[DaveStarWalker]

So that's the TriCopper X6 then, right? Been discussing the X8 equivalent with @DaveStarWalker in the past few days. Extremely tempting. But just seeing that Taiwan is going to be open for tourism from mid October HanSound all of a sudden is back on the table as well. Maybe I should buy more IEMs so that I can buy more cables!

drftr

The tc x8 cannot be an other thing than "superb" with the u18t. Maybe an endgame.

But, it's pricey

Real magic with my Noble Kaiser Encore (), then my Aure Ringo and then my Élixir.

I have got mine, second hand = lucky, very lucky I was.

Actually, I use an Aaw Aoraki x4 with my Ringo.

Very high level too, really an elite cable. But it doesn't sound the same way as my Tc x8... Two elite cables, but different, sound, technical and musical wise...

 

[drftr]

The tc x8 cannot be an other thing than "superb" with the u18t. Maybe an endgame.

But, it's pricey

I have got mine, second hand = lucky, very lucky I was.

Since it's TriCopper it means the cable has to change hands 3 times. It brings you a looooong and happy life. Heck, you might even get rid of your French accent!

drftr

 

[Natesdailies]

Ragnar sounds a very interesting set, I'm increasingly curious.

It's definitely a set worth auditioning. I am curious if it would charm you. I remember earlier this year you visited VE headquarters. The last time I had this wow factor (indexing specifically mids) was with the Phonix. It had thicker mids (relative to Traillii) that played well with solo vocalist music. In terms of note thickness I would rank 1) Phonix 2) Traillii 3) Ragnar.

I was just thinking while walking my dog this morning how different sets lead me towards different parts of my library - various strengths or weaknesses better suiting different genres, and actually leading me on a path of discovery to seek out more music to enjoy on each set. It's another reason why I love having a collection and couldn't possibly have just one - there's a symbiotic relationship where both the music and earphones send me on different voyages of discovery!

I agree. Having multiple sets enhances the experience for me because I like to swap between music genres depending on my mood.

Super interesting, Ragnar is getting good reviews. I am excited that I will get to try Trailli soon thanks to a friend hehe.

Interested to hear how you'll find it!

Sounds to me like Ragnar will be replacing Traillii or are they distinct enough to be complimentary?

I would say for most people it would be complimentary.

Another difference would be BA (Traillii) vs DD (Ragnar) bass. Trailliis has a great tuning that makes almost everything sound pleasant while Ragnar is slightly higher risk higher reward. Great recordings sound amazing. With bad recordings you can hear the deficienies. Traillii is the jack of all trades. I put a lot of equity in a headphone that I can trust on shuffle.

 

[gLer]

I put a lot of equity in a headphone that I can trust on shuffle.

Quote of the day right there!

 

[Scubadevils]

Are you still on the Canary Islands? Just came across a maximum alert due to a cyclone coming up. Better use full cans to protect your sensitive ears!

drftr

No, home since Thursday. We saw the weather was due to take a turn for the worse, I didn't know to that extent!

 

[twister6]

I am not a graph reading expert, but to me at first glance it seems like the Switches don't do much at all? Since there are slight DB variations, that seems to be the main difference between most of these curves...

I had a feeling that combined FR snapshot will be confusing. I just updated my original post with separate graphs of FAudio Mezzo LE and corresponding switch setting captures. Will also copy it here. Changes might not look as drastic on the graph, but more noticeable when you hear it.

SW1


SW


SW3

 

[monduvo]

I was going to wait until tomorrow to start this but it will help me this weekend if we get a head start today. It's officially fall up here in the northern hemisphere which means it's time for our seasonal poll.

Survey: What are the top 3 IEMs that own your heart right now?

Criteria for selection is entirely up to you-- favourites, new loves...what 3 IEMs are occupying your mind and heart at this moment in time? To see the results of the summer and spring polls head to the opening page of the Watercooler thread.

Hi Rockwell75,


As of now, the top three iems that connect with me the most on a frequent basis are ranked, from the following.

1. Vision Ears VE8. To this day, the VE8 holds a place in my heart where its nearing presence and intimacy of the music reaches in to my heart through an ever-narrowing lens taking me alongside a life’s journey of emotions and feelings.

2. Campfire Audio Supermoon. There’s something enticing and satisfying about Supermoon that makes nearly every listen an enjoyable experience. From the way it presents the music in an expansive and up-close way, its agile and visceral-like prowess takes the stage in delivering a thrilling performance of sound with a bit of musical flair through full-on presence, focused coherence and dextrous speed.

3. Sony IER-Z1R. The IER-Z1R has a unique sense of liveliness in its dynamic and immersive energy that draws me in to the music on almost every listen in an uplifting and satisfying way. It still remains at the top three for its unique sonic qualities and the grand sense of feeling it conveys.


On a more 'mainstream' note in the audio side of things, going back Friday evening (9/23, up until past midnight on Saturday, 9/24) after work, on my way back home, I picked up a new Airpods pro 2nd gen, and I gave it few hours of listening to some tracks from Tidal on iPhone 14 Pro Max.

iPhone 14 Pro Max (in deep purple) and Airpods pro 2nd gen (9/23).


Van Halen - Eruption (45 Version), streamed by Tidal, on iPhone 14 Pro Max w/ Airpods pro 2nd gen (9/24).



Claude Debussy - Suite bergamasque 82, L. 75: III. Clair de lune (pianist Alexandre Thauraud), streamed by Tidal, on iPhone 14 Pro Max w/ Airpods pro 2nd gen (9/24).


Here are some of my brief impressions and thoughts of its sound and presentation.

With noise cancellation turned on, first thing I noticed was a slightly widened spatial effect of outside noise being filled in with more compressed faint sounding static noise in a subtly more smoothed out way.

Vocals and instruments sound more noticeably present with a more soft and breathy timbre for some realism effect.

Sound stage extends and opens up a bit with a little more reach towards the upper and lower corners, and projects positioning and placement of vocals & instruments slightly more outward and a bit further off to the sides.

There is slightly more discernible sense of separation, with smoother transitions of positioning and panning effect between and among vocals and instruments with less overlap in busier passages of songs.

However, in most songs with soft sounding vocals, some “sss-” and “t-” sounds can come off pronounced and emphasized differently as “thh-” and “ssh-.”

Also, in the low end, mid-bass and sub-bass are decent for the effect of impact and fair amount of reach it delivers with smoother transition in physicality & decay and with slightly more speed. But, the way it renders & scales depth from low end is still lacking in volume definition and texture, as it sounds like some instruments and vocals are fairly smoothed over in presentation of smaller details with a bit of haze-like veil.

Overall, in short summary, coming from the former 1st gen of Airpods pro, I think the 2nd gen model of Airpods pro goes for a more smooth-natural tone of sound with an ‘easy-going’ kind of presentation while retaining a fairly decent amount of surface detail, without coming off as strident nor harsh in any way for longer hours of non-fatiguing & enjoyable listening on-the-go.


Test tracks (streamed by Tidal, w/ iPhone 14 Pro Max & Airpods pro 2nd gen):

Van Halen - Eruption (45 Version)

Claude Debussy - Suite bergamasque 82, L. 75: III. Clair de lune (pianist Alexandre Thauraud)



Benny Goodman - Runnin’ Wild (2001 Remastered)



Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068 - 2. Air (arranged for orchestra and organ, by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor James Morgan, and associated performer Juliette Pochin)



Priscilla Ahn - True Love Will Find You In The End

Audiophile fit…

Maybe I’m suspicious about the opinion. Supermoon Audiophile fit on the way.

Hi CrocodileDundee,


Nice to see the addition of Supermoon ciem. I must say audiophile-fit is by far the most comfortable fit & wear I’ve had for a custom-fit iem, where I don’t feel any pressure nor build-up of any hot spots in my ears when worn for few hours of listening at a time. I’m really considering adding another custom-fit iem, but with a hybrid driver setup. It would be nice to see Empire Ears adding bone conduction driver to their next gen entry-level iem Bravado MK3 (while still retaining similar driver setup from MK1 w/ dynamic driver + BA) and have it offered in custom-fit.

For now though, I’m really considering going for their universal-fit iem and see how their Weapon X bone conduction driver fares in feel & performance with other iems at similar price points w/ bone conduction drivers. I might just have to give one of their flagship universal-fit iems a try, despite the price being more than what I’m used to paying for iems in the 2k range, as I’m very curious to see what the full-range bone conduction driver is all about (as opposed to bone conduction driver for the middle frequency on MEST MK1). =)


-Daniel.

 

[mico1964]

Survey: What are the top 3 IEMs that own your heart right now?

Traillii
Jewel
Odin (back in my heart in the last days after pairing them with the Ode to Laura)

 

[Rockwell75]

Update... @audio123's Ragnar vote added (and a couple other members'). Let's keep those votes coming! 3 IEMs that are engaging you most at this moment in time...

1) Traillii x22

2) Xe6 x14
3) Jewel x12
4) Indigo x10
5) Odyssey x7
6) Viking Ragnar x6
7) Annihilator x5
8) Supermoon x5
9) Szalayi x4
10) IER Z1R x3
11) Mason FS x3

12) HS2000MX x2
13) Phönix x2
14) IE 600 x2
15) EXT x2
16) Evo x3
17) Diva x2
18) Kublai Khan x2
19) Multiverse Mentor x2
20) Trifecta x2
21) Turi Ti x2
22) TZ700 x2
23) Penon Legend x2
24) Odin x2

24) Jolene
25) Duo
26) Blessing 2 Dusk
27) VE8
28) Equinox
29) u18t
30) Fusang
31) Fourte
32) F-Audio Mezzo
33) Zen Pro
34) Multiverse Melody
35) Elysium
36) Infinity MK2
37) Twilight
38) Prelude
39) IE100
40) Sultan
41) Red Halo
42) MAD24
43) LCDi4
44) ISN EST50
45) Penon Volt
46) X
47) a12t
48) Andromeda 2020
49) Fourte Noir
50) Kr5
51) Turii
52) Thunder
53)
54) Trio

Edit: @mico1964 brings Odin out of the basement.

 

[Rockwell75]

@bigbeans I'm doing the EA x Elysian Acoustics Labs Gaea tour
Have 3 pairs here
If interested sent me a DM

Awesome can't wait to get my ears on a set!

Don’t the Viking and Ragnar sound the same? I thought I read that the internals are exactly the same and Noble made the exterior aluminum on the Ragnar to reduce the price? Is this correct?

I haven't heard the Viking but I've heard it suggested from @HiFiHawaii808 and others that they sound distinct which is good enough for me to separate them on this poll.

 

[drftr]

Let's keep those votes coming!

And remember the beer is on the house for e-ve-ry-sin-gle U18t addition!

drftr

 

[Rockwell75]

And remember the beer is on the house for e-ve-ry-sin-gle U18t addition!

drftr

Anyone voting for the u18t is probably already intoxicated.

 

[drftr]

Anyone voting for the u18t is probably already intoxicated.

Fair enough...

I had an incredible listening experience a few days back though and didn't even have the guts to write it down but since you're asking I was listening to the live acoustic guitar album A Fridaynight In San Francisco which of course is made for the U18t, and I swear I never ever had such an intense listening session. It's hard to imagine but I was literally air drumming at every string attack. It was soooooow much fun! And I normally barely move nor am I typically easily moved when listening to reproduced music. But this was so bloody perfect that I couldn't help myself and I'm prepared to be kicked out of the thread because of it...

But yeah, this is the exact genre that the U18t will do just perfect. If I can tune my setup a bit going forward and make them sound more "uncontrolled", more bodied, and a bit warmer then I hope I'll be getting close enough to more experiences like this, but I take it that's a little too much asked. Anyway, this experience I won't forget.

drftr

 

[darveniza]

Update... @audio123's Ragnar vote added (and a couple other members'). Let's keep those votes coming! 3 IEMs that are engaging you most at this moment in time...

1) Traillii x22

2) Xe6 x14
3) Jewel x12
4) Indigo x10
5) Odyssey x7
6) Viking Ragnar x6
7) Annihilator x5
8) Supermoon x5
9) Szalayi x4
10) IER Z1R x3
11) Mason FS x3

12) HS2000MX x2
13) Phönix x2
14) IE 600 x2
15) EXT x2
16) Evo x3
17) Diva x2
18) Kublai Khan x2
19) Multiverse Mentor x2
20) Trifecta x2
21) Turi Ti x2
22) TZ700 x2
23) Penon Legend x2
24) Odin x2

24) Jolene
25) Duo
26) Blessing 2 Dusk
27) VE8
28) Equinox
29) u18t
30) Fusang
31) Fourte
32) F-Audio Mezzo
33) Zen Pro
34) Multiverse Melody
35) Elysium
36) Infinity MK2
37) Twilight
38) Prelude
39) IE100
40) Sultan
41) Red Halo
42) MAD24
43) LCDi4
44) ISN EST50
45) Penon Volt
46) X
47) a12t
48) Andromeda 2020
49) Fourte Noir
50) Kr5
51) Turii
52) Thunder
53)
54) Trio

Edit: @mico1964 brings Odin out of the basement.

It's funny to count the number of votes of the top 10 and the amount of $ invested, some people are very committed to the hobby.

 

[Rockwell75]

Fair enough...

I had an incredible listening experience a few days back though and didn't even have the guts to write it down but since you're asking I was listening to the live acoustic guitar album A Fridaynight In San Francisco which of course is made for the U18t, and I swear I never ever had such an intense listening session. It's hard to imagine but I was literally air drumming at every string attack. It was soooooow much fun! And I normally barely move nor am I typically easily moved when listening to reproduced music. But this was so bloody perfect that I couldn't help myself and I'm prepared to be kicked out of the thread because of it...

But yeah, this is the exact genre that the U18t will do just perfect. If I can tune my setup a bit going forward and make them sound more "uncontrolled", more bodied, and a bit warmer then I hope I'll be getting close enough to more experiences like this, but I take it that's a little too much asked. Anyway, this experience I won't forget.

drftr

Don't ever feel like you need courage to post or that you need to justify your feelings, thoughts and impressions to anyone. I'm glad you finally found something you love in the u18t. Many of my favorite IEMs would leave you (and many others) running for the hills...but that's fine. Diversity is a sign of a healthy community.