[drftr]

How about less coherent IEMs?

What about 'em?

drftr

 

[drftr]

Hi @drftr

Which event are you referring to?
I know you guys were talking about a potential European Cooler meeting with @Scuba Devils , but I’m not sure if it’s what you mean?
Also, I couldn’t find any info about this potential meetup on the “Local / Regional Head-Fi Meets, Parties, Get-Togethers” forum. Where can I find the information about it?

I’ll be landing in France on March 1st. I’d definitely like to participate in a meetup if possible!!

Cheers,

Julien

Yes, it's the Euro Watercooler meet-up. We'll have to decide soon-ish whether we're going to do it or not and get started with preps. I'm thinking mid/end of March and currently playing with the idea of suggesting some kind of country rotation. Like if this year would be in the Netherlands it's easiest to have things organized by our Dutch friends. Then next year we pick Ireland, Germany, whatever and get invited by them.

I hope to be able to send out messages this weekend to find out who is is really planning to join and which weekend is preferred. Now @Scuba Devils is back from his trip we can pick our favourite approach.

drftr

 

[AxLvR]

So you're on Surabaya as well? Next time you meet @AxLvR on Jaben, please pinch his belly for me

And i will caress yours in SG Canjam

 

[RonaldS86]

Afternoon APX sesh
I believe I'm 90% positive that APX will stay and Aura has to go. I think APX is a good all rounder and has a non fatiguing tuning at least for me. I have no problem with the treble like my friend @aaf evo
I like APX mostly for EDM and energetic music to fully utilize those delicious rectangular planar bass, but just like @piotrus-g himself said it can perform beautifully for classical music too or choral music for me
Using APX on N30 AP with the stock cables and JVC Spiral Dot++ because I need to cleanse my palate from too much OrphyS sounds

 

[mark88888]

Took a pause from the Trifecta today and while a give some burn in to the 64 Audio Volume, spent the time enjoying the 634 Ears LOAK-T (CL) and the Miroak II.

I'm looking forward to reading a comparison of the Miroak II and LOAK, if possible? Great pix. As I wrote here a few weeks ago, I recently picked up a 634ears MIROAK II - Japan Limited set. I'm thrilled with it. I swapped the OG cable for the 634ears 4.4 balanced... love it. Very short cord though, I wish it were a foot longer lol. But may just stick with it, very comfy, no memory snags and great sound. Would definitely be open to more 634ears iems in the future, thus I'm keen to hear about the comparison. Anyway, here she is, with the balanced cable.

 

[Junmoe62]

Yes, it's the Euro Watercooler meet-up. We'll have to decide soon-ish whether we're going to do it or not and get started with preps. I'm thinking mid/end of March and currently playing with the idea of suggesting some kind of country rotation. Like if this year would be in the Netherlands it's easiest to have things organized by our Dutch friends. Then next year we pick Ireland, Germany, whatever and get invited by them.

I hope to be able to send out messages this weekend to find out who is is really planning to join and which weekend is preferred. Now @Scuba Devils is back from his trip we can pick our favourite approach.

drftr

Allright! Sounds great to me!
I Should most likely be able to attend then! Especially if you do it in the Netherlands, that’s even manageable to go by car.

So there’s no thread on the forum yet for this meetup?

+1. Shame that you could not do a head-to-head with Laura!

You mean like this ?

Here I tried them both with my Rosenkranz Silver HB since I’m planing on purchasing a cable for those cuties.
For the looks , I’d give a slight edge to Adam, the hardware just looks a tiny bit more intricate and the color scheme is a bit easier to match with different IEMs.
Laura looks super cool too, but I just wish it was a little brighter in color, especially the copper plating on the hardware is not “coppery” enough and sometimes tends a bit too much towards bronze color. Anyway… Just personal taste stuff…
Handling / ergonomics is a bit better on Adam. Laura is a pretty thick girl! I mean it’s not Code 23 or Yatono kind or ergonomics! Far from it, but the difference is none negligible compared to Adam.
Sound wise, they do share a a similar family trait, where they boast a nice analog sound with meaty but tight bass and mids, huge soundstage and superb detail retrieval.
Laura pushes the analog vibe and warmth a touch more with more rounded edges across the FR.
Adam is a bit tighter and dryer in comparison. Just in comparison, because it is in no way a dry sounding cable. It just feels ever so slightly brighter than Laura.

But honestly, if you want a more detailed and accurate comparison between the two, I’d highly recommend you to check out @twister6 review. He’s just spot on and way more reliable than I am!!!

I mean, just look at those earlobes :

Don’t they inspire trust and confidence?!!

As for me, I really like both of them equally, with maybe a slight edge towards Laura for the sound and everything else goes to Adam.
I’ll most likely be buying a Laura, just because it can be found significantly cheaper on the second hand market in China, due to the fact it’s been released since longer time.


I also got some pretty nice demo session.

I could compare briefly those two naughty boys side by side (BTW, forgive me for the horrendous pictures but this sop is darker than the Bat Cave so that’s not optimal…) :

The 2 beef beasts!! The sultans of swag!

I know Trifecta is a controversial one and so is Rosenkranz Silver HB with its crazy nuts pricing and a tuning that will no doubt not appeal to many.
I for one am not a Trifecta hater. Despite the fact that I’ll never buy it because of some aspect of its sound I’m not connecting enough with to warrant a purchase, I really do appreciate some of the thing it does incredibly and uniquely well!
I find the RK HB to share some philosophy with Trifecta, namely the bottom up kind of tuning, everything revolves around that bottom end meaty foundation. Secondly they both share that analog natural vibe and that huge spacious soundstage.
For the soundstage they do present it in a different way though. As best described by @Rockwell75 I believe, Trifecta feels like a wall of sound reminiscent of a 2 channel floor speaker setup. Really special and intense! It doesn’t feel that way with every tracks but when it does it’s really cool. I was just comparing the two on some Pink Floyd and they are both incredible on this kind of music. On Have a Cigar and Shine on you Crazy Diamond you really have that “wall of sound” effect with Trifecta! On the other hand this effect is really this, a wall of sound, meaning a 2D plane. It’s spacious but you really getting a lot depth separation between the different layers of instruments. It feels very tall though. It also feels very centered, HB feels much wider and envelopes you more with sound. HB doesn’t really have that same “wall” effect, it feels more layered and incredibly deep.
They are both dense, intense and fairly warm sounding sets. HB is more relaxed overall, it has less upper mids / lower treble intensity and harshness. Cymbals also feel less edgy and more natural to my taste.
The bass is the area where they both shine and they are fairly equivalent in the mid bass for the slam and the visceral impact. They both boast a somewhat rounded bass but HB feels definitely more nimble and fast when needed. It never felt bloated , muddy or sounded like it couldn’t keep the pace, even on very fast bass lines. That to me is one of the differences with Trifecta. Also, another major difference is on the sub bass, HB reaches a lot deeper. It’s sustaining the amount of bass well below Trifecta. That’s another area where I think Trifecta is a bit weak. It’s really visceral on the mid bass and early sub bass, but it does get outclassed by quite a few IEMs in the deep sub bass.

Anyways, these are just rough thoughts I had during my quick comparison. They both are great set with unique vibes.


I also tried few other cool stuff, the Noble Spartacus, the Madonna Type 800 something, The latest Acoustune MKIII and the CFA Black Star :

My favorite of the lot was by far the Spartacus! Absolutely amazing set, especially considering the price tag!! Our favorite Wizard, Dr John The White did an amazing job on this one! One of the most comfy universal I’ve ever tried and the sound is jut superb! It feels like a mid way between CP622B and Anni 2023. Really great bass and detail retrieval as well as soundstage size and positioning. It feels a bit brighter in the mids and trebles compared to my custom CP622B (which is warmer than the universal version). The tuning is masterfully executed, no harshness anywhere whatsoever yet, top notch detail retrieval. I absolutely recommend the demo on this one! Really worth the try and when factoring the price that’s a tremendous offering! I think I actually enjoyed it more than Ronin and Ragnar, FWIW.

The Madoo, was also quite excellent. The bass is great and detail retrieval outstanding. It just felt a bit unnatural in the treble. The timber had a bit of a digital edge. It was fantastic none the less.

The Acoustune MKIII was interesting , with nice DD timbre and big soundstage, but felt a bit too bright and lacking the bass foundation for my taste. Pretty good set for vocals though.

Lastly, the Black Star was supercool as well! Really liked this one! Great bass with good impact and extension, well tuned mids as well as pretty resolving trebles.
My only little complaint would be about the treble and upper mids who had a bit of a metallic timber. It felt a bit digital like the Madoo.


Alright, I’m done for today!

I hope it can be helpful to some, even though it’s always only rough impressions… No time to spend month on every sets and really connect with them… Maybe my perspective would be different if I had to do some brain burn in. Obviously the sets in this demo session were all quite remarkable, at any price point!


Cheers guy,

Julien

 

[soundblast75]

Very very impressed with Dita today, mega fast delivery to London and superb presentation and product, well done Dita, this shoots well above its price suggests

 

[gLer]

+1. Shame that you could not do a head-to-head with Laura!

Watch this space...

 

[aaf evo]

Afternoon APX sesh
I believe I'm 90% positive that APX will stay and Aura has to go. I think APX is a good all rounder and has a non fatiguing tuning at least for me. I have no problem with the treble like my friend @aaf evo

I REALLY hope PMG continues to explore this higher-tier avenue for IEMs. I’d love to see an equivalent of the APX with a slightly smoother top end and maybe a tad more low end. The technical capabilities of APX are amongst some of the best I’ve heard in the industry so far, and that design is so damn beautiful. If I can get that in something that works a little better for my library I’d absolutely be willing to pay for it. The resolution and transparency of the APX is pretty damn nuts.

 

[drftr]

So there’s no thread on the forum yet for this meetup?

I think it's best to restrict it to Euro Coolers from this very thread as we share a lot together, respect each other for who we are, how we communicate, et cetera. Also, it's not a head-fi show so the success is based on us working together with friends and sharing gear, impressions, stories, ...

I'd much rather have 15-20 Coolers show up than 50 people I've never met before. Perhaps in the future, but let's learn some lessons first

drftr

 

[twister6]

...
But honestly, if you want a more detailed and accurate comparison between the two, I’d highly recommend you to check out @twister6 review. He’s just spot on and way more reliable than I am!!!

I mean, just look at those earlobes :



...

All I see is just more grey hair

 

[Junmoe62]

I think it's best to restrict it to Euro Coolers as we share a lot together, respect each other for who we are, how we communicate, et cetera. Also, it's not a head-fi show so the success is based on us working together with friends and sharing gear, impressions, stories, ...

I'd much rather have 15-20 Coolers show up than 50 people I've never met before. Perhaps in the future, but let's learn some lessons first

drftr

Alright! That makes sense! I just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t miss on some precious updates!

All I see is just more grey hair

The good news is that it will pair even better with a set of Traillii Ti!! There’s always a bright side!!

 

[drftr]

I just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t miss on some precious updates!

I have asked @jude how to address the 50+ European Watercooler friends in PM and you're definitely on the list of all names collected. Will still post a reminder here in case somebody didn't make it to that list and still wants to hop over.

Would be awesome if Coolers from outside Europe could make it as well..................

drftr

 

[MatW]

If you haven’t experienced any treble peaks on those IEMs I am pretty sure you have some hearing loss in the upper frequencies. Which is normal for people our age. It is one of the hard realities of life, and one of the aspects of aging that I am not looking forward to.



So far though, I have been blessed with above average hearing for my age. Although … for some in this hobby mild hearing loss can actually be a blessing rather than a problem. For example for those who cannot hear the annoying waterfall hiss with sensitive IEMs. (Interestingly, when I toggle the EQ on I hear some very mild background hiss disappearing with the Perpetua, a phenomenon I have not experienced before). In your case, it helps you to enjoy those IEMs without ever being bothered by treble peaks. Happy days.

Update to this. I did the test again with the Noble Fokus Prestige and got a little less extension but fortunately no weird dip in volume between 7-8k. So that must have been related to the Bathys. Clearly the results can vary depending on the equipment used, so if it wasn’t obvious already, use this as a rough indication only, and go to an audiologist for serious measurements if you feel the need to do so.

 

[LFC_SL]

Update to this. I did the test again with the Noble Fokus Pro and got a little less extension but fortunately no weird dip in volume between 7-8k. So that must have been related to the Bathys. Clearly the results can vary depending on the equipment used, so if it wasn’t obvious already, use this as a rough indication only, and go to an audiologist for serious measurements if you feel the need to do so.

Here in the UK there are opticians that offer free hearing tests to everyone. Unsure if it is the audiogram graph plot but free is free, it is a start