[552609]

Surely, after come cross many mid-tiers. I more prefer DD driver and BCD. They just make notes feel much physical

Multiverse Mentor may be your best bet then.

 

[drftr]

I already have a hard time to keep up .

Have you considered Viagra?

May I ask for more opinions for TOTL iems here. Which IEM get the most realistic timbre for instruments such as violin, piano, and guitar?

I'm on exactly the same hunting grounds and between you and me: There is none...

There's plenty that are really good in many many ways, but for timbre I'm afraid everything on the market would disqualify as an obvious winner. Perhaps the single DD Rosenkranz, but I never heard them. And you probably don't want to sell the car either. If you're willing to compromise and get 2 out of 3 great then I think you should include Traillii, Ronin, and Rn6 in your search, but all 3 would need a better cable than their stock cables. Rn6 comes at half the price of Traillii and brings a DD on the table that you'd love like crazy, but mids would need a bit better timbre for acoustic guitar and treble needs to be toned down if you listen a lot to violin sonatas. Violin concertos would be fine because of the compensation from bass and mids, but for sonatas there's simply no compensation available. Still, Rn6 at half the price of Traillii with perhaps OTL, 1950s (shielded), or a used Orpheus might be the best option. Another thought (and the route I might want to go myself) is compromise on all 3 and not go for a winner in 1-2-3 categories but be satisfied with a number 2 for all 3 categories. In that case Ronin would be my pick.

Unless they made red and pink versions of each prototype at the outset.

In theory there's also a possibility that they have taken comments from NY into consideration and have now fine-tuned based on that, and basically have 2 different sounding units now. The best test would have been asking the same responders, but now the changes may or may not be appreciated by the mostly Asian listeners in Singapore.

drftr

 

[royiko]

Have you considered Viagra?


I'm on exactly the same hunting grounds and between you and me: There is none...

There's plenty that are really good in many many ways, but for timbre I'm afraid everything on the market would disqualify as an obvious winner. Perhaps the single DD Rosenkranz, but I never heard them. And you probably don't want to sell the car either. If you're willing to compromise and get 2 out of 3 great then I think you should include Traillii, Ronin, and Rn6 in your search, but all 3 would need a better cable than their stock cables. Rn6 comes at half the price of Traillii and brings a DD on the table that you'd love like crazy, but mids would need a bit better timbre for acoustic guitar and treble needs to be toned down if you listen a lot to violin sonatas. Violin concertos would be fine because of the compensation from bass and mids, but for sonatas there's simply no compensation available. Still, Rn6 at half the price of Traillii with perhaps OTL, 1950s (shielded), or a used Orpheus might be the best option. Another thought (and the route I might want to go myself) is compromise on all 3 and not go for a winner in 1-2-3 categories but be satisfied with a number 2 for all 3 categories. In that case Ronin would be my pick.


In theory there's also a possibility that they have taken comments from NY into consideration and have now fine-tuned based on that, and basically have 2 different sounding units now. The best test would have been asking the same responders, but now the changes may or may not be appreciated by the mostly Asian listeners in Singapore.

drftr

I was thinking about getting a Jewel. But apparently, it seems not many people recommend it

 

[drftr]

I was thinking about getting a Jewel. But apparently, it seems not many people recommend it

If you ask here should I consider Jewel then you'd get many votes because many people really like it. But although it would win many trophees on technicalities I wouldn't consider it a top 5 contender in the timbre race.

drftr

 

[mark88888]

Hi Cooler. As an amateur meteorite collector and enthusiast of several years, I was kinda tickled to read in the Headfonics review of the U4s, "The U4s plate design is apparently inspired by the Muonionalusta meteorite which crashed into Northern Scandinavia about a million years ago with fragments popping up all over the place. It is a fine octahedrite or iron meteorite known for its very distinctive triangular design patterns." So, here's a photo I took of a few of my meteorites. The one in the middle is a Muonionalusta sample (for scale, it's around 3 inches high) that shows a nice example of the pattern, called a Widmanstätten pattern. Anyone interested can read a little more about it here.

 

[warrenpchi]

Hi Cooler. As an amateur meteorite collector and enthusiast of several years, I was kinda tickled to read in the Headfonics review of the U4s, "The U4s plate design is apparently inspired by the Muonionalusta meteorite which crashed into Northern Scandinavia about a million years ago with fragments popping up all over the place. It is a fine octahedrite or iron meteorite known for its very distinctive triangular design patterns." So, here's a photo I took of a few of my meteorites. The one in the middle is a Muonionalusta sample (for scale, it's around 3 inches high) that shows a nice example of the pattern, called a Widmanstätten pattern. Anyone interested can read a little more about it here.

Two of your worlds just collided! Accordingly, I hereby dedicate my current play through of this song to you.

 

[mark88888]

Two of your worlds just collided! Accordingly, I hereby dedicate my current play through of this song to you.

Ha, totally... and thanks for the awesome song dedication! It has a cool "Back on the Chain Gang" vibe.

 

[DanielListening]

I am here to say it once again.

All the hype that Fat Freq has been getting is more than deserved.

These IEMs are amazing!

I don’t know how they do it but they do. Excellent clarity, good timbre, good tone, good technicalities, deep rumbling BASS.

I am over the moon with these IEMs.

In other news… the best part in living in an expensive city like Victoria, BC is the rich getting rid of their expensive stuff they never used.

I just got a $860 coffee setup for $300.

Ratio Six & Baratza Encore.



Best cup of joe I have had in a long time. I miss working in the coffee industry.

Grateful I still had beans from my Koppi, my workplace when I lived in Sweden.




I am forever grateful to @Rockwell75 for the opportunity to hear all these amazing IEMs.

 

[wolfstar76]

Have you considered Viagra?


I'm on exactly the same hunting grounds and between you and me: There is none...

There's plenty that are really good in many many ways, but for timbre I'm afraid everything on the market would disqualify as an obvious winner. Perhaps the single DD Rosenkranz, but I never heard them. And you probably don't want to sell the car either. If you're willing to compromise and get 2 out of 3 great then I think you should include Traillii, Ronin, and Rn6 in your search, but all 3 would need a better cable than their stock cables. Rn6 comes at half the price of Traillii and brings a DD on the table that you'd love like crazy, but mids would need a bit better timbre for acoustic guitar and treble needs to be toned down if you listen a lot to violin sonatas. Violin concertos would be fine because of the compensation from bass and mids, but for sonatas there's simply no compensation available. Still, Rn6 at half the price of Traillii with perhaps OTL, 1950s (shielded), or a used Orpheus might be the best option. Another thought (and the route I might want to go myself) is compromise on all 3 and not go for a winner in 1-2-3 categories but be satisfied with a number 2 for all 3 categories. In that case Ronin would be my pick.


In theory there's also a possibility that they have taken comments from NY into consideration and have now fine-tuned based on that, and basically have 2 different sounding units now. The best test would have been asking the same responders, but now the changes may or may not be appreciated by the mostly Asian listeners in Singapore.

drftr

Watercooler thread is the Viagra for audiophile.

 

[yaps66]

Any photos? I am very curious to see how the Soranik prototype looks like...
Very cool they demo'd it.

Unfortunately I did not take any closeups of either the driver or the "energizer" but the driver is essentially as Daniel describes it and the "energizer" is a simple non descript rectangular aluminium box with no other function except to drive the xMEMS.

Like Daniel, I heard this outside the show. Apparently they were supposed to show this in the show but iFi decided not to take up space. The guy in red in the picture above is from Vietnam and he represents Soranik and iFi. He apparently built both the driver and the "energizer". I am not entirely clear on the relationships and I stand corrected by others who have a better memory than I have!

The picture above is a group of us Coolers who wanted to just hang out after dinner after the first day of CJ. We were in a food court in Orchard Road and the lights were already turned off. @SteveK27 and @AxLvR were impressed with what they heard. @SteveK27 said that it was not a sound that he heard before and felt it had tremendous potential.

It was a standard, black universal shell with a mesh grille faceplate, almost like the 64A Duo. I was rushing to go to the airport, so I didn’t ask what the grille was for. It certainly wasn’t an open design. It isolated like a normal IEM as far as I can remember. The connectors were actually the JH24 connectors (AKA JH Audio’s 4-pin). I was told this was for voltage delivery to the xMEMS driver. I assume it allows the amp to deliver a different voltage to the xMEMS than the BA (which was the woofer in this prototype), since you can basically hookup 1 crossover point to each pin on that JH24 connector. Then, on the other end was a 5-or-7-pin, mini-XLR-like connector to the Diablo.

I believe it was a 9-pin connector. Something to do with the xMEMS requiring direct current?

 

[twister6]

Watercooler thread is the Viagra for audiophile.

Indeed, the best source of audiop@rn.

 

[Bret Halford]

We trained for this! From now on, every day is neck day...

I have had some time over the weekend to sneak in some extended listening with the Effect Audio Code 23 cable.

Generally speaking, <unpopular opinion warning> I'm not a cable guy... my engineering background, particularly regarding high frequency transmission line design interferes with any entertainment of perceptive differences due to electrical performance (barring actual noise or failure). But the Code 23 is such a crazy product I wanted to give it a try and it helped that the stock PW cable that came with my Evo's is literally physically disintegrating after about 3 months of use... On that note, Effect Audio's TermX is most appreciated. Interconnects are far the dominant factor in cable performance at any frequency, and the reality is they take a lot of wear and tear over time, being able to easily replace the terminations is a huge benefit and made the investment a lot more palatable.

The packaging experience is lavish, but I have to say the very thick plastic wrap covering the connectors was very, very frustrating to remove. I understand the desire to keep the hardware pristine, but I am not interested in keeping it hidden under wrinkly plastic (always felt bad for that friend growing up who's parents kept their furniture under plastic wrap forever).

On ear, I have to say that 16.5 AWG from an IEM isn't nearly as heavy or cumbersome as I thought. What is quite unique to this cable though is the thick copper cores used and the effect this has on pliability. The cable is not supple... at all. Instead it is more of a 'memory' cable throughout the entire length. Indeed the memory is supportive and firm enough that you can even use it to erect the hefty connectors on their own:

(no special effects or CGI, don't try this with your puny, limp 20+AWG cable )

This takes some getting used to, more in terms of storage and handling than in wearing them. The cable will go where it recalls and it will drag your IEMs with it if you are not careful! That being said, when over ear, the cable memory and strong core minimizes the downward pull of the cable. That suppleness we generally like aesthetically in a cable is yanked down by gravity across the entire cable, here the ear hooks are trivially supported by the cable rigidity itself...

I go to great lengths to emphasize this aspect of the cable, as I think it really does make it uniquely capable for bone conduction IEMs like Empire Ears and Unique Melody. Effect Audio marketed their cleopatra 2s as being designed to bring out the most in Tribrids, I contend the Code 23 maximizes performance for bone conduction.

Some time ago, I recall several coolers making an interesting observation that using the chin slider enhanced the bone conduction. This makes sense, as the cable will conduct the same mechanical signal as your bones do, so increasing surface area contact will definitely add more perceivable conduction. It's been absolutely the case for me on my EE Evo's in my experience as well.

So with that in mind, consider that the thick copper cores used in the Code 23 act more like bones than the bulk of tiny litz hairs more commonly used. The higher rigidity improves mechanical vibration transmission, and the impressive memory forming of the cable in turn ensure you can easily and consistently maximize contact.

After swapping the Code 23 on to my Evo's there is no going back. I wish I had some UM IEMs to test this on as well, I know they have a similar BCD implementation. I will say it was not as effective at enhancing the 'kinetic bass' on my FIR Audio RN6. Speaking of which...

There is more than a passing resemblance between the Rn6's (very nice) stock cable and the Code 23. As you can see above, it very much looks like a little brother to the Code 23. As a traditional cable, I have to say I might prefer the smaller silver cable the Rn6 uses while retaining the stunning aesthetic, but that is also a factor that the BCD benefits Code 23 brings to the table don't appear to be in play for the Frontier series.

Overall, very happy to have this historic bit of cable craziness!

 

[wolfstar76]

We trained for this! From now on, every day is neck day...




I have had some time over the weekend to sneak in some extended listening with the Effect Audio Code 23 cable.

Generally speaking, <unpopular opinion warning> I'm not a cable guy... my engineering background, particularly regarding high frequency transmission line design interferes with any entertainment of perceptive differences due to electrical performance (barring actual noise or failure). But the Code 23 is such a crazy product I wanted to give it a try and it helped that the stock PW cable that came with my Evo's is literally physically disintegrating after about 3 months of use... On that note, Effect Audio's TermX is most appreciated. Interconnects are far the dominant factor in cable performance at any frequency, and the reality is they take a lot of wear and tear over time, being able to easily replace the terminations is a huge benefit and made the investment a lot more palatable.

The packaging experience is lavish, but I have to say the very thick plastic wrap covering the connectors was very, very frustrating to remove. I understand the desire to keep the hardware pristine, but I am not interested in keeping it hidden under wrinkly plastic (always felt bad for that friend growing up who's parents kept their furniture under plastic wrap forever).



On ear, I have to say that 16.5 AWG from an IEM isn't nearly as heavy or cumbersome as I thought. What is quite unique to this cable though is the thick copper cores used and the effect this has on pliability. The cable is not supple... at all. Instead it is more of a 'memory' cable throughout the entire length. Indeed the memory is supportive and firm enough that you can even use it to erect the hefty connectors on their own:


(no special effects or CGI, don't try this with your puny, limp 20+AWG cable )

This takes some getting used to, more in terms of storage and handling than in wearing them. The cable will go where it recalls and it will drag your IEMs with it if you are not careful! That being said, when over ear, the cable memory and strong core minimizes the downward pull of the cable. That suppleness we generally like aesthetically in a cable is yanked down by gravity across the entire cable, here the ear hooks are trivially supported by the cable rigidity itself...

I go to great lengths to emphasize this aspect of the cable, as I think it really does make it uniquely capable for bone conduction IEMs like Empire Ears and Unique Melody. Effect Audio marketed their cleopatra 2s as being designed to bring out the most in Tribrids, I contend the Code 23 maximizes performance for bone conduction.

Some time ago, I recall several coolers making an interesting observation that using the chin slider enhanced the bone conduction. This makes sense, as the cable will conduct the same mechanical signal as your bones do, so increasing surface area contact will definitely add more perceivable conduction. It's been absolutely the case for me on my EE Evo's in my experience as well.

So with that in mind, consider that the thick copper cores used in the Code 23 act more like bones than the bulk of tiny litz hairs more commonly used. The higher rigidity improves mechanical vibration transmission, and the impressive memory forming of the cable in turn ensure you can easily and consistently maximize contact.

After swapping the Code 23 on to my Evo's there is no going back. I wish I had some UM IEMs to test this on as well, I know they have a similar BCD implementation. I will say it was not as effective at enhancing the 'kinetic bass' on my FIR Audio RN6. Speaking of which...



There is more than a passing resemblance between the Rn6's (very nice) stock cable and the Code 23. As you can see above, it very much looks like a little brother to the Code 23. As a traditional cable, I have to say I might prefer the smaller silver cable the Rn6 uses while retaining the stunning aesthetic, but that is also a factor that the BCD benefits Code 23 brings to the table don't appear to be in play for the Frontier series.

Overall, very happy to have this historic bit of cable craziness!

Did you just feed your Code 23 with Viagra?

 

[SteveK27]

I believe it was a 9-pin connector. Something to do with the xMEMS requiring direct current?

The Soranik xMEMS prototype with the BA driver was a 4-pin connector type with a 4-pin plug output if I remember correctly. I recall it needed more than 2-pins as the xMEMS driver needed its own voltage delivery different from BA.

The two Soranik xMEMS prototypes were made within one week with limited time and resources and yet it still blew my mind in what its full potential could offer. Hieu (CEO of Soranik) regarded them as more of a "proof of concept" in providing a glimpse of what its future entails.

I'm certain this is the next driver technology that will break the market over planar dynamics. I've already been made aware one of the major manufacturer is interested in wanting to work with this driver technology. It'll only be a matter of time until a fully realized product matures that'll be ready for the consumer market.

 

[Bret Halford]

Did you just feed your Code 23 with Viagra?

That's the point, with Code 23 you don't need Viagra to conduct bone ;P