[stacey]

Im going with 13 pro max until it dies! Coming from XS. The less advanced and snappy my phone is, the less I do with it and more I do outside of it.

I just use the screen time setting on my iPhone. I’ve reduced my daily screen time to 3 hours just by using it. Technology is one of those things that you can use to your benefit to make you more productive …or degradation. Your choice.

 

[slumberman]

FWIW, one feels the power behind the N30. As such, the Trifecta sounded thick, almost brutally thick like a wall of sound, on the N30. It is not subtle.

OTOH, the Sony WM1ZM2 lends an elegance to the Trifecta. It sounded more transparent like you could almost see through the soundstage. It feels as if you are walking through the band and looking left and right at individual band members. In some way that’s a much more intimate experience than with the N30.

I’ve put the Trifecta through the RS8, N30 and WM1ZM2. I like it best with the Sony pairing.

I can’t wait for this! I have @ulverr ’s W1MZ M2 coming next week. Trifecta is ready…I have been listening to it a lot with my Nayparm modded Wm1A in preparation, though it sounds lush with the LP daps as well.

 

[btwine]

I did not remember VE X being this sensitive, I'm on 1 step on the DC Elite lmao.

It’s why I just sold mine. I don’t listen loudly and volume control with it isn’t ideal. There’s no reason (imo) for an IEM to be THAT sensitive. I couldn’t even use it from the PB5 also because it just hissed. That’s my only gripe with that IEM but it was enough to be a deal breaker for me in the end. Absolutely love that IEM otherwise though.

Given such comments about VE 10 sensitivity and hiss (not to pick on you two, you’re just the most recent) and hiss on DC-Elite, I thought I would do some Saturday testing since I have both on hand.

Listening to VE 10 off DC-Elite, using an Anker USB-C cable from my desktop Mac, playing a variety of songs from local high-res files through Roon, I hear no waterfall hiss or any hiss on any volume point up to safe levels, when the attenuator volume control is clicked onto a setting. When it is in between clicks, I hear hiss. Clearly, getting a firm attenuator click is key.

Also by the ways, pressing the DC-Elite side button to do stepped volume reduction in between attenuator clicks makes no audible difference for me. I wish it did, because often I cannot get just the right volume level. That attenuator is a miserable design choice, leading to a bad UI/UX for me.

I further tested VE 10 on the only DAP I have on hand, the N30LE, which has a robust amp that to my ears has a fairly black background (I haven’t A/B’d it with SP3000, a supposed class leader in black background). I tested a range of songs, quieter to more energetic, using all setting combinations of class, power, gain, hyper, timbre, and volume. Not once did I hear any hissing in between songs or while songs were paused. On songs with quieter parts, like the beginning of Diana Krall “Let’s Fall In Love”, played from DSD on the internal drive, I heard no hiss, outside of what is very faintly latent on the recording. I ran all the same testing on Trifecta given its sensivities, and had a similar experience, with the exception that high gain did produce a light to medium degree hiss at higher volumes.

My conclusion is that while VE 10 doesn’t require a lot of juice to sound great, it also to my ears does not suffer due to being sensitive. I can’t produce the kind of waterfall hiss, or any hiss, that others are describing, not on my two devices on hand.

 

[Rockwell75]

Enjoying a nice visit with @SBranson.

 

[chickenmcnug]

Given such comments about VE 10 sensitivity and hiss (not to pick on you two, you’re just the most recent) and hiss on DC-Elite, I thought I would do some Saturday testing since I have both on hand.

Listening to VE 10 off DC-Elite, using an Anker USB-C cable from my desktop Mac, playing a variety of songs from local high-res files through Roon, I hear no waterfall hiss or any hiss on any volume point up to safe levels, when the attenuator volume control is clicked onto a setting. When it is in between clicks, I hear hiss. Clearly, getting a firm attenuator click is key.

Also by the ways, pressing the DC-Elite side button to do stepped volume reduction in between attenuator clicks makes no audible difference for me. I wish it did, because often I cannot get just the right volume level. That attenuator is a miserable design choice, leading to a bad UI/UX experience for me.

I further tested VE 10 on the only DAP I have on hand, the N30LE, which has a robust amp that to my ears has a fairly black background (I haven’t A/B’d it with SP3000, a supposed class leader in black background). I tested a range of songs, quieter to more energetic, using all setting combinations of class, power, gain, hyper, and volume. Not once did I hear any hissing in between songs or while songs were paused. On songs with quieter parts, like the beginning of Diana Krall “Let’s Fall In Love”, played from DSD on the internal drive, I heard no hiss, outside of what is very faintly latent on the recording. I ran all the same testing on Trifecta given its sensivities, and had a similar experience, with the exception that high gain did produce a light to medium degree hiss at higher volumes.

My conclusion is that while VE 10 doesn’t require a lot of juice to sound great, it also to my ears does not suffer due to being sensitive. I can’t produce the kind of waterfall hiss, or any hiss, that others are describing, not on my two devices on hand.

Just to confirm, I never said anything about hiss though, what I meant by sensitive is that it's just borderline too loud for me on 1 click & -3db.
IIRC @aaf evo listens on very low volume as well.

I also agree that DC Elite has a pitch black background with VE X. Absolutely love it as well.
3.5mm is probably the logical thing for me to do is since if I'm not wrong, balanced just provides more power with no difference in SQ so why not?

 

[gLer]

Given such comments about VE 10 sensitivity and hiss (not to pick on you two, you’re just the most recent) and hiss on DC-Elite, I thought I would do some Saturday testing since I have both on hand.

Listening to VE 10 off DC-Elite, using an Anker USB-C cable from my desktop Mac, playing a variety of songs from local high-res files through Roon, I hear no waterfall hiss or any hiss on any volume point up to safe levels, when the attenuator volume control is clicked onto a setting. When it is in between clicks, I hear hiss. Clearly, getting a firm attenuator click is key.

Also by the ways, pressing the DC-Elite side button to do stepped volume reduction in between attenuator clicks makes no audible difference for me. I wish it did, because often I cannot get just the right volume level. That attenuator is a miserable design choice, leading to a bad UI/UX experience for me.

I further tested VE 10 on the only DAP I have on hand, the N30LE, which has a robust amp that to my ears has a fairly black background (I haven’t A/B’d it with SP3000, a supposed class leader in black background). I tested a range of songs, quieter to more energetic, using all setting combinations of class, power, gain, hyper, and volume. Not once did I hear any hissing in between songs or while songs were paused. On songs with quieter parts, like the beginning of Diana Krall “Let’s Fall In Love”, played from DSD on the internal drive, I heard no hiss, outside of what is very faintly latent on the recording. I ran all the same testing on Trifecta given its sensivities, and had a similar experience, with the exception that high gain did produce a light to medium degree hiss at higher volumes.

My conclusion is that while VE 10 doesn’t require a lot of juice to sound great, it also to my ears does not suffer due to being sensitive. I can’t produce the kind of waterfall hiss, or any hiss, that others are describing, not on my two devices on hand.

I've long said it takes a certain type of person with a certain type of hearing to detect this so-called hiss on these sensitive IEMs. Those people are generally also disturbed by dog whistles, and I wouldn't put it past them to react to sonar waves typically only heard by bats. YMMV.

 

[FooFighter]

I've long said it takes a certain type of person with a certain type of hearing to detect this so-called hiss on these sensitive IEMs. Those people are generally also disturbed by dog whistles, and I wouldn't put it past them to react to sonar waves typically only heard by bats. YMMV.

Hearing abilities of course come into play but I also think both DC Elite and N30LE are belonging to the more black background sources from my experience.
As a good bad example Ifi Go Bar Gold is hissing by just watching it due to its strong built-in amp within tiny chassis.
Something like Trifecta or Pathfinder was extremely hissing.
Mitigation for that is using the built in IEMatch but I never liked using such impedance adapters.

 

[chickenmcnug]

Kind of funny though, the first time VE provides 4.4mm I go back to 3.5

 

[wolfstar76]

"So, when UM announced their new flagship model, UM Mason FS Soleil Tombe (ST) and UM Mason FS Nuit Etoilee (NE) – the same IEM in different color schemes, the focus shifted straight to the MSRP price. Yes, it does have an eye watering price tag, but in reality, after 2 years since their last Mason-series flagship release of UM Mason FS Le Jardin (LJ), the new 2024 model is just $499 more and this price increase includes newly developed tech with BC-turbo micro booster for BCD, new limited edition PWA FirstTimes Shielding Pro custom cable (sold by itself for $3.5k), and newly designed Gogh Bag Italian leather shoulder carrying bag. The 2022 release of LJ already had $8k MSRP baseline price, sold out pretty quickly, and to my surprise didn’t stir as much controversy. The same as the recent collab between UM and Cayin, Amber Pearl IEMs ($8k MSRP), which almost sold out by itself and together with Cayin N30LE DAP in a bundle. It’s not an opinion, just stating facts considering there is an apparent demand."

Forgetting to mention that maybe we're hitting the limit on the addressable market here and the consumers have been ravaged by a few waves of ultraexpensive stuff that has massively lost value between now and then when everybody was spending massively post-covid with low interest rates and accruing credit card debt which is now reaching record levels and revolving debt defaults are on the rise and retailers are running out of steam in the general economy. Of course it's not an opinion; it's facts related to UM's dumpster fire management efforts. Oh snap; consumers can't be milked forever. My god.

TOTL IEMs are not like milk and steak that you have to buy, to say that consumers are hit by the UM pricing is just overstatement.

This is a question I think I have a good handle on - as I have logged thousands of miles on jogging/hiking trails here in Hawaii over the years. Especially since you invoke the worthiness of equipment to withstand sweat - because as a big dude living in the tropics the ability of my gear to survive the elements is of utmost importance.
Like you I once used headphones before knowing of the utility of IEMs and even wore my Ultrasone 8's through many a marathon (and - aside from replacing the pads every few years they did just fine). Have not lifted in quite some time since kettlebells damaged my right rotator cuff years back.
Here is what I've learned.
1) Try not to use a DAP/dongle bigger than a deck of cards at most - and ideally use one that would not hurt your feelings if it gets trashed. It used to be that the phones were were the most delicate part of the chain but now they are remarkably hardy in that aspect (my daughter once left her iPhone in her pants and it weathered a cycle in the washing machine intact). Indoor at a gym is one matter - what I am concerned about is getting caught in a flash rainstorm that runs the risk of ruining my gear. The Patagonia ultralight black hole fanny packs do a really good job of keeping water out. If you slip a small plastic aqua pack (the kind I use when I kayak) into one of the packets you are good to go as far as seaworthiness let alone rainstorm readiness - but in a pinch a couple ziploc bag will give some insurance. The two units I use are the BTR 7 (for most iems) and the xDuoo Poke II (which drives hard to drive IEMs with ease).
2. Consider using liquid black tape to connect your IEM to your cable - if you don't plan on cable swapping too often. This also provides an additional weatherproofing element.
3. Customs are great when you are active - there is a reason performers use them dancing and bopping about. If you use universals, I have found the Eletech baroques give good sound quality and maintain a good seal.
4. Even weighty cable aren't an issue (I use PW Orpheus Shielding) - if you let the cable fall down along your back (as opposed to your front). After all, your back is a lot stronger than your ears.
5. Use common sense - if it looks like a storm is coming break out the cheapie IEMs if you are a nut like me and decide to brave the elements.
6. Using the above tips I have not managed to damage any IEMs. My current outdoor buddies are the PMG Audio Apx and a custom UM Red Halo. Happy trails!

Kayaking in the sea is potentially much more damaging to your gears than a rainstorm, salty water can kill your electronic devices very quickly.

The issue isn't that my head is wide (it's actually looooong instead) but that my damaged scalp can't be touched as the skin is basically 0.1 mm thick after several 2nd degree burns. If I rub it or dry it with a towel it's open. This is a pic of 3 years ago and it probably makes clear why I don't want anything to touch that area, even though it looks much better now. But it's bathing in special scar cream 24/7 and I wouldn't want that on my headphones either.

Spoiler: Pic of my burn

Tis but a scratch.

drftr

Sorry to learn this, if I were you, I won't even consider headphones.

My dog ate my CIEM. I was. Asleep with my RN6 CIEM in my ear and my dog pull it out and took a good bite out of it. Hoping the Fir team can reshell it. This reallly sound stupid.

Your dog was sincerely concerned of your wellbeing, dragging foreign objects out of your ears was to save you .

This is a great point. This strategy is similar to my approach for upgrading iPhones. I tend to upgrade about every 4 years. So, I just ignore all of the intermediate new releases until I need a new one as they release new models every year.

If you compare the top selling smartphone in USA vs Japan, you can see the instant gratification culture of USA: all top 3 in USA are various iPhone 15, while in Japan, many of them, including the top selling one, are older iPhones.

 

[Auricon]

Could you sum up differences between N8ii and N30 please since you own both. Would be especially interesting in regard of Anni 2023, Traillii and Trifecta.

Previously owning N8ii, N30LE triple timbre and 3 amplification modes are the most distinctive differences between the two. N30LE's Tube Classic mode is new, sounds more natural with analog tonality and smoother treble. Tube Modern is less colored, crisper treble and not as bright as N8ii (ROHM DAC). Hyper mode adds a nice power boost for headphones.

Highlighted differences between the two include:

• N30LE's triple timbre – Nutube Classic, Nutube Modern and Solid State
• 3 amplification modes – P, P+ and Hyper – with Class A or AB in addition to +30mW higher power output at 32ohm. N8ii Class A is limited to only P mode
• N30LE 2x AK4499EQ vs N8ii ROHM
• N30LE hardware upgrades include – Ti alloy chassis, Snapdragon 665, Android 12, 8gb memory/256gb storage, 6" display, larger battery 12570mAh (vs 10000mAh N8ii), upgraded ELDC

Is the size much larger than N8ii? N8ii barely fits in the pocket anymore ;D And does N30 get hot too?

N30LE is approx 9mm taller, 11.5mm wider, 208g heavier (Ti chassis and larger battery)

• N30LE – 156mm x 89mm x 25mm, ~650g
• N8ii – 147mm x 77.5mm x 25mm, ~442g

 

[btwine]

Just to confirm, I never said anything about hiss though, what I meant by sensitive is that it's just borderline too loud for me on 1 click & -3db.
IIRC @aaf evo listens on very low volume as well.

I also agree that DC Elite has a pitch black background with VE X. Absolutely love it as well.
3.5mm is probably the logical thing for me to do is since if I'm not wrong, balanced just provides more power with no difference in SQ so why not?

I see, thanks for the clarification. I put DC-Elite up to 3 or 4 clicks on songs off the system I described, which outputs a low to medium volume for me. I'm not a loud listener either. Also, I'm not clear what the concern is with a sensitive IEM that produces no hiss but still requires less power than other less sensitive IEMs. Is there something missing from the listening experience, or from the IEM performance, in that case?

 

[bossfan48009]

I have been quite happy with Mentor stock cable. However, have others had good experiences cable rolling and did any enhance resolution and the holographic aspect of Mentor? Thanks in advance for any opinions.

 

[chickenmcnug]

I see, thanks for the clarification. I put DC-Elite up to 3 or 4 clicks on songs off the system I described, which outputs a low to medium volume for me. I'm not a loud listener either. Also, I'm not clear what the concern is with a sensitive IEM that produces no hiss but still requires less power than other less sensitive IEMs. Is there something missing from the listening experience, or from the IEM performance, in that case?

In my case, wasn't really a complaint, more of an observation as it was the first time I listened to it at home in a quiet setting.
If anything, it's more of a complaint on DC Elite's "loudness" for each step. Can't find the right words as it's 5.40am so brain is half working.

 

[kaeswiss]

I see, thanks for the clarification. I put DC-Elite up to 3 or 4 clicks on songs off the system I described, which outputs a low to medium volume for me. I'm not a loud listener either. Also, I'm not clear what the concern is with a sensitive IEM that produces no hiss but still requires less power than other less sensitive IEMs. Is there something missing from the listening experience, or from the IEM performance, in that case?

Do you have the Mac's volume set to the max for the DC-Elite USB connection? The others may have their source volume set to max and one click on the DC-Elite may be too much for the VEX.

 

[btwine]

Do you have the Mac's volume set to the max for the DC-Elite USB connection? The others may have their source volume set to max and one click on the DC-Elite may be too much for the VEX.

As far as I understand it, the Mac's volume settings are bypassed by the USB-C connect between it and the DC-Elite (or any DAC/AMP connected that way).