[bigbeans]

iems that capture my heart for now:
1. XE6 + Hugo 2
2. Indigo CIEM + HM1000K
3. Supermoon + HM1000K

 

[Rockwell75]

iems that capture my heart for now:
1. XE6 + Hugo 2
2. Indigo CIEM + HM1000K
3. Supermoon + HM1000K

No Trifecta yet? Eagerly awaiting your thoughts

 

[doctorjuggles]

Popping in and out with a quick update. The Turii Ti has really grown on me and will stay in the collection. The final purchase came in: a cable made by @doctorjuggles for the Odin. I liked the valknut splitter on the Stormbreaker but I found the cable itself too tangly. The doctor came up with this design, also incorporating the valknut symbol, inlaid with opals meant to approximate the bifrost faceplates. I think it worked out quite well. The build quality of the cable is great, as usual.



This completes the "Retirement Collection", shown below (IEMs normally stored in CA mesh bags). Larger than I wanted but I cherish each and every one of them...



(P.S. Mentor, Odyssey, etc. don't exist and are certainly not available for purchase... That alternative reality I will embrace as my own ... It has to stop somewhere... )

Absolutely ridiculous collection (in the nicest possible way of course!!)

 

[bigbeans]

No Trifecta yet? Eagerly awaiting your thoughts

FedEx is playing games...delayed from Friday delivery to Monday

Rest assured, will cross post here (from the Trifecta thread) with unboxing pics and first impressions

 

[Rockwell75]

FedEx is playing games...delayed from Friday delivery to Monday

Rest assured, will cross post here (from the Trifecta thread) with unboxing pics and first impressions

Can't wait man! You were my Trifecta brother-in-arms at CanJam.

 

[JS27]

Here is a rainy AM cross-share on my Trifecta impressions. It was bought by me with my monies at full MSRP from the fine folks at Audio46 (awesome quick ship on this), from a long-ago pre-order wherest I believe I was high and enthralled with Trifecta's golden glitter...

Further stuff n' things..... 25-30 hours in.....

Source: N8ii
Tips: CA Marshmallow (I like CA foam tips, don't usually swap in others early unless something sounds off/struggle for seal)
Fit: Easy like Sunday morning. Medium-ish depth insert that goes in without much fuss.....very light and comfortable in-ear.


Comparison: I had used the Z1R, Advar, and XE6 on early impressions looking to give some type of sonic landmark to the experience. After 30 or so hours of either brain or driver burn-in....whichever you pray to...still truth to that (50% Z1R, 30% Advar/DD warmth and response, 20% XE6 swirl/boom presentation). Maybe the fastest short-hand is Z1R meets Dorado 2020.

Tone: Warm, analog, boomy/roundly percussive. It's got a helping of the classic-tube gold and honey. A bit of sunshine without being bright in the sense of old school-grado/beyerdynamic. This is probably going to be the make or break for those lucky few putting ears on this set......it's an approach to tone that could be called Two Channel Heaven if you dig or the most Hi-Fi Lo-Fi sound you'll ever hear if you don't. No matter the driver type, a lot of current tone voicing tends to accentuate decay, weight, clarity, color......when I listen to the Atriums or Advars, I feel like I'm in the drum-skin. You feel the brush work, you hear the depth. On Trifecta, your experience is often the reverb-laden space right off the instrument.....the interior of the drum, the buzz over the strings of a guitar. It's expressive and evocative of an earlier style of voicing.....but may seem a little syrupy/one-note for those who most enjoy chasing depth/texture ala' BA or Planar set-ups. Not saying tone is a weakness here....it's just a different approach than most modern TOTL-style voicings. It's a E88CC Gold Lion affair.

Frequency: Mild/mid-mild V. The bass....she a boomin'. This is a wide-range and expressive bass tuning......but it's much more in the vein of a woosh-of-air thump from a two channel than the heavy, down-into-the void rumble and texture of the Z1R or XE6. Mids are a step or two back depending on the mix being feed.....not the star of the show, but a solid presentation. The most modern part of the tuning is the swell into the mid-high and treble the gives definition against the mids and a sense of some lift if not outright air.....but is not sibilant/aggressive. Think Z1R with mids pushed up a notch and treble down one or two. It presents a lot of energy without being fatiguing via tone/tuning.

Special Effect/Technical: The warm/boomy vintage tone can lead one to think that the technicals are so-so on first listen.......but the Trifecta, in my humble ear-holes, is a surprise technical powerhouse for a DD design. It's highly resolving. It images and spaces amongst the best IEM's I've heard, and handles complexity and layering with e-a-s-e. It's the widest stage I've heard in an IEM and plenty holographic. More wide than tall. Against the Z1R as an IEM touch-stone in this category, the Z1R is taller with a cathedral-like effect but not as wide. The Trifecta's presentation is most akin....in terms of what I've heard over the years....to an IEM HD800. Not tone/tuning.....but that nebulous cloud of sound staging. Like the HD800, it can seem artificially stretched on certain mixes (which may or may not be a concern to you).....but it's like nothing else I've ever heard on an IEM for complex or expansive/orchestral mixes. To me, this category is the point of the Trifecta....and like the tone it won't be for everyone. But children......it's straight f##$ing magic golden cosmic fire with certain mixes.

What does it work with?: Trifecta...for me....is working with all genres. It can into delicate....it can into rock/metal. It has plenty of speed and layering. It's really more mix dependent. The Trifecta is not the candidate to go pick apart mid-compressed rock/metal/pop tracks.....like the Z1R, you're going to feel like something is off-balance with scooped/hollow mids (though Trifecta gets you a lot further with a lot more music in this category than the Z1R). But if the mix...any genre...presents good articulation around the instruments or layers......holy hall of sound gods does the Trifecta just grab everything and explode it out into an all-detail-revealed golden cloud of sound.

Intimate solo presentations or small jazz club acoustics.......no issue, Trifecta works big and small. But let me cut to the chase......if an album is instrument-forward, has 6 tracks, and is 90 minutes long.......Trifecta is its soul mate. Prog. Doom. Orchestral. Stoner. Trifecta is like being at a laser-light show in God's planetarium. Earthless?.....MAGIC. King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard......MAGIC. Gentle Giant?.........MAGIC. Elder?.......MAGIC. Porcupine Tree?....MAGIC. Woobler?......MAGIC. Later-day Opeth?.......MAGIC. If an album plays to 70's style organic-synth electronica.......it's like Trifecta was made for it. Tangerine Dream or John Carpenter sound tracks......unbelievably awesome in presentation.

At 30 hours in/TL-DR....
For: Music as an experience ala' the northstar of the HD800 presentation. Complex, layered tracks spun into a sonic, celestial two-channel cloud of the heavens.
Not For: Special effects/"The Experience" low on your list of sonic priorities. The ever-bleeding edge of the modern neutral+technical BA and/or Planar approach is your sole desire and interest.

 

[yaps66]

May I suggest you click on your Spoiler: Former Gear link in your signature???


You should join in. I think the best represented nation among travellers in Vietnam is South Korea, seriously.

drftr

There is probably 100,000 to 150,000 South Korean expats living and working in Vietnam. Joop is right. Probably the best represented nation here.

Popping in and out with a quick update. The Turii Ti has really grown on me and will stay in the collection. The final purchase came in: a cable made by @doctorjuggles for the Odin. I liked the valknut splitter on the Stormbreaker but I found the cable itself too tangly. The doctor came up with this design, also incorporating the valknut symbol, inlaid with opals meant to approximate the bifrost faceplates. I think it worked out quite well. The build quality of the cable is great, as usual.



This completes the "Retirement Collection", shown below (IEMs normally stored in CA mesh bags). Larger than I wanted but I cherish each and every one of them...



(P.S. Mentor, Odyssey, etc. don't exist and are certainly not available for purchase... That alternative reality I will embrace as my own ... It has to stop somewhere... )

Seriously wonderful collection! Congratulations!

Watercooler Top 3 Yankee Thanksgiving Weekend Poll

Question: What 3 IEMs most own your heart right now (today, not necessarily "all time")?

Xe6 x18
Jewel x17
Traillii x17

Mentor x9
Fourté Blanc x7
Viking Ragnar x6
Softears Turii Ti x6
IER Z1R x5
Odyssey x5
EXT x4
Supermoon x4
PHöNIX x4
Kublai Khan x4
Pathfinder x3
V16 Divinity x2

Annihilator x2
Diva x2
LCDi4 x2
EVO x2
Indigo x3
Fourte x2
Red Halo x2
Trifecta x2
Andromeda x2
Kr5 x2

FIBAE7U
Gaea
Dorado 2020

OH5
radius HP-W300
Sennheiser IE 100 PRO
Mest MKii
VE7
Dark Sky
Nanna
S8
Sharona
Trio
Elysium
Solaris
Thunder
TG334
Zen Pro
Mezzo
Fibae 5
Serial
XM4
Odin
Anima
a/u12t
Legend X
Zeus
RA 21.5
Mason
Sultan
a/u18t
IE600
Dusk
Hook-X
Monarch I
Turii
Noir
FD5



My longest owned IEM...definitely some magic there for me.

In other news I'm not sure I've ever seen/heard your thoughts on Supermoon...was that a misfire for you?

It is in my top 10! I am using it with foams and Dunu Blanche (silver cable). The bass quality is so good. I would say it rivals Ragnar bass with a little more quantity. The treble does get peaky at times but nothing which bothers me. It is also very engaging. My only complaint is the dynamic range. Everything just sounds loud which can sometimes be fatiguing. Even the quietest classical passages. If there are 8 loudness levels to a particular classical piece, it seems like SM only has 4 or 5. Not sure if this makes sense. I have not really a/b SM with others and plan to do so next week. Regardless, it is in my top 10 and regular rotation!

 

[Rockwell75]

It is in my top 10! I am using it with foams and Dunu Blanche (silver cable). The bass quality is so good. I would say it rivals Ragnar bass with a little more quantity. The treble does get peaky at times but nothing which bothers me. It is also very engaging. My only complaint is the dynamic range. Everything just sounds loud which can sometimes be fatiguing. Even the quietest classical passages. If there are 8 loudness levels to a particular classical piece, it seems like SM only has 4 or 5. Not sure if this makes sense. I have not really a/b SM with others and plan to do so next week. Regardless, it is in my top 10 and regular rotation!

Thank-you for sharing! RE the dynamic range thing I've been struggling to come to grips with this for a while. I understand the meaning of the words around how you and others have described it but I've yet to relate them to personal experience. It could be a library thing.

 

[blotmouse]

Here is a rainy AM cross-share on my Trifecta impressions. It was bought by me with my monies at full MSRP from the fine folks at Audio46 (awesome quick ship on this), from a long-ago pre-order wherest I believe I was high and enthralled with Trifecta's golden glitter...

Further stuff n' things..... 25-30 hours in.....

Source: N8ii
Tips: CA Marshmallow (I like CA foam tips, don't usually swap in others early unless something sounds off/struggle for seal)
Fit: Easy like Sunday morning. Medium-ish depth insert that goes in without much fuss.....very light and comfortable in-ear.


Comparison: I had used the Z1R, Advar, and XE6 on early impressions looking to give some type of sonic landmark to the experience. After 30 or so hours of either brain or driver burn-in....whichever you pray to...still truth to that (50% Z1R, 30% Advar/DD warmth and response, 20% XE6 swirl/boom presentation). Maybe the fastest short-hand is Z1R meets Dorado 2020.

Tone: Warm, analog, boomy/roundly percussive. It's got a helping of the classic-tube gold and honey. A bit of sunshine without being bright in the sense of old school-grado/beyerdynamic. This is probably going to be the make or break for those lucky few putting ears on this set......it's an approach to tone that could be called Two Channel Heaven if you dig or the most Hi-Fi Lo-Fi sound you'll ever hear if you don't. No matter the driver type, a lot of current tone voicing tends to accentuate decay, weight, clarity, color......when I listen to the Atriums or Advars, I feel like I'm in the drum-skin. You feel the brush work, you hear the depth. On Trifecta, your experience is often the reverb-laden space right off the instrument.....the interior of the drum, the buzz over the strings of a guitar. It's expressive and evocative of an earlier style of voicing.....but may seem a little syrupy/one-note for those who most enjoy chasing depth/texture ala' BA or Planar set-ups. Not saying tone is a weakness here....it's just a different approach than most modern TOTL-style voicings. It's a E88CC Gold Lion affair.

Frequency: Mild/mid-mild V. The bass....she a boomin'. This is a wide-range and expressive bass tuning......but it's much more in the vein of a woosh-of-air thump from a two channel than the heavy, down-into-the void rumble and texture of the Z1R or XE6. Mids are a step or two back depending on the mix being feed.....not the star of the show, but a solid presentation. The most modern part of the tuning is the swell into the mid-high and treble the gives definition against the mids and a sense of some lift if not outright air.....but is not sibilant/aggressive. Think Z1R with mids pushed up a notch and treble down one or two. It presents a lot of energy without being fatiguing via tone/tuning.

Special Effect/Technical: The warm/boomy vintage tone can lead one to think that the technicals are so-so on first listen.......but the Trifecta, in my humble ear-holes, is a surprise technical powerhouse for a DD design. It's highly resolving. It images and spaces amongst the best IEM's I've heard, and handles complexity and layering with e-a-s-e. It's the widest stage I've heard in an IEM and plenty holographic. More wide than tall. Against the Z1R as an IEM touch-stone in this category, the Z1R is taller with a cathedral-like effect but not as wide. The Trifecta's presentation is most akin....in terms of what I've heard over the years....to an IEM HD800. Not tone/tuning.....but that nebulous cloud of sound staging. Like the HD800, it can seem artificially stretched on certain mixes (which may or may not be a concern to you).....but it's like nothing else I've ever heard on an IEM for complex or expansive/orchestral mixes. To me, this category is the point of the Trifecta....and like the tone it won't be for everyone. But children......it's straight f##$ing magic golden cosmic fire with certain mixes.

What does it work with?: Trifecta...for me....is working with all genres. It can into delicate....it can into rock/metal. It has plenty of speed and layering. It's really more mix dependent. The Trifecta is not the candidate to go pick apart mid-compressed rock/metal/pop tracks.....like the Z1R, you're going to feel like something is off-balance with scooped/hollow mids (though Trifecta gets you a lot further with a lot more music in this category than the Z1R). But if the mix...any genre...presents good articulation around the instruments or layers......holy hall of sound gods does the Trifecta just grab everything and explode it out into an all-detail-revealed golden cloud of sound.

Intimate solo presentations or small jazz club acoustics.......no issue, Trifecta works big and small. But let me cut to the chase......if an album is instrument-forward, has 6 tracks, and is 90 minutes long.......Trifecta is its soul mate. Prog. Doom. Orchestral. Stoner. Trifecta is like being at a laser-light show in God's planetarium. Earthless?.....MAGIC. King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard......MAGIC. Gentle Giant?.........MAGIC. Elder?.......MAGIC. Porcupine Tree?....MAGIC. Woobler?......MAGIC. Later-day Opeth?.......MAGIC. If an album plays to 70's style organic-synth electronica.......it's like Trifecta was made for it. Tangerine Dream or John Carpenter sound tracks......unbelievably awesome in presentation.

At 30 hours in/TL-DR....
For: Music as an experience ala' the northstar of the HD800 presentation. Complex, layered tracks spun into a sonic, celestial two-channel cloud of the heavens.
Not For: Special effects/"The Experience" low on your list of sonic priorities. The ever-bleeding edge of the modern neutral+technical BA and/or Planar approach is your sole desire and interest.

Super impressions! Detailed and abstract. I get a real sense of experience with your descriptions.

 

[klyzon]

Initial impressions of OTL on the Ody.
Definitely sounding fuller and clearer as compared to stock Ares II which I didn't spend a lot of time on. Previous pairing was on Iliad.
OTL sounds wider, slightly better imaging. Bass sounds more crisp, gives the DD on Ody sufficient punch with slightly faster decay.

Overall great pairing! Next up when I have the time is to swap around OTL to Jewel and FT to Ody! Special thanks to @Eric Chong and @MusicTeck for the ridiculously fast turnaround

 

[Doug2507]

Initial impressions of OTL on the Ody.
Definitely sounding fuller and clearer as compared to stock Ares II which I didn't spend a lot of time on. Previous pairing was on Iliad.
OTL sounds wider, slightly better imaging. Bass sounds more crisp, gives the DD on Ody sufficient punch with slightly faster decay.

Overall great pairing! Next up when I have the time is to swap around OTL to Jewel and FT to Ody! Special thanks to @Eric Chong and @MusicTeck for the ridiculously fast turnaround

Look forward to hearing what you think of OTL on Jewel vs FT.

 

[yaps66]

Initial impressions of OTL on the Ody.
Definitely sounding fuller and clearer as compared to stock Ares II which I didn't spend a lot of time on. Previous pairing was on Iliad.
OTL sounds wider, slightly better imaging. Bass sounds more crisp, gives the DD on Ody sufficient punch with slightly faster decay.

Overall great pairing! Next up when I have the time is to swap around OTL to Jewel and FT to Ody! Special thanks to @Eric Chong and @MusicTeck for the ridiculously fast turnaround

Faster dacay on Ody bass would be great!

 

[Rockwell75]

If nothing changes these are the top 5 IEMs I heard for the first time in 2022:

1) Annihilator
2) Trifecta
3) Supermoon
4) EXT
5) Kr5

A nice mix of all my favorite things.

Honorable Mentions: Gaea, Mentor.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Finally some impressions of the Noble Audio Kublai Kahn. I’ve only had a few hours with these thus far and this being my first time ever hearing a Noble Audio Product. I’ve always been intrigued by this long standing American brand and I thought the Kublai would be a good entry point. I love BC driver set ups and the tactile presence they give to the sound signature. I’ve owned every iteration of the UM Mests and Indigo being my favorite with still to this day the best imaging of any iem I’ve ever put into my ears. However what lacked for me with Indigo was the fatiguing treble that felt much too dry and pointed for such a dynamic monitor. I couldn’t get past it…..

KK has def remedied that!

KK was home waiting for me after work Wednesday evening, and I will say one of the best unboxing experiences I’ve had. I personally love the Nanuk case and can fit my Dap and three iems in it. The Kublai Khans themselves are well made and stunning to behold. The stock cable feels nice and looks aesthetically pleasing however I haven’t been able to hear KK with it as the left channel of the cable is not working and Bloom Audio is helping me out with this. So for my impressions I’m using the Traillii stock cable by PW Audio and source Lp P6pro with Eartune Fidelity U tips.

The first moment I listened it was a bit jarring as KK sounds different than what I’ve been listening to this past year. It’s clarity and transparency is off the charts. It did take some brain burn for me to be sucked in, much like it did with Supermoon. However where Supermoon lacked in Dynamic contrast the Kublai Khan has in spades. This is exactly What I was after. A different sound with energy and dynamic swings on both macro and micro.

The bass is impressive, not overbearing or bloomy, digs deep and stays in its lane. Reminds me of Odin bass. Which is a HUGE compliment. It only comes out when the track calls for it. More of a sub bass boost and less Mid bass with this tuning which I am enjoying as most of my iems/buds are mid bass oriented sets. There is enough mid bass to give some warmth to the stage but not so much that technicals are smudged or lost. Coming into the midrange, it’s very linear with great layering and transparency…

Male vocals are exceptionally muscular and female vocals are sweet and natural while being pulled back a bit in the soundstage. Not much but just enough to let the rest of the stage encapsulate the listener. The soundstage is vastly wide and sounds bounce around the head in a 3D like image. There is a good amount of depth and height as well. Nothing cathedral like with Ier-Z1R. The details are everywhere, well separated with good amounts of air and placement/imaging is top notch. Instrument timbre is natural and realistic especially bass instruments, horns, strings. The only area I heard some struggle was with acoustic guitars in some tracks…lacked some heft and grit.

I will say the treble is my favorite here. So extended, never dry or blunted. Full of sparkle and detail, that never gets fatiguing. With the amount of detail one would think it may get boring or overly analytical, however the musicality with the KK is ever present. Maybe the BC driver at play.

Overall the Kublai Khan is wining me over with its Spacious, musical and technically competent sound, great imaging and fast transients. A world class quality bass and treble extension that rivals my experience with the planar king iem Supermoon. However, like Supermoon, KK loves well produced tracks. Poorer recording show of all that is lacking.

Really enjoy this monitor and tuning. I have Dr. Juggles 50’s clone cardas clear on the way to me and will report back if anything changes with that cable swap.

 

[Andricop]

Where do you place the DC Ti right now? What’s the most “similar” IEM/s to it that you’ve heard?

I place it at the top, I prefer it to what I had or what I listened to (including Traillii...).
Sound is different from what I have heard so far, it's a subtle and wonderful mix of technicality, musicality with a warm sound, the best bass for my taste.
Paired to the Sony WM1Z M2, the combo is bliss! Effortless, non fatiguing, amazing sound, everything is nicely balanced, I liked it as soon as I listened to it, no brain burn in needed haha
I'll try to post some pictures this weekend