The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
Mar 9, 2023 at 8:39 PM Post #51,781 of 87,828
This is an interesting topic and one I've tried to navigate with varying degrees of success over the years. Firstly I do think there are, broadly speaking, different regional tuning preferences. "Western" companies tend to be more fixated on a foundation of solid bass (Audeze, Fir, Campfire, Empire Ears), European manufacturers tend to be more focused on the midrange (Sennheiser, Custom Art, Vision Ears, Lime Ears etc.) and Asian companies are more likely to fixate on upper mids and air & sparkle in the highs (Hifiman, Elysian etc.). Now this is hardly an absolute, either across companies or across people, however I think there is just enough to it to make it an interesting thing to ponder. In a way it's no different than different geographic/cultural regions having different preferences around food and flavor-- which is certainly non-controversial. And it doesn't really matter where you live-- I live in western Canada, am as white as they come, and yet all my favorite food is Asian. The second part of comment there was simply pointing out that it's perfectly natural for different communities to be more aware or focused on companies that are local to them. Thus in Asian audio communities there may be more of a focus on Asian brands, and in American communities on American brands. I don't think there's anything particularly contentious about this.

Regarding you and Crinacle specifically going out of your way to hype Asian brands and denigrate non-Asian brands-- no I have never made that claim in the past and I would not make it now, however...

I do feel that you have a strong bias against Campfire Audio specifically. The first time I ever heard your name was in Crinacle's Discord sometime in late 2019 or early 2020 and you were being called out by one of the mods (Leneo I think) for, over the course of like a year, obsessively doing everything you could to trash Campfire and damage their reputation as a brand. It had gotten so bad and so obvious that the mods of the server had to step in and warn you about it because, in their eyes, it was having a deleterious effect on the community. It is for this reason that, as much as I have admired and acknowledged your writing and knowledge in the past (notably in this post right above the one you linked to) I have never been able to take much of your commentary (specifcally but not exclusively around CFA stuff) at face value or as much more than an advanced form of trolling.
Actually a very thoughtful and reasonable response. Allow me to oblige the same:

For what it's worth, I don't disagree with the inherent idea that peoples' music preferences inevitable shape their audio preferences. I don't think it's limited to that either; I strongly suspect that genetic differences in ear and skull shape and different listening levels (this is one that no one talks about but I think plays a huge role) also affect what gear one ultimately likes. In fact, I'd go so far to say that I absolutely agree with the idea that a lot of actual Kpop and Jpop listeners do love their upper mids, and that I couldn't disagree more with the kind of shriek that these people acclimate themselves to. I think the idea of Asians disliking Western IEMs precisely because of this reason is ridiculous though; I can't speak for others but all my music listening is classical music, as such I'm more than happy to admit that absolute correctness in the midrange and timbre are of greater importance to me than anyone else. Many of my best audio friends are also Asian, but have very similar preferences to mine despite mostly listening to pop (not K/Jpop) and jazz music. The one thing we do have in common is our listening volume, which is on the louder side. Make of that what you will.

As for Campfire themselves, one must understand that during that era of 2019-2020 it was trendy to poopoo on them for the Solaris unit variance incident and the "shady Singaporeans" drama. Leneo (who I am friends with IRL, by the way) stepping in regarding drawing a line with me was probably because I was a major figurehead of that server during that time period. It's not a sign that I specifically was some sort of major detractor of Campfire and needed to be stopped, it was more that the entire server culture had always been against Campfire, even long before I joined, and he was essentially making an example out of me to try to put a hard stop to that as it was, like you mentioned, detrimental to both their brand and the reputation of the server. Of course, I haven't been in that server since, what, 2020, so I couldn't tell you what it's like in there anymore.

If you want my honest opinion on Campfire, I think their marketing and brand image can be really cringeworthy, but I try not to let that get in the way of what I actually think of a given product. If I genuinely like something they make, which was the case with the Andromeda 2020 back when it came out (not anymore, unfortunately) and to a lesser degree the Supermoon, I'm more than happy to give them credit where it's due. But if something is bad, then it's well, bad. I can't window dress that. I legitimately dislike all 3 of their new product releases; what would you rather I do, pretend I don't?

As for the trolling, people can interpret my writing however they want, it's never mattered to me. Some see it as entertainment, others see it as useful and informative, and some obviously think I devote hours of my personal time and energy to screaming into the void about how virtually every audio product sucks. The answer is probably somewhere in between all 3, as it tends to be for these sorts of things. I would rather not navel-gaze and provide explanations no one wants for the psychology behind my current writing style.
 
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Mar 9, 2023 at 8:46 PM Post #51,782 of 87,828
the Andromeda 2020 back when it came out (not anymore, unfortunately)

The Andromeda 2020 is what stands between me and other options at the same price. It has its fair share of problems, especially the bass quality and the mud below 1kHz, but at the same time, its resolution and soundstage imaging (which I index heavily) are still strong. Boy I want to buy something "better" to replace the Andromeda, but the question is always "are they really better than that green goblin?"

Can't say that I have the same enthusiasm for other CFA's that I heard though. Looking forward to hear the Trifecta this week.
 
Mar 9, 2023 at 9:24 PM Post #51,785 of 87,828
Has anyone noticed that Elysian Acoustics is now offering different faceplate options for Annihilator.

Gold plated copper mirror finish Version, Spin Brushed Titanium Version, Stainless Steel Version.

Credit to @KKNAYANA for the photo of Staineless

To be fair, you can customize and choose whatever faceplates he has that you want for Elysian's IEMs though
 
Mar 9, 2023 at 9:39 PM Post #51,786 of 87,828
It has its fair share of problems, especially the bass quality and the mud below 1kHz, but at the same time, its resolution and soundstage imaging (which I index heavily) are still strong. Boy I want to buy something "better" to replace the Andromeda, but the question is always "are they really better than that green goblin?"

It's picky as heck in source and cable pairings but yes I've invested more than its SRP to minimize those midbass to subbass issues since it's still a top contender in my books
 
Mar 9, 2023 at 9:48 PM Post #51,788 of 87,828
Mar 9, 2023 at 9:48 PM Post #51,789 of 87,828
I'm 21,000 tracks into ripping my cd collection still a way to go for the rest but it's great to be able to scan through a dap and instantly be able to play an album from 30 years ago that's not available from steaming sites I've lost count of the number of cds I've had to manually type in the track lists and scan the cover.
Living this life now myself. Slow and tedious, months-long process, but I continue to be surprised at how much music simply isn't on streaming services, or comes and goes which is just as irritating. My files were just a mess, but I'm 1.6 TB cleaned and organized, with another 2.5 TB to go (sigh....)
 
Mar 9, 2023 at 9:52 PM Post #51,790 of 87,828
I just passed the Supermoon tour kit on today. I found SM to be quite an enjoyable listen. :beerchug::L3000:

Once I was able to tame its aggressive upper mids/treble, I loved it and got the custom. Most of the non-audiophiles I know who gave it a listen, really liked it. At first, I did have trouble with its somewhat metallic timbre and its aggressive sound signature. Once I paired it with the right cable, tips and DAP, I really love it for pop music.
 
Mar 9, 2023 at 10:00 PM Post #51,791 of 87,828
Actually a very thoughtful and reasonable response. Allow me to oblige the same:

For what it's worth, I don't disagree with the inherent idea that peoples' music preferences inevitable shape their audio preferences. I don't think it's limited to that either; I strongly suspect that genetic differences in ear and skull shape and different listening levels (this is one that no one talks about but I think plays a huge role) also affect what gear one ultimately likes. In fact, I'd go so far to say that I absolutely agree with the idea that a lot of actual Kpop and Jpop listeners do love their upper mids, and that I couldn't disagree more with the kind of shriek that these people acclimate themselves to. I think the idea of Asians disliking Western IEMs precisely because of this reason is ridiculous though; I can't speak for others but all my music listening is classical music, as such I'm more than happy to admit that absolute correctness in the midrange and timbre are of greater importance to me than anyone else. Many of my best audio friends are also Asian, but have very similar preferences to mine despite mostly listening to pop (not K/Jpop) and jazz music. The one thing we do have in common is our listening volume, which is on the louder side. Make of that what you will.

As for Campfire themselves, one must understand that during that era of 2019-2020 it was trendy to poopoo on them for the Solaris unit variance incident and the "shady Singaporeans" drama. Leneo (who I am friends with IRL, by the way) stepping in regarding drawing a line with me was probably because I was a major figurehead of that server during that time period. It's not a sign that I specifically was some sort of major detractor of Campfire and needed to be stopped, it was more that the entire server culture had always been against Campfire, even long before I joined, and he was essentially making an example out of me to try to put a hard stop to that as it was, like you mentioned, detrimental to both their brand and the reputation of the server. Of course, I haven't been in that server since, what, 2020, so I couldn't tell you what it's like in there anymore.

If you want my honest opinion on Campfire, I think their marketing and brand image can be really cringeworthy, but I try not to let that get in the way of what I actually think of a given product. If I genuinely like something they make, which was the case with the Andromeda 2020 back when it came out (not anymore, unfortunately) and to a lesser degree the Supermoon, I'm more than happy to give them credit where it's due. But if something is bad, then it's well, bad. I can't window dress that. I legitimately dislike all 3 of their new product releases; what would you rather I do, pretend I don't?

As for the trolling, people can interpret my writing however they want, it's never mattered to me. Some see it as entertainment, others see it as useful and informative, and some obviously think I devote hours of my personal time and energy to screaming into the void about how virtually every audio product sucks. The answer is probably somewhere in between all 3, as it tends to be for these sorts of things. I would rather not navel-gaze and provide explanations no one wants for the psychology behind my current writing style.
Honestly... I'm gonna go read your stuff, lol! Partly as a former Journalism Major, and partly because I wanna continue to learn, and I do think we may have a bit of "hive-mind" collective mindset about "good vs. bad" gear at times. Not necessarily here at Head-Fi per-se, but collectively in the audiophile industry. Discerning who among dissenting, yet experienced and nuanced reviewers is hard at times.
 
Mar 9, 2023 at 10:06 PM Post #51,792 of 87,828
@drftr I know you were a fan of DX240 AMP 8 mk2 (I think?), amp 8 mk2s is right around the corner apparently.

From Paul himself via email:

“The sound of the MK2S is a little fuller and even more robust sounding. We have used a very nice combination of capacitors.”
Tnx for letting me know on the day I need to decide on P6k! GRRR... :wink:

Looking at the Hiby RS2 R2R dap I have a few DAPS Sony nw-zx507, Sony Nwm1a, fiio m15, Cayin N3pro and Shanling m6pro (21)
My question is it a good example of R2R in an affordable way? I have the cayin RU6 dongle and looking for similar sound in a dap for not too many pennies
I compared it with my RU6 just last week and it's an equally nice R2R sound that sounds a little bit warmer than RU6. However... (see further below)

negative $$$ is exactly what I’ve made from reviewing. :D
But you saved us a lot so it balanced out nicely! 🥰

Nope, tried on two different IEMs, and turned up the volume quite high. Aside from the bizarre left and right vocal panning, no annoying buzzing sound. This could probably explain why you crave your treble extension, Mr Bat Ears 🤔😅
Bat.png


I've downloaded a few DSD .iso files. Do you know how to convert them to lossy quality? Do I need to mount the file since there's no physical disc or so?

Yeah I'm totally OCD about it - I love when I see a new Bandcamp release, start the download and a sense of glee when I see the file size exceeds 500MB, always knowing then it'll be 24bit!
Meet your radical opposite: For the sake of portability I had always lowered SQ to 192 or 320 max. That's not necessary anymore but 95% of my library is like that already.

I'm 21,000 tracks into ripping my cd collection still a way to go for the rest but it's great to be able to scan through a dap and instantly be able to play an album from 30 years ago that's not available from steaming sites I've lost count of the number of cds I've had to manually type in the track lists and scan the cover.
You may want to check the rather cumbersome scrolling on RS2 plus the track number limitation. I don't know the ins and outs but have read about it in reviews and it might be a problem for you.

Classical music is awesome too.
:wink:

drftr
 
Mar 9, 2023 at 10:10 PM Post #51,794 of 87,828
Anyone else find this song hard to listen to? There’s a really high pitched noise on this track. It’s really apparent during the first 40 seconds but it’s throughout the entire track. I’ve tried this across a few IEMs, it’s incredibly annoying. It reminds me of the “mosquito buzz” phone alert that you can no longer hear once you pass a certain age/hearing loss of upper frequencies.

1678389968409.png
I guess I am old enough to not get annoyed :).
 
Mar 9, 2023 at 10:14 PM Post #51,795 of 87,828
Living this life now myself. Slow and tedious, months-long process, but I continue to be surprised at how much music simply isn't on streaming services, or comes and goes which is just as irritating. My files were just a mess, but I'm 1.6 TB cleaned and organized, with another 2.5 TB to go (sigh....)
@Skyediver Just out of curiosity what streaming service are you using, and do you find more artists from a particular genre unavailable?
 
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