[gLer]

Only day 1 and brief time so far but Camelot have absolutely exceeded my expectations - I think due to there not being much mention I didn’t have particularly high hopes, but I’ve definitely been taken by surprise and finding they are tuned very much to my preferences.

Briefly: huge holographic stage, very resolving with superb detail and razor sharp imaging - fantastic balance and paired with N7 in particular, a nice boost to the lows. Mids are clear with a hint of warmth and zero glare in upper mids that often cause me a problem. Treble has superb sparkle and again, excellent detail.

Early days but they definitely strike me as a set that punch above their price point.

Love this. Since we already have aminus who hates everything, you should start your own thread: Scubi loves everything. It'll be the good news go-to thread for those wanting to read about the positives of every IEM

 

[fejnomit]

Love this. Since we already have aminus who hates everything, you should start your own thread: Scubi loves everything. It'll be the good news go-to thread for those wanting to read about the positives of every IEM

As someone who has very similar taste to Scubi this would be my go-to thread! That being said, I do get the sense that he only chooses to talk about the items he loves -and then he does so with gusto. I also find his assessments to be very detailed as to why he raves. Not so much the other guy in the other direction

 

[552609]

Love this. Since we already have aminus who hates everything, you should start your own thread: Scubi loves everything. It'll be the good news go-to thread for those wanting to read about the positives of every IEM

You'd think after hating everything for so long, maybe you'd give up and quit the hobby...

 

[Scubadevils]

Love this. Since we already have aminus who hates everything, you should start your own thread: Scubi loves everything. It'll be the good news go-to thread for those wanting to read about the positives of every IEM

The big question for me is longevity - I like or love most at first, but the passion for many is eventually extinguished. I’ve a lot gathering dust at present, and a cull is likely on the horizon.

I still maintain a few weeks later that M6U and Svanar could easily be a walk away combo!

A related aside, I’ve pretty much nothing on my radar at the moment - Singularity maybe, I’ll await further impressions. And I’ve a weird fascination with the Aune M1P, rather close to pulling the trigger too…

 

[Frankie D]

Could be library specific. I definitely don't hear Xe6 as an all-rounder (unless you like all your music painted with lower mids and midbass). For me it's more of a specialist, which really hits home with certain music, but misses with others (especially if you have a certain way you like your favourite music to sound).

It also seems to be a real hit with anyone looking for 'out there different' tuning while still maintaining TOTL technical ability. Some people I've spoken to like it mainly because it's different to everything else, not because it sounds 'correct'.

I was using rock, jazz and vocals as I usually listen to when comparing IEMs. Same with Trifecta and MM which I liked.

At the show 3 IEMs left me thinking they were of lesser quality: XE6, Annihilator and Odyssey. Now I know why on the Annihilator as I do not consider it to have the necessary amount and quality of bass for me to take seriously. This affects its mids as well. I preferred my Elysium. As for Odyssey, I have a feeling the EE Raven is the EE IEM that should have been at CanJam NY. With XE6, I was not nuts about any part of it. That is why I am wondering if it was fit, or maybe they way it does the bass does not register with me.

 

[Frankie D]

We are.

Xe6 is one iem where first impressions aren’t necessarily to be completely trusted. I actually did really enjoy and appreciate the xe6 on first listen, but it seems like many people “come around” to enjoy and appreciate it more on subsequent listens.

I’m certainly not one to try to tell others what they should hear, but I’d say xe6 is worth spending a bit more time with if you’re demoing it, simply because of how unorthodox the tuning is; it really doesn’t sound like anything else out there. If you’re trying to “understand” the sound in the 5 minutes or so that you hear it, it’s possible to miss hearing most of what makes it special.

My short suite of test tracks is usually pretty accurate, but I will try again one day.

 

[aaf evo]

I was using rock, jazz and vocals as I usually listen to when comparing IEMs. Same with Trifecta and MM which I liked.

At the show 3 IEMs left me thinking they were of lesser quality: XE6, Annihilator and Odyssey. Now I know why on the Annihilator as I do not consider it to have the necessary amount and quality of bass for me to take seriously. This affects its mids as well. I preferred my Elysium. As for Odyssey, I have a feeling the EE Raven is the EE IEM that should have been at CanJam NY. With XE6, I was not nuts about any part of it. That is why I am wondering if it was fit, or maybe they way it does the bass does not register with me.

Have you ever enjoyed Erlkonig on setting #1? It's the closest thing I've personally heard to XE6.

Irregardless, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Xenon 6 is definitely an "out there" tuning and it's one of those things that I feel just either clicks with you or it doesn't. I know several people who like similar IEMs to me but they absolutely do not like the XE6. I'm not sure I would have been able to grasp what it was about if I heard it in a demo environment, but I blind bought a universal so I had the privilege of listening to it at home and it literally took me about 5 hours of straight listening to finally "click" with what it was about. I've never had to give an IEM that much time before in my life.

I feel you on Annihilator, the bass is what let me down with it but apparently his current prototype "Dio" should address that as he's using a new DD. I'm also with you on Odyssey, I didn't really get the hype behind that one at all. It's definitely an impressive IEM, don't get me wrong. I'd argue it's the best thing EE has put out since the Legend X, but I couldn't help but find it incredibly plain and rather boring myself. The sub bass on it felt really underwhelming to me too which is not what I was expecting. I think I'd choose Legend Evo over it even with its inferior (to my ears) upper mid/treble tuning.

 

[gLer]

I was using rock, jazz and vocals as I usually listen to when comparing IEMs. Same with Trifecta and MM which I liked.

At the show 3 IEMs left me thinking they were of lesser quality: XE6, Annihilator and Odyssey. Now I know why on the Annihilator as I do not consider it to have the necessary amount and quality of bass for me to take seriously. This affects its mids as well. I preferred my Elysium. As for Odyssey, I have a feeling the EE Raven is the EE IEM that should have been at CanJam NY. With XE6, I was not nuts about any part of it. That is why I am wondering if it was fit, or maybe they way it does the bass does not register with me.

For me Xe6's 'weaknesses' are a lack of sub bass weight, and a tendency to overload lower mids to the point of resonance at higher volumes. Conversely, if you're playing something that aligns with its tuning, like any track off Neil Diamond's The Jazz Singer (24/192 reissue), it's transcendent. The detail and dynamics on those occasions are untouchable ime.

 

[Stu Paddasso]

Has anyone compared Mentor to Mason Fabled Sound????

 

[aaf evo]

Has anyone compared Mentor to Mason Fabled Sound????

Fairly certain twister did in his MM review.

 

[Rockwell75]

Have you ever enjoyed Erlkonig on setting #1? It's the closest thing I've personally heard to XE6.

Irregardless, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Xenon 6 is definitely an "out there" tuning and it's one of those things that I feel just either clicks with you or it doesn't. I know several people who like similar IEMs to me but they absolutely do not like the XE6. I'm not sure I would have been able to grasp what it was about if I heard it in a demo environment, but I blind bought a universal so I had the privilege of listening to it at home and it literally took me about 5 hours of straight listening to finally "click" with what it was about. I've never had to give an IEM that much time before in my life.

I feel you on Annihilator, the bass is what let me down with it but apparently his current prototype "Dio" should address that as he's using a new DD. I'm also with you on Odyssey, I didn't really get the hype behind that one at all. It's definitely an impressive IEM, don't get me wrong. I'd argue it's the best thing EE has put out since the Legend X, but I couldn't help but find it incredibly plain and rather boring myself. The sub bass on it felt really underwhelming to me too which is not what I was expecting. I think I'd choose Legend Evo over it even with its inferior (to my ears) upper mid/treble tuning.

Interesting about Erlk. Apparently one of the settings is closest to Phonix LE...that would be my personal favorite. @Frankie D what setting was yours on.

I tried a few times in both NYC and SoCal to get into Odyssey but it never really worked for me. Ultimately I found it to be incohesive-- it felt like two IEMS like there was the bass and then there was everything else. It almost felt like a prototype of something truly great...which would be a smart move in a sense for them to release the more polished product under their own name. At the same time I know a lot of folks who really love Ody so what do I know. Xe6, similarly, strikes a deep chord with some, but not others. And Lord knows the same is true of Trifecta. This conversation is interesting as it really shows how even very experienced and well established folks can hear or enjoy things very differently-- even if they tend to agree a lot of the time. I think this is healthy, personally. We are all individuals fundamentally and our tastes and preferences should reflect this on the whole.

 

[aaf evo]

Interesting about Erlk. Apparently one of the settings is closest to Phonix LE...that would be my personal favorite. @Frankie D what setting was yours on.

I tried a few times in both NYC and SoCal to get into Odyssey but it never really worked for me. Ultimately I found it to be incohesive-- it felt like two IEMS like there was the bass and then there was everything else. It almost felt like a prototype of something truly great...which would be a smart move in a sense for them to release the more polished product under their own name. At the same time I know a lot of folks who really love Ody so what do I know. Xe6, similarly, strikes a deep chord with some, but not others. And Lord knows the same is true of Trifecta. This conversation is interesting as it really shows how even very experienced and well established folks can hear or enjoy things very differently-- even if they tend to agree a lot of the time. I think this is healthy, personally. We are all individuals fundamentally and our tastes and preferences should reflect this on the whole.

I haven't heard Phonix LE, but I think Phonix OG is meant to be based off of setting #2 but with extra treble extension. In reality it makes it sound a bit more like Erlkonig setting #3 though, it loses that density that the OG Erlkonig did so well. I love them both though. FWIW, when I owned Erlkonig I also kept it on setting #2 and I'd occasionally switch to #1 for something more "fun"

 

[wolfstar76]

Has anyone compared Mentor to Mason Fabled Sound????

I demoed them side by side during CanJam and I found Mason FS a more refine though less exciting version of Mentor, or from a chronical standpoint Mentor is a junior and more wilder version of Mason FS. For Mids, I found Mason FS to be the best. Mentor kinda inherent the Mason Mids but push the envolope even further, to my ears a little too far. Of course, the bass from Mentor is stronger.

 

[Onurb8690]

xe6 has probably the second best treble i've heard after ely x.

def curious what your setup was, @phiemon

What do you think of your Maestro SE compared to your Xe6 and Mentor

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Great to see all of you watercolors at CanJam Singapore this weekend! Ft Lee of Elysian.