[timeslip]

Wdyt about the Baroques upon the AP IEMs?
Have been happily using Spiral Dots ++ lately for the same reason as the Baroques signature is described here: more open upper mids and treble - therefore also better holografy, tamed bass and in case of Spiral Dots ++ more pronounced mids

I've only tried the AZLA on the AP IEMs, since that was the best pairing with the UM MM. I'll try to find time this week to do a swap and compare.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

That’s where I booked. I love the hotel and location as well as being able to go back to my room when I please. The CanJam rate was great too.

Same. I stay at the Marriott Marquis frequently for personal travel to NYC. I can say that the CanJam rate is spectacular especially since they do not charge you the normal $35/day resort fee at this rate. At least that is what it was last year.

 

[Junmoe62]

Hi Cooler gang!

I know some of you were interested to know how Ibasso DX320 Max and the Ibasso DC-Elite would compare, so I went to the store today to check that out.
I tried about 8 songs with different sets of IEMs and A/B between the two as fast as possible to avoid relying too much on auditive memory, and repeated many times over the same passages to make sure (as much as I could) that I wasn’t hallucinating stuff.
My verdict is that Ibasso is not kidding when they say DC-elite is a miniaturized version of DX320 Max! To me it sounded virtually identical on every aspect! I sometimes thought there was differences to the bass tightness or treble smoothness, but when going back to the other one, I was just realizing it was actually the same…
I mean, there might be differences some of you more experienced folks could spot out, but even if there’s differences, I think it’s so insignificant that it doesn’t really matter (to me). I mean, if it’s that difficult to see any difference on a straight A/B, I don’t think it’s gonna matter on a normal listening session… YMMV, of course.
When you factor in the size, weight and price difference, the fact that DC-elite doesn’t have internal battery (which will make it more future proof) and the fluidity of the phone OS and UI compared to the DAP, for me it’s an absolute no brainer…

Also, power wise, they are impressively close as well! They both drove all my IEMs with the same authority and had pretty much the exact same volume level on the same step of their respective 24 steps volume knobs. This is when DX320 is set to the 2nd out of 4 step on its gain mode knob.

To give an idea of DC elite power, I typically listen to my Anni 2023 (which is one of the hardest IEM to drive) at 7 out of 24 steps. The maximum I pushed was 12 and to me it was way unhealthy loud. With Ragnar I would not ever go above 5 and typically settle on 3.
With sensitive monitors, it can’t go to very quiet volume for sleeping, sadly. So that’s something to consider.

Anyways, I personally think ibasso nailed it big time with this dongle! Truly outstanding stuff! I’m still extremely satisfied and impressed after my 2 weeks of daily use. I’m even considering selling my good old and trusty LP6 Gold because of it. The convenience/performance ratio is just unbeatable imho.

I then saw the shop had the new Dita Navigator dongle, so I compared very briefly, and few seconds were enough to see they were not in the same class! DC bass presence and tightness as well as treble air and detail are next level in comparison. Driving power is also much greater on DC-elite.

All the hype lately about Perpetua made me want to give it a chance one more time. My verdict is still the same. It’s mostly a mids centric set for vocal lovers with a kind of special / interesting romantic / analog vibe to it. They’re fairly inoffensive tuning, even though I’m finding them borderline sibilant on some tracks. The bass is decent but lacking in presence for my taste, especially in the subbass region. I’m hearing Ragnar, which is considered a bass mild IEM by many, as quite a bit bassier in the sub.
looking and craftsmanship are awesome though. I’m a huge fan of the design. I’m not sure the white cable is the smartest move though… it looks great when it’s new, but on this demo unit it looks filthy disgusting now (Hard to tell on the picture, but trust me, it’s really dirty!)
Also, one thing to note is this is the Perpetua C version and not the normal version. The C version is shipped with the Kondo Celeste cable and the wiring inside the earpieces are also made of the same Celeste cable. Every sets I demoed were the C version and I never heard the normal one, so I’m not sure if there actually is any tuning difference between the two.

While I was at it, I revisited one of my favorite set, the Melodic Artification Eclipse. This set must be one of the best bang for the bucks in the high end segment! Dual DD superbly tuned, with remarkable SQ from bass to treble, great soundstage, full titanium build and exclusive liquid link cable for less than $1500. Not too shabby!
I’m definitely tempted to get one at some point, just bought too many stuff lately so I should slow down a bit… for now…

Another brand we almost never hear about here is Spear Labs, which is surprising since they are supposed to be an American company, as far as I understand. Also they do sound pretty good! Below is the Triton T0 which boasts a 10mm DD, a 7mm magneto-static driver and 2 BA.
The bass is incredible on these!! Super deep and thunderous with impressive tactile feedback. The overall tuning is leaning towards warmth and is very well executed. Soundstage size and placement isn’t the best I’ve heard but still very nice! Detail retrieval is not Ragnar’s level but excellent nonetheless considering the warmer tuning.
I’m quite pleased with this set and would recommend it for anyone looking for top bass quality and presence and warm mids.
Build quality is top notch as well. And they can be made into custom fit.

‘This one is the more expensive set but I forgot the name… Maybe it’s Triton Infinity or something like that…
‘Same driver configuration than T0, just different housing material and tuning.
This one leans brighter with less pronounced bass and airier and detailed presentation.
This one felt a bit too aggressive for my taste and I preferred much more the T0. T0 could be a set I’d consider buying, while this one not…

That’s it for today’s expedition!

Have a nice one!

Cheers,

Julien

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Hi Cooler gang!

I know some of you were interested to know how Ibasso DX220 Max and the Ibasso DC-Elite would compare, so I went to the store today to check that out.
I tried about 8 songs with different sets of IEMs and A/B between the two as fast as possible to avoid relying too much on auditive memory, and repeated many times over the same passages to make sure (as much as I could) that I wasn’t hallucinating stuff.
My verdict is that Ibasso is not kidding when they say DC-elite is a miniaturized version of DX220 Max! To me it sounded virtually identical on every aspect! I sometimes thought there was differences to the bass tightness or treble smoothness, but when going back to the other one, I was just realizing it was actually the same…
I mean, there might be differences some of you more experienced folks could spot out, but even if there’s differences, I think it’s so insignificant that it doesn’t really matter (to me). I mean, if it’s that difficult to see any difference on a straight A/B, I don’t think it’s gonna matter on a normal listening session… YMMV, of course.
When you factor in the size, weight and price difference, the fact that DC-elite doesn’t have internal battery (which will make it more future proof) and the fluidity of the phone OS and UI compared to the DAP, for me it’s an absolute no brainer…

Also, power wise, they are impressively close as well! They both drove all my IEMs with the same authority and had pretty much the exact same volume level on the same step of their respective 24 steps volume knobs. This is when DX220 is set to the 2nd out of 4 step on its gain mode knob.

To give an idea of DC elite power, I typically listen to my Anni 2023 (which is one of the hardest IEM to drive) at 7 out of 24 steps. The maximum I pushed was 12 and to me it was way unhealthy loud. With Ragnar I would not ever go above 5 and typically settle on 3.
With sensitive monitors, it can’t go to very quiet volume for sleeping, sadly. So that’s something to consider.

Anyways, I personally think ibasso nailed it big time with this dongle! Truly outstanding stuff! I’m still extremely satisfied and impressed after my 2 weeks of daily use. I’m even considering selling my good old and trusty LP6 Gold because of it. The convenience/performance ratio is just unbeatable imho.




I then saw the shop had the new Dita Navigator dongle, so I compared very briefly, and few seconds were enough to see they were not in the same class! DC bass presence and tightness as well as treble air and detail are next level in comparison. Driving power is also much greater on DC-elite.




All the hype lately about Perpetua made me want to give it a chance one more time. My verdict is still the same. It’s mostly a mids centric set for vocal lovers with a kind of special / interesting romantic / analog vibe to it. They’re fairly inoffensive tuning, even though I’m finding them borderline sibilant on some tracks. The bass is decent but lacking in presence for my taste, especially in the subbass region. I’m hearing Ragnar, which is considered a bass mild IEM by many, as quite a bit bassier in the sub.
looking and craftsmanship are awesome though. I’m a huge fan of the design. I’m not sure the white cable is the smartest move though… it looks great when it’s new, but on this demo unit it looks filthy disgusting now (Hard to tell on the picture, but trust me, it’s really dirty!)
Also, one thing to note is this is the Perpetua C version and not the normal version. The C version is shipped with the Kondo Celeste cable and the wiring inside the earpieces are also made of the same Celeste cable. Every sets I demoed were the C version and I never heard the normal one, so I’m not sure if there actually is any tuning difference between the two.




While I was at it, I revisited one of my favorite set, the Melodic Artification Eclipse. This set must be one of the best bang for the bucks in the high end segment! Dual DD superbly tuned, with remarkable SQ from bass to treble, great soundstage, full titanium build and exclusive liquid link cable for less than $1500. Not too shabby!
I’m definitely tempted to get one at some point, just bought too many stuff lately so I should slow down a bit… for now…




Another brand we almost never hear about here is Spear Labs, which is surprising since they are supposed to be an American company, as far as I understand. Also they do sound pretty good! Below is the Triton T0 which boasts a 10mm DD, a 7mm magneto-static driver and 2 BA.
The bass is incredible on these!! Super deep and thunderous with impressive tactile feedback. The overall tuning is leaning towards warmth and is very well executed. Soundstage size and placement isn’t the best I’ve heard but still very nice! Detail retrieval is not Ragnar’s level but excellent nonetheless considering the warmer tuning.
I’m quite pleased with this set and would recommend it for anyone looking for top bass quality and presence and warm mids.
Build quality is top notch as well. And they can be made into custom fit.



‘This one is the more expensive set but I forgot the name… Maybe it’s Triton Infinity or something like that…
‘Same driver configuration than T0, just different housing material and tuning.
This one leans brighter with less pronounced bass and airier and detailed presentation.
This one felt a bit too aggressive for my taste and I preferred much more the T0. T0 could be a set I’d consider buying, while this one not…




That’s it for today’s expedition!

Have a nice one!

Cheers,

Julien

Nice post. I am really interested in the DC Elite since I am a big fan of the iBasso house sound.

 

[chickenmcnug]

Not sure if the excitement around Vision Ears VE X is still strong here but I just heard from VE that pre orders for the IEM will go up on their website next week as it is about to go into production. I’m really looking forward to hearing this one.

Still gathering funds

 

[Alexzander]

Hi Cooler gang!

I know some of you were interested to know how Ibasso DX220 Max and the Ibasso DC-Elite would compare, so I went to the store today to check that out.
I tried about 8 songs with different sets of IEMs and A/B between the two as fast as possible to avoid relying too much on auditive memory, and repeated many times over the same passages to make sure (as much as I could) that I wasn’t hallucinating stuff.
My verdict is that Ibasso is not kidding when they say DC-elite is a miniaturized version of DX220 Max! To me it sounded virtually identical on every aspect! I sometimes thought there was differences to the bass tightness or treble smoothness, but when going back to the other one, I was just realizing it was actually the same…
I mean, there might be differences some of you more experienced folks could spot out, but even if there’s differences, I think it’s so insignificant that it doesn’t really matter (to me). I mean, if it’s that difficult to see any difference on a straight A/B, I don’t think it’s gonna matter on a normal listening session… YMMV, of course.
When you factor in the size, weight and price difference, the fact that DC-elite doesn’t have internal battery (which will make it more future proof) and the fluidity of the phone OS and UI compared to the DAP, for me it’s an absolute no brainer…

Also, power wise, they are impressively close as well! They both drove all my IEMs with the same authority and had pretty much the exact same volume level on the same step of their respective 24 steps volume knobs. This is when DX220 is set to the 2nd out of 4 step on its gain mode knob.

To give an idea of DC elite power, I typically listen to my Anni 2023 (which is one of the hardest IEM to drive) at 7 out of 24 steps. The maximum I pushed was 12 and to me it was way unhealthy loud. With Ragnar I would not ever go above 5 and typically settle on 3.
With sensitive monitors, it can’t go to very quiet volume for sleeping, sadly. So that’s something to consider.

Anyways, I personally think ibasso nailed it big time with this dongle! Truly outstanding stuff! I’m still extremely satisfied and impressed after my 2 weeks of daily use. I’m even considering selling my good old and trusty LP6 Gold because of it. The convenience/performance ratio is just unbeatable imho.




I then saw the shop had the new Dita Navigator dongle, so I compared very briefly, and few seconds were enough to see they were not in the same class! DC bass presence and tightness as well as treble air and detail are next level in comparison. Driving power is also much greater on DC-elite.




All the hype lately about Perpetua made me want to give it a chance one more time. My verdict is still the same. It’s mostly a mids centric set for vocal lovers with a kind of special / interesting romantic / analog vibe to it. They’re fairly inoffensive tuning, even though I’m finding them borderline sibilant on some tracks. The bass is decent but lacking in presence for my taste, especially in the subbass region. I’m hearing Ragnar, which is considered a bass mild IEM by many, as quite a bit bassier in the sub.
looking and craftsmanship are awesome though. I’m a huge fan of the design. I’m not sure the white cable is the smartest move though… it looks great when it’s new, but on this demo unit it looks filthy disgusting now (Hard to tell on the picture, but trust me, it’s really dirty!)
Also, one thing to note is this is the Perpetua C version and not the normal version. The C version is shipped with the Kondo Celeste cable and the wiring inside the earpieces are also made of the same Celeste cable. Every sets I demoed were the C version and I never heard the normal one, so I’m not sure if there actually is any tuning difference between the two.




While I was at it, I revisited one of my favorite set, the Melodic Artification Eclipse. This set must be one of the best bang for the bucks in the high end segment! Dual DD superbly tuned, with remarkable SQ from bass to treble, great soundstage, full titanium build and exclusive liquid link cable for less than $1500. Not too shabby!
I’m definitely tempted to get one at some point, just bought too many stuff lately so I should slow down a bit… for now…




Another brand we almost never hear about here is Spear Labs, which is surprising since they are supposed to be an American company, as far as I understand. Also they do sound pretty good! Below is the Triton T0 which boasts a 10mm DD, a 7mm magneto-static driver and 2 BA.
The bass is incredible on these!! Super deep and thunderous with impressive tactile feedback. The overall tuning is leaning towards warmth and is very well executed. Soundstage size and placement isn’t the best I’ve heard but still very nice! Detail retrieval is not Ragnar’s level but excellent nonetheless considering the warmer tuning.
I’m quite pleased with this set and would recommend it for anyone looking for top bass quality and presence and warm mids.
Build quality is top notch as well. And they can be made into custom fit.



‘This one is the more expensive set but I forgot the name… Maybe it’s Triton Infinity or something like that…
‘Same driver configuration than T0, just different housing material and tuning.
This one leans brighter with less pronounced bass and airier and detailed presentation.
This one felt a bit too aggressive for my taste and I preferred much more the T0. T0 could be a set I’d consider buying, while this one not…




That’s it for today’s expedition!

Have a nice one!

Cheers,

Julien

Great post and thanks for all the impressions, Julien!
Also you’ve meant 320 MAX, not 220 MAX, right?

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Yeah the rate is really good. That’s better than my Marriott employee rate!

I have a friend who is a Marriott employee. The 20 year benefit is unbelievable. Something like free 3 night stays at any available Marriott is something worth staying to get. They have the friends and family program, too. The family rate is great. The friends rate is so-so because you have to give up elite credit and points for your stay. Those benefits are worth more than the discount especially since Titanium elite members with a Bonvoy credit card earns 23.5 points per dollar spent which is the equivalent of about a 20-25% discount off your stay.

 

[gryphonos]

Hi Cooler gang!

I know some of you were interested to know how Ibasso DX220 Max and the Ibasso DC-Elite would compare, so I went to the store today to check that out.
I tried about 8 songs with different sets of IEMs and A/B between the two as fast as possible to avoid relying too much on auditive memory, and repeated many times over the same passages to make sure (as much as I could) that I wasn’t hallucinating stuff.
My verdict is that Ibasso is not kidding when they say DC-elite is a miniaturized version of DX220 Max! To me it sounded virtually identical on every aspect! I sometimes thought there was differences to the bass tightness or treble smoothness, but when going back to the other one, I was just realizing it was actually the same…
I mean, there might be differences some of you more experienced folks could spot out, but even if there’s differences, I think it’s so insignificant that it doesn’t really matter (to me). I mean, if it’s that difficult to see any difference on a straight A/B, I don’t think it’s gonna matter on a normal listening session… YMMV, of course.
When you factor in the size, weight and price difference, the fact that DC-elite doesn’t have internal battery (which will make it more future proof) and the fluidity of the phone OS and UI compared to the DAP, for me it’s an absolute no brainer…

Also, power wise, they are impressively close as well! They both drove all my IEMs with the same authority and had pretty much the exact same volume level on the same step of their respective 24 steps volume knobs. This is when DX220 is set to the 2nd out of 4 step on its gain mode knob.

To give an idea of DC elite power, I typically listen to my Anni 2023 (which is one of the hardest IEM to drive) at 7 out of 24 steps. The maximum I pushed was 12 and to me it was way unhealthy loud. With Ragnar I would not ever go above 5 and typically settle on 3.
With sensitive monitors, it can’t go to very quiet volume for sleeping, sadly. So that’s something to consider.

Anyways, I personally think ibasso nailed it big time with this dongle! Truly outstanding stuff! I’m still extremely satisfied and impressed after my 2 weeks of daily use. I’m even considering selling my good old and trusty LP6 Gold because of it. The convenience/performance ratio is just unbeatable imho.




I then saw the shop had the new Dita Navigator dongle, so I compared very briefly, and few seconds were enough to see they were not in the same class! DC bass presence and tightness as well as treble air and detail are next level in comparison. Driving power is also much greater on DC-elite.




All the hype lately about Perpetua made me want to give it a chance one more time. My verdict is still the same. It’s mostly a mids centric set for vocal lovers with a kind of special / interesting romantic / analog vibe to it. They’re fairly inoffensive tuning, even though I’m finding them borderline sibilant on some tracks. The bass is decent but lacking in presence for my taste, especially in the subbass region. I’m hearing Ragnar, which is considered a bass mild IEM by many, as quite a bit bassier in the sub.
looking and craftsmanship are awesome though. I’m a huge fan of the design. I’m not sure the white cable is the smartest move though… it looks great when it’s new, but on this demo unit it looks filthy disgusting now (Hard to tell on the picture, but trust me, it’s really dirty!)
Also, one thing to note is this is the Perpetua C version and not the normal version. The C version is shipped with the Kondo Celeste cable and the wiring inside the earpieces are also made of the same Celeste cable. Every sets I demoed were the C version and I never heard the normal one, so I’m not sure if there actually is any tuning difference between the two.




While I was at it, I revisited one of my favorite set, the Melodic Artification Eclipse. This set must be one of the best bang for the bucks in the high end segment! Dual DD superbly tuned, with remarkable SQ from bass to treble, great soundstage, full titanium build and exclusive liquid link cable for less than $1500. Not too shabby!
I’m definitely tempted to get one at some point, just bought too many stuff lately so I should slow down a bit… for now…




Another brand we almost never hear about here is Spear Labs, which is surprising since they are supposed to be an American company, as far as I understand. Also they do sound pretty good! Below is the Triton T0 which boasts a 10mm DD, a 7mm magneto-static driver and 2 BA.
The bass is incredible on these!! Super deep and thunderous with impressive tactile feedback. The overall tuning is leaning towards warmth and is very well executed. Soundstage size and placement isn’t the best I’ve heard but still very nice! Detail retrieval is not Ragnar’s level but excellent nonetheless considering the warmer tuning.
I’m quite pleased with this set and would recommend it for anyone looking for top bass quality and presence and warm mids.
Build quality is top notch as well. And they can be made into custom fit.



‘This one is the more expensive set but I forgot the name… Maybe it’s Triton Infinity or something like that…
‘Same driver configuration than T0, just different housing material and tuning.
This one leans brighter with less pronounced bass and airier and detailed presentation.
This one felt a bit too aggressive for my taste and I preferred much more the T0. T0 could be a set I’d consider buying, while this one not…




That’s it for today’s expedition!

Have a nice one!

Cheers,

Julien

Thank you for your fantastic "expedition" and your great listening impressions. Your comments about the DC Elite made me curious. Your thoughts on Perpetua were enlightening to me in the sense that I hold off on them. An interesting discovery of yours is the Spear Labs Triton 0.
Very nice !

 

[DunkFealer]

Hi Cooler gang!

I know some of you were interested to know how Ibasso DX220 Max and the Ibasso DC-Elite would compare, so I went to the store today to check that out.
I tried about 8 songs with different sets of IEMs and A/B between the two as fast as possible to avoid relying too much on auditive memory, and repeated many times over the same passages to make sure (as much as I could) that I wasn’t hallucinating stuff.
My verdict is that Ibasso is not kidding when they say DC-elite is a miniaturized version of DX220 Max! To me it sounded virtually identical on every aspect! I sometimes thought there was differences to the bass tightness or treble smoothness, but when going back to the other one, I was just realizing it was actually the same…
I mean, there might be differences some of you more experienced folks could spot out, but even if there’s differences, I think it’s so insignificant that it doesn’t really matter (to me). I mean, if it’s that difficult to see any difference on a straight A/B, I don’t think it’s gonna matter on a normal listening session… YMMV, of course.
When you factor in the size, weight and price difference, the fact that DC-elite doesn’t have internal battery (which will make it more future proof) and the fluidity of the phone OS and UI compared to the DAP, for me it’s an absolute no brainer…

Also, power wise, they are impressively close as well! They both drove all my IEMs with the same authority and had pretty much the exact same volume level on the same step of their respective 24 steps volume knobs. This is when DX220 is set to the 2nd out of 4 step on its gain mode knob.

To give an idea of DC elite power, I typically listen to my Anni 2023 (which is one of the hardest IEM to drive) at 7 out of 24 steps. The maximum I pushed was 12 and to me it was way unhealthy loud. With Ragnar I would not ever go above 5 and typically settle on 3.
With sensitive monitors, it can’t go to very quiet volume for sleeping, sadly. So that’s something to consider.

Anyways, I personally think ibasso nailed it big time with this dongle! Truly outstanding stuff! I’m still extremely satisfied and impressed after my 2 weeks of daily use. I’m even considering selling my good old and trusty LP6 Gold because of it. The convenience/performance ratio is just unbeatable imho.




I then saw the shop had the new Dita Navigator dongle, so I compared very briefly, and few seconds were enough to see they were not in the same class! DC bass presence and tightness as well as treble air and detail are next level in comparison. Driving power is also much greater on DC-elite.




All the hype lately about Perpetua made me want to give it a chance one more time. My verdict is still the same. It’s mostly a mids centric set for vocal lovers with a kind of special / interesting romantic / analog vibe to it. They’re fairly inoffensive tuning, even though I’m finding them borderline sibilant on some tracks. The bass is decent but lacking in presence for my taste, especially in the subbass region. I’m hearing Ragnar, which is considered a bass mild IEM by many, as quite a bit bassier in the sub.
looking and craftsmanship are awesome though. I’m a huge fan of the design. I’m not sure the white cable is the smartest move though… it looks great when it’s new, but on this demo unit it looks filthy disgusting now (Hard to tell on the picture, but trust me, it’s really dirty!)
Also, one thing to note is this is the Perpetua C version and not the normal version. The C version is shipped with the Kondo Celeste cable and the wiring inside the earpieces are also made of the same Celeste cable. Every sets I demoed were the C version and I never heard the normal one, so I’m not sure if there actually is any tuning difference between the two.




While I was at it, I revisited one of my favorite set, the Melodic Artification Eclipse. This set must be one of the best bang for the bucks in the high end segment! Dual DD superbly tuned, with remarkable SQ from bass to treble, great soundstage, full titanium build and exclusive liquid link cable for less than $1500. Not too shabby!
I’m definitely tempted to get one at some point, just bought too many stuff lately so I should slow down a bit… for now…




Another brand we almost never hear about here is Spear Labs, which is surprising since they are supposed to be an American company, as far as I understand. Also they do sound pretty good! Below is the Triton T0 which boasts a 10mm DD, a 7mm magneto-static driver and 2 BA.
The bass is incredible on these!! Super deep and thunderous with impressive tactile feedback. The overall tuning is leaning towards warmth and is very well executed. Soundstage size and placement isn’t the best I’ve heard but still very nice! Detail retrieval is not Ragnar’s level but excellent nonetheless considering the warmer tuning.
I’m quite pleased with this set and would recommend it for anyone looking for top bass quality and presence and warm mids.
Build quality is top notch as well. And they can be made into custom fit.



‘This one is the more expensive set but I forgot the name… Maybe it’s Triton Infinity or something like that…
‘Same driver configuration than T0, just different housing material and tuning.
This one leans brighter with less pronounced bass and airier and detailed presentation.
This one felt a bit too aggressive for my taste and I preferred much more the T0. T0 could be a set I’d consider buying, while this one not…




That’s it for today’s expedition!

Have a nice one!

Cheers,

Julien

Officially drooling for the DC-Elite. Thank you for your impressions!

 

[linux4ever]

Hi Cooler gang!

I know some of you were interested to know how Ibasso DX220 Max and the Ibasso DC-Elite would compare, so I went to the store today to check that out.
I tried about 8 songs with different sets of IEMs and A/B between the two as fast as possible to avoid relying too much on auditive memory, and repeated many times over the same passages to make sure (as much as I could) that I wasn’t hallucinating stuff.
My verdict is that Ibasso is not kidding when they say DC-elite is a miniaturized version of DX220 Max! To me it sounded virtually identical on every aspect! I sometimes thought there was differences to the bass tightness or treble smoothness, but when going back to the other one, I was just realizing it was actually the same…
I mean, there might be differences some of you more experienced folks could spot out, but even if there’s differences, I think it’s so insignificant that it doesn’t really matter (to me). I mean, if it’s that difficult to see any difference on a straight A/B, I don’t think it’s gonna matter on a normal listening session… YMMV, of course.
When you factor in the size, weight and price difference, the fact that DC-elite doesn’t have internal battery (which will make it more future proof) and the fluidity of the phone OS and UI compared to the DAP, for me it’s an absolute no brainer…

Also, power wise, they are impressively close as well! They both drove all my IEMs with the same authority and had pretty much the exact same volume level on the same step of their respective 24 steps volume knobs. This is when DX220 is set to the 2nd out of 4 step on its gain mode knob.

To give an idea of DC elite power, I typically listen to my Anni 2023 (which is one of the hardest IEM to drive) at 7 out of 24 steps. The maximum I pushed was 12 and to me it was way unhealthy loud. With Ragnar I would not ever go above 5 and typically settle on 3.
With sensitive monitors, it can’t go to very quiet volume for sleeping, sadly. So that’s something to consider.

Anyways, I personally think ibasso nailed it big time with this dongle! Truly outstanding stuff! I’m still extremely satisfied and impressed after my 2 weeks of daily use. I’m even considering selling my good old and trusty LP6 Gold because of it. The convenience/performance ratio is just unbeatable imho.




I then saw the shop had the new Dita Navigator dongle, so I compared very briefly, and few seconds were enough to see they were not in the same class! DC bass presence and tightness as well as treble air and detail are next level in comparison. Driving power is also much greater on DC-elite.




All the hype lately about Perpetua made me want to give it a chance one more time. My verdict is still the same. It’s mostly a mids centric set for vocal lovers with a kind of special / interesting romantic / analog vibe to it. They’re fairly inoffensive tuning, even though I’m finding them borderline sibilant on some tracks. The bass is decent but lacking in presence for my taste, especially in the subbass region. I’m hearing Ragnar, which is considered a bass mild IEM by many, as quite a bit bassier in the sub.
looking and craftsmanship are awesome though. I’m a huge fan of the design. I’m not sure the white cable is the smartest move though… it looks great when it’s new, but on this demo unit it looks filthy disgusting now (Hard to tell on the picture, but trust me, it’s really dirty!)
Also, one thing to note is this is the Perpetua C version and not the normal version. The C version is shipped with the Kondo Celeste cable and the wiring inside the earpieces are also made of the same Celeste cable. Every sets I demoed were the C version and I never heard the normal one, so I’m not sure if there actually is any tuning difference between the two.




While I was at it, I revisited one of my favorite set, the Melodic Artification Eclipse. This set must be one of the best bang for the bucks in the high end segment! Dual DD superbly tuned, with remarkable SQ from bass to treble, great soundstage, full titanium build and exclusive liquid link cable for less than $1500. Not too shabby!
I’m definitely tempted to get one at some point, just bought too many stuff lately so I should slow down a bit… for now…




Another brand we almost never hear about here is Spear Labs, which is surprising since they are supposed to be an American company, as far as I understand. Also they do sound pretty good! Below is the Triton T0 which boasts a 10mm DD, a 7mm magneto-static driver and 2 BA.
The bass is incredible on these!! Super deep and thunderous with impressive tactile feedback. The overall tuning is leaning towards warmth and is very well executed. Soundstage size and placement isn’t the best I’ve heard but still very nice! Detail retrieval is not Ragnar’s level but excellent nonetheless considering the warmer tuning.
I’m quite pleased with this set and would recommend it for anyone looking for top bass quality and presence and warm mids.
Build quality is top notch as well. And they can be made into custom fit.



‘This one is the more expensive set but I forgot the name… Maybe it’s Triton Infinity or something like that…
‘Same driver configuration than T0, just different housing material and tuning.
This one leans brighter with less pronounced bass and airier and detailed presentation.
This one felt a bit too aggressive for my taste and I preferred much more the T0. T0 could be a set I’d consider buying, while this one not…




That’s it for today’s expedition!

Have a nice one!

Cheers,

Julien

Very good post.

Spearlabs website shows Triton One for $2500 and not Triton 0.

 

[nikbr]

A 'cheap' champ of the evening, the Night Oblivion Butastur.

Separation, detail, nuance, soundstage, imaging, timbre. All fantastic. Suits certain genres incredibly well.

Listening to the album recommended by some of you guys.

 

[stacey]

I have a friend who is a Marriott employee. The 20 year benefit is unbelievable. Something like free 3 night stays at any available Marriott is something worth staying to get. They have the friends and family program, too. The family rate is great. The friends rate is so-so because you have to give up elite credit and points for your stay. Those benefits are worth more than the discount especially since Titanium elite members with a Bonvoy credit card earns 23.5 points per dollar spent which is the equivalent of about a 20-25% discount off your stay.

Marriott does have great benefits for employees. I can even stack the credit card benefit on top of the employee discount so it can make even the most expensive properties somewhat affordable.

 

[stacey]

Hi Cooler gang!

I know some of you were interested to know how Ibasso DX220 Max and the Ibasso DC-Elite would compare, so I went to the store today to check that out.
I tried about 8 songs with different sets of IEMs and A/B between the two as fast as possible to avoid relying too much on auditive memory, and repeated many times over the same passages to make sure (as much as I could) that I wasn’t hallucinating stuff.
My verdict is that Ibasso is not kidding when they say DC-elite is a miniaturized version of DX220 Max! To me it sounded virtually identical on every aspect! I sometimes thought there was differences to the bass tightness or treble smoothness, but when going back to the other one, I was just realizing it was actually the same…
I mean, there might be differences some of you more experienced folks could spot out, but even if there’s differences, I think it’s so insignificant that it doesn’t really matter (to me). I mean, if it’s that difficult to see any difference on a straight A/B, I don’t think it’s gonna matter on a normal listening session… YMMV, of course.
When you factor in the size, weight and price difference, the fact that DC-elite doesn’t have internal battery (which will make it more future proof) and the fluidity of the phone OS and UI compared to the DAP, for me it’s an absolute no brainer…

Also, power wise, they are impressively close as well! They both drove all my IEMs with the same authority and had pretty much the exact same volume level on the same step of their respective 24 steps volume knobs. This is when DX220 is set to the 2nd out of 4 step on its gain mode knob.

To give an idea of DC elite power, I typically listen to my Anni 2023 (which is one of the hardest IEM to drive) at 7 out of 24 steps. The maximum I pushed was 12 and to me it was way unhealthy loud. With Ragnar I would not ever go above 5 and typically settle on 3.
With sensitive monitors, it can’t go to very quiet volume for sleeping, sadly. So that’s something to consider.

Anyways, I personally think ibasso nailed it big time with this dongle! Truly outstanding stuff! I’m still extremely satisfied and impressed after my 2 weeks of daily use. I’m even considering selling my good old and trusty LP6 Gold because of it. The convenience/performance ratio is just unbeatable imho.




I then saw the shop had the new Dita Navigator dongle, so I compared very briefly, and few seconds were enough to see they were not in the same class! DC bass presence and tightness as well as treble air and detail are next level in comparison. Driving power is also much greater on DC-elite.




All the hype lately about Perpetua made me want to give it a chance one more time. My verdict is still the same. It’s mostly a mids centric set for vocal lovers with a kind of special / interesting romantic / analog vibe to it. They’re fairly inoffensive tuning, even though I’m finding them borderline sibilant on some tracks. The bass is decent but lacking in presence for my taste, especially in the subbass region. I’m hearing Ragnar, which is considered a bass mild IEM by many, as quite a bit bassier in the sub.
looking and craftsmanship are awesome though. I’m a huge fan of the design. I’m not sure the white cable is the smartest move though… it looks great when it’s new, but on this demo unit it looks filthy disgusting now (Hard to tell on the picture, but trust me, it’s really dirty!)
Also, one thing to note is this is the Perpetua C version and not the normal version. The C version is shipped with the Kondo Celeste cable and the wiring inside the earpieces are also made of the same Celeste cable. Every sets I demoed were the C version and I never heard the normal one, so I’m not sure if there actually is any tuning difference between the two.




While I was at it, I revisited one of my favorite set, the Melodic Artification Eclipse. This set must be one of the best bang for the bucks in the high end segment! Dual DD superbly tuned, with remarkable SQ from bass to treble, great soundstage, full titanium build and exclusive liquid link cable for less than $1500. Not too shabby!
I’m definitely tempted to get one at some point, just bought too many stuff lately so I should slow down a bit… for now…




Another brand we almost never hear about here is Spear Labs, which is surprising since they are supposed to be an American company, as far as I understand. Also they do sound pretty good! Below is the Triton T0 which boasts a 10mm DD, a 7mm magneto-static driver and 2 BA.
The bass is incredible on these!! Super deep and thunderous with impressive tactile feedback. The overall tuning is leaning towards warmth and is very well executed. Soundstage size and placement isn’t the best I’ve heard but still very nice! Detail retrieval is not Ragnar’s level but excellent nonetheless considering the warmer tuning.
I’m quite pleased with this set and would recommend it for anyone looking for top bass quality and presence and warm mids.
Build quality is top notch as well. And they can be made into custom fit.



‘This one is the more expensive set but I forgot the name… Maybe it’s Triton Infinity or something like that…
‘Same driver configuration than T0, just different housing material and tuning.
This one leans brighter with less pronounced bass and airier and detailed presentation.
This one felt a bit too aggressive for my taste and I preferred much more the T0. T0 could be a set I’d consider buying, while this one not…




That’s it for today’s expedition!

Have a nice one!

Cheers,

Julien

Is the Perpetua C a region exclusive? I’ve never seen that version before, and it’s not mentioned on Dita’s website at all.

 

[linux4ever]

I was listening to Hotel California and the lines "You can check out any time you like. But you can never leave!" sums up the hobby pretty much

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Also, one thing to note is this is the Perpetua C version and not the normal version. The C version is shipped with the Kondo Celeste cable and the wiring inside the earpieces are also made of the same Celeste cable. Every sets I demoed were the C version and I never heard the normal one, so I’m not sure if there actually is any tuning difference between the two.

From my understanding, all Pereptuas use the Kondo silver wiring inside the shell. It seems that the C just stands for Celeste and it’s supplied with that cable.

In my opinion Pereptua doesn’t need a silver cable, the copper stock cable in the non c package is a great partner with Pereptua even if the ergo lacks some pliability. I prefer Pereptua with a copper cable.