The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
Feb 28, 2024 at 1:17 PM Post #82,366 of 97,582
Got my Rn6 yesterday.

Does anyone consider them a bit shouty? Perhaps it’s high level of resolution that makes higher frequency stuff “pop” louder?

And I don’t “feel” the kinetic bass. These rumble just as well as a IE600 or IE900 to my ears.

Perhaps I’m not getting a good seal?

Should I try the Volur for a bassy IEM that is still on the physically small side of things?
 
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Feb 28, 2024 at 1:22 PM Post #82,367 of 97,582
IMG_4505.png
Anybody here have any experience with this Iem would appreciate some feedback before I purchase. Thank you guys.

I also saw this in classifieds. Ace is not talked about as frequently as the other Aroma IEMs, therefore the chance of selling it if you don't like is also not as good.

Timbre is through frequency response, as it will alter the source signal and color the original timbre as tuned by the mixing and mastering engineer.

All those other characteristics can be measured by a battery of tests including square waves and DIRAC pulses by observing the delta between the original digital signal and the recorded sound from the transducer or a reconversion through an ADC if you are testing components upstream of the transducer.

"Sound stage" is a more contentious topic because that depends on a number of factors that contribute to modifying the source signal's spatial cues as implemented by the recording engineer (binaural recording techniques for instance) or the mixing/mastering engineer (through software plug-ins playing with panning, reverb, EQ, phase differentials, etc) in such a way that renders a universal analysis practically impossible for HPs, let alone IEMs. These tracks are mixed on studio monitors usually, so spatial cues are building off a HRTF and HRIR that are not translatable exactly to the audience, and mastering those tracks further muddies the water by adding frequency exciters and distortion to ensure performance on systems that are not up to spec, especially speaker systems that don't have a proper subwoofer and room treatment. The measurement methodology for this is as yet unknown because of the psychoacoustic nature of sound imaging, although we can get close by mimicing the spatial cues observed through a binaural recording setup.

All those technical talk reminds me many years ago when 3D patterns images were popular. I sucked in this and just could not my trick brain to "burn in".

He already answered, but I think it's not just the 622B, it's all BC IEMs. They rely on a solid connection with your pinna to transmit the vibrations as intended, which will go better with a custom shell because it will fully engage with your pinna as opposed to partial engagement. It'll also be more comfortable to maintain that fit vs universal.

I agree, and for that EE is still struggling to provide CIEMs for their BCD equipped IEMs.
 
Feb 28, 2024 at 1:24 PM Post #82,368 of 97,582
Personally I regard the Amber Pearl as an upgraded UM Mentor. The Pearl has amazing bass. Amber Pearl along with the Cayin N30BLE is definitely a combo to hold onto for a while.

UM Mentor is still an amazing iem. GLWS.
Indeed, thank you.
 
Feb 28, 2024 at 1:27 PM Post #82,369 of 97,582
@Deezel177
Seems to me like that's the objective with BCDs, restore some of that lost kinetic energy you get with natural sound and speakers for the sake of fidelity. After trying a BC equipped IEM, feels like the right direction to me.
True, but I’m talking all drivers in general. Not all BAs are made the same. Picking the right one for its timbre is, in itself, an artform. The 622B is also the first IEM that’s made me go, “Oh, that’s what a BCD’s for,” to be honest. I’ve heard the EVO, Mentor and MEXT, and none of those IEMs moved me enough to even care about what the BCD was doing.

I agree, and for that EE is still struggling to provide CIEMs for their BCD equipped IEMs.
They’ve been prototyping it with their musicians, though. They have a custom quadbrid (1x BCD, EST, BA and DD per side) that they’ve been giving out to their artists. I think it was meant to be unveiled officially at NAMM, but they got sidetracked with the whole Raven thing. I’m curious to see what that ends up becoming.
 
Feb 28, 2024 at 1:39 PM Post #82,370 of 97,582
I also find BCD's to be a clear upgrade, super hyped for Aroma to come out with their own version-hopefully a ripoff of UM because I think UM do it best with regard to BCD but I prefer Aroma for tuning. BCD Fei wan.

Sidenote, my cat knocked my Jewels off the standing desk and shattered the left one. damn. I ordered through Andrew @ MT, is the way to go about getting it fixed to contact him or Aroma directly? Went back to my A18t's for meow, wow I dislike this signature so much more than my Jewels. Ouchie.
Never let your cat play with your Jewels because it will Hurt! 🤣😂
 
Feb 28, 2024 at 1:46 PM Post #82,372 of 97,582
Got my Rn6 yesterday.

Does anyone consider them a bit shouty? Perhaps it’s high level of resolution that makes higher frequency stuff “pop” louder?

And I don’t “feel” the kinetic bass. These rumble just as well as a IE600 or IE900 to my ears.

Perhaps I’m not getting a good seal?

Should I try the Volur for a bassy IEM that is still on the physically small side of things?

1. Shouty could be result of seal or sound character from eartips. Perhaps try other eartips? DDHifi eartips is good to tame some spike on top. Having said that, Radon is at more energetic side, not a really silky smooth sounding at treble area like Canpur 622B.
2. "Kinetic Bass" is just the name of the technology, it won't literally vibrate your ears. Have you tried to change the Atom Module? By default RN6 use red module, which is -4dB Bass.
3. Yes Volur is a bassy iem, but also much warmer and less open sounding than Radon.
 
Feb 28, 2024 at 1:57 PM Post #82,375 of 97,582
Never let your cat play with your Jewels because it will Hurt! 🤣😂

So, what you are saying, don't let your cat anywhere near your Trifecta "family jewels"? :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
 
Feb 28, 2024 at 2:05 PM Post #82,376 of 97,582
Got my Rn6 yesterday.

Does anyone consider them a bit shouty? Perhaps it’s high level of resolution that makes higher frequency stuff “pop” louder?

And I don’t “feel” the kinetic bass. These rumble just as well as a IE600 or IE900 to my ears.

Perhaps I’m not getting a good seal?

Should I try the Volur for a bassy IEM that is still on the physically small side of things?
when i first demo'd KR5 i could immediately feel the BCD effect from kinetic bass. this is pretty much the most talked about feature from the frontier series, and imo, what makes them so polarizing. second day of a big (im assuming blind) buy, id say stick around for the ride. kinetic bass is worth the try. i wouldnt be enjoying my KR5 if i let a graph scare me off. so take my word for it, because i almost missed out on a great iem for this reeason!
 
Feb 28, 2024 at 2:09 PM Post #82,377 of 97,582
Got my Rn6 yesterday.

Does anyone consider them a bit shouty? Perhaps it’s high level of resolution that makes higher frequency stuff “pop” louder?

And I don’t “feel” the kinetic bass. These rumble just as well as a IE600 or IE900 to my ears.

Perhaps I’m not getting a good seal?

Should I try the Volur for a bassy IEM that is still on the physically small side of things?
I really like the RN6, but it's definitely more of a midbassy and thick low mids specialist offset with a lot of low and mid treble attack/ energy. It can be "shouty" when it comes to female vocals and electric guitars, but it's very lush with male vocals and instrument fundamentals. The treble is definitely quite bright and energetic, metallic.

It's slightly more technical than Volur in the treble, and arguably in the midrange but Volur is one of the best bass in an IEM ever, and the overall tuning is more to my preferences. (Sure call me boring, but it's just a well-tuned monitor, which is plain, but offset with a really nice bass slope). Volur needs extensive tip rolling to help linearize its treble response - the narrow and long nozzle paired with the Tia driver makes for a tricky upper treble coherency in some gear pairings.

If you have very healthy high-frequency hearing, the Volur's Tia driver can make things sound artificially shimmery & shiny in the 10kHz + air (but so does RN6, though EST's are more ethereal (forgiving) whereas the Volur's Tia is more dynamic (unforgiving)).

Here's how both sets graphed on my coupler with preferred tips (Volur has M15 & M20 squigs):

graph (73).png


And here with matched tips (Volur M15):

graph (74).png


For 90% of music, cutting the graph upper limit at around 12kHz paints an accurate picture, but I do believe that the huge Air boost does trickle down harmonically into lower registers of the treble, or at least morphs the lower and mid treble.

RN6 is a more versatile tuning out of the box for multiple genres, but Volur sounds more timbrally accurate and neutral. Volur has the advantage of more significant tonal shifts swapping through the Apex modules than the Fir's Atom modules.

RN6 has a great stock cable. Volur's is more generic. Ironically, I use the RN6 cable on my Volur and find the combination extremely dynamic and very resolving.

Hope that's helpful!
 
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Feb 28, 2024 at 2:52 PM Post #82,378 of 97,582
IMG_4505.png
Anybody here have any experience with this Iem would appreciate some feedback before I purchase. Thank you guys.
Oh the Ace, I have the Jewel, this wasn’t my favorite Aroma IEM, but certainly far from a bad one. I think it’s all BAs from what I remember, fairly neutral in standard mode with a more neutral than normal for Aroma, but more treble extension. Then there was a few modes, I remember Queen and King I believe, one was more bright and one was warm with the mids more forward but definitely not bass forward. I remember hating the bright mode which I believe is queen and being ok with the warm mode, vocals are warm and detailed only issue is the soundstage was very small in this mode. Standard mode just felt underwhelming but it was clean, detailed and fairly natural. For its price point there was nothing I was wow’d by that made me want to buy it. It’s one of those yeah it’s a good technical IEM but is missing the connection for me. But I usually don’t connect well with all BA IEMs minus the U12t.
 
Feb 28, 2024 at 2:57 PM Post #82,379 of 97,582
I really like the RN6, but it's definitely more of a midbassy and thick low mids specialist offset with a lot of low and mid treble attack/ energy. It can be "shouty" when it comes to female vocals and electric guitars, but it's very lush with male vocals and instrument fundamentals. The treble is definitely quite bright and energetic, metallic.

It's slightly more technical than Volur in the treble, and arguably in the midrange but Volur is one of the best bass in an IEM ever, and the overall tuning is more to my preferences. (Sure call me boring, but it's just a well-tuned monitor, which is plain, but offset with a really nice bass slope). Volur needs extensive tip rolling to help linearize its treble response - the narrow and long nozzle paired with the Tia driver makes for a tricky upper treble coherency in some gear pairings.

If you have very healthy high-frequency hearing, the Volur's Tia driver can make things sound artificially shimmery & shiny in the 10kHz + air (but so does RN6, though EST's are more ethereal (forgiving) whereas the Volur's Tia is more dynamic (unforgiving)).

Here's how both sets graphed on my coupler with preferred tips (Volur has M15 & M20 squigs):



And here with matched tips (Volur M15):



For 90% of music, cutting the graph upper limit at around 12kHz paints an accurate picture, but I do believe that the huge Air boost does trickle down harmonically into lower registers of the treble, or at least morphs the lower and mid treble.

RN6 is a more versatile tuning out of the box for multiple genres, but Volur sounds more timbrally accurate and neutral. Volur has the advantage of more significant tonal shifts swapping through the Apex modules than the Fir's Atom modules.

RN6 has a great stock cable. Volur's is more generic. Ironically, I use the RN6 cable on my Volur and find the combination extremely dynamic and very resolving.

Hope that's helpful!
Wow I’m looking for the opposite, lol, try the FT without shielding. I have this cable on my Jewel, just tried it yesterday on my Rn6 and it definitely raises the mid bass a bit too much for myself and warms the mids. Brings male vocals more into focus and pulls more detail out the mids. The mid bass definitely outshines the sub bass with this cable, not that sub bass is gone, mid bass is just lifted decently. Softens the highs only slightly as the mids come more into focus.
 
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Feb 28, 2024 at 3:15 PM Post #82,380 of 97,582
I really like the RN6, but it's definitely more of a midbassy and thick low mids specialist offset with a lot of low and mid treble attack/ energy. It can be "shouty" when it comes to female vocals and electric guitars, but it's very lush with male vocals and instrument fundamentals. The treble is definitely quite bright and energetic, metallic.

It's slightly more technical than Volur in the treble, and arguably in the midrange but Volur is one of the best bass in an IEM ever, and the overall tuning is more to my preferences. (Sure call me boring, but it's just a well-tuned monitor, which is plain, but offset with a really nice bass slope). Volur needs extensive tip rolling to help linearize its treble response - the narrow and long nozzle paired with the Tia driver makes for a tricky upper treble coherency in some gear pairings.

If you have very healthy high-frequency hearing, the Volur's Tia driver can make things sound artificially shimmery & shiny in the 10kHz + air (but so does RN6, though EST's are more ethereal (forgiving) whereas the Volur's Tia is more dynamic (unforgiving)).

Here's how both sets graphed on my coupler with preferred tips (Volur has M15 & M20 squigs):



And here with matched tips (Volur M15):



For 90% of music, cutting the graph upper limit at around 12kHz paints an accurate picture, but I do believe that the huge Air boost does trickle down harmonically into lower registers of the treble, or at least morphs the lower and mid treble.

RN6 is a more versatile tuning out of the box for multiple genres, but Volur sounds more timbrally accurate and neutral. Volur has the advantage of more significant tonal shifts swapping through the Apex modules than the Fir's Atom modules.

RN6 has a great stock cable. Volur's is more generic. Ironically, I use the RN6 cable on my Volur and find the combination extremely dynamic and very resolving.

Hope that's helpful!

Extremely helpful. Thank you. I wonder if, for me, there’s simply too much energy in the 4-10K range? I’ll try some more ear tips as others have suggested. My point of reference is the U12T which sounded very nice to my ears, as well the Focal Utopia 2022 (EQd with some bass boost). Found Caldera to also be a bit shouty in the treble - just another reference point.
 
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