Xinlisupreme
Headphoneus Supremus
More info here https://pmgaudio.com/apx/
The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
- Start date
nocturne19
100+ Head-Fier
Imagine A8000 with reduced upper mids but boosted mid treble. Treble sounds pretty hot to me. YMMV.
Lighter shell than A8000, which is awesome but very stiff cable.
nocturne19
100+ Head-Fier
Dear another €6000...we only have 2 kidneys...
Appreciated, especially after doing the E3 review I keep thinking how I forgot a couple of things and could have done it better. Not to mention that with hours to spare, council workers showed up and decided to cut the grass in the park outside, so I had to shoot another take in the evening. I really need a room for video that isn't so dependent on sunlight.
linux4ever
Headphoneus Supremus
I was about to share the same. All the best @piotrus-g
DunkFealer
100+ Head-Fier
Yeah, it’s all about taste. The Elite is my favourite-sounding headphone of the past couple years. I love how smooth, velvety, yet balanced its tonality is. Whereas, I don’t think I’ve ever jived or clicked with a single ZMF headphone, no matter how hard I’ve tried.So, it all comes down to preference at the end of the day.
I think that sort of richness to the sound is something that I've learned I can't do without. Not that I can't also enjoy something a little leaner from time to time, but I do reach much more frequently for some sets than others so I guess the evidence doesn't lie. I've heard great things about ZMF that make me think I may like some of their stuff, but honestly I'm trying to just be happy with what I've got for a while... Which as we all know can be challenging lol.
Sorry, I didn't really mean to suggest that their views are extremely rigid or anything. I generally like those guys' content and think they're going about things in earnest, which I genuinely have respect for. Although I'll say they're the kind of reviewers that tend to be "anti-correlated" with my own tastes. Not always, but enough that when I saw their review for Empy 2, I decided to go for the Elite instead (at the time I was returning my Empy 1). I see this as a very useful service. They are consistent enough in their taste that they are a good reference point for me. I also agree Crin tends to lean rigid more so, although sometimes I can't tell if it's for views or in earnest. I watched around the first 45 minutes of the video, but it's entertaining so I'll probably finish it later. Thanks for sharing it.
I think what I'm specifically reacting to is the way some of that review team uses the term "tonally correct." It's not that I think someone couldn't construct a self-consistent standard of what "correct" sound is (or indeed hasn't already, i.e., target curves). Although, I will also say that many people who claim constructing such a self-consistent standard is possible tend to wave away psychoacoustics and qualia as negligible. I would guess it's because these elements can't be easily controlled for in a test or experiment, since there is no way to calculate a transfer function that tells you how my mood may affect my perception of sound. Anyway, even if such a standard was perfectly self-consistent, I think I'm still at odds with the idea of "correct" sound. I believe things can just be tuned differently and we can all decide whether we like them or not (and even in reference to a standard if that's your cup of tea). "Correct" feels presumptuous in a way that to me feels unearned given the irreducible subjectivity of perception. Nonetheless, I get that such standards are useful to audio engineers and manufacturers. For this reason alone I believe we should have them, and I don't mean to suggest otherwise. Separately, I do think that having a target curve gives manufacturers literal metrics to optimize using design software, which makes this whole endeavor a bit less human, and to me goes kind of against the point... But I get that others may disagree, especially given how much fidelity can be had these days at the lower end of the market, which is undoubtedly a result of such optimizations (in part). I wasn't originally planning on going on a philosophical rant, but I'm told this is the thread to do it in anyway
davidmolliere
Headphoneus Supremus
Yeah well I have seen that in my inbox...
Both exciting as I love Custom Art and trust Piotr but this is following a trend that I am not sure I am so thrilled about
... now Custom Art remains and we'll see if there is a wide range of more reasonably priced products below that statement and very exclusive even by today's standards edition.Obviously at these price points universal is the way of the market as it makes it a re-sellable item. That's just the state of the market, sure, luxury does well in times of economic crisis
Last edited:
Hi!
Well, the standout feature is pretty much all you suggested imho!
Strong rumbly textured bass, excellent timbre with acoustic instruments, warm yet detailed mids, and fairly inoffensive trebles yet airy and good detail retrieval. Staging is quite spacious, without being top class, but it presents the music in a very natural way.
It’s excellently tuned, leaning a bit warm. It’s more of a musical and physical experience than a technical powerhouse, but it’s still pretty good in that department.
In some ways it shares some of Trifecta’s analog vibes and thunderous bass. Soundstage presentation is also in the same vein, probably a bit more intimate in comparison to Trifecta. Higher register feels more relaxed/ less agressive overall compared to Trifecta. I didn’t A/B the 2 because they are not available in the same stores but that’s the overall feeling I have.
Here I found a comparison graph of the 2 :
Also, you might want to check @Scuba Devils review if you didn’t already check it out, that’s spot on and pretty much how I’m hearing them as well.
I saw there are quite a few on the classifieds if you’re really interested!
Cheers,
Julien
Yeah well I have seen that in my inbox...
Both exciting as I love Custom Art and trust Piotr but this is following a trend that I am not sure I am so thrilled about
Obviously at these price points universal is the way of the market as it makes it a re-sellable item. That's just the state of the market, sure, luxury does well in times of economic crisis
The way I see it, there will always exist items at the extreme ends of the price scale. The reality is that the people who can afford these to begin with, generally, have wealth enough to be unaffected by economic swings. No matter how much we might find the rising prices distateful, it's not a new trend. If it means it allows companies to innovate with new technology catering to those who can afford it, then ultimately it will benefit everyone in the long run through better tech trickling into more affordable models that it would otherwise be unable to. I say this as someone who is most definitely not one of those people above the crisis.
Wow, congrats, this is the reissue one and boy is the price quite high on these as well. Back due to popular demand. The sound is very special indeed and quite hard to drive. I was lucky to walk away from these without affecting my wallet. I tried to drive these with the P6Pro Ti99. I think it's better to use a N30LE on these.Oh boy, what did I do....
'Reminds me of when I first started reviewing, and the only light I knew how to use was sunlight, so I could only take photos between 2 and 4 PM in my home gym. Learning how to use flash and a light box changed everything.
I think it was considerate of Piotr to start a whole new sub-brand for this summit-fi IEM, so it doesn't affect Custom Art virtually at all. The confusion it would bring to CA's product hierarchy, the pressure and criticism it might bring the brand, etc. could've potentially undone a lot of the good will CA's built as a bang-for-buck, yet extremely high-quality brand. So, I'm glad Piotr has a clean slate to experiment and bring us something he couldn't under the CA name. I hope he brings it to CanJam SG, and I certainly hope it doesn't fall short of its lofty price tag.Yeah well I have seen that in my inbox...
Both exciting as I love Custom Art and trust Piotr but this is following a trend that I am not sure I am so thrilled about
Obviously at these price points universal is the way of the market as it makes it a re-sellable item. That's just the state of the market, sure, luxury does well in times of economic crisis
hungryewok
100+ Head-Fier
FOMO + crazy price tag is not the way to launch the product. No matter what reputation you may have.
Companies are getting more and more predatory with every passing year.
Companies are getting more and more predatory with every passing year.
OneEyedHito
1000+ Head-Fier
Is CA “custom art” or Campfire Audio?'Reminds me of when I first started reviewing, and the only light I knew how to use was sunlight, so I could only take photos between 2 and 4 PM in my home gym. Learning how to use flash and a light box changed everything.
I think it was considerate of Piotr to start a whole new sub-brand for this summit-fi IEM, so it doesn't affect Custom Art virtually at all. The confusion it would bring to CA's product hierarchy, the pressure and criticism it might bring the brand, etc. could've potentially undone a lot of the good will CA's built as a bang-for-buck, yet extremely high-quality brand. So, I'm glad Piotr has a clean slate to experiment and bring us something he couldn't under the CA name. I hope he brings it to CanJam SG, and I certainly hope it doesn't fall short of its lofty price tag.
Users who are viewing this thread
