[PixelSquish]

Thanks, but I think I'm actually leaning more towards the Mentor.

I'd say the Z1R already plenty satisfies my bass needs.

I'm looking for something that's nicely balanced, while also more engaging and with better note weight than my Monarch MkII.

I think the Mentor fits those preferences nicely.

I just hope the sound synergises well with the golden brick. Hoping it's not too warm/thick sounding.

I had both the z1r and the Volür. I sold the Z1R. I liked the Volür better in the mids a lot, and maybe just slightly in the highs.

It could make your Z1R expendable is what I'm saying. Towards your next choice

 

[Deezel177]

Well, I went to Canjam! But within like 10 minutes of being there, a panic attack started to set in and I had to leave(I have bad ptsd from the military, which sometimes makes it difficult for me to be around a lot of people in crowded places, unfortunately). I came back later when I was feeling better, hoping it had thinned out a bit(it had), but I only had like 30 minutes left in the show and a lot of tables were still locked down, so I didn't get to try anything I wanted to try going in, or chat with any of you guys. Pretty gutted honestly. Oh well. At least I didn't spend any money! Small victories...

The highlight of the show for me was probably talking to Bogdan of Fir Audio and telling him RN6 is the dopest thing I've ever heard. And I saw Crinacle! He looks just as charmingly cantankerous in person.

Hopefully some day I can enjoy these events like a normal person, but until then, maybe I will just get high as a kite first lol.





To whoever found my Eletech Baroque tip...enjoy. I might have your Final E tip. Good trade kinda I guess hehe

‘Sorry to hear that, man. As someone who isn’t from the States, I hope it’s appropriate for me to still thank you for your service. ‘Hope you can show up to some of the smaller meets in and around the US, perhaps, and slowly work your way to attending a CanJam in full.

Also, Walk Hard will forever be a ’ed film.

 

[SweetCans928]

‘Sorry to hear that, man. As someone who isn’t from the States, I hope it’s appropriate for me to still thank you for your service. ‘Hope you can show up to some of the smaller meets in and around the US, perhaps, and slowly work your way to attending a CanJam in full.

Also, Walk Hard will forever be a ’ed film.

It's all good! Thank you for the sentiment, although I personally don't care for that sort of thing. For me, it is the ick haha. One time they(I don't know who exactly) came over the intercom at the airport and made everyone stop and applaud for us as we walked through. I swear, I will remember that embarrassment as they are throwing dirt on me lol. But I appreciate the kind words all the same.

And yeah, I think I will just work my way up. It seems like there's always something around the corner.

I did appreciate the quiet hum of CanJam. As you walk up, you almost expect it to be loud inside, and then it's like someone plugged the place into an ifi iematch. You could speak to people at pretty reasonable volumes for how many people were there.

 

[Andykong]

What a great event! It was wonderful to finally meet a few of the Coolers and to listen to some great IEMs on my list. Lots to love and more proof of how many great IEMs are available right now. Hard to pick a bad one.

I will admit that the show floor was a challenging environment for anything near critical listening for me. Still, a great time and opportunity to get a taste of some rare IEMs.

Trust me, the shows and events in China and Hong Kong are more challenging, I used to bring a pair of 3M PELTOR X5A with me when I want to do some critical listening in the show, it helped a lot.

 

[nikbr]

I think the comparison between an IEM graph and a lead sheet is a good one, but I think it's possible to go even deeper into that analogy than you have here. Lead sheets aren't just notes on a page, usually. They'll also denote what instrument is playing (down to the cymbal ornamentation, even, on drum sheets). They'll indicate dynamic cues like accents, crescendos and decrescendos, or temporal ones like ritardandos and rallentados. They'll tell you the chords over which the melody's playing, the tempo at which everything's running, etc. So, you can paint a decent picture if the lead sheet is detailed enough. Similarly, on a graph, you can also glean how forward instruments are based on the prominence of the upper-mids, or how airy and clear it's gonna be based on treble extension, for example. So, I reckon graphs can tell you more than just, say, 10% or 20% of an IEM.

When it comes to the following questions:



I think that's more applicable when you're looking at a specs sheet, rather than an IEM graph. For example, you see that an IEM has a DD, 6x BAs and 4x ESTs. You can then ask the very questions you've posed above. How have their sounds been captured and integrated? What kind of post-production (dampers, acoustic chambers, sound tube shenanigans, etc.) have they undergone? I think that's the more apt analogy. Either way, it's probably one of the stronger illustrations I've seen for an IEM measurement.

Thanks for this in-depth reply.

Yes, some lead sheets go into extreme detail, absolutely. Such lead sheets do indeed defeat the logic of my analogy somewhat. Still, your 10-20% of graph to IEM connection seems very low to me despite myself being a sceptic when it comes to graphs. I'd definitely put that % somewhere closer to 50%.

Agree with your points on spec sheets and post-production.

Today we finished mastering our six-track EP, it will release on the first of May on all relevant platforms. It was a long journey, since we are both amateurs, but we are proud of the end result. Just wanted to share this moment.

I will post a link once it releases. Thanks for reading.

Congratulations, very much looking forward to this one! Love the cover. I must improve my vocal skills further and we could possibly get something done together some time in the future

Star of the show day one at can jam nyc for me

Of course it was, we all know you love Gold and you cannot hide it

Not sure if I should start a new thread for this or not so I thought I would ask this here. So currently I am using Apple AirPods (3rd gen) with my iPhone 13 when on the go. I just use Apple Music when out of the house. But I'm curious about getting something better. I'm unsure about IEMs cause I've long been worried about getting those rubber tips stuck in my ear canal. I feel like it would be difficult to find an IEM that fits my ears snuggly and comfortably. Either way what would those here suggest within $500 (Canadian)? When on the go I've only used Apple's EarPods and AirPods so I have no knowledge or experience with other earbuds or IEMs. I want something that is fairly balanced and neutral in the sound. Nothing too bass heavy which I find is the case with the AirPods. I don't care if they are wired as I have a lightning to 3.5mm dongle (non Apple). Thanks for any help.

I'd suggest Night Oblivion Butastur or Simgot EA1000. Other guys' suggestions were spot on too. Lots of different flavours. Tough to say what would be the most agreeable to your ears.

 

[Andykong]

I was reading specs on this. Worth noting: The 4.4mm/balanced does not use tubes due to physical limitations. It reverts to solid state. I'd love to be wrong here but I believe that is the case.

The N3U tube timbre is available to both 3.5mm and 4.4mm phone out. This is technically infeasible with two JAN6418 vacuum tubes, so we cheated.

I shall extract a small section from the N3U thread to explain the compromise:

The DAC circuit and headphone amplification circuit of N3Ultra are fully differentiated but the timbre circuit, since we are using a pair of JAN6418 only, is singled-ended. We need to perform Balanced to Single-end before the timbre circuit, and Single-ended to Balanced after the timbre circuit. While N3Ultra is not a fully differentiated design from source to output, we have included some serious engineering to handle the correction properly. We are so confident that we even explain the constraint in advance.

 

[Scubadevils]

Starting my Sunday with this beautiful album. Fantastic blend of modular synths and a whole host of instruments.



Bandcamp blurb…

Cryptophasia is the third album from Scottish twin brothers Andy and Mike Truscott under their Kinbrae moniker.

Shifting focus from their previous landscape-based releases, Cryptophasia sees the band explore their relationship growing up as twins and how this has shaped and formed them as people both individually and collectively. Reflecting on experiences across their lives, the album deals with themes including family dynamics, lived experiences and memories, identity, sibling rivalry, isolation and battles with mental health. Looking at these aspects allowed the band to see how they have supported each other over the years and consider the way their relationship as brothers has developed across their lifetimes.

Working with producer and frequent collaborator Ben Chatwin, the band were awarded a Jerwood Bursary to initially experiment and improvise with new instruments and techniques, with these early drafts used to then structure fully formed pieces. At its core, the record incorporates modular and analog synthesizers that are intertwined with brass layers and melodies. These sounds are further developed with the use of field recordings, piano, live percussion and bass guitar to both further establish and build upon the band's signature ambient and melancholic sound.

The KInbrae sound is a mixture of brass, synthesisers, percussion and field recordings, heavily influenced by their environment. The pair are interested in the intersections of sound, place and image, using a combination of these to explore and highlight the themes in their work. The band's first album, Tidal Patterns was released by modern classical label 1631 Recordings in 2016, with this being followed by 2019's Landforms, released by London-based Truant Recordings and with publishing through Manners McDade. The brothers have also produced works in collaboration with Tony Dekker of the band Great Lake Swimmers (released on the acclaimed Thesis label run by artist Gregory Euclide), Clare Archibald (the 2022 Birl of Unmap album released through Full Spectrum and The Dark Outside) and Thore Pfeiffer (as part of the renowned German label Kompakt’s Pop Ambient series). Additionally, the pair also recorded a library album for EMI through their Juice Music label and Sony/ATV, produced another work for Thesis as part of the label's DRIVE project and have appeared as session musicians on a number of albums by the likes of Ben Chatwin, The Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks and more.

 

[maegnificant]

Congratulations, very much looking forward to this one! Love the cover. I must improve my vocal skills further and we could possibly get something done together some time in the future

That is a cool idea! Max, the guy I produced this EP with, will soon move out and it'll take time to build a studio again. He is moving in with his girlfriend, so I have to be hopeful we will get to making music in the future at all... And drums will be difficult because of the noise. Well, if we move on to the next EP and need a vocalist, I will keep you in mind. We are thinking about making an ambient release, so maybe some ASMR work, if you are up for something like that? We'll keep in touch!

 

[Scubadevils]

Looks like a good deal on Drop for Supermoon.

 

[drftr]

Did anyone demo the new Noble TOTL at CanJam???

Today we finished mastering our six-track EP, it will release on the first of May on all relevant platforms. It was a long journey, since we are both amateurs, but we are proud of the end result. Just wanted to share this moment.

I will post a link once it releases. Thanks for reading.

Wait! Did I miss the Watercooler Special Sneak Preview link???

Thanks a lot!

Took the picture this morning.

Don't even consider a different picture for the cover mate!

drftr

 

[Alpexis]

Hey friends at CJ, please post some impressions on the sp3000T. Cheers!

 

[OhmsClaw]

It's all good! Thank you for the sentiment, although I personally don't care for that sort of thing. For me, it is the ick haha. One time they(I don't know who exactly) came over the intercom at the airport and made everyone stop and applaud for us as we walked through. I swear, I will remember that embarrassment as they are throwing dirt on me lol. But I appreciate the kind words all the same.

And yeah, I think I will just work my way up. It seems like there's always something around the corner.

I did appreciate the quiet hum of CanJam. As you walk up, you almost expect it to be loud inside, and then it's like someone plugged the place into an ifi iematch. You could speak to people at pretty reasonable volumes for how many people were there.

Don't need all that. Just priority boarding in civvies is fine

 

[osocan]

I've hit every booth I wanted to and then some. Out of everything I tried, a bunch of it was a mix of meh or very similar--with the sole exception of Fei Wan. That IEM hits pretty much every one of my happy points.

I tried the new UM flagship (which is mostly missable for me for several reasons), and without directly dunking on it, what I will say is that if you’d blind boxed me the Fei Wan and said that it was the new UM set, there's a part of me that would have reluctantly admitted "ok, I get why they're $8000+".

All that said: Thieaudio's Divinity 16 is performing well above it's price point. I can write off everything else at that table with ease, but far as I'm concerned, that's a $3000 set of IEMs wrapped in a $1249 package. Legitimately stunned that it's all BA.

Agree with you on both Fei Wan and V16 Divinity.

Fei Wan is above my price point. V16, that’s one of my 3 under $2k.

 

[OhmsClaw]

Thanks, but I think I'm actually leaning more towards the Mentor.

I'd say the Z1R already plenty satisfies my bass needs.

I'm looking for something that's nicely balanced, while also more engaging and with better note weight than my Monarch MkII.

I think the Mentor fits those preferences nicely.

I just hope the sound synergises well with the golden brick. Hoping it's not too warm/thick sounding.

I have both. And the EVO. Mentor is more of an end game mids IEM. RN6 has more weight than the MK2 and Mentor with plenty of detail, only caveat is its CIEM only right now unless you find someone who is parting with their universal. Mentor is fantastic, but it lacks low end. The Annihilator 2023 though .... that might the ticket for you. They're still rolling out too.

 

[maegnificant]

Did anyone demo the new Noble TOTL at CanJam???

Wait! Did I miss the Watercooler Special Sneak Preview link???


Don't even consider a different picture for the cover mate!

drftr

+1 for the Noble TOTL impressions

I can say you can find the album if you know where to look... SOMEHOW the EP is already up on my favorite music platform.
Thanks a lot! I am really proud of how this all worked out.