[Rockwell75]

Now that I've got the Fir kit on the road to SG, and life has calmed down a bit post CanJam I will have some time to spend with the Custom Art Fibae 5 and FatFreq Maestro SE this weekend.

 

[SteveKiwi]

Now that I've got the Fir kit on the road to SG, and life has calmed down a bit post CanJam I will have some time this weekend to spend with the Custom Art Fibae 5 and FatFreq Maestro SE this weekend.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

These are the latest additions to my collection.

 

[Tex Irie]

I kinda agree with you. Although I tried the Portugese love, I can clearly hear the backup singers in my dynamic driver full-size headphone Atrium, and then I took out my cheapest IEM, which is a sub $100 basshead Focus EDM also with a single dymaic driver, and I still can clearly hear it . Of course, this is when I got the cues that I pay attention to the existence of the backup singer. I guess if I am hearing it randomly with many sets and right afterwards I was asked about if there is any backup singers in the track, I may not be able to answer with certainty.

How hard did you have to focus?

 

[wolfstar76]

Now that I've got the Fir kit on the road to SG, and life has calmed down a bit post CanJam I will have some time this weekend to spend with the Custom Art Fibae 5 and FatFreq Maestro SE this weekend.

You are going to SG or the Fir Kit is going to SG ?

 

[drftr]

Which brings me to my usual soapbox. If using a high quality eq---- who cares about tuning? You're still in the digital realm. Yes, a crappy eq software will sound crappy, but I'm talking about using the same programs that the studios that recorded and mastered what you're listening to! Then you use the dac to put you in the analog realm.

I'm not sure if your point is 100% valid (and I certainly could be wrong in my take) saying that you use the same software as in the studio. I'd think in a studio they would EQ an instrument before it's mixed into the total picture. So where in the studio they can attenuate the 8 kHz on vocals successfully, you would attentuate the overall 8 kHz peak instead. This way you're successfully taking down vocal sibilance, but also that violin that was actually EQ'd just right and now becomes too attenuated as a result.

I have always been a fan of UAPP.

However, it has a lot of problems with Android 11, especially with the speed of accessing the SD card.

These issues make it unusable on my DX170, so I've had to switch to Neutron.

My main issue is app stability. 30-40% of the times that I go back 1 screen it's either completely empty or some albums show as an empty space. After restarting the app everything is fine again. Weird. And I already have a daily start/stop routine to not get the battery to lose 13-15% overnight while just sitting there.

Call me fickle but neutron is so ugly and unintuitive so native player or UAPP if only poweramp played as good as it looks.

For useability reasons Poweramp is my favourite and I actually preferred its sound when I had U18t. It sounded more pleasant, but most likely only because it's less resolving than UAPP (at least when using bitperfect).

since you can't add speed/resolution down the chain

That was my favourite one-liner when I was on the selling side and I think it will permanently hold true. It's important to note though that you can get back speed/resolution down the chain (or better: restore/uncover?) that you never realized existed by using an excellent cable. A cable doesn't have a life of its own like other components have but it can show you things that cheaper cables weren't capable of and suddenly you get better detail, dynamics, rhythm, imaging, even timbre.

drftr

 

[wolfstar76]

How hard did you have to focus?

Since I am listening with intention, I would say not hard at all. But I would guess if I am listening randomly, I can still hear the backup singers, and I can hear it is not a solo, especially it was recorded in studio, not a life performance. It could be pretty hard if it is a life performance.

 

[daijobudes]

Fresh from my coupler, Gaea vs MMII.

No wonder why Gaea is divisive. It's reallyyyy pushing the boundary. But at the same time, hats off to Elysian Acoustic Lab for:

• Knowing to stop at 10dB ear-gain boost rather than going full 12.5dB (or the 20dB insanity that some Chi-Fi tuners do)
• Tuning the upper mid and treble so smoothly. The raw graph of Gaea looks like a smoothened graph, to give you an idea. No peak no dip all the way from 2k to 5k. Just flat.
• Balancing the ear-gain and bass precisely. It mean just look at the balance!
• Boosting air.

If you don't like this tuning, then there is nothing to say to change it. But I've got to say, to me, it's master work. @Bosk mentioned that Gaea is noticeably less resolving than the true TOTL like Anni and even U12T (a claim which I will evaluate today ). If it is the case, then (1) I can't even imagine how resolving the Anni, the bird, and the jewel are, and (2) the Gaea is likely at the limit of what 1 + 4 topology can do. I can't think of any tuning "tricks" to get more, since Gaea already very revealing with zero mud.

Really interesting,
However I did some critical listening on THE BEST Cable in the world which brings TONs of details with iem imaginable;
My thoughts :
Ragnar - too clean, too sterile, non musical (and that’s on DX320X which is super musical mellow and lush dap)
Gaea - has a lot of “friction harmonics” each ba produces its own sound and packed in tube, this make it sounds spacious, but dull. No harmony, very “monitor”like sound. Great bass. Just bad tuning.
IE900 - synergy, coherency, all sounds are in order and in the right place, everything sounds musical, very informative. Bass is great.
Aure AuR - my endgame in hybrid iems.
I’ve had this tuning in my head for long time - everything is crystal clear, amazing clarity, separation, easily tuned with cables, tips.
It’s a mix of Ragnar clarity and Sennheiser ie900 musicality, bass, rest.
For 400$ (with fedex shipment) I can’t imagine how can go for Ragnar, or any similarly tuned iem. It’s a Unicorn, it’s a pure luck I stumbled upon these guys on Facebook searching for boutique like company in Asia.
If you have opportunity- give it a try.
Interesting how it will perform on SP3K, these two should have great synergy together.

 

[Rockwell75]

You are going to SG or the Fir Kit is going to SG ?

Fir kit is on its way to @HiFiHawaii808 who is taking it to SG for CanJam so a few Coolers over there can sample it. Sadly I am not able to make it this year though I hope to in the future as there are many dear souls I'd love to meet in person.

In other news this Custom Art Fibae 5 is excellent. I'd put off listening to it until I could give it my whole attention and it has really impressed me over the course of the last couple hours. To my ears it's a somewhat relaxed mid-centric set with beautiful natural timbre, sweet and detailed highs and a forward but not in-your-face vocal presentation. The bass is also really nice. Subdued and in the background but solid and authoritive when necessary. This ability to "get more with less" in terms of oomph and impact is one of the major advantages of DD bass for me. Resolution is most prominent in the mids but really good in the bass and highs also. Signature on the whole is full bodied yet wonderfully transparent and coherent. For a mid-centric IEM there is an incredible yet subtle texture and detail in the treble with the Fibae 5. Every now and again something grabs my attentionand I'm suddenly aware of beautiful layers of precise detail-with-just-a-dash-of-lushness up top. Stage is decent but a little on the intimate side, which suits this tuning really well. Layering and imaging, however, is superb. A great IEM to focus on and get lost in the music in a more relaxing way. A very well rounded and versatile IEM-- no sign of fatigue, aggression or any sort of "in your face" behavior. This is my first Custom Art and the profound good opinion of the brand which has accumulated in my mind over time from reports of trusted fellow enthusiasts was not misguided. Looking forward to spending more time with the Fibae 5 this weekend.

 

[drftr]

Sadly IEM not able

You may be too deep in this hobby after all!

drftr

 

[Rockwell75]

You may be too deep in this hobby after all!

drftr

LMAO edited.

 

[marklivia]

The LP6 Ti isn’t portable? I figured it’s the same size as the SP3K

I don't really feel like taking a $6K DAP out and about...

 

[Tex Irie]

Fir kit is on its way to @HiFiHawaii808 who is taking it to SG for CanJam so a few Coolers over there can sample it. Sadly I am not able to make it this year though I hope to in the future as there are many dear souls I'd love to meet in person.

In other news this Custom Art Fibae 5 is excellent. I'd put off listening to it until I could give it my whole attention and it has really impressed me over the course of the last couple hours. To my ears it's a somewhat relaxed mid-centric set with beautiful natural timbre, sweet and detailed highs and a forward but not in-your-face vocal presentation. The bass is also really nice. Subdued and in the background but solid and authoritive when necessary. This ability to "get more with less" in terms of oomph and impact is one of the major advantages of DD bass for me. Resolution is most prominent in the mids but really good in the bass and highs also. Signature on the whole is full bodied yet wonderfully transparent and coherent. For a mid-centric IEM there is an incredible yet subtle texture and detail in the treble with the Fibae 5. Every now and again something grabs my attentionand I'm suddenly aware of beautiful layers of precise detail up top. Stage is decent but a little on the intimate side, which suits this tuning really well. Layering and imaging, however, is superb. A great IEM to focus on and get lost in the music in a more relaxing way. A very well rounded and versatile IEM-- no sign of fatigue, aggression or any sort of "in your face" behavior. This is my first Custom Art and the profound good opinion of the brand which has accumulated in my mind over time from reports of trusted fellow enthusiasts. Looking forward to spending more time with the Fibae 5 this weekend.

Looking forward to hearing more about the Fibae 5 and the music you're listening to @Rockwell75. I'm also wondering if anyone ever compared the Fibae 5, Szalayi, and AK Zero1?

 

[Rockwell75]

Looking forward to hearing more about the Fibae 5 and the music you're listening to @Rockwell75. I'm also wondering if anyone ever compared the Fibae 5, Szalayi, and AK Zero1?

I owned the Szalayi once and have demoed the Zero 1. I did not like the Zero 1 much. Szalayi was decent but something about it just seemed off to me. Fibae 5 reverses the driver config and has BA mids and planar highs whereas the Szalayi had planar mids and BA highs. I think my issue with the Sza was rooted in the transition between the mids and highs, which seems to be much more natural and less abrupt in the Fibae 5. I would need time again with the Szalayi to say anything more substantial or for sure but this is what I can speculate from memory.

 

[mikejazz]

I'm not sure if your point is 100% valid (and I certainly could be wrong in my take) saying that you use the same software as in the studio. I'd think in a studio they would EQ an instrument before it's mixed into the total picture. So where in the studio they can attenuate the 8 kHz on vocals successfully, you would attentuate the overall 8 kHz peak instead. This way you're successfully taking down vocal sibilance, but also that violin that was actually EQ'd just right and now becomes too attenuated as a result.

What I was saying was that I know some recording that the voice is close to being a bit to sibilant. If a headphone is a little peaky there it will be apparent. If I'm listening to a recording with my bass and it is too big sounding I know that I need to eq a bit there. I definitely do not eq for each individual recording. I just have certain tracks that can show frequency anomalies. As a bassist, I'm pretty picky as far as low end, so I have a few saved eq settings that I can quickly go to. I'm just talking about eq to get the curve where I want it--- not to eq for specific things. I was listening to the VE Elysium. They put a bump in at around 120. It was a constant annoyance. So---- I realized that I needed to take 120 down 2db and then experienced with q. I listened to various tracks and got the bass so it sounded right for me. With the EVO I used Crinnacle's eq to get it close to Harmon. I don't agree with Harmon, so I adjust from there. He kindof takes care of the problems, and does that work for me. I have good ears, but not enough to target narrow problems in the mids and highs. I wish I owned the crazy mic setup. And apparently there is a newer, better B&K system coming. The measurements aren't super accurate above 8khz I think, but I can do reasonably well up there. I have so many tracks that I know intimately from listening on many different systems that I can use them to tell if adjustments need to be made.
I know when I've got it because I forget the gear I'm listening to. So many audio guys listen to their systems and not the music.

 

[drftr]

What I was saying was that I know some recording that the voice is close to being a bit to sibilant. If a headphone is a little peaky there it will be apparent. If I'm listening to a recording with my bass and it is too big sounding I know that I need to eq a bit there. I definitely do not eq for each individual recording. I just have certain tracks that can show frequency anomalies. As a bassist, I'm pretty picky as far as low end, so I have a few saved eq settings that I can quickly go to. I'm just talking about eq to get the curve where I want it--- not to eq for specific things. I was listening to the VE Elysium. They put a bump in at around 120. It was a constant annoyance. So---- I realized that I needed to take 120 down 2db and then experienced with q. I listened to various tracks and got the bass so it sounded right for me. With the EVO I used Crinnacle's eq to get it close to Harmon. I don't agree with Harmon, so I adjust from there. He kindof takes care of the problems, and does that work for me. I have good ears, but not enough to target narrow problems in the mids and highs. I wish I owned the crazy mic setup. And apparently there is a newer, better B&K system coming. The measurements aren't super accurate above 8khz I think, but I can do reasonably well up there. I have so many tracks that I know intimately from listening on many different systems that I can use them to tell if adjustments need to be made.
I know when I've got it because I forget the gear I'm listening to. So many audio guys listen to their systems and not the music.

I don't think that touches my point. I'm just not very good in explaining - my bad. Tnx for your added info though.

drftr