The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
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Are there any details on this such as driver count or sound signature? I did a quick google search but did not get anything
drftr
Headphoneus Supremus
Yep, yet another form of headroom.Unless the power conditioner is rated for high current delivery, you can potentially lose a hint of dynamics from your headphone amps compared to straight to wall. This is especially more noticeable on pure Class A headphone amps.
However, if the AC line is so noisy that you hear high frequency hash that translates to slightly blanketed sound and plugging in to conditioner cleans it up then it’s 100% worth using it for your headphone amp.
drftr
1 Bone Conduction Driver
1 10mm Dynamic Driver
4 Balance Armatures for mids and highs
1 Sonion Electrostatic Driver
MAX integrates the strengths of Maverick, MEST, and MEXT.
Two-days-ago-me posted this
Once again, Paul is talking about speakers and speaker amps, but the principles are the same for portable amps and portable transducers regardless.
Good investment of 7 minutes or so of your time
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2011
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Over the past 3 years, @Rockwell75 has been running a fabulous initiative with the IEM tours.
Not only is it an incredible opportunity for end-users to try something perhaps out of their budget on blind buy for reassurance, or to enrich the memory bank and help discover new items; but the benefits are not only to the passionate audiophiles and music lovers but also allow for manufacturers to interface directly with their potential clients. And of course all together this tightens the bonds between everyone and creates an awesome community where everyone is encouraged to engage and sometimes challenge each other in reaching a never attainable Summit-Fi (we will always try to go higher and higher, some wise souls find their endgames, heh).
Well, over the years I’ve been fortunate to participate in multiple tours and tried a bunch of awesome gear, but a few days ago I got the highly anticipated Feiwan package, and was extremely hyped about that.
The Feiwan is awesome! Some of the best bass I’ve heard to-date, top tier resolution, and a very energetic presentation that is enthralling. The upper mids are quite forward as is the treble in the crunch and clarity range - super rewarding with a lot of music, though a bit tough for me with a lot of material. This could be for some the king of the V-shape. It’s really dynamic and aggressive.
But… to my surprise a bonus IEM was in the package, something I’ve heard a couple positive rumblings about, but didn’t think much of it since it has no DD(s) (yes this trend I scoffed at as a Mentor Multiverse lover still got to me eventually.) This IEM is the best I’ve yet to try from the Watercooler tours, and probably a candidate for best IEM in the world, at least a top 3 for me — Canpur CP622B.
This obscure to me brand/ IEM is outstanding. I would describe it as such: Holographic, life-like, transparent, versatile & effortless. It reminds me of the Subtonic Storm (a favorite/ best-in-hobby) but with a softer transient edge and more openness. Storm remains the dynamics and slam king and a near peerless monitor for neutrality + bass boost, where this will sound a bit softer sometimes, a tiny bit more forgiving and not quite the same texture in the bass, but still a resolution champion. Hell, my favorite IEM is the Anni23, but I can confidently say the Canpur CP622B is a better monitor on an objective metric. In a way, this sounds like Storm and Mentor had a baby, but it’s got a bit more Storm in it. Some may prefer Storm, or MM, but I think the Canpur provides a beautiful compromise of either.
The drawback is that with all realistic sounding or balanced products, there will always be an itch for some color, spice & flavor. These definitely have enough bass and a smoother upper midrange and overall timbre, but some may be wanting more dynamic contrast still, and a more visceral sub bass. however, the sum of its parts makes this a top of the food chain player for me. Its comparable in the headphone world is 100% a Susvara + bass shelf with better dynamics for me.
Really, my main gripe on this is the relative obscurity of the brand in our circle and the fact the shells do not feel premium at all (think $100.00 Chi-Fi, really). Hopefully there’s good customer service longterm. Nonetheless, when a new milestone is hit and new boundaries are surpassed in the audio world, I can’t help but gush and say the praise, no matter the brand or build; just looking at the sound alone, this is a half tier above the most of the current crop of endgames and a look into the next generation.
It’s up there in Storm territory, even more impressive technically than my personal favorite Anni23 as mentioned and better than almost everything else out there (in my subjective opinion).
I hope people get to hear this, it’s something!
Not only is it an incredible opportunity for end-users to try something perhaps out of their budget on blind buy for reassurance, or to enrich the memory bank and help discover new items; but the benefits are not only to the passionate audiophiles and music lovers but also allow for manufacturers to interface directly with their potential clients. And of course all together this tightens the bonds between everyone and creates an awesome community where everyone is encouraged to engage and sometimes challenge each other in reaching a never attainable Summit-Fi (we will always try to go higher and higher, some wise souls find their endgames, heh).
Well, over the years I’ve been fortunate to participate in multiple tours and tried a bunch of awesome gear, but a few days ago I got the highly anticipated Feiwan package, and was extremely hyped about that.
The Feiwan is awesome! Some of the best bass I’ve heard to-date, top tier resolution, and a very energetic presentation that is enthralling. The upper mids are quite forward as is the treble in the crunch and clarity range - super rewarding with a lot of music, though a bit tough for me with a lot of material. This could be for some the king of the V-shape. It’s really dynamic and aggressive.
But… to my surprise a bonus IEM was in the package, something I’ve heard a couple positive rumblings about, but didn’t think much of it since it has no DD(s) (yes this trend I scoffed at as a Mentor Multiverse lover still got to me eventually.) This IEM is the best I’ve yet to try from the Watercooler tours, and probably a candidate for best IEM in the world, at least a top 3 for me — Canpur CP622B.
This obscure to me brand/ IEM is outstanding. I would describe it as such: Holographic, life-like, transparent, versatile & effortless. It reminds me of the Subtonic Storm (a favorite/ best-in-hobby) but with a softer transient edge and more openness. Storm remains the dynamics and slam king and a near peerless monitor for neutrality + bass boost, where this will sound a bit softer sometimes, a tiny bit more forgiving and not quite the same texture in the bass, but still a resolution champion. Hell, my favorite IEM is the Anni23, but I can confidently say the Canpur CP622B is a better monitor on an objective metric. In a way, this sounds like Storm and Mentor had a baby, but it’s got a bit more Storm in it. Some may prefer Storm, or MM, but I think the Canpur provides a beautiful compromise of either.
The drawback is that with all realistic sounding or balanced products, there will always be an itch for some color, spice & flavor. These definitely have enough bass and a smoother upper midrange and overall timbre, but some may be wanting more dynamic contrast still, and a more visceral sub bass. however, the sum of its parts makes this a top of the food chain player for me. Its comparable in the headphone world is 100% a Susvara + bass shelf with better dynamics for me.
Really, my main gripe on this is the relative obscurity of the brand in our circle and the fact the shells do not feel premium at all (think $100.00 Chi-Fi, really). Hopefully there’s good customer service longterm. Nonetheless, when a new milestone is hit and new boundaries are surpassed in the audio world, I can’t help but gush and say the praise, no matter the brand or build; just looking at the sound alone, this is a half tier above the most of the current crop of endgames and a look into the next generation.
It’s up there in Storm territory, even more impressive technically than my personal favorite Anni23 as mentioned and better than almost everything else out there (in my subjective opinion).
I hope people get to hear this, it’s something!
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Heyho Watercooler!
I hope you're all doing well and you're still loving the hobby.
Been missing somewhat shy of 20k posts overall in several threads (mostly here though) and I won't read up on them. My audio hiatus seems to come to an end though, even if I probably won't stay up to date as much as I was before. Canjam Europe made a big impression on me, or rather the people I was with there and their gear. I learned I was still much further away from really good audio than I thought, but also that I just can't keep up with all the gear (and the prices). I learned that sources matter much more than I thought. And while I enjoyed the time spent with good people and trying out their awesome stuff, the experience also made me aware of my flawed set-ups and I forgot about just enjoying the music for a while. I am getting back there now, though.
I will post a small impressions comment of a new IEM in the stable soon, when everything is settled.
To end this post, I will link a new album I have been enjoying a lot and asking you, what music or gear has you excited right now?
Happy Christmas/holiday time to all of you!
PS. Another question: sometimes when I disconnect an IEM from my 4.4 Moondrop Dawn dongle, or the dongle itself from my phone, a loud crackling noise can be heard through the speakers. Can this damage the driver and how do I avoid that? Thank you for reading.
I hope you're all doing well and you're still loving the hobby.
Been missing somewhat shy of 20k posts overall in several threads (mostly here though) and I won't read up on them. My audio hiatus seems to come to an end though, even if I probably won't stay up to date as much as I was before. Canjam Europe made a big impression on me, or rather the people I was with there and their gear. I learned I was still much further away from really good audio than I thought, but also that I just can't keep up with all the gear (and the prices). I learned that sources matter much more than I thought. And while I enjoyed the time spent with good people and trying out their awesome stuff, the experience also made me aware of my flawed set-ups and I forgot about just enjoying the music for a while. I am getting back there now, though.
I will post a small impressions comment of a new IEM in the stable soon, when everything is settled.
To end this post, I will link a new album I have been enjoying a lot and asking you, what music or gear has you excited right now?
Happy Christmas/holiday time to all of you!
PS. Another question: sometimes when I disconnect an IEM from my 4.4 Moondrop Dawn dongle, or the dongle itself from my phone, a loud crackling noise can be heard through the speakers. Can this damage the driver and how do I avoid that? Thank you for reading.
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I'm using this one : https://www.furutech.com/2020/10/15/20123/Unless the power conditioner is rated for high current delivery, you can potentially lose a hint of dynamics from your headphone amps compared to straight to wall. This is especially more noticeable on pure Class A headphone amps.
However, if the AC line is so noisy that you hear high frequency hash that translates to slightly blanketed sound and plugging in to conditioner cleans it up then it’s 100% worth using it for your headphone amp.
Is it good? Initially want to buy Audioquest Niagara 1200 but my dealer said that furutech is better.
Thank you bro for your answer. Now I can enjoy my Envy to my hearts contentYour friend is not giving you the best advice here. In general there’s nothing wrong with using desktop amps with IEMs, many of us here use them all the time this way.
The relevant spec you want to look for is output impedance. From the Feliks website:
3.8 ohm in low gain is a little higher than many other amps and most DAPs, but should work fine for the vast majority of IEMs.
It’s a perfect use case when I’m at my desk at home, why burn the battery in a DAP, when I’ve got a great desktop rig instead? Especially when what I want to listen to is on my PC or laptop anyway.
YMMV and all that.
Dang, that's one beautiful combo of dark purple. Looks elegant and a good mix of black purpleThe recent DBC UM prototype has been launched. The Unique Melody MAX!
This elusive IEM are nowhere to be seen. Even though it's not a limited IEM but I've never met someone with it, or maybe it's just me rarely attend a gathering
Woo Audio has been around since when? I remember back then so many people using their tube amps and WA33 is still legendary, but I don't know why there's not many people talks about their amp anymore?
Oh my, that looks so goodNow I'm curious if Subtonic Storm can be powered by glowing KT88 Triode Strapped SET amps with zero hum and tube noise given that they're fairly insensitive even compared to many full sized headphones on the market
My first step to desktop setup starts with a tube amps, so I guess it's a bad choice but a good one
I hope tube rolling isn't mandatory
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I wonder if this was the UM prototype that was demoed at CanJam
Most definitelyI wonder if this was the UM prototype that was demoed at CanJam
Alpexis
100+ Head-Fier
Very much true. Good quality distributors and power cables also fulfill conditioning duties. They are essential components of every high-end system with a major influence on final sq.
Midrange: furutech e-TP609E NCF.
Xtreme: S.I.N. Audio Boutique.
PS: it is of course possible that a conditioner has some benefit where you live. Unlikely in EU, more likely in US and Asia (according to my local dealer). Let your ears guide you
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Lucif6r6th
Head-Fier
Hi all, been lurkin around for long time.
Just got my Bellos X4 a couple of hours ago. The fit is rather interesting compared to the full ear canal kind of fit, need more time with it though!
Will post some sound impressions when I get the time!
Just got my Bellos X4 a couple of hours ago. The fit is rather interesting compared to the full ear canal kind of fit, need more time with it though!
Will post some sound impressions when I get the time!
audionewbi
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2010
- Posts
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I arrived home today with a FedEx box in front of my door. I haven't bought anything, so I assumed it was a mistake. Upon picking up the satchel, it had my name. I opened it, thinking it was something I bought and I had forgotten.
Upon unboxing, it was a PW J-Pop demo unit. Recently, I stopped reviewing, but I can't lie as deep inside I wanted to hear how this sounds as I'm a sucker for single dynamic driver IEM.
More impressions to follow soon!
Upon unboxing, it was a PW J-Pop demo unit. Recently, I stopped reviewing, but I can't lie as deep inside I wanted to hear how this sounds as I'm a sucker for single dynamic driver IEM.
More impressions to follow soon!
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After your post, I got up, opened the door, and saw the cable TV bill. What did I do wrong in my life?I arrived home today with a FedEx box in front of my door. I haven't bought anything, so I assumed it was a mistake. Upon picking up the satchel, it had my name. I opened it, thinking it was something I bought and I had forgotten.
Upon unboxing, it was a PW J-Pop demo unit. Recently, I stopped reviewing, but I can't lie as deep inside I wanted to hear how this sounds as I'm a sucker for single dynamic driver IEM.
More impressions to follow soon!
Doing some google just now and I agree. Their price are Xtreme indeedVery much true. Good quality distributors and power cables also fulfill conditioning duties. They are essential components of every high-end system with a major influence on final sq.
Midrange: furutech e-TP609E NCF.
Xtreme: S.I.N. Audio Boutique.
PS: it is of course possible that a conditioner has some benefit where you live. Unlikely in EU, more likely in US and Asia (according to my local dealer). Let your ears guide you
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