[deep2285]

Thats really intriguing as my WM1AM2 is great but the sound stage paired with my mentors significantly diminishes compared to the Hugo2.

I’m thinking of the A&K 3000, shanling M9 Plus or the N30LE to pair with….any thoughts on those ?

I have heard from many audiophiles that a pre-loved M9+ is the best bang for the money.

 

[Silverlinings]

First canjam. On my way!

 

[MacMan31]

I was looking at these. Seem to have great reviews and won't break the bank. Just need a longer cable.
https://www.amazon.com/KZ-ZS10-Lins...33&sprefix=Linsoul+KZ+ZS10+Pro,aps,219&sr=8-4

 

[iemsforme]

Anyone try the Astell & Kern x Empire Ears Novus?

 

[nikbr]

Ha, beat me to it!

Thanks for the recommendation. What about replaceable cables or ear tips? I don't like right angle plugs. Also the IE600 is $900 Canadian. Pretty steep for my first IEM.

Second-hand market is very strong in this hobby. Check out the Classifieds on this very page. Preloved IE600 nowadays goes for roughly CA$500.

 

[NYanakiev]

I have the N30LE and an RS8 as well.

I don’t have the AP IEM. Neither have I heard it. Based on the N30LE + Mentor pairing, I can imagine and understand why ppl rave about the N30 AP combo.

On the RS8, this is where the combo with Mentor did not do well. Mentor’s mids become muddy.

As far as soundstage is concerned, the WM1ZM2 is phenomenal. Wider than the N30 and definitely wider than the RS8. The gold brick + Mentor combo did not diminish the soundstage. In fact the whole soundstage took on a 3D, obviously due to the Mentor.

I don’t have a Hugo. I can only imagine how spectacular the combo would be if its soundstage is better than that of the gold brick combo.

I had AP and Mentor with my N30LE at the same time.

Ended up keeping the latter- while AP is beautiful to look at and sounds fuller with even harder hitting bass, I ended up keeping the Mentor. Both are great IEMs in my opinion and it comes down to being able to justify the cost.

EDIT: the one thing I don't quite understand is why UM didn't use different packaging and an upgraded cable over the Mentor. Would have made sense given the price differential.

 

[Leto Dal]

I had AP and Mentor with my N30LE at the same time.

Ended up keeping the latter- while AP is beautiful to look at and sounds fuller with even harder hitting bass, I ended up keeping the Mentor. Both are great IEMs in my opinion and it comes down to being able to justify the cost.

EDIT: the one thing I don't quite understand is why UM didn't use different packaging and an upgraded cable over the Mentor. Would have made sense given the price differential.

Would love to read an A/B comparison between Mentor and AP, especially considering todays Mentor price sub 2.5k

 

[phiemon]

I had AP and Mentor with my N30LE at the same time.

Ended up keeping the latter- while AP is beautiful to look at and sounds fuller with even harder hitting bass, I ended up keeping the Mentor. Both are great IEMs in my opinion and it comes down to being able to justify the cost.

EDIT: the one thing I don't quite understand is why UM didn't use different packaging and an upgraded cable over the Mentor. Would have made sense given the price differential.

Would love to read an A/B comparison between Mentor and AP, especially considering todays Mentor price sub 2.5k

+1 on this question. In past posts you swore by AP and now you say you like Mentor more. It would be very interesting to know why.

 

[Scubadevils]

All this CanJam talk / photos as always has me envious and yet another year has passed where I didn’t take the opportunity to travel - still have that dual itch to scratch of getting to New York for the first time, and a first CanJam…

However, the envy is fast becoming excitement for Amsterdam in now less than two weeks… I’ve been very busy with work and family so hadn’t put my head much into it until this weekend really - looking forward to meeting some ‘local’ Watercoolers who in part represent the smaller but I’ve no doubt growing European market of discerning audiophiles. While we won’t have booths with brands or resellers, we certainly have quite an array of audio toys to enjoy, and who knows, next year might become a much bigger event… from tiny acorns grows a Watercooler-Jam, Water-Jam, Cooler-Jam… never mind

Hats off to @drftr for his incredible enthusiasm, determination and resilience in getting this going, absolutely wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t taken the bull by the horns and charged forth! Likewise @MatW for organising a fantastic venue and guidance on many aspects of the preparation.

See those of you that are attending the week after next for the inaugural Europe Watercooler event!

Oh and it’ll be my first time in Amsterdam for about 12 years, I used to travel often with work once upon a time having worked for two Dutch companies. I’m definitely making time to drop into the amazing ‘Concerto’ music store, bought many CDs on my travels back then.



In other news, finalising my review hopefully tonight for the wonderful Simgot EA1000 - I’ve had these a few weeks but only really properly focused in the last few days, yet another set that demonstrates how you don’t need to fork out too many $$$ for great quality products, both in terms of performance and build. Honestly a bargain at $219 and I’m no longer really thinking about how sets like these punch above their weight, more how fantastic it is to witness the trickle down effect of technology, and the fact people can thoroughly enjoy music at comparatively low prices - not that we ever didn’t, I’m first to admit the strength of the addiction, but for many $219 is a financial stretch, and the kilobuck stuff often forever out of reach… feels like this will continue to evolve, and curious to see what else is on the horizon in what is clearly a much higher volume segment of the market. We will of course always have a market for the higher end segment, but the gap appears to continue closing. Before any pitchforks are sharpened, I am not saying a $219 set competes with the likes of IE900, Perpetua, Turii Ti etc etc, but the case for diminishing returns becomes ever more apparent when I pop the likes of EA1000 in my ears.

 

[btwine]

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

Thanks for sharing and normalizing that we all have states of being that we wish we didn’t, which can get in the way of stuff we love to do. Even with that you gave it a go at CJ. I don’t have PTSD but I sure am an introvert who gets plenty of anxiety in crowded events. I like @metaljem77 suggestion here, perhaps smaller meetups are an easier thing to try, and bonus you can have more quality discussion and listening time. That sounds more appealing to me too.

 

[drftr]

I had AP and Mentor with my N30LE at the same time.

Ended up keeping the latter- while AP is beautiful to look at and sounds fuller with even harder hitting bass, I ended up keeping the Mentor.

Aah... that's a pity... Selling one day after Amsterdam would've been sooooow much better!

drftr

 

[drftr]

Hats off to @drftr for his incredible enthusiasm, determination and resilience in getting this going, absolutely wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t taken the bull by the horns and charged forth! Likewise @MatW for organising a fantastic venue and guidance on many aspects of the preparation.

You have definitely been part of the Holy Trinity so far for your advice, and I hope we can focus on making our gear inventory even more interesting for the group than it already is; AP being the newest challenge. I have reached out to the noble John in the past few days to see if they're ready to conquer Europe 25 Watercoolers at a time. They're probably too busy to reflect on that this weekend and the next few days though, so fingers crossed.

drftr

 

[trbo996]

What about the mojo giveaway? Did someone manage to find you?

No one found me! And I even wore stripes and a collar. A Cooler is holding it for now and coming up with a new giveaway idea.

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.

That is a fantastic idea.

Biggest yet…

Over 30 Coolers were there yesterday. Great turnout for such a rainy day.

EDIT: the one thing I don't quite understand is why UM didn't use different packaging and an upgraded cable over the Mentor. Would have made sense given the price differential.

It came with great packaging - Cayin N30LE packaging. From my understanding, the units sold separately aren’t from UM but instead from a retailer who received approval from Cayin.

Would love to read an A/B comparison between Mentor and AP, especially considering todays Mentor price sub 2.5k

I have commented in this thread and would suggest reading Twister6’s comparison. I love my APs, but do not think they are anywhere near the Mentor’s value.

 

[aaf evo]

Heard just about everything I wanted to, but this is the for me. Wow… will share full impressions of everything in due time.



I am speechless.

 

[PassionForMusic]

If anyone who went to CanJam was able to listen to the Empire Ears Novus (new iem) and could someone give me some impressions on the sound signature for it?