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

[Rockwell75]

Not sure if this was mentioned previously but nice to see that CFA gives you the option to opt for a black shell color on any of the new Chromatic series IEMs.

Yes Caleb gave me that option too...but it almost felt sacrelige to take the very first "Chromatic" IEM out into the wild and not take the colorful option. And I love purple! I just need to find a good purple DAP to go along with it

 

[Yifang]

Hmm interesting....while Aura is undoubtly a highly resolving set (I mean it is a doppelganger PLE so it has to be resolving), it is nowhere near the clarity of the Annihilator especially due to its brighter tuning and emphasised treble. Not to mention Annihilator's superior soundstage and imaging. YMMV of course.

The Annihilator does need a stupid amount of power to drive and shine though. Probably the most power hungry IEM next to the DC Ti. For Aura I am on like 25 on Low Gain on my N30LE

Most power hungry IEM I've tried so far is the Maestro SE/Grand Maestro, followed by STORM, all of which needed more than Annihilator from experience.

 

[Rockwell75]

Most power hungry IEM I've tried so far is the Maestro SE/Grand Maestro, followed by STORM

Same with Singularity and Duality. A lot of Singaporean IEMs need lots of juice evidently.

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Than Annihilator?? What are you driving them with?

I'm not challenging your perceptions I'm just...surprised.

I was doing A/B test with Sony Wm1zm2 /Shanling m3 ultra / chord mojo / Dethonray honey.. still testing and can still hear just a higher level of clarity and resolution across the board from aura I love my annihilator to death and it is more balanced and less mid range forward but it just doesn’t sound as clear to me and on top of that aura has a more pleasing, satisfying, timbre. I have a feeling aura is gonna get overlooked pretty hard this year really a remarkable set

 

[tjzurlaaa]

I was doing A/B test with Sony Wm1zm2 /Shanling m3 ultra / chord mojo / Dethonray honey.. still testing and can still hear just a higher level of clarity and resolution across the board from aura I love my annihilator to death and it is more balanced and less mid range forward but it just doesn’t sound as clear to me and on top of that aura has a more pleasing, satisfying, timbre. I have a feeling aura is gonna get overlooked pretty hard this year really a remarkable set

Also I would like to add I really like Kevin’s take with a different more professional perspective of aura, but when I hear them both side-by-side the aura just sounds more premium to my ear like it’s just another level up lol if that makes any sense, and then again, perhaps I’m not analyzing correctly, to be giving professional feedback I’m just going based off of what I’m hearing

 

[kevin638880]

Most power hungry IEM I've tried so far is the Maestro SE/Grand Maestro, followed by STORM, all of which needed more than Annihilator from experience.

I do remember the GM being extremely power hungry when I tried it, forgot to note down my volume level tho....

Also I would like to add I really like Kevin’s take with a different more professional perspective of aura, but when I hear them both side-by-side the aura just sounds more premium to my ear like it’s just another level up lol if that makes any sense, and then again, perhaps I’m not analyzing correctly, to be giving professional feedback I’m just going based off of what I’m personally/honestly hearing

Nothing professional here, just a music lover like everyone else. There are a lot of real professional reviewers in this thread with fantastic writing/photography skills.

Your experience is as good as anyones. What you hear is what you hear.

 

[Rockwell75]

Speaking of Annihilator @JordonEA handed me an Ani 23 tour unit that I will be touring through the US along with the Diva and this EA Fusion 1 cable which many enthusiasts at the Hong Kong audio show thought was a great pairup.

 

[Neweymatt]

Speaking of Annihilator @JordonEA handed me an Ani 23 tour unit that I will be touring through the US along with the Diva and this EA Fusion 1 cable which many enthusiasts at the Hong Kong audio show thought was a great pairup.

Would love to hear your impressions on Anni paired up with that RS8! My RS6 is good enough for now I guess, but I think it's finally time for me to think about DAP upgrades...

 

[Rockwell75]

Would love to hear your impressions on Anni paired up with that RS8! My RS6 is good enough for now I guess, but I think it's finally time for me to think about DAP upgrades...

Early days for me but it's a stunningly beautiful pairup. I haven't heard the 21 Anni since I owned it last year and from memory the 23 seems to fix what was the only real issue with that IEM-- the bass. Previously it was what I would call "minimally acceptable" but here it's something of a highlight. Tighter, better extended, more present. Annihilator doesn't "need" lots of power but it sure does benefit from it. Trhough the RS8 on high gain/turbo it makes for a hell of an experience. RS8 has a really natural, analogue, authoritative yet liquid tonality that suits this IEM like a charm.

In other news we're two weeks into fall and two days past CanJam SoCal-- it's time for our seasonal 3 IEMs that own your heart at this moment poll. I'm not looking for your all time favorite 3 or anything (though of course you can submit those if you want). This poll is more meant to take the temp of the Watercooler at this moment in time.

Go!

 

[Yifang]

Early days for me but it's a stunningly beautiful pairup. I haven't heard the 21 Anni since I owned it last year and from memory the 23 seems to fix what was the only real issue with that IEM-- the bass. Previously it was what I would call "minimally acceptable" but here it's something of a highlight. Tighter, better extended, more present. Annihilator doesn't "need" lots of power but it sure does benefit from it. Trhough the RS8 on high gain/turbo it makes for a hell of an experience. RS8 has a really natural, analogue, authoritative yet liquid tonality that suits this IEM like a charm.

In other news we're two weeks into fall and two days past CanJam SoCal-- it's time for our seasonal 3 IEMs that own your heart at this moment poll. I'm not looking for your all time favorite 3 or anything (though of course you can submit those if you want). This poll is more meant to take the temp of the Watercooler at this moment in time.

Go!

1. Subtonic STORM - Simple excellence in every aspect across the board!
2. FatFreq Maestro SE - Bass, bass, BASS RUMBLE! I liked this more than Grand Maestro.
3. 7th Acoustics Supernova - One of the most perfect tuning & tonality ever!

 

[eruilluvitar]

See what we got this morning!

That thing sounds freaking great, but I'll probably stick with my Zähl HM1, which will arrive by the end of the week.

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Early days for me but it's a stunningly beautiful pairup. I haven't heard the 21 Anni since I owned it last year and from memory the 23 seems to fix what was the only real issue with that IEM-- the bass. Previously it was what I would call "minimally acceptable" but here it's something of a highlight. Tighter, better extended, more present. Annihilator doesn't "need" lots of power but it sure does benefit from it. Trhough the RS8 on high gain/turbo it makes for a hell of an experience. RS8 has a really natural, analogue, authoritative yet liquid tonality that suits this IEM like a charm.

In other news we're two weeks into fall and two days past CanJam SoCal-- it's time for our seasonal 3 IEMs that own your heart at this moment poll. I'm not looking for your all time favorite 3 or anything (though of course you can submit those if you want). This poll is more meant to take the temp of the Watercooler at this moment in time.

Go!

Annihilator21-treble
Aura-mids
Xe6-bass

 

[btwine]

3 IEMs that own your heart at this moment!

1. Dita Perpetua
2. Oriolus Traillii
3. Campfire Trifecta

 

[eruilluvitar]

Maybe it’s Precog’s own Mirai? I’m keen on getting a chance to hear one.

I really liked the Mirai - it had a really sweet tonality that made me just sit back and relax for a while. I also really liked the wood & epoxy color way, but unfortunately they're not going with it My only issue with it was that it was a little large for me and would be uncomfortable for long periods (not unusual for me, unfortunately)

 

[emdeevee]

In other news we're two weeks into fall and two days past CanJam SoCal-- it's time for our seasonal 3 IEMs that own your heart at this moment poll. I'm not looking for your all time favorite 3 or anything (though of course you can submit those if you want). This poll is more meant to take the temp of the Watercooler at this moment in time.

Go!

Still coming down from an amazing first canjam as you know, so here goes:

1. Xe6
2. Trifecta
3. Fei Wan