa being warm and intimate with sublime emotion and Turii leaning lean with a colder note and less weight across the spectrum due to its linear and flat neutral bass. The caveat here is not that Turri is much more detail oriented with better layering and dynamics. The true caveat is that Turii does not have the emotional pull that Isa has. The Turii does not keep me searching for tracks to listen to, the Turii makes me want to put the Isa back into my ears. With the exception of Classical music, Turii dominates over Isa in this regard. Turii extends much better giving classical music the gravitas it needs to elevate and articulate each instrument in the pit.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Considering I don't listen to classical almost ever, this may be more appropriate for @jwilliamhurst to speak to. (hey, buddy)
I know he didn't really like the Turii as much as I do. But it's likely more a music genre specific difference. Oh, and we own different ears too, lol.

Turii is the more referenced tuned, but also a little colder and less lifelike on strings than Isa, to my ears. Probably because I expect and want a little warmth to the string timbre. Cat gut strings, not coated steel, for example. Turii is more technical and has a larger soundstage. Isa more intimate and sweet. (you've probably read the reviews)

I too have not found an all BA set yet to make me happy. I have not gone beyond 3k though to find out if it exists.

While Turii and Isa are both amazing monitors, I don't know if they are great choices for "The One" and a hybrid like Solaris may actually be the better choice. I can back Solaris as anyone's only IEM. It's usually my choice when I travel for that reason. Anything and everything will be enjoyable through it. But I do get a little bit of coherancy issues with it. Not huge, but I notice it when I go from single DD to Solaris and there is an adjustment period, but after I adjust it blends in well enough.

I'll add that my rec for Solaris is for the OG only. I can't give thumbs up for the 2020's as I didn't like the new tuning or drivers, or whatever was going on there.
I have not heard the SE which gets rave reviews. I want to though. It's the most likely candidate to equal or surpass the OG for my tastes. The OG is real cheap on the used market these days and a great deal. edit; but as mentioned, its pretty big and if you have small ears that may play into passing on it.

Hey bud! I rate Isa pretty high for a great single DD although not an all rounder like the Eden. Isa is more colored than Eden. If you want balance and control @drftr my pick would be Eden but then again I haven’t heard every single DD out there. I’m very interested in hearing the acoustune line up. Fa audio was on my radar but after the reviews I’ve read it doesn’t seem for me. If I was able to keep turii just for classical music I would’ve. It excels well there as I would imagine with metal/prog also.

 

[Scubadevils]

Hey bud! I rate Isa pretty high for a great single DD although not an all rounder like the Eden. Isa is more colored than Eden. If you want balance and control @drftr my pick would be Eden but then again I haven’t heard every single DD out there. I’m very interested in hearing the acoustune line up. Fa audio was on my radar but after the reviews I’ve read it doesn’t seem for me. If I was able to keep turii just for classical music I would’ve. It excels well there as I would imagine with metal/prog also.

Acoustone definitely high on my list too in terms of my next single DD, I've heard fantastic reports from @Xinlisupreme on his recent purchase of the 1677ss and their new TOTL has me intrigued too. Likewise on Dark Sky, now off my list. FD7 still a contender and hopefully the Zen Pro tour will go ahead soon, very eager to hear that considering my recent rekindled appreciation for Zen.

 

[blotmouse]

Hey bud! I rate Isa pretty high for a great single DD although not an all rounder like the Eden. Isa is more colored than Eden. If you want balance and control @drftr my pick would be Eden but then again I haven’t heard every single DD out there. I’m very interested in hearing the acoustune line up. Fa audio was on my radar but after the reviews I’ve read it doesn’t seem for me. If I was able to keep turii just for classical music I would’ve. It excels well there as I would imagine with metal/prog also.

Looks like the only Eden available any more is a non-silver variety curiously called (Evolution Silver Ver.) lol, thoroughly confusing. But being an acrylic shell now, I have to assume the sound is fairly different? I want to hear both variants pretty badly though. Same with Acoustune and Faudio. After those Dark Sky reviews, idk if anyone would want to take a blind plunge on it.
Not natural sounding? Oh, yeah, sign me up. Sounds perfect... yeah, no.

 

[drftr]

Honestly based on @jwilliamhurst's review & comments it sounds like what you're looking for is the Rhapsodio Eden. I see the appeal of the u12t in terms of balance and mild sub-bass lift but the sound is on the whole on the thin & clinical side and lacks the heft, weight and oomph it sounds like you're after alongside the natural & balanced sound.

Finished my homework and have some questions for @jwilliamhurst or anyone else able to answer them, so I thought this would be the perfect thread to abuse My questions (concerns?) are as follows:

1. I've seen driver flex being mentioned in one of the reviews but from the pics it looks like the Eden is vented, which I think I would absolutely need with my often 5-8 hrs listening sessions almost exclusively in hot and often humid countries. Am I wrong on the vents for air pressure relief?

2. As always the reviews seem to be about different IEMs Like where one is saying there's fantastic note weight and full male vocals, the other one is stating that mostly larger instruments come across as being reduced in size. I remember one beautiful sentence about hearing the strings of the cello in a perfect way, but not the sound of the body of the cello itself, which I thought was a great example and something I would like to hear very much as presence is THE way to be transported back to a concert hall. I suspect it could make someone like Leonard Cohen sound like he was 20 years younger. Although I absolutely realize there's always going to be a trade-off I'd like to know upfront which ones that would/could be.

3. Looks like soundstage is a bit of a letdown for orchestral pieces. It's nice to have the complete overview from row 10 as it adds to how the composer planned his fun play of tones and instruments.

4. Although I like the looks of the Eden as a piece of art, for sure I'm going to be using these if this is the only way they're sold. Since I'm permanently travelling in developing countries I will be separated from these babies within a week. I probably need them to be looking as understated as possible. But their website only lists some current special version of the Eden so I can't really tell what's possible. Will shoot them an email.

5. Last but not least I read they can be power hungry. From other single DD IEMs I've learned they can have quite a low sensitivity and I wonder if a powerful quad DAC LG will deliver enough power to drive them well.

6. (impossible if 5 was last, but anyway...) I wondered if/why you never wrote a review for the Turii. Combining what I've read from Turii reviews with your Eden review it sounds like the Turii could still be the best compromise for my mix of genres, even though I would pretty much end up with the infamous master of none.

7. (what the heck?) Anyone able to share an FR chart?

Tnx much!!!

drftr

 

[drftr]

This is taken directly From my Isabellae review. If you haven’t read it, check it out.

SOFTEARS TURII:
As soon as I put these in my ears after the Isa, I immediately notice a difference in response. Turii comes off open, clean, resolving and detailed with an almost flat and linear bass. Lifting ever so slightly to support the mids and treble. This is a polarizing feeling coming from the laid back Isa with its Mid bass boost and ultra smooth treble. The treble with Turii is also smooth but much more crisp, dry and extended allowing more detail to be heard, but this treble can be fatiguing at higher volumes. The Turii has better control across the spectrum. The mid range does have that ‘je ne sais quoi’ as it does with the Isa however the Turii still has a grain to the trailing edge of the midrange. While the Turii is very similar to Isa, it is a layered monitor with a wider soundstage, making it a great partner with Classical. And where Isa resolved better with Female vocals, Turii shines with Male vocals (the audiophile’s dilemma and the never ending trade off). I have found them to be a great compliment to one another, Isa being warm and intimate with sublime emotion and Turii leaning lean with a colder note and less weight across the spectrum due to its linear and flat neutral bass. The caveat here is not that Turri is much more detail oriented with better layering and dynamics. The true caveat is that Turii does not have the emotional pull that Isa has. The Turii does not keep me searching for tracks to listen to, the Turii makes me want to put the Isa back into my ears. With the exception of Classical music, Turii dominates over Isa in this regard. Turii extends much better giving classical music the gravitas it needs to elevate and articulate each instrument in the pit.

It was exactly your remark about emotional pull that made me look further than the Turii! So I can safely say "it's all your fault!"

Nothing harder in life for a perfectionist than compromising...

drftr

 

[drftr]

Looks like the only Eden available any more is a non-silver variety curiously called (Evolution Silver Ver.) lol, thoroughly confusing. But being an acrylic shell now, I have to assume the sound is fairly different?

I have just sent them an email for both the sound question and finish options. Will come back on this as soon as I learn more.

drftr

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Finished my homework and have some questions for @jwilliamhurst or anyone else able to answer them, so I thought this would be the perfect thread to abuse My questions (concerns?) are as follows:

1. I've seen driver flex being mentioned in one of the reviews but from the pics it looks like the Eden is vented, which I think I would absolutely need with my often 5-8 hrs listening sessions almost exclusively in hot and often humid countries. Am I wrong on the vents for air pressure relief?

2. As always the reviews seem to be about different IEMs Like where one is saying there's fantastic note weight and full male vocals, the other one is stating that mostly larger instruments come across as being reduced in size. I remember one beautiful sentence about hearing the strings of the cello in a perfect way, but not the sound of the body of the cello itself, which I thought was a great example and something I would like to hear very much as presence is THE way to be transported back to a concert hall. I suspect it could make someone like Leonard Cohen sound like he was 20 years younger. Although I absolutely realize there's always going to be a trade-off I'd like to know upfront which ones that would/could be.

3. Looks like soundstage is a bit of a letdown for orchestral pieces. It's nice to have the complete overview from row 10 as it adds to how the composer planned his fun play of tones and instruments.

4. Although I like the looks of the Eden as a piece of art, for sure I'm going to be using these if this is the only way they're sold. Since I'm permanently travelling in developing countries I will be separated from these babies within a week. I probably need them to be looking as understated as possible. But their website only lists some current special version of the Eden so I can't really tell what's possible. Will shoot them an email.

5. Last but not least I read they can be power hungry. From other single DD IEMs I've learned they can have quite a low sensitivity and I wonder if a powerful quad DAC LG will deliver enough power to drive them well.

6. (impossible if 5 was last, but anyway...) I wondered if/why you never wrote a review for the Turii. Combining what I've read from Turii reviews with your Eden review it sounds like the Turii could still be the best compromise for my mix of genres, even though I would pretty much end up with the infamous master of none.

7. (what the heck?) Anyone able to share an FR chart?

Tnx much!!!

drftr

Okay here it goes

1) it has pressure relief vents and I can wear them for 8+ hours with no fatigue. There is def driver flex on my set.

2) tactility of strings is extremely impressive across the FR. Instrument body is not as full as on Isa. But that tactility is addicting. I find both male and female vocals to sound full. Never harsh or wimpy.

3) orchestra still sounds lovely and emotive but it’s not as wide as turii, however turii made me wince often with its treble response. Turii is like a delta sigma dac and Eden more like a r2r dac in the way they differ from one another. If that makes sense.

4) I was unaware of the new shell design. I’m now very curious myself

5) they do require a bit more volume and your dac should be just fine

6) I didn’t write the turii review because the fit bothered me a lot and the pesky treble peaks really made me not want to listen to them much. Note weight just too thin for my personal preference. Hard to write a review for something I don’t gel with.

7) I’ve been asking for a graph for months!! Please anyone help! Would love to see it!!

Hope this helps I’m at work so forgive any shortcomings in my reply