The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.

[phiemon]

That's so true. I'm currently exploring some TWS:

1. Sony WF-1000XM5 (boy their naming conventions sucks)
2. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 pro (I don't get a great fit with these ones)
3. Devialet Gemini 2 (sub-bass monster that would satisfy most of you FiR fans but is more neutral)

And it's astounding to me how good all of them are. To a non-audiophile person they are a definite end-of-a-journey and complete solution.

Especially Sony is a surprise to me. No longer muddy and bassy like their other offerings. This is a huge change! These have warm neutral tuning, pleasing to my ear, with no mids recessed, on the contrary - beautiful vocals. Great out-of-head imaging and layering. Sounds tubeless and open by design Foamy comfortable innovative tips. They look nice like pebbles and have a great fit for my ears. This could be my main driver if I hadn't had a closet full of headphones and IEMs.

However no, we need to explore some more $4k flagships because we're sound sensitive

Have you tried the Apple AirPods Pro 2? If so, opinions and comparison with the XM5?

 

[deep2285]

It's definitely its own thing but at the same time it's a decidedly Campfire IEM that is a natural evolute of many of their different sonic approaches. I thought it might be simply a Solaris derivative which is why I didn't have it on my radar at first and never even got around to checking it out until near the end of the first day. In some ways I guess it's a "Solaris or Andromeda with bass" but at the same time it's selling it short to imply that's all it is. I think in a lot of ways it's what many people were hoping the original Solaris would have been in terms of its bass response. Like many great IEMs it deftly straddles a line between fun & bombastic and mature & technical. There will likely be those who think the bass is "too much" however those sorts of folks typically don't gravitate to CFA stuff anyway. Ultimately it's a really versatile, fun, reasonably balanced bombastic presentation. Nothing feels missing or off to me across the FR or in its resolving, staging capabilities or overall technical chops. It's a great "all rounder".




They are really solid and don't feel cheap at all. They are beautifu, well built and the presentation/accessories are top knotch. The comparison to their customs in terms of solidity and feel is apt.

How does it sound with Hip Hop, if possible in comparison to the Singularity?

 

[Piotr Michalak]

Have you tried the Apple AirPods Pro 2? If so, opinions and comparison with the XM5?

Yeah! Both Apple Airpods pro mk1 and mk2 are really great IEMs.

Again you got DD bass and timbre that all of here love, open spacious sound and a very good tuning. This is also good enough for any of my non-audiophile friends who ask which earphones to buy.

Tuning wise, mk1 was more neutral (Noble Audio type of very mild "diffused field" neutrality sans treble peaks).

Mk2 is warm neutral, slighly bassy, almost too bassy for me but still acceptable.

I haven't done straight A/B comparisons between all of these TWS yet, but so far I would say Sony made me smile the most.

 

[eruilluvitar]

Anyone else feeling the post-partum CanJam depression? I'm back to having nobody to discuss gear with other than my cats, and the prospet of going to work tomorrow is not appealing.

Absolutely! CanJam is one of those things I look forward to. Luckily, NYC is pretty soon-ish, and hopefully Dallas, too, if I can swing it with my new job

 

[eruilluvitar]

That's so true. I'm currently exploring some TWS:

1. Sony WF-1000XM5 (boy their naming conventions sucks)
2. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 pro (I don't get a great fit with these ones)
3. Devialet Gemini 2 (sub-bass monster that would satisfy most of you FiR fans but is more neutral)

And it's astounding to me how good all of them are. To a non-audiophile person they are a definite end-of-a-journey and complete solution.

Especially Sony is a surprise to me. No longer muddy and bassy like their other offerings. This is a huge change! These have warm neutral tuning, pleasing to my ear, with no mids recessed, on the contrary - beautiful vocals. Great out-of-head imaging and layering. Sounds tubeless and open by design Foamy comfortable innovative tips. They look nice like pebbles and have a great fit for my ears. This could be my main driver if I hadn't had a closet full of headphones and IEMs.

However no, we need to explore some more $4k flagships because we're sound sensitive

I'd also take a look at the Svanar Wireless - it sounds way better than the Svanar wired to my ear, although it's case is an affront to mankind. I'll also say that I was really surprised by the Noble Fokus Prestige - I randomly tried it near the end of the show and was shocked at how great it sounded and at how well it connected to my phone in such an RF-noisy environment. I wound up purchasing one, so we'll see if it holds up in a quiet environment, too.

 

[Rockwell75]

How does it sound with Hip Hop, if possible in comparison to the Singularity?

It sounds great. CFA's house sound is rooted in unashamedly American sensibilities and as such its a natural fit for rock, hip hop or anything rooted in rythm & beats. Singularity is no slouch either and beyond the obvious differences you'd expect between a hybrid and single DD setup I would say that for hip hop (and rock) specifically Bonneville is probably a more naural choice. All of that said best to demo if you can.

Absolutely! CanJam is one of those things I look forward to. Luckily, NYC is pretty soon-ish, and hopefully Dallas, too, if I can swing it with my new job

It was great to meet you (again) in SoCal-- looking forward to hopefully connecting in NYC. (Have they announced the dates for NYC yet?)

 

[deep2285]

It sounds great. CFA's house sound is rooted in unashamedly American sensibilities and as such its a natural fit for rock, hip hop or anything rooted in rythm & beats. Singularity is no slouch either and beyond the obvious differences you'd expect between a hybrid and single DD setup I would say that for hip hop (and rock) specifically Bonneville is probably a more naural choice. All of that said best to demo if you can.



It was great to meet you (again) in SoCal-- looking forward to hopefully connecting in NYC. (Have they announced the dates for NYC yet?)

Thank you

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Absolutely! CanJam is one of those things I look forward to. Luckily, NYC is pretty soon-ish, and hopefully Dallas, too, if I can swing it with my new job

I cannot wait for canjam nyc ! looking forward to putting my aura up against everything else hard to believe anything can beat it for my preferences but we shall see! Also, will be putting my xe6 up against any super bass competitors (fat freq )

 

[deep2285]

I cannot wait for canjam nyc ! looking forward to putting my aura up against everything else hard to believe anything can beat it for my preferences but we shall see! Also, will be putting my xe6 up against any super bass competitors (fat freq )

Did you try the Nightjar Duality prototype?

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Did you try the Nightjar Duality prototype?

I did not but a shall

 

[tfenton02]

Hey all. Looking for some advice. I tried to purchase Traifecta from CFA website. I see the charge on my PayPal. But 3 days later I don’t have any correspondence from CFA, no order number, no shipping detail. I called their phone on Monday, it went to voicemail. I left a message. No return call as of today, Wednesday. I left a second message, no reply. I sent two emails without a reply. At this point I’m just trying to cancel the order. I just placed the order with Bloom since they have free overnight shipping. Does anyone have any suggestions how to reach this company? I also sent a PM to Ken yesterday, awaiting a reply. I’m scratching my head at this point.

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Hey all. Looking for some advice. I tried to purchase Traifecta from CFA website. I see the charge on my PayPal. But 3 days later I don’t have any correspondence from CFA, no order number, no shipping detail. I called their phone on Monday, it went to voicemail. I left a message. No return call as of today, Wednesday. I left a second message, no reply. I sent two emails without a reply. At this point I’m just trying to cancel the order. I just placed the order with Bloom since they have free overnight shipping. Does anyone have any suggestions how to reach this company? I also sent a PM to Ken yesterday, awaiting a reply. I’m scratching my head at this point.

Did you happen to make the purchase/calls while they were at canjam?

 

[eruilluvitar]

Have they announced the dates for NYC yet?

Not yet, as far as I've seen!

 

[aaf evo]

(Have they announced the dates for NYC yet?)

March 9-10

 

[eruilluvitar]

Did you try the Nightjar Duality prototype?

I tried to try it, but as with so many IEMs at CanJam, it doesn't fit for me