[mashuto]

After some recent impressions and mentions, my interest is definitely shifting from the singularity to the duality.

As for my potential iems...

Bass: z1r
Mids: ... I feel like none of what I tend to go for have really been mids specialists, so, I don't know...
Treble: fibae 5

 

[Voltriant]

Bass: IE900
Mids: Custom Art Hybrid 3 Pro
Treble: Custom Art FIBAE 5

 

[-rowan-]

Sunday Survey-- Let's play Bass, Mids and Treble

You get to choose 3 IEMs, one for bass, one for mids and one for treble.

Bass: Trifecta
Mids: Penon Volt
Treble: Ragnar

I guess it is undeniable that a higher-end cable - when compared to the cheaper chi-fi stuff - is usually clearly more satisfying at least haptically / as far as hardware and plugs are concerned often also soundwise.

Yes, the hardware - material and quality of plugs, solder etc - influence sound quality as well and that’s unfortunately where many chifi manufacturers cheap out - or at least there’s very little transparency in the kind of plugs and solder used, and that this may be why a lot of budget to mid-tier chifi cables tend to sound similar-ish after a while.

On the other hand I can only second @-rowan- in his judgement about the linked Xinhs silver-palladium cable. This cable - soundwise - plays way above it's price tag when on sale and matched various IEM I tried it with. Quite astounding given the relatively simple hardware/plugs used...

Ditto with their custom 8-wire silver-palladium that you and I both have. I’ve actually enjoyed trying it with IEMs well above its pay grade because it’s resolving enough to scale up that far.

Here, I appreciate its fast transients, more bodied mids and detailed, extended treble extension with less of that cool, bright tonality of the stock cable.

I see you have the Gladiator silver-palladium incoming - would be interested in how it stacks up.

 

[ulverr]

Sunday Survey-- Let's play Bass, Mids and Treble

You get to choose 3 IEMs, one for bass, one for mids and one for treble.

Bass: Ragnar
Mids: Traillii
Treble: Ragnar

 

[zikarus]

I found the XINHS Graphene pretty decent, far superior to NiceHCK… the only XINHS cable I’ve tried though.

The TRI Wolfram at the reduced price (I paid around €50) is nice enough too, a bit stiff around the ears but generally of good quality.

Second this too - the TRI Wolfram does in my experience not match all IEM but is hardware wise on par with cables at it's usual price tag on Ali around 1xx € so that is quite a steal for 50 €

Bass: Trifecta
Mids: Penon Volt
Treble: Ragnar



Yes, the hardware - material and quality of plugs, solder etc - influence sound quality as well and that’s unfortunately where many chifi manufacturers cheap out - or at least there’s very little transparency in the kind of plugs and solder used, and that this may be why a lot of budget to mid-tier chifi cables tend to sound similar-ish after a while.



Ditto with their custom 8-wire silver-palladium that you and I both have. I’ve actually enjoyed trying it with IEMs well above its pay grade because it’s resolving enough to scale up that far.

Here, I appreciate its fast transients, more bodied mids and detailed, extended treble extension with less of that cool, bright tonality of the stock cable.



I see you have the Gladiator silver-palladium incoming - would be interested in how it stacks up.

Looking forward to the Gladiator, but it may take a while until delivery. Besides that I sent Antonio my 8-wire Xinhs in order to upgrade its plugs as it - soundwise - seems to be worthwhile to do so/try...

 

[-rowan-]

Second this too - the TRI Wolfram does in my experience not match all IEM but is hardware wise on par with cables at it's usual price tag on Ali around 1xx € so that is quite a steal for 50 €

Agree. It seems decent but I never found a pairing for it that stuck.

Besides that I sent Antonio my 8-wire Xinhs in order to upgrade its plugs as it - soundwise - seems to be worthwhile to do so/try...

What plug/solder did you choose for it?

 

[zikarus]

Agree. It seems decent but I never found a pairing for it that stuck.



What plug/solder did you choose for it?

Not yet finalized, but I will choose his copper 4.4 plug and his standard 2-pin, I guess...

 

[Alpexis]

Bass: Trifecta.
Mids: Mentor.
Treble: Mentor.
(with sp3k)

 

[Deferenz]

When I was at Canjam I made very brief listening notes on my phone of what I was hearing. Here’s some for IEMs that I tried. These notes are raw thoughts, literally jotted down as I think about what I’m hearing. Here they are exactly as I scribbled them down. My source was the SP3000.

Storm
Revisit as first heard 2022. Guy tells me it’s not good with SP3K. Really hard to drive. Sub bass lacks rumble. Mid bass is light. The guy is right this pairing just doesn’t work. Tried a few more things like male and female vocals, but nah, I’m giving up. He offers other Daps to me.

Storm + Hiby RS8
Now this pairing works well. A musical IEM just like I remember it. But - I still think it’s thin in the middle though. Lots of detail. Layering & separation excellent. A stand out is a deep soundstage. Quite trebly though and that seems to stand out amongst the frequencies. Bass feels thin. Liked first time around but ultimately not for me I don’t think.

Noble Spartacus
Straight away I’m finding this musical with a gentle fullness to it. Lots of detail coming through. Trying guitar strings and very crisp. Bass is good despite no dd’s. Sub bass quite impressive. Male vocals good. Voice positioned in centre. Female voices extend well but no harshness. I like this IEM. I don’t think it’s even been released yet.

Noble Ronin
Very musical. Really full sound. Male vocals clear and detailed plus good positioning. Sub bass on this is excellent. Big deep rumble. Mid bass has real presence and hits quite hard. Female vocals quite close in. Just on the cusp of the highs though. I think this is lovely treble if that’s your thing. Not 100% I could take those highs. Still can’t fault them though. Electric guitars have lots of bite. Bass guitar is very good. Acoustic guitar strings very good. If it wasn’t for the treble I could definitely see myself owning Ronin.

Noble Viking Ragner
Less full bodied than Ronin. Very easy to listen to though. General overall sound is pleasing. Sub bass good. Mid bass not that hard hitting though. Bass still there but just not feeling it. Female vocals pulled back a bit. Treble not piercing as I was led to believe but not as good treble or highs as Ronin. Good separation of instruments. Soundstage seems wide. Electric guitar not as punchy or crisp. Male vocals well positioned on the stage. Not as crisp as Ronin. Acoustic guitar lacks that bit of crispness.

Noble Kublai Khan
Revisit - Still seem bit hard to drive. Clean sound. Not warm but don’t feel reference. Highs extend quite a bit but stay under the harsh limit. Good separation of instruments. Bass is nicely controlled and is not lacking, can really hit hard. Sub bass has some rumble, but not the deepest I’ve tried. Male vocals can seem a bit forward, (aka Odin upper mids). Fem vocals fair better for me but some can still be a bit forward. Big shells but fit ok in ears.

EE EVO
Clear sound. Sub bass is really good. A real guttural sound. Repeat sub bass good. Mid bass is pounding. This has to be a bass lovers dream. Female vocals seem a bit recessed. Quite reserved with no real extension on highs. Male vocals can again bit a little reserved, but not on every track. I think mids are slightly behind bass. Same with highs. Overall nice sound but the warmth of the bass element seems to dominate where it can. Is this L shaped? Guitars lack crispness and seem a little over shadowed by bass element.

EE Raven
Quite big but fit ok. Just noticed it’s difficult to rate bass after listening to EVO. Seems slightly harder to drive than EVO. Need dap at 45. Very easy listen and fatigue free. Bass doesn’t seem to dominate so all frequencies get a chance. Mid bass has enough boom but without going too far over. I like the sub bass. It has a real rumble. Treble is reined in and female vocals do not go too high. Nice sound to them. Good clear sound. Male vocals same in not going too high. On the track Losing things, everything is there perfectly. Paul Heaton’s voice in centre and enough forward to be spot on. Details on soundstage are good with lots of separation of instruments. There is extension though, but controlled. Mids clear and detailed. Guitar strings crisp and detailed. I could listen to Raven all day. Big thumbs up.

64 Forte Blanc
Absolute brand new out of the box. Opened in front of me. I’m first person to try. No burn in. I can hear the ‘64 sound’. Female vocals quite high treble. Bass doesn’t sound fully developed yet. As DD I think it should have more bass presence for both mid and sub. I think these need a good run and they would be very good. At moment they seem quite higher range heavy. (A bit like the OG Forte). Not sure though if that’s what they are supposed to be. Guitar strings good though. There isn’t much warmth to these. Quite good sound overall but a bit to high/pure for my taste. Spoke with guy and he said it’s tuned to be more reference and so bass not as prominent.

64 U18t
Quite thin sounding. Female vocals strangely do not go as high as I thought but are probably a bit too much for me. Very clear sound. Reference sound. Male vocals seem a bit thin and quite high. Sub bass not as deep as it should be. Mid bass is ok but doesn’t stand out. Acoustic guitar strings not bad though. Seems to do well with things in the higher frequencies, but everything feels a bit reference sounding.

Elysian Annihilator 2023
Extremely hard to drive. SP3K turned up to 85! Quite bright overall? but you can alter this by tip rolling. I changed to Sedna lights and it instantly gave a lot more body to the sound. Seems to excel at the treble & highs. Treble is not unpleasant though. Very controlled in its extension. Beautiful female vocals. Same with male vocals. This treble is very good. My brain does not compute as I don’t like treble that much. What? Treble is fantastic! Surprising amount of bass as from reading I thought these were bass lite. Not massive bass but much better than I was led to believe. Sub bass got a nice rumble, but not too much. If you like EE bass this will not be enough. But though, mid bass is actually pretty good. The more I listen the better the sub bass. I’m putting it through its paces with some ‘drum & bass’ and it’s holding up well. This IEM has actually got a very full sound. This might be the dark horse of the show for me. I never thought I’d like this IEM. I’ve spent more time with this IEM than with any other. It requires your full attention but this IEM is spectacular. Oh my god how much does this cost? Want one!

Elysian Diva
Hard to drive but easier than Annihilator. This has all BA sound. Seems an overall warm kind of sound. The whole sound seems very restrained and controlled. Bass impact is very BA sounding and to my ears not particularly impactful in either mid or sub bass. Vocals are pleasant sounding. Female vocals are controlled and highs kept in check. Male vocals are similar. Diva is very easy to listen to and there is no fatigue. This would be a good IEM to listen to while I’m working. But, it must be remembered that it is following the Anni and for me it is a very tough act to follow.

FIR RN6
I’m not sure what kinetic bass is, but this IEM has it. Both mid and sub bass are pretty good on this. Sub bass has a nice grunt and mid bass is impactful. Nice extension on female vocals but controlled so that it doesn’t get too high. Really good separation on the soundstage with these. There is a lot of air around voices and instruments. This feels like a really well balanced IEM. Very easy to listen to cannot detect any fatigue. I would say there’s some warmth to the presentation. Nice listen.

 

[Script999]

Bass: xe6
Mids: rn6
Treble: Ragnar
Dap: N8ii/RS8

I’m adding my daps because honestly I think it’s important too since everyone is using a dap or dac and would be great to know with what exactly that ranking gets formed basically, but that’s just my opinion. Also since this is the watercooler thread some people might have a tsuranagi/mass kobo/aroma amps. Maybe state that as an big improvement in “x“-department as an increase or say a substantial change sonically. Might be eye opening for some of us too.

I haven’t been able to get much time with the rn6 and it’s my latest acquisition… been way too busy unfortunately. And I’m not really a mids guys anyways but from just a short listening it sounded very nice in that department… overall very nice bass too… I must admit though that I also like the treble of the xe6 too.
But Ragnar has a special place in my heart for that.

I’m seeing many Trifectas in the bass department dominating this great fun poll. Would love to hear it since I’m such a Basshead lol. Thanks to this poll I’ll just silently add it to my „have to buy list“

A staging/imaging/soundstage poll would also be really nice at some point.

Love the impressions of everyone here since there are many people giving their opinions. Collecting this data also would be great and packing it all up in a doc or something. If it’s not already been happening?

Keep on posting my fellow watercoolers!

 

[CharlyBrown]

Bass: Grand Maestro
Mids: Mentor
Treble: Annihilator 23

perfect choice

 

[Stu Paddasso]

Bass: Evo
Mids: Mentor
Treble: Unity

 

[MatW]

Bass: Xe6. Honorable mentions: EVO, Odin.
Mids: Erlkönig. Honorable mentions: Traillii, Mentor.
Treble: Kublai Khan. Honorable mentions: Jewel, A12T, A18T.

 

[kevin638880]

Bass: EXT
Mids: Phonix LE
Treble: Annihilator 23

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Some photography for the Plussound SPC XL.

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